“Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” Rentaro’s fist sank into Aldebaran’s abdomen. A moment later, a deeper depression split open Aldebaran’s enormous body. Behind it, the ground jumped with a spiderweb of cracks running through it.
Rentaro’s whole body was dyed red, covered by a huge amount of hot blood.
A scream unleashed from Aldebaran’s vocal cords, blasting Rentaro’s eardrums.
As his arm holding the EP bomb buried into Aldebaran’s abdomen, it continued wildly from the intense propulsion, as he expected. Feeling it go through organs, he twisted the can of the EP bomb to activate the timed fuse. At the same time, he felt around the back of his artificial arm with his left hand and pushed a button, turned it counterclockwise, and braced his legs.
Suddenly, there was a hiss and the connection between the artificial arm and his flesh was separated. His arm, which had turned into a mass of propulsion, continued to go deeper into Aldebaran’s body separated from Rentaro’s will, cutting through flesh and carving up bone.
Immediately, the cavity left by the path of the artificial arm rose and stuck together as it healed.
Rentaro stared at the place where the artificial arm had attacked as it
disappeared. Finally, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and yelled into the radio. “The EP bomb has been set inside Aldebaran. It will explode in three minutes. Everyone, quickly get out of the range of its blast!”
He promptly faced Enju. “Enju, I’m counting on you.”
Enju hugged his side and made a few short jumps. In no time, they were behind a giant boulder tens of meters away.
Rentaro checked the time. There were thirty seconds left. When he peeked out from behind the shadow of the boulder, he saw that there was smoke rising from Aldebaran’s wound as it finished healing, but there was a scar left behind at the place of attack, leaving a marker for where the bomb was buried.
When there were less than ten seconds left, Rentaro put his back flat up against the boulder. His heart pounded as it sent blood through his body. He was so nervous, he felt like his heart was going to jump out of his mouth.
In order to bear the shock of the explosion, he closed his eyes tightly, put his hands over his ears, and gritted his teeth.
Three, two, one. Zero………
“Huh?” He opened his eyes in surprise and hurriedly checked the time.
And then—
The predicted time of the blast came and went without fanfare.
He was filled with panic. Was the explosion delayed? Did he mishear the timing of the explosion when Miori was telling him about it? Or was it something else—? Various possibilities passed through his mind, but then he realized that he just did not want to accept the most likely possibility.
It didn’t go off. After all this, it didn’t explode.
The strength left him from his lower body, and he fell to his knees with his eyes still wide open. Sticking his face out from behind the boulder, he saw the struggling Aldebaran lift up its body and look for Rentaro and the others as it shook its head.
This was the end. Tokyo Area would be overrun. Everyone would die.
“Rentaro.” As he tilted his head listlessly, he saw Enju crossing her arms in front of her chest worriedly.
He shifted his gaze away from her and looked down. The plan had failed. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell her it.
He felt like his heart was going to tear apart. It was a battle they were not allowed to lose. He even swore to her: that he would save Tokyo Area.
Just then, a thought flashed through his brain like a lightning bolt.
No, there was a way. There was just one way.
What had Miori said when she was explaining how to use the EP bomb?
“If you twist the EP bomb itself to this notch, it will explode three minutes later. It will be more sensitive at that point, so after you twist the can, make sure you do not let it undergo any strong shocks.”
That’s right. A strong shock.
There was another way to set off the bomb than by using the timed fuse. However, unlike the timed fuse, setting it off with a shock would make it explode immediately. In addition to having to work close by, there was no way to run away from the explosion.
In order to do this, they would definitely have to sacrifice one person.
Before he knew it, a sigh of resignation escaped from his lips, and his body cooled down, paying no mind to the turmoil in his heart. Rentaro closed his eyes slowly and let out a long breath. It had taken him an unbelievably short amount of time to prepare himself.
Around him was the sound of flames burning. The sound of fighting. The stink of living things burning. His lungs burned every time he took a breath. His throat was dry. And for some reason, all of this felt so dear and irreplaceable.
Rentaro got down to his knees, made his eyes level with Enju’s, and gave her a hug, putting his chin on her shoulder. He whispered quietly into her ear. “Enju, good-bye.”
