My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

After being blasted away by Sona's telekinetically-enhanced punch, I watched as Avon Laura got right back up and dashed towards the twins once more.

Then, her sword repeatedly collided with Sona's blocking arms―faster than I could see with my eyes, the blade continuously bounced off and struck again more times than I could count, yet many times within a single second.

"Ow..."

"Sana..."

―At one point, Sona failed to fully obstruct one of her blows that aimed at Sana, resulting in some blood being spilled.

Well, it was nothing that couldn't be fixed, but I would have to deduct some points for that.

Of course, however, if Avon Laura tried to do such a thing again, I would not hesitate to show her the taste of lead.

Although Sona, her opponent, carried a defensive stance and only seemed to be barely tanking the damage from all these hits, it's not like that's all she was doing.

No, the two jumped and darted around the arena leaving blurry afterimages and the occasional burst of sparks from the intermittent clashes.

I marvelled at the fact a "normal human" was capable of speed at this level, comparable to that of a legitimate superhuman.

It was a magnificently beautiful sight, this battle was, and the scene of Avon Laura's alluring figure dancing elegantly around the arena to narrowly evade the dozens of landmines scattered around was truly captivating.

From what little I could gather, her movements seemed almost mechanical, as if someone else was controlling her body, and I must admit, it enchanted me.

Such control of one's body, their movements.

Her white hair shimmering under the glaring sunlight like the purest snow as she moved, every swing of her arm resulting in a small explosion of hot sparks as her closed eyes exuded a sense of coolness and superiority.

It looked magical.

But then, as the wild goose chase of a fight continued, Sona tripped.

...Did the timer on her buff run out?

「Yes. Additionally, she has built up fatigue from the excessive hits taken thus far」

I see. I suppose blocking that many powerful hits of a blade with your bare body would accrue some kind of damage in the long run, wouldn't it?

Fortunately, because she was in an area with few mines, there was no danger in that regard, but it gave Avon Laura an unforgivable advantage in the situation as Sona was on the ground.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a vial falling out of Sona's pocket, smashing upon impact with the ground and spilling the sticky red liquid within to dye it a similar hue.

Oh, that was her last one, wasn't it?

Hm--?

I had thought Avon Laura would use the opportunity to strike while the enemy was down, but she had jumped a great distance away before I knew it.

...Why?

Oh, don't answer!

It's because she knows Sana's power, right? At the very least, she saw what would happen as a result if she let her guard down and tried to attack the vulnerable Sona in that situation.

Suddenly, she moved again, but this time towards Sana.

Because she was closer to her than Sona after jumping back, it made sense, but I was ready to pull out the trusted Ruger at any time should the situation require it.

However, that didn't seem necessary―just as she approached, Sana vanished, with Sona appearing from nowhere in her place.

"Clang~!" With such a sound ringing out, much to Avon Laura's surprise, her opponent was still standing!

Excellent use of your ability! Bonus points!

I felt an urge to applaud my new subordinates for their well-orchestrated performance, but held it in.

Avon Laura appeared to be nearing her physical limits ever-so-slightly as a result of the twins' persistent pushing and commendable endurance in this battle, a waterfall of sweat rolling down her body.

Beneath all that plated armour, it must certainly be tough.

Her movements were becoming a little sluggish, and her attacks dull.

Her stamina was slowly depleting, with her rough breathing and flushed face attesting to this.

She was so hot her body seemed to be quite literally letting off steam, unlike her icy appearance.

Just as I was thinking such a thing―

Boom-!!

―Sona misstepped and her foot connected with a landmine. It seems her fatigue was not so light, either.

Deducting points for that, but it's a weakness that can be worked on.

Perhaps sensing through those shut eyes of hers that Sona wouldn't be able to recover so easily, she seemingly took it as one down for the count and proceeded to dash towards the one remaining enemy, Sana.

As she did so, she arrived at her target within the blink of an eye and brought down her sword like the jaws of an alligator.

―But stopped her swing mid-air.

Why?

Well, that's simple: because the barrel of my gun was aimed right at the back of her head, my index finger placed firmly on the trigger.

I knew how Avon Laura's Measurement of Destiny worked. Well, how could I not? Anyway, I knew that she would instinctively avoid a "dead-end" fate at any cost, or in other words, a future in which she met an early grave.

If she actually gets close to killing these girls, then I will put an end to her before she can even think to regret it.

Thus, she cannot kill them―any path she takes that does, is a path that leads directly to her demise as well.

I don't think she quite understood this previously, but from the beginning, there was no chance. There really was no 'win condition' for her in this matter, and that is now being made explicitly clear.

――Checkmate. Avon Laura.

Because she has a weakness―that is, a fear of death―she is unable to win against me.

Because these twins are putting their lives on the line for my sake, it is already impossible for me to lose from the very beginning.

You see, I have no qualms about using children's lives if it ensures the continuation of my own.

In fact, I have already confirmed that the Ruger's .22 LR rounds pack enough of a punch to penetrate Sona's telekinetic enhancement in her unbuffed state, so there was no danger if they somehow decided to betray me.

But, they wouldn't even think about doing something like that anyway.

A few moments passed before Avon Laura's petrified body began to move again, with it starting by her lowering her arm powerlessly and dropping her weapon to the floor.

Then, she too fell to the ground, hugging her knees as she lay in a foetal position, tears streaming down her anguished face.

...What is she doing now?

Ah, did you look so far into the future that you saw yourself reincarnate as a baby or something? Maybe she confused herself with that baby and pissed herself; I don't know nor care to find out.

It's none of my business what habits other people have―I know some people do strange things when frightened, after all, and I suppose she would be scared after having death flash before her eyes like that.

"Girls. Come."

In any case, it was about time to wrap this show up.