Shimizu began to mutter, "I am a hero, I am special, this guys and that guys are just idiots, everything are those guys' fault, there's no problem, everything will go as I wished, I am a hero after all, I am special," with hollow eyes, following that, he suddenly let out a high-pitched laugh as if he was shaken free of something.
"... Shi-Shimizu-kun... let us talk... after all... everything is okay..."
Even though Aiko was in pain as she was exposed to Shimizu's crazed antique, she let out those words, and at the moment he heard that, Shimizu completely stopped his laugh and strangled Aiko further.
"... How annoying. Stop trying to be a good person, you hypocrite. Just shut up and become a tool for me to escape from here."
Shimizu muttered that with a dark tone and he looked at Hajime again. Without any agitation or other expressions, he looked at Hajime with eyes filled with negative feelings, next he saw the gun in the holster on his thigh. What he wanted was transmitted without the need for words. If he falter here, he could just disregard his life and death and, no, his good future would be only a dream if he didn't harm Aiko.
Hajime leaked a sigh, he thought to fire the wire when he passed the gun and used "Lightning-clad" even if Aiko got involved, but he slowly reached Donner-Schlag so as to not stimulated Shimizu. Because Aiko body was small, she couldn't become a shield, and it was possible for Hajime to hit Shimizu before he realize with his drawing speed, he thought it'd be okay to be looked by Aiko with slightly hurt eyes.
But, at the moment Hajime started to drop his hand, the situation suddenly changed.
"Kh!? Don't! Avoid it!"
As she shouted that, Shia strengthened her body to the best of her ability and momentarily achieved a high-speed movement on Ground Shrinker level, and she jumped towards Aiko.
Because of the abruptness, Shimizu immediately tried to pierce the needle into Aiko. Shia was doing the impossible by pulling Aiko and twisted her body to protect her from something, then a blue colored water current penetrated through Shimizu's chest and that laser-like thing passed over the place in which Aiko's head where a while ago almost simultaneously.
Hajime, who was inside the trajectory, used Donner to defend against the laser of water that probably the offensive magic called "Break" from water system. Then about Shia, she vigorously charged as she embraced Aiko closely, as is, she slipped and dived into the ground with her shoulder. She raised a dust storm, and Shia who finally stopped, "Uguh," raised a pained groan and remained lying.
"Shia!"
Among everyone who was stiffened by the sudden development, Yue ran with all of her might as she called Shia's name. Following that, she took a position to protect Shia and the woman she embraced, Aiko from another attack.
Hajime didn't say anything and only thanked and praised Yue in his mind because she moved just as he hoped for, then he held Donner with both hand while he used "Farsight" to trace the trajectory of that "Break." Immediately, he saw a black clothed man with pointed ears and swept-back hair who rode on a huge bird-like demonic beast in the distance.
DOPANh! DOPANh! DOPANh! DOPANh! DOPANh! DOPANh!
In a flash, Hajime successively fired the railgun towards the flying demonic beast and the silhouette. The man with swept-back hair, as if he had anticipated the attack, made the bird-like demonic beast desperately evade by doing barrel roll as he confirmed Hajime's location. It was quite an agile demonic beasts, but it couldn't evaded everything and one of the bird-like demonic beast's leg was blown off, the swept-back man's shoulder was also blown off. Even so, rather than falling, its speed didn't slowed and it aimed to escape at full speed. It could only said the way it escape from the series of attacks as nothing but splendid.
Hajime guessed that the man probably the person from Demon race from Shimizu's talk. The man already detoured to the town in low altitude as if he was making the town as a shield, then vanished. From the method he used to escape from Hajime's bullets, it seemed the information about Hajime and his party were already known by the Demon race which made Hajime raised a bitter expression. Because he escaped towards Uldeia lake, it'd be too difficult to pursuit him using unmanned reconnaissance plane if he escaped through the forest. Above all, that's not his current priority.
"Hajime!"
Maybe because Yue had also guessed the enemy escaped, she called Hajime with a voice which contained impatience unlike the usual.
Hajime put Donner back into the holster, and ran up to Shia without even looking at the collapsed Shimizu. Shia was faced-up as she was rested on Yue's laps and her expression warped in pain. Aiko beside her also showed similar expression as she was embraced by Yue.
