novelThe Wandering Beast and Outside the Cage. Dead_Girl (2)
| ← Ch.084 | Ch.086 → |
After a short silence, the "doctor" tried to leap into the elevator shaft. However, Tsuchimikado was faster. He dragged her away from the shaft by grabbing the back of her neck and then slammed her back against the box-shaped device with the high voltage warning. He then grabbed the control box hanging from the ceiling by a cable.
Her body jerked unnaturally and she collapsed to the floor.
"Next time, it won't just be for an instant. I'll have you sit in the electric chair until your eyes boil."
"Gh... Cough..."
The "doctor" coughed up sticky saliva while trying to speak.
Her arms and legs were cramping, so she could not stand up.
"Umm, can you please explain what is going on here?"
"The board of directors, " said Tsuchimikado in a cold voice."Anyone with that level of information would have some idea what is happening here. And they would know I will not hesitate to kill right now."
"W-wait a second. You seem to be making some kind of mistake. This hospital is..."
"Yes, I know. This facility is an anti-terrorism trap disguised as the location of a member of the board of directors. Anyone who has given themselves to the darkness even a little would never even think of attacking such a dangerous place.... But the trick is that a member of the board of directors really does live here! The idea that this facility is a trap was a rumor spread for show. Isn't that right!?"
"Heh. Eh heh heh."
"Yakumi Hisako. That old woman is one of those twelve VIPs and has an especially strong influence in the medical field. She is who I am here for."
"This hospital is built like a maze. I doubt I know my way around even a third of it. How are you going to find where this old woman's room is?"
"I am already speaking with her, Yakumi." Tsuchimikado lightly poked at the control box hanging down from the ceiling."Anyone with as powerful connections to the medical field as you can easily receive anti-aging treatments. I already know your real age is over 70. Now, how about we have a nice chat."
The "doctor" let out a breath.
The look in Yakumi Hisako's eyes completely changed.
"If you knew you were dealing with an old woman, why would you use that electric shock?"
"Your bones and organs are healthier than mine."
"What do you want?"
Yakumi glanced over to the exit from the ultra-high frequency treatment room.
There was no sign of anyone coming. In fact, Yakumi herself had locked the door from the inside.
"Is it that Agitate Halation project? Or is it that dorm fire meant to hold you in check?"
"..."
An unpleasant noise came from Tsuchimikado Motoharu's fist.
"If you want to kill me, go right ahead." Yakumi smiled while spreading her hands that were still trembling while she lay collapsed on the floor."But then you will never arrive at the truth."
"... I know that, " replied Tsuchimikado with a thin sigh."That project is being run by a member of the board of directors, but not by you. It's him."
"Then why?"
"Unlike with you, I have no clue to his location. And so I needed to create a handhold to help me scale the cliff."
As he spoke, Tsuchimikado stuck his hand in his pants pocket.
Yakumi Hisako's expression stiffened when she saw what he casually pulled out.
It was a cylindrical glass container about the size of a pinky finger. Tsuchimikado read its label aloud.
"Wild Card Coccus. It's labeled as very dangerous."
"..."
That was a highly virulent killer bacteria.
Its method of infection was very complex and it would mix in with other microorganisms and multiply. It could be transmitted via air, blood, mouth, or skin contact. It could grow even more dangerous by combining with athlete's foot, lactobacillus, or other extremely common pathogens.
Yakumi Hisako recalled that Rensa had been sent to the "Sticky Freezer" in the basement.
They had not noticed the change when he forced his way into the facility.
It had been the opposite. He had already finished.
"Making my way in was easy enough, but I couldn't find a good way of making a U-turn and leaving without being noticed. I decided to set off the alarm myself to distract the guards while I let a VIP like you show me the way to the escape route prepared for you."
"You can't mean to use that bacteria to negotiate..."
"He won't be able to ignore me, will he?" Tsuchimikado waved the specimen case around."And I can't spend too much time convincing him I'm serious. That's why you will give me the ability to quickly persuade him."
"... ?"
"Members of the board of directors have to have a means of contacting each other. There must be some address you can use to directly reach him. Hand that over. If he receives a message card from Yakumi Hisako's address informing him of the upcoming attack, he will believe it."
Yakumi tried to point at her clothes with a trembling finger, but she could not quite manage it. Tsuchimikado crouched down and performed a body check. He pulled out a pink smartphone.
"The password is 7071, " said Yakumi as if spitting out the words."Do you know exactly who to call?"
"All too well." Tsuchimikado used his thumb to type in a short message and sent it to one of the addresses recorded in the phone."Kaizumi. Kaizumi Tsugutoshi.... He's just an ordinary old man, but the bastard has tamed the monster known as Kumokawa Seria as his brain."
Part 9
"What do you think?"
"This is bad."
In a high-rise building in District 3, Kumokawa Seria gave a blunt response to Kaizumi Tsugutoshi's question. That office that took up an entire floor of the building had a chic coloration centered around antique wood. Gentle classical music filled the air, but it failed to provide any calming effect.
Kumokawa tossed some reports onto a large desk while sinking into the leather chair the owner of the room was supposed to sit in.
"You understand what I mean, right? I am not talking about the appearance of that Wild Card Coccus."
"I am well aware of that, " said the old man bitterly.
The progress of the Agitate Halation project. An outline of the individuals and organizations investigating it. A list of all those involved in the suspicious student dorm fire, be they victims or perpetrators. All the information needed to arrive at the truth of this incident was laid out on that desk.
And at the same time...
It was obvious what it meant that they had all that information.
"This is still very bad."
"But you did predict this could happen."
"Yes, but this is the worst of the predicted scenarios. What should we do now?" asked Kaizumi while tapping on one of the documents with his index finger.
His fingertip seemed to be stabbing at the forehead of the person pictured there.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu.
The greatest rabid dog at the moment.
He was wholly unrelated to their original plan, but he could no longer be ignored. Tsuchimikado needed to be dealt with even if it meant temporarily putting the main plan on hold.
Kumokawa Seria let out an annoyed sigh as she looked at that photo of an underclassman from her school.
"If we call in more guards, he will just sneak in with them. If we try to leave here, he will attack the defenseless escape vehicle. Even if we lure him into an empty building and blow the entire thing to pieces, he will fake his death and kill us in our sleep once we let our guard down."
The scariest part of a spy had nothing to do with the great firepower or nimble mobility displayed by Hollywood action stars. Their true value lay in their ability to disturb information. Was the information before your eyes true or not? Who was an enemy and who was an ally? Was it safe to think you had won or not?
"So we can only sit and wait for him to arrive?"
"Yes. But first call off all of the normal guards. Once you chop down all the trees in the forest, there is nowhere left to hide a tree."
Gathering a proper military force and using proper strategy would provide great power, but it would be of no use here. It was best to assume the boy would use it all against them.
"But I doubt this will end with nothing but a conversation."
"Given what we did, that is to be expected, " said Kumokawa in annoyance.