“Why?”
“I always wanted to be someone who was suitable for you. After I took you in, I didn’t know anything about raising a child, so I was completely absorbed in it. I didn’t know anything, but I can say right now—it was fun.”
Enju moved her arm from around Rentaro’s shoulders and grabbed his uniform hard, wrinkling it. She must have noticed, too. “Why are you saying that right now?”
“In this year since we met, I was happy. I was even able to almost
like the power of my artificial limbs that I hated before. I’m truly glad that I met you.”
At Rentaro’s chest, a small head shook and squeezed out a thin voice. Enju was crying. “Don’t go.”
“Tendo Martial Arts First Style, Number 13—”
“Stop!”
“—
Senkuu Renen
.” There was a sharp sound, and Enju’s body floated into the air. The force of Rentaro’s fist, which punched into her at point-blank range, was thoroughly transferred to her body. Enju’s once-crimson eyes turned black and wavered as if urging him to do something. Her knees folded, and she leaned on Rentaro.
Rentaro put his arm behind the unconscious Enju’s head and lowered her slowly to the ground, careful not to let her head fall too hard. Then, he stood up. He lifted his face and watched motionlessly as Aldebaran went wild on the battlefield of hellfire.
The timed fuse did not go off. The only way left was to detonate it with a shock.
The Stage Four Gastrea, Aldebaran, would have to be eliminated by the suicide bombing of IP Rank 300, Rentaro Satomi.
Fortunately, one person was enough to accomplish this. There was no need for two people. Rentaro took a final look at the unconscious Enju and resolutely started to walk toward the monsters’ general. The wind blew, and his cloak, which had become ragged in the battle, fluttered.
He had thought that this day would come one day. He knew that if he continued this fateful occupation, one day, the long hand of Hades would catch him.
The time has come. Accomplish your duty, Rentaro Satomi.
The burnt scar was a good landmark showing him the position of where the bomb was buried. However, in order to apply a shock to the EP bomb buried deep in the enemy’s body, he would have to deliver quite an intense blow. He had already lost his right arm. He had no cartridges left in his legs. His whole body was injured. He was wounded all over. His mobility was significantly decreased.
However, he had no choice but to do it.
He stopped, feeling the sensation of gravel getting stuck in the
bottoms of his shoes. He sucked the hot air of the battlefield into his hurting lungs; they felt like flames.
“I’m right here.”
Aldebaran noticed him again.
His target was thirty meters ahead. The monster gave a loud war cry that violently shook the earth and then waved its tentacles desperately.
At the same time, Rentaro started running all-out with the last of his strength.
The tentacles of the giant Gastrea that moved at the speed of sound came down at the earth like meteors.
Rentaro avoided the first attack by jumping to the side. However, two more attacks came down as Aldebaran predicted Rentaro’s evasion.
Rentaro gave a beastly yell and ran away, escaping in the nick of time. A piece of bedrock that had come off flew into his temple, and his vision shook violently. He almost lost consciousness from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and somehow managed to stay awake.
However, that was all a trick.
When the curtain of tentacles opened up and his vision cleared, he saw green mucus on the open mouthparts of Aldebaran. Rentaro felt chills down his spine. Abruptly, he lifted his arm to protect himself, but he had covered the wrong place.
His artificial right leg, which had been showered with mucus, started to steam and slowly bleached. His eyes widened as he tried to figure out what was going on, but he soon realized the truth and ground his teeth at his critical mistake.
It was Varanium corrosion liquid. In that case, he thought he would do it before his leg corroded, and he started another fierce dash. As he watched, Aldebaran’s enormous body loomed as it drew nearer.
Beyond the eight short, fat legs like stone pillars, Rentaro saw the scar where he had hit it before. If he applied shock to that area, the bomb would probably detonate.
There were now less than ten meters between him and Aldebaran.
Just a little farther. Once Rentaro got under its torso, it wouldn’t be able to attack him. As long as he could get there…
However, Rentaro suddenly lost his balance and stumbled over nothing.
Huh?
