"Big Sis!"
As I was running and trying to dodge the crowd, Haruka jumped out from the side of the road. She should have teleported away with Penny. They must have finished organizing my equipment. However, Penny was nowhere to be seen.
I matched her speed and asked her about it. "Haruka, that was quick. What happened to Penny?"
"If you're looking for Penny, she flew off somewhere as soon as we got back. It seems she sensed Mercury."
After hearing my suspicions confirmed, I nodded.
Just as I feared. Mercury was pulling the strings behind everything that had happened tonight. He was making his final move.
But unfortunately for him, Penny had come back. If Penny was already on it, then there was no need for me to do anything on that front at any rate. Right now, I needed to do something about Fiona and the other member of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians she was trying to punch into compliance.
"Where's Fiona?"
"She went off somewhere without heeding our calls to stop. It seems that one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians is involved in all this."
"One of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians…?"
Haruka and I jumped onto a roof. Then, we continued to leap around, looking for Fiona.
"It depends on the opponent, but facing off against one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians is dangerous for Fiona. We must go and stop the fight."
"Understood. I'll help."
We continued jumping here and there, searching for Fiona.
Aggh, I'm terrible at searching and hunting for stuff. It's times like these that I start to feel jealous of beastmen.
***
Penny stood elegantly at the entrance of Mercury's new hiding place as if she'd been waiting a long while for him. She even bowed in greeting.
"Warning. The probability of you succeeding in your escape is…"
"W-WWAAAAAHH!"
Mercury ran once again. He moved through the urban landscape, parting the sea of people he'd driven to madness, and dove into another house. He ran down a hallway and into a living room.
There in the living room he found Penny sitting, relaxed.
"Warning: the probability of you succeeding to escape is lower than 1%. It is strongly recommended that you surr—"
"GODDAMMIIIIIIIIT!"
Mercury ran, turned, jumped, parted crowds, and once again entered another house.
I managed to run away like this before. I used this maze-like town structure and got away. So I'll be fine this time, too, Mercury continued to tell himself.
He silenced his surroundings with wind magic, making it so Penny wouldn't even be able to hear him breathe.
"Huff… Huff…"
While breathing heavily, Mercury ripped his clothes and wrapped a strip around his shoulder.
Do I have any healing items…? No, I didn't bring any. Mercury had prioritized being as light and as fast as possible, so he had left all his tools and equipment.
Mercury leaned back onto a wall and concentrated warily on the window.
…There she is! That doll's walking just outside! Go! Go away! Don't you dare look over here!
Penny stopped in place for a while, but she eventually moved on.
I'm all right. She hasn't noticed me. It doesn't seem she's noticed what I'm doing, either.
Mercury's heart beat annoyingly fast. He felt sticky with sweat. One second… No movement.
Two seconds… The house is still quiet.
Three seconds… No change from before.
After reflexively leaking out a sigh of relief, Mercury relaxed.
The next instant, two arms burst out of the wall Mercury was leaning against and hands closed around his neck.
"Ghaghh!… Agh…!"
"Using wind magic to silence your surroundings is meaningless. The fact that a town in the midst of this big uproar has a spot that is unnaturally quiet tells me exactly where you are."
An emotionless voice eerily reverberated through Mercury's eardrums, and Penny's constriction grew tighter. While he foamed at the mouth, Mercury's mind was consumed by fear.
I… I'll be killed… if things keep going like this…!
So Mercury made a quick decision. Using the magic power of the wind attribute to forcefully blast his body away, Mercury escaped from Penny's demonic grip.
Of course, Penny herself didn't let go. A large amount of skin was sacrificed from Mercury's neck as he ran away, bleeding quite profusely.
Mercury's lost skin clung to Penny's palms. But she didn't seem affected by that at all as she simply, coldly, turned to look at Mercury.
"!"
Having lost all will to fight, Mercury looked up at the mechanical doll with eyes like a small animal before he ran away. It was almost like he was being physically repelled from Penny.
However, Penny did not immediately give chase. Instead, one could hear mechanical whirring as her neck shifted slightly.
Then, she followed after him with slow steps, still expressionless.
"Huff… Huff… Huff…! "
Mercury, who had run into yet another house, sat down and prayed wholeheartedly that he wouldn't be found. Unable to even hide the sounds he was making with wind magic, Mercury pressed his hand to his mouth and desperately tried to hide his breathing.
I've never prayed to the Goddess. But I'll pray now. I'll believe. Please, Goddess.
Please allow me to run from that thing. Don't let that doll appear in front of me!
Mercury's teeth wouldn't stop chattering, and his cold sweat wouldn't stop, either.
Aagh. What the hell? I can't stop shaking.
How pathetic… Is this really what one of the feared Seven Grimms of Destruction looks like? I'm such a laughingstock… There are real monsters that should be feared, and they aren't us.
We were just people whose egos got too big because they were absent for a while.
Mercury moved towards a mirror that was standing nearby. His movements were slow, so as to not make a sound, and awkward like a baby's.
Walls are no good. Don't put your back to a wall. It might sprout arms again. Next time, she might just break my bones so I can't escape.
Looking through windows is dangerous, too. She might be there. Use the mirror. Look at the mirror's reflection.
Mercury's decision was not wrong. It might've even been the best choice, made carefully after considering all other options. His only mistake was that there was no right answer to the problem he was contemplating in the first place.
"—!"
Mercury looked at the mirror and froze.
