Chapter 58

Suu Komura, the Refractor, had one other power besides her Third Eye ability to deflect any light that touched her body—and that was a power that could only be described as actual telepathy. She could see other people’s “sight lines,” as well as the emotions that accompanied them, which had in the past made her fear even her own parents, to the point where she said she had considered suicide. Given her history, it must have taken a lot of courage for her to call someone a friend. “…I see.” Minoru nodded, but then Suu bopped him lightly on the elbow with her small fist. “Huh…?” Not understanding the gesture, Minoru looked to his right once more. The signal had turned green, so Suu started driving again before she spoke in a slightly displeased tone. “That’s where you’re supposed to say, ‘Wait, I’m not your friend?’” “Wha…?” Only then did Minoru finally realize that Suu had said that Yumiko and Olivier were her friends but didn’t mention Minoru’s own name. “Erm…I-I’m not your friend…?” “Too late. I’m not answering now.” “C-come on…” Suu grinned mischievously for just a moment, then pressed down hard on the gas. Once she dropped Minoru off at the south side of the train platform reserved exclusively for the Imperial family at Harajuku Station, Suu drove off to the north in the Copen. She couldn’t participate in the discussion with Liquidizer, so they had agreed that she would keep an eye on the surrounding area. Still, that didn’t mean they were safe—if this was a Ruby Eye trap, it meant Suu might have to face an enemy ambush alone. Minoru was worried about the idea of Suu fighting when she was fresh out of the hospital, but she responded by showing him the Taser and handgun that were hidden in her cute letterman jacket. That’s a little worrying in its own right…, he thought as he watched the Copen leave, then checked his watch. It was 4:45 p.m. Despite it being a weekday, the streets were full of stylish young men and women. Minoru had never hung out in Harajuku before, so he couldn’t help feeling a little overwhelmed, but this was no time to let himself get distracted. He bought a bottle of mineral water at a nearby vending machine, stuffed it into his bag, and went to the Takeshita ticket gate, where he was supposed to meet Yumiko. Naturally, the sidewalks around the station were bustling with people, making it all but impossible to walk in a straight line. Minoru took deep breaths through his nose as he made his way toward the ticket gate, making sure there was no scent of Ruby Eyes. Finding Yumiko in this huge crowd won’t be easy, he thought, but evidently, he was worried for nothing. A hand suddenly reached out from right beside him and grabbed on to his arm firmly. “OMG, you’re sooo laaaate!” Minoru’s first reaction to the shrill voice was to exclaim You’ve got the wrong person! but he managed to stop himself. The uniformed high school girl hanging off his right arm really was the Accelerator, Yumiko Azu. Wh…what’s going on?! he mouthed silently. “Just go with it!” she hissed. How am I supposed to do that? Minoru thought, but then he glanced over and saw two grimly dressed men glaring at him appraisingly nearby. Quickly looking away, Minoru let Yumiko drag him along to walk in the other direction. “…Who were those guys?” “Pickup artists.” “…Ah.” Now Minoru understood: Those men must have seen Yumiko waiting alone by the gate and tried to talk to her, so she was pretending that she and Minoru were a couple in order to shake them off. They’re lucky they escaped with their lives, he thought, but he decided to keep that to himself and asked a different question instead. “Why did you pick this area to meet up anyway? You must’ve known those sorts of people would be hanging around…” “Oh, shut up. I don’t know Harajuku very well, okay? Besides, crowds reduce the danger of potential surprise attacks.” Yumiko sounded irritated, but she still hung on to Minoru’s arm as they headed south. Passing through the retro ticket gate of the Omotesandou exit, they turned right at the Jingu Bashi intersection. Once the large trees of Yoyogi Park came into view, she finally let go of his arm. As Yumiko sighed in relief, Minoru glanced over to see that her anger had mostly been replaced by extreme tension. Without thinking, he lightly touched the arm that had just released him. “Yumiko…there’s still an hour until the meeting. You can’t stay this stressed the entire time.” The Accelerator shot him a scowl. “We’re meeting up with Liquidizer, the most sinister Ruby we know. Of course I’m tense. If anything, how is it you can be so calm?” “Huh…?” Now that she mentioned it, Minoru realized he wasn’t experiencing any of the stomach pain or shortness of breath that he always felt before a mission. In fact, even the stinging nervousness that had held him in its clutches throughout his encounter with Liquidizer the previous day had vanished somehow. “Um…maybe because we’re not fighting today, I guess?” “You don’t know that! If negotiations break down, she might try to wipe out all of