The abandoned building’s cries echoed through its dimly lit interior. They didn’t come from the floors and walls, which were giving in to their fate and crumbling naturally, but from destruction caused by someone.
The structure seemed to be an abandoned factory of some kind and was coated in rust. Forgotten machinery lay strewn amongst rubble from the ceiling that now littered the floor. And now, after long years without a single person setting foot inside it, the entire structure creaked with incessant booms and vibrations.
A rapid-fire rat-a-tat joined the cacophony: the sound of gunfire. Blasts continued to reverberate, gradually approaching the factory, until the wall was suddenly blown in with explosive force.
As the dust settled, a four-legged beast with a maw like a crocodile’s appeared. It was wholly unlike any existing animal. Its body, composed of rusted pieces of junk, made that fact clear. The creature was a three-meter-long amalgamation of iron scraps, bits of concrete, and large gears—man-made materials that no longer served their purpose.
“Watch out for falling rubble!”
A group of five armed individuals wearing full-face helmets surged through the hole in pursuit of the large beast. Their small submachine guns and jet-black equipment made them look more like a special forces team than a military unit.
Tubes attached to the bottoms of their guns illuminated the dark room. The troops fired thirty-seven-millimeter grenades, which traveled faster than the eye could follow and exploded as soon as they hit the junk monster.
“KRRRRK!”
The monster’s cry sounded like metal scraping together. Pieces of junk from its body were blown in all directions, piercing the walls and machines.
“Archive! Now!” yelled a young man.
A huge black net appeared before the beast. If you looked closely, you could see that it was actually made up of countless strings of text that had been woven together. It was clearly something that didn’t fit in with the natural laws of this world.
Unable to respond in time, the beast collided with the net, but the creature didn’t budge. In fact, the strange strings of text were so strong that the collision caused more metal fragments to fly off the beast’s body and scatter throughout the room with grating metallic sounds.
The hunk of junk didn’t cry out. Instead, it glared at the girl on the other side of the black net.
Coldly staring down at the beast from atop a five-meter-high scaffold was a girl with shoulder-length blond hair and slanted, almond-shaped eyes. She was holding up a red string that was entwined around her fingers as if she were playing cat’s cradle.
“KREEEEE!”
The junk beast howled in pain, producing another metallic cacophony. It threw itself at the sturdy net again, determined to reach the girl, but…
“Bring it down!” the same young man commanded.
Upon his signal, the armed troopers, who had surrounded the beast, simultaneously fired grenades which tore apart the beast’s body. The pieces of junk flew through the air, and what remained of the beast crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
“There it is!” the blond-haired girl called out in a clear voice, pointing at the beast. She was indicating an object lodged inside the creature’s crumbled head—an old, worn-out gear, shining with a red light. Despite the numerous explosions the beast had taken, there wasn’t a scratch on it.
“Mr. Karamori!”
“On it!”
A figure rushed forward like the wind. It was the young man in charge of the armed group, who looked to be around seventeen years old. His black hair was a little unruly, and his lips rested in a slight smile.
Unlike the other troopers, he didn’t have a helmet and wore only light armor. He also carried a sword in his right hand, a weapon choice that stood in stark contrast to the modern equipment of his peers.
The sheathed sword was so gaudy it looked as if it were purely ceremonial. The entirety of it was golden, from the handle to the sheath, which was inlaid with a startling number of gems. Its majesty was spoiled only by the chains that extended from the pommel and wrapped around the sword, almost as if the young man were afraid to draw it.
The half-destroyed beast writhed in pain, and the youth showed no hesitation as he ran toward it, holding the still-sheathed sword at the ready. His target was the exposed red gear.
Dodging a swing of the beast’s tail by a matter of centimeters, the youth slid the chained sword ever so slightly from its sheath. But the beast chose that moment to unleash a grating cry. The light given off by the worn gear grew stronger, and the abandoned machinery and steel beams in the ceiling suddenly split apart. The screws and bolts holding them together fell loose, reducing the man-made objects to lowly junk that were pulled toward the beast as they fell.
“Damn! It’s reviving again?!” the youth spat, looking annoyed. His team had been pursuing the beast for some time without being able to finish it off. And to make matters worse, the abandoned building rumbled in response to large parts of it being disassembled.
The youth looked around. He saw the factory crumbling along with his chance, as well as his helmeted comrades standing at the ready.
“Pull back, everyone! I’ll take care of it by myself! Hurry!”
The troops hesitated only a moment before acknowledging the command, and they ran outside, avoiding the falling rubble. The boy turned around to face the beast and rushed toward it as pieces of the building crashed to the ground all around him.
The red gear was still visible, but it was only a matter of moments before it would once again be hidden by the pieces of junk attaching themselves to the beast’s body.
A thought flashed through the youth’s mind: I have to get there first!
The gear was less than two meters away. He could jump onto the beast’s back before the new junk covered it completely.
Time slowed as the young man concentrated.
He remembered the abandoned factory being three stories high. He could be seriously injured—maybe even killed—if rubble fell on his head. Even if he survived, he could end up buried alive.
And yet…
It won’t hit me.
The youth ran, unbothered by those grisly possibilities. Steel beams and chunks of ceiling collapsed all around him, slamming into the floor with deafening thuds.