[Blue Archive] I am the Trinity Checkpoint Chief – Chapter 90

Nationwide

Emergency Martial Law Declared

Acting Commander

Captain Yamatsu

***

Chronos School

Editor-in-Chief Shiga Mitsuki

Curfew Enforced at 10 PM

All Autonomous Districts Except the Tea Party Hall

Chief Administrator and Acting Commander of Trinity General School, Yamatsu Hikari, Assumes Full Authority

***

The students on the streets were too busy staring at the bold headlines.

The girl shouted out the extra edition, weaving through the crowd. Today, she’d likely make several times her usual weekday profits. It seemed she could treat herself to dinner at a fancy restaurant in the city, and the thought brought a wide smile to her face.

Ah, what a rare chance to indulge.

She ought to thank the subject of this scoop.

“…Can I have a copy of that paper?”

“Of course! It’s the morning edition, so 160 yen!”

The student, with her midriff bared, handed over the yen clumsily.

Lost in daydreams about her evening meal, the girl didn’t notice, but the student who took the paper furrowed her brow almost immediately. The dark, pressed hat she wore barely concealed her anger.

“…This isn’t what I expected.”

***

It’s too late.

Even a full day after the treaty’s signing… it’s too late. Why was the expansion of the front lines delayed to the point of necessitating a plan revision?

Unfortunately, Joumae Saori knew the reason all too well.

A student from the Luther faction—

Someone who began claiming the title of Acting Commander within an hour of the incident. She had calmly seized Trinity’s authority. The flames of the cruise missile that leveled the Ancient Cathedral seemed not to have touched her.

Whether she was merely a figurehead for the Tea Party or a true commander leading the situation was unclear.

One thing was certain: the Student Council had begun to respond.

Martial law was declared across the region, and a mobilization order was issued. Students rushed through the streets, following their superiors’ commands. Armored vehicles roared across the crimson cobblestone, displaying their might.

There was a student standing in the way of their revenge, striving to be the strongest glue holding the fractured academy together.

She gathered the factions engrossed in pointless debates. Connecting dots forms a line; connecting lines forms a plane. She aimed to protect the plane called Trinity, defying those who sought to erase them from Kivotos’ map.

A defendant standing against a judge? Laughable.

Was Arius’ preparation so feeble? Did they think centuries of hatred could be severed so easily? The flames they had spread across Trinity and Gehenna today were not so weak as to be snuffed out by a mere breeze.

Like a princess, Joumae Saori loved flowers.

But hers were flames. In a futile world that ends in death, donning a white coat and mask, she became faceless, nameless—simply Arius. She would burn brightly and then fade. She would remain as the seed of a fiery flower to incinerate both academies.

Saori knew her purpose well.

A spear to pierce Trinity—an executioner to deliver a death sentence to those who stole everything from Arius.

A means to render all efforts to revive their alma mater futile.

To destroy Trinity and Gehenna, the path for the leader of the Arius Squad was clear.

Break the front lines.

Finding the right person, the girl turned the radio dial.

“Team II, respond. Are you still engaged at the Ancient Cathedral?”

“The resistance is fierce. We’ve nearly subdued the Justice Task Force, but the Checkpoint—”

—BOOM!

The earth-shaking roar came through clearly, even over the crude device.

It seemed Misaki and Team II were being exposed to artillery fire.

Someone once said artillery is the god of war. Those who fired high-explosive and incendiary shells indiscriminately… were they truly divine?

Saori gazed at the sky.

It was filled with smoke, a blood-red horizon. Shells rained from the heavens, bursting into flames mid-air.

For reasons unknown, the sight of the blaze settling at the heart of it all was—

Angelic, Saori thought.

“Cease engagement at the Ancient Cathedral. Change targets.”

“Understood. But… in this situation, where to? We’re not exactly in a favorable position.”

“I know.” They needed to turn the tables. “The Acting Commander. Pursue her.”

“And then?”

“Leave no loose ends.” Misaki hesitated, silent for a moment.

“…Got it.” Under her leadership, Team II swiftly withdrew from the scene.

It’d be quite a sight to see the face of the artillery commander attacking such a vulnerable spot.

