NOVEL WEB Chapter 12
Chapter 12. Karma
“Hey, how long are you gonna sleep? Get up, you piece of trash!”
Morning—no, it might already be noon.
I’m woken up by a loud and obnoxious yell.
“Hah! I’ll give you credit for not running away. Well, not that it matters. As long as that collar’s on you, I can find you anywhere!”
When I look towards the direction of the annoying voice, I see the Party Boy who beat me up yesterday and two incompetent cops standing beyond the bars.
School’s already over, huh? Or maybe classes got canceled because of the damage in the area? Either way, for them to come all the way out here, they must be really bored. By the way, Ritter sliced the police station in half yesterday, so now the sun shines directly on me.
“So, what do you want?”
“Hah! That cocky attitude of yours ends here!”
I wasn’t trying to be cocky, but who knows how I look to this guy.
“An A-rank monster went on a rampage yesterday, and the town’s in shambles. A lot of people died. So why is someone useless like you still alive?!”
“You devil! You must’ve summoned that monster! You’re one of the Witch of Perth’s allies, right?!”
That’s the incompetent cops’ reasoning.
Still, what an interesting accusation.
Perth—a city in Western Australia with a population of over 1.6 million. No, “was” a city might be the more accurate phrasing.
Apparently, a powerless girl like me lived there.
She too endured a life of scorn and ridicule from others.
Abandoned by her family, with no one offering her a helping hand.
And finally… she broke.
She screamed—a piercing cry in the midst of a bustling crowd.
Then, a crack appeared in the sky above her.
From it emerged a knight clad in jet-black armor.
That knight single-handedly annihilated the city’s population.
The girl came to be known as the Witch of Perth, the tragedy-bringer.
Even now, the knight and the girl haunt Perth, and the city has yet to be reclaimed.
Do I really seem like someone comparable to her?
Not that I’d bother explaining. They wouldn’t believe me anyway.
But for the record, I’m the one who defeated that monster.
I’ve done a lot more than you guys ever will.
That said, I can’t completely deny summoning it. My monster encounter rate has been ridiculous lately. Maybe I really am cursed. Once I get out of here, I should probably go get purified at a shrine.
Anyway, something seems off about Mr. Party Boy. Like he’s on the verge of losing it.
Did he see someone he knew among the corpses? This place is a good distance from our school, so I hope it’s not one of our classmates. Even those jerks might become valuable assets in the future. The more meat shields we have, the better. The less I have to fight, the better.
“That’s why I’ve decided to kill you right here, you piece of trash. If you die, I’ll just blame it on the monster. It’s for the greater good to eliminate a walking disaster like you!”
Party Boy cracks his knuckles as he declares his intent.
The “that’s why” part of his logic makes zero sense.
…Looks like he’s finally about to cross the line.
I can’t believe this, but he doesn’t seem to be joking.
Considering my options, I’ve got three choices.
First option:
Do as Party Boy says and let him kill me. But I have a family to protect, so that’s out.
Second option:
Run away from here. The most peaceful choice—no bloodshed.
But the downside is, even if I escape, a powerless zero like me has nowhere to live a normal life.
Third option:
Kill these guys in front of me.
I’d rather not, but at this point, I might not have a choice. With my [Star Pierce], I can erase them without a trace. No evidence means they can’t arrest me.
“[Mars].”
I quietly activate my ability so no one can hear.
I channel my fighting spirit into my hands—
But before I can finish, a dull thud echoes, and the building shakes violently. I think it’s another monster, but the unfamiliar voices that follow make me reconsider.
“Heyyy, we’re coming in~!”
“Excuse the intrusion, y’all!”
Everyone, myself included, turns towards the voices.
There stand two girls: one with blonde, gyaru-style hair and another with green hair in a side ponytail, both breaking through the sturdy wall to enter.
But instead of their beauty, my attention is drawn to the badge on their chests.
(That dragon emblem…)
I recognize that badge. Everyone does—it’s super famous and something almost everyone dreams of.
Even as I’m shocked, the two incompetent cops foolishly approach the girls.
“Hey, little ladies, what’re you gonna do about this? You totally wrecked the wall!”
“That’s property damage! Come with us to the back room for a little chat!”
Their eyes gleam with lust, making it obvious they’re not interested in talking.
The girls, on the other hand, wear looks of utter disgust, staring at the cops as if they’re garbage.
Foreseeing the cops’ bleak future, I silently press my hands together in prayer.
“Ugh, don’t you idiots see this?”
The blonde girl points to her badge, finally making the three fools notice it.
Their faces twist in shock, eyes wide as saucers.
“Th-that’s the Special Ability Squad!”
“No way, a girl like her?!”
“Whoa, awesome!!”
The three react in their own ways, their excitement painfully evident.
Completely oblivious to the abnormality of these girls being here.