She was looking at a photo of a burned student dorm room. Kumokawa knew about Tsuchimikado Motoharu's "little sister", but she only felt "annoyance" well up within her when she called the girl's face to mind.
The adult world was not so kind.
They had a great plan they had to see to fruition. If people dealt with every little clichéd revenge story, the guy at the top would switch out twice a day. They did not have the time.
"After eliminating as much of what he can use as possible, we can send someone to intercept him. I will make the proper preparations to ensure breaking in the front door is the only route available to him. He will be dealt with there."
"That requires a powerful individual to face him. Do you have any ideas?"
"Yes, " she simply replied. She implicitly stated that this was part of her duty as the brain who compensated for her client's deficiencies."I will go. And I will use a method his type hates most."
Part 10
"..."
While hiding near the high-rise building Kaizumi Tsugutoshi hid inside, Tsuchimikado Motoharu switched off a few devices. He had been using devices such as a parabolic microphone and a laser bug that worked on windows to monitor the situation, but he could not detect any noise whatsoever.
He decided this went beyond a large number of troops hiding silently inside or excellent defenses against listening devices.
(He called all of the guards out of the building. Is he luring me in?)
If the man cared about his life at all, it was difficult to think Kaizumi would have fled from the building in an automobile or a helicopter. That would allow a single shoulder-fired missile to end the battle. Assuming the man had not done that, why had he removed all of the guards?
(He wants to keep me from mixing in with the guards and he wants to make sure he knows I'm dead. Someone truly dangerous is waiting for me inside. )
It was possible the entire building would explode as soon as he made his way far enough inside, but his opponents did not know where the Wild Card Coccus specimen case was. If they were smart enough to realize crushing Tsuchimikado to death risked releasing that deadly virus, they would not use some bold strategy in District 3 which held many important administrative and diplomatic facilities.
And either way, he had to finish off the one who had driven Maika to her death.
It did not matter if this was a trap. All that mattered was that his target was here.
"... Time to go, " muttered Tsuchimikado before tossing the bugging equipment in a roadside garbage can as it would only get in the way now.
Given the number and locations of the entrances to the building, he decided the risk of countermeasures would be the same for all of them. He boldly walked through the main entrance and into the entrance hall.
The entrance hall was three stories tall and even had tropical plants and waterfalls decorating countless waterways. A semicircular reception counter was located directly ahead and gates equipped with metal detectors were located to either side, but the receptionists and guards were nowhere to be seen.
"I thought you would choose this route."
A female voice seemed to fill the entire basketball court-sized space.
Tsuchimikado looked further up.
A gentle staircase connected the first and second floors, but it seemed more like a decoration than a functional staircase. A black-haired girl wearing a winter sailor uniform stood on the second floor portion.
She was Kumokawa Seria.
She was Kaizumi Tsugutoshi's brain. It was possible she was not simply a helper and was truly the mastermind behind the entire incident.
Either way, she had been heavily involved in Tsuchimikado Maika's death.
She was a target for his revenge.
"For all the preparation you put into this, you chose the wrong place to wait for me, " said Tsuchimikado quietly."You can't escape a bullet from there. You have no nearby cover."
"Stop that. Didn't you hear me say I thought you would choose this route? This building has nine entrances total. You entered my first choice.... Why wasn't that enough for you to realize I have complete 'control' over you?"
"..."
Kumokawa Seria was not a very valuable existence when it came to Academy City's psychic powers development.
Nor did she excel at using guns or assassination techniques.
Nevertheless, she had worked her way through the darkness until she had practically been absorbed into the board of directors.
There was a reason for this.
She could control human hearts. And she did so with no special powers or drugs. She controlled people solely with her words. She had taken this to a level that rivaled bullets and blades.
"There are many different magic tricks, but they all belong to one of two types: the ones that are enjoyable until the trick has been revealed and the ones that eternally retain their value even after the trick has been revealed. It goes without saying which type is more difficult to pull off."
"Is the Agitate Halation project really this important?" muttered Tsuchimikado. He finally bared his teeth and forced down the anger that was so intense he almost felt it would materialize around him."Is it really important enough to drive my little sister to her death?"
"I have no obligation to respond to that."
"Have you forgotten I have a biological weapon with me?"
"You mean the Wild Card Coccus? And where might that be?" asked Kumokawa with a mocking smile."You were never planning to bring that dangerous bacteria to the battlefield. You didn't have the guts. I knew you would never have that live bacteria in your pocket and I knew you would never infect yourself with it before confronting me.... If I had not known that, I would not be standing here without a mask and protective suit."
"How can you be so sure?"
"By how you chose to convince us you had it. The most effective way of doing so would have been to scatter it around somewhere beforehand. However, you chose not to do so. You chose the ridiculous option of emailing us from a special address. You were practically announcing that you wanted us to believe you had it despite your unwillingness to actually prove it."
She was dead on.
That Wild Card Coccus was powerful, but it could be easily sterilized by exposing it to powerful ultraviolet light for a certain period of time. That was part of what created such a danger of it being used as a weapon. The real specimen case was in Tsuchimikado's pocket, but he had stopped by a tanning salon on the way. The contents were dead.
"So you finished profiling me before I arrived."
"You are the type of person that likes to think of himself as different from the others in the city's darkness. You could say you have a professionalism that is common in this field.... Or you could say you have a weak heart that seeks that as a means of justifying what you do. You may have gotten a lot of people involved on your way here, but they were all those that reeked of the darkness. And so you would never choose to bring in an indiscriminate weapon like the Wild Card Coccus."
"Then can you read my pain?"
"I find it to be horribly clichéd."
"I suppose it is, " admitted Tsuchimikado. And then he gave a cruel smile."But you have not read everything about me. All of your calculations may be accurate, but that doesn't matter when your original data was faulty."
"Are you aware you are only thinking that because I led you to think it?"
"If so, that's fine. And that leaves..."
"... nothing left to discuss."
Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Kumokawa Seria came to the same conclusion simultaneously.
This person is in my way.
I must quickly eliminate them to achieve my goal.
Tsuchimikado made the first move.
He brought his right hand to his back, pulled out a fully-auto handgun and aimed at Kumokawa's position on the second floor. He pulled the trigger and a high-pitched string of gunshots rang out.
However, he did not hit her.
This was not because Kumokawa moved exceedingly quickly. Nor did she take any tricky actions such as kicking off of walls or pillars. In fact, she moved slowly. She walked down the stairs while swaying back and forth like she was weaving through a crowd.
And yet...
"Did you think your 'heart' would disappear if you used a fully-auto weapon?" Kumokawa Seria smiled thinly as she walked down the stairs."It changes nothing. As long as it is being wielded by human hands, the human heart will bleed through. And that creates an opening that can be taken advantage of. Bullets are powerful, but their effective range is only 9 mm. If you move just 9 mm away from the direct line of fire, the bullet will not hit. Do you understand what that means?"
"Tch!!"
Tsuchimikado clicked his tongue and reached his left hand around to his back.
He forcefully pulled out an L-shaped handgun, but he did not stop here.
It did not simply slip from his fingers.