us on the spot.” “Ah, yeah, I guess so…” Minoru nodded, but for some reason, he suspected that wouldn’t be the case. Still, it was true that they were meeting up with someone who had tried to kill them in the past. This was hardly a situation in which he should let his guard down. “…If it comes to that, I’ll hold Liquidizer off, so please retreat with Oli-V.” Yumiko just harrumphed. “I’m not such a coward that I would sacrifice you and run away.” As if to prove her bravery, Yumiko led the way into Yoyogi Park with confident strides. The half-circle-shaped plaza, which was surrounded by trees with leafless branches, had more than a few people milling around. Students sitting on benches and eating, families walking their dogs, elderly people with oversize cameras… There were certainly plenty of people to be suspicious of, but they couldn’t exactly go around sniffing all of them. “If DD were here, he’d be able to see if there was an ambush right away…” “He’d smell it, not see it. Although I suppose he is the only SFD member with an enemy-detecting ability…but we have no choice but to do without him today. If we brought more than the three people Liquidizer requested and she found out, she would probably refuse to meet with us.” “Right, of course…” In that case, even having Suu Komura come along last-minute was risky, but she was capable of making herself completely invisible. As long as she wasn’t in a soundless room or something, it would be impossible to detect her—at least, they had no choice but to believe that. Checking his watch again, Minoru saw that it had only just passed five o’clock. “We still have almost an hour…” Yumiko looked at him as if to say So what? “We can’t just have Komura check for an ambush all by herself. Let’s walk around the park, too.” “Sure, but…what if we run into Liquidizer on the way?” “We’ll just pretend not to notice her.” “…A-all right, then.” I guess that is the only choice, Minoru thought as he followed his teammate into the park. According to the information he’d researched earlier on his phone, Yoyogi Park was about fifty-four hectares large, making it the fifth-largest park in the twenty-three wards of Tokyo. It was divided into north and south sections by a wide road; section B to the south contained soccer fields, basketball courts, and running tracks, while section A to the north contained woods, plazas, water fountains, and so on. As the name implied, the central plaza area Liquidizer had chosen was in the dead center of section A. As they walked toward that area to start with, there were more people in the park than Minoru had expected. It was already somewhat dark out, since it was past five on a midwinter day, but the atmosphere was considerably different from Amagase Park, the park closest to Minoru’s home. “…Where are we meeting up with Oli-V?” “In front of the fountain at ten to six.” “Wait…so we’re staying separate for another fifty minutes? But why…?” “So that we can check a wider area, of course. Really, you and I should probably be checking separate areas, too, but you don’t have a weapon.” “Uh-huh…” All Minoru could do was nod in response to her serious expression. It was true that aside from Olivier, a sword user, all the SFD members were equipped with stun guns, firearms, and so on. Even Suu carried a gun, despite being in middle school, so why had the topic never come up with Minoru? As if reading his thoughts, Yumiko said lowly, “If you want to carry one, you should, too. Though you’ll have to do an awful lot of training first. It’s just…handguns and Tasers aren’t very well suited to your ability, are they? I think that’s why the Professor hasn’t tried to insist that you carry a weapon.” “Well suited…” Minoru mumbled reflexively before he understood. If he tried to activate his protective shell while holding a gun, the weapon would probably go flying—and even if he could bring it into the shell, firing it would just cause the bullet to bounce right back at Minoru. A Taser would have a similar problem. He would have to deactivate his shell to use either, which he supposed would defeat the purpose of having Jet Eye abilities in the first place. “Hrmm… I think I’ll stick with fighting unarmed for now…” “I thought so,” Yumiko said bluntly, nodding. But then she seemed to reconsider that her words might have sounded harsh. “But in your case, you serve as an excellent tank with those powers of yours, so you shouldn’t worry too much about carrying a gun.” “…A tank?” “You can ask Oli-V what it means later. Anyway, we should head to the central plaza now…try and check out the people in the area.” “R-right.” Minoru obediently glanced to his left and right, but he couldn’t help wondering: Did she just try to make me feel better…? Minoru and Yumiko took their time, walking the kilometer around the central plaza for about twenty minutes. A third of the people they passed were joggers, a third were couples or families, and a third were less readily identifiable, but they never detected anyone who seemed suspicious, never mind the