My Vampire Older Sister and Zombie Little Sister

Book 8: Chapter 5

Wah.

I could hardly call it a valiant decision.

I think it had more to do with disgust.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?

Boomerang-shaped creatures covered everything. Creepy patterns reminiscent of crop circles crawled along their frog-like dry brown skin.

I accidentally let go thanks to a shock similar to seeing a swarm of cockroaches covering the wall.

Had I dragged my sisters down with me?

Or had they let go too?

It was disturbing how it felt more like floating than falling. I felt a blast of wind crash into me and my vision started spinning. Was it a 10m drop? I didnt even have time to prepare myself before I hit the sludge-like muddy water and was swallowed up by the current.

Gah, dammit!?

I desperately moved my arms and legs despite not knowing which way was up. I felt a powerful resistance at my waist. Yes, I still had that lifeline connecting me to Erika and Ayumi. Not that it did us any good now that wed fallen.

Bwah!!

I somehow managed to get my head above water.

The fallen metal tower was directly above. What had happened to those wriggling frog-like things? If they were still covering that tower, they could rain down on my head at any time. And who said they were only on the tower? How many were in the water with me already!? Did they bite, sting, dissolve you, or lay translucent eggs inside you? I had no idea what the threat even was, but that meant I had no way of defending myself!!

But those thoughts were cut off by something that far surpassed anything I had imagined.

With the disturbing roar of a fire consuming oxygen, the steel beam overhead burst into flames!?

I didnt even have time to gasp.

Although if I had inhaled without thinking, it only would have scorched my windpipe and lungs. I was saved by a powerful force pulling me underwater.

Even in the muddy water, what happened next could not have been more obvious. An awfully sticky orange light covered the waters surface like a ceiling.

I started to open my mouth in surprise, but a slender hand forcibly covered it. Black leather danced in the corner of my vision.

Erika? And Ayumi too!?

The fiery ceiling remained overhead for more than ten seconds. I was terrified. I had no idea how long a human could hold their breath, but waiting these ten seconds did not guarantee that I would get to breathe during the next ten seconds. What if it stayed like this for a minute, ten minutes, or an hour? I would drown!!

The blood must have rushed to my head from holding my breath for so long because I felt an uncomfortable heat and pressure like my entire head was gradually swelling out.

Just as the darkness of the night returned to the surface above, my patience ran out. I had heard of people pulling off seemingly superhuman feats of strength in emergencies. That must have been how a human like me managed to break free of my sisters and swim desperately for the surface. I actually pulled it off.

Bwah!! Pant, pant, ah!?

I finally breathed new oxygen into my lungs.

Even in this storm, some sticky flames remained on the collapsed broadcast tower that had partially crushed so many buildings. Was that what the explosion was about? The fire on the waters surface had only been a side effect or stray shot. The true target had been the makeshift bridge. Had something else been burning away the slimy, dry brown things covering the complex arrangement of steel beams?

Fuguu! Onii-chan, hurry back down!!

Ayumi?

I didnt know what she meant, so I turned toward Ayumi who had been swept a bit away despite the lifeline connecting us.

For a moment, I thought I had been struck by lightning.

That was how overwhelmingly bright the flash was. A white light had fallen from overhead.

Wha-?

It hurt. It was like having invisible awls jabbed into my temples. I held up a hand to protect my eyes, but that was not enough to escape the dull pain.

But.

Something was obviously wrong, but what was it!?

This was not one of the searchlights directed at us from a distance. It came from directly above, but what kind of light could shine on me from that angle?

There was something there.

In the sky.

Unidentified intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms.

Had it been a bomb or a heat beam? Some kind of deadly weapon had been fired straight down to fry all of those things. A flying object the size of a light car and shaped like a shuriken had come to a complete stop overhead despite the powerful storm.

I couldnt help it.

I really couldnt.

Even as the current swallowed me up, a ridiculous word escaped my lips.

A UFO???

My mind was reaching the limit of what it could process. I mean, how much of this could I accept? The countrys largest broadcast tower had fallen in the storm. The Tokyo city center was deserted. The slimy things with dry brown crop circle patterns moving along their skin were aliens. And now there was some other UFO attacking them??? I wanted to ask when the world had gone crazy, but no! That wasnt even a question! It had gone crazy from that very first moment when we were trapped in that dangling elevator, right!? If this was a dream, why couldnt I wake up!? If it was virtual reality, wouldnt someone please let me log out!?

But that was when the mysterious piece of technology shouted with a human voice.

Sorry!!

It wasthe same voice as that megaphone?

A-a drone? Is that a JSDF unmanned weapon!?

The spotlight-like light moved elsewhere. It did not move like an airplane or helicopter. The beam of light drew out curves like it was using the dark night as its canvas. Powerful explosions enveloped everything not far downstream.

Ayumi and Erika pulled themselves toward me using the lifeline around our waists and we huddled together in the water. A voice called out to us from overhead.

When I stared into the distance, I could see what the UFO was launching down at the ground.

Missiles?

If thats a JGSDF air-to-surface missile, then its probably a Tokara Habu.

That made sense.

It did make more sense than aliens attacking aliens, didnt it?

No, this was still crazy. I couldnt compromise on making sense here. Either aliens were attacking or the JSDF was wielding deadly weapons in the middle of Tokyo!? How could I call either of those normal!?

Those missiles were developed in advance for use with the tiltrotor, but as the deployment of the tiltrotors continued to be delayed, the use of the missiles was also delayed. Instead of burning away a large field out in the middle of nowhere, these are precision-guided self-propelled sniper rounds that pinpoint strike a target hiding in an urban area. These anti-Archenemy incendiary weapons were developed by a science lab based on a request from the Bright Cross. You could call it an unwanted relic of a former age.

What are those doing here!? I thought even peashooters were banned in this country!

Theyre supposed to be used in response to natural disasters. Have you ever heard of a fire extinguisher bomb? A high-powered explosion can be used to instantly put out an out-of-control wildfire or industrial fire. Japan was originally a country of wooden buildings, so we have long had a culture of destroying the surrounding buildings to prevent the spread of a fire.

