Chapter 46

Instead, out leaped a high school girl wearing a leather biker’s jacket over her blazer-type uniform, black tights, and riding shoes. It was the Jet Eye who’d been partnered with Isolator before, the Accelerator. X’s body wobbled as the three shots landed. Mikawa’s ice grenade probably had more energy in a single shot, but the bullets likely had better penetration. This time, surely the attack would break through the coat and deal a fatal wound. Ruby Eyes had such inferior equipment to their black counterparts; there was no way they could obtain fully bulletproof clothes… “…Wha……?” Once again, his surprise surpassed his fear of imminent death. The surface of X’s red coat moved in several places, as if it were made of living tissue. It was a repulsive movement, like innumerable earthworms crawling around in the dirt. When the worms withdrew from the three areas they’d converged on, three objects fell away. Mikawa had no doubt that they were the crushed remains of the bullets. Not only could it resist Mikawa’s ice grenade—it could even stand up to real bullets. This was no ordinary coat. In fact, it wasn’t real clothing at all. The dark-red coat and hood, and possibly even the gloves and boots, were made of the insects that X’s power created. Even if the bullets hadn’t pierced, they still should have had an impact similar to being hit by a blunt weapon; yet, X coolly straightened up and pointed their left hand at Accelerator, who looked understandably shocked. There was a faint shooting sound. This time, it was a thorn insect, not the missile type. “Yu… Accelerator!” When the ashen-haired boy cried out, the blazer-clad girl kicked off the ground. Zoom! The air trembled, and the girl disappeared from sight. It was her ability, acceleration. The girl reappeared with a huge splash of water not far from Mikawa. She had covered a distance of over eighteen meters in under a second. However, X’s thorn insect was homing in on her. It swerved around in midair, still chasing the Accelerator. With a large jump, Isolator once again caught it in his hand. Even with his defensive barrier, the boy’s courage in unhesitatingly grabbing the insect and his ability to read its flight trajectory was still impressive. Unless…this wasn’t his first time fighting X…? Though his thoughts kept moving, Mikawa could tell that his vision was gradually getting dark. Even in top condition, Third Eye holders consumed a lot of oxygen in battle. So if their breathing was obstructed, they could easily faint or even die. This was the reason that the Syndicate had been so insistent about recruiting Igniter, who had the ability to control oxygen, and that the SFD had so much trouble fighting him. Before he died, Mikawa thought, he at least wanted to know why the two Jet Eyes had tried to protect him. Once he’d crushed the second insect, Isolator shouted through the speaker. Mikawa noticed a small earbud that flashed white only when he was speaking. “I’ll take care of Stinger! Accelerator, get that person out of here!” Apparently, the SFD had given X the code name Stinger. As usual, they completely lacked subtlety…Mikawa mused to himself as his eyelids grew heavier. “Understood. Watch out for those worms!” With that, Accelerator did another short dash to arrive directly next to Mikawa, peering into his face. Her pretty, if rather tense, face looked suspicious for a moment, then turned guarded and hostile. “You…you’re Trancer!!” She pointed her gun at Mikawa’s chest with both hands. “What…?!” Facing off against Stinger, formerly known as X, the Isolator also gave a surprised exclamation. “…Oh, come on…,” Mikawa muttered with what little air was left in his lungs. Apparently, they hadn’t realized that the person lying on the ground was Ryuu Mikawa—the Ruby Eye known as Trancer. Most likely, they’d assumed that the explosion at Mikawa’s apartment was caused by a battle between a Ruby and a Jet and had rushed to the aid of what they assumed was one of their own kind. In other words, they hadn’t been trying to help Mikawa at all—it was just a huge misunderstanding on both sides. Unexpectedly, a little shaking motion welled up from his broken chest. At first, he thought his lungs were spasming, but it was something else. “…Ha-ha…” What spilled from Mikawa’s lips was a weak peal of laughter. “Wh-why would Ruby Eyes fight one another?!” Accelerator didn’t seem to notice Mikawa’s laughter. Her expression