Cunning versus strength. Part 1

*Parking of the Committee of Investigations*

The committee members were well prepared for a long and brutal fight with the Carnival members. Kazuto, aware of the danger, was wearing armored military armor specially designed by the police for such operations. Yukio repeated the plan of action aloud so that each member of the committee was aware of the sequence of actions. Ryoma, full of determination and excitement, conducted a training session, in a furore depicting blows at imaginary opponents in the air.

— Now we are going to one of the secret harbors of the Bloody Carnival, where their illegally acquired wealth is stored. Do they want war? Let them get it in all its cruelty!  Yukio declared enthusiastically, instilling determination in the hearts of his comrades.

— We'll burn all their damn acquired capital to the ground!  Kazuto angrily protested, clenching his fists, ready to join the battle.

Suddenly, a tinted black car pulled into the parking lot. A young girl came out of her driver's door with a Bloody Carnival badge visible on her jacket. Seeing this sign, the committee members immediately became alert and prepared for a possible attack.

"You've come a long way, haven't you?" Soon the Committee will be destroyed and eliminated from this city. You can't compare with Carnival," the stranger said, and her voice sounded ominous and irritated.

— And who are you, scum?  Kazuto asked, unable to contain his rage.

— Me? Naomi Tanaka, Carnival special fighter. Do you have any questions?  she replied with a hint of sarcasm and malice in her voice.

Ryoma, having decided to stand up for his comrades, decided to attack Naomi first. Deadly X-rays capable of causing damage to people jumped out of his hand.

— Magic: X-Rays: Rays! — he exclaimed, directing the rays from his hand directly at Naomi. — Get lost, you whore! — he shouted, feeling anger.

At this time, Kazuto, watching what was happening, decided to join the battle and use his magic:

— Magic: Endless grenades! — he masterfully released from his hands a variety of grenades, among which were flash-bang, smoke and fragmentation. It was almost impossible to figure out which one of them would send danger at the moment.

Naomi, finding herself in a difficult situation, was able to avoid the attacks of the Committee, deftly dodging every danger. Suddenly, the elevator opened, and Takumi got out of it, who joined the fight, arriving a little later than the Committee members. Quickly getting his bearings in the situation, he immediately took part in the attack:

— Magic: King Cobra! — Takumi turned into a snake and crawled towards Naomi in order to attack.

However, Naomi, seeing the snake approaching, decided to resort to her magic:

— Magic: Army of doppelgangers!  she said excitedly. Suddenly, graphic projections began to appear from her body, completely identical to herself.

Yukio, after counting more than 42 Naomi lookalikes, felt the confusion of the situation. The committee stopped, not knowing who to attack and how to sort out this confusing scenario of many Naomi. The members of the committee realized that they had fallen into a trap from which there was no way out. Naomi's doppelgangers, pulling knives and pistols out of their pockets, started shooting at the committee members with a flamethrower. Everyone was in shock. Bullets whistled around them, creating ominous sounds that filled the air with terror.

— Hiding!  Yukio shouted, clinging to the door of the car that was parked in the parking lot. He instantly noticed that Naomi was not only able to create her own doubles, but also duplicate things from her pockets. It was a nightmare they needed to get out of as soon as possible.

"What the hell, Yukio?" Come up with a plan!  Kazuto shouted in anger, intending to cover his comrades with his shooting.

— She'll just shoot us!  Takumi breathed out intermittently, feeling that time was working against them.

Yukio gripped the steering wheel of the car with force, blocking his view of Naomi and her doppelgangers. But instead of a futile struggle, he decided to use his mind and proposed a plan.

"We have the only chance," Yukio said quickly, finally gathering his thoughts. — Get in the car quickly and we're leaving! Kazuto, shoot at the doppelgangers, maybe you'll hit the real Naomi.

— Great idea!  Kazuto exclaimed, picking up his pistol and rushing forward, aiming at the chilled doppelgangers who love to be in perpetual motion.

The other members of the committee went to the car, they also shot and tried to remove the doppelgangers from themselves. A series of gunshots and voice commands filled the air, creating a disorderly symphony orchestra of death.

When they reached the car, Ryoma immediately found himself behind the wheel, his hands shaking with nerves as he unsuccessfully tried to start the engine. At that moment, Kazuto, losing patience, hit Ryoma on the head with his deafening pistol. Ryoma collapsed into the seat, and only then did they manage to start the car, but time was already compressed, and they instantly realized that they could not waste a second.

Speeding up, they shot down several Naomi's doppelgangers who were trying to reach them, they were already close to their death. The car that broke out, led by Yukio, quickly left the parking lot, leaving behind a lot of doppelgangers shooting at each other in an attempt to reach their victim. Naomi remained standing in the parking lot, giving orders to the remnants of the doppelgangers and furiously cursing Yukio and his comrades.

— Freaks!  she shouted angrily. She was furious and humiliated that ordinary investigators were able to deal with her generated vile doppelgangers. Naomi was furious, but pulled herself together, realizing that the situation of their hunters may have become complicated, even if only for a short time.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the committee quickly comprehended its actions. They decided to continue their mission and go to the vault. Yukio, with his coolness and intelligence, came up with a plan that would help them get out of the trap.

