Chapter 92 Birene Mine Tunnel – Ayumu
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Haah… finally gone.”
After Yukina Yuki and the others disappeared, Ayumu Sanai let out a long sigh and climbed down from the shadows of the rocks above.
”Still… Iwaya’s dead? Seriously…?”
He had been wary of the smuggled blasting powder he’d pilfered earlier, so he’d rigged charges beforehand while chipping ore samples. That was when he caught a sound that shouldn’t exist here—Japanese screams, rushing closer. Startled, he had scrambled up the rock wall with his specialty—wall-running—and spied from above.
For some reason, his classmates had appeared, Yukina Yuki among them, dragging a horde of monsters in their wake. Ayumu had timed it perfectly, triggered the wired blasting device, and the cave went up in a thunderous detonation.
He had camouflaged the wire leading to the detonator with stones and rubble. In the darkness, even his half-hearted concealment had been enough; from the panic on Yuki’s face, they likely wouldn’t have noticed even if it had been left bare. That was how desperate the situation had been.
”…But what the hell is this thing? A giant isopod?”
It looked like one of the deep-sea creatures from his old world, except this one had a shrimp-like tail. On closer inspection, he counted sixteen limbs sprouting from its segmented body, no doubt the reason it scuttled so quickly.
Its eyes were compound, but few in number—sight probably wasn’t its strength. The females carried clusters of squirming young sealed beneath a translucent membrane, a brooding pouch of nightmares.
The carapace looked hard at first glance, yet under his fingers it seemed no tougher than a human fingernail. What drew his attention most was its monstrous jaw—get bitten by that, and there’d be nothing left of a human.
Ayumu turned away, revolted, and started to leave—when a voice rang out behind him, in unmistakable Japanese.
* * *
”Well, well. If it isn’t useless, hopeless Sanai.”
”Oh? I thought you’d died ages ago.”
The words were not welcoming.
”…Tch. Sakagami. Mizutani.”
Of all people—it was the two who had mocked him mercilessly back when they’d first been summoned. Fate had dealt him a rotten hand.
”Heard an explosion, came to check it out. What’s with this gross freak of a monster? Doesn’t look like you handled it.”
”Hey now… nice weapon you’ve got there. Doesn’t suit you. Hand it over.”
Ayumu froze. ‘They’re going to rob classmates of gear?‘
”It’s borrowed, I—”
”Hah? You’d just waste it! Not just the gear—leave the money too. We’ll make better use of it.”
”F-fine! Fine…”
Inside, Ayumu winced. ‘Unbelievable… these bastards.‘ He surrendered his weapon and coin purse, watching their guard drop—then struck.
From his sleeve, he whipped out a collapsible baton and slammed it into Mizutani’s left temple, following up with a vicious thrust to the jaw that sent him sprawling.
Sakagami fumbled for his sword, but Ayumu was faster. He seized the boy’s right arm, locking it in place.
’Too slow…‘
He drove his knee hard into Sakagami’s solar plexus, folding him over. Using the momentum, he levered the baton upward, hooked Sakagami’s leg, and toppled him, driving his elbow into the boy’s jaw on the way down.
It had taken less than six seconds. Now both writhed on the ground, groaning incoherently.
”Easy there. Best not to push yourselves,” Ayumu said lightly.
”Sa…nai… what the hell did you…?”
They didn’t even understand what had happened. Ayumu crouched, explaining in a calm voice.
”Relax. Mizutani just took a blow to the temple—he’s dizzy, equilibrium’s shot, but he’ll live. Sakagami, well—my knee hit your diaphragm. Stopped your breathing for a moment, nothing fatal. Oh, and both of you got a nice crack to the jaw, so expect a mild concussion. But you’ll be fine.”
With that, he retrieved his weapon and money.
It had been nothing more than close-quarters combat, the same brutal techniques his father once used on him. The coast guard’s special unit style—designed not to kill, but to disable with ruthless efficiency.
Most sane people wouldn’t unleash military combat arts on civilians. But Ayumu’s father had nearly killed him more than once, and he had learned to fight back, desperate just to survive. He had never expected those painful lessons to save his life again—here, in another world.
’Back home, I never would’ve used this. Not with laws saying “whoever throws the first punch is guilty.” Even if bullied, you’d be the one dragged to court, sued, forced to pay damages…‘
Here, though, it was different. In this lawless world, there were no such restraints. If attacked, you fought back—or died.
Compared to the endless paperwork and lawyers of the old world, the rules here were brutally simple: strike back until the guards arrive. Of course, until then, you were fair game too.
But there were no guards in this tunnel.
Ayumu gathered his things, left Mizutani and Sakagami writhing in the dirt, and slipped away into the shadows of the mine.
Notes:
• Yukina – Sayumi’s friend, a half-Eastern European girl with silver hair and blue eyes, who offers support and expresses concern about the recent events.
• Iwaya – Yukina’s boyfriend, who plays soccer.
• Sakagami – A former classmate of Ayumu Sanai, characterized by his arrogant and bullying nature. He carries a sword but is easily subdued by Ayumu’s close-quarters combat skills. Left incapacitated with non-lethal injuries, including a blow to the solar plexus and jaw. Appeared in Chapter 92.
• Mizutani – Another former classmate of Ayumu, known for his opportunistic and aggressive behavior. He is quickly disabled by a blow to the temple, causing dizziness and loss of equilibrium. Like Sakagami, he is left writhing in pain as Ayumu escapes. Appeared in Chapter 92.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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