hardened, and she moved her index finger back to the trigger. “…No, it doesn’t matter. We’ll just have to take care of you, too.” Mikawa didn’t know much about guns, but he at least knew that the caliber of a compact automatic pistol was generally nine millimeters. If he was shot with one from such a short distance, that would certainly be enough to kill him. Whenever possible, the SFD generally preferred to capture Ruby Eyes, render them powerless, and remove the Third Eye with surgery. But this benevolence didn’t extend to Syndicate Ruby Eyes who had killed countless people. Moreover, they were outside, so the Third Eye’s exodus wouldn’t cause any major destruction. Mikawa would have preferred to die in the cold-storage warehouse, to freeze to death next to OO… But it didn’t look like that was going to happen. But at least OO was safe in the warehouse just a meter away. Surely, he would at least be able to feel her presence at the moment of his death. Accelerator’s finger began to pull the trigger. Mikawa closed his eyes and waited. “Stop!!” It was then that he heard a strained voice cry out from nearby. Accelerator moved in a flash. Somehow managing to lift his heavy eyelids, Mikawa saw that the schoolgirl in the leather jacket was now pointing her gun somewhere at the back of the parking lot. Mikawa couldn’t look, as he didn’t have enough power left to move his head. But he recognized the voice as belonging to his former master—Liquidizer. “Stop. Don’t shoot the child.” Her voice cracked a little as she spoke. Master, why do you sound so desperate? Mikawa asked in the back of his mind. Wasn’t Liquidizer the one who’d sent Stinger to this warehouse? He still didn’t know why, but it was probably an order from the Syndicate top brass, or else Mikawa had become a hindrance to her personally. Guessing this, Mikawa had forced himself to accept the shock and sorrow of being tossed aside by his former master—so why was she saying such things to the black hunters now? And in such a pleading voice, no less. No…there was another mystery here, too. If Liquidizer was the one who told Stinger that Mikawa was here at the warehouse, how had the two Jet Eyes gotten here? There was no way they could have caught up to him from the scene of the explosion in Oomori… But of course, Mikawa had no strength left to voice these questions. “…Liquidizer…,” Accelerator murmured in a stunned voice, then turned the gun back toward Mikawa. She knew from their fight three days ago that Liquidizer could liquefy bullets easily. Instead, the girl pointed the gun straight at Mikawa’s heart and spoke. “…Liquidizer…” Minoru heard Yumiko’s voice behind him via the earbuds he was wearing. As it turned out, the real “intended purpose” of these high-tech wireless earpieces made by the SFD was for communication through Minoru’s protective shell. The sapphire glass antenna extending from the housing had a built-in LED transmitter and photodiode receiver for visible light communication. Minoru’s shell deflected all elementary particles and electromagnetic waves, except for visible light. This device utilized that characteristic to convert voices into optical signals and transmit them from the LED on the end of the antenna. The photodiodes in Yumiko’s earbuds decoded that and reproduced the data as sound. Of course, the reverse was possible as well. They had used an optical transmitter functioning on the same principle when Minoru entered the reactor core in the Tokyo Bay Nuclear Power Plant, but this version was much more flexible. Now one of the biggest issues with Minoru’s protective shell, the fact that it blocked all sound, had been resolved thanks to this technology. In addition, Minoru’s earbuds could also communicate with a high-performance mic and speaker system attached on top of his protective shell with a plastic band, which could reproduce Minoru’s voice and pick up the sounds of his surroundings. The only disadvantages were that since the communication used visible light, the earbuds shone when he spoke, and if there was an obstacle between them, he couldn’t communicate at all—but apparently, they might eventually be able to resolve those issues, too. At any rate, thanks to these earbuds, Minoru was able to hear Yumiko’s voice. But he couldn’t help but be shocked by what she was actually saying. The victim they’d traced by following the extremely narrow thread, expecting to rescue a new