Just then, Rentaro noticed that there were what looked like remnants of cloth caught in the Gastrea’s fangs, and he let out an involuntary groan. With the government pushing through this operation without regard for material resources, he had known in the corner of his mind that there would be victims sacrificed, but he had blocked that out of his consciousness. Nevertheless, it bothered him.
The dragon started to kick the ground nervously with its right leg, as if it were a runner getting ready to start running before a race.
Keeping his eyes on it, Rentaro fished around in his pouch with shaking hands, but he soon realized that he didn’t have a weapon that could work against such a large creature. At that size, without a heavy machine gun or antitank rifle outfitted with Varanium bullets, he wouldn’t have a chance.
“Enju,” he said, “can you carry me and run?”
Enju showed her understanding with just her eyes.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the dragon, he put his arms around Enju’s shoulders. Because of the difference in their heights, he was practically leaning on her, but this was no time to worry about that. “Enju, if you can’t get away, leave me.”
“I cannot do that!” As she spoke, she kicked sideways with enough force to send them into the air. The cold wind hit Rentaro’s cheeks, and when he opened his eyes slightly against the pressure of the wind, they were already in midair. Enju had hopped. She had jumped almost twenty meters while carrying Rentaro on her back.
The cuffs of his clothes fluttered, and they stopped for one brief instant in midair. Right after that instant, they fell on the curve of a free fall, and the forest drew near with intense speed. Enju found a thick branch to land on with both legs on it and then leapt up again. This time, she made short jumps from branch to branch between trees that were about five meters apart, jumping faster than the eye could follow.
Rentaro clung pitifully to Enju. Every time Enju jumped, he was swung about by strong G’s and felt like he was about to fall off. Looking behind them, his eyes widened with shock. The fierce hunter was leaning forward in pursuit, trampling the trees in its way. The snapping sound of live trees being torn apart chased after them from behind. The pressure was more than he imagined, and it made him want to scream.
Rentaro fought against the pressure of the wind and opened his eyes narrowly to look behind them. But he realized one thing. Those wings probably didn’t function, or, like those of the giant pterosaurs of the past, had only limited functionality. If it could fly, then it would have followed them through the air. If it followed them on the ground, it would eventually hit its limit. It probably couldn’t breathe fire like the dragons in picture books, either. Convinced that they could get away, he made a fist.
But then, when he faced front again, he almost lost consciousness with despair. “Enju, it’s a cliff.”
A cliff rose perpendicularly in front of them, and it was about a hundred meters above the vast forest below it.
“Hang on tight, Rentaro!” said Enju.
“Hey, don’t tell me you’re gonna—?!”
Enju bent her knees low on the trunk she had just landed on and made a huge jump. Rentaro almost bit his tongue. The scenery passed by with amazing speed, and they leapt over the cliff and into the air. The strong wind whisked by, and Rentaro and Enju experienced a strange climbing sensation for an instant. Inertia and gravity cancelled each other out and they were completely still in midair.
Rentaro’s mouth gaped. There was forest as far as he could see. It was like a miniature scene. It was a moment when all his worries, thoughts, decisions, and past travels—nothing seemed to matter anymore. It was the moment he realized his own insignificance. Looking in front of him, the yellow moon seemed closer than usual. Even though he knew what he was doing was foolish, he stretched out his hand to grab it. He gave a small laugh.
Just then, in the space between the forest and the moon, about ten kilometers away, he saw something strange and rubbed his eyes. A long man-made cylinder was stretching smoothly toward the sky. With just the silhouette, it was hard to gauge its size, but it looked to be about two kilometers in length.
I see. So that’s the Stairway to Heaven…? At that moment, Rentaro felt an unpleasant drifting feeling, and the inertia disappeared and gravity pulled at his body. Rentaro felt like he was about to be torn away from Enju, who was carrying him, and clung on hurriedly. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on not screaming.
