Corpse March

Chapter 3

“Praise Nivosus!”

Haru holds back her laughter. Nivosus… What a silly name. She raises her arm in a poor imitation of the Monarchian salute and combines it with a goofily wide grin. 

“Praise be!”

Thankfully, it’s passable for the pair of passing Monarchs so they let her pass unimpeded. Up ahead, she sees the juggernaut carrying the prison on her shoulders. Inside, is a truly beautiful specimen. If Haru closes her eyes, she can almost smell her. Tall, broad shoulders, a slight tan, well built. Goodness, could she imagine a more picture-perfect tomboy? She might even make for a decent gyaru if she dressed her up a little. Overall, 10/10. Like the drums in bebop, she’s just Haru’s tempo. A solid ‘Smash’. 

She goes over the plan in her head again. Get hired by the Monarchs to work security detail. Checked. Absorb all their secrets. Partially checked. Turn info into money. Not checked. Plan a daring escape. Also not checked. Figure out a way into the Neo Magical Academy. Ehhhh, checking in progress. 

About two years ago, the head of the Neo Magical Academy, Something something Tsubame, died under mysterious circumstances. Most people believe that it was a hit conducted by the Monarchs in an effort to cut the head off of their age-old enemy. Some other people theorize that it might have been a politically motivated inside job on the part of the Neo Magical Academy. And then there’s Haru, who honestly couldn’t care less. Whatever all the turmoil has been fermenting into these past two years has to be good and she just wants a juicy sip of history in the making. 

And lastly, the optional step: Steal Monarchian treasure. Very very very much checked. She has no idea what the Monarchs are doing with such an eye catcher but it would be such a waste if she was just sacrificed to that Nivosus or something. She may have skipped a few steps, but right now is the best time to cut and run. She just knows it. She feels it in her bones. And who knows? She might even “thank” her for setting her free. Haru licks her chops and whispers something under her breath.

“Perfect Strike”

There’s a sensation like she’s falling forwards as her vision sharpens to a ludicrous degree. She begins to see not just the motes of dust in the air but their flight patterns. She sees where the walls are thinnest and where they’re thickest, even if the difference is only by a nanometer. And lastly, she sees where the juggernaut’s armor is weakest. KANNIBAL should be able to break through quite easily.

It is both a literal “ax” bass while also being only loosely considered one. it has a certain crude beauty to it. A monstrous hunk of steel that barely passes for an ax which she attached strings to so it now barely passes for an electric bass. Along its oddly shaped handle, a set of four metal strings begin. They run along the length of the guitar and end in the middle, right as the ax blade begins. Finally, she’s carved some handles and notches for her fingers to handle it easier. After careful debate, she decided to name it “KANNIBAL” before renaming it to “T0uch M3” before renaming it to “Uber Killer” before changing it back to “KANNIBAL”. 

“Excuse me!”

She calls out to the juggernaut. As it turns its head, she sees the line that almost looks like a visor. It’s tiny, but it’s definitely there. She raises her ax bass and swings. Even though this is the weakest part of its armor, there’s still an immense amount of resistance. With great effort, great grit, and great physical enhancement magic, she manages to push through with her weapon. Living up to its name, the ax seems to drink up the blood that spews from the crack in the helmet. Though, its wielder does not share its bloodthirst.

“Oh wow. That was a person?”

“Did you not notice?”

The tomboy in a box suddenly speaks up. 

“I thought they were like robots or something.”

She wipes the blood on her hands onto her skirt, muttering “ew ew ew ew ew” all the way. 

“I take it you’re not one of them?”

“Great head on your shoulders there, princess. What gave it away? The fact that I don’t have fifty tons of metal on my back or that I just killed one? No shit I’m not a Monarch.”

“So a mercenary, then?”

“I prefer the term… “Adventurer Musician”... but mercenary is just fine. How could you tell?” 

“We noticed a sharp increase in this facility’s security in the past few days. We investigated and came to the conclusion that the new help couldn’t have been new Monarchs, you and your… associates were just too… unique.”

“Fair enough.”

Haru slides the sole of her shoe down KANNIBAL’s flat edge, wiping off as much blood as she can. The way the slickness of the gunk slowly turns into squeaky cleanliness calms her nerves. 

“Mercenary, Monarch, Adventurer, those are all just names. For you, baby?”

She slicks back her hair as she makes her move, like one of those suave gangsters from those 90’s movies. 

“I can be anyone you want.”

“Are you offering me my freedom in exchange for ‘Being anyone I want.’?”

“Trust me when I say that you’d be doing me a favor.”

“Are you offering me my freedom in exchange for a favor? That's all the freedom of the Vice President of Takakumo City is worth to you?"

“Well, I mean… if you want to put it like that then sure, I guess that works just fine, baby.”

Haru winks, rather awkwardly. In all fairness, it’s nigh impossible for her not to be awkward. Apart from the fact she’s carrying KANNIBAL on her back, she’s pretty much just your average schoolgirl in front of the vice president of a country. Plus, she’s fully aware that this is borderline extortion… okay, full-on extortion, but it’s okay because this wasn’t really her idea in the first place. Yes, let’s go with that. She would never have done this if there wasn’t a pretty girl just sitting there, waiting to be rescued, that’s the story she’s going with.

“Very well. My freedom first, then I shall grant you your favor.”

“Aye aye, cap’n.”

Giddy as a goose, Haru raises her ax bass to smash the box and cut straight through the device but something stops her. It’s not a mental thing, something really is physically stopping her. There’s the much too familiar sound of a whip cracking as a set of strings wrap around its bladed edge and wrenches KANNIBAL from her fingers. Loud clangs ring out as the weapon clatters along the floor. She turns, but she already knows who’s waiting for her. 

“Heyyyy, Kuroko. Come here to give me one last scolding?”