Still not knowing what was going on, the ground drew nearer, and he fell heavily into the mud face-first, groaning.
Rentaro looked hesitatingly at his right leg. “N…no…way…”
It was gone. There was nothing past his thigh on his right leg. There was just a pile of white ash shaped like a leg that had fallen like a bad joke. His artificial leg, made of the pinnacle next-generation metal, Super-Varanium alloy, was completely gone.
His whole body trembled. Without that, he could not walk. Without that—
Just then, Aldebaran suddenly turned its back to Rentaro, and its tail swung toward him at a terrible speed. Centrifugal force sent mud flying as it approached. Immediately, Rentaro rolled into the hollowed-out area near him that was shaped like a mortar.
A fierce roar grazed him. He had avoided being hit directly, but the shock wave given off by the tail sent Rentaro’s body flying into the air like a diseased leaf, and he was thrown, back first, into a standing boulder.
There was an unpleasant crack, and he slowly fell off the boulder and slid to the ground, falling face-first into the mud. He felt pressure all over his body when he breathed, like he had broken at least a few ribs and couldn’t get enough oxygen into his lungs. His breaths became short and shallow. Even when he put his hands on the ground and forced himself up, the next instant, he violently coughed up blood and a red flower bloomed on the muddy ground.
Rentaro wiped his mouth in disbelief and then opened his fingers in front of his eyes to look at his bloody palm. Suddenly, strength left his arm like a string had been cut, and his whole body fell down. Cold sweat oozed from his pores. Even though he felt like he was in a hurry, no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t muster the strength to move his body even an inch.
Finally, he was unable to move anything of his own free will, and he turned slowly, head over heels, in the mud.
He thought he was going to die.
Lady Luck had left him. However, there had been no way it was going to go well from the start. There were things in this world that just weren’t meant to be. The fate of mass extinction was just one of those things. That was how it was.
His vision distorted. Everything was painted black with despair, and his eyelids grew heavy.
“Satomi, you’re really beat up, huh?”
“Huh?” Just then, there was a thud, and his vision was filled with the fluttering hem of a long coat. His senior disciple, wearing a visor and white coat, had his back to him. “Sh…Sho…ma… Why…?”
“I understand the situation. I’ll go.”
“No… It’s…impossible… You’d have to…apply a shock…deep…into its body…” After saying that much, Rentaro gave a start.
“Have you forgotten, Satomi? My technique is considered heresy. It has the power to destroy an object from the inside out.”
His thoughts were distant, but he desperately shook his head. “N…can’t… No…you can’t… Shoma, bro…you’ll die…”
“Satomi, you saw my technique, too, didn’t you? It was a sinister technique that twisted the Tendo style. It must be sealed into the depths of the earth. It’s just as Master Sukekiyo said—I did actually realize it a long time ago. But it just took me too long to act on it.”
Shoma put his arm around the helpless Rentaro and brought him to the back of a small, nearby hill. Shoma didn’t say anything else as he turned his back to Rentaro and ran off.
Rentaro stretched out his hand, but it wouldn’t reach. He tried to call out to stop him, but his voice was hoarse and no sound came out.
Shoma was going to go away again. Even though Rentaro hadn’t wanted to sacrifice anyone else. Even though he had been fighting for a bright future where no one else would have to die.
After a while, loud war cries and rumbles in the ground continued from the other side of the hill, but Rentaro had no way of knowing how things were going. He gritted his teeth and dragged himself desperately with his remaining arm, crawling to the top of the hill. He saw that the fight between Aldebaran and Shoma had reached its climax.
Shoma moved with a superhuman agility and dodged literally all of Aldebaran’s continuous attacks, going under its torso.
“Noooooooo, Shoma, Shomaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Rentaro couldn’t see after that, but he was sure that Shoma did what he had to do.
Suddenly, the sound disappeared from his ears, and there was a glint and a ball of fire that dazzled his eyes. He was blown away by the hot shock wave and rolled over and over down the back of the hill.
And then, he saw it. The fireball that came from the EP bomb stretched vertically from the rising air current and became a giant mushroom shape that sucked up all the dust and structures from the surface of the ground.