We have eliminated the obstacles in the water, said the voice from the drone. If you follow the current, you can leave the blockade line. If you are taken near the red signs, immediately grab onto the closest building. You will be sucked underground through the floodgates if you move past there. Sorry, but thats all we can do for you!!

Fugu. Ayumi was bobbing above and below the torrential waters surface. Looks like we have to do what they say for now. We cant escape that big drone by swimming blindly through the water.

The voice from the sky might sound strong and reassuring at first.

But it was not.

I couldnt let this minimal assistance get to me.

All they had done was block up the entrance to the cage because they did not want the beast getting out. They were telling us to say in here for days on end with something they knew was too much for them. Looking at the big picture, that might be the right decision. But it meant they could not protect us.

If we were going to tear down their plan, they would fire one of those things at us next time.

Ayumi, do you know what time it is?

Fugu? Not really, but I know it has to have been a long time since we left the elevator.

I checked on my phone earlier. Its nearly midnight.

I knew she understood the ramifications of my short answer.

The JSDF might intend to settle in and spend two or three months carefully saving what lives they could while making sure the secondary damages did not spread.

But that wouldnt work for us.

The sun would rise just before 6 in the morning. That meant our Vampire sister had a set time limit. All of the buildings around here were half-destroyed by the storm and flood. There was no guarantee we could find a hideout that would keep out all sunlight and all the underground malls and subway facilities would be flooded. And even if we did find a convenient hideout, what if those slimy aliens attacked? Erika couldnt go anywhere during the day, but we would probably be helpless without anywhere to run.

And Ayumi was at risk too. That Zombie sister normally had herself injected with a cocktail of preservatives to manage her body, so she could not afford to soak in this muddy sludge for long. We really should have been getting her to a hospital for a detailed examination.

When would all of this be over?

In Zombie movies, survivors who ignored the rules and tried to escape the quarantine area were seen as enemies of humanity since they needlessly increased the risk of infection. When I was watching those stories in the living room while munching on chips, I had thought it all seemed so ridiculous. But it wasnt. If they did as they were told, they would die. It might be for the greater good, but it would take a real piece of work to not even try to rescue your family from that conveyer belt into the incinerator.

If no one bothered to explain the identity of the threat, you had no way knowing if you were healthy or infected. So how could you accept It when you were denied help again and again because of some unspecified danger?

We have to do something.

The inside of the blockade line contained the fearsome storm, the floodwaters, and those mysterious unidentified intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms. The outside contained the JSDF with their drones and sniper rifles.

We have to.

If we did not find a way to cross that line before dawn, my sisters bodies probably wouldnt last.

For the time being, we let the current carry us away from the visible blockade line. The UFO drone stayed with us for a bit, but after seeing us grab onto a nearby building as instructed, the spotlight suddenly moved elsewhere.

Does that mean were outside the alert zone?

It felt like they were saying we were powerless.

Needless to say, our only goal was to get Erika and Ayumi outside of the quarantined area before dawn.

We entered through a door that was only a broken silver frame now. It may have been a glass automatic door to begin with. The dark interior was flooded with hip deep muddy water. Vampires could not enter a home without permission from the owner, but did this count as ruins instead?

However, the first thing to catch my attention was not the darkness, the risk of glass shards, or the unpleasant muddy water.

Ugh! What is this stench?

I covered my nose with the upper arm of my black coat.

It was not quite a rotting smell. The powerful odor stabbing into my nose was even worse than a sports clubroom during midsummer.

Once I shined my phones backlight around, something came into view: a reception counter, large cages in the water, and posters depicting dogs and cats that were soaked but still attached to the walls.

Was this a pet shop?

Fugu!? The cages are underwater, Onii-chan!!

I knew this was hardly the time. We were already a step behind. But I couldnt bring myself to tell Ayumi no.

However.

Shh. Wait just a moment, Ayumi-chan. Some of the cages are broken.

But! They probably just bumped into each other in the current. Although that may be for the best. Right, Onii-chan? That means the puppies may have had a chance to survive.

Wait.

The cages were brokenand the animals escaped?

Dammit, get away from there, Ayumi!! This is where that croc and carnivorous fish came from!!

Fugu?

Those may not have been the only broken cages. The hip-deep muddy water felt a lot more dangerous all of a sudden.

And yet.

I-is there no way to know which are dangerous and which arent? I dont like this. We need to help them, Onii-chan.

Argh.

We need plastic sheets.

Eh? Eh? What?

Or anything else that can make a float. We cant lift those cages ourselves!

We really shouldnt have been doing this.

Still, we climbed the narrow stairs to the second floor and dragged out some blue plastic sheets we found folded up in the corridor. If we tied them up properly and added waterproof duct tape to seal up the seams, they could be made into bags.

Maxwell, check some site or another for how to tie a cloth wrapper.

Sure.

The bags could remain deflated for now. A pet shop was bound to have air compressors for the tropical fish. They did not want all their expensive fish to die during a power outage, so they would have emergency batteries too. After attaching the air compressor and rubber hose to the battery for power, I returned to the first floor.

First, I brought the deflated bags under the water and attached them to the cages with duct tape. Then I used the machine to fill them with air. The heavy cages floated up in the water.

Okay, Ayumi, push it with me! You dont need to think about lifting it!!

Okay, got it!

To make a long story short, the results werenot great. The dangerous animals strong enough to break free of their cages had already left. And the harmless dogs and cats could not survive long with their cage underwater. Most of it was assessing the damage after the fact, but a handful of the smaller animals had survived.

Still

Its alive.

After lifting up several cages to no avail, excitement finally filled Ayumis voice.

This bunny is still alive! And a few of the dogs!! Ah ha ha. Thank goodness. Im so glad!!

I could never match her positivity.

That said, we couldnt exactly bring all these animals with us. The most we could do was free the pets from their soaked cages, dry them off, and put them in other, clean cages. And after that

Onii-chan, what are those water bottles for?

Im making simple time-release devices. If we leave them here, theyll starve to death, but if we leave them a bunch of food and water, theyll eat it all right away instead of pacing themselves.

Fugu

We cant just release them from their cage, Ayumi. If they slip in this storm, theyll just drown. And even if they survive, theyll be in danger if they go feral.

Which was why I had prepared a compromise.

This will make a set amount of food and water fall down every so often.