scent of a Ruby Eye. If Liquidizer’s deal really was a Syndicate trap, and they were trying to take out Minoru, Yumiko, and Olivier in one fell swoop, they would need to have a fair number of Ruby Eyes positioned around the area accordingly. It was hard to imagine that not a single one of them would show up on their radar. But Yumiko wasn’t satisfied with one trip around, and she walked right past the fountain where they were supposed to meet up with Olivier, starting a second round of searching. As they walked, the sky gradually darkened to a deep indigo, making it harder to see people clearly from a distance. Focusing on his sense of smell while he walked, Minoru began to feel like a wild animal. Suddenly, he remembered what Liquidizer had said to him when they parted the day before. It’s faint, but…you have an interesting smell, boy. Feeling a bit unsettled, Minoru tugged at his uniform sleeve to sniff himself, earning a suspicious look from Yumiko. “What in the world are you doing?” “Oh, erm…I was just wondering if I was smelly at all…” “Excuse me? Why would you be worried about that right now? Don’t tell me it’s because we’re meeting Liquidizer soon?” “N-no, of course not. Or, well, I guess it kind of is… Yesterday, she…” But Minoru stopped there. He suddenly heard loud, deliberate footsteps behind him. When he and Yumiko whirled around in unison, they saw a man approaching them wearing a black leather jacket, denim jeans ripped beyond their limit, a loose knit cap, and leather engineer boots. On top of all that, he had a guitar case slung over his left shoulder. Who is that?! Minoru was on guard for a moment, but then the man raised the brim of his cap, revealing a handsome face underneath. It was Olivier. “…What kind of idiotic outfit is that?” Olivier looked a little mortified. “It’s the perfect disguise for carrying a sword in the heart of Harajuku, that’s what. Certainly suits me better than a fisherman or a kendo club member, no?” “If the police question us, I’m pretending I don’t know you,” Yumiko announced, before growing serious again. “So did you find anyone suspicious?” “Not at all. What about you?” “Same here. And Komura hasn’t sent us a warning, so perhaps this isn’t a trap after all.” “Hrmm…” Olivier quickly scanned the area, prompting Minoru to instinctively do the same. Their current location was a fountain area at the south side of the central plaza. The four-cornered fountain square was adjacent to a large lake and equipped with ten or so benches, most of which were occupied by couples. Of course, just as Minoru and Yumiko had done at Harajuku Station before, Ruby Eyes could easily pretend to be couples. But from this short distance, surely the Jet Eyes would sense them. “…Still, this is Liquidizer we’re talking about. Don’t let your guards down.” Olivier pulled down his knit cap, and Yumiko nodded. “Of course… Only five minutes left. We should probably get going.” At those words, Minoru finally began to feel nervous. His mouth was running dry, so he pulled the water bottle out of his messenger bag and took several gulps; when he looked up, Yumiko was holding out her right hand. “Me too, please.” “Erm…right, of course.” If they did this in a high school classroom, everyone would tease them…or chatter about it, at the very least. But I’m an SFD member right now, not a student, he reminded himself firmly as he held out the bottle. Yumiko accepted it calmly, took a few sips, then looked at Olivier. The sword user shook his head, so she replaced the cap and returned the bottle to Minoru. Putting it away in his bag, he exchanged glances with the other two. They nodded at one another and began to walk in silence. Together, the three walked across the bridge over the pond, heading toward the central plaza. During flower-viewing season, the place was evidently so packed that you had to stake out spots in advance, but in January even the grass had withered to a pale brown, making for a truly wintry scene. When they left the path and stepped into the plaza, there was no one else around. The area outside Harajuku Station was too crowded to walk through, but this place is only a few minutes away, and it’s completely empty, Minoru wondered, a little surprised. The area certainly did reduce the threat of an ambush, and there were no cameras to monitor them. As they walked shoulder to shoulder with Olivier in the middle, the trio reached the middle of the plaza. The light of sundown had already faded from the sky, but thanks to the streetlights of Shibuya and Harajuku, not to mention his Third Eye, Minoru’s vision was still clear. Liquidizer was nowhere to be seen in the windswept plaza. …No, wait. As Minoru and the others approached the center from the south, there was a single silhouette approaching opposite them from the north. Yumiko and Olivier, who’d been walking ahead of him, slowed down. Minoru slowed his pace as well, squinting at the figure. “………?” It was a woman—but she carried a battered tote bag in her left hand and a white shopping bag in her