Free The Amphisbaena by Gakuto Mikumo Page B

it…just as I suspected,” Natsuki murmured with a curious look of acceptance.
    “The magic energy detectors placed around Itogami Island’s interior didn’t respond to the Masked, either. The Island Guard only realized something was wrong when buildings were wrecked and civilian security corps kicked up a fuss.”
    “What does this mean…?”
    “I don’t know. Special kinds of spells, physical attacks… There are a number of possibilities I can think of.”
    After those words, an aggressive smile came over Natsuki’s face.
    “Well, we won’t really know until we ask the persons concerned… Don’t kill them, Akatsuki.”
    Natsuki was glaring in the direction of the sky above a giant cell tower standing outside the shopping district.
    Things enveloped in malevolent light were dancing in the dark nighttime sky. Their movements were far too unorthodox to be those of aircraft. They were bizarre silhouettes near human in size engaging in fierce aerial combat.
    “…The Masked?!”
    “They appeared sooner than I expected. Astarte, tell the corporation, ‘It’s time for the fireworks.’”
    “Accept.”
    Having received Natsuki’s orders, Astarte took a radio transmitter from a sleeve of her
yukata
and operated it.
    Kojou gave it a suspicious look.
    “Natsuki, what do you mean by ‘fireworks’?”
    “What, young people nowadays don’t know what launching fireworks is?”
    Spreading her beloved parasol, Natsuki smiled cutely, as if astounded at how dense he was. A moment later, Kojou heard a
boom
behind him. Colored fireworks bloomed into a large floral pattern in the sky.
    They were actual fireworks. The launch point looked like it was right in the opposite direction of where the Masked had appeared.
    “Now the public’s eyes should be looking in that direction. That should gloss over a few extra explosions and the like.”
    “I see… Wait, don’t tell me the night shopping you were doing was for this…?!”
    Rather than admiration, Kojou was frankly shocked at the unexpected depth of Natsuki’s preparations.
    Certainly, the great roar and dazzling flashes of a fireworks launch was ideal for hiding the existence of the Masked. Even if witnesses saw a number of flashes and explosions away from the show, they probably wouldn’t be especially suspicious.
    But Kojou took from the mere fact that such an elaborate deception was necessary in a Demon Sanctuary like Itogami Island as proof that this incident was extremely serious.
    “We’ll settle this while the public is distracted by fireworks before they can catch on. We’re jumping.”
    “Huh? Whaddaya mean ‘ju—’” Kojou looked back as Natsuki’s abrupt call to him gave him a bad premonition.
    That same moment, Kojou was assaulted by fierce dizziness. Shortly after, he felt an unpleasant sense of vertigo like he was in free fall. When that finally subsided, Kojou was in abject shock at the realization he’d been tossed right on top of a high, unfamiliar tower.
    “…Whoaaaaa?! What the heck am I doing
here
…?!”
    Almost losing his footing, Kojou hurried to a nearby girder poking out and clung to it for dear life.
    This was the cell tower’s skeleton of girders painted red and white. They were directly under the Masked engaged in combat. Natsuki had used teleportation magic, a specialty of hers, dragging him along for the ride.
    “Senpai, above you! Look out…!”
    Yukina, brought along for the ride with Kojou, shouted sharply as she looked above her head.
    As Kojou lifted his face in response to her voice, he sucked in his breath as he unexpectedly found himself looking at the Masked at very short range.
    Both Masked had the forms of little girls.
    But the girls had hideous, bloodstained, mismatched wings sprouting from their backs.
    The surface of their bare arms and legs bore ghastly geometric shapes, with countless ghoulish eyeball symbols on the masks that covered both girls’ heads.
    As the girls spread their wings, they