Black Bullet - Volume 1 - Chapter 2.5

5

Shortly after the helicopter flew away, the streaks of rain suddenly got stronger, and it started raining heavily outside the window. Rentaro cupped his cheek nervously in his hand, squirming and checking the passenger seat over and over. Inside the helicopter, it was eerily silent compared to the wild weather outside.

Enju was riding on the flap door in the back where a patient on a stretcher would normally be. Because of the wall between them, Rentaro, riding in the passenger seat, couldn’t see Enju, who was riding in the back.

I should have ridden in the back with Enju. The more he looked at the Shakujii River rising in the rain, the more he thought so. If he had, then he could have used the time it took for them to get to their destination to talk with her a little more.

Rentaro looked at the glowing GPS dot that Kisara had sent him. Because they couldn’t use the satellites in this rain, this was the position from ten minutes ago. It was highly likely that the Gastrea had already moved from this position.

As they neared the Outer District, Rentaro could see the Monoliths blocking their way like a giant mountain range. It was still hard to believe that they were masses of Varanium. One probably had enough for hundreds of thousands of the Varanium bullets Rentaro used. Maybe more.

“I wonder what that is?” said the pilot.

Rentaro saw a flying object below them where the pilot was pointing. He rubbed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the window. About eighty meters in the air, he could see a flying object shaped like an arrowhead. At first, it looked to him like a kite flying in the sky. It looked like a white isosceles triangle floating above the forest. Beneath the isosceles triangle, he could just make out a shadow with eight long, thin legs.

“A spider’s parachute…,” said Rentaro with realization. “Damn it, so that’s what it was. Please go after it, pilot.”

“You know what that is?” asked the pilot.

“Yeah,” Rentaro answered. “That’s the source Gastrea. Somewhere in South America, there is a small spider that weaves its nest into a parachute and uses it to ride hundreds of kilometers on the wind. Since it rides on the wind, it might be easier to understand if you think of it as a dandelion seed. Spider silk is basically a type of polymer, but that Gastrea was able to weave it into the shape of a kite…”

Putting that much into words, he suddenly had a new thought, and his words trailed off. Why did it make it into an isosceles triangle then? Rentaro felt like he was missing something important.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head. “I see… It’s not a parachute, it’s a hang glider. If that’s the case, then it all makes sense. The front is tapered so that it can cut through the wind and give it lift. That’s also why there were no sightings of the source Gastrea. If that’s the case, then this is an amazing feat. Because there’s no mature spider in the world that possesses this ability.”

In any case, he now knew why it wasn’t caught by any of the surveillance cameras around town. Outside of the Outer District, the surveillance cameras were meant to watch people from above, so it was normal for them to be pointing down. To capture a Gastrea gliding far above was completely removed from what they were supposed to be used for.

This Gastrea probably dug its claws into the side of a building and climbed to the roof to fly off using the eddies of wind around high buildings. It was smart.

“Wh-what should I do?” said the pilot uncertainly.

“Lower our altitude and match its speed to follow it like this from above,” Rentaro ordered.

Just then, there was the violent sound of an iron plate being punched through, and the aircraft lurched to the side. Rentaro hit his head on the glass a few times. “Oww…,” he said. “What the hell was that?”

“The door in the back was broken open,” said the pilot. “That Initiator you brought did it.”

“Enju? No way, we’re in midflight right now. What in the world is she trying to do…?” At that moment, Rentaro realized what Enju intended, and his blood froze. “Wait, Enju!” he shouted.

By the time he yelled, it was too late. He could see Enju falling headfirst from a high altitude. Seeing Enju get smaller and smaller as she fell on a path following the law of gravity, Rentaro almost screamed.

Aiming for the spider’s hang glider woven from spider silk, Enju crashed into it with the speed of a shooting star. For the Gastrea, it was a violent attack that came from its blind spot directly above it. Enju and the Gastrea fell tangled together into the forest that ran along the banks of the river.

“Lower our altitude,” Rentaro told the pilot. “Hurry!” Rentaro quickly looked around and pulled out a vinyl rope he found tucked away to the side of the helicopter. He had no time to think. He pulled the rope out with all his strength, and doubling it up, he tied it around the side of the seat and pulled it a few times to test its strength.