There was still a limit to what this could do. It only increased their chances; it did not guarantee they would be saved. I did not want to consider the possibility that Tokyos city center would be sealed off for years, but you never knew.

Lets create an environment where they can wait for rescue. Thats all we can do.

Okay, Onii-chan.

Dont look so down. No one will come to save them if we cant tell someone where they are, so we need to get out of here as soon as we can.

Fugu! Youre right, Onii-chan!!

Technically, you could have me pass on the information via the internet,

I did not let Ayumi see that message on my phones screen. Maxwell really needed to learn some tact.

And with that, we needed to review what information we had.

As a Vampire, Erika was weak to sunlight. We were unlikely to find a hideout that could fully block out the sun after the storm and flooding had ravaged the city. And even if we did find one, those boomerang-shaped slimy aliens(?) were out there. If they found us and attacked during the daylight hours, we could not escape outside.

The dirty floodwaters put a Zombie like Ayumi at risk too. It did not come up much in normal life, but she could not stay in unhygienic environments for long.

That meant we had to escape outside the blockade line as quickly as possible. Our tentative goal was to do so before dawn.

To do that, we needed to know how the JSDF was detecting humans or those slimy things approaching the blockade line.

I doubted it was anything as simple as keeping an eye out with binoculars. If they could not afford to miss anything in that labyrinthine urban environment, human eyes were not enough. The city was flooded, but was the security camera network still running? Did they have smaller scout drones flying around? Were they watching from satellite? I could think of a number of possibilities, but I had no evidence of any of them. For one thing, you heard talk of the JSDF all the time, but it was a bit of a mystery what that organization really and truly did. Did they have what it took to respond to a crisis? Depending on who you asked, you would probably get very different answers to that fundamental question.

It looked like I had to rule out each possibility in turn.

Maxwell.

Sure.

I want to measure the JSDFs reach. Whats the internet situation like? Since my phone is connected and they can fly that drone around, some line must still be up and running. List up everything you can find, both government and civilian.

I will only be repeating what I reported back in the Skytool.

Since Maxwell insisted on saying that up front, I must have developed an unnecessarily high-quality algorithm.

First of all, I am hijacking a priority signal code used by the police and firefighters. Simply put, I am using the civilian fiber optic cables and wireless LANs. It is hard to tell since ordinary users have been forced out, but Tokyos internet environment is still active, both wired and wireless.

Does that mean the security cameras and security company sensors are still up too?

Sure. But while those cameras are designed for use at night, they still require plenty of light. They were not made to record anything while the city of Tokyo is pitch black. Nor are they positioned to capture people moving freely through large holes in walls and ceilings. The coverage area should be considerably reduced.

Still, they would have free use of the security cameras meant for use inside dark banks and department stores after hours. The next time we saw one, it might be worth going to the effort of destroying the camera from a blind spot.

What about the JSDFs drones? They cant send them instructions without getting a signal to them, but I doubt theyre piggybacking on a civilian line.

They are likely using a wide-area wireless datalink that uses a large antenna on the ground. Although I can only guess because decrypting their signal would be too difficult. Incidentally, it took me so long to notice the signal because they are using a band far removed from the standard communication signals for phones, wireless internet, and TV broadcasts. They are using VLF.

Explain.

Sure. VLF, or very low frequency, refers to signals with an amplitude as large as 20m. The attenuation is incredibly low, so it was used by a pre-GPS coordinate data system that covered the entire world with just 8 surface stations. That service has since ended.

I meant no disrespect to the developers, but this reeked of being a military relic. GPS was reliant on the US. They were an allied nation, but it still meant the service was reliant on a foreign country. The JSDF may have continued developing some older tech to have something entirely our own.

What about a satellite connection?

There are a few signals being sent out, but the transmission frequency is low. Too low to be assisting a squadron of drones flying around down here. That is probably being used to communicate with their higher ups.

So did we only need to do something about the large antenna they were using on the other side of the blockade line?

Are there any other notable signals? Are there any active bands or users other than civilian broadband and the JSDFs datalink?

There are myriad signals out there, including the standard frequency for radio clocks and satellite broadcasts that do not rely on broadcast towers. In the 6 Kantou prefectures other than Tokyo, TV Ts broadcast is down since it relied on the Skytool, but BS Lambda is continuing to air late-night anime and the message boards are going nuts saying a new champion has risen.

Those fans always got overly worked up about every little thing, didnt they? Of course, I often worked late into the night, so you could call me one of them too.

We can rule out anything that only goes one way, so is any of it two way?

The terrestrial digital broadcasts allow the viewers to participate using the d-button.

Not good enough.

Sure. If we rule out the TV broadcast signals, there are still a few amateur radio signals out there.

Kh.

Does that mean there are other survivors in the quarantined area!?

No. The signals are coming from outside the blockade line. They are most likely sending out signals at random intervals to see if anyone responds. Think of it like sonar pings. And they are not necessarily doing this out of concern for your safety. They may just want the attention they will get on social media if they can post that they discovered some survivors. After all, we live in an age where running across a burning building is considered good luck because the video is sure to earn plenty of likes.

You mean?

For now, you should probably focus on the JSDF datalink.

VLF, was it?

They had to have a huge antenna on the ground, or maybe on a boat because of all the flooding. If we broke that or found a way to jam or hack the signal, we wouldnt have to worry about those UFO-like drones dropping missiles on our heads.

Of course, the citys security cameras and satellite imagery were also a threat, but it was a dark and stormy night. They could not get any decent images with those thick thunderclouds overhead and thermography would not function properly with the cold rain pouring down on everything.

We had a chance.

Would it be best to travel just below the waters surface, to hide among all the garbage and other flotsam, or to find oxygen tanks and use the submerged subway? If we could do something about those drones making unpredictable patrols in real time, we might be able to escape before dawn.

I had to think.

Just because those were real weapons designed by a group of expert engineers did not mean they were perfect for every application.

As in all things, no machine could solve all problems. Nor could you try to create one that did. Organizations gathered a variety of pieces like in a game of shogi or chess and used them to cut the enemy off from every conceivable direction. Right?

In that sense, the JSDF was not in a great position since they could only send in those drones.