Now, then. When Sensei, Nagisa, and the Acting Commander are all gone—

Show me, Trinity. Can you truly hold on?

***

“Yes, understood. Right, please take care. You’re working hard through the night. Thank you.”

—Click.

Damn this so-called rule of law.

The proposal to establish a martial law command in the affected areas might be reasonable, but in a situation where interdepartmental communication was paramount, what was this order to head to the Checkpoint Headquarters? Granting full authority while insisting on civilian control?

She wanted to storm the Tea Party Hall right now and demand answers from those who issued the order. Administrators, what’s the reasoning behind this? Is the Border Checkpoint, fighting tooth and nail at the Ancient Cathedral, so unreliable? Are you scared or something?

With variables already exploding, it felt like being hit with a sledgehammer.

“…Ugh.”

Evening time—the Checkpoint Headquarters was nearly empty, as most students were out struggling to maintain the front lines. The sunset draped the office in scarlet hues, casting shadows over the mountain ridges.

If not for the piles of paperwork stacked like foothills, it would’ve been a breathtaking sight.

Trinity was still unstable. The front lines at the Ancient Cathedral and its surroundings were precariously deadlocked, and the documents flowing into the Checkpoint Headquarters—now the martial law command—contained various speculations about their instigators.

Most were dubious eyewitness accounts from city students, but reports from clubs like the Sisterhood held some substance. The Ordnance Bureau’s input was a bit surprising, but regardless, she noted several claims:

• Gehenna Academy’s surprise invasion: Did the senior administrator deceive her?
• An attack by black market corporations opposing conflict resolution via Eden: Paradoxically, this suggested the Ordnance Bureau still had significant interest in the Abydos Autonomous District.
• A surprise attack by Arius remnants seeking revenge after the Mika incident: Strongly asserted by students stationed at the Checkpoint Headquarters, especially Matsushiro. This aligned with the Sisterhood’s reports.

All had reasonable grounds, and honestly… she had to consider the initial hypothesis too.

As the Pater faction claimed, a full-scale war with Gehenna wasn’t highly likely. But if it wasn’t the Prefect Team, led by someone with a shred of common sense, but rather the Pandemonium Society—a glorified idiot convention—planning it, wouldn’t it make some sense?

Yeah, let’s talk it out since everyone’s missing anyway. It’s no surprise that Hanuma Makoto, a reckless calf, would despise Trinity. She’d have every reason to sabotage today’s ceremony.

If that’s true, she’d choose to bite rather than cry against those who meant harm. She’d crush those horned bastards!

Oh, how unfortunate! The other two hypotheses were far more plausible. From what she knew, Pandemonium Society’s assembly had been silent for hours. They were undoubtedly floundering in chaos.

With all their key officers missing, how could they not be? From a certain perspective, they were more pitiful than the Tea Party Hall’s administrators. How could anyone elect Makoto as student council president?

Back to the point: compared to Gehenna, where the Prefect Team still acted as a check, the latter two hypotheses seemed more promising. You didn’t need to heed the Eight-Member Council to see that.

The black market’s automatons were the kind to defy even the General Student Council’s authority. Human experimentation and embezzlement scandals were routine there, uncovered by the SRT. The French defense contractor that purchased the Caesar self-propelled howitzer was a major black market player, clearly profiting from the arms race between the two academies. They wouldn’t look kindly on us.

And Arius? She was the one who suppressed their uprising and conducted their interrogations. Given the almost supernatural proliferation of those demons at the Ancient Cathedral… wasn’t that a more credible story than some black market scrap heap?

“…This is giving me a headache.”

Seriously, she’d lost count of how many painkillers she’d taken today.

With most of the Border Checkpoint’s brain trust in the hospital, she was left to piece together the puzzle alone. For an Acting Commander, her intellect felt lacking, so she had to rely on action.

Knowing her mental state, she’d proposed setting up a martial law command at the Tea Party Hall and summoning the administrators, but those damned fools ignored her, looking out for themselves. Even Hanako, who’d be useful now, was practically trapped in the cathedral.

According to the administrators, the Tea Party Hall was still a mess five minutes from collapse. The Justice Task Force, missing its chief and deputy, was on the verge of disintegration, and the Guard openly sided with Pater. Everyone was starting to prioritize their own interests.