right, and she wore a maroon down coat and a beige muffler, looking in every way like an ordinary housewife. Maybe she lives nearby and is taking a shortcut through the plaza, Minoru thought, relaxing his shoulders. But then… “It’s her,” Yumiko muttered in a low voice, and Olivier nodded. The two of them stopped, and the housewife-like figure stopped as well. There was about five meters of distance between them, too far to make out the person’s face very clearly. But then the woman started walking again. She strode slowly, as if checking the ground beneath her with every step, gradually drawing closer to them. Yumiko rested her right hand on her Taser, and Olivier moved the guitar case from his back to his side. She was only four meters away…three meters…two meters. “Bonsoir.” It was only when her fluent French reached his ears that Minoru was finally convinced. Though she carried herself exactly like a tired housewife and looked more than ten years older than the high school student he’d spoken with the previous day, the pair of eyes glittering sharply beneath those slightly tousled bangs undoubtedly belonged to Liquidizer. As soon as their eyes met, goose bumps rose on Minoru’s arms, and he nearly activated his protective shield before he managed to stop himself. “…So is that a disguise? Or your real self?” Yumiko, on the other hand, seemed perfectly calm as she asked the question. Liquidizer fluttered her mascara-laden eyelashes and responded in Japanese. “That information isn’t part of the deal, I’m afraid.” “At least tell us what’s in those shopping bags, then.” The woman seemed unruffled by the interrogation. “Groceries, that’s all. I bought them at the supermarket in Sangubashi.” “Why would you buy food on your way to a meetup like this?” “Partly for camouflage, partly for practical reasons, I suppose. Even I get hungry, you know.” She smiled blandly behind her scarf. But then her face was serious again, and she nodded lightly. “I suppose I should thank you for accepting my request, first of all. It doesn’t seem like you’ve brought your little friends from the SFD, the Self-Defense Whatsit, or Public Security, unless perhaps that invisible girl is here, I suppose. And even if she is, you should make sure she doesn’t push herself while she’s still recovering, hmm?” Immediately, Minoru felt a low burn in the pit of his stomach. Suu had sustained major head injuries to break out of Liquidizer’s concrete trap. But he managed to stay calm, reminding himself that it had only happened because they infiltrated the Syndicate hideout in the first place. He would have expected that to make Yumiko angry, too, but it didn’t show on her face. “Your advice is appreciated. So it seems you were serious about making a deal, then.” “But of course. I wouldn’t go all the way to silly old Saitama just to set up some overly complicated trap.” “Well, sorry for your trouble,” Minoru grumbled without thinking. Liquidizer’s lips quirked. “Oh, I actually quite liked it. It’s so spacious—you can really see the sky there, hmm?” “You’re still making fun of it, aren’t you…?” The exchange relaxed the tension ever so slightly, until— “Where is Stargazer?” —Olivier, who had been silent until then, cut in with one short demand. His left hand was on the buckle of the guitar case, ready to fling it open at a moment’s notice. Inside, no doubt, was not a guitar but his beloved long sword. It was a weapon that would be powerless against Liquidizer, who could melt anything, but he had to show his determination somehow. The same was likely true of Liquidizer. She needed to touch something with her palm to liquefy it, but she was wearing thick gloves and holding bags in both hands, likely to show that she didn’t intend to attack them. Still, she clearly had no intention of buttering them up, either. Her smile vanished, and the Ruby focused her cold eyes on Olivier. “Let’s take this one step at a time, shall we? You answer one of my questions, I’ll answer one of yours. How’s that?” “…Fine.” “Then I’ll be nice and answer one of yours first. Stargazer…your little sister…is in the Ruby Eye Syndicate’s main headquarters.” “Then where is the…?” Olivier was leaning forward, but he trailed off, most likely remembering the agreement. Instead, Yumiko spoke next. “So what’s your question?” “Where is Trancer?” Liquidizer’s question mirrored Olivier’s perfectly, but Yumiko didn’t answer right away. She was probably reluctant to leak confidential SFD information, even if they had agreed to negotiate. But there was no turning back now. “…He’s in a hospital that backs the SFD.” She answered in a hard voice, giving only part of the information. Liquidizer nodded, and Olivier took another half step forward. Minoru expected him to resume his question from before, but instead he asked something new. “And where is Stinger?” Liquidizer looked surprised by this, too. But instead of commenting, she raised her right hand, still holding the tote bag. “As I explained to the boy yesterday, I can only get an approximate sense of what direction