That was like playing shogi with 10 or 20 of the exact same piece. And while the drones were convenient, they could never be the stars of the battlefield. They were like the knight or lance in shogi.

So where was it?

Obviously, it wouldnt be that easy to find, but it had to be somewhere. All of the weirdness of this situation seemed concentrated on that giant hole.

The question was whether or not the JSDF was aware of that hole.

If were going to escape, which direction should we go?

Ayumi asked that fundamental question while drying her hair off with a towel we had found. Just like when I had tossed her a towel earlier, why didnt she ever think to dry off her thin jogging clothes too? And the way that troublesome sister held her hands up to her head looked all the world like she was intentionally accentuating the see-through part!! Keep in mind this was a much more direct problem since there was no nametag shield on the chest!

We shouldnt try it where we were caught before, right? So would the opposite direction be best?

No, the JSDF are contacting each other via radio. Word of our presence will have spread around already. I bet the defenses will be just as strict no matter which way we go.

If we wanted a slow but certain solution, finding a seam in their defenses and slipping through there like threading a needle would be best.

But that wasnt an option for us.

We dont have time to figure out where exactly the JSDFs blockade line runs. Much less finding an opening in it! We would have to spend days memorizing their patrol routes.

Fugu.

We have to escape before dawn, so we have around 5 hours. If the risk is the same everywhere, we should take the shortest route. Thats the only blockade line location we know, so we need to break through there. Its our only option.

With a sound like a louder version of buzzing bug wings or an electric shaver, one of those spotlights passed by right outside the window. The bright beam pierced down from the heavens and moved around.

It was one of those drones.

Was it carefully patrolling the area, or were there just a lot of them?

Erika made sure to stay as quiet as possible while whispering to me.

But, Satori-kun, I dont have to tell you that is also the most dangerous option, do I? The risk for all of us is the same that way, but it does nothing to lower the actual level of risk.

That was true.

If we decided that was our only option and charged in, that drone would arrive above us. And it could destroy us in seconds if it wanted to.

Erika, it sounded like you could see the soldiers in the darkness behind the searchlight.

This time, they were JSDF.

You mentioned a semi-auto weapon, but did they have anything else?

No. They appeared to be using infantry equipment, replied Erika. A flooded disaster environment is a tricky thing to work with. Boats, cars, and hovercraft are all locked out. Also, those specialized sniper rifles are fairly niche items, so I doubt there were enough to equip all the troops surrounding the quarantine zone. I imagine most of them are equipped with 5.56mm assault rifles.

Assault rifle rounds will fly for more than 700m, but they can only really target a moving object at between 200 and 300m, right? added Ayumi. Especially in a storm powerful enough to knock down the tower. The military is all about showing off, so I bet they exaggerate when they list the specs.

The two of them were weirdly knowledgeable about this, but it probably went back to their time with the Bright Cross.

It depends on the exact situation, but unless you move into the wide-open higher areas, they should have a hard time getting a direct line of fire within all these labyrinthine buildings, said Maxwell. You should be able to ignore that threat.

The threat would return once we got close enough to cross the blockade line, but that was fair enough. There was no point worrying about it before we reached that point.

Maxwell, I want your opinion on those drones movement. Are they mostly manually or autonomously controlled?

Based on the level of communications traffic I have observed, they are likely being manually controlled. In other words, it is the same as an RC helicopter. Drones and tiltrotors have always had trouble maintaining stability against crosswinds, so it would be dangerous to leave a program in control during this storm.

That said, they are using the JSDF datalink, so it cannot be hacked with a cyber-attack so easily. As for jamming, they are using signal band as niche as VLF, so you would likely have trouble acquiring the materials needed to produce the appropriate signal.

No, wait.

If they were mostly controlled manually, would that mean?

Maxwell, do you think the JSDF is intercepting the communication signals were using?

No. If they were, the drone would have contacted you sooner. I believe my communications are continuing to hide within the other signals.

You mentioned some amateur radio signals in addition to the datalink, right? The ones coming from outside the blockade line.

They are almost certainly sonar pings being sent for fun. Responding and asking for help will only get you posted on social media and message boards where people will laugh at you.

But the JSDF is intercepting those signals, right?

Sure. They are not encrypted and they are not camouflaged as another format.

I thought for a bit.

Did I have all the puzzle pieces?

Maxwell, forget the JSDF datalink. Can you move down a level and listen in on the police and firefighter radio signals? The ones you said were talking about aliens.

Sure. I can, but that is a massive amount of information. Anything I should search for?

I want to hear the people on the scene. How much confusion is there? This has to have come as a complete surprise for professional and amateur alike. Theres no way theyre staying calm.

Those UFO-like drones were manually controlled.

We couldnt attack the drones themselves or the datalink, but we might be able to stop them another way.

I also want as many images as I can get of the drone launch site on the other side of the blockade line. I want to know its layout and design. Civilian satellite maps might not be of any use with defense whatever-you-call-its, but there have to be people out there who love that kind of thing. Check the internet for any photos uploaded by a hobbyist holding a camera with a bazooka-like super-telephoto lens despite the pouring rain.

I imagine I will find a lot of fake photos.

Compare them to the weather data. The wind direction and intensity of rain changes from moment to moment in this storm, so use the date and time in the photo metadata. Youre supposed to be a disaster environment simulator, so dont tell me you cant do it.

Sure. I am honored you have finally found a use for me outside of forehead glasses class rep swimsuit dances.

Things were changing.

It wasnt much, but the tides were turning.

Onii-chan, what does all that mean?

That we might just be able to do this.

We never stood a chance of winning in a firefight.

Adlibbing our way into that top-of-the-line military datalink was out of the question. We were not the heroes from an action movie or foreign drama.

When we pursued only the realistic options, it quickly became clear what we had to aim for.

Yes.

That field was becoming an obvious threat, but even the professional soldiers and organizations must not have come up with a definite countermeasure yet.

I have picked up the amateur radio signal, said Maxwell. I am ready when you are.

Understood.

Now, then.

We had to escape this sunken city abuzz with UFO-like drones and slip past the JSDFs blockade line. And we had to do it before dawn. We had just under 5 hours and we would only get one shot at it. We could not recover if we screwed it up.

