Chapter 34 – Gotcha! Jupiter was Caught!

Chapter 34 – Gotcha! Jupiter was Caught!

Raw link: http://ncode.syosetu.com/n2211cx/35/ (2015/12/14)

Translator: twomorefreethoughts / TpstT (2018/12/17)

Editor 1: Hands of Vecna / Vecna (2018/12/24)

Editor 2: Keii (2020/08/30)

Translation link: https://twomorefreethoughts.wordpress.com/awlba-c034/

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Merry Christmas everyone!

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“Ruphas-sama!”

As I weaved my way through the crowd of people, Dina jumped in from the side of the road.

She was supposed to have teleported away together with Libra, but by the looks of it, they had already finished arranging the equipment there.

However, I did not see the all-important Libra with her, so I decided to keep pace with Dina in order to ask her about it.

 

“That was quite fast, Dina. What happened to Libra?”

“The moment we came back, Libra-sama flew off somewhere. It seems that she detected Jupiter’s presence.”

 

That was what I had thought, and I nodded as I heard that.

Jupiter was the one pulling the strings behind this whole incident, and he had decided to unveil it all at once.

Unfortunately for him, Libra had come back.

In any event, if Libra had gone to take care of that end, then there was no need for me to worry about it.

What I needed to do right now was figure out what to do about Aries and the member of the Twelve Heavenly Stars that he was trying to knock some sense into.

 

“Where is Aries sama?”

“He ran off without even listening to me when I tried to stop him. It looks like one of the Twelve Stars is involved in this incident one way or another.”

“One of the Twelve Stars…?”[1]

 

Dina and I leapt up and climbed on top of a house.

We repeatedly jumped from roof to roof, trying to look for Aries.

 

“It depends on who the opposing side is, but one-on-one fights between the Twelve Heavenly Stars are dangerous. I have to go and stop them.”

“Understood. I will keep you company.”

 

The two of us jumped around here and there, trying to find Aries.

Good grief, I was not very good at these kinds of investigations.

Speaking of convenience, at times like this, I was envious of the beastkin.

 

*

 

Jupiter was running away.

As he sprinted around the city’s complex layout, he ran into a back alley to try and hide from Libra.

Into a place that was as narrow and as small as possible. Somewhere that would be as hard to find as possible..

But as if she already had already known where he was going before he could get there, Libra destroyed the houses that were in her way from the air and landed on the ground before him.

And without even a moment’s delay, she started firing! A few hundred, no, a few thousand bullets stormed through the city’s downtown, clamouring like the sound of thunder.

 

“Shit!”

 

Continuing to run away, he dashed into a house that was on the side.

 

Above all else, I need to hide somewhere!

I need to hide and regain my composure.

 

Running while out of breath, he put his hands on a cabinet.

However, immediately afterwards, Libra stormed in by breaking through the wall and shattering the cabinet into pieces.

 

“Tssskkkk!”

 

He was about to release wind magic out of reflex, but Libra moved faster than he could react and lifted her left arm.

Right in that instant, Jupiter lost all sensation in his arm from his elbow onwards, followed by his arm dropping down on the floor.

A single flash of a blade.[2]

Jupiter’s attack was completely predicted and countered by Libra, resulting in Jupiter’s arm getting cut off.

 

“Warning. With this, your attack power has decreased by 39%. Currently, the probability of you winning is –“

“Shit! Shit!”

 

Jupiter ran as blood dripped from his arm.

 

It’s hopeless, fighting is hopeless. I can’t win against that.

She’s worlds apart from me. We’re in completely different leagues.

That’s… That’s a monster!

 

But he had confidence in his speed. He had confidence in his maneuverability.

All he had to do was run away. He just needed to run away and attempt to recover.

He had no reason to go up against a monstrous, murderous doll like that. In any event, what was important right now was to run away.

He jumped out of that house and then jumped into another house.

However, as if she was making a point of waiting for him, Libra was gracefully waiting at the entrance of the house and even gave him a bow.

 

“Warning. The probability of you making a successful escape is…..”

“U, uwaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

 

And he ran again. 

He sped through downtown, pushing past and scattering a crowd of rioters that he himself had made happen, and then stormed into yet another house.

He sped through the corridor into the living room.

What was awaiting him in the living room was Libra, who was leisurely sitting down and waiting for him.

 

“Warning, currently, the probability of you making a successful escape has already dropped below 1%. I strongly recommend that you surren…”

“Shhhhiiiiitttttt!!”

 

He ran, he turned, he jumped, he pushed through the crowd of people, and he stormed into another house that he saw.

The previous time, he had managed to escape by doing this.

