176: Red Hero
The hero of justice, Victor Red, threw himself from a height of 200 meters, a fall from which there was no hope of survival.
「Saya-chan!!!」
As Samecchi flew through the air, both her ankles were firmly grabbed by two red-gloved hands.
Even if she was a mysterious being, he would be a disgrace as a hero of justice if he left a girl to die. And even more so if the girl was the younger sister of Asaka, his roommate and boss.
「It’s okay now, Saya-chan! …………Ah」
Just as Retto breathed a sigh of relief, he felt the blood drain from his body. Following Samecchi, Retto who had thrown himself forward without thinking about the consequences, was pulled by gravity.
Naturally, Retto is not wearing a safety rope.
「Oh shoooooooot!!!」
「Hyoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, ssuuuuuuuuuuu!!!」
It seemed only a matter of time before he was sucked headlong into the earth. The next moment, someone gripped Retto’s ankle.
「Damn it! I am unwilling! I am completely unwilling!!」
The green evil mysterious being stretched out his entire body like a cat and clutched both of Retto’s ankles. With Retto between them, the distance to Samecchi, which Rintaro alone would never have been able to cover, was filled.
「Anikiiiiii!」
「De- Death Green!? Why did you!?」
「It’s not for your sake!! Retto, don’t ever let go of that hand! If you do, I’ll clear your family’s house and turn it into a parking lot!!!」
Samecchi, Retto, and Rintaro fell as if they were a human ladder. When they had fallen more than 100 meters, the lifeline wrapped around Rintaro’s waist was tightened, and the three of them hung from Tagarabatrion’s thighs, still connected.
「Gueeeeeh!!」
The weight of three people focused on his waist, and Rintaro screamed like a squashed frog. However, Rintaro is not the kind of guy who would let go of his hands with just that level of impact.
「We were saved…… Fuu, At one point I was worried about what was going to happen to us!」
「Good job, aniki! Now we can go back home safely, ssu!」
「Why do you guys carelessly say things that will invite the Grim Reaper!」
Immediately after Rintaro’s sharply pointed commentary, Tagarabatrion shook greatly as it was exposed to Kanda Jimbo-shin’s fierce attack. From a distance, the shaking may appear to be only a little frightening, but at 200 meters, it was quite a feat.
And there was no way that Rintaro and the others, dangling from their bodies by a single rope, would be able to stay safe.
「「「Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!」」」
The three of them, suspended in mid-air, made big arcs while screaming. It was like a trapeze suspended from a sequoia tree.
A direct hit from a large fist shattered Tagarabatrion’s large leg right in front of Rintaro and the others. A tremendous roar and shockwave hit all three of them in one fell swoop.
「This is bad, Tagaraak Robo is falling apart!」
『Who is Tagaraak Robo, jai? It’s Tagarabatrion, ja!』
「I don’t care either way, it doesn’t matter! General Tagaraak, please hold on!」
『I- I can’t do it anymore! Sorry, noja!!』
The anguished scream of Tagaraak echoed over Rintaro’s radio. The Tagaraak Robot, or rather the Tagarabatrion, had lost its balance and was slowly but surely heading towards collapse.
Sandwiched between Samecchi and Rintaro, Retto found himself in a dead end and gritted his teeth beneath his mask.
Just a moment ago, he had been clinging to the robot’s armor, so there was little strength left in Retto’s fingers. But if he let go, Samecchi would fall headfirst to the ground.
「Kuh… my grip strength is… at its limit… what should I do…!」
『Kurenai-san, please endure for a moment. This is an order from the Commander.』
「Asaka-san!? Asaka-san! ……Nuooooo, the communication has been cut off! Asaka-saaaaaaaaan!!」
The one-way communication from Commander Asaka was abruptly cut off. However, Asaka’s words rekindled a flame in Retto’s nearly defeated heart.
Although she is a calm commander and she can be a bit absent-minded, but if she tells him to endure, Retto will do so even if it means biting into a rock.
「Uoooooooooooooh!! I am not done yeeeeeeeeeeet!!!」
Retto, with his last ounce of strength, bent his body in the manner of sit-up and lifted Samecchi’s body up to right in front of Rintaro. Samecchi immediately clung to Rintaro’s body with both of her hands.
「Death Green, please take care of Saya!」
「Sa- Samecchii!!」
「Anikiii! It was scary, ssu!!」
For the time being, Samecchi’s safety had been ensured. Retto, having used up most of his remaining strength, went limp.
It is Death Green, his arch-enemy, who was holding his ankle and held the power of life and death in his hands.
「Ret…… Victor Red, you」
「Don’t get me wrong, Death Green! I can fly with my burning heat gloves as long as I have both hands free!」
「Can I let go then?」
「Wa- Wa- Wa- Wait a minute!」
Retto hurriedly tried to take out his Burning Heat Gloves.