Ayumi said she was making one last patrol of the building, but she seemed to actually be giving some food to the pet shops survivors. Well, she at least seemed to understand that letting them go free would only get them killed. As long as those food dispensers didnt malfunction, they would last for about two weeks. Their drinking water would be fine too since I had used the sterilizing tablets the shop carried. There were some issues on the hygiene side since no one would be cleaning out their cages, but it still had to be better than starving to death. Two weeks. We had to bet on this situation being over in that time.

Satori-kun.

Erika.

We were making our preparations, but most of the actual work was done by Maxwell. While I was messing with my phone all on my own to check on the process, Erika called out to me.

Do you think this will work?

I cant think of anything else we could do to increase our odds.

No, not that. She hesitated a moment. Ayumi-chan and I are Archenemies the undead.

?

If we have to, we can preserve our lives even after losing quite a lot of our physical body. Thus, it is not absolutely necessary to set dawn as our limit just because youre worried about us. This is all for naught if we rush it and something happens to you.

Hold on. What are you saying!? The danger here is to you when dawn arrives and Ayumi if shes exposed to this filthy water for too long! Ill be fine!

In the worst case, we could slice up our bodies and let the current carry us out. A Vampire can survive as long as her heart is intact and a Zombie can survive as long as her brain is intact.

The frightening strength in her voice made me shudder.

If we were to really and truly use any means necessary, our options would open up quite a bit. The only reason we dont do that is because we dont want to leave you behind. So please. I beg you, Satori-kun. Do not entrust your life to uncertain odds or possibilities for our sake. I mean it.

I hadnt noticed before since there was so little light, but her complexion was looking even worse than before. It looked more blue than white. That wasnt too surprising. She had lost an arm to that snapped wire in the Skytools elevator shaft and she had been exposed to her flowing water weakness this whole time, so even the undead was not going to be at 100% here.

Damn.

I needed to pull myself together.

Understood, Erika.

This may not have actually changed anything, but there was nothing else I could say. There was no way I could place any more of a burden on her heart.

No more weighing the odds. I promise you well all get out of here alive. Is that better?

Her large chest rose and fell in an obvious sigh of relief.

Im such a terrible person. Why am I showing off my weakness to get my little brother to listen to me? What kind of big sister am I?

Dont be ridiculous. I know youre not as strong as you let on.

Oh?

Dont look so shocked. How many times now have I heard a commotion from the other room early in the morning and then had you rush in and cling to me in only a negligee? All because you saw one little roach?

You cant hold me accountable for that, so it doesnt count! I-I mean, how do you even find the courage to roll up a newspaper and swat it without a second thought like that!? I will admit that helps me out immensely, though.

She pouted her lips like a child and poked her index fingers together in front of her large chest. While pulling her head down to give me an upturned look, of course. It was really cute. But speaking of bugs, wasnt one of the 13 Eastern European Families an incarnation of flies or something? I was suddenly very curious about how their interactions worked behind the scenes.

Erika.

Yes?

Once we start this, there is no turning back. And I doubt the JSDF will hold back. This isnt about whos right and whos wrong. Really, the JSDF would probably win that argument. If I was watching this on the living room TV, Id tell the people in our situation to stay put in the quarantine area and not to cause any unnecessary trouble. Were the threat here and that military forces mission is to protect the nation, so they will never hold back here. Were trying to bend the rules of the world to allow us all to survive, so are you ready to be the bad guy here?

Of course.

She did not even hesitate.

At times like this, she really was the big sister.

If I was willing to abandon my own family here, I would have to ask why I even bothered crawling out of the dark depths of the Bright Cross. I am part of the Amatsu family and that will not change even if it means making an enemy of the other 7 billion people out there.

That was good enough for me.

Sorry about this, Maxwell. Doing this is kind of like rejecting your very purpose as a disaster environment simulator. I do feel bad about that.

No. Assisting my user is how I define my primary function. Thus, I have no intention of performing calculations that would not benefit you.

I really was blessed.

If I had been trapped here all alone, my spirit of resistance would have broken before I could even figure out if there was anything I could do.

And I was not about to throw out everything these people had given me. I would use it to its fullest. I had to repay them for what theyd done for me.

Maxwell.

Sure.

Lets get started. Its time we challenged those camo-wearing professionals to a cutting-edge war.

Understood. I shall define the JGSDF as a threat and enter my ultimate mode to resist them in every way possible.

When you actually heard the answer, it didnt sound like much.

The biggest threat was the UFO-like drones carrying plenty of missiles. But those deadly weapons were covered in thick armor, so shooting them down was not realistic. Nor was intercepting their control signal and hijacking them. We were talking about the JSDFs modern datalink. The encryption and firewall would be on the next level, so I doubted we could break through it overnight.

So what else could we target?

The drones were being manually controlled. That left just one other avenue of attack.

The people. That was my conclusion. People are the ones controlling the drones. If we fill the drone launch site with confused chaos, we can neutralize that drone formation!

We would have been helpless if they were fully autonomous and flown by a program, but the windy storm and the labyrinthine urban layout prevented that. With helicopters, tiltrotors, multirotor drones, and other aircraft that used propellers for vertical takeoff and landing, crosswinds were always a problem. It was a basic structural issue, so there was no getting rid of it.

I have picked up the amateur radio signal, reported Maxwell. You may communicate at any time.

Alter the waveform of my voice. But make it subtle enough to sound like bad static from the storm.

Sure.

If they were calling out to us in honest concern, I would have felt some guilt, but since they apparently only wanted material to post on social media and message boards, I had no qualms about using them to my own ends.

After taking a deep breath, I imagined a shrill voice that would pierce right through the top of my head. Going all out was what mattered here.

Help! Please help!! Ahh, no!! And they call themselves a self-defense force!? Theyre really going to kill me. Geh, ah, no. I dont want to diiie!!

It honestly didnt matter whether or not the unseen radio operator took the bait. For all I cared, they could lose interest and switch off their radio.

I just needed a starting point.

This was not for those amateur hobbyists to hear. It was for the professionals in the JSDF. No matter how small it was, they were sure to intercept any and all signals they detected in their operation area.

There was more to information warfare than viruses and DDoS attacks. In fact, modern society allowed for much more serious cyber attacks.