He had used the city’s maze-like structure to his advantage, and he had successfully managed to lose her.

That’s why he would be fine, that was what he told himself.

He used wind magic to block sound from escaping into the surroundings so that not even a single breath could be heard from him.

 

“Haaaa… haaaa…”

 

His shoulders violently shook up and down as he ripped apart some cloth and wrapped it around his shoulder.

Recovery items… It was no use, as he had not brought any.

He had prioritised making himself lighter, therefore he had left all of his items behind.

He put his back towards the wall and cautiously looked out the window.

… There! He saw that doll walking around outside!

 

Go! Go away! Don’t look in this direction!

 

Libra checked around the area, however, she eventually left.

 

It’s fine, I haven’t been noticed. There’s no indication that she noticed me.

 

His heart was beating so loudly that it was almost annoying, and he was sweating profusely.

One second…. There was no movement.

Two seconds…. The inside of the house still remained silent.

Three seconds…. Still no change from before.

He instinctively let out a sigh of relief and lowered his guard.

—In that instant, the wall behind Jupiter’s back broke and two arms grew out of it, subsequently wrapping around his neck.

 

“Ga… aa…!”

“I would like to advise you that using wind magic to block sounds from your surroundings is meaningless. Given how noisy this city is, if there are any locations that are unnaturally silent, it has the opposite effect of letting me know where you are.”

 

A voice without a shred of emotion creepily quivered his eardrums, and the strength behind the arms increased.

As he foamed at the mouth, Jupiter’s head was filled with fear and dismay.

 

I’m… going to be killed… I’m going to be killed right now…!

 

He made a decision on the spur of the moment.

He gathered wind magic and blew away his own body, forcibly managing to get away from Libra’s evil grasp.

Of course, it was not as if Libra’s strength had been lowered at all.

Because the skin around his neck had been stripped away, he was running away whilst haemorrhaging all over.

The skin from his neck that had been peeled away was sticking to Libra’s palms. However, without the slightest bit of agitation or confusion, she looked in Jupiter’s direction with a cold and indifferent expression.

 

“Hiiee!”

 

Jupiter looked up towards that mechanical doll with the eyes of a small animal that had lost all feelings of hostility, then sprang up on his feet and started running.

However, Libra did not immediately start chasing after him, but instead, with a ‘kyui’, moved her neck a little.

Subsequently, with a pace that could be called slow or sluggish, she started expressionlessly following him.

 

“Haaaaaaa… Haaaaa… Haa…!”

 

Jupiter, who had yet again fled into another building, sat down on the floor and prayed wholeheartedly that he would not be found by her.

As he could not even erase his sounds using the wind, he covered his mouth with his hands and frantically tried to keep his noise down.

He had not once prayed to the Goddess until now.

However, this time alone, he prayed. He would even offer up his faith and belief.

 

I plead wholeheartedly, Goddess-sama, please let me get away from that.

Please don’t bring that doll in front of me!

 

His teeth were rattling, and he could not stop cold sweating.

 

Aaa, what is this? I can’t stop shaking.

How pitiful… Is this the sight… the figure of a man who was feared as one of the Seven Luminaries?

What a laughingstock… There was a real monster that should be truly feared elsewhere.

We are just a bunch of punks who got carried away and acted cocky during that monster’s absence.

 

Having been made aware of such a thing, that man moved slowly like a baby, without making a sound, towards a mirror on the wall.

 

A wall is no good. I can’t put my back against the wall. Her arms might come out of them again.

Maybe this time, my neck will be snapped before I can run away.

Looking outside the window is also dangerous. She might be there.

I need a mirror. I have to constantly monitor what’s behind me using the reflection of a mirror.

 

That was what he had judged, and in truth, he was not wrong.

It could be said that it was the most ideal strategy that he could use at the time if he had carefully considered every single factor.

However, if one had to pick out one mistake that Jupiter had made, it was that from the very beginning, there was no correct answer that he could make.

 

“—hiee!!!”

 

He looked at the mirror and his body froze.

—there!

The doll was standing in the reflection of the mirror!

She was already inside the building and standing right behind him!!

 

“…”

 

Libra did not make any noise. She simply moved her lips.

From that movement, Jupiter’s fear grew even more.

From the movement of her lips, he had learnt what she wanted to convey.

 

“I. Won’t. Let. You. Escape.”

“—aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

 

Without caring that he was going to be injured, he jumped through the window, dropping down and rolling outside.

He had no time to care about pain. He had no leeway to be able to stop and rest.

Jupiter ran.

Ever since he had been born, he had never been this terrified.

