BXBX NOVEL Chapter 170: Do your worse [1/2]
I was armed with an assortment of firearms while Aki carried a couple of short swords. The Japanese woman's ninja attire was form-fitting and showed me her wonderful assets. We laughed as we joked about the absurdity of our situation.
"Smith-san, I was surprised, you know? How in the world did you decide to brawl with a Revenant?"
"It just happened. I just knew I couldn't let any of you die."
"Ara, you will make many a woman swoon with such reckless remarks." Aki teased with a beautiful smile.
"Does that include you by any chance?"
"Fufu. How sure are you that I haven't already?"
"Well, you are trying to kill me, Aki," I replied wryly.
"Honestly, if I could have a normal life, I would choose you as my husband."
"..."
"But we both know that such a fate was never meant to be."
"Listen Aki, we can still..."
"Smith-san, please stop."
"..."
"I told you that I threatened your family as a test. During the time I murdered my entire clan, I tested them as well, do you wish to know the result?"
Aki looked miserable as she gazed vaguely at the scenery in front of us. Her face expressed deep sadness and disappointment. My heart sank as I saw the emotions she revealed.
"More than half of the Reapers used their loved ones as bait. To escape, to launch a counterattack, even as bargaining chips. There were less than ten who, much like you, refused to let their people get hurt."
The woman in front of me then turned to me with a tearful face.
"That makes your character all the more admirable. Even if it was just a spur of the moment feeling. I am sure the others, like me, felt extreme joy when you defended us."
"It wasn't much, Aki, and David thrashed me into a coma afterwards."
"The result matters not, Smith-san. For Formless like us, such a gesture was beyond kind. Even when you were beaten, you looked heroic and handsome."
"..."
"I'm not sure if anyone has thanked you yet. But I just wanted to tell you... I appreciate everything you did for me. Even though I never wanted to come back as a Reaper, just getting to know you for that one night made it all worth it."
"Aki... I..."
The ninja in front of me looked away as she continued.
"Thank you, Smith-san. You saved me in that moment. If all my hardships were so that I could meet you, then I gladly accept them."
"Then let's stop Aki!"
Then she drew her sheathed blades and put a fox spirit mask on her face.
"But that and this matter are separate. Just as you have reasons for wanting to live. I also have reasons why I must kill you."
"Then tell me why, Aki! Let me help you! I know you don't want to kill me!" I shouted in anger.
"I am sorry Smith-san, it is because I am too weak. If you manage to defeat me, I will tell you everything."
I gritted my teeth in frustration, this whole situation was fucking bullshit! Why the hell did Aki and I have to kill each other!
"Smith-san, one last thing, someone has betrayed you. Should you defeat me, you must relocate the Simmons family as soon as possible. Trinity has your information, which should not have happened."
"..."
Aira told me that she only sent the information to Zach as part of her programming. Did Zach then give my data to Trinity? Was he under David's command? No, if David really wanted me dead, he should not have put the gag order on me in the first place.
"Thanks for telling me, Aki, after I beat some sense into you, help me find out."
"You are gravely mistaken if you think there is an end to this where we both keep our lives," the Japanese scolded.
"I have not been idle, Aki. I have not stopped fighting since I became a Reaper."
"Unlike His Majesty the Invincible. I am not going to hold back on my blows."
"I never expected you to. I will spank your ass until you cry. That way you will never do anything like this again," I joked.
"Enough. Brace yourself, Smith-san."
"Bring it on then! {Save}!"
At the same moment as Aki's declaration, she disappeared from my vision. I dual wielded the AR-15 in my right and the 1887 in my left. With {Listen}, I heard barely audible footsteps circling to my left.
"SHIT!"
I turned my body in the same direction and opened fire. Faster than even bullets my opponent evaded. My rounds all missed as they all buried themselves into the walls. At the same moment, {Perceive} saw flying shurikens coming at me.
'I can't keep up. {Code}! Do the bullet time thing! Now!'
At my request, time slowed, allowing my brain to process information at lightning speed. It wasn't implied, but {Sight} and {Reveal} allowed me to do bullet time for some reason.
By process of elimination, I could only guess that {Code} or {Gather} had some way of increasing my brain's processing speed. In this slowed down world, {Aim} and {Snipe} showed me lines that predicted the trajectory of Aki's weapons.
Doing the absolute minimum to avoid them, I shifted my body to the left and lowered my stance. Without worrying about her safety, I moved my AR-15 and fired 5.56 rounds at my best guess of where she was.
Every step Aki took created ripples in the air and vibrations traveling through the ground. My opponent was not someone I could underestimate. {Code}'s bullet time ended at that moment.
"Tsk."
I heard Aki express her dissatisfaction as she immediately moved her body to avoid my bullets. Suddenly, I saw black spheres coming at me. They were much bigger targets than the flat shurikens, so I shot them all mid-air.