Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods (24 page)

As if approving of Rentaro’s sacrifice, the composition analysis results were displayed. This material would be able to withstand up to five percent below light speed.

“Still no response from the fire-control system. Switching to manual trigger control system. Energy one hundred percent filled. Ready to shoot.”

Another joysticklike object came out of the control panel. All this stick had was a trigger like that of a gun. Rentaro prayed as he gripped it hard.

The indicator flickered one hundred percent on the screen. The whole facility shook with the powerful energy of a mass of billions of tesla volts of energy looking for an exit. The fire-control system that allowed for automatic aiming to hit the target was not responding, which meant that Rentaro would have to manually hit the target.

He couldn’t do it.

Rentaro squeezed his eyes shut. There were almost fifty kilometers between this facility on Boso Peninsula and the target in Tokyo Bay. In the world of shooting, where hitting a target a kilometer away was already considered a miracle, even if the target was large, how was he supposed to hit it from fifty kilometers away? Manually, he didn’t even have a fraction of a percentage of a chance of hitting it.

The panel showed the Scorpion trying to land in Tokyo Bay, with a firing line rushing at it as the battle with the self-defense force at the
water’s edge progressed. Beyond them was the line of jet-black Monoliths standing silently to protect Tokyo.

At that moment, the Scorpion shot out one especially long sickle-shaped feeler and mowed down all the artillery batteries and missile silos crowded around the coast of the bay at once. Dense clouds of sand and rocks were stirred up and Rentaro could tell that the state of the war was starting to take a dire turn for the worse. Replaying the Scorpion’s hate-filled war cry in his head, he gripped the joystick so hard it almost broke. He wiped the sweat from his hand holding the joystick on his clothes.

The coolant loss alert was annoyingly shrill in his ears. It was as if it was urging him saying,
Hurry up, hurry up
.

He heard a ragged sigh come from his own throat that sounded like that of a wounded animal and clenched his teeth. He could not let that organism step on the land of Tokyo Area. If he quit here, what in the world had he been fighting for this whole time?!

Do it! Do it! You can do it, Rentaro Satomi!

The tips of his fingers seemed like they had solidified and wouldn’t move. Rentaro finally fell to his knees, still clinging to the joystick. “It’s no use……… I can’t do it. I’m……”

He wanted to run away.

Suddenly, a small hand was placed on top of Rentaro’s. Surprised, he looked next to him, where Enju was looking at Rentaro with an unusually kind expression on her face. “Rentaro, I am here.”

His mouth was parched. The corners of his eyes felt hot, and looking down, he hugged Enju and squeezed hard. “If this misses, it’s the end for us.”

“It won’t miss. You can do it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course it’s impossible. First of all, how can you believe in a weapon that was inactive for ten years that never even had a test run? One wrong step and the bullet could shoot toward Tokyo Area and cause an unprecedented disaster there.”

“But you can do it.”

“How can you always say such irresponsible things? I’m…”

Enju suddenly brought her face so close they almost bumped heads. She focused on him with her eyes wide and bit her lip. “I have not said a single irresponsible thing. It is what I always think. You are the only one who can save this world. No one else but you, Rentaro.”

Rentaro was surprised and covered his mouth. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to calm himself. “Enju…I definitely don’t want to lose you.”

The tension left Enju’s tense body and, at peace from the bottom of her heart, she closed her eyes and put her arm around Rentaro’s neck. “Don’t worry. I love you, too.”

Her body felt so hot he thought he would be burned, but he also felt relief like being wrapped in down. He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. Suddenly, Enju let out a strange sound and pressed in on Rentaro’s face. “Rentaro, let us be clear. I can interpret what you said just now as a proposal, right?”

“Uh………………. D-d-dummy! Of course it just means I
like
you. Interpret it in a familial way! What does a ten-year-old kid have to say about love, anyway? Besides, before you can even think about feelings, the law says…”

Enju looked dissatisfied as she stared at Rentaro with the corners of her mouth turned down. “Then, do you
love
Kisara?”

Rentaro gave a start. “Don’t say that……!”

Enju thrust a victory peace sign in front of Rentaro’s nose. “Two years. Within two years, I shall make you like me more than Kisara!”

Rentaro smiled wryly and scratched his head. “When you’re twelve and I’m eighteen, huh? The older I get, the more criminal it seems, doesn’t it?”

