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Last Embryo Volume 1 Chapter 7 Part 3

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Editor: Weasalopes

Underwood Stage Area, Steelworks Nr.2

Just before the lightning-like strike aimed at the three of them reached its intended target, Homura and Ayato were transferred ashore, to the grounds of the industrial area.

「Wah!」

「Kyaa!」

Both of them screamed as they hit the ground pretty hard. Moments later, the waterway where the two of them were just now got smashed into pieces along with a thunderous roar, and the only things left of it were the giant crater and a whirlpool that formed when the water welled back up in it. Had Suzuka been late for even a second with moving them to safety, their lives would have most likely been evaporated with that attack, either spilling their guts all over the place or burning them to a crisp.

「Tsk… wait, Suzuka! Where’s Suzuka?!」

Both of them quickly raised their heads up and looked around them in a panic. Thankfully, Suzuka was laying right next to them, but to their horror she was far from being fine. When Ayato approached her in a panic, she saw a large slashing wound on her abdomen, and her hands began to tremble when she recalled that since Suzuka’s Gift was not like normal Teleportation, she couldn’t have moved both herself and the others at the same time. Shed had to do those two things separately. With her face as white as a sheet of paper, Ayato looked back at the destroyed waterway, and then back at Suzuka.

「No… it cannot be… no way….!」

Only now did she realize how much of a close call that attack really was, and how Suzuka must have made a cruelly difficult decision in a span of literal seconds. Should she transfer herself first, or get Ayato and Homura to safety? She must have known the danger she would put herself into if she decided to save them first… and yet she still chose to do it. She prioritized them over her own well-being.

「H-Her wound is much deeper than mine from when we were attacked at the school! At this rate, she will…!」

「Suzuka, you are in need of immediate medical attention! I’m sure we can patch you up in the Underwood, so can you use your Gift just two more times?!」

「Kuh…! B-But if I do that, then Aya will…」

「Do not worry about me! Even if it’s just the two of you… even if you have to leave me behind, you should go as far from here as possible! So please, leave now while you still have the chance to do so!」

「But… *cough* *cough*… but I…」

「NOW!」

「……!!!」

While coughing up blood and with an anguished look on her face, Suzuka grabbed Homura and disappeared. Now that Ayato was the only one left in there, she could finally deal with the Minotaur that was already charging towards her from behind, destroying everything that stood in its path like a heavy tank. Unfortunately for him, the residents of Underwood’s industrial area were not a bunch of weaklings that would allow some monster to rampage throughout their territory however he pleased.

「Everyone, to battle stations!」

When their voces reached its ears, the Minotaur stopped an looked behind it while titling its massive muscle-filled neck in puzzlement.

On the shore at the other side of the destroyed waterway, Sharol and Porol of the 『Six Scars』 gathered all of their comrades who were still around the industrial area, and were now preparing to launch a large stationary ballista at the enemy who threatened the safety of their home. Holding a baton with a griffon’s mane embedded into it, Porol was swinging it around as he shouted orders and directions to the others.

「Heads up everyone,the enemy we’re facing is one of the infamous Celestial Beasts, so there’s absolutely no need for us to hold back, so hit him with everything we’ve got and the some! Failnaught Ballista…. OPEN FIRE!!!」

When he swung the baton down, it produced a large whirlwind, which was launched towards the Minotaur alongside various projectiles from the ballista which was bigger than a human body, flying forward in one after the other as if they were being launched not by a medieval siege device, but a modern day machinegun firing in ultra rapid fire mode, homing down on their target thanks to the use of a special tracking Gift.

In the next few seconds, all of the 52 fired giant arrows, each of them as big and thick as a adult man’s arm hit their target as supersonic speed.

Now that the Minotaur had no choice but to part with its battle axe and had its power level lowered significantly because of it, dodging that many attacks aimed towards it was impossible. It managed to knock down or deflect half of them by swinging its own tree stump-like arms at them, but the remaining 26 pierced its entire body: Some of them made holes in its arms, some of them skewered its legs and feet onto the ground, and over 12 of them lodged themselves in its chest.

「G E E E E E E Y A A A A A A a a a a a a a a a …!!!!!!!!!!!!!」

Its agonizing screams were loud enough to make the vibrations of the air visible to the naked eye. What happened just now could be describes as nothing else other than a one-sided massacre, gruesome enough to make one think if there really was a need to go that far against a single beast, but Porol’s gaze remained fixed on the enemy the entire time, not showing any signs of mercy. As someone who was born in Little Garden, he knew full well what kind of Monsters the Celestial Beasts were, and that it would take more than a few scratches like that to actually take it down for good.

「Everyone, prepare to launch the next salvo and stay vigilant no matter what! If you see it moving even a little bit, open fire immediately!」

The members of 『Six Scars』 carried out their orders without delay. During that brief interval, Kuro Usagi finally found the opportunity to join back with Ayato, and offered her shoulder for her to lean on.

「I am so sorry, Miss Ayato! For something like that to happen while I was the Judge for this Game…!」

「No, don’t worry, Kuro Usagi, it was something that simply couldn’t be helped. You are 『The Nobility of Little Garden』, and a holder of 『Judge Master』, so you don’t have to beat yourself up over something you had no control of since you cannot participate in the game as a Judge. The one who should feel ashamed for her inability to take decisive action here… should be me.」

Declaring that with a strong self-hatred in her voice, Ayato stood up. But somehow… something about her felt different now, to the point where Kuro Usagi had to take a step back due to how overwhelmed she felt.

「Miss… Ayato?」

With her rabbit ears raised high into the air, she looked at her back. Right now, that back of hers looked completely different compared to just a moment ago, as if she became a totally different person.

Initially, Kuro Usagi evaluated Kudou Ayato as someone who was both courteous and docile, and carried herself with a level of dignity befitting of someone of her high social status. But now, when she suddenly started radiating an immense amount of fighting spirit, Kuro Usagi held her breath and covered her mouth with her hand without even realizing it. Because right now, with her rustled hair standing up as if they were responding to the feelings welling up inside of her, she looked like she was filled with newfound strength and determination. To anyone who saw her now, she didn’t look like an ordinary human girl, but rather a  warrior ready to fight with her life on the line.

「How unbecoming of me, pathethic even. I never would have expected that during my fourteen-year long stay in the outside world my power would drop down so dramatically…. Ugh, it’s even worse than if I went dull due to a lack of proper challenges to keep my sword-arm sharp!!! But look at me now, so weak and unable to protect the things that I swore to protect with everything I’ve got!」

Her energy was filled with self-deprecation and so much anger that Kuro Usagi reflexively assumed a defensive stance. She had no Idea what was going on here, but whatever it was, it was definitely strange. But then it got even more strange, when Ayato picked up the two spears laying down on the ground near her by kicking them into her hands. Just with that one action, it felt as if the very nature of her being changed all the way up to its very core.

Dual-wielding wasn’t that uncommon among the weapon users across the entirety of Little Garden, but there wasn’t all that many of them who dual-wielded spears. No dojo or martial arts school taught it, so that stance she assumed and the abilities she most likely possessed must have been all self-taught through the many years of harsh and grueling training. But in Kuro Usagi’s memories, there was only one girl who used the stance that Ayato just assumed. Someone who died in battle, and whom she thought she was never going to see again.

(I knew it… so she really is the Queen’s Knight!)