Enju was completely calm, and selecting two branches on the ground, she grabbed one as she fell. When the branch bent to its limit, Enju let go and grabbed the branch below it. Enju’s thin arms were overloaded, and there was a snapping sound. However, the force of their drop did not decrease, and the two fell like lightning bolts into the middle of the forest.
Countless leaves and branches scratched Rentaro’s cheeks, and fresh blood spurted out. Enju landed with both legs on a large rock, and shattered pieces of rock flew in all directions. Thrown by the force, the two of them rolled on the ground a few times before finally coming to a stop.
Holding back his body in a fit of coughing, Rentaro used his hands to push himself up and looked up at the cliff they had fallen from. Far up at the top of the cliff, the dragon looked frustrated at missing out on eating dessert and turned several times before letting out a howl and returning to the forest. Rentaro felt the strength leave his hands as exhaustion suddenly closed in on him in response. He almost collapsed as he let go of his focus.
After all that, Rentaro and Enju didn’t start moving again for another thirty minutes. Enju had hurt the joints in her body during the fall and needed some time to recover. Of course, compared to the weak Rentaro, her recovery time was amazingly fast.
He had been planning on walking in front and getting rid of anything suspicious, but he changed his mind and decided to have Enju help, too. He lectured her as they walked side by side. “You have to be careful of the antitank land mines, the spring-type land mines, the guided mines, and the unexploded cluster bombs. These were scattered by the retreating self-defense force during the Great Gastrea War and left behind, so occasionally civil officers doing jobs in the Unexplored Territory will get hurt.” He traced simple outlines of the shapes of the dangerous objects she should be careful of.
“I see,” said Enju. “But why did they do something that would mess up their own country so much during the war? Did they not realize that they would be the ones who would have to deal with it later?”
Enju made such a good point that Rentaro was caught off guard, and he pondered for a moment. “You’re right… Now that you mention it, that’s exactly right, but ten years ago, mankind was cornered and would do anything. Land mines and poison gas were just the tip of the iceberg. At the time, in order to survive, a bunch of inhumane things were allowed, so no one would’ve batted an eye at things like that.”
Looking at the small girl walking next to him, he thought to himself that this was the difference in perception between the Stolen Generation, who experienced the horrors of ten years ago, and the Innocent Generation. He uncharacteristically felt a generation gap.
Enju grinned. “Don’t worry. Now there are strong people like me fighting, so everything will be fine. If the enemy finds us, I’ll carry you again and jump away.”
“Thanks to you, I don’t think I’ll be scared of the free-fall rides at the amusement park anymore.”
“I’m glad. You should thank me.”
Rentaro let out a large sigh. She didn’t understand sarcasm when she heard it.
“But something seems strange…,” said Enju. “Ever since coming here, I’ve been feeling excited for some reason.” Enju opened and closed her hands curiously.
Of course you would, agreed Rentaro silently. The Varanium that Gastrea hated also had an effect on Enju and the other girls, who were infected with small amounts of the virus. Most Initiators, when they went outside of the Monoliths, felt temporarily better, or even high. Their wounds also healed faster.
> Even as they talked, they proceeded with caution. Even though they were a considerable distance away, the surrounding forest had been woken up once, so they couldn’t be too careful. Once in a while, Rentaro would put his ear to the ground and send Enju high up into a tree to check for danger. It slowed their progress considerably, but in the end, that gave them early notice of a light that was burning far away.
As they approached warily, there was a break in the brush, and they could see an obviously man-made stone building. It was a small, one-floor stone building, and at the entrance was a wall of piled sandbags.
It was a pillbox shelter built during the Great Gastrea War. It was dilapidated and had lost most of its function, but it still served as a place to get out of the wind. Light leaked from inside. Rentaro’s heart started beating faster at the thought that it could be Kagetane.
Giving Enju a hand signal, he took the gun from his hip and approached from the back. Enju approached from the front. He could hear the crackling of the firewood burning.
Apparently, there was a fire burning inside. From the holes in the pile of rocks, he could see the changing shadows created by the flames. Rentaro stood with his back to the wall and took two deep breaths. Then, he held out his gun and rushed inside.