I have no water and no food. Im going to starve out here.

I just had to make it look like I was sending a desperate plea to the amateur radio operator. It had to be something that would not raise any doubts among the eavesdropping JSDF.

And where am I even supposed to go? Those slimy boomerang things were even clinging to the JSDFs drones. Their launch site must be infected by now. Im as screwed outside the blockade line as inside it!!

In other words, I was using fake news.

That was the most brutal form of internet weapon that could shake an entire nation with nothing more than a single social media account.

Of course, the amateur radio operator probably wouldnt have any idea what I meant by those slimy boomerang things, but the JSDF would. They had to be starved for raw information from survivors, so they would be performing a rapid check right now.

Its hopeless.

I made sure the hopelessness could be heard in my voice. My acting might be cheap, but no one would be able to tell with the fake static caused by altering the waveform.

I mean, were not talking about just 10 or 20 of them. And you cant see them with the naked eye or with a camera! Ha ha. The JSDF is screwed!! But then whos going to save me!?

I had sown the seeds, but I decided to go one step further.

Hey, if anyone can hear me, listen up. If you think youre in danger, go find a used coffee filter. You want the coffee grounds. Just carry them around like a protective amulet or something!! I dont get how it works, but they might overlook you!!

It didnt matter what. I just needed to create something someone could use to fight.

If a ship sank and threw every last person into the sea, there would be no conflict. But if there was some hope a board floating in the ocean, a lifeboat, or anything else that people thought they could use to save themselves if they were clever then it would devolve into an ugly scramble for whatever it was.

Satori-kun, the drones are moving oddly.

Then theyve started fighting. Theyre risking their lives to fight over entirely worthless used coffee grounds.

Fuguu. Then this is our chance.

No ones at the controls for the drones!!

The JSDF had been equipped with assault rifles and sniper rifles, right? I could only hope they wouldnt aim those at each other.

Whatever the case, it helped a lot that this was an unknown situation for the JSDF. And not just the frog-skinned aliens. Fake news was a recent social problem that no one had found a fundamental solution for yet. And to make matters worse, the JSDF had a strong vertical chain of command to follow. Even if a minority within the unit realized something was up, their protests would go unheeded as long as the higher ups were panicking.

It also helped that the slimy things with dry brown crop circle skin could blend into their surroundings, making them near impossible to see. They could not eliminate their fear with a simple check.

We could do it now.

In fact, once the JSDF gathered enough accurate information to regain their cool, they would close up this one-of-a-kind seam we had used. There would be no second chance at this.

They did everything by the book.

If the book told them to, they would obey a reckless order to charge the enemy or throw themselves on top of a grenade to reduce the damage to their allies. Without hesitation. But they had trouble responding to unknown situations not found anywhere in the book. Then they would behave like ordinary human beings instead of perfected soldiers.

Besides, they never would have agreed to this if they werent afraid.

Why were they only using drones and not sending in any infantry? Could you really say the decision had been made on pure logic and there was no fear involved? They had abandoned Tokyos city center because they feared what would happen if they did not seal that area off. Even though they knew there had to be survivors still in there.

It was a form of trauma.

And one false report was enough for it to explode and spread like wildfire.

This will work.

Just to be sure, I threw a small rock at UFO drone that was hovering in the air with its bright spotlight shining straight down. It did not response.

Its been abandoned. The drones wont fire any missiles right now!

Drones were convenient, but they could never be the stars of the battlefield. They were like the knight or lance in shogi. If you covered the board with those niche pieces, it was bound to create a distortion somewhere.

And we had found it!!

Lets go. This is our only chance, Erika, Ayumi!

Understood.

Fugu.

There were also camouflaged soldiers with assault rifles at the blockade line, but they apparently could not get a direct line of fire in the labyrinthine city unless we used an elevated route. Their inability to cross the blockade line themselves was working against them.

Ayumi looked back inside the multi-tenant building containing the pet shop.

Bye-bye for now. I swear Ill get someone to help you.

Maxwell.

Sure. I have already recorded the coordinates. I will immediately put in a request for rescue once the overall problem has been resolved.

That was another reason we had to do something sooner rather than later. Whether you wanted to blame the slimy boomerangs or the protectors of the peace in the JSDF, we couldnt let Tokyo stay like this forever.

We descended to the flooded first floor.

We had to soak up to our hips in that unpleasant muddy water again. I had my sisters push a plastic kiddie pool while I went out ahead to the buildings entrance. We were still indoors. The water here was pooling up at the end of a branch of a branch, but I could already feel the powerful tug on my back and coat. There would be no escaping the real current outside. We would be just like a bug that fell in the bathtub. And this bathtubs drainplug had been pulled. We would be swept straight toward the utility conduit swallowing up all the rainwater.

Since we could not use the elevated route created by the fallen broadcast tower, we would have to fight that current. We had found a makeshift rubber boat in the pet shop. The plastic kiddie pool was probably used to display their fish. Just like a washbasin, it would float in the water like a boat.

Listen, Ayumi. Dont try to row it with an oar! Well just be sucked into that giant floodgates used to drain off the water!!

I know that!

First, well throw the rope and let it go taut. Once its on there, we attach the other side to create a bridge and hold onto it with a belt. Then we dont have to worry about the current!

No one was controlling the drones.

As long as we stayed low, the normal rifles could not get a line of fire.

I understood that.

I had suggested the plan.

But now that we were actually doing it, it felt like having a heavy suspended ceiling dangling overhead. In the end, it was all based on guesswork and we had not actually seen the chaos at the launch site. What if the JSDF kept their cool better than we anticipated? If those drones started moving again and launched a missile at us, we would be blown to pieces.

My life was on the line.

And so were the lives of my sisters.

Lets get started.

Our tools were all handmade. We had taken rakes used to level out cat litter and tied them to either end of a rope to make something like a ninja grappling hook. I swung it around and threw it toward a steam pipe sticking out from the wall of the building across the current from us.

I knew what I had to do, but that didnt mean it would work out in practice. I didnt know where its center of gravity was and it was tossed around by the storm winds, so it missed the first few times.

But I still managed to get the rake onto the pipe. I pulled to make sure it was on there tight.