"Let's move to the designated place without paying attention to our opponents," Yukio said decisively. The other members of the committee agreed with this plan, because it was too dangerous to stay in place.

Immediately after this decisive command, the committee car suddenly took to the air. All the passengers were amazed and frightened by this unexpected turn of events. Exclaiming anger and shock, Kazuto yelled at the driver for being subjected to such an attack.

"What the hell is going on? Yukioooo!" shouted Kazuto angrily, his emotions were out of control.

However, it soon became clear that it was one of the special fighters of the Bloody Carnival, named Taito Fujioka. He took over the airspace and decided to hijack the committee's car to stop their escape. Acting on the car with a strong wind current, Taito directed it to one of the nearest buildings, and they collided violently. The car was destroyed, and the committee was thrown on the asphalt, having received serious injuries. Kazuto, trying to get up, realized that their situation had only worsened.

"That freak! How can there be another Carnival special fighter? He controls the air, damn him!" worried Yukio, looking around and seeing Taito standing next to them, with an expression on his face that testified to his triumph.

Taito grinned and said: "Did you think that we would let you go far? You are too naive." Naomi joined Taito and, directing her gaze at the rest of the committee, she expressed her anger.

"We are missing one more of you. Where is he?" said Naomi, starting to walk towards Kazuto.

Abruptly Kazuto, Yukio, Ryoma and the wreckage of the car began to turn into one person, it was Takumi. Spinning and turning into a cheetah, he began to escape from the Carnival agents, changing from one form to another, dodging their attacks.

"Such is the power of my magic! Magic: Cellogenesis: Cheetah!" exclaimed Takumi, demonstrating his abilities and causing surprise among the Carnival team.

Taito tried to stop Takumi using his wind control ability, but Takumi avoided his attacks with agility and grace. "Aeration: Wind control!" shouted Taito, making an attempt to catch Takumi, but unsuccessfully.

Taito exclaimed in anger, realizing his failure in trying to stop Takumi.

Naomi, realizing that she underestimated the enemy, took her phone out of her pocket and started calling trump — Kohei Ichimura.

Yukio and the rest of the committee felt the joy of their victory. They were able to trick Carnival agents and get out of their trap. Although the result of their actions was triumphant, the situation with Takumi still worried Ryouma. They did not know where Takumi was, and this caused some concern for each of them.

Regardless, Yukio was sure that the committee needed to leave the area immediately. He thought it would be safer to move through the alleys to avoid being chased by the Carnival fighters. The other members of the committee agreed with this idea and followed Yukio, sticking to his suggestion.

* The room where Haruki is being held*

Kohei, one of the members of the Bloody Carnival, received a call from his comrades who demanded help. His voice was agitated as he relayed the information to his boss, Rikuto, the head of the Carnival.

Rikuto immediately responded to the call. He ordered Kohei to move in the direction of the alleys and prevent the escape of the committee, considering them mice that need to be caught and not let go. There was determination and cruelty in his voice.

The abducted Haruki, who was still tied to a chair, watched the exchange of words between Rikuto and Kohei. His mind was filled with excitement and some hope. He couldn't resist asking about his opportunity to escape.

"Why haven't you run away yet, Haruki?"  Rikuto asked, not paying much attention to Haruka's words.

Haruki sighed and explained his situation.

"Because I'm tied up and tied to a chair. I'm actually powerless in this situation," Haruki replied, trying to convey his defenselessness to Rikuto.

Rikuto didn't believe Haruki and thought he was just mocking him.

"Are you kidding me?" You were a special patrol officer, you should have known how to handle such a situation. Why don't you run away?  Rikuto repeated his question with some irritation in his voice.

Haruki was trying to explain his position to Rikuto.

— You see, I understand that your plan is unsuccessful. I know that even if I run away now, I will be caught soon. I'd rather stay here, it's safer here," Haruki said, although Rikuto did not agree with his words and continued to insist that Haruki run away.

At that moment, Rikuto made a decision. He realized that there was a hunt for the committee, and told Haruki about his plan. He said that his people are already in the alleys and will use military equipment to detain the committee. If the first plan doesn't work, Rikuto has two more moves to catch them.

Haruki didn't seem particularly interested in describing Rikuto's plan. He thought it was crazy and frivolous.

"I'm not interested in listening to your strategy," Haruki simply replied, expressing his incomprehensible distrust of Rikuto's plan.

Rikuto, having suffered defeat and not seeing the reaction from Haruka, realized that further argument with him was useless. He decided to put aside his insane intentions and attempts to destroy Haruki at this point in time.

Meanwhile, the members of the committee were moving to the garage through the alleys, there were armored cars in the garage on which they planned to get to the Carnival storage.

— We're almost there!  Yukio told the other members of the committee.

— Great, otherwise it hurts to comprehend the whole situation, — Rema shared his well-being.

Suddenly, Yukio saw military equipment near their garage and Kohei. He came out to them and with calmness in his voice said:

— Of course, there will be surprises.

Kohei dropped the cigarette he was smoking and said:

"Oh, what a lot of trouble the committee has caused me. Finally, I will get rid of each of you.

Yukio decided to start negotiations:

— Let's resolve issues diplomatically, otherwise there will be a war.

— The war has already begun, stupid, get out of my sight! — Kohei gave the order to open fire from military equipment on the members of the committee.