Chapter 5

“It’s me.” Everyone’s gazes, including Rentaro’s, went to the speaker. Rentaro was startled at what he saw. In President Ose’s previously empty seat, the mysterious man in a mask, silk hat, and tailcoat sat with his legs on the table. The CEOs on both sides of him were so surprised at his sudden appearance that they screamed and fell off their chairs. Rentaro knew who he was. In fact—“You’re… No way…” “Oof,” said the man, as he bent his body and jumped up, stepping on the table with his shoes on. The agency presidents watched dumbfounded. Once the man got to the middle of the table, he confronted the Seitenshi. “Tell me your name,” said the Seitenshi. “Oh, excuse me.” The man took off his silk hat and folded his body in half to bow. “I am Hiruko. Kagetane Hiruko. It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss incompetent head of state. To put it bluntly, I am your enemy.” The chills running up his spine made Rentaro draw his gun. “Y-you…” The man who called himself Kagetane turned his neck with a violent force toward Rentaro. “Oh ho, have you been well, Satomi? My dear friend.” “How did you get in here?!” Rentaro demanded. “Oh ho, the correct answer to your question is: from the front door, like everyone else, I suppose. There were some annoying little flies that kept coming at me, though, so I killed a few of them. Oh right, this is the perfect time to introduce you to my Initiator. Kohina, come.” “Yes, Papa.” Before they could turn to look, a girl walked up between Satomi and Kisara. Rentaro felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. How long had she been behind them? She had short, wavy hair and wore a frilly black dress. From the length of the two scabbards that crossed her back, they probably held short swords. “Whoopsie daisy,” she said as she lifted her arms and legs and climbed up the table with effort, going to stand beside Kagetane and curtsying, holding her skirt in her hands. “I’m Kohina Hiruko, ten years old.” “She is my Initiator and my daughter,” said Kagetane. Initiator? This man is a civsec officer? Kohina slowly looked left and right with a sleepy look on her face. After a short while, she tugged on Kagetane’s sleeve mild-manneredly. “Papa, everyone’s looking. It’s embarrassing, so can I kill them? Also, that guy is pointing a gun this way. Can I kill him?” “There, there,” said Kagetane. “But you can’t kill them yet. Have patience.” “Aw, Papa…” Seeing blood dripping from the scabbard on the girl’s hip creating a stain on the table, Rentaro shuddered. Continuing to hold his gun ready, he used his free hand to move Kisara behind him. “What do you want?” he demanded. “I came to greet you all today,” said Kagetane. “I just wanted you to know that I am also entering this race.” “Entering? What are you talking about?” “I’m saying that we are the ones who will take the Inheritance of the Seven Stars.” The moment she heard those words, the Seitenshi squeezed her eyes shut for a moment in resignation. “The Inheritance of the Seven Stars?” said Rentaro. “What’s that?” “Oh? You were all really being made to take this job without knowing anything, huh? You poor things. It’s what’s inside the duralumin case you were talking about.” “So yesterday, you were in that room because—” “That’s right. I followed the source Gastrea into the room, but what I was looking for had disappeared somewhere, and as I was hanging around, a police squad broke the window and came in. They surprised me, so I ended up killing them quite by accident.” He laughed from deep in his throat as he held his mask to his face. Rentaro felt hatred for the laughing Kagetane. “You bastard…” Kagetane spread both arms wide and turned on the tabletop. “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s review the rules! This is a race to see who can find the source Gastrea and get their hands on the Inheritance of the Seven Stars first. The Inheritance of the Seven Stars is surely engulfed in the Gastrea’s body, so all you have to do to get ahold of it is kill the Gastrea. How about we bet your lives?” “I can’t listen to your yapping any longer.” The muffled voice came from the other side of the table. It was Shogen Ikuma, with his bastard sword and his skull-face scarf. “You’re talking too much. Basically, we just need you to die right now, right?” Rentaro thought Shogen had disappeared, but the next instant, Shogen had buried himself into Kagetane’s chest. He was fast. “I’m gonna kill you.” “Oh?” said Kagetane, amused. Surrounded by a sudden surge of wind, the great sword swung like a tornado. Its deadly timing was perfect, leaving no margin for escape. But then—it was repelled with a thunderous clang, and the next instant Shogen’s sword flew in a different direction. “Wha…?” said Shogen. “Too bad!” said Kagetane. What was that just now? It was only for a second, but Rentaro saw a bluish-white phosphorescent glow between Shogen’s sword and Kagetane. “Get back, Shogen!” With Mikajima’s single roar, Shogen instantly understood and retreated, clicking his tongue. As if they had been waiting