Good.

Why are we just hooking it on at this end? Cant we tie it on?

If we left ropes all over the place, we would be leaving a trail to follow. We dont know how long the confusion in the drone launch site will last, so we need to retrieve the rope each time we cross the current. We need to be careful.

It was only hooked on both ends, not tied on, so I was a little worried about its sturdiness. But we had no other choice.

As for the kiddie poolyes, it was floating well enough. We placed Erika in first since she had trouble with water, then Ayumi climbed in, and I climbed in last.

I handed my sisters some gloves. They had incredible strength as Archenemies, but I couldnt let them struggle with a rope barehanded. The plan was to hold the rope with a belt bent in a U-shape, but you never knew when your hand would get caught.

We finally moved outside. The missile-loaded drones were above us and the torrential current to the depths of hell was below us. And we had no idea where those aliens were hiding. This outdoor space could hardly have been more deadly.

No one was controlling us now, but that meant we had traded safety for freedom.

Whoa, whoa. The pool is moving along all on its own?

By angling the rope diagonally instead of perpendicular to the current, it will actually pull us along. More importantly, dont let go of the belt. Theres probably no coming back from that.

We left the pet shop, cut across the current, and arrived at another building.

It had probably been a 10m distance.

But that 10m had taken us outside of the JSDFs expectations.

We were not dead.

We had violated their rules but no one had noticed. We were still alive!

We can do this.

Once at the end of the rope, we moved inside the building. I got out of the pool and tugged the rope up and down until the rake on the other side came free.

We have the routine down now, so we just have to repeat the process. If we keep this up, we can cross the blockade line!

The closest part of that line was around where we had been warned away earlier. The current had carried us 200-300m away from there. And that distance would have been along the Sumida River where the utility conduit was installed.

I wanted to use their expectations against them as much as possible. They would never expect us to try to get through here, so they would be least cautious here.

Lets get as close as possible to the big floodgate alongside the river. That would normally be suicide, but we can get past it right now!

It didnt matter if it was a boring method.

We repeated the process with the rope and kiddie pool to gradually work our way along the torrential current.

Were pretty close now.

Ayumi looked up while holding the taut rope. Both her hands were full, so her flat chest in the white tank top was far too defenseless.

Instead of a drone, there was a fixed searchlight shining straight ahead. But it was too high up. It had to be on the roof of a three or four-story building. They appeared to have created a makeshift watchtower out of metal pipes.

They really do seem most worried about people moving along the rooftops.

That was how they had caught us the first time.

If you swim, youll be sucked into the floodgates and a boat with a powerful enough engine to fight this current would be large enough for the drones to find. They really did underestimate us. Weve slipped into a blind spot.

That was when the distorted roar of propellers stabbed into my ears.

A light shined down from directly above.

A drone.

But its moving weirdly. Get down, Satori-kun. Its being tossed around by the crosswind!!

No one was actually at the controls.

The drone crashed into a wall like a plastic toy thrown by a child having a temper tantrum.

And we could not just watch it happen.

This was just like a basketball passing through the hoop. After hitting the wall, that machine the size of a car fell down toward the water!

!!

We could only tightly grip the belts wrapped around the rope and clench our teeth while curling up in the bottom of the pool. We could not jump into the water like in a movie. If we fell in, we would be swept straight to that giant floodgate.

The large scraps fell a short distance away and a pillar of water burst into the sky. The unexpected wave jabbed up at the pool from below and Ayumi frantically adjusted her grip on the belt she had around the taut rope.

Whoa.

Dont relax yet, Ayumi! That things carrying explosives!!

Dammit.

We were so close. So close to the blockade line. If we could only cross that line, we could feign ignorance and pretend to be an ordinary person. The aliens and the JSDF? They wouldnt be able to pursue us anymore then.

Erika grabbed her younger siblings heads and forced us down.

A flash of light and a skin-piercing heat soon followed.

I couldnt hear anything at all anymore.

Goddammit.

Still, we all kept our grips on those belts. We used the current to take us to the final riverbank.

Theres a hole. A piece of shrapnel punctured the pool, Onii-chan!

Were almost there. Bear with it, Ayumi!!

We couldnt turn back now.

We somehow managed to cross the final 5m.

Pant, pant!!

Wemade it. Satori-kun, this is the blockade line. We just crossed it.

We were still soaking hip deep in water and there was no goal tape, but I was hit by so much relief and exhaustion that I nearly passed out. My sisters must not have liked how soaking wet their gloves were because they removed them.

Where were we?

Ironically, we were inside a deserted police box.

The police would probably have a lot of specialized tools, but I was too afraid to try to take any. I wouldnt know how to use a handgun even if I found one and I was as likely to shoot my sisters in the back as do anything useful with it. Plus, I couldnt afford to start an actual shootout with those people. There would be no surviving that.

Yes.

That was what was on my mind.

Right up until a bright artificial light shined in from outside the window.

Kh!?

The JSDF!?

This was a searchlight. I quickly shielded my face with both hands and tried to move away from the window, but what good would that do? We were in a small box. I didnt want to count how many JSDF members with assault rifles and sniper rifles had us surrounded!!

Fugu, how did they know we were here? I thought there was too much chaos at the drone launch site for them to control the drones.

Oh, I get it. Its that crashed drone. After receiving a report that it was lost, they increased the security level here. Dammit.

The JSDF would not cross the blockade line.

But we were on their side now.

They could send patrols on foot here. We might as well have climbed a fence while some idiot had already set off the alarm!

We received no warning this time.

They did not call out to us like with the drone before. They really intended to do this. What good were these thin walls? We would be turned to Swiss cheese along with the cramped police box!!

Maxwell, show me a map of the surrounding area. Is there a secret way out?

There was no response.

My heart sounded awfully loud as it pounded in my chest.

Maxwell!!

Were we being jammed?

The light blinded us and now they were jamming any signals. That would complete their preparations, so now they would be placing their fingers on the triggers!!

It couldnt get much worse, but I wasnt a Hollywood star and I didnt belong to some legendary special forces unit. I was just a high school kid. I had to figure out what I could realistically do.

What could I do?

Was there anything at all!?

Ayumi, Erika. We still have the pool, right?