――Sure enough, his hand slipped.
「Noooooooooooooo!!! I messed uuuuuuuuuuuup!!!」
A bright red glove fell to the ground far below. Retto, holding his head in his hands, could do nothing but watch.
Then the face underneath the mask turned blue.
「No matter how despicable and villainous you are, you would never do something like that right.」
「I’ll tell you. There are two things I hate to the point that I can’t stand it. The first is “you” Kurenai Retto.」
「……Wh- What’s the other one……?」
At the same time as Retto asked fearfully, the sound of a wind propeller reached his ears, mingling with the roar that shook the earth.
「Asaka-san!」
Asaka, in her one-person drone, shouts out Retto’s name.
A red body was thrown towards the open cockpit hatch.
「Pwah!」
The drone lost its balance for a moment when Retto was thrown in, but quickly recovered. However, due to being over the weight limit, it began to lose altitude, and got further and further away from Rintaro, who were still hanging on.
「Death Green! Saya-chan!」
His cries were in vain as the drone fell to the ground. With the gigantic robot collapsing in the background, a shrinking green shadow looked down at Retto and said.
「The other is, “I owe you.” Now get the hell out of here. You’re an eyesore.」
The voice certainly reached the ears of Retto amidst the sound of drone propellers and the roar of the super giant robot as it continued its one-sided assault.
Immediately after, a flying piece of Tagarabatrion hit one of the four propellers.
「Crash landing. Kurenai-san, please hold on tight!」
Before he could say a word, an alarm sounded in the drone’s cockpit. Analog gauges whirred and a number of warning messages danced on a small LCD monitor.
Losing most of its control, the drone carrying the two hit the ground.
…………
「Asaka-san! Pull yourself together, Asaka-san!」
As steel fragments and sparks rained down from above, Retto pulled Asaka out of the cockpit of the drone, which miraculously retained its original form.
He quickly distanced himself from Tagarabatrion, who was being beaten up, and laid Asaka’s body, bleeding from the head, in a safe place.
Unlike Retto, who was wearing a hero suit, Asaka suffered the impact of the crash in the flesh. Retto took off his mask and placed it beside him, and checked Asaka’s vital signs.
Retto instinctively gripped Asaka’s hand tightly, who ignored the risk of getting caught up in a giant robot battle in order to save her subordinate.
「Please wake up, Asaka-san!」
「…………Uuu…… Kurenai, -san……」
「Thank goodness you’re alive! Why did Asaka-san do something so reckless?」
Still holding Asaka’s hand, Retto picked her up through her surprisingly delicate back. Though she had sustained heavy injuries all over her body, her life did not appear to be in any danger.
「It’s my role to risk my life. If Asaka-san dies, I’ll be sad!」
「Kurenai-san…… I owe you…… an apology……」
Just as Asaka was about to say something, Retto’s Victory Transformation Gear flickered red. It was a message from Kanda Jimbo-shin, which was about to deliver the finishing blow to Tagarabatrion.
『Yaa, Yaa, Kurenai-kun and Samejima-kun, I’m glad you’re safe. Things should be cleared up on this side soon as well.』
「Director Kazami, was the operation a success?! We did it!」
The left half of Tagarabatrion’s body was now smashed to pieces, and the remaining right half was also in tatters. The unknowing Retto was honestly pleased with Kazami’s and Kanda Jimbo-shin’s success in defeating the super giant mysterious being robot in a spectacular manner.
『Yeah, it’s almost a success. But there’s one final touch left. Your help is essential.』
「I’ll take care of it! I’ll do whatever I can do!」
『Well, that’s encouraging.』
Retto was full of enthusiasm and had no idea that danger was approaching him. Asaka reached for the Victory Transformation Gear she handed him this morning.
Then, she realized what the owner of the voice coming from there was trying to do.
「Ka- zami……!」
The Victory Transformation Gear had passed from Kazami’s hands to Asaka and then to Retto. Kazami had repeatedly checked to make sure that it had been properly handed over to Retto.
Kazami had carefully planned to have Retto killed in the line of duty. Would he really rely on uncertain factors such as being defeated by a mysterious being or getting caught up in combat as the core of his plan?
There is only one answer that can be derived from this.
Kazami had prepared a different method to ensure that Retto loses his life.
『In the midst of battle, he was ambushed by a mysterious being and became a martyr to his duty, unnoticed. That is the scenario. Rest assured, your spirit of justice will be passed on to the new Hero Headquarters. Your spirit of revenge will make us stronger than ever.』
「Director Kazami? What’s wrong? What you mean is…」
『It really pains me to have to involve even you, Samejima-kun. But this is also a cornerstone for building a strong Hero Headquarters. I hope you understand. Well then.』
Convinced of the victory that lay ahead of him, Kazami pressed the switch on the “high-performance bomb” planted in the red hero suit.
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