What was that thing? Why was she able to determine his location so precisely!?

Scary, terrifying.

That inorganic doll was terrifying beyond all else!

 

“Warning.”

 

“Warning.”

 

“Warning.”

 

As if she was a broken record, every time they met, she repeated the same thing. However, one part of it changed without fail, and that was the probability of him making a successful escape, which continued to decrease each time.

Scary, terrifying.

Hearing the same sentence endlessly repeated in such a mechanical way while being chased down was terrifying.

He was being chased to the end of the world.

He was being driven into a corner as if something like fatigue was irrelevant to her.

Even though he was running out of breath.

 

He went in front of a water fountain.

Libra appeared from inside the water with a machine gun.

 

He hid amongst a crowd of people.

When he felt a tap on his shoulder, it turned out to be Libra.

 

He went to the gathering location of the idiots from the white town and hid in their pre-arranged underground escape route.

Libra was already inside and on standby.

 

He threw away his pride and jumped into a public garbage bin to hide.

But a mere three seconds later, the whole bin was flipped upside down by Libra.

 

He got inside a wooden box that he found nearby and hid under it.

A few seconds later, the box was lifted up, and he saw Libra’s eyes peeking at him.

 

Wherever he went, she was there.

Wherever he ran, she chased him!

He was not able to escape from the doll’s field of vision.

If he turned around the corner of a road, she was already waiting for him there!

He couldn’t even stay outside of her field of vision for any longer than ten seconds!

 

“AAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAAAaaaAAAA, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

 

Jupiter screamed as he flew up.

Most likely, from the day he had been born up until this day, he had never flown whilst giving his 110%.

He could not care less that his body was screaming from a burden that it could not withstand.

He also did not mind that his face was becoming distorted from the friction caused by the wind pressure.

Controlled by his fear, Jupiter just flew away in a straight line.

And he jumped into the forest that was his safe hiding spot since yesterday–

 

“—I was waiting for you. You have arrived here 5 seconds faster than predicted. Recalculating target speed, measurement error has been corrected.”

“——–“

 

In that moment, Jupiter’s heart was completely gripped and governed by fear.

 

It’s impossible, I’ve now understood. This thing is… I can’t escape from this tracking murder doll.

 

Among the legends pertaining to the Twelve Heavenly Stars, one told of an account in relation to the “Scales”.

At the time he had heard it, he had not believed it.

He had thought that, even if it was true, if it was him, he could successfully escape from it.

But now, he was convinced. He understood.

The legend stated.

Once you were targeted by Libra of the “Scales” – even if you ran to the deepest part of hell, she would definitely chase you there.

 

“Warning. I strongly recommend that you cease resisting and surrender. In this situation, where there are no beings in the vicinity other than you, I am able to fire the skill [Brachium] before you are able to run away.”

“…….U, A, AaAaaAA…….”

“The probability of you winning is 0%. I repeat. I strongly recommend that you surrender.”

 

His legs shook.

He could no longer feel his limbs.

He knew. He knew of that skill, the existence of the slaughter weapon by the name [Brachium].

It was a terrifying ultimate final weapon that could completely slaughter and erase anyone and anything below a certain amount of strength without mercy once fired.

It was a weapon that could even be called the signature move of Libra of the Scales.

In front of that skill, all tricks and defences became meaningless. It was a skill that would completely obliterate anything in an instant.

 

“If you do not surrender within 10 seconds, Brachium will be activated and fired. Alternatively, should you make an attempt to run or show hostility, it will similarly be activated and fired.”

“W, a… i!?”

“Commencing countdown… 10… 9… 8…”

“Wa, wait! Please wait!”

“7…. 6…. 5….”

 

Libra emotionlessly continued the countdown.

There was no room for her own will, sympathy or personal feelings to consider stopping.

Just like a machine, just like a robot.

She simply continued counting down the ten seconds before she would perform the execution.

Jupiter was full of regret.

He should have fought whilst he was still in the city.

If he had done so, he would at least have had a minuscule chance of winning.

But he had ran and gotten tired, the consequence of which had put him in a position where Libra could fire Brachium without any worries.

Of course, there was no way for Jupiter to know that Libra would still have fired Brachium within the city without a second thought if required. Nor could he remain level-headed enough to assess the fact that the countdown was merely a bluff.

Now that it had come to this point, he no longer had any options. Even before he could run, even before he could resist, Brachium would be fired.

And once fired, resisting was not possible. He would die without mistake.

That was what ran through his head. He had convinced himself that he was already checkmated.

 

“4…”

“Pl, please. Hey, please wait.”