The handgun identical to the one in his right hand flew in a large parabola and fell directly toward Kumokawa's head.
An instant later, a tremendous shockwave scattered in every direction.
What had looked like a handgun had actually been a disguised grenade. Technically, the bullets remaining in the magazine had all been detonated with an electrical current, causing the handgun to burst from the inside and scatter sharp fragments everywhere.
It was deadly within a range of 3 meters and would injure anyone within 10 meters.
Normally, someone with no powers like Kumokawa Seria could not have escaped the blast. A brightly colored hell should lie beyond the gray dust.
However...
"Did you think... ?"
He heard a voice.
It came from beyond the gray dust.
"Did you think your 'heart' would disappear if you used an explosive?"
"Damn you!!" shouted Tsuchimikado while firing short bursts with the automatic handgun in his right hand and running toward the staircase.
He was not trying to kill her; he was trying to hold her in place. Weaponry no longer gave him any advantage. In fact, the wall of dust robbed Tsuchimikado of too much information and gave her a chance to counterattack.
Whether she would choose to flee or kill...
It was now her turn.
Part 11
Kumokawa Seria could not teleport. Nor did she have a physical body strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a bullet or explosive.
So how had she survived having an explosive dropped from above?
The trick was the type that seemed silly once explained.
(I couldn't do anything, so that leaves only one possibility. )
Kumokawa thought to herself while slowly walking through the dust.
(Tsuchimikado failed. He did not throw that explosive as far as he thought he did. The wall behind me is mostly made of white marble. It helped throw off his sense of distance. )
Of course, if Tsuchimikado had taken his time to aim and carefully thrown the explosive, he would not have made such an elementary mistake.
The way Kumokawa had "easily" avoided the handgun bullets had placed a fair bit of mental pressure on him.
From the beginning, Kumokawa had expected an attack from an explosive with a grenade's level of destructive power. She had read what a merciless person like Tsuchimikado would be thinking when he faced an opponent that could read his heart and she had read what he would bring with him.
(Everything is going according to plan. I don't even have to make any slight improvised corrections. Give me something, Tsuchimikado. Anything at all. What happened to your clichéd revenge? At this rate, you'll die before we even reach 30 moves. )
The grim reaper's advance continued.
She did not run or roll across the ground like in an action movie. That would give away her limits. She maintained the situation where her opponent had no idea of how far she could go. After taking control of someone's heart, she would apply fear in the most effective way. Her target would be bound by their own fear and lose their true potential. In the worst cases, they would even stop breathing on their own.
And so...
It would have been a mistake to take her "next move", be it a surprise attack or escape, while the curtain of dust cut off her enemy's vision.
There was only one optimal answer.
To move leisurely.
By walking straight through the dust and casting aside her own advantage, she would increase the mental pressure on her opponent.
Kumokawa Seria walked down the stairs and through the dust.
In the next instant, Tsuchimikado Motoharu had approached right in front of her.
He had likely decided his gun was of no use. He would trade in his hand for something more complex and rely on his fists to defeat Kumokawa.
He first threw a punch for the face... to hide the pile driver-like stomp aimed at Kumokawa's big toe.
The noise of a tremendous impact rang out, but Kumokawa had pulled her right foot back before the strike hit. His attack had failed. But as explained before, Kumokawa Seria's ability was not enough to keep up with Tsuchimikado Motoharu's "Deadly Thrust Killing Slash" fighting style that was formed from the illegal techniques of all sorts of martial arts.
And yet she had successfully avoided it.
She and that assassin in a chic jacket stared at each other from close range.
(His muscles are so tense it's slowing him down and he is fighting fear so much he's losing flexibility in his thoughts. It's over, Tsuchimikado. Your status has dropped to the same level as your average high school girl. )
She was sure of her victory.
But then...
She heard a wet sound. At some point, Tsuchimikado Motoharu had stretched his right arm out. And she felt an unpleasant feeling scraping beyond her eyelid.
He was crushing her eye.
No, he had jammed his thumb and forefinger in, bent them, and was going to pluck out the eyeball.
Kumokawa's control had always been nothing but a deception. She had only been able to trick this person who had trained for years for a short time. It was impressive enough that she had fooled him even for one strike.
But...
But!
But!!
"Ha ha! Yes, this is the optimum answer, Tsuchimikado!!"
"... !?"
Despite what had happened, Kumokawa smiled.
By the time Tsuchimikado realized what that meant, it was too late. Kumokawa ignored the physiological sense of revulsion coming from deep within her right eye and moved her right hand. A handgun smaller than a deck of cards appeared from her sleeve.
It could only hold two bullets and she was not skilled at using it.
But Kumokawa Seria had obtained the distance and timing an amateur needed to hit.
The gunshot reverberated in her gut.
A dark red hole opened in Tsuchimikado's left side and he let out a groan. He collapsed backwards, so it was as if he was taking Kumokawa's eyeball down with him. Despite the blood flowing down her face from the empty eye socket, Kumokawa continued to smile.
(A normal person would arm herself with assassination techniques and weapons if she was facing a wounded beast. A weak intellectual type would fight back using a weapon. But I trapped you in your own fear, so those simple truths disappeared from your mind. )
"Ow... !! That is why you were too naïve..." Kumokawa put the gun back in the sleeve of her sailor uniform and placed a hand over her empty eye socket while staring down at where Tsuchimikado lay on the staircase."You were the type to slowly savor your revenge. That was how this revenge story was supposed to go. When you started trying to eliminate me as a threat as quickly as possible, you should have realized you were being led there by me."
Tsuchimikado Motoharu still did not move.
With one hand still on her face, Kumokawa started to move away. She walked to the passageway circling around the entrance hall on the second floor and pulled out her handheld device. She activated a VoIP app and called someone.
She was speaking with Kaizumi Tsugutoshi, the board of directors member waiting on the top floor of the building.
"It's over. The rabid dog who escaped his collar has been dealt with."
"It doesn't sound like it was easy. What happened?"
"An eyeball is a cheap price to pay for an amateur girl to defeat a monster like that."
The hand on her face slid wetly down. She started feeling an unpleasant heat across her entire face. She felt as if her entire head had grown a size bigger.
"Please prepare the part of mine that was divided into the Micro Cosmos. I can dilute the pain through self-suggestion, but it isn't perfect. It would be faster to add in the missing part."
"Underst... I... the arrangemen..."
She seemed to be losing the signal because Kaizumi's voice grew more distant.
But then Kumokawa realized that was not what was happening.
(What? It's my ears... ?)
The change was coming from Kumokawa's own body. She felt an unpleasant pressure in her chest. She first thought it was due to the blood loss, but something was still strange.
(This is similar to a placebo attack using suggestions, but it's somehow different... What is this? I've never seen anything like this before!!)
With one hand still on her face, she leaned on the passageway railing. Her sense of up and down was growing more uncertain. She had no idea if Kaizumi was still speaking from her handheld device or if even if she was still holding the device.
This was...
This was...
Tsuchimikado Motoharu moved his bloody lips while lying face up on the staircase.