he’s in. But he hasn’t moved these past few days, so I’ve been able to narrow it down considerably. He’s currently hiding out somewhere in Minami-Azabu.” “Minami-Azabu…,” Olivier muttered. Minoru leaned over to Yumiko. “Um, where is that again?” he whispered. “North of Hiroo, south of Shirokane.” She turned to Liquidizer. “Can’t you narrow it down any further?” Lowering her arm again, the Ruby Eye shrugged. “Of course, if I get close enough. But then I run the risk of him noticing me.” “…I see.” Yumiko nodded, and Liquidizer’s expression turned cool once more. “My turn again… Tell me the exact location of the hospital where Trancer is being held.” This time, she probably wasn’t just hesitating because it was classified. If Liquidizer attacked the hospital—specifically, the eleventh floor of NCAM—then there might be casualties among the staff and guards. Although they were trading information to rescue Olivier’s sister, that didn’t mean sacrificing the lives of innocent citizens was acceptable. Liquidizer stared at Yumiko’s visible hesitance. “Is this the end of our deal, then?” “No…we’ll keep going.” Yumiko’s voice sounded strained. “But promise me something. That if I tell you where the hospital is, you won’t attack it by force.” “…Surely you can’t be serious?” The bags in Liquidizer’s hands fell to the ground. Cold, violent intent rolled off her from her suede boots. Yumiko quickly jumped back, and Olivier threw open the guitar case. Minoru nearly activated his shell but just barely stopped himself. Liquidizer stared piercingly into each of their eyes as the three of them stood ready to fight. “You agreed to this deal so that you could steal Stargazer back ‘by force,’ did you not? Is there some reason why I can’t do the same thing, pray tell?” “……No, there isn’t.” Yumiko stood up straight from her tense crouch. “It’s just a request. Besides…even you most likely won’t be able to just break in and rescue Trancer. The hospital in question has an incredibly advanced defense system, including two-hundred-megapascal water jets.” Liquidizer’s expression didn’t change, but her murderous aura lessened, and she picked up the tote and shopping bag from the ground. “…I see. I suppose even I can’t do much against high-pressure water jets… But I thought the cutting range for such things was only a few centimeters at the most? Even if they came down from the ceiling, would that really kill the person below?” “Shall I count that as your next question?” Liquidizer smiled dryly. “Non, no need to answer that one. I’m sure they’ve devised some way to make it lethal… I understand the hospital is well protected, then, but that doesn’t change my answer. I cannot promise that I won’t attack it… That’s why I proposed this deal, after all.” “………” Yumiko took a sharp breath, as if to say something else, but no words came. Liquidizer had just declared that she would invade enemy territory alone to rescue Trancer, even if it meant risking her life. If she was that determined, then there was nothing else they could say to dissuade her. The heavy silence continued for a moment, until finally Liquidizer opened her mouth. She was probably about to say they should cut off the negotiations now, but someone else spoke first. “No, that’s wrong.” It was Olivier, closing the buckle of the guitar case again as he spoke. “…What do you mean?” “You didn’t propose this deal to attack the hospital. You did it to get Trancer back, right?” His voice was low and hoarse. Liquidizer blinked slowly before she answered. “And how exactly is that any different?” “It is… ’Cause I’ll help you save Trancer.” Minoru and Yumiko stared at Olivier’s face in shocked silence. Liquidizer seemed to be just as surprised: She murmured a presumably French exclamation, “Oh là là…,” before reverting to Japanese. “Divider, do you have any idea what you’re saying? Leaking information is one thing, but if you do something like that, you’ll be the one they lock up next. They might even assume you’ve been brainwashed and remove your Third Eye.” “I don’t care…as long as we’ve got Claire back by then.” Using his sister’s real name, not her code name, Olivier looked at Yumiko and then Minoru. His expression was calm, but there was a glint of pain in his blue-gray eyes. The Trancer, Ryuu Mikawa, was one of the perpetrators of Claire Saito’s kidnapping, so Olivier had viewed him as a mortal enemy ever since. He had even requested to be present for Trancer’s Third Eye removal, probably so that he could see his foe’s last moments—as a Ruby Eye, at least. So naturally, Minoru was surprised that he would volunteer to help rescue Trancer, but at the same time he felt like he understood. He could relate to the feeling of being willing to do anything to save your sister. In fact, it struck him as the only thing to do. And so… “I’ll help, too.” Olivier raised his eyebrows at Minoru. “Seriously, Isolator? No point in you putting yourself in danger like that.” “But surely two people are more likely to succeed than one. And that will probably be more