Jet Eye…was actually Olivier Saito’s archenemy, Trancer, who they’d fought in Minami-Aoyama just three days ago. And now, apparently, the incredibly powerful Liquidizer had even shown up to save him. If all that were true, it made the situation even more confusing. The target whom the red-coated Ruby Eye assassin, Stinger, had assaulted at the apartment in Oomori West and chased down using those threads…was a fellow Ruby Eye? Now Stinger’s actions made less sense than ever. Three days ago, on New Year’s Eve, the Ruby used spinebugs to kill six elite STS members when they broke into a Syndicate hideout at Keihinjima. Earlier today, Stinger killed two ordinary people at the NCAM hospital in Shinjuku, hid there for six hours, and attacked Minoru when he came to visit Olivier, running away without killing him. And just three hours later, there was the attack on the Ruby Eye Trancer in Oomori West, Ota Ward. Trancer had escaped the first time, but Stinger chased him down to this warehouse. The Ruby Eye’s targets and actions were simply too inconsistent. The six Special Task Squad members were ordinary people without Third Eyes, Minoru was a Jet Eye, and Trancer was a Ruby Eye. Keihinjima was a Syndicate hideout, while NCAM in Toyama was an SFD-affiliated hospital. On top of that, nobody knew how Stinger had gotten information about both the Keihinjima warehouse and NCAM. The only clear fact was that Stinger was an incredibly dangerous Ruby Eye. And now there were two new powers to worry about—in addition to the spinebugs and wireworms, they had now seen Stinger produce high-speed missile-like insects that shot around with flames and the living “coat” that could shift around and deflect nine-millimeter bullets. And there was no guarantee that this was the end of it. They had to stop Stinger here and now, no matter what, before any more innocent victims were killed. But now Minoru didn’t dare move. Because behind him, Yumiko was facing off with Liquidizer. “And what makes you think I would listen to a request like that, Liquidizer?” Yumiko’s voice sounded as if she was fighting to suppress her emotions. “Trancer here has killed more than ten innocent people. If I don’t eliminate him while I have the chance, I might as well give up being a Jet Eye. I never would have helped him if I knew who he was—I could have just stayed hidden and watched while Stinger killed him.” Minoru couldn’t tell if that was what Yumiko really would have done, but he understood that it was the most logical choice. After a moment, Liquidizer’s voice reached Minoru’s ears, picked up by Yumiko’s earbuds and amplified automatically. “Nevertheless, I ought to thank you for saving the boy’s life.” “Don’t mock me!!” Yumiko snapped furiously. “I didn’t mean to help him! I’m going to get rid of him right now!!” There was a faint metallic click—Yumiko had probably raised the hammer of the SIG P224. “Stop that at once! If you kill that child now, you’ll just become another chess piece manipulated by your whims!” “You have no right to say that when you people have killed so many on your own whims!” Yumiko’s voice was rising in anger. “I’m begging you, stop!” Liquidizer pleaded. “Well, this just won’t do…” A voice murmured. Minoru couldn’t tell right away where it had come from, since it was intermingled with Liquidizer’s cry in the optical communicator. Just then, Stinger, who’d been standing still, suddenly moved. The Ruby’s left hand raised quickly, aiming at someone behind Minoru. Instinctively, Minoru moved too, blocking the shot. Whether it was a spinebug or a missilebug, he absolutely had to block it. The faint shooting sound produced a spinebug this time. It seemed to be aimed somewhere far to the right of Yumiko’s position, but this bug could freely alter its path at any moment. “I won’t let you…!” Shouting inside his shell, Minoru leaped to the right, stretching out his right hand and grabbing the bug out of the air. Since he’d watched their trajectories at NCAM and here at the warehouse, he knew by now that the spinebugs couldn’t make very sharp turns. With Third Eye–enhanced vision, it wasn’t impossible to catch them mid-flight. Still, Minoru felt like it was nothing short of miraculous that he had succeeded three times in a row as he crushed the spinebug through his protective shell. The insect broke with a snap, letting loose a spray of viscous, semitransparent liquid. Since the surface of the