He was muttering something under his breath.
"Hey, you pieces of shit. It's time for a sickening job. (I humbly ask your assistance like the iron and the nail. )"
Magic could be divided into the broad categories of infection magic and imitative magic.
The infection category could use objects such as hairs or fingernails. The most popular forms of curse magic would remotely attack the target by destroying a piece of one's target using a special method.
Yes.
By ripping out her eyeball, he could make a lethal attack on Kumokawa Seria.
"This is like an assembly line. Drive the bullet straight into that bitch's heart!! (I have a sign to the hated enemy in my hand. Follow this flesh and blood to bind a curse to the owner!!)"
With his curse complete, Tsuchimikado gave the stolen eyeball a light kiss.
He heard a wet coughing sound followed by something heavy collapsing to the ground.
He had successfully neutralized his target.
At the same time, Tsuchimikado's body shook from blood loss while he lay face up on the floor. The eyeball slipped from his fingers.
He had used magic for the second time.
Every blood vessel in his body cried out. He coughed violently and saw that his saliva was dyed red.
"Ahh... cough, cough!! Cough!! Cough, cough!!"
Sticky blood felt like it would block his throat, but he somehow managed to cough it all up and clear a path for air. He then slowly stood up.
"Didn't I tell you? You only had the information on me from the science side. Without the magic side data, you could never complete an accurate profile..."
Even children know about the Ushi no Koku Mairi curse. He had used a popular spell that reconstructed it to use just the hair rather than the doll. It could attack a target remotely, but any decent magician would be able to put together a countermeasure as soon as they sensed the signs. It was only effective against those who did not know magic.
(Dammit... Maybe it would have been faster to search through her trash can for some nose hair... )
Tsuchimikado headed up the stairs on unsteady feet.
He was not careless enough to use the elevator, but it did not seem to be working anyway. Using the emergency staircase would be better, but the obvious routes would likely have traps. And that was a direct route.
(I could try the air ducts, the elevator shaft, or the trash chute, but they'll probably all be booby-trapped too. )
Tsuchimikado let out a sigh.
He would never overlook a trap set up by your average member of the dark side. However, these presents had been left by Kumokawa Seria. Even if he was at 100% and had time to carefully search, he was not convinced he would be able to find and eliminate them all.
(But did Kaizumi set these traps himself? No. He wouldn't take part in the battle. That means he doesn't know where his subordinates laid the traps. He has no choice but to stay here. He's so focused on protecting himself that he can't move. )
If Tsuchimikado had a safe way to the top floor, it did not matter how long it took him.
With that in mind, Tsuchimikado opened and closed his hands to check on his grip.
He headed through the entrance hall and looked at the decorative shape of the building itself. He was checking the silhouette of the entire building.
(I need three points of support at all times. The protrusions don't have to be that large. 1. 5 cm should be enough. )
District 3 was often used as a site for diplomacy, so a lot of attention was given to the aesthetics of the buildings. A building designed from the ground up by a famous designer would possess more elements than were functionally necessary. That created an opportunity. If it had been a rectangular building with smooth sides, he may have been out of options.
"..."
After checking on his general route, Tsuchimikado headed for one of the nine entrances.
He had to go outside first.
His next task was to climb up to the 50th floor with no lifeline.
"Gh..." groaned Kumokawa Seria.
She finally realized she was collapsed on a second floor passageway in that high-rise building.
(What... happened? Was I... rescued? No... )
Her consciousness was still flickering in and out. She had no idea how long she would last. She felt as if her eyes might not reopen if she so much as blinked.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu was not pursuing her.
There was no sign of any of the traps on the paths up having activated. If any of them had, an email would have automatically been sent to her handheld device.
(Then did he go outside? Dammit, how reckless can you be!?)
The idea had come to her before, but the observation floor on level 30 jutted out at the top. She had abandoned the idea, thinking it could not be done with normal rock climbing skills.
However, he had chosen that route without hesitation.
What frightened her the most was not how reckless it was; it was the fact that he had left her expectations.
"Gh... !!"
She tried to stand up but could only manage to make her fingers and toes move slightly.
Standing would be difficult.
Her handheld device was still lying on her palm, so she could use it. However, warning Kaizumi of the danger would be meaningless. That old man had no ability to fight. Whether it was to fight or to flee, he had lost if he was even appearing on the field.
She was contacting someone else.
Fortunately, Tsuchimikado Motoharu had chosen the insane option of climbing up 50 stories. That meant it would take a long time for him to reach the top. Even if she called someone from the other side of Academy City, they could arrive before Kaizumi fell into Tsuchimikado's grasp.
She needed someone who would be most effective at a time like this.
She needed someone who knew who she was.
She needed someone would come running over at a moment's notice.
She knew the danger, but she could not allow that rabid dog to assassinate a member of the board of directors.
She used her thumb to call up a certain address. She mustered up all of her strength but gritted her teeth when that was not able to type in even 50 characters. She then attached a file that would automatically release the trap and allow the signal to be classified as a cell phone signal. Finally, she weakly pressed the send button.
(No... )
As soon as she pressed it, a thought came to her.
She had a very bad feeling. She was no longer even sure if the idea had really been hers. It was as if a new idea had come to her like a billiards ball after her clash with Tsuchimikado.
(It can't be... )
But it was too late. The "message sent" message popped up on the screen.
"... Uuh..."
She heard a soft thunk.
The handheld device had slipped from her grasp.
Part 12
That old man would normally never drink a drop of alcohol.
This was not because of a belief in moderation or restraint. He enjoyed music, theatre, antiques, and fine arts. He had even bought a horse and could picture the corresponding scenes in his mind when reading a train schedule or historic dates. As far as hobbies and tastes went, he indulged more than the average person. However, he felt alcohol, tobacco, and other things that (he believed) dulled the senses would only diminish his enjoyment. He preferred to enjoy his limited free time to its fullest during his long lifetime. You could even call that the principles the old man lived by.
That old man, Kaizumi Tsugutoshi, pulled a bottle of Irish whiskey from a shelf where he kept items prepared for receiving guests. He poured the brown liquid into a small crystal glass and stared at the surface of the liquid. Others would have said his face was as hard as rock, but Kaizumi himself called it a pathetic expression.
He would only choose to drink during the most unpleasant of times.
He had never before used alcohol as an escape.
The old man made up his mind, grabbed the glass, and gulped down the alcohol just like the ancient nobles drank their cups of poison when their castle was surrounded by enemy troops. He first felt a heat in his neck which quickly spread to his entire head. Kaizumi felt as if he was being strangled.
He spoke just after bringing the bottom of the glass back to the solid table.
"So he's here."
Just as he spoke, the tempered glass covering the wall directly behind his leather chair shattered. Kaizumi remained seated and swiveled his chair around. The sun had mostly set, leaving behind a nighttime scene decorated by countless lights. A bloodthirsty beast ignored the burst of wind and walked slowly into the office.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu was dyed red with blood. He had a dark red gunshot wound on his side and fresh blood stained his clothes in other places too. Some was likely his and some was likely to have belonged to others. In payment for climbing the outside of the building with no lifeline, his fingers were shaking and pale.