convincing for Ms. Liquidizer to cooperate, too, right?” “Listen, dude…” Olivier started to object further, then closed his mouth. Yumiko had stepped forward, raising her hands and shaking her head. “Well, I suppose now I have to say that three people would be even better.” Minoru and Olivier both tried to argue with her, but no words came to mind. As the three stared at one another grimly, Liquidizer looked at them and heaved a long sigh. “Goodness, you lot are exhausting. But if you’re offering to help me, I’m not going to flat-out refuse, of course. However…” Her eyes regained their sharpness, and she looked deep into each of their eyes in turn. “What, exactly, do you intend to do? Rush the hospital in my stead and get Trancer out for me?” Minoru had assumed that was the plan as well, but Olivier quickly shook his head. “No, that’d still end in casualties. I don’t want anyone getting hurt over this. Trancer’s being taken out of the hospital and transferred somewhere else late tonight. We’re gonna go after that car.” “What…?” Yumiko was the first to respond. “Transferred?! This is the first I’m hearing about such a thing. How in the world do you know about this?” “’Cause it’s Searcher and me who are supposed to protect the car. I just got the order an hour ago. I hadn’t heard anything about the transfer till then, either.” “An hour ago?!” Yumiko glanced at her watch and back at Olivier in disbelief. “But that’s far too sudden. What is the Pr…commander thinking?!” It’s probably safe to say “professor” instead of “commander,” Minoru thought absently, but Olivier shook his head. “The order’s not from the commander; it’s from way higher up. Probably the same ones who had Isolator sent to you-know-where.” “………” Minoru heard Yumiko grind her teeth. “You-know-where” was undoubtedly the Tokyo Bay Nuclear Power Plant. The order to have Minoru slip into the reactor had evidently come from higher-ups in the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, which was in charge of the SFD. If this was the work of the same unknown HLW top brass, then where in the world were they taking Trancer, and why? As the tension deepened, Liquidizer’s low voice only made it worse. “I highly doubt the place they’re bringing him is going to have less security than the hospital. So I really don’t think I can let you handle this on your own. I’m joining the attack on the car, too.” “…As long as the car is the only thing you melt.” “I can’t make any promises, but I shall do my best.” Olivier scowled at this response, but he nodded. From the sound of things, Minoru would be participating in a mission tonight that involved working with Liquidizer to rescue Trancer from a car being guarded by DD, who knew nothing about what was going on. It was bound to be chaotic, no matter what plans they made, and he would probably be fired from the SFD and even have his Third Eye removed afterward. Naturally, this meant his arrangement for Chief Himi to erase Minoru from the memories of the people around him would be rendered moot, too. But even so, he still wanted to do everything in his power to help Olivier save his little sister. If Minoru’s late sister, Wakaba, were here, surely she would say the same. “…All right, then it’s our turn to ask a question next.” Olivier had sunk into silence, so Yumiko spoke up. “Where is the headquarters where Stargazer is being kept?” “…I can’t tell you the exact location,” Liquidizer responded in a whisper. Yumiko’s sharp voice immediately cut over her. “What are you playing at?! You’re the one who suggested this deal!” “I know that, but I still can’t say. Because…” But they weren’t able to find out her reason. Liquidizer suddenly fell back on the ground, as if someone had swept her legs from behind. Her shopping bags hit the ground with a dull thud. At first, Minoru assumed she’d either been sniped from a distance or attacked by an invisible Suu. But less than five seconds later, he discovered that neither of those things was the case. The feeling of the ground beneath the soles of his sneakers suddenly vanished. It felt as if he were standing on smoothly polished ice—no, as if someone had poured oil on top of that ice to make it doubly slippery. Unable to keep his balance, Minoru fell forward. He tried to catch himself with his hands, but his palms slipped along the surface the same way, leaving him to topple over. Yumiko and Olivier went down at the same time, shouting and struggling. “Wh…what is this?!” “Damn it, why’s it so slippery?!” Minoru checked over the surface of the ground as he tried desperately to stand up. There had been a lawn underfoot just moments ago, but now there wasn’t a single blade of grass to be seen. Instead, the ground was covered with a glossy, dark-gray, vinyl-like substance. The area it covered was at least twenty meters in diameter. The film was soft yet impossible for the hand to grasp—his fingers slid right off the surface no matter how hard he tried to grab or poke through it. It would’ve been impossible to slide something like this under