shell was frictionless, the liquid fell with the remains of the insect when he opened his hand and disappeared into the puddle at his feet. Just as when he’d crushed the first two insects, a faint sense of unease swept through his mind. The Professor had said the spinebugs’ abdomens contained a high-powered explosive called acetone peroxide. He’d seen it in action when one of the bugs was hit into a pillar by Olivier’s sword and exploded. Because of that, Minoru had assumed that the insects would explode when he crushed them. However, all that actually happened was that they released a small amount of liquid. Was the pressure of crushing it with a hand not enough to cause an explosion? Was there some special condition necessary? Or perhaps… But he didn’t have a chance to continue down this line of thought. As Minoru landed with one knee on the ground from his horizontal jump— The Stinger’s red coat began to squirm in several places, like when it had caught the bullets before, and swelled outward. Lumps formed like giant warts, then fired dozens of thin threads at the same time. Wireworms! The cords spread out radially, five or six of them clearly moving toward Minoru. He tried to avoid them, but he’d been caught in the moment he broke his readied stance to crush the spinebug, so his reaction was just a second too late. Above the shell, two wireworms wrapped around his upper body and one below his knee, instantly forming loops around Minoru to restrain him. “Damn…!” Minoru gritted his teeth and yanked at the strands around his legs with both hands, but the incredibly thin wire was as unbending as it had been at the hospital. According to the Professor, it would be impossible to break the wire with brute strength, since it was made up of thousands of microscopic polymer fibers twisted together. Losing his balance and falling to the ground, Minoru twisted around to check on Yumiko. Although pointing the gun at Trancer should have slowed her down, Yumiko had accelerated a short distance away to avoid two of the wireworms. However, there were simply too many insects attacking. Flying at her just above the ground, a third wireworm caught her by the legs and sent her tumbling to the ground. More of the bugs swarmed over her, wrapping around her entire body several times over. Since Liquidizer was farthest away from Stinger, she would probably be able to fend off any insects and escape the battlefield. However, when Minoru finally spotted her, she was still standing at the edge of the parking lot, ready to take on the wireworms that flew at her from all directions. Her hands flew around with fingers outstretched, so quickly they seemed to leave afterimages in the air. Each time they made contact with a worm, it scattered into droplets of reddish-brown liquid. Instead of the business suit she’d been wearing when Minoru first encountered her at the Minami-Aoyama Syndicate base, she was wearing a navy-blue school uniform and thick black glasses. Dark-red stains spread over her pure-white ascot tie, but she didn’t seem concerned as her hands flew through the air as if she were dancing. Liquefying all twenty or so wireworms easily, Liquidizer launched herself forward, her black loafers kicking off the stain she’d created on the asphalt. Weaving through the gap between the fallen Yumiko and Trancer, Liquidizer’s pleated skirt fluttered as she dashed at top speed. The puddle at her feet barely made a splash as she sprinted, as if she were gliding over the water’s surface. Without so much as a glance at Minoru, she passed right in front of him to charge at Stinger. The insect user nonchalantly raised their left hand and fired a missilebug. The bug flew forward at super-high speed, and Liquidizer deflected it with superhuman reflexes. The sharp-tipped bug was liquefied in an instant, but the propulsion agent—probably a similar substance to the spinebug’s liquid—caused a small explosion, drawing a spray of blood from Liquidizer’s left hand. But the woman didn’t slow down. Taking a long step forward with her right leg, she pushed her right hand against the center of Stinger’s chest. It’s over, Minoru thought. Liquidizer’s hand could liquefy anything it touched, whether it was resin, metal, or even a human body. Stinger’s coat undulated in concentric circles, turning into a dark-red liquid. But then, instantly, the liquid changed into countless threadlike insects—wireworms. The