The instant he kicked open the door, the pouring rain and driving winds that had been absorbed by the thick glass blew into his face. Because both the back and side doors were open and the craft was affected by the winds, the helicopter had not been steady for a while now. Rentaro dangled the vinyl rope, but it was buffeted by the strong winds. In addition, the vinyl rope had a terrible grip compared to a rappelling rope. There was no lifeline or carabiner, either. When he looked down, it was so high that it made him dizzy.

The pilot looked at Rentaro, his eyes wide with surprise. I wonder at my own sanity, Rentaro thought. The hell with it. He prayed, gripped the rope tightly with both hands and feet, and let his body down into midair.

The vinyl rope, wet with rain, was much slipperier than Rentaro had imagined. He tried to brake, but he wouldn’t stop. Just as he was finally able to control his speed by gripping the rope so hard the skin came off his hands, a sudden wind that even Rentaro could hear rocked the rope.

By the time he realized what had happened, it was already too late. With a terrible floating sensation, he was thrown into the air. He spun both arms in panic, but the ground spun as he closed in on it with terrifying speed. Fall headfirst? No, I need to fix my position. I’ll absorb the shock with my legs.

His brain was functioning at amazing speed, and for just a brief moment, time seemed to slow down. In that moment that felt like an eternity, Rentaro somersaulted in midair and successfully pointed his feet downward. Immediately after, the ground rushed up to meet him. He felt the vibration all the way to his organs. His body was swung about, and after being spun around four times like he was being blown away, he found himself lying on his back in muddy water.

Gasping to get back some of the wind that was knocked out of him, he spit out the disgusting bits of gravel that had gotten into his mouth. He couldn’t stand until his head stopped spinning from the damage to his inner ear.

When he felt like his consciousness was focused again, he gave a weak wave at the helicopter that was flying nervously overhead and felt pain in his whole body as he lifted himself up. It had probably been about twenty meters. He had heard that the farthest a human being could fall without dying was about fifteen meters, so he wasn’t sure why he was alive himself.

That was when he first realized that the ground he had landed on was muddy from the torrential rains. Where was Enju? That’s right, Enju.

Favoring his right leg, he stood and walked into the forest along the river. The intense rain pounded down on his face, and his sight was blurred with the water. On top of the uncomfortable sensation of his wet hair plastered against his face, his uniform was heavy from the water it had absorbed. Feeling cold, he rubbed his elbows with both hands.

Beyond the tall curtain of evergreen trees echoed intermittent sounds of battle. When he climbed the small hill that obstructed his vision, supporting himself with his hands on the trees, he saw a battle unfolding before his eyes.

On one side was the Model Spider Gastrea, with venomous fangs bared menacingly, thrusting skillfully with its eight long, thin, and rapier-sharp legs. Just as Rentaro had imagined, in order to fly, its body had been made as light as possible, and other than the yellow-and-black mottled pattern on its body, it looked just like a long-jawed orb weaver.

However, Enju’s red-hot eyes saw through the Gastrea’s every move. Dodging the skillful thrusts, she swiftly hid herself underneath the Gastrea’s abdomen and kicked upward with an iron-hammer-like force that made it seem as if she had Varanium in the soles of her shoes. The kick was only aimed at the Gastrea’s abdomen, but its flesh was torn and its chin was crushed to pieces, fangs and all. It flew about ten meters into the air and spun once before striking the ground with its own weight. The bodily fluids that flew out even reached Rentaro’s uniform.

Not only were three of its thin, wirelike legs broken, but bodily fluids were gushing out of its abdomen. She had won. “Rentaro, I beat it! We were the first ones here!” When Enju saw Rentaro, she waved her arms excitedly at him.

He sighed with relief. “Don’t be so rash. I thought you’d given in to your despair, and I…” As he moved near Enju to put a hand on her shoulder, her face twisted in pain. “Are you hurt?” he asked.

“I-I’m not hurt! I just twisted my left ankle a little. It’ll be fine in an hour.”

He thumped Enju on the head.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!”

“You dummy…,” Rentaro said. “You’re not fine. Don’t pretend it doesn’t hurt! You’re just a kid.”