“I can’t wait longer than that.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I expect a lot from you.”

Enju smiled faintly and slowly peeled her body away from his. “Are you still scared…?”

Rentaro looked at the palm of his own hand and was strangely moved. The trembling had stopped. Rentaro closed his eyes. “No… Thanks. Give me your hand. We’re gonna end this.”

Lifting his face, he looked at the panel. He even felt pity for the raging Scorpion.

Sorry we made up a name for you. But I can’t die yet.

The energy that was about to run wild earlier had started shaking like an earthquake right below them.

Rentaro gripped the joystick again, and Enju put her hand on top. They put their fingers on the trigger together.

Rentaro closed his eyes. Strangely, he felt good. He felt like he couldn’t miss. “Enju.”

“Yeah,” she said.

They slowly pulled the trigger.

He felt so light and comfortable that it would be a disservice to compare it to floating. He lost all sense of time.

Finally, everything was enveloped in light, like a blessing.

The Seitenshi’s palace was, in a word, magnificent. Turning his head, Rentaro could see the forest of marble pillars, the graceful arch of the domed canopy, and the polished floors with mosaic pictures.

Occasionally, he reached up to fix the collar of the unfamiliar white formal suit, scratching his head. How had it turned out like this? It was not the first time he’d screamed this question in his mind that day.

“Tomorrow is the celebration ceremony, so don’t be late,” Kisara had said the day before, throwing a map and the suit at Rentaro, looking like she couldn’t be bothered.

He thought about being extremely late, but in the end, the next morning, Rentaro found himself changing trains by himself. He frowned, thinking something was strange as he looked at the map, but he was not mistaken—the ceremony was in Tokyo Area’s First District. He was stunned when he realized that it would be smack-dab in the middle of the Seitenshi’s palace.

As Rentaro repeated quietly to himself that this must be some kind of mistake, a guard approached him with eyes that said he thought he was facing a suspicious person. However, the moment Rentaro showed his invitation, it was like he had said, “Open sesame,” and the guard’s
face broke out in a smile as he hit Rentaro’s shoulder with friendly, but hard, blows and let him through.

Kisara stood in a dress in front of the large door where the ceremony was being held. She had her hands on her hips and looked unhappy. After seeing Rentaro, all she said was, “You’re late,” which brought them to the present.

“Satomi, you are the guest of honor today,” she said. “Please don’t look around like some tourist. As your employer, you are embarrassing me.”

“Hey, but Kisara, you didn’t say anything about what a big deal this was,” Rentaro protested.

“Oh, didn’t I? Yesterday, I told you that the Seitenshi herself would be decorating those civsec officers responsible for remarkable achievements, so come dressed in your best, didn’t I?”

“No! You threw the map and suit at me like it was too much of a bother to do anything else. That was it.”

“Really? Oh well. Oh, Satomi, your necktie is crooked. I’ll fix it for you, so stay still.”

His heart thumped as hands covered to the elbow with black lace gloves reached for his neck. Kisara was beautiful. After his nervousness faded, he was able to gaze at her again. She was wearing a black dress with frills that looked like bunches of black roses, and she had a matching black ribbon tied in her hair.

She didn’t notice because she was crouched over as if in a fight with Rentaro’s necktie, but from where he was, he had a perfect view of her full chest in her shoulder-baring dress. Kisara’s hair smelled really good. “H-hey…,” said Rentaro. “You know you’re at a terrible angle right now?”

“Don’t talk to me,” said Kisara. “Jeez, why are neckties so hard to tie?”

Rentaro’s fingers opened and closed against his will.

“Maybe like this…?” Kisara pulled at the necktie with amazing force.

“Guh….” Rentaro choked. The tie had tightened around Rentaro’s neck with amazing force.

Kisara closed her eyes and shook her head. “It’s not working. I’m not good at stuff like this. Satomi, you look just like the Hanged Man card in my Tarot deck, especially with that unfortunate face of yours. You’ll just have to tie your necktie yourself.”

Right after she said it, she realized how rude it was and covered her hands with her mouth. Kisara looked with conflicted feelings at where Rentaro’s right arm used to be and finally opened her mouth to speak. “Your new artificial arm isn’t ready yet?”

“No, but I think it’s almost ready,” he said.

