It took him an instant to make up his mind.
Kamijou realized hiding was useless, so he wrapped his arms around Last Order's small body to pick her up and dashed out from behind the vehicle while leaning his upper body forward.
The vehicle had been illegally parked on the edge of the sidewalk.
The entrance to the closest alleyway was only about 5 meters away.
However…
He heard a sound of destruction like a thin piece of silk being torn with a metal pipe.
Several submachine guns had immediately started firing.
Kamijou had no idea how many bullets they were firing every second. The glass of the vehicle he had been using as a shield shattered, the hood bent in as if it had been crushed, and the steel panels of the door were filled with holes before falling off. The seats burst and cotton stuffing filled the inside of the vehicle.
The destruction all happened in an instant and it all merged into a single great noise.
Even so, Kamijou continued toward the entrance of the alleyway.
A trail of bullets followed Kamijou's escape route.
A bullet struck the concrete wall at eyelevel right in front of him. They had fired once ahead of him so they could fill him with holes when he faltered. He reflexively lowered his head, but he just barely managed to keep his body moving. The small concrete fragments scraped at his hair.
He half fell and half leaped to the wet ground in the back alley.
"Are you alive, Last Order!?" asked Kamijou and the small girl in his arms silently nodded a few times.
Kamijou could hear the sound of metal scraping on metal. It was the sound of those men in black's equipment. Kamijou clicked his tongue, adjusted his grip on Last Order, and ran further into the back alley.
He wanted some place to hide.
The Imagine Breaker residing in his right hand was not suited at all to this situation. It was useful against tricky and irregular opponents who used magic or psychic powers, but there was nothing he could do against their guns. If he did try running at them to punch them, he would just be torn to pieces like an old rag.
"Last Order, since you control the Sisters, does that mean you can use electric powers too?"
"Yes, but only at Level 3, says Misaka as Misaka gives her reply."
"Then can you open an electronic lock? I want to get inside a building through the back entrance. This alley probably isn't very long and it's possible they'll be waiting at the other end."
"Understood," she replied.
Kamijou stopped in front of a nearby door in the back alley and lowered Last Order next to him.
"Nn."
Last Order pulled a cell phone out of the chest pocket of her dress shirt and turned it off. Apparently, it would distract her while using her electric powers. She brought her small palm up to the card slot next to the door and closed her eyes.
Kamijou could hear the metallic noise of the men in black approaching.
He could not tell how far away they were. The alley had a few turns rather than heading straight, so the men could not shoot them from the alleyway entrance. However, staying still waiting for something put a huge pressure on Kamijou when they could catch up at any time.
(Still?)
Kamijou waited while focusing his ears on the many footsteps he could hear in the darkness.
(Dammit. Is it still not open?)
Last Order showed no change.
Just as Kamijou began worrying his Imagine Breaker was causing some sort of interference…
"There! says Misaka as Misaka opens her eyes!"
A high-pitched electronic tone sounded.
Kamijou grabbed the knob of the steel door and turned.
It was unlocked. He grabbed Last Order and entered the building.
No lights were on inside.
It appeared to be the kitchen of a family restaurant. They used fire there, so the door had likely been prepared as an emergency exit. The restaurant should not have been closed for the night yet, so the absence of light was a bit eerie. The green light indicating the emergency exit provided just enough illumination to vaguely see the silhouettes of the cooking equipment.
"What do we do now? says Misaka as Misaka asks your opinion."
"Good question."
Kamijou lowered Last Order to the floor and walked towards the door in front of him. He wanted to head towards somewhere with light…somewhere with people.
"They have a vehicle. We would likely be caught if we tried to flee on foot. The trains and buses do not run this late and I doubt we could escape even if we found an amateur taxi driver to take us."
Last Order looked up at him with worry in her eyes.
Kamijou wanted to just give up, but he could not show her anything so disgraceful.
"For now, let's go somewhere with a lot of people. They do not want to cause a commotion. That is why they are pursuing us. Slaughtering a large group of people would be getting their priorities mixed up."
"Will we really be able to save him like this? says Misaka as Misaka laments her own lack of power."
"I don't know. But if we don't survive here, there's no way we can save him. If you want to save this person, then make sure you don't die. I'm sure he wouldn't be happy if you died."
"…You're right, says Misaka as Misaka nods her head."
"Okay, then let's survive this."
While smiling bitterly at how ridiculous that line sounded, Kamijou opened the door in front of him.
It led to what appeared to be the main floor where the guests dined. It was filled with the white brightness of fluorescent lights and cheerful music that seemed horribly out of place could be heard from the speaker system. A large television installed in the wall was displaying a commercial. The greasy smell of ready-made meals hung in the air.
However…
"…Not here too," groaned Kamijou Touma.
Several customers were within the restaurant. Some were couples and some appeared to be teachers enjoying a meal after work. A waitress wearing a cute uniform was in the narrow aisle between tables. A slightly elderly man was at the register.
And they had all collapsed.
They were lying limply despite showing no sign of injury.
The restaurant showed no sign of any kind of panic. A few forks and spoons had fallen to floor, but they had likely fallen when the guests collapsed onto the tables in front of them. It looked as if they had all just suddenly collapsed.
Some simply appeared to be sleeping like the Anti-Skill members Kamijou had seen near the entrance to the underground mall. Others looked as if they fallen to the floor after freezing in place like a statue. Overall, it appeared they could be divided into a few different groups.
The kitchen had seemed odd too, so something may have happened there as well.
However, this would no longer function as a place with plenty of people.
If they were all unconscious, there was effectively no one around to witness anything.
(What is going on?)
Kamijou fell into a daze.
(A few of those men in black collapsed in the same way. So it must not be them that are doing it. Dammit. Are there multiple problems here!?)
"Last Order, we should get out-…"
Kamijou trailed off as Last Order pulled him down to the floor.
The windows lined up along the wall facing the main street all shattered at once. It took Kamijou a few seconds to realize someone had fired bullets into the restaurant from the road. A bullet must have struck the speaker system's tuner because all the speakers fell silent. The television broke and began spewing sparks.
Kamijou lost his cool when he saw fragments of glass raining down on the guests collapsed on the floor and tables. Luckily, no bullets had actually struck them, but that was not the problem.
(Shit! Do they not care at all about the surrounding people!?)
Someone stepped on the glass fragments as they slowly entered the main floor.
Kamijou grabbed a fork that had fallen on the floor nearby.
It was such a pathetic weapon he wanted to laugh out loud.
And on top of that, the main floor suddenly lost power. Kamijou heard a quiet creak come from the door he and Last Order had entered through. Someone was opening it. Three more men in black entered through it as they snuck along with roach like movements.
The only thing protecting Kamijou and Last Order was the large square pillar in the center of the floor.
The men in black were slowly approaching from two directions, so there was almost nowhere to hide from them.
With the dully glowing fork in hand, Kamijou pressed his back against the pillar.
And then he looked up.
One of the bullets fired through the windows must have struck it because a hole had been opened just above his head.
(It went straight through? This won't work as a shield at all!!)
The shock caused Kamijou's muscles to tense up more than necessary.
The slow footsteps that did their best to remain silent slowly but surely surrounded them.