Rentaro tilted his head and walked over to the Gastrea’s corpse, looking dissatisfied. Collapsed with its shrunken appendages, the Gastrea was smaller than he’d expected. Like the information they had gotten said, the duralumin case in question was embedded in the Gastrea’s body, stuck to the upper part of the abdomen. When he saw it in the picture, it was hard to tell how big it was, but he could see now that it was about wide enough to fill his arms.

“What is this…?” said Rentaro. There were long handcuffs attached to the handle of the duralumin case. Before the victim had turned into a Gastrea, he probably connected the case to his hand so that he would not let it go. However, the victim’s corrosion rate had passed the limit.

The gloomy sound of the rain reached Rentaro. Rentaro held the Gastrea down with one leg and pulled out the case, handcuffs and all, and then took a few steps back. He shivered with a sudden chill down his spine. He didn’t care what was inside anymore. He just wanted to hand over the case as soon as possible and get this job over with.

Rentaro turned his neck to look around. There was no sign of anyone even though it was about time other civil officers should have arrived. The fabric of his clothes poked him, and his body prickled all over.

He heard a laugh. “Good work, Satomi.”

“Huh?” The second he looked back, there was a white mask at point-blank range. Five long, thin fingers grabbed his face, splashing it with muddy water.

Rentaro choked. He tried to break free, but he was thrown violently into the tree trunk with a terrifying force. He couldn’t do anything about the inertia, and at the same time, something sharp crashed into his spine. The air was squeezed out of his lungs, and his vision grew dark as his consciousness faded.

“Rentaro!” cried Enju.

“Found you, Enju.” As Enju rolled to the side instinctively, the plants behind her split into three before she remembered to yell and was blown backward. Kohina appeared with her Varanium-bladed short swords, taking a stance that looked like she was about to spread her wings.

Rentaro stood with a fit of coughing, glaring at the man holding onto the mask with one hand while laughing evilly. “Kagetane… Hiruko…!”

Kagetane spoke. “Even though your president’s cute, she does some pretty nasty stuff. She was sniffing around my backers without caring about appearances. I’m acting on an order from them. They said to take care of this quickly.”

Rentaro felt chills as he held the duralumin case behind him and retreated. Kagetane snorted. “Are you waiting for other civsec officers to show up? You probably shouldn’t. I killed almost all of the weaklings nearby on my way here.”

Rentaro noticed the splatters of blood coating Kagetane’s wine-red tailcoat and shuddered with horror. He drew his XD and fired.

Kagetane was ready. “It’s no use. Imaginary Gimmick.” As he yelled this, the bullets hit an invisible wall and bounced off in all directions.

The sound of the rain returned to Rentaro’s ears. Kagetane opened his arms magnanimously to show that he was unhurt.

Not yet, thought Rentaro as he threw the duralumin case away. Pressing down, he stepped onto the ground, focusing his strength. “Tendo Martial Arts First Style, Number 8: Homura Kasen!” It was a straight punch with his whole body behind it. However, before it reached Kagetane, it collided with the stubborn bluish-white barrier and was thrown off course, hitting thin air.

Kagetane drew a custom Beretta from its holster, and unfolding the bayonet, he stabbed Rentaro’s shoulder and fired off three shots point-blank.

Rentaro groaned. Pushing down on the intense pain in his shoulder, he stumbled. Something hit his back. It was a large rock. He couldn’t run away.

Kagetane slowly and deliberately raised his arm and faced Rentaro. “I’ll show you one of my special moves—Maximum Pain!”

Suddenly, the repulsion field around Kagetane expanded and rushed at Rentaro. It was a side attack that suddenly hit his whole body. With terrifying force, Rentaro was thrown onto the rock and blood gushed from his head. His body sank into the rock, his flesh was crushed, and his bones creaked like they were about to be pulverized. It felt as if his whole body had been run through a press.

As Rentaro screamed, he finally understood. The first time he encountered Kagetane, the police officers who had entered ahead of him had been crushed to death against the walls. This was what he had used against them.

Suddenly, the intense pressure disappeared, and Rentaro fell to his knees, coughing up blood.

“Oh? You’re still alive?” said Kagetane.

Rentaro’s vision wavered. His head hurt. He felt like he was going to fall apart. This was how strong Kagetane was. In addition to the huge difference between Rentaro’s and Kagetane’s combat abilities, there was Enju’s injured foot. Rentaro’s brain calmly calculated the most reasonable combat strategy, and he lowered his head weakly. “Enju, run.”

