Jujutsushi 277.1
BGM: Tojima Want to be a Kamen Rider(Really recommend the anime!)
Chapter 277: Bond at Rock Bottom
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1: [1-3], R2 [4-6]
Part 1
「Hah… e-eh… no way… Wait a second—」
Bang! The heavy door slammed shut with a deafening thud.
Himeno Airi couldn’t comprehend what had just happened — or perhaps the reality was simply too cruel for her to accept. She sank to the floor, dazed and unmoving.
「Oi! You’ve got to be kidding me! Open the door!」
「Why the hell did you lock us out!?」
Ueda and Mari, who had dashed in after her, pounded their fists furiously against the door.
「N–No... don’t tell me we’ve been abandoned...?」
「...So that’s how it is, huh? You lot weren’t really waiting for me after all.」
Nakajima stood frozen before the door, his voice trembling as he muttered in despair. A moment later, Yamada arrived — just a step too late — panting from the run.
「Wh–what on earth... is this...?」
Himeno whispered in disbelief. She had thought they’d finally reached safety, only for that fragile hope to snap into despair in an instant.
Himeno, Ueda, Mari, Nakajima, and Yamada — five classmates — had been cruelly shut out by that single door.
「Hey... This door’ll open again, right?」
「No chance. You saw it too, didn’t you? When Kenzaki shoved Himeno out of that gate.」
They had all seen it — Himeno sprinting desperately toward the closing door, and then Asuna appearing behind her, kicking her hard in the back.
Himeno had only managed to shout, “Hurry!” before Asuna suddenly came up from behind — and in the next instant, drove her foot squarely into Himeno’s back.
Had Asuna, a 『Twin Swordsman』 renowned for her strength, truly gone all out, that kick would’ve snapped Himeno’s spine. She must have held back just enough to merely fling her through the doorway. Yet when someone acts with murderous intent, whether they kill you with a blade or send you out past the door’s boundary makes little difference.
「Th-There must be some misunderstanding.」
「Oi, Nakajima, don’t tell me you’re seriously defending her?」
Perhaps it was blind admiration, but even Nakajima’s words couldn’t hide the truth — as Yamada pointed out, the act had been intentional.
「After pulling a stunt like that, there’s no way they’ll bother trying to save us now.」
「Yeah, but that was just Kenzaki acting alone, wasn’t it!? There’s no way the Class Rep or Sōuma would allow—」
「They would. Or rather, they’ve got no choice. If they opened it now, it’d turn into a bloodbath.」
There was little need to think about why Asuna had kicked Himeno.
As the ancient gate — a relic no ordinary method could force open — began to close, she seized that moment to kick out Himeno, the girl suspected of being connected to the Goma due to her 『Succubus』 lineage.
Even so, it seemed she couldn’t bring herself to kill the girl directly. But a shove meant to sever ties? That much she could do. After all, she already had a precedent — pushing Momokawa Kotarō off the teleportation magic circle.
「You’ve got to be kidding me! We’re locked out because we got dragged in by Himeno?」
「Well, it’s true we didn’t make it in time ourselves.」
「I’d already given up halfway through running, figured we wouldn’t make it anyway.」
「Oi, Yamada! Don’t tell me you’re actually relieved we got cast out together!」
「Sorry, I actually feel that way a bit.」
It was an honest response.
“Dammit,” Ueda swore quietly, but there was no point blaming Yamada any further. Pushed or not, Himeno hadn’t crossed the threshold before the door slammed shut.
「So… What shall we do now?」
Nakajima’s voice broke the uneasy silence.
Before anyone could respond, a Goma’s roar echoed from the cave entrance.
「Oh right, the Goma! They’re coming!」
「W–What do we do now!? There’s nowhere left to run!」
「If we leave through the entrance and take another passage—」
「That roar was way too close. We’ll run right into them before we hit the junction.」
「Then what are we supposed to do!? If that Zagan guy shows up, we’re dead!」
「How should I know!?」
「Uh… maybe we could hide somewhere nearby and wait for them to pass?」
「If hiding were that easy, we wouldn’t have been cornered like this!」
What were they supposed to do? Nobody had an answer.