“Speaking of which, I saw Dr. Sumire the other day. She said, ‘I can’t believe he defeated a Stage Five with a rocket punch. He’s seen too many super-robot cartoons. I thought he was just a regular carefree kid, but he’s an idiot. He’s a carefree idiot. Oh, how funny! How funny!’” She ended with an impression of Sumire’s laugh.

“Why is it that even though I saved Tokyo Area, I have to be made fun of this much?”

“How should I know?” Kisara pulled a pocket watch out of her pocket. “It’s time. Now, listen carefully. I told you earlier, but I’m going to tell you again. The Seitenshi is taking valuable time from dealing with state affairs to conduct this ceremony, so there’s a silent understanding that these kinds of ceremonies should be done as quickly as possible. So when she asks you a question, you should reply with concise answers like
Yes
or
No
. And don’t ask any questions. Do you understand?”

“
Yes
.”

“Good answer.”

Rentaro stood in front of the large door and took a deep breath. He prepared himself and pushed open the door. It felt cold but was lighter than he expected. Belts of light shone in inside. As he looked back, Kisara smiled at him kindly. “Under the circumstances, you did a good job this time. Good boy. Please continue to work hard and fight, my knight.”

Emotions welled up in his heart, and he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out right away. The large door closed, and looking around, he saw a red carpet and a slightly winding marble staircase stretched out in front of him. The Seitenshi sat comfortably at the throne at the top.

It was a spacious room with high ceilings. Next to the honor guard were ladies and gentlemen around a table looking down at them.

“Satomi, thank you for coming.” The Seitenshi came down the stairs wearing a slight smile on her face. “Have your wounds healed?”

“Yes, thank you,” Rentaro answered formally. “They are a lot better.”

“How does it feel to be the savior of Tokyo Area?”

A few days had passed already. Even though it was a plan that deployed a large number of civil officers, the details remained hidden to the public.
For some reason
, a civsec officer
happened to be
nearby to bring down the Gastrea Scorpion that suddenly attacked Tokyo Area with a super-long-range attack.

“The reactions of those around me have changed a little, so it’s a little embarrassing,” Rentaro said.

“I’m sure it is,” said the Seitenshi. “That’s not surprising. Just remembering the scene makes me tremble.”

The shot that Rentaro and Enju fired at a great speed flew straight into the Scorpion’s head and made a giant hole, blowing away its brains.

The Varanium’s regeneration interference worked, and it should have died instantly. However, with supernatural strength, right before it died, it swung its upper body and looked in Rentaro’s direction.

Its half-closed eye sockets seemed to shake as if making an appeal to Rentaro, and when it finally shut them, it fell sideways into the water, and a giant tsunami broke on the shore of Tokyo Bay.

“I am proud that someone with your abilities was there at that time,” the Seitenshi continued. “Satomi, will you offer your assistance to Tokyo Area in the future, as well?”

Rentaro kneeled as he had been instructed. “Yes, even if it means my life.”

The Seitenshi raised both hands high overhead and proclaimed solemnly, “To all who are gathered here today, hear my words. The hero here has sworn to fight for the sake of Tokyo Area. He destroyed the Zodiac Scorpion and the Kagetane Hiruko and Kohina Hiruko pair, who formerly held an IP Rank of 134. In light of those accomplishments, after discussion with the IISO, we have decided to consider this a Special First Level Battle Result and promoted the Rentaro Satomi and Enju Aihara pair to an IP Rank of 1,000.”

The spectators suddenly let out shouts of joy. The Seitenshi smiled as she shifted her gaze to Rentaro. “Rentaro Satomi, do you accept this decision?”

“Yes, with pleasure,” he answered.

The Seitenshi smiled mischievously and continued in a small voice. “The Satomi-Aihara pair originally had a rank of 123,452, so this is a significant promotion. It’s probably the first of its kind in history. You might even make it into the
Guinness Book of World Records
.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

“Well then, do you have any final words you would like to say?”

“No, I don’t.”
If he had said that, everything would have ended smoothly. Rentaro made a silent apology to Kisara as he raised his head.

“There is,” he said.

The Seitenshi’s eyes opened in surprise, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became so tense that his skin prickled.

“Let us hear it,” she said.

“I saw what was in that case,” said Rentaro.

The Seitenshi’s eyes widened again. The people around them could not tell where he was going with this and started murmuring in confusion.