Enju widened her eyes and shook her head. “No!”

Seeing Kohina getting ready to thrust behind Enju, Rentaro fired a shot at Enju’s feet. She reflexively leapt into the air.

Rentaro called at her with his eyes. Bring other civil officers here.

Enju disappeared into the brush with a sad look on her face.

“Papa! Enju ran away! I want to kill her! I want to go after her!” Kohina, whose duel had been cut short, was on the verge of a temper tantrum.

“No, my daughter,” said Kagetane. “If they meet up with other civsec officers, it will become troublesome. Let us finish our job.”

Kohina glared at Rentaro, and the next instant, just as he thought that she had disappeared from his sight, he felt a strong impact to his stomach. Two Varanium black blades appeared in there. It took him a few seconds to realize he had been stabbed from behind.

“But you’re so weak!” Kohina taunted. “So weak! So weak!”

Blood frothing from his mouth, Rentaro swung backward with his fist, then ran away, firing shots from his gun. With each shot he fired, he felt the recoil in his wounds and almost lost consciousness from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and ran, firing without aiming at anything in particular.

But even though he thought he was hurrying, his steps were extremely slow. His vision blurred. Raindrops stole the heat from his body. It was so cold. He felt like he was going to freeze. Pushing down on his stomach and forcing his way through the curtain of trees, he arrived at a clearing.

It was the flooded river. It was flowing at a speed that was impossible to swim across. Turning slowly, he saw Kohina and Kagetane, along with the muzzle of that custom Beretta, looking at him. The white noise of the rain tapped his earlobe. Rentaro closed his eyes. Enju, Kisara, I’m sorry.

“Any last words, my dying friend?” said Kagetane.

“Go…to hell…,” said Rentaro.

“Good night.”

The Beretta fired into Rentaro’s chest, stomach, thighs, not caring where it opened up its small black holes. Letting his gun fall, Rentaro’s upper body slowly crumpled. At the edge of his darkening vision, he saw Kagetane crossing himself, as though he were a man of faith.

When Rentaro’s body hit the water, the river’s flooded current carried him away with amazing force.

It was noisy around him as someone roughly tapped Rentaro’s cheek. Someone was calling his name. He opened his eyes with great difficulty, and long fluorescent lights slid one after another on the ceiling. At the edge of his vision, he could see people wearing white coats who looked like paramedics.

It looked like he was being taken to the ER in a stretcher.

His whole body was so cold it felt frozen, and his breathing was ridiculously rough. Inside his mouth was the unending metallic taste of blood, and he couldn’t breathe. He probably had blood in his lungs, and he felt like he was suffocating to death.

“It’ll be fine.”

“We’ll take care of you.”

The empty words the paramedics chanted as they pushed the stretcher went in one ear and out the other.

With a loud bang, he was thrust into the operating room, and a female doctor wearing green scrubs peered at Rentaro. She looked like skin and bones, overcome with grief, with only her sunken eyes glittering. Rentaro tilted his head, but the instant he saw himself in the mirror in the operating room, he almost screamed.

Rentaro’s right arm and leg were torn off, and his left eye had been gouged out. But the most surprising part was that his body had shrunk. It looked like a child’s.

No, that’s not it, he realized. I see. This is the past.

The female doctor looked coldly down at Rentaro as if he were about to die, and thrust the pieces of paper she had in each hand at him. “Hey, you’re Rentaro Satomi, right? Nice to meet you. And soon, I’ll say good-bye. In my left hand is a death certificate. In another five minutes, I would’ve finished my notes on this, and you would have quickly been erased from your family register. And in my right hand is a contract. This can save your life, but you must offer up everything but your life. Choose. You can just point with your left arm.”

Just lifting his arm caused an unbelievably intense pain. His hand was shaking ridiculously, and the blood overflowing from his mouth stained the stretcher. His body trembled like he had the shakes.

Suddenly, Kikunojo Tendo’s words replayed themselves in the back of his mind.

“If you do not want to die, survive, Rentaro.”

As he pointed with his unbelievably white hand, the doctor said, “Good boy,” and smiled with satisfaction. Then, Rentaro lost consciousness.