She's here! That doll's reflected in the mirror. She's standing right there! She's already in the house! She's right behind me!
"…"
"I. Won't. Let. You. Escape."
Penny simply mouthed words without speaking. That caused Mercury to sink even deeper into fear. Her mouth's movements alone told Mercury what she wanted to say to him.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Mercury broke through the window and fell to the ground outside, paying no heed to his body, which was wounded all over. But he didn't have the leeway to heed his pain. He couldn't stop.
Mercury ran. He had never been as scared as he was now.
What the hell is that thing? Why does it know where I am so precisely?! I'm scared. She's terrifying.
That inorganic doll was scarier than anything to Mercury right now!
"Warning."
"Warning."
"Warning."
As if she were broken, Penny said the same thing every time they met. The only difference was that the probability of Mercury escaping steadily went down at every new instance.
I'm scared. She's terrifying.
The way she emotionlessly repeats the same thing every single time as she chases me is terrifying.
She'll chase me to the ends of the earth. It's as if she doesn't even know the meaning of exhaustion. She'll keep chasing me forever! But I'm already out of breath!
Mercury ran to the fountain.
From the water, Penny emerged holding a machine gun. Mercury tried to blend into the crowd.
But then someone tapped him on the shoulder, and it was Penny.
Mercury went to those idiots's meeting place in the white town. There, he entered a hidden underground passageway he had prepared.
But Penny was already standing inside.
Mercury threw away his pride and hid in a communal dumpster. But in a mere three seconds, Penny upturned the entire dumpster. Mercury hid under a nearby wooden box.
But only a couple seconds later, Penny picked up the box and met eyes with him.
That thing is there no matter where I go. No matter where I run, that thing will chase after me! I can't get away from the doll's gaze. As soon as I round a corner, she's already there! She doesn't even let me out of her sight for more than ten seconds!
"AAAAAAHHHH! AAAAGGGHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Mercury flew away, screaming.
Mercury put all his power, body, and soul into flying away. That was something he had most likely never done in his life. Mercury didn't care that his body couldn't bear the burden he was putting on it and was screaming in pain. He didn't care that the wind pressure was warping the good looks he was so proud of.
Hounded by fear, Mercury simply flew as fast as he could in a straight line. And, having reached his hiding place in the forest that he had been occupying until yesterday—
"I have been waiting for you. You arrived five seconds faster than my prediction. Recalculating target's speed. Correcting margin of error."
"—!"
In that moment, Mercury's heart became completely consumed by fear and fear alone.
I'm done. I get it now. I can't run… Not from this tracking killer-doll. There're many legends revolving around the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. One of them described Penny of the Libra Constellation. I hadn't believed it when I read it. Even if it were true, I had still believed I could manage to run.
But I know now. I understand.
The legend said that once you were targeted by her she would chase you without fail, even if you were to run to the depths of hell.
"Warning. It is strongly recommended you cease all resistance and surrender. In a situation with no one else around, I am able to fire Brachium faster than you can run."
"…Urgh… Ah-aghh…"
"Your chances of winning are at 0%. I repeat. It is strongly recommended that you surrender."
My legs are trembling. I can't feel my limbs.
I know. I know of the weapon of slaughter that is Brachium. It's the ultimate weapon that will completely destroy anyone under a certain level of strength once fired. No exceptions. It's a sure-to-kill weapon that's synonymous with Penny the Goddess's Scales. In the face of that weapon, no amount of defense and no measly trick has any meaning. It'll wipe away everything in an instant.
"If you do not comply with my warning within ten seconds, I will activate Brachium immediately. If you exhibit any behavior that indicates the intention to run or resist, I will also activate Brachium."
"Wha—Ah… Huh?!"
"Starting countdown… 10… 9… 8…"
"W-Wait! Wait, please!"
"7… 6… 5…"
Penny heartlessly continued counting down. There was no crack in her that would allow any pity, personal feelings, or other emotions to stop her. She simply continued on with mechanic inhumanness. She was simply counting down the ten seconds Mercury had left until his execution.
Mercury was caught in the middle of a sea of regret.
I should have just tried to fight in the town. If I did that, I would have at least had a miniscule chance of victory.
However, Mercury had instead tired himself out running. And as a result, he himself ran to a position that allowed Penny to use Brachium.
Of course, Mercury had no way of knowing that Penny would not have hesitated to fire Brachium in town if it came down to that. And even if the countdown was just a bluff, Mercury wasn't in a calm enough state of mind to be able to sense that.
Now that it's come to this, there's nothing for it. She'll use Brachium before I can run or even try to fight back. And if she uses that, there's no resisting it. I'll definitely die.
That was the only thought that continued to run circles through his mind. Mercury was convinced that he was already done for.
"4…"
"P-please. Hey, come on. Wait."
"3…"
"J-just a little is fine…"
"2…"
"Come on. I'm begging you… P-please…"
"1…"
"O-okay! I submit! I surrender! So please, DON'T SHOOOOOOOOT!"
"…Loss of target's will to resist: confirmed. Suspending use of Brachium."
Mercury's heart completely broke in the face of inhuman fear. His pride, his sense of self, everything was swallowed up, yielding to the fear caused by that emotionless doll. Mercury's entire body was soaked in cold, greasy sweat.
And his heart was beating wildly while his teeth wouldn't stop chattering.
At the same time, Penny stopped her countdown.
The outcome of their duel was decided, once and for all.
Mercury's biggest mistake was that he still came back to the capital even knowing he was being targeted by the doll.