Part 99: Destiny tightens its grip on the timeline

A subdued voice. A face I've never seen. Not one of the five intruders that broke into the lab with Moeka.

"Okarin, do you know these people?"

Mayuri anxiously looks around the men while gripping my arm tightly.

"Will you come with us?"

"Who are you?"

The men won't answer my question. They almost grab my arm, so I hurriedly shake them off. I try to walk away, but the men obstruct my path.



"SERN...?!"

So these guys are also Moeka's comrades?! In the end, she won't let us leave Akiba?

My back freezes. I realize we've made enemies out of an outrageous group.

"Can you kill us in this crowd of people?"

"You shouldn't think we're joking."

A cold sensation thrusts into my back. For an instant, I don't recognize what it was, but I soon realize. A common movie situation.



I swallow my breath. My whole body breaks out in sweat out of fear.

Am I going to die? Will my time leaping be all for naught? Dammit, like hell I'm giving up...!

I won't let Mayuri die. I won't accept such a future. But how do I escape this situation...

The number of shoppers standing in front of the station is ever increasing. Furthermore, people are starting to shout angrily here and there, maybe because they're irritated that they can't go home. It's noisy all around. People moving away from the station, and people unknowingly coming to the station, and also people waiting at the station until operation resumes. The amassing of all these people causes chaos. It looks like a riot's about to start beside us.

That's our chance.



The man thrusting his gun at me loses his balance. Now!

I quickly dodge away from the muzzle and knock the man's wrist. The gun falls away, and the man gets pulled down and trampled into the crowd.





I grab Mayuri's hand and start running. We have to push our way through people until we got to Chuo Dori, but that also thwarts our pursuers.

After we reach Chuo Dori, we start running to the lab for the time being. Having said that, we can't return to the lab. Moeka's group should be attacking shortly. I wonder if the subway's still in operation. If we get on at Suehirocho Station, we can ride the Ginza line to Shibuya. From there, we can use the private rail and head west.

I havent caught my breath yet. I don't know how far we've run, but we still must run.



About four men walking in front - they didn't look like otaku - suddenly spread out across the street. It felt like they did that on purpose after seeing us run.

They simultaneously turn towards us. An unpleasant feeling. These guys might also be enemies... they didn't just turn our way, they clearly stopped walking. They spread their hands, standing in our way.

I stop and turn around, but I see the guys from the station chasing after us from behind.



With no other choice, we rush into an alleyway.



I'm aiming to go to Suihirocho Station through back alleys. But... several men on the stairway to UPX point towards us. Are these guys enemies, too?! Just how many comrades do they have...?

We turn back and change course.



I run out of breath talking while running. Sweat drips into my eyes, making it hard to see.

"...Escape by yourself...! If you get lost... head... to Hariti's shrine... in 'Bukuro... and we'll..."

Meet up--



"What...? Just what's going on..."

I look back. The group from before is chasing us. Enemies everywhere. The familiar Akiba streets are now filled with enemies.

I remember that woman's words.



I'm appalled. Can we escape? Our opponent relentlessly kills people. We're nothing but peaceful students.

Can we escape? No, even so, we must escape!





My body was sent flying.

I tumble onto the asphalt in intense pain.

"Gah...hah..."



Something wets my face. I try wiping it off and the goopy liquid sticks to my hand. I endure the pain and lift my head.



I stretch my hand.

"Ma...yuri..."

Even when I call...