“3…”

“Eve, even a little is fine…”

“2…”

“I’m begging you… Be, I’m begging you…”

“1…”

“I, I get it! I’ll surrender! I’ll submit! So please don’t fireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“–….. Target’s loss of will to fight has been determined. Terminating the activation of Brachium.”

 

In front of an inanimate incarnation of fear itself, Jupiter’s heart was completely broken.[3]

Whether it was his pride or self-confidence, he had completely yielded them to the form of fear known as this emotionless doll.

His whole body was drenched in sweat, his heart was palpitating extremely fast, and his teeth were rattling against each other.

Due to his terror and despair, the area between his legs was stained, and even his almost non-existent vanity had completely disappeared.

At that same moment, Libra stopped her countdown.

The outcome of the battle was clearly determined.

 

Going back to the capital city even whilst knowing that he was being targeted by the doll.

That was Jupiter’s greatest mistake.

 

*

 

“You were here after all, Aigokeros.”

“—Aries, huh.”

 

At the park where they had met the other day.

There, two of the Twelve Stars again confronted each other.

However, the look of the situation and the pressure that was being released by the two could not be compared to when they had previously met.

Because of their conviction and loyalty towards Ruphas, they were more than prepared to remove their respective obstacle even if it cost them their lives.

Aries was trying to stop Aigokeros, who was trying to take actions that were contrary to Ruphas’s wishes.

Aigokeros was trying to kill one of the Heroes for Ruphas’s sake even if it had meant going against Ruphas’s wishes, and to do so, he had to take Aries down.

The two that could be said to be the most similar amongst the Twelve Stars held onto their beliefs and convictions, and for the second time, met under unfortunate circumstances.

 

“It was you who drove the people of this country into Madness right? That’s not something that Ruphas-sama wishes for… Stop it right now.”

“Those words… It seems you really do intend to stop me.”

 

The ominous aura that adorned Aigokeros thickened and became a shade darker.

In response, Aries wrapped himself in rainbow-coloured flames.

 

“You think you can win? Huh, Ram?”

“Even I’m not the same as 200 years ago, Goat.”

 

Aries’s surroundings were affected by [Mesarthim] and became warped like a mirage.

The water in the park’s fountain evaporated away and the ground was grilled.

Aigokeros’s surroundings became warped and tainted by darkness.

The trees nearby withered and the insects flying in the vicinity were all annihilated.

 

“Are you really going to do it?”

“If you stop, this whole fight can be avoided.”

“Ridiculous!”

 

Aigokeros struck his hands out.

At the same time, Aries moved from his position, followed right afterwards by a black shockwave running through where he had just been.

Despite it gorging into the ground and shattering all of the buildings in its way, the shockwave did not show any signs of stopping, eventually disappearing beyond the city’s limits itself.

 

“Fuu!”

 

Aries leapt up and fired a kick that was enveloped in flames.

The simple act of Aigokeros guarding against that created a giant crater in the ground, turning the park into a wasteland.

However, Aigokeros himself was not affected at all, and countered Aries with an attack of his own.

 

“Guuua!?”

 

His small frame was blown away.

After smashing through many buildings, Aries spun in mid-air and landed back down as if nothing had happened.

Aigokeros flew up, chasing after him, and slammed a black shockwave down from the sky.

In response to that, however, Aries used his hand like a sword and blew the shockwave away with one hand.

The shockwave that was blown off to the day after tomorrow flew high up into the sky, eventually disappearing after scattering all of the clouds that were in its path.

 

“Haa!”

 

Aries flew up and slammed his fist at Aigokeros, who instinctively crossed his arms to block the attack.

The surrounding air shook as if an earthquake had occurred midair with the two of them as the epicentre, blowing Aigokeros away as if he was a cannonball.

He passed through the city, passed over a mountain, and kept flying through the air towards a distant place.

However, it was also Aries who stopped him.

Aries ran ahead of Aigokeros, who was being blown away, and this time kicked him straight up, sending Aigokeros high into the air.

 And he jumped. Again, he went ahead and around Aigokeros.

 

“Tsuriaaa!”

 

Locking both of his arms into a grapple, he performed a double sledgehammer!

He slammed Aigokeros’s head with all of his might, sending him back down towards the ground.

Without a moment’s rest, Aries generated flames and continuously fired them.

The rainbow-coloured fireballs dug into the ground one after another, hitting Aigokeros and burning him countless times.

 

“…!”

 

However, it seemed that barely any damage had been dealt even with something like this.

Many brilliant lights ran and tore through the smoke, targeting Aries.

 

A high-level Moon attribute arcane magic, Luna Shooter.