“Don’t move!” he said. Rentaro’s XD and the muzzle of his opponent’s shotgun intersected at almost the same time.
Rentaro was speechless when he saw his opponent. “You’re…”
His opponent panted, looking at him with blank eyes. She was wearing a dark, long-sleeved dress with tights. It was an outfit unsuitable for the hell of the Unexplored Territory. However, his eye was drawn to the painful-looking wound on her arm that blood was gushing out of nonstop. It looked like she had been bitten by a giant beast, and the wound had been gouged out with tooth marks.
Rentaro remembered seeing the girl before.
“If you do not put the gun down, I shall kick your head off.” With that cold threat, Enju, who had snuck in from behind, kicked her leg out to lay it on the back of the girl’s neck.
“Wait, Enju,” said Rentaro. “She’s not our enemy.”
“Wha…?” Enju looked from Rentaro to the girl a few times and finally put her leg down reluctantly.
Rentaro went to where the girl was sitting weakly and looked her in the eye. “Hey, we met once at the Ministry of Defense. Do you remember me?”
“Yes, of course.” The girl spoke as she exhaled painfully.
“Anyway, let’s stop the bleeding and get this bandaged up. We can talk after that.”
Then he noticed Enju watching them from the side, grinding her teeth. “Wait a moment,” she said. “I do not know this woman. Explain your relationship with her, Rentaro.”
Rentaro turned back to face Enju. “Oh yeah, this is your first time meeting. She’s the Initiator partner for a Promoter named Shogen Ikuma.”
3
When they threw the dry branches they had gathered into the bonfire, the fire revived and rapturously scattered orange light on the stone walls. Once Rentaro used his emergency kit to stop the bleeding and disinfect and bandage the wound, the wound started regenerating with help from the Gastrea virus. However, her regeneration speed was very modest compared to Enju’s.
Afraid the enemy would approach while he was treating the girl, he had Enju stand watch. However, Enju seemed put out for some reason and pouted, saying, “I don’t accept that girl!” and “If it were me, my wound would’ve healed in three seconds!” as she went outside the pillbox shelter. Rentaro wanted to say that three seconds was too short, but she seemed really unhappy, so he didn’t.
The girl’s name was Kayo Senju. Rentaro was astounded at himself for not knowing the name of the girl he had thought of as the “hungry girl” until now.
“For some reason, it looks like your partner is extremely angry.” The girl spoke with a strangely cool attitude.
Rentaro looked in the direction Enju had gone. “Jeez, why did she suddenly get so upset? Don’t tell me she’s already at that rebellious age…?”
“I think the reason is obvious…” She spoke as if spitting out her words into space, with a tone devoid of all emotion. Rentaro was at a loss. Because she had a calmness that didn’t match her age, it was hard to read her emotions. At the Ministry of Defense, Rentaro had thought she had a better sense of humor than that, but apparently he was wrong.
“Do you think I am strange?” the girl asked.
Realizing that he was staring, Rentaro shifted his gaze. “No, not really…”
The girl closed her eyes and put her hands to her chest. “Do not worry about it. I am used to being treated this way. I am also one of the first generation of Cursed Children. However, because I possess the Dolphin Factor in my body, I have a higher IQ and better memory than normal Initiators. My IQ is at around 210 points.”
Rentaro was startled. “You have more than twice my IQ?”
“Well, intelligence tests taken as a child have the tendency to overestimate.” She showed humility even though she was a child.
Rentaro was overwhelmed with a strange sense of defeat. “So then, you take the command and the rear guard with your brains, and Shogen is the advance guard? That’s an unusual style.”
“That is just because Shogen has muscles for brains and has no patience, so he can’t back up anyone. He still gets upset when we get battles taken from us. His way of thinking is old-fashioned and inflexible, which is problematic.” The girl broke a thin branch in two and threw the pieces into the fire.
Utterly amazed at the way she did not mince words, Rentaro looked at the shotgun lying beside her. “Let me see your gun.”
