Her heart pounded inside her chest cavity.
Yukino held her breath, moving soundlessly among tree shadows like a cat. The damp night wind swept her cheeks, feeling cold. However, she didn't feel it; all her senses were focused on the two figures moving ahead.
Darius and Zaimokuza.
They were carrying the box of fireworks that earlier in the day still looked colorful, walking toward the only wooden bridge at the village entrance.
(What are they actually trying to do?)
That thought bit into her logic like a venomous snake. She didn't dare follow too closely, only maintaining enough distance to see their silhouettes vaguely.
Before long, the two stopped at the bridge base. Yukino immediately hid behind a large tree, only peeking half her head out to watch them sharply.
Under the dim moonlight, she saw Zaimokuza place that box of "fireworks" at the bridge base, then with difficulty dragged several jerry cans and a pile of firewood from surrounding bushes.
(That's kerosene. Backup kerosene from the storage earlier in the day.)
Yukino's pupils contracted instantly.
(Fireworks, firewood, kerosene...)
A thought so absurd she wanted to laugh to herself appeared beyond control.
(No, impossible. However crazy he is, there must be a limit. This must be some kind of... performance art. Right, just like the purification ceremony at the bonfire party, this is just meaningless performance.)
Yukino tried hard to convince herself with common logic. Then, she heard Darius's voice. His voice wasn't loud, but in the night's silence, it sounded clear like a whisper in her ear.
"There are three structural fulcrum points, the main load is on the center pillar." Darius squatted, shining his flashlight on the bridge's lower structure, while his other hand quickly drew something in his notebook. "C4 dosage is sufficient, but to ensure total destruction, placement must be precise. Heavy Infantry, move the combustion agent under pillars number two and three."
"Ready! General!" Zaimokuza lowered his voice, but the excitement and tragic impression within couldn't be hidden. He lifted one kerosene jerry can, stumbled down to the riverbank, and began pouring it onto the bridge pillars.
Yukino felt her blood slowly freezing.
(C4... combustion agent...)
She saw paper firework tubes skillfully dismantled by Darius, saw him carefully pouring black gunpowder into small oil paper packages. She saw Zaimokuza pouring kerosene bottle after bottle onto the wooden support pillars of the bridge; its pungent smell seemed to reach here despite the considerable distance.
Her brain refused to process that information. Her logic system completely crashed at this moment. The dozen years of education she received and her entire worldview told her that all this was fake, absurd, and impossible.
Yet reality was before her eyes. That madman... He wasn't acting. He wasn't joking. He really... was going to blow up this bridge!
Why?
For the "virus" he talked about?
For what's called the "Scorched Earth Plan"?
None of that mattered anymore. What mattered was, if he succeeded, tomorrow everyone would be trapped in this village. More terrifying still, this action had far exceeded the bounds of mere mischief. This was a serious crime.
(Must stop him!)
Yukino's body moved before her brain. She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. She wanted to step out and yell at them loudly. She wanted to tell them this was the real world, not their chūnibyō fantasy theater stage.
Her leg muscles tensed, her body leaned forward. Just as she was about to emerge from the tree's shadow—Darius's movement stopped.
As if sensing something, the man suddenly looked up. His gaze as sharp as a sword, stabbing precisely toward her hiding spot with extraordinary accuracy. Yukino's body instantly stiffened, feeling as if falling into an ice hole.
(Discovered? How is that possible? At this distance, and in the dead of night.)
"Sst." Darius signaled Zaimokuza to be quiet.
He slowly stood up, drew a... fruit paring knife he took from the kitchen from his waist. Under the moonlight, the knife blade reflected a cold glint.
"There's a situation." Darius's voice was pressed very low, but full of killing intent. "An infected survivor has discovered our operation."
He tilted his body, giving instructions to Zaimokuza behind him. "You continue the installation, start countdown in three minutes. I'll go clean up this 'problem'."
"General!" Zaimokuza's voice contained a slight tremor.
"This is an order." Darius's tone was irrefutable. "The Scorched Earth Plan must be executed."
After speaking, he gripped that fruit knife, stepping one footstep at a time toward the large tree where Yukino was hiding. His steps were very light and steady, like a beast hunting in the night darkness.
Yukino's thoughts were completely blank.
(Infected? Clean up? He... what does he want to do?)
She saw a pair of eyes shining terrifyingly in the darkness, saw the fruit knife in his hand that didn't hide killing intent at all.
Her logic screamed, shattered. She suddenly realized she couldn't argue at all with a madman living in war fantasy.
Step out and confront him?
That person would stab that knife into her body without hesitation, while deeply believing he was "purifying" a virus-infected monster.
Fear.
Fear never felt before, originating from biological instinct, instantly gripped her heart.
Run. Must run. This wasn't a problem she could solve alone.
Yukino no longer hesitated at all. She suddenly turned around, exerted all her strength, and ran as fast as she could toward the west building. She could hear Darius's cold voice from behind that sounded like ravings.
"Target begins escape... switching to Hunting Mode."
Footsteps behind her followed with a calm yet constant rhythm.
Yukino didn't dare look back, could only keep running. Her lungs felt like burning, tears flowed beyond control and were immediately dried by the night wind.
The west building's dim lights were already before her eyes.
(Hiratsuka-sensei! Only she can stop that madman!)
Yukino used her remaining strength to crash through the front door of the building, stumbled up the stairs, didn't even have time to knock, she directly forced open Shizuka's room door.
Shizuka was wearing pajamas, wearing a face mask, and holding a can of beer, appearing to be enjoying rare alone time. She was startled by this sudden intrusion.
"Yukinoshita? You—"
Her sentence wasn't finished when it was cut off by Yukino's scream accompanied by sobs and ragged breathing.
"Sensei!"
Yukino held onto the door frame, panting heavily with a face filled with fear and despair never seen before.
"Darius! He's going to blow up the bridge!"