their feet without the four of them noticing. Which meant this must be— “A Third Eye’s ability…!” Minoru’s muttered exclamation was followed up with more information from Liquidizer, the only one who wasn’t struggling. “This is Lubricator’s power…!” Minoru had never heard this code name. Evidently, neither had Yumiko or Olivier, both of whom glared at Liquidizer from the ground. “You called in backup?!” Yumiko accused. Liquidizer quickly shook her head. “No, I came alone. More importantly, we have to get out of here fast…” She quickly turned her head to the right. Struggling to keep herself steady, she raised her right hand when suddenly—there was a sharp noise from far away, and the palm of Liquidizer’s glove dissolved into liquid and scattered. Tiny beads rolled around before Minoru’s eyes. The brown ones were the synthetic fiber that had been liquefied by Liquidizer’s ability. And the dully glinting metallic beads…those had been a bullet until just seconds ago. Someone really had shot at them this time. Minoru quickly looked in the direction the shot had come from. There was someone there, in a zelkova tree on the north end of the plaza. It was dark, and they were over fifty meters away, so Minoru could only make out their silhouette, but they didn’t seem to have a large rifle. But it should be all but impossible to land accurate fire on someone from that distance using a handgun, shouldn’t it? As if in mockery of Minoru’s thoughts, the distant figure raised both hands. There were three small flashes of light in rapid succession, a faint whizzing sound, and then—Liquidizer’s hands blocked the bullets. She managed to liquefy the first two shots with her right hand, but her shoulder sent up a billow of white snow-like feathers from her down coat. “Nngh…” She went down with a small grunt of pain, sliding toward Minoru on the vinyl-like film. In the battle in Minami-Aoyama, Liquidizer had managed to liquefy all the bullets Yumiko fired without touching them directly. Why wasn’t she able to do that now? Full of uncertainty, Minoru caught Liquidizer and inspected the wound on her shoulder. The white feathers leaking from the hole in her coat started to turn dark. Looking up, Minoru saw that the person in the zelkova tree was preparing their weapon for the third time. Wearing a ghastly expression, Liquidizer raised her right hand again. “……!!” Half because they couldn’t lose their source of information and half out of pure instinct, Minoru pulled Liquidizer behind him and activated his protective shell. As he was enveloped in a world of silence, the attacker’s muzzle flashed three times. Kneeling, Minoru saw sparks hit his chest twice and his face once. He couldn’t feel them at all, but it was easy to grasp that the bullets had hit his shell, gotten crushed, and bounced off. If he’d been one second later in activating the shell, Minoru would be dead. Gritting his teeth after that realization, Minoru spread his arms as wide as he could, trying to protect the three people behind him. The surface of the shell offered no friction whatsoever, and the vinyl-like film that covered the ground was also frighteningly low friction. According to the professor’s analysis, he was unconsciously hardening the space beneath the soles of his feet when he walked in the shell, but that didn’t seem to be working right now. He felt unstable, as if his whole body were being held up by magnetism. Nonetheless, Minoru braced himself with the determination to prevent the other three from being hurt. But then the far-off shooter lowered the gun and started walking right toward them. When the attacker was about thirty meters away, Minoru could finally make out their appearance. The person was thin and tall. He wore a gray trench coat and a black suit, complete with a necktie. A fedora the same color as his coat was pulled low over his eyes, and the face underneath—couldn’t be seen. Not because it was dark but because his entire face was covered with some kind of thin mask. No detective would dress like that, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t be allowed to fire at people without warning. And the large gun hanging from his right hand was equipped with a suppressor. That could only mean that the man in the trench coat was a Ruby. He must have learned about this meeting and come to interfere. And the vinyl film that had stolen the group’s power of movement was undoubtedly his ability. Minoru didn’t know why he hadn’t smelled the Ruby Eye, but he could think about that later. Right now, they had to do something about this man, who clearly intended to kill all of them. As his mind raced, Minoru saw something in the far-right corner of his vision. Yumiko was holding her gun beneath Minoru’s spread right arm. How is she holding herself steady on this frictionless vinyl? he wondered, then realized that she was lying across the prone Liquidizer’s stomach. Neither of them was probably happy about having such close contact with a mortal enemy, but no doubt they were both in agreement that they