Even so, the light in his eyes beyond the thin-lensed glasses retained the look of a predator.
He calmly asked, "Are you ready?"
"I believe I am, " replied Kaizumi Tsugutoshi as he sank back into the large chair.
Tsuchimikado's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You will not receive a quick end. Your path to death will be a long and painful one. Do you know why that is?"
"I controlled a large project with full knowledge that it would affect the lives of many people. I was prepared from the moment I sat in this chair."
"Are you trying to act cold and unfeeling?" spat out Tsuchimikado.
The boy used all his strength to suppress the desire to rip the two sides of that old man's body apart. That was not enough. Simply killing him would not be enough payment for the anger he felt.
His revenge had to make up for all of his anger.
If not, he would lose a target to take his anger out on and become ruled by that anger. He would become a vengeful spirit that was eternally searching for its next prey.
Tsuchimikado was aware he was only a step away from that.
"What you were involved in was simple murder. No different from me."
"True, " honestly admitted Kaizumi.
That old man was not so young as to fool himself into thinking his actions had been just. It simply involved too much for that to be the case. However, he was not the type to be shaken if his actions were summed up as evil either. Kaizumi Tsugutoshi most feared dulling his thoughts and senses, but he had ended up giving so much focus to himself that he was almost sick of it.
"But do you really understand what is going on here?"
"..."
"If you kill me in any way you can think of, you will achieve your revenge. Who can say if that will make your little sister happy, but it will certainly satisfy you. However, that will end your revenge here. You will reach satisfaction without learning the truth."
"... So what?" spat out Tsuchimikado in response."I no longer care what the Agitate Halation project is. My goal is to take revenge against everyone behind driving Maika to her death. I will kill everyone who so much as helped. You are the signal gunshot that rings across the hunting grounds. You are nothing more than a victim to be shown to the others."
"Taking revenge against everyone behind it, you say?"
Kaizumi gave a slight smile.
The alcohol seemed to be helping somewhat.
"Then will your revenge only end when you die?"
"..."
"I am not simply saying your sister's death was indirectly brought about by your investigation into the Agitate Halation project, " continued Kaizumi when he received no response."I know what happened. I am not a fool and I have plenty of power. I had a chance to learn what happened. It is quite simple."
"What is simple?"
"The truth." As the old man smiled, tension spread across his entire face."What happened first. What led you to this quest for revenge."
The gaze behind Tsuchimikado's glasses did not waver.
However, his eyebrows twitched slightly. An expert like Kumokawa Seria may have been able to draw enough information from that to map out his entire mental state.
And...
Kaizumi Tsugutoshi, a member of the board of directors, made a decisive statement.
"It was you who set fire to Tsuchimikado Maika's dorm and killed your stepsister, wasn't it?"
A silence followed.
Technically, gentle classical music was still playing, but the two of them had completely tuned it out. That song that glorified the creation of humanity no longer left any emotional impact with Tsuchimikado or Kaizumi.
"Or to be more accurate, you learned that an attack group was targeting your family as the intelligence battle over your investigation of the Agitate Halation project intensified, so you acted first and 'killed' her. You kidnapped her, set fire to her room, and rewrote the official records. You killed your little sister to protect her. That is the truth of what happened here."
"... So what if it is?"
"If it is, then this revenge of yours is nothing but a farce. The supposed death never even happened yet here you are claiming you will risk your life to make up for it!... What are you getting revenge for? Are you disguising yourself as a bloodthirsty monster to soak your sister's death even further into the darkness!?"
"Yes, " said Tsuchimikado almost in a groan. His tone was that of someone who had just been explained some basic fact everyone already knew."That doesn't matter. I didn't really care."
"... ?"
"If I hadn't 'killed' Maika, some group or another would have killed her sooner rather than later. There would have been nothing I could do. And that was enough. Just having someone targeting her life was enough to pass the boiling point. That gave me a reason to fight."
"But this veers sharply from all your previous actions. You have always remained behind the scenes. Who even ordered you to investigate the Agitate Halation project? No matter how many people the instructions passed down through, your intermediary would not have wanted you to take such obvious actions."
"Of course not." Tsuchimikado took a step across broken glass shards."Do you... do you really think I can calmly do my job like normal? Do you really not understand something so simple? Have you gotten so rusty I need to explain everything from the beginning? Fine, I'll tell you."
He paused for a beat.
And then he spoke as if confessing some definitive crime.
"Kaizumi, I killed my little sister."
His voice was oddly gentle.
Or perhaps it should be described as the voice of someone who had lost the core of their being and had lost all emotion.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu's mouth uttered "words" more mechanically than the classical music filling the room.
"It doesn't matter if it was only faked on paper. It doesn't matter if no one died. It doesn't matter if she was given a sudden request from her maid school to clean some strange building. It doesn't matter if she's even now mopping the floor in confusion. It doesn't matter if she's perfectly healthy and has no idea her dorm has burned down or that she is thought to be dead. It doesn't matter if her room, its interior, its furniture, and everything else will be restored back to normal by the time she finishes the work and returns to her dorm."
Tsuchimikado held no blade or firearm.
The distinctive aura of one who has been utterly destroyed was all it took to crush Kaizumi's spirit.
"I still killed her."
These were the ruins of his ideals.
This was the empty carcass of his beliefs.
That betrayal of trust had transformed into hatred. And the strength of that trust had led to a powerful rampage that was not easily destroyed.
"The thing is, Kaizumi, I raised my hand against my own little sister with the techniques that I was supposed to only use behind the scenes in the darkness. Yes, I know. I know what you're thinking. I've been deceiving her and lying to her all this time. These are the rules I set for myself and I don't expect anyone else to understand them. But even so, I had drawn a line! I had sworn I would never bring my sister into this filthy world!! But you made me do that!! You!! This was something I swore never to do! And yet you gave me no choice but to do it!!!!!"
"..."
In that moment, Kaizumi Tsugutoshi's expression was a complex one that could not be described with any of the standard emotions. But Tsuchimikado did not notice. He pointed at that old man and shouted accusations as if he did not even know who he was accusing.
"Do you understand now, Kaizumi!? Do you!!? You... no, all of you destroyed the gears I had set up!! How long do you think I can maintain my rationality and reasonability now? I'm done for. And now that I know that, I have decided to deal with everyone involved in it before I eventually forget how to stand on my own two legs!! I will deal with everyone who led me to kill my little sister!!"
"Then, " said Kaizumi quietly."Let me give you one piece of advice. The Agitate Halation project runs much deeper than you think. After becoming as deeply involved as you have, there is no turning back. And... prepare yourself. The situation is only going to grow worse."
"What are you talking about?" spat out Tsuchimikado while glaring at the old man."You're the one behind it! Or are you saying it's such a valuable project that a donut-shaped outer group that you can't control has formed!? Or have you set up some backup that will take over when you die!?"