Fugu. But it was punctured. Its useless now.

Thats fine.

I used some waterproof packing tape I found in the police boxs desk to patch up the puncture.

Luckily, we actually didnt want it to be fully inflated and buoyant. It had to sink into the water.

In other words

This is our final lifeline. It will act as an oxygen tank. On my signal, dive down into the muddy water. No one looks below waist height. And with the bright searchlight heating up the waters surface, thermo wont work right either. Basically, we just have to avoid bumping into their legs. If we move slowly, we can slip between the JSDF!

Thats a big gamble.

I knew that.

We wouldnt be able to see in that muddy water and we didnt know how many of them there were. We would be huddled together sharing the one pool. That would make us a fairly large obstacle, so we couldnt get past if the JSDF was packed in fairly tight.

It might be simplest to think of it like walking through a train while blindfolded. If it was empty, you wouldnt run into anyone, but if it was packed, the three of us together could never get through. And how crowded things were out there was not up to us.

But this our only option. Not even Archenemies are all powerful.

Zombies are 10 times stronger than humans and Vampires are 20 times, but that means youre in trouble if they bring enough firepower to slaughter 20 people at once.

Yes, the true threat of an Archenemy was how they infected people to created more of them. They could destroy a city, country, or civilization by making too many of them to ever fully defeat. Of course, I couldnt exactly have them do that.

Erika looked close to tears as she kept arguing.

I thought you promised not to think in terms of odds and possibilities.

I promised I would get us all out of here alive. Erika, no more self-sacrifice just because youre a little harder to kill then me. We have to face the fact that this is the only way we have of escaping the JSDF here!

I was scared too.

This wasnt making me a huge fan of the JSDF.

Using assault rifles in this country was like cheating.

But if I asked for help and relied on them here, my sisters were bound to charge right into that armed group. In fact, Erika was probably waiting for me to say it. Without considering her limits as an Archenemy. How could I let that happen? I couldnt.

I heard a splashing sound. Apparently not even the experts could move entirely silently in hip deep water.

We did not have time to steel ourselves.

Fugu, theyre coming!

Lets go, dammit. Lets cross the blockade line and get home.

I opened the pools air intake and let it sink into the muddy water. We exchanged a nod and dunked our heads into that same water before the JSDF could enter the police box.

Only a second later, I realized why Erika had been so concerned.

This went beyond not knowing where their legs were. I couldnt even judge general directions. I wasnt confident I could even get outside the police box like this!

What about Erika and Ayumi?

I placed my lips on the pools air intake, took a breath, and kept moving slowly through the water while hoping against hope we werent wandering in circles. How long would my breath last? A minute? Two? Damn, I dont even know that without Maxwell to search for me? Again and again, I took more air from the pool, but then I realized something.

I was the only one doing that.

What were Ayumi and Erika doing? They needed oxygen too!!

I couldnt see anything and an unidentified fear creeped up into my throat in no time. I actually felt an urge to lift my head above the water to check what was going on, but then I felt a smooth hand on my own.

It was Erikas.

And Ayumis soon followed.

It took everything I had not to cry. I couldnt let the doubts take over. I had to move past the blockade line, even if it was slow going. I focused only on that while moving my legs. What was going on up above? They must have entered the police box and found it empty. Would they think to check in the water? Oh, I left the tape and scissors on the desk. I belatedly regretted not hiding them.

A leg in camo pants cut by so close I could see it even in the muddy water.

This was working.

Fear clutched at my heart, but they did not notice us. Our method was sound. We could escape them and cross the blockade line!

But that thought was immediately followed by a slight tensing of Erikas hand on mine.

Then I noticed it too.

Things were bright overhead. A white light was growing brighter and brighter, but it didnt seem to be a JSDF searchlight. Then what was it!?

Had I gotten careless?

Or had I gotten too focused?

I no longer felt the ground below my feet. I was floating up in the water. I flailed my legs wildly, but it was no use. Oh, no! My head was leaving the water!!

I heard a splash.

But.

Where was I???

Huh?

The bright light made it hard to tell at first, but even though I felt weightless, I was not in the water.

I wasin the air?

It wasnt just me. Ayumi and Erika with the deflated pool, the people in camo uniforms who had been surrounding us, and even the raindrops were floating higher and higher. The floodwaters had formed perfect, jewel-like spheres as they rose too.

Some of the soldiers actually aimed their guns at us, but most of them had their weapons floating a short distance away from them. And the ones with the grip tightly in their grasp were spinning around in the air too much to aim properly.

Gravity was gone.

This should not have been possible.

What the hell is this!?

My body was floating, so moving my arms and legs around was not going to accomplish anything. This acted as an even greater restraint than rope or handcuffs. Without thinking, I glanced up and tried to see what was shining that white light down on us.

Until this moment, I had thought it was some kind of metaphor.

With those dry brown boomerang aliens and the UFO-like drones, I had assumed the JSDF or someone had given a biased codename to some unknown Archenemy.

But.

I saw a giant structure floating in the night sky, shining a white light straight down, and abducting earth creatures by somehow breaking the bonds of gravity.

An

What other word was there for it?

An alien UFO?

[Mobile Temp] Introduction to a Website on the Future of Radio Equipment [File 07]

Since there is only so much that light signals, lighthouses, and whistles can accomplish, modern ships and aircraft have chosen to use radio beacons that is, mutual warning signals using radio waves.

It takes time for a large ship to come to a stop, so it is often too late to activate the emergency brakes once danger has been detected visually.

Also, the worlds skies are so densely packed with traffic that some areas have some form of aircraft passing through every thirty seconds.

Under those conditions, it would be nearly impossible to cross the seemingly wide-open seas and skies without any coordination.

Radio navigation devices are used to preserve the safety of those long, long trips, but since it uses the same radio waves you all are so familiar with, there are actually many accidental and unintentional inhibiting factors. Many lives are directly influenced by this, so whenever those dangerous inhibiting factors are discovered, they must be eliminated if at all possible.

The drone market has grown very successful in recent years and flying cars are currently being developed, so we will eventually reach an age when both of those things must coordinate with an air control center that tracks their ID signal.

No one must be allowed to threaten public safety for their own personal freedom.

Back to Chapter 4