Chapter 44

The extremely small object flew toward Mikawa in an S-shaped arc. If the enemy was controlling its path, then there was no chance he could dodge it this time. His lungs full of air that he’d been sucking in as he searched for the enemy, Mikawa let it all out in a thin, sharp breath. The flying object—probably the same as the strange insect lodged in the door behind him—was surrounded by glittering air. Mikawa’s transition ability had turned the moisture in the air into ice. However, it was January at present. The weather had been clear since New Year’s, and the snow from that New Year’s Eve had melted away, so the air was getting dry. It couldn’t be more than 30 percent humidity. As a result, the supercooling effect that Mikawa produced wasn’t enough to encase the insect in ice and bring it to the ground. However, it did freeze enough to slow the flying bug’s impact, so even if he couldn’t dodge it completely, it bought Mikawa just enough time to defend himself. He threw his left hand up to protect his neck and felt a light impact and a stabbing pain at the base of his thumb and forefinger. About two centimeters below the frozen portion, the revolting insect had stabbed deeply into his hand. Not only that, but it was using its countless tiny hairs to turn itself around, burrowing into his skin like a drill. “Shit…!” Mikawa swore as he tried to catch the insect with his right hand. He just barely managed to dig a nail into it and yanked it out with all his might, causing an unpleasant ripping in his flesh, as if the thing were covered in tiny spikes. Quickly, Mikawa crushed the struggling insect between his fingers. The rounded part of the body gave way with a snap, releasing an unpleasant-smelling liquid that stuck to his fingers. Mikawa grimaced with revulsion, then looked up to see that the red-coated person on the stairs across the street was raising their left hand toward him again. It seemed like they couldn’t rapid-fire the insects continuously, but if the shots kept coming, sooner or later Mikawa wouldn’t be able to protect himself. The insects were incredibly small, only about seven millimeters long, but it would surely still be trouble if one of them penetrated deep enough into his body. Mikawa had no choice. He had to use his trump card. Quickly, he moved his right hand behind his back, pulling out a small two hundred–milliliter plastic bottle from the pocket of his shoulder bag. All that was inside was water. But for Ryuu Mikawa, the Trancer, it was the ultimate weapon of both attack and defense. Really, he would prefer to carry around a two-liter bottle at all times, but it would be too bulky and was likely to invoke suspicion if the police were to question him. Mikawa didn’t hesitate as he threw the bottle—his lifeline—across the street. The distance from where he stood to the stairs of the apartment complex across the road was about eighteen meters. With the powerful arm of a Ruby Eye, it would be possible to throw it across in a straight line at that distance, but Mikawa took a chance and tossed the bottle in a loose arc. A moment later, the red-coated person also launched three insects from their left hand, then crouched down immediately. They were probably trying to take cover behind the wall of the stairs, but that wouldn’t be enough to avoid Trancer’s secret weapon. Aiming at the plastic bottle, Mikawa let out all the air in his lungs in a thick breath. Instantly, the two hundred milliliters of water in the bottle turned into steam. When water turns into vapor, its volume increases to 1,700 times its initial size. Of course, this wouldn’t fit inside a tiny bottle. And this wasn’t a thin, pliable eco-bottle but an exceedingly thick plastic bottle from a particular foreign brand. Just as it arrived at the stairs of the apartment complex, the bottle swelled up into a near perfectly spherical shape, then exploded with a bang as the casing gave way. The pressure limit of the bottle Mikawa had thrown was about two megapascals. Once Mikawa superheated it, the steam’s temperature exceeded two hundred degrees Celsius. The high-temperature steam completely enveloped the stairs where the enemy was hiding. The force of the explosion reached all the way to Mikawa, easily blowing the flying insects away. On top of that, the detonated bottle should have shattered into countless pieces, which would scatter like shrapnel. Mikawa didn’t think that would be enough to kill the Jet Eye, of course, but it should buy him some time. Shoving the key that was still in his left hand into his pocket, Mikawa jumped over the rail of the outside corridor and onto the road. The shock sent a tingle of pain through the wounds in his left shoulder and chest. White mist was still hanging over the area. This was his only chance to escape. As Liquidizer’s pupil, the thought of running away so easily peeved him, but the black hunters never acted alone. He didn’t see anyone on the street, but there had to be at least one other enemy lurking somewhere. And the wound where Divider had cut him still hadn’t healed completely. The sounds of doors and windows opening echoed along the street, most likely people who were surprised by the sound of the explosion. After hesitating for just a moment, Mikawa started running east. He could never return to that apartment again. Since Liquidizer had told him to be ready to abandon the place at a moment’s notice, he hadn’t left any valuable items