"You will understand soon enough, " replied Kaizumi with a slow sigh. The hands holding the armrests of the leather chair were covered in sweat."You will not listen to what I say here. That is fine, but just know that it does not end here.... It seems it was a success. The situation is hardly good, but it seems a better result has arrived at the very, very end."
"Stop joking around, " muttered Tsuchimikado as he took a large step forward.
He used a hand to brush the various reports off of the thick table and forcefully opened a drawer. He began pulling objects out and slamming them onto the table.
"A fountain pen! Nail clippers! Cold medicine!!.... Do you still write letters in the age of emails? Then you must have a paper knife, a glue stick, and a stamp sheet!! Do you have any idea how much pain and fear I can cause with just those objects? I'll show you. Don't think you'll be able to die of shock. By separating out the components of the cold medicine, I can create a countermeasure against that. Remember what I said? Your path to death will be a long and painful one. You can look forward to learning the details later, but just know that you will be in full bloom while still alive like a rafflesia. Life is a classroom up until the very end, so make sure to pay attention. I'll teach you the negative techniques that humanity has built up with a dark smile!!"
"I see." Kaizumi let out a sigh while still sitting in his chair."I suppose those would be cruel techniques to use on your ignorant little sister."
Tsuchimikado silently swung his fist.
After silencing the old man with that blow, Tsuchimikado tied his arms and legs to the chair with wire.
He started with the glittering paper knife.
It had no blade, so it had little ability to injure. However, that meant it could lengthen someone's suffering if used properly.
"I will leave your face untouched, " he announced with words sharper than the knife in his hand."But not out of kindness. Most of your five senses are located there. However, I will thoroughly destroy everything else. Seeing your body change form is much more of a shock than you think it is. That will be the first step. And you will have to accept with terror that this is only the first step."
"That is unlikely to happen." With blood trailing down from the corner of his mouth, Kaizumi stared Tsuchimikado straight in the eye."I doubt you have the time."
"You have no pawns left. Kumokawa Seria was defeated. No normal soldier can find the traps she set up. Your allies will only be taken out by the net another ally left behind. That is why you did not call in reinforcements, right?"
"This has nothing to do whose side anyone is on."
"Are you saying some completely unrelated hero of justice will show up? If this world was that convenient, the darkness would not have existed as long as it has."
"Someone is coming, " declared Kaizumi decisively."A hero is coming. However, this is no kind coincidence. You should grasp a piece of the truth once it happens. You could say this is like a special game of billiards. Or perhaps a form of mutual destruction. Either way, you will learn what you have been involved in and in what form."
"What?"
As soon as Tsuchimikado frowned in confusion, a soft electronic tone sounded.
The office was soundproofed, but an internal speaker was used to inform Kaizumi when the elevator arrived.
When he realized someone was coming, tension ran across Tsuchimikado's skin like an electric current. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Someone had been able to use the elevator normally, Kumokawa Seria's traps had not activated, and someone had arrived to interfere just as Kaizumi had announced. However, the feeling Tsuchimikado felt was not in response to all of those aspects of the situation.
The problem could be simplified further.
Kaizumi had said it was like a game of billiards.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Kumokawa Seria had clashed. His defeat of her had directly led to "someone else" arriving. It was just like how the cue hitting a single ball caused a chain reaction of balls hitting balls until the needed ball fell accurately into the pocket.
"Know this: I do not know who is coming. This person may have done nothing wrong and may have nothing evil about them." Kaizumi was speaking much more quickly than before. This implicitly told Tsuchimikado that the man felt he was running out of time."However, this person will certainly be your enemy.... Damn. Why did I not realize this until now? Their goal was not for the two of us to defeat each other. I was never even one of their targets! They wanted you and this other person to defeat each other!! From the start – the very, very start – this was all meant to eliminate you!! It all stretches back to the attempt on your sister's life! The answer was staring me in the face the entire time!!"
"..."
(What?)
Tsuchimikado Motoharu's head filled with questions.
(Who holds the cue in this game of billiards and what pocket are they aiming for!? My clash with Kumokawa and Kaizumi were nothing more than a means to an end? Then what have I begun here!?)
Defeating one enemy created a new enemy. However, this was not a simple case of revenge. In terms of billiards, that would be hitting a ball straight forward into another ball, but that was not the case here. The movement was much more complex. This was a type of acrobatics where the balls in the way were jumped over to reach the target ball.
He had decided to climb up that 50 story height because his opponent was Kumokawa Seria. That would not have happened with a different enemy, with a different ball.
The same could be said about the fact that he had been badly injured on his way to Kaizumi's office.
One person against another.
One hero against another.
What if there was a system to freely create a battle at an unspecified time and place so that two individuals defeated each other?
What if this coming battle was the final battle? What if it had been set up ahead of time to accurately land a specific ball in a specific pocket? What if that was why the ball named Tsuchimikado Motoharu had been sent out to strike against all those other balls?
"Answer me..." said Tsuchimikado to the man tied to his chair with wire."Answer me!! How were you involved in the Agitate Halation project? The way you're talking, it almost sounds like... !"
"I was working to destroy the Agitate Halation project. Just like you, I viewed the one behind it as much too dangerous. That was why I assumed they wanted to knock our two balls into the pocket. I assumed they wanted us to defeat each other. I decided my failure to stop the project was enough to say I was involved with your sister's death. As long as you would destroy the project after I was gone, that was enough for me.... And you would have rejected the truth even if I had tried to tell it to you."
"How could this happen... ?"
He had misread the target for his revenge.
He had worn his body down pursuing the wrong target.
And now someone who had been pushed forward just like he had had arrived at the floor to finish him off.
The balls in the way would be avoided and only the targeted balls would be struck from the perfect angle to send them into the pocket.
But it was too late by the time he realized it. He could not turn the situation around now.
"What will you do?" asked Kaizumi."If the two of us are defeated, no one will be able to stop the Agitate Halation project. This is the worst possible turn of events! If you are going to flee, do so now. Is there no way for you to safely escape now!?"
There was not.
The enemy controlled the entire billiards table.
"I have no choice, " decided Tsuchimikado while steadying his breathing. The heavy double doors slowly opened before his eyes."I don't know who this is. They might be good and they might be evil. But I can't let myself be defeated here. I still have to carry out my revenge!! I can't let that end here!!"
However...
Tsuchimikado's words were like a forced injection of vitality after he had fallen into despair. And they were cut off before he could continue.
His eyes opened wide.
He let out a trembling voice when he saw who stepped into the room.
"You're... kidding me..."
But when he thought about it, this may have been the possibility that he had feared the most.
Part 13
Kamijou Touma stepped inside that high-rise office in District 3.
When he thought about it, everything leading him here had been strange. It had started with being tricked by Tsuchimikado Motoharu and thrown into the School Garden. In there, he had guessed that everything related to the Altar of the Wisdom King had been a lie and had seen the news saying Tsuchimikado's little sister Maika was dead. The girl controlled by Shokuhou Misaki, Academy City's #5, had helped him somehow escape the School Garden. As soon as he had turned back on the cell phone he had turned off so no one could track him with it, he had received an anonymous email from an unidentified address telling him where Tsuchimikado was. He had followed the directions to District 3 and then to this elevator.