worms entwined around one another, fusing together and reforming the coat almost at once. Surprise registered across Liquidizer’s face for just a moment, and she once again pushed her right hand forward. The same phenomenon repeated itself. That was all. Immediately afterward, Stinger moved. Without any preliminary motion, as if unaffected by gravity or human physiology, Stinger’s right leg shot out at an unbelievable speed, landing a kick square in Liquidizer’s abdomen. “Ngh…” Liquidizer’s slim frame was thrown into the air. Then, with an even more unnatural movement, Stinger’s right leg followed up with such rapid kicks that the right foot seemed to vanish from sight. Even through the mic on his left wrist, Minoru could clearly hear a bone crack in Liquidizer’s left arm when she tried to use it to protect herself. Her black-rimmed glasses were blown off, shining faintly in the streetlight. Splashing down in the puddle, Liquidizer’s body bounced violently across the pavement and rolled to a halt near Minoru’s feet. Minoru tried to guess at what had happened. True to her name, Liquidizer could liquefy any solids. However, that also meant that she had no power over substances that were already liquid. Stinger’s coat had certainly liquefied when Liquidizer touched it. But it regenerated at an incredibly high speed before gravity could pull it down, preventing Liquidizer’s palm from touching Stinger’s actual body. Yes, it regenerated. Stinger’s fourth power wasn’t just the ability to manipulate the red coat like an insect. The coat itself was made of insects. Countless wireworms fused together to create living clothing. That was why it was able to block bullets just by bulking up the area of impact, launch countless worms from the coat, and even regenerate the liquefied worms. The power of the Ruby Eye who the Professor had nicknamed “Stinger” was more than just manipulating insects. It was the ability to control the very existence of these artificial creatures—essentially manipulating life. Lowering their right leg, which was of course covered in a dark-red stocking-like material, Stinger began to walk toward the fallen Liquidizer. The long boots of the same color splashed quietly as the Ruby walked through the puddle. Liquidizer tried to rise, but the kicks must have injured her internal organs; she coughed up a bit of blood and fell again. Her navy-blue sailor suit turned black as it absorbed water. Liquidizer and Stinger. Both were Ruby Eyes, enemies of the SFD…enemies of humanity. This situation, where they were trying to kill each other, was so unexpected that Minoru didn’t know how to respond. If he simply continued to watch, Stinger would kill Liquidizer in a matter of seconds. This was the same woman who had trapped Minoru and Suu Komura in concrete in Minami-Aoyama: the reason that Suu had taken nearly fatal wounds. And in the battle at the factory afterward, she had shown no mercy in trying to kill Minoru and Yumiko. There was no reason for Minoru to help this person. Just as Yumiko had said earlier, it would be easiest to let Stinger kill Liquidizer and Trancer, then face the remaining Ruby Eye on their own. And yet… And yet. Stricken by an impulse even he didn’t understand, Minoru once again tried to break through the three wireworms. That was when it happened. Behind the approaching Stinger, something exploded with a loud boom. Mingled with the spray of water, countless tiny white objects flew through the air. Quite a few of them hit the Stinger’s back, sending the insect user reeling. Minoru realized instantly that this was Trancer’s ability. He had hidden the same ice grenades that had put Olivier Saito in the hospital throughout the puddle, and now they had exploded. Trancer, whose body was riddled with holes from the missilebugs, must have used the last of his strength to set them off in an attempt to protect Liquidizer. But Stinger, who was able to withstand even gunshots, didn’t so much as fall down from the direct impact of the ice bombs. Though it did send the Ruby stumbling a bit, Stinger recovered quickly, and the face hidden in the hood turned toward the back of the parking lot. “…We’ll start with you, then.” Again, Minoru heard an unfamiliar voice through the earpiece. The optical communication certainly solved the protective shell’s biggest issue, but it was still difficult to determine the source of voices and sounds. But Minoru had a feeling