for that instant, all the presidents and Promoters who had gathered drew their self-defense pistols at once and fired round after round. Rentaro fired. Kisara fired, too. The ear-splitting sound of gunfire came from all directions, 360-degrees around. The thunderous sound came again, and this time, the bluish-white glow was more clearly visible. It was a dome-shaped barrier. When the bullets hit the barrier, they were repelled in all directions with a shrill sound. The glass in the furniture and on the paintings was blown away, and the sound of bullets competed with someone’s war cry. Rentaro also shot his XD gun as if possessed, but after a while, he was out of ammo and the slide stop popped up, and everyone there had fired all of their bullets. In the strange silence filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke that followed, the cries of the unfortunate people here and there who had been hit with stray bullets could be heard. “No way…” Rentaro swallowed his bitter spit along with the out-of-this-world sensation that he felt. In the middle of the table riddled with bullet holes, the masked man and the girl looked down at everything around them. All the high-ranking people in attendance froze as if numb. Kagetane placidly spread his arms. “It’s a repulsion force field. I call it Imaginary Gimmick.” “A barrier…? Are you really human?” said Rentaro. “I assure you I am human. However, in order to generate this, most of my organs have been replaced with Varanium instruments.” “Instruments…” “Let me tell you again who I am, Satomi. I am Kagetane Hiruko, former member of the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Eastern Force, 787th Mechanization Special Unit, of the New Humanity Creation Project.” Mikajima’s eyes widened in surprise. “The special unit created to counter Gastrea during the Gastrea War…? It actually exists…?” “You are free to believe it or not,” said Kagetane. “Well, what am I trying to say, Satomi? Basically, I was not fighting seriously at all before. Sorry.” Kagetane came silently in front of Rentaro, and like he was performing a magic show, he used a white cloth to cover the palm of his hand, counted to three, and pulled it away. When he did, a box tied with a red ribbon appeared. Putting it on the table, he lay a hand on the astonished Rentaro’s shoulder. “It’s a present for you,” he said. “And now, I will take my leave of you. Fall into despair, civsec. The day of extinction is at hand! Let’s go, Kohina.” “Yes, Papa,” said the girl. The two walked calmly to the window, broke it, and jumped down as if this were completely natural. Everyone in the room, including Rentaro, could not move for a while. No one said a word about chasing after them. It was the first time Rentaro thought he might be killed with a glance. Just don’t vomit, he told himself as he bore down with all his might on the nausea that was rising from the pit of his stomach. Rentaro gave a start as someone suddenly laid a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Kisara with a stern expression on her face. “Satomi, I demand an explanation. Where have you met this man?” “Well…,” Rentaro hesitated. In the silence, Mikajima’s anger got the best of him, and he banged on the table with his fists. “Lord Tendo. The New Humanity Creation Project—was what that man said true?” “There is no need to answer that.” The boulderlike Kikunojo replied immediately, unwaveringly. As a heavy silence fell, a man in a half-mad state suddenly burst into the meeting room. “It’s terrible. The president is…!” The shrill voice belonged to the lanky secretary who was always with President Ose, who was absent from the meeting. He was deranged, and his shoulders heaved as he panted and his eyes bulged. “The president was killed in his house! Th-the head of the corpse is nowhere to be found!” Everyone’s gaze went to the box that had been set in front of Rentaro. Each side of the box was about thirty centimeters long. Rentaro untied the ribbon with shaking hands, and lifted the lid. After facing it for a while, he slowly lowered the lid. He had only met the man two or three times on the job, but in the midst of so many bloodthirsty civsec officers, he was a man who never stopped smiling, so Rentaro remembered privately liking him. His balled up fist shook, and he was filled with so much rage it made him dizzy. “That bastard…!” “Quiet!” At the Seitenshi’s clear voice, Rentaro slowly raised his face that was frozen in an expression of rage. “The situation has taken a rather unusual direction. Everyone, allow me to add a new condition to fulfilling the job. Please retrieve the case before the man trying to get the case does so. If you do not, terrible things will happen.” Kisara glared at the Seitenshi. “You will explain just what is inside the case, won’t you?” The Seitenshi closed her eyes and bit her lip lightly. “Very well. Inside the case is the Inheritance of the Seven Stars. It must be sealed. If misused by wicked people, it could destroy the Monolith barrier and cause a Great Extinction in Tokyo Area.”