Tens of thousands of people cry out for the Special Ability Squad’s help. The fact that these girls came here means there’s something significant about this place.
But I have no idea what it could be.
Did they see yesterday’s battle? No one else was around at the time. If they caught it on satellite, though, I’m screwed.
The blonde girl spares the trio a single glance, sighs, and pulls a document from her fashionable bag. She starts reading it aloud.
“Tanaka Ryo. At school, you repeatedly bully others, causing a significant number of students to refuse to attend. You’ve also used your father’s position as Police Commissioner to cover up theft, assault, and other crimes.”
Here, Party Boy’s face twitches in spectacular fashion.
I’m surprised myself as to why I went out of my way to look him up.
By the way, I just found out his name is Tanaka.
“And two officers, repeatedly dragging women they liked into rooms under the guise of duty and raping them. Over ten victims. You’re absolute scum.”
“Th-that’s impossible!”
“Baseless accusations!”
The officers hurriedly object.
Of course they would—staying silent here would be the same as admitting to their crimes.
But their pale faces betrayed the truth more than anything else.
“Baseless, huh? We’ve got plenty of evidence right here.”
The green-haired girl tosses part of the documents at their feet.
Seeing that, the three grow even paler. So much so that even I start worrying for them.
“I honestly can’t understand why trash like you gets to live so freely. We’re not fighting to protect garbage like you, you know.”
“By the way, didn’t you just say something about killing the guy in the cage earlier? That’s attempted murder. How much of a masochist are you, trying to pile on even more crimes?”
Whoa, the provocation is relentless.
If she said that to me, I’d definitely be bawling by now.
Party Boy Tanaka’s face turns red with humiliation,
and he lets out some strange wheezing sound.
“You damn bitch! I’ll kill you and screw you after!”
Reaching the peak of his rage, the brave Tanaka charges toward the green-haired girl.
Stop! That way leads only to hell!
My plea goes unheard, and Tanaka charges right up to the girl, thrusting his left hand forward and shouting:
“Die!”
From his hand, a massive flame bursts forth.
The flame hurtles straight toward the girl.
Just as it’s about to hit her, the girl raises her arm.
“Shh!”
And just like that, the blazing mass vanishes.
“Gaaahhhhhhh!!!”
Tanaka’s scream of defeat echoes through the room.
“Well, I did provoke you a lot, so I’ll pretend I didn’t see your foolishness just now.”
“Gaaahhhhhhh! It hurts!”
Tanaka’s left arm is bent in an unnatural direction.
Unaccustomed to pain, he’s crying and screaming.
What she did was simple. In less than a second—faster than the eye could follow— she pulled a dagger from beneath her clothes, sliced through the oncoming flame, and used the hilt to crush Tanaka’s left arm.
Her speed was so extreme that the damage didn’t stop there; other parts of his arm broke, twisting it in odd directions.
“Geez, you’re so noisy. Want me to take care of your other arm too? Reika-senpai, can I go ahead?”
“Sure, whatever. I don’t really care.”
“Eek!”
Standing before us is an unmistakable tyrant.
Even Ao seems cute by comparison.
Tanaka lets out a shriek and stumbles backward.
The two officers, overwhelmed by her presence, tremble in fear.
Even my own body—despite not being her target—shakes uncontrollably at the terror.
…I want to see something fluffy.
“Oh, by the way, your dad’s been arrested. Well, obviously. He was covering up his son’s crimes. As for these two officers, their families have disowned them. They were married too, but both are getting divorced. I guess no one wants to be associated with trash like this—makes total sense.”
Stop it! Their life bars are already at zero!
The three of them are past pale and have turned white.
Their life bars might even be in the negatives now.
The two girls glance down at them with disdain, then turn and, for some reason, head toward the cage I’m in.
…Wait, why? I haven’t done anything wrong!
I curl up, eyes brimming with tears, desperately trying to convey my harmlessness.
Maybe my feelings got through, because the green-haired girl smiles.
I smile back.
“Alright!”
But my hope is short-lived.
The girl slices through the cage with her dagger and strides in.
“I haven’t done anything! If I did, I’ll make amends with all I’ve got! So please don’t kill meeeeeee!!!!!!”
“…Are we being feared?”
“No, it’s just Suzuna being scary. I haven’t done anything.”
The green-haired girl puffs out her cheeks in indignation, then turns back to me and speaks kindly.
“You’re Yanagi Hayato, right?”
I want to say, “No, that’s not me!” but I’m too terrified of what might happen if she catches my lie.
Trembling, I nod.
The girl smiles and gently takes my hand.
For a virgin like me, having a cute girl hold my hand is way too stimulating.
My face turns red.
“I came to scout you. Could you spare me a moment to listen?”
I’m so confused I don’t even think about what kind of scout she means, but—
“Y-yes.”
I reply.