that the source of this voice was hidden in the darkness of the red hood. That face had now turned from Liquidizer toward Trancer. Stinger stepped through the puddle, crossing directly in front of Minoru. The figure’s right hand moved, pulling something out of a coat pocket. It was a large syringe, nearly twenty centimeters in length. The moment he saw it, Minoru remembered something from the scene back at the hospital. When he was stabbed in the neck by a spinebug and pretended to be unconscious, Stinger had been holding the same object while approaching the fallen Minoru. An empty syringe, with the piston fully pushed in. Professor Riri Isa had said Stinger was the type who wasn’t particular about their targets or their methods. Now, Minoru finally realized the source of the discomfort he’d felt at that time. Certainly, Stinger’s insects were designed with the sole purpose of killing or immobilizing enemies. There wasn’t anything that seemed to indicate a particular obsession or finesse. But the syringe was different. Its extremely thin needle was hardly designed to kill, and the syringe itself was empty. That syringe…that was the real representation of Stinger’s inner thoughts. A tool directly connected to the trauma that served as the source of all Third Eye holders’ abilities. Holding the syringe, Stinger probably became the type of killer who chose targets and methods very carefully. The insect user drew steadily closer to Trancer, who didn’t so much as twitch. The glass syringe gleamed in the faint light. Suddenly, Minoru heard a weak voice. “…Isolator. I’ll take care of those ropes. So please…save him.” The source of the voice was obviously Liquidizer, who was lying just a meter away. Even so, Minoru widened his eyes, unable to believe that the most dangerous and ruthless Ruby Eye was saying such a thing—begging even. “…Why? He’s one of yours.” Her glasses gone, Liquidizer looked at Minoru with eyes that had once reminded him of a polished mirror. “Who can say…? Until three days ago, he was just a convenient pawn…or so I thought. But now I’m not so sure.” “How did that happen? What could have changed in just three days?” “…You said something to me that day, boy. That if I have no one I want to protect with my power, I’m much more isolated than you.” Minoru remembered those words, too, though he probably hadn’t been thinking logically when he said it. In that desperate situation, his rage, grief, and misery had reached the breaking point and burst out in the form of those words…at least, that was how it seemed to him now. But even if that was the case, it was still how Minoru genuinely felt. And it seemed to him that what Liquidizer was saying now wasn’t a lie, either. “…Quite truthfully, that day, I had every intention of abandoning Trancer and escaping alone if I thought I was in danger. I even plotted to kill him if I had to, in order to prevent him from leaking information. But…in the end, I couldn’t do it. That was when I realized that I had something I wanted to protect, too.” “…But why him? What makes him so special to you?” “I don’t know. But…perhaps I’ve always felt some sympathy toward him. That boy has managed to stay himself all this time by hanging on to an illusion. And it’s probably his Third Eye that’s showing him that illusion. That tiny little sphere is manipulating every one of us, without even realizing it…” Just as Liquidizer trailed off, the Stinger stopped moving. Looking down at Trancer, who seemed to have lost consciousness, Stinger nudged him with the toe of a boot a few times. After a moment, the insect user crouched down to peer into his face. A short distance away, Yumiko was struggling against the wireworms that bound her, trying to reach the gun she’d dropped nearby. However, her arms were completely wrapped up, so she couldn’t make it. Most likely, the Stinger was trying to gather the blood of Third Eye users. Ruby Eye or Jet Eye—it didn’t seem to matter. After Trancer, Yumiko was sure to be the next target. “…I’m not doing it to help Trancer.” Shaking off his conflicted feelings, Minoru spoke. “It’s to help my own…to help Accelerator. If that’s good enough for you…then I’ll accept your proposal.” “…Thank you.” Liquidizer’s lips were wet with fresh blood as she whispered. Then she reached out with her left hand, which had been badly burned by the missilebugs. One by one, she touched the three wireworms that bound Minoru.