Chapter 26: The Annihilation of the Guild (Part One)

Listening to Yechen’s experiences, Yuri didn’t think her own situation could be any better. No one who ended up in this world was happy. Shiina hadn’t spoken of her past; seeing that she didn’t wish to, Yuri simply brushed the dust off and said, “We’re almost at the Guild. Let’s pick up the pace—maybe we can get there before the Angel does. There shouldn’t be any more traps along this stretch!”

Following Yuri and Shiina, Yechen entered a conspicuous entrance—the cement ground and painted stripes outside practically declared, “This is the way in.” Climbing down the ladder, Yechen found the armory astonishingly vast—an endless steel factory built of gears, sprawling across an area large enough for dozens of soccer fields. In the center, a massive stone pillar stood upright.

Machines whirred tirelessly, steam erupting from many points, and the crimson glow of fire illuminated the otherwise dark underground world. Surveying the scope of the place, Yechen couldn’t help but question—fewer than a hundred people, and yet they needed so much space? With a facility like this, there seemed little reason to fear Kanade Tachibana. Ultimately, this enormous place supplied weapons for, at most, ten combatants in the SSS. Even a full army would be well equipped with such resources! Yechen glanced at Yuri, puzzled—was this whole factory really just for ten people? The output seemed laughably low.

“It’s Yuri!”

“They’re all right!”

“They made it through the traps safely! Yuri!” As soon as Yuri descended unharmed, a group rushed over to greet her. Clearly, she was highly respected here—a strong leader.

“What’s the situation? Where’s the Angel?” Ignoring the others’ praise, she inquired about Kanade Tachibana. Just then, an explosion rocked the passageway on the upper level of the Guild, sending stones tumbling down into the depths.

“Abandon this place!” Yuri decided after a moment’s thought.

“What! Even if we can’t make weapons anymore, it doesn’t matter?” someone objected immediately.

“What matters most isn’t the location or the tools—it’s the knowledge. As long as we remember the designs and methods, we could make them out of mud if we had to!” Yuri explained. Then a burly, bearded member appeared—one Yechen thought looked nothing like a high school student. After further discussion, Yuri and the Guild members agreed to demolish the place and return to their old base.

With Yuri and the bearded man leading, the others finally accepted the plan and began placing explosives throughout the facility, determined to destroy it completely. Yuri and Shiina resolved to go up and delay Kanade Tachibana, buying time for the demolition.

Perhaps considering Yechen’s close relationship with Kanade, Yuri left him behind to help with the explosives. Only after some effort did she and the others let go of their suspicions, and their relationship gradually improved. Yechen had no choice but to agree—besides, with Kanade’s abilities, even Yuri and Shiina together wouldn’t face much risk.

Her combat prowess was enough to take on the entire SSS alone. If not for her gentle nature, the Guild would never have been able to stop her.

“Hey, rookie over there! I hear you’re pretty capable! Some of these explosives need to go in tricky spots—that’s your job!” The bearded man, all familiarity, handed Yechen a crate of explosives and pointed out several locations that would be hard for anyone else to reach.

“Didn’t expect I’d ever get to use these. First time handling explosives—might as well have some fun!” Yechen took out a few charges, and, following the man’s instructions, quickly and efficiently set them in place. Then he hurried upwards, still concerned about Kanade, Yuri, and Shiina—hoping nothing would go wrong.

Along the way, he saw some people stuffing explosives into something like a cannon barrel. Didn’t they worry about blowing themselves up? Yechen, who knew a bit about firearms, couldn’t make sense of their methods.

Leaping out of a narrow entrance, he saw Yuri wielding a dagger and Shiina with her twin short swords already locked in battle with Kanade, who had activated her Sonic Blade. Most of the time, Yuri and Shiina attacked, while Kanade deftly sidestepped with small, rapid movements.

“Guard Skill: Delay,” Kanade murmured softly. Yuri and Shiina’s blades plunged straight into her body, but Kanade seemed to become insubstantial—a mere afterimage struck by their attack, as she instantly shifted to the right, evading them.

Delay, the skill that creates afterimages upon attack, dramatically boosted Kanade’s close-combat prowess, allowing her to shift instantaneously over short distances. Yuri and Shiina simply couldn’t keep up with her speed, and were forced to defend and evade together.

Watching from the side, Yechen realized how effective Delay was for short-range movement—she could appear behind an opponent in a blink, both practical and graceful. At least to Yechen, Kanade’s movements looked fluid and strikingly elegant.

That left him with a dilemma. Watching the fierce battle ahead, Yechen wavered over whom to help. Naturally, he was closest to Kanade, but Yuri and Shiina were his friends as well—and they were at a disadvantage. If he stepped in, they would likely lose instantly (though the outcome would be the same even if they had the upper hand).

If he helped Yuri and Shiina, he’d feel cruel letting someone as gentle as Kanade face such attacks alone. She was always bullied by the SSS with no one to turn to; Yechen’s conscience wouldn’t allow him to add to her troubles.

“Both of you, move!” Before Yechen could make up his mind, a commotion arose behind him. A massive cannon turret rose from the ground, with several Guild members standing atop it, grinning in triumph at Yuri.

“You really pulled it off! That’s not something you can just throw together!” Yuri exclaimed excitedly at the sight of the imposing weapon. Only Yechen quietly edged away—he had seen them load it with explosives. Regardless of its potential power, he was certain the blast radius would reach him.

Yuri and Shiina quickly retreated into the side cement corridors. The turret’s barrel aimed at Kanade; someone shouted, and an explosion erupted from the rear of the turret, instantly filling the air with screams. Ironically, Kanade’s position was the safest—she was only brushed by the black smoke of the blast.

The Guild members were all knocked to the ground by their own explosion.

“The turret’s destroyed—turns out, you really can’t build things you don’t remember clearly!” someone sighed from the floor.

“Then stop building them at random!” snapped Yuri, driving her elbow into the speaker’s stomach.