And now...
Kamijou set foot inside a large office that he would never have even seen in his normal life.
Despite being on the 50th floor, the tempered glass window had been shattered and documents were scattered around the room. The old man who likely owned the room had his arms and legs bound to his chair with wires and Tsuchimikado stood next to him. Unlike normal, the boy had his hair dyed brown, wore thin-lensed glasses, wore a chic jacket, and was covered in blood.
This was clearly no normal situation.
But at the same time, Kamijou intensely felt that something was very off about the situation.
It was a hopeless feeling as if a billiards ball that could not be allowed to fall into a pocket would do so no matter where the cue ball was hit.
"What... is going on?" asked Kamijou in confusion.
Had Tsuchimikado trapped Kamijou in the School Garden with the story about the Altar of the Wisdom King in order to keep him from seeing this? However, Kamijou refused to believe that everything happening here was based on Tsuchimikado's own malice. This was not simply a desire to trust his friend. The situation was simply too unlike Tsuchimikado. The scene before Kamijou's eyes looked like an extended version of someone giving into their anger and beating someone else over the head with an ash tray. Tsuchimikado would not choose such a simple method even if he chose to use violence. Even if there was something he could never forgive, he would work all the harder to remain rational and aim for a perfect victory. So why?
The expression of the old man bound to the chair changed as if he had realized something.
"Wait... Is he still only a stopped ball? If so, this is bad. The ball the enemy has hit is you, Tsuchimikado! The next move is not yet set in stone. If you stop moving, the collision of balls will come to an-... !!"
The old man trailed off when Tsuchimikado pulled out a handgun and beat him on the back of the neck with the grip.
After knocking the man unconscious, Tsuchimikado stared at Kamijou.
"Kami-yan, how much do you know?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all! Tsuchimikado, I..."
"That's the most troublesome answer. It gives me nothing to base my decision on, " spat out Tsuchimikado."But from the look in your eyes, I take it you've at least heard of my sister's death. I have to take revenge for that. Whether it was a coincidence or I was tricked, I've been running in the wrong direction, but what I must do has not changed. I will continue. And this is a path you can never follow me down, Kami-yan!!"
As he shouted, Tsuchimikado unhesitatingly pointed his handgun at Kamijou.
Kamijou stiffened, but he did not hear a loud gunshot. Instead, he heard a much quieter metallic clicking.
"So this is another result of my clash with Kumokawa. Honestly, this is one hell of a game of billiards."
Tsuchimikado clicked his tongue and tossed the gun aside.
"Tsuchimikado..."
"Words are not needed here."
Tsuchimikado's body wavered unsteadily.
Spirit. That word was the only thing keeping him standing.
"From the severity of my wounds, I don't have time for a long chat. And since you don't know the situation, you can't put together an argument that will convince me.... Kami-yan and me. Someone hit the cue ball so we would both fall into one of the pockets. There is nothing left for us but violence!!"
"Wait, Tsuchimikado!! Shit!!"
He did not even have time to swear.
Tsuchimikado stepped forcefully forward and charged at Kamijou with tremendous speed.
A fistfight began.
The Tsuchimikado Motoharu that Kamijou Touma knew was well-versed in banned techniques and he would not hesitate to use them to accomplish his goals. He knew just how much pain those attacks would bring, but he used them anyway. He forced down his own thoughts, gritted his teeth, endured each and every tragedy, and ultimately put an end to a much greater tragedy. That was the sort of person he was.
That was how he fought and those were his principles.
This was an opponent Kamijou could never defeat.
Yet...
And yet...
"Wh-what?"
Kamijou twisted his upper body to the side and evaded the arm that was violently swung toward him. He succeeded. He also avoided the fingers stabbing for his eyes and the foot trying to wave its way between his legs. Sometimes he would evade and sometimes he would block.
It was not simply that Tsuchimikado's speed had dropped.
In fact, despite all of his injuries, Tsuchimikado's speed remained greater than Kamijou's.
However...
That speed was meaningless.
When he had defeated Kamijou with overwhelming force before, he had given off a hopeless sense of intimidation. That was now gone.
Kamijou saw nothing but actions before his eyes. Nothing but movements. Nothing but phenomena. That was all it was. It was as if he was looking at an empty shell of the human named Tsuchimikado Motoharu. This was a mere shadow of his former self that could not even be called the ruins of the original boy.
And so...
"What are you doing?"
A dull sound rang out.
Tsuchimikado had not struck Kamijou with one of his banned techniques. It was the opposite. It had been an amateurish punch thrown just by swinging a fist as hard as one could. It had flown straight into Tsuchimikado's jaw with disturbing accuracy.
Tsuchimikado's upper body swayed.
Kamijou had gotten in a clean hit, but he felt nothing in his heart.
After being hit, Tsuchimikado continued further forward, so Kamijou was forced to fight back with punches and kicks. Each and every strike hit Tsuchimikado. They all ended up hitting. Each time, the boy staggered. His feet grew more and more unsteady. This was not the Tsuchimikado that Kamijou knew. It was like watching a king of professional wrestling passed out drunk in a filthy back alley. Kamijou's heart was filled with overwhelming despair.
"What are you doing!?"
He wanted Tsuchimikado to tell him he had interpreted this wrong.
He wanted to hear that this had all been a game. He wanted the boy to turn everything around with a single special attack.
He wanted the boy to coldly demonstrate the difference between an expert and an amateur and then arrogantly announce that he would take care of everything.
And yet...
Sounds of great impacts rang out again and again. Tsuchimikado Motoharu finally collapsed to the floor. Kamijou climbed on top of him. He threw his fist down on the boy again and again and again while tears welled up in his eyes.
"What is this? What the hell is this!? Is this really you? Is this who Tsuchimikado Motoharu is!? No, it isn't. No matter how injured you might be and no matter what situation you might be in, you are not someone so weak you would lose to the likes of me!!"
The very act of winning this fight felt like some tremendous blasphemy.
It was like a crowd ignoring the masterpiece a great composer poured his heart and soul into yet giving a standing ovation to someone slamming their fingers against the piano as a joke.
"..."
Even with Kamijou's entire body weight holding him down, Tsuchimikado spat bloody saliva at Kamijou's face. Was he trying to blind him or was he trying to surprise him into losing his balance? Either way, Kamijou blocked the weak surprise attack with his palm. He was able to block it.
Tsuchimikado Motoharu may have run out of ideas.
All light left his eyes and the back of his head fell to the floor.
Why had this happened?
What did Kamijou gain from this victory?
It had ended before he knew what had caused it or what this result meant. He could not imagine what ideals had been in conflict. He could not imagine what anyone had wanted to achieve at the risk of their lives. His opponent had been a fellow human being, but he could not imagine how he might have ended up in the same place had conditions been different.
And yet...
