Free The Amphisbaena by Gakuto Mikumo Page A

and carrying her guitar case on her back.
    As if a matter of course, Yukina, having learned that Kojou was going to go with Natsuki out on a job, had insisted on accompanying him.
    “Well, fine. It doesn’t hurt to have another pair of hands. Why don’t you put on a
yukata
, too? You can rent them in front of the station.”
    “…I’m fine, thank you.”
    Though the short pause preceding her reply seemed to carry a small twinge of regret, Yukina strongly shook her head.
    “More importantly, why are you bringing a dangerous individual like Akatsuki out on an unsafe mission such as this? You do understand the enormous damage that would occur if senpai’s Beast Vassals ran wild in an urban area such as…”
    “And what would you do if he was dragged into fighting without even a clue what was going on, Sword Shaman? Don’t you think that’s even more dangerous?”
    “Th…that might well be so, but…”
    Yukina’s willfulness abated in the face of Natsuki’s unexpectedly straightlaced rebuttal. Natsuki added more, as if to press her advantage.
    “Surely it’s safer to keep something dangerous close at hand, not in a distant place where you cannot see.”
    “Uu…”
    Yukina’s shoulders slumped in dejection at how easily she’d been dressed down. Kojou, who’d just been called a dangerous individual by both girls, twisted his lips with a feeling of dismay.
    Without displaying any special pride in victory, Natsuki led Kojou and Yukina onto an elevator. Licking a candy apple she’d bought at a stall, she asked Kojou, as if she’d just remembered…
    “Did you read the data I sent by e-mail?”
    “Well, I skimmed it. Masked, was it? So we’ve just gotta capture this thing?”
    “More precisely, capture both Masked.”
    Natsuki spoke high-handedly as she replied with a tone befitting a teacher.
    Masked was a code name for the mysterious monsters doing battle over and in the skies above Itogami City.
    According to witnesses in previous cases, the Masked always appeared in pairs, with combat apparently continuing until one or the other collapsed. Naturally, Natsuki was thinking it was highly probable that two would appear simultaneously this night as well.
    “Capturing them’ll be easier said than done. I dunno what to do about guys who can fly around…”
    “No need for concern. Shoot them down,” Natsuki replied instantly and without hesitation.
    “That’s nuts,” Kojou groaned.
    “After all, if you’re letting your Beast Vassals loose toward the sky, there’ll be no ill effects on the city.”
    “Er, that might be true, but, uh…”
    “They’re monsters of no small measure themselves. Don’t worry, they won’t bite the dust that easily. Even if you slip up and kill one, they’ll just toss you in a jail cell.”
    “Don’t worry, my ass! What the hell?! Can’t I get a ‘not guilty’ here?!” Kojou clutched his head and yelled at Natsuki’s declaration, which was over the top even for her.
    The elevator kept rising until finally arriving at the top floor. From there, they switched to a service elevator and moved onto the roof. At ten stories tall, Thetis Mall was the tallest building in the area. It was an ideal location for spotting the flight-capable Masked.
    “At any rate, that is rather strange.”
    “It’s not ‘rather’… It’s totally messed up!”
    “I don’t mean your treatment, senpai, I mean that building…”
    Yukina was pointing at an office building on the other side of an intersection.
    The upper half of the brand-new structure was thoroughly gouged out; even now, rubble that had been scattered about was piled up on the roadway. The ghastly scene looked like a meteorite strike.
    “Even though there was such a large explosion, I never noticed a thing. If that destructive power had been generated by a spell or a summons, quite a bit of magical energy should have been released.”
    “Meaning, even a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency could not detect