had to do whatever it took to survive. The small suppresser-equipped automatic pistol, which Yumiko held in both hands, fired off two yellow flashes. The man in the trench coat was only twenty meters away from them now. A sharpshooter like Yumiko wouldn’t miss from that distance. Sure enough, he saw the material of the man’s coat tear open on his chest and side. But while the man stumbled a little, he didn’t stop walking. Yumiko fired again, and the bullet appeared to strike the man’s left cheek, but he still kept walking. Now he was fifteen meters away. Arriving near the edge of the vinyl film that had trapped the four of them, the man in the trench coat raised his large pistol and aimed to Minoru’s left—at the part of Liquidizer’s body that was protruding from the cover of his protective shell. Yumiko fired again at the same time as the man did. Minoru threw himself into the bullet’s path and managed to block it with his shell, but he was knocked down onto the vinyl again. He frantically scrambled to stand, but there was zero friction between his protective shell and the slick vinyl surface, so he couldn’t hold himself up in the slightest. I won’t be able to block the next shot! Just as Minoru gritted his teeth— —there was a violent bluish-white flash at the trench coat man’s back. The discharge from a Taser. The man bent over as the high-ampere shock coursed through him, but he still managed to whirl around and hold up the gun in his right hand. Minoru clearly saw the hand strike something invisible. There in the darkness, a small frame flickered into view. Suu Komura staggered and fell onto the lawn. Recovering from the electric shock, the man pointed his gun at Suu. “NOOOOO!” Minoru screamed inside the shell and struggled to run toward her. Yumiko fired her gun repeatedly, hitting the man several times, but it didn’t bring him down. Just as the muzzle of his gun aimed toward Suu’s head—a silver flash flew through the air and pierced the man’s right arm. It was a sword. The Western-style long sword, which Olivier must have thrown, cut deeply into the man’s upper arm. The gun dropped, and Suu caught it in midair, putting her fingers around it in one smooth movement and firing repeatedly at the man as he fell. Shot at such a point-blank range, even the man in the trench coat staggered around heavily, his fedora flying off into the air. Wrapped in a gray mask, his exposed face appeared to have no eyes or mouth. But the man still didn’t go down. He was unbelievably tough, even for a Third Eye holder. As he stumbled backward unsteadily, he pulled out the sword that was lodged in his right arm. Then he tossed the sword aside, turned, and ran away at a speed unthinkable for someone who had just been gravely injured. The man’s back shrank into the darkness and disappeared. Minoru deactivated his protective shell and put his hands on the ground. Instead of the slippery surface, he felt something grainy and soft. He wanted to see what had happened, but that wasn’t as important right now. “A…are you all right?!” Trying to hold back his panic, Minoru turned toward Liquidizer, who was still on the ground behind him. Holding her left shoulder with her hand, she smiled darkly as she responded. “I’m fine, boy. Go check on your invisible girl.” “R…right!” Minoru jumped up and hurried over to Suu, who was lying a few dozen feet away. She didn’t seem to be bleeding, but she was clutching the side of her head where the man must have struck her. “S… Refractor, are you okay?!” Suu grimaced and gave a small nod. “I’m fine. It’s just a little bump.” “But you just had surgery there. We have to get you to the hospital…” “It can wait.” With that, Suu reached out her left hand to Minoru. He took it and gently pulled her up. Once Suu was on her feet, she shook her head lightly to test the degree of pain, then looked down at the gun that was still in her right hand. “A SOCOM pistol…,” she murmured. That was most likely the name of the gun, but Minoru didn’t know why she was making such a troubled expression about it. He picked up Olivier’s sword, which was on the ground nearby, and turned around to see that its owner had just walked over to him. Holding out the sword’s handle, he lowered his head. “Thank you, Divider. If you hadn’t thrown that sword, we wouldn’t have been able to drive him away.” “You too, Isolator. You’re a good tank.” Olivier grinned as he took the sword, putting it away in the guitar case. But then his expression sobered, and he looked off in the direction where the man in the trench coat had fled. Shaking his head slowly, he grumbled to himself… “Damn it. I only just got out of the hospital, too… Sorry, but I need you to handle the rest.” “Huh…?” Confused, Minoru looked at Olivier more carefully. For some reason, he was clutching his side with his right hand. And then Minoru saw that there was blood trickling from between his fingers. “O…Oli-V!” Crying out in shock, Minoru reached out to Olivier. But he was too late. The Divider slumped over and fell face-first on the ground.