“Brace for impact,” said Rhinoceros Beetle 05.

A simultaneous attack was carried out by the four beetles that had decided killing Last
Order and those around her was the best method to carry out their objective of robbing
Fräulein Kreutune of the reason behind her actions. They were not aiming for direct hits.
Instead, they were firing the shells at the ground just in front of their target to fill every
nook and cranny of the tunnel with a shockwave wall.

Normally thinking, this was not something a flesh-and-blood human could withstand.

Even if Rhinoceros Beetle 05 acted as a shield for Hamazura and the others, the
shockwave would fill the entire area to swallow them up and crush their organs from
within.

But...

Rhinoceros Beetle 05 vibrated its giant thin wings at high speed to create an artificial
voice. It was not trying to speak. The vibration it scattered through the air struck the
coming shockwave and forcibly altered its direction.

“What...did they mess up? My ears don’t hurt.”

“I sent a wave of my own towards their wave. It cannot be seen so it may be difficult to
understand, but a shockwave can easily be influenced like a billiards ball using other
waves or obstacles.”

Several hurdles had to be overcome before that theory could actually be pulled off.

The beetle had to accurately repel or turn aside the shockwave and the fragments of the
shell and ground created in the explosion to keep them away from those it wished to
protect.

“That is his technique, says Misaka as Misaka comments.”

“Are you talking about Accelerator?” asked Yoshikawa.

“I used a theoretical routine based on our potential enemy’s actions, but I doubt I would
be able to achieve his level. Our shells are unsuited to killing a target using the
secondary effects such as the shockwave.”

“?”

“Because my body is made entirely out of Dark Matter, I have no means of creating the
gunpowder needed to fire or detonate a shell. A spring system is used to fire the shells. It
is said that in the past, a ‘strange’ weapon reinforced with the power of Dark Matter
competed for market share with a shoulder-fired rocket launcher. The shells detonated
by breaking the hardened outer coating with sponge springs, so their acoustic effect was
only 36% to 50% that of the normal shell. I conclude that is the reason my evasive
actions have been successful. ...Meanwhile, that #1 would likely have no problem
handling a nuclear weapon.” Rhinoceros Beetle 05 continued to use its giant wings to
produce sound waves outside of the audible range to repel the shockwaves while using
any gaps to produce its artificial voice. “There is a worker’s exit 15 meters behind us. On
my signal, I will create a wall by making the ceiling collapse and you will run for the exit.”

The beetle had no intention of defeating their opponents.

For one thing, all of the rhinoceros beetles were strange weapons created by Kakine
Teitoku’s Dark Matter. They had no “core” or “weak point” to speak of and they would
automatically heal any part that was destroyed. The one exception was Rhinoceros
Beetle 05 who had made an “interpretation” that opposed the will of Kakine himself.

Hamazura turned around to check on the location of the small metal door.

Sparks flew and the door burst open. Most likely, Rhinoceros Beetle 05 had skillfully
turned aside the shockwave of the enemies’ shells to break the lock.

-Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Volume 6 Chapter 6 Part 3