It was over.
"What the hell... ?"
Clear drops fell from Kamijou Touma's eyelids.
"What the hell!?"
These were the most bitter and pathetic tasting tears in the world.
He instinctually knew that this was the flavor of disgrace.
"I shouldn't have been able to win no matter what I tried... There has to be some trick. Something I'm not aware of!! Dammit, don't make me accept this ending. I don't even know who I let win! Who did I give victory to here!? Tsuchimikado, who were you fighting? I wasn't your final objective, was I!? Why did you even have to continue fighting until you were so worn down!?"
He received no response.
It may have no longer mattered.
"Why did you have to lie to me!? What is going on here? What kind of incident is this!? How... how are you involved in all of this!?"
Tsuchimikado Motoharu ignored Kamijou and let it all come to an end.
No matter how many dominos had been lined up, they could not continue further if a thick wall was placed in the middle of them. Kamijou simply stood on the board as that wall while ignorant of the overall layout of the dominos.
"Answer me, Tsuchimikado! Answer me!! Dammit. Dammiiiiiittttttt!!"
It seemed Tsuchimikado had no intention of saying anything more. Kamijou raised his head and looked around. The old man was still bound to the chair with wires, but he was still unconscious. He would be no help.
The office was quite high up and the window had been shattered, so a powerful wind was blowing in. Piles of documents lying scattered on the ground were blown into the air. They described many different things: the Agitate Halation project, those connected to the project, a list of those pursuing the project, the student dorm fire, a list of both the perpetrators and victims, and partial records of Tsuchimikado Motoharu's actions over the last couple of hours.
"..."
Kamijou grabbed one of the documents.
It gave the name of the central figure running the Agitate Halation project that Tsuchimikado had apparently been investigating.
This was a member of Academy City's board of directors. This was one of those ultimate VIPs.
The name given was Yakumi Hisako.
Between the Lines 2
A certain hospital in District 13 had some unusual equipment and facilities prepared due to its university connections... or at least that was the official reason. It had a large electric furnace that could surely and swiftly dispose of bodies carrying dangerous viruses, it had nanotech pharmaceutical production devices that could do work on a level more minute than the membranes and valves of organs, etc. Even for a hospital connected to a university, it contained far too much equipment that was out of the ordinary.
"Hee hee hee."
A woman laughed within a room that was more sanitary than any normal room in a hospital, especially one a normal patient would want to stay in.
She was Yakumi Hisako.
This dimly lit room that was secretly known as the "planning room" was the sole place she could relax and feel at ease.
"Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!! Hah hah!! Gya ha ha!! Oh, I can't stop. I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't!! Ee hee hee ee hee! I-I can't stop laughing! I'm dying!!"
The nurse known as Rensa tilted her head in confusion.
"An error has occurred in the experiment."
"It's fine, it's fine. Tsuchimikado didn't do enough to kill me. He let me go. His hated enemy was before his eyes and he didn't even know it! He went out of his way to avoid the ball he wanted and sent an unneeded ball in Kaizumi's direction!! Hah hah! This was a huge success!!"
"Whether it worked in your advantage or not, an error is still an error. Shouldn't you give this more focus?"
"It's okay, " replied Yakumi with tears in her eyes."If Agitate Halation had exceeded its acceptable margin of error, I would have been killed. I made an appearance on the billiards table and yet here I am still alive.... That confirms it. Agitate Halation is now unstoppable. We can now move on to the final phase of the project. Let's throw everything into chaos."
"Doctor, I must remind you that the primary objective of Agitate Halation is in its practical applications..."
"I know that. This is just a side effect. Buuut it's just human nature to want to enjoy it if you can, " said Yakumi Hisako offhandedly while Rensa checked the schedule while standing next to her."By the way, is there aaany other job I need to deal with at the moment? If possible, I would like to focus on Agitate Halation."
"Nothing urgent enough to need your attention, doctor. Fatty-chan, Wrinkly-san, and Mister Psychedelic are all doing well."
"Using those nicknames doesn't tell me anything. Leeet's see, what about Enzu-san?"
"The private clinical test of the designers' gel that rearranges the structure of cholesterol has begun. The amounts are being carefully adjusted to acquire accurate data, but the thrombus should be complete in about a week. It is still too soon to know for sure, but this may be an excellent assassination weapon that would slip past any forensic investigation."
"What about Akinai-san?"
"The private clinical test of the inhaled oxygen level regulation technique using low frequency suggestion has begun. It has allowed us to increase or decrease the concentration of oxygen in the blood without the use of any drugs. It is still too soon to know for-..."
"That one is not for assassination purposes, so is he okay?"
"We are calculating the data needed to use it as a nonlethal weapon for threats by rapidly increasing the number of wrinkles and spots on the target. Although changing the parameters would allow it to kill via hyperventilation."
"Okay. And lastly, what about Kevin-san?"
"Doctor, what merit is there in developing technology to dissolve only the bones while keeping the target alive?"
"That is what we were asked for, so that's what we will develop. It might be a form of punishment and it might be someone's sick fetish."
"His immunity still requires attention, but he is doing well."
"Fine then, " said Yakumi Hisako with a nod. And then she sighed."We certainly have gotten a lot of troublesome patients lately."
"And you certainly have enjoyed dragging them down into the darkness."
"Yet I rarely hear any complaints overflowing with a sense of justice. Of course when I do, I just suppress them." Yakumi Hisako then casually added, "What a cruel world this is."
That was all human life was to her. If they irritated her, she would send them into the darkness and if she liked them, she would miraculously save them. Either way, she took human lives lightly. She influenced them no more seriously than deciding if she wanted toast or rice for breakfast.
"Now, then. I've gone over the schedule, so let's get to the fun."
The planning room had a white board set up. Several photos were attached with magnets and thick lines had been drawn on the board between them.
"Where is the leverage point?"
"We have already located Fremea Seivelun. According to the report from that Kihara, her progress is going well."
"The counterbalance?"
"Kuroyoru Umidori has already been guided in. She does not have the 'disposition', but it is estimated that an opposite will be affected in its own way."
"Then carry on as planned, Rensa-chan."
"Understood, " immediately replied Rensa while still standing.
Yakumi Hisako reached for a desk in the planning room. She pulled a dart out of a pencil holder that also held some writing tools. The dart was colored with black and yellow stripes. Anyone would be naturally cautious of a living creature with that design.
When a special bullet known as the Sniper Bee had been created, this large model had been created for design purposes. Smaller versions were loaded into a special magazine that used compressed gas.
When she squeezed it between her thumb and forefinger, a clear liquid oozed out of the needle's tip. She carelessly tossed the dart.
With a loud thunk, the dart accurately pierced one of the photos.
That photo was...
"The final phase begins. Fiiirst, let's get the ball rolling by ending this person's life."
A liquid flowed down from the forehead of the person in the photo.
That liquid was not blood. It was formic acid, the bee venom that they liked to use.
"This will drag everything else into this. The entire world will be renewed☆"
| ← Ch. 084 | Ch. 086 → |