Their situation was simply too hopeless.
The sealed door didn’t budge, not even a tremor. Even if those on the other side wanted to help, they couldn’t do anything if the controls no longer responded.
They could still faintly recall Takanashi yelling, just before the door closed, that even she no longer had control.
Ugyooooaaaaaaaahhh!
The Goma’s roar reverberated through the cavern — louder than before, terrifyingly close. It was only a matter of moments before the entire horde burst in.
「Are we… really going to die here…?」
「No way, I’m not dying in a place like this!」
「No… I don’t want to die… I haven’t even confessed my feelings yet…」
「...Guess this is it then.」
The enemy was closing in. Their way out was blocked. No help would come.
It was only natural that their morale had sunk to rock bottom. A heavy, suffocating despair filled the air, draining even the strength to grip their weapons.
「———Bunga, Zeb, Gubaa!」
「Guzebubuga, Nba! Nba!」
At that moment, the Goma finally appeared at the cave entrance.
A single Govu led the way, followed by several Goma, all fully armed. They weren’t wild beasts — these were soldiers, unmistakably sent from the Goma kingdom.
It was likely the vanguard. After a full day of relentless pursuit, they had finally caught up. With roars that almost sounded triumphant, they charged into the chamber, weapons raised, rushing toward the despairing humans—
「————『Lux Sagita』!」
A brilliant arrow of light shot forth, piercing the head of the leading Goma in an instant.
「『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! 『Lux Sagita』! DIE, DIE, DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!」
She unleashed a wild volley of 『Lux Sagita』.
Himeno Airi screamed as she fired the only offensive spell she knew at the onrushing Goma.
「What are you all doing!? Fight, damn it!」
Through sheer force of will, her relentless barrage of Lux Sagitas turned even the Govu into a beehive, wiping out the entire vanguard. Only after that did she shout again.
「H-Himeno, you…」
「See? I can take down a Goma just fine! Who the hell are you calling a traitor — making a fuss over one tiny damn horn———『Lux Sagita』!」
A sharp pillar of light blasted through the head of a Goma peeking through the doorway.
「I’m not dying here! Ueda, Yamada, Haruma — if any of you make it out alive, you can do whatever you want to me, so fight like your lives depend on it!」
「W–wait, you!?」
「It’s a little late to say that now.」
「P-please, stop — it was only a moment of weakness———」
「Whoa, so you guys were into that, huh.」
Mary didn’t need anything explained; she immediately understood the situation.
「Stop whining, you useless idiots! Either get torn apart by these damned Goma, or survive and sleep with me — pick one!」
「D-Dammit… Alright. I don’t want to die here either.」
「Exactly. We just have to fight. The other stuff can wait until later.」
「…I’ll fight too. I can’t die while my heart’s still this much of a mess.」
「Oi, Himeno! I’m a woman, what’s in it for me?」
「Sorry, Yoshizaki-san. I’m really not into girls.」
「What!? Excuse me!? I wouldn’t touch you even if someone paid me, you bargain-bin succubus!」
「Hey! That’s going too far even as a joke!」
Someone started laughing — they didn’t even know who it was.
Even in this place that could only be described as hell, for a brief moment, it felt like they were back at school, messing around during lunch.
Oddly enough, that alone brought strength back to their hands.
Mugoooo! Ggaaaaaahhh!
So when a ferocious Gogma appeared, its savage roar shaking the air, not a single one of them faltered.
「I’ll take out as many small fry as I can. You guys focus on bringing down the big one.」
「Got it. I can handle the likes of a Gogma!」
「I’ll keep it busy — the rest of you go all out on the attack.」
「Leave it to me. My fighting style shines best against groups of opponents.」
「I’ll fight and give as much covering fire as I can against both the Gogma and the Goma.」
「Let’s go! Fight like your lives depend on it!」
===
「Hey… is everyone okay…?」
Himeno’s exhausted voice echoed faintly.