"Ha-Hajime-san... ukh... I... am... okay... p-please, sensei-san was... grazed by the poisonous needle..."
There was a hole with three centimeters in diameter in Shia's flank. Even though the bleeding was suppressed by body strengthening, it could be understood that she was in considerable pain from the amount of sweat flowed in her face. However, she floated a forced smile and told to give priority to Aiko with a shaking voice.
When he saw Aiko, her complexion was completely paled, and her limbs began to convulse. Maybe because she heard Shia and Hajime's conversation, Aiko desperately shook her neck, appealing to let Shia treated first. She couldn't let out any word because the poison had already spreaded. If Shimizu's words were correct, she only had several minutes, no, it'd be less than a minute looking from Aiko's appearance. She didn't want to make more trouble as it was already too late.
Hajime averted his gaze away from Aiko and unhesitatingly nodded at Shia, then he let out a vial from "Treasure Box." At that time, the surrounding people finally ran up towards Hajime and the others with uneasy expressions as they let out cries from their mouths. The students, David, and the Knights were particularly shaken, they were half in panic. They were asking Hajime about her safety, stepped back when they saw her appearance, and tried to cast recovery magic which was ineffective... towards such people, Hajime's one word, "Silence," with killing pressure made them stepped back and keep silent.
Even Hajime was slightly surprised by what he had said. His anger because Shia's injury was more than he expected. Apparently, without him noticing it, he had recognized her as an important companion deep in his heart. Therefore, he was unbearably angry towards the Demon race that came in contact with Shimizu and himself who had forgotten the possibility of him still nearby.
If he do something to Aiko and the others when Hajime's party went to the frontline, the possibility it become a chaos was high. However, because he actually didn't do anything, he was convinced that he didn't want to do it directly, without any basis to it.
As a matter of fact, that demon race person have thought to assassinate Aiko when Shimizu was on rampage, but he lost the chance because he was stupefied by Hajime's party which was out of the normal. Afterwards, as he was looking for a chance, the talk between Shimizu and Aiko started. Thus he thought to leave killing Aiko to Shimizu as he looked from the distance, but he guessed that Aiko would be recaptured in the last moment by the unstandard Hajime, so he cast a magic which specialized in penetration to pierce Shimizu and Aiko.
However, even though the Demon race was quick to see that opportunity, there was one miscalculation. That was, if thing went well the trajectory would make it hit Hajime and the others, erasing those risk factors at the same time, but Shia's peculiar magic was activated. That was "Foresight." Shia who was behind Hajime naturally would be hit by the trajectory along with Shimizu, Aiko, and Hajime, so she dashed out to "break" the future she saw.
Thanks to that, the future where the attack went through Aiko's head and she immediately died was avoided. Shia had put her body in the line to change that future. Even though he was doubtful on why she put her life for Aiko who wasn't not intimate with her, Hajime would not treat an important companion who had worked her best coldly. Therefore, he unhesitatingly used the scarce "Holy Water" for Aiko. Because there was no time, it was the most certain thing to use.
Hajime held Aiko who was supported by Yue, put the vial in her mouth and poured the holy water little by little. Aiko looked at Hajime who didn't take Shia as the top priority with criticizing glare, but ignored by Hajime. Currently, he prioritized Shia's will than Aiko's or his own intention. That's why he just poured the holy water as discussion wasn't necessary. However, Aikos' whole body began to convulse and couldn't be moved as she desired, so she couldn't swallow the water. Rather, it was possible to enter the lungs and made her vomit.
Hajime judged it was impossible for Aiko to swallow the holy water by herself, he put the remaining holy water inside his mouth, and he unhesitatingly poured it directly into Aiko's mouth.
"Kh!?"
Aiko opened her eyes wide. Next, screams and angry voices raised by everyone in Hajime's surrounding. However, Hajime ignored all of those and he twined his tongue that invaded Aiko's mouth, then he forcefully poured the holy water. Hajime's expression didn't contain any shame or guilt, there was only seriousness about doing what had to be done.
Before long, Aiko's throat moved as to swallow and the holy water flowed inside her body. Following that, the pain which attacking her body and the cold feeling as her life was going to be washed away were blown away as if a fire was lighted in her core and started to spread around. Aiko remembered the feeling of being soaked inside the hot spring in the cold winter, and her body shook. It was jus