or anything that would hint at his real identity. Nonetheless, in the three months that he’d been living in the apartment, he had started to feel somewhat comfortable there. “…Damn it…” Mikawa swore again as he ran at close to his top speed. He had just remembered the high-quality ice in his freezer that he’d just gone all the way to Koujiya to purchase. Of course, Mikawa could make that sort of thing himself, but he couldn’t just use his ability at home, and there was a certain quality to ice from the old-fashioned ice shop that he couldn’t quite replicate. He’d been looking forward to making shaved ice with it. But this was no time to start thinking longingly about ice. He had to escape from the Jet Eyes on foot, while they might be using cars and motorcycles, and he still didn’t know how they had found his home in the first place. He would have liked to escape to the Syndicate safe house in Gotanda, but he couldn’t do that until he figured out how they had tracked him down. Once he could shake off the enemy for sure, he would have to contact Liquidizer right away. As Mikawa’s thoughts raced, he passed beneath the rails of the Keikyu main line. Ahead was Route 1 across the Oomori overpass, then Heiwanomori Park, then Heiwajima Park. He should be able to tell there whether he was still being followed. And before he got there, he’d have to buy a bottle of water at a vending machine somewhere… Mikawa subconsciously sniffed the air as his mind continued spinning. He didn’t smell the ether-like chemical smell of a Jet Eye. So at the very least, there was no enemy nearby using an ability. That red-coated attacker must have taken at least a bit of damage from the steam grenade… At that moment, another thought occurred to him. Suddenly realizing his major error, Ryuu Mikawa gasped. His legs tangled, and he just barely stopped himself from falling. He didn’t smell anything. Not only just then—but when the enemy had attacked him at his apartment. He hadn’t smelled the slightest whiff of a Jet Eye. But that was impossible. Those insects were definitely created by a Third Eye ability, and it was less than eighteen meters away. Given how complex the ability was, since it could create and control artificial creatures from a distance, he should have been able to smell it from at least thirty meters away. Unless… This could only mean one thing. “…It’s not a Jet Eye…?” Mikawa unconsciously slowed his running speed. If that attacker wasn’t a new face from the Jet Eye organization, the SFD… There was only one explanation. The attacker was a Ruby Eye, like Mikawa. Moreover, it was an independent Ruby Eye who didn’t belong to the Syndicate. He had just talked about this with Liquidizer at the okonomiyaki restaurant in Odaiba. The mysterious Ruby Eye known as X, who had been hiding out in the Keihinjima warehouse and easily killed the six members of the invading Self-Defense Force team. And Liquidizer had said that X’s main goal was likely not to kill the Self-Defense Forces personnel. It was to kill their own kind. A Ruby Eye that hunted other Ruby Eyes. A shudder ran through Mikawa’s body that couldn’t be explained by the cold. He stopped running and turned. The dimly lit road stretched in a straight line beyond the elevated tunnel he’d just passed beneath. There was no one else there—as far as he could see anyway. But if the opponent was a Ruby, he wouldn’t be able to detect them by their scent. Ruby Eyes generally didn’t sense one another, even if one used an ability. “……Shit!” Gritting his teeth, Mikawa started running again. If he couldn’t rely on his nose, all he had was his basic physical strength. Although the other Ruby Eye wouldn’t smell it if Mikawa used his ability, there was a chance that it would actually draw the attention of Jet Eyes this time, and his transition ability was only really useful for movement on rainy days anyway. As soon as he turned from the narrow street onto Route 1, Mikawa was hit with a flood of noise. Cars flew by one after another on the side road and overpass, and there were at least ten pedestrians on the sidewalk that he could see. However, this didn’t assure his safety. The independent Ruby’s attack was an assassination-type ability. Even if he were in sight of passersby, he could still be shot without hesitation. Mikawa clearly wasn’t dressed like a jogger, but he didn’t have any control over that in this situation. Running just slowly enough so as to avoid drawing the attention of the ordinary pedestrians, he passed under the overhead bridge and headed along the east side of Route 1. For now, he just had to keep moving. That, and get in contact with Liquidizer. He had pulled out his smartphone and was starting up the phone app as he ran when a possibility occurred to him that made his eyes widen. If the person in the red coat was a Ruby Eye, it was possible that they had learned Mikawa’s address through a Syndicate information leak. And furthermore, it was possible that this leak was intentional. It could be that, for whatever reason, the Syndicate was trying to dispose of Mikawa. It was even possible that Liquidizer was in on the plan. Was it his former master who had sent the red-coated assassin after him? Was appearing to him at the cold-storage warehouse and treating him to okonomiyaki her way of saying good-bye…? Feeling more lost than he ever had since gaining the Third Eye, Mikawa desperately pushed more power into his legs and kept running.