It was a magical ray with high accuracy and destructive power that fired in a straight line.

 

A high-level Moon attribute arcane magic, Luna Blast.

It was magic in the form of black bullets that simultaneously locked onto three targets, homing in on them.

 

An extremely high-level Moon attribute arcane magic, Lunatic Rain.

It was an area-of-effect skill that turned moonlight into a rain of light and annihilated all enemies in the vicinity.

 

Even outside of those three, many other Moon attribute high-level and upper-level arcane magic were continuously fired as if it was raining.

However, by blowing flames out from both of his hands, Aries was able to move freely in the air and thus could dodge all of the magic that was fired at him.

Left and right, up and down.

Remaining calm despite the hectic and ever-changing situation, he flew in and out through even the tiniest gaps between the magic.

 

“Mesarthim!”

 

His form distorted as he charged.

The young boy’s small frame became enveloped in a giant sheep-shaped flame as it accelerated.

In an instant, he transformed into a monster wrapped in a rainbow-coloured flame, and his body slammed right into Aigokeros with all that he had.

If Ruphas saw this scene, she would have retorted and said, “That isn’t how you use that skill!”[4]

At the very least, in the “game” that she knew of, there was no way for the skill to be used in such a way.

Aigokeros was forcibly blown away, and as one would expect, he made a low groan.

Nevertheless, he was also one of the Twelve Stars. While he was being blown away, he held his hand up towards Aries and released his ultimate skill.

 

“Deneb Algedi!”

 

A giant and conspicuous black shockwave ran in a straight line towards Aries, swallowing him whole.

Both sides were hit directly by each other’s ultimate skills, causing black and rainbow-colored pillars to climb up into the sky.

There was a silence that lasted for a few seconds.

The one who broke that silence was Aigokeros, as he stood up.

Following that, Aries showed himself by coming out of the smoke with his clothing in tatters, revealing his exposed shoulders.

Both sides had suffered damage. However, it was not the type of injury that would hinder the fight from continuing on.

 

“… You’re as strong as I expected, Aigokeros. Even after 200 years, your arcane magic power hasn’t gone down, huh.”

“You too, Aries. Your skills have gotten considerably better.”

 

Both of them laughed at each other as if acknowledging the other party.

However, this was a battlefield, and the person who was in front of them was an enemy.

They had to stand by their wills and their convictions. Two of the pillars of the Twelve Stars again looked and ran towards their “enemy”.

 

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(Author Note)

 

It’s no good! I  c a n ‘ t   s h o w  m y   b a c k   t o    a n   e n e m y    i n    t h e   m i d d l e   o f  a   f i g h t!  It’s no good! Can’tshowbacktoanenemymidfight! It’s no good! C a n ‘ t   s h o w   b a c k   t o    a n   e n e m y   m i d   f i g h t!  It’s no good! Can’tshowbacktoanenemymidfight! It’s no good! C a

Bang（∩´；ω；）Bang Bang Bang Bang ng

　＿/_ミつ/￣￣￣/

　　　 ＼/＿＿＿/￣

n ’ t   s h o w   b a c k   t o                a n   e n e m y   m i d   f i g h t!  It’s no good! Can’tshowbacktoanenemymidfight! It’s no good! C a n ‘ t   s h o w   b a c

 

(Author Note end)

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[1] Not a lazy translation. The author uses three levels of formality. Twelve Stars (casual), Twelve Heavenly Stars (normal), The Tyrannical Twelve Heavenly Stars (formal).

[2] Originally wrote it as “A single ray of light” – “光刃一閃” The words are “light”, “blade”, “one”, “flash” – Taking suggestions on what to write it as.

[3] Vecna: 無機質な恐怖… not quite sure what the author is trying to say here. Neither “inanimate fear” nor “inorganic fear” is making much sense.

Tp: Honestly, I’m also not sure. If I had to take a guess, it’s probably an error in the draft (since for readers that don’t realise it, JP webnovels are mostly drafts before the light novels are “officially published”). I am inclined to say something like “In front of a fear given off by an inanimate object” or “fictional fear” that expresses it in a way that implies it was all in his head without the actual threat, etc. I’ll leave it up to the readers.

[4] Tsukkomi

Long story short, it’s “a straight man’s retort”. It’s a very common Japanese way of joking/slang/culture especially in the Japanese Kansai dialect, where people “interrupt” something by pointing out something, and it can be done afterwards too.

It’s pretty much Gintama in a nutshell… but most anime/manga have tsukkomi scenes as long as there’s some form of comedy in it.

e.g. We should just title this chapter “Yandere Libra chases Jupiter! It’s super effective!” 😉

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