She thought for a while. “What if I say no?”
“That’s fine. If you don’t feel gratitude for being rescued, you can do that.”
Kayo looked resigned and exhaled through her nose, handing him the gun. “If there’s one thing I have learned, it is that when a good deed is done for a reward, it becomes corrupted.”
Rentaro pretended not to hear as he examined the gun. Kayo’s fully automatic shotgun with a silencer had an add-on-type grenade launcher unit on a 20-mm equipment expansion rail. Both were Shiba Heavy Weapons 2027 models. When Rentaro slung the launcher out to the right and peeked into the chamber, he frowned. Then he looked up, staring at the girl in front of him. “Why did you use explosives in the forest? This is the empty case of a 40-mm high-explosive projectile.”
It was because of that that Rentaro and Enju had been chased by a Stage Four Gastrea and almost died. In the Unexplored Territory, preserving silence was a hard and fast rule no matter what one was doing. A pair whose ranking was far above Rentaro and Enju’s should have known this. Kayo hugged her dainty knees and gazed at the fire for a while.
“Shogen and I were caught in a trap,” she said. “Thanks to that, we were not only injured, but we were also split up.”
“A trap?” said Rentaro.
“Yes. We were also dropped off in a deep forest, and inside the forest, we saw a short flickering light pattern. We thought it was an ally and approached with our guard down.” Hugging her knees harder, the girl became smaller. “If we had been more careful, we would have realized that no one would use such a dim, blue, will-o’-the-wisp-like light.”
Rentaro gulped. “What was it…?”
Kayo glanced at him and looked back into the fire. “The first thing I noticed was a rotten smell. There was an intense stink of something rotting, and a large swarm of flies had gathered. The Gastrea had disgusting flowers growing here and there, and its tail was emitting light. When it saw us, it trembled disgustingly, like it was delighted. I have seen many different kinds of Gastrea, but that stopped me in my tracks.
“Thinking I would be killed, I used the high-explosive projectile at the spur of the moment. After that, it happened as you imagined. All the Gastrea in the forest woke up, and while we were being chased, I got separated from Shogen. That was also when I was bitten on the arm. Fortunate
ly, only a small amount of bodily fluid was injected, so it does not seem like it will have much effect.”
Rentaro put his chin in his hands as he listened to Kayo’s story. “This is just a guess, but I think that was a Firefly Gastrea.”
“A firefly?”
“Yeah, fireflies live on pollen and nectar, but did you know that there are fierce carnivorous fireflies, too? They imitate the light patterns of other fireflies and prey on the fireflies that approach them. In order to prey on humans, it probably evolved specially to emit a light pattern it thought would draw humans. You guys fell right into its trap. The plants surrounding it were probably orchids. I’ve heard that there are species that give off smells like mold, urine, and rotten meat in order to lure flies and small winged insects to them to carry their pollen… It probably synthesized a smell that would draw humans. It’s unusual to see a Gastrea mixed with a plant type. With a specimen specially evolved that much, it is probably a Stage Three.”
Kayo’s eyes widened. “Is that possible?”
“Gastrea do that in order to outwit mankind. Humans wouldn’t lose to dumb organisms.”
Kayo didn’t say anything for a while. However, when the tension in her shoulders was finally released, she let out a slow breath. “Anyway, you did a good job guessing the type for a Gastrea you didn’t even see. Are you a fan?”
“Ugh… Don’t call me that.”
“You seem like you had a gloomy childhood where you were pleased when you submerged an anthill with water. Were you like, ‘Hah, drown! It’s Noah’s great flood! Know the wrath of God!’? I imagine you had fun, huh? I understand.”
“Yeah, that’s right, that’s how it was. I killed a ton of ants, I’m sorry, all right?”
Kayo looked amused for the first time and crinkled the corners of her eyes. Then she dropped her gaze back to the fire. “But it must be nice. I do not think I would be bored if I had a Promoter like you. I am just a little jealous of Enju.”
Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods Page 16