She’d taken the lead in suppressing Pater’s radical claims.

“Pater, oh Pater, what do you plan to declare—martial law or mobilization?”

“Neither belongs to us. We demand a declaration of war against the vile Gehenna—”

“Haha, how sweet. I’ll give you both.”

…Something like that.

With both the sub-leader and hardliners out of the picture, wasn’t that a win?

“….”

Idiot, as if it could be that easy!

This wouldn’t do. Better focus on the paperwork.

They had to break the front lines. Trinity General School wouldn’t negotiate or play games with those who stole their rightful territory. A hardline stance against those trying to crush them.

She had an idea, but it’d take days to execute. Would the Tea Party accept an intentional retreat? How to suppress voices opposing the evacuation order expansion was another question.

With Chief Sorasaki missing without a trace, expecting help from the Prefect Team was tough. What to do?

What was the senior administrator even doing? With that much fat on them, shouldn’t they invest half a brain cell in thinking? The top of the pyramid should focus on maintaining discipline to keep the organization running smoothly.

Why was she complaining so much? Because in a crisis involving both Trinity and Gehenna, the Prefect Team was utterly useless. Their morale was so low they were practically fleeing beyond the border.

Thanks to that, Iroha-chan’s reliability had skyrocketed. Without the Prefect Team Leader, they were just an empty shell—how true.

Honestly, she couldn’t pinpoint the cause.

Even if the Prefect Team were Gehenna’s lot, they were well-treated. How could they be worse than the extremist factions running wild in Trinity’s city?

Is this even an academy? As if sensing her mood, the starry radio played a refined voice.

[Today, we have Professor Sada from Millennium Science School’s Political Science Department. Please give a round of applause.]

[Hello, thank you.]

[I hear you majored in Trinity politics, Professor. What are your thoughts on the martial law declaration?]

[Well, the current Acting Commander was, aside from some media, largely unnoticed.]

[Yes.]

[But with this emergency order, we can assume she’s exerting some influence over the Tea Party. Notably, the far-right Pater faction hasn’t shown significant resistance.]

[Indeed.]

[Yes. The key point is one thing: does this girl truly hold real power? That’s the question.]

[What’s your take, Professor?]

[I think…]

***

Imashino Misaki, holding her breath, stared at the crimson-stained concrete building.

Her decision to head to the Checkpoint Headquarters was pure instinct. Accessing the Tea Party Hall was too difficult.

The light in the highest office signaled her luck.

Misaki signaled her orders to the students.

Split Team II into two squads. One heads inside the building, the other to any external warehouses.

They hadn’t encountered any sentries while crossing the vast forest. They were all tied up on the city front lines.

Yamatsu Hikari was definitely alone.

Based on the intelligence gathered… unlike the Justice Task Force Chief, she had no notable strengths.

Even at significant cost, she couldn’t defeat thirty students.

“Entering the building.”

“Confirm identity and eliminate immediately.”

“Understood… No booby traps.”

Misaki stayed with the squad searching the external warehouse.

Her Stinger missile would be useless indoors. Rather than risk friendly fire, supporting the office battleWITH an external missile strike was better.

Opening the warehouse door, the evening sunset pierced the dimly lit space.

No breathing sounds. No personnel on duty.

“…Looks empty?”

“Not sure yet. Let’s go in.”

“Now, where’s the light switch…”

As the stale air hit, students began removing their gas masks one by one.

The power source was in the corner. Misaki reached out and pulled the lever.

Clunk-clunk-clunk—with the sound of power flowing, the incandescent bulb flickered to life.

“Hm, just some machinery… Wait, what’s that?”

“Just a truck, I think. A bit big, though. Maybe an armored vehicle.”

“Is it?”

The students surveyed the unremarkable warehouse, but Misaki couldn’t take her eyes off the truck.

Something… felt off. It was too massive to be a regular truck.

It dominated the deep warehouse. What was its purpose?

—In that moment.

—RUMBLE!

A massive engine roar shook the warehouse.

“What the hell?!”

“Was someone in the truck? Damn it, prepare for combat!”

As her squad opened fire, Misaki… stared.

That massive transport vehicle—no, that was…

“…A self-propelled gun?”