Rentaro remained kneeling as he continued. “I know I shouldn’t have. After defeating the Gastrea Zodiac, in the short time before the missiles burned down the church, I opened the case that was recovered and looked inside. I saw…”

Rentaro hesitated for a moment before continuing. “…a broken tricycle inside. What is the meaning of this? How did that become the catalyst to summon a Stage Five Gastrea? No, what are the Gastrea—the enemy organisms who suddenly appeared in this world—in the first place? What happened in this world ten years ago? Please tell me, Lady Seitenshi.”

The noise that broke out became so great that it was out of control.

The Seitenshi made her face blank and murmured in a low voice so that only Rentaro could hear. “The Inheritance of the Seven Stars was hidden outside Tokyo Area in the Unexplored Territory, but one of them was stolen during this incident. If that had been destroyed, I cannot imagine what would have happened. The Zodiac came to get it back. I cannot tell you any more.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?” said Rentaro.

The Seitenshi closed her eyes for a long time. Finally, she exhaled and opened her eyelids. “Those Initiator girls are possibilities. As you
know, as civil officer pairs are promoted, they also receive certain rights. You obtain a certain social class, but above all, the access key to top-secret information should be tempting. Because you are currently ranked 1,000, you are now at access Level 3. If you defeat your present rivals and get into the top ten, you will receive the highest access key, Level 12.

“Satomi, please win. Defeat the other eight Zodiacs besides the missing Zodiac, Cancer, and rise in the ranks with Enju Aihara. Then, you will know. You will know what you are and what you were born to do. Please become strong and aim to be the best. If you would call yourself the son of Takaharu and Mafuyu Satomi, then you have a responsibility to know the truth.”

Rentaro sprang to his feet and pressed the Seitenshi for an answer. “What are you talking about?! Why are my parents’ names coming up now?!”

No matter how long he waited, there was no answer. He became angry and reached out, about to grab the Seitenshi by the collar. Right before he touched her, the Seitenshi shot him a cold glare and his hand stopped. “Stop. If you grab me now, you will be executed for treason.”

At that moment, he realized that the room was filled with enough murderous intent to make his blood grow cold, and cold sweat dripped down his cheek.

He didn’t know where the source of it was. However, it wasn’t a joke or an exaggeration that there was a fighting master who could cut off Rentaro’s head or torso in a split second.

Rentaro gritted his teeth. His fist shook as he lowered it. “My apologies…”

He somehow mustered enough strength for that before he threw his body into the large door to open it and left the Seitenshi without looking back.

Rentaro went to the Tendo residence. The main Tendo residence was a luxurious house located in the best residential neighborhood of the First District of Tokyo Area, with Western-style architecture reminiscent of a country house. This was also the house where the young Rentaro had been taken in and raised. Currently, Rentaro was living two people to a one-room, eight-tatami-mat apartment, and Kisara
had also left the main house to be independent. It had been a long time since he visited this house like this.

Even though all the citizens of the country were complaining about the lack of land, there was easily a hundred meters between the entrance and the actual building of the house, as if trying to rub it in. The trees in the garden were neatly pruned by the gardener, and they were composed in complete symmetry. A fountain with angels bathing in it was covered with shell inlay.

Going inside with a spare key, Rentaro went straight up to the second floor, heading for the room he had come here for. In the hallway, he passed the elderly housekeeper. Seeing Rentaro, she murmured, “Young master, is that you…?” and looked like she was about to drop the linens she held.

He wanted so much to stop and apologize for not contacting her for so long, but if he didn’t hurry, that man would come home. Rentaro lowered his face, pretending he didn’t know what she was talking about, and rushed past her.

When he finally came to the door of the room, he pulled out his XD, used his teeth and knee to deftly attach the silencer, and fired a few consecutive shots, breaking off the hinge. Thinking that it really was inconvenient to not have his artificial arm, he took off the silencer, picked up the empty casings, knocked down the door, and went inside.

It was spacious inside, with a warm carpet and a bookshelf covering half the wall. And in the middle was a work desk made of rosewood. Wanting to get it over with as soon as possible, Rentaro opened a drawer and started examining the papers inside.

Rentaro’s cell phone chose that moment to vibrate. It was an unknown number.
Damn, why did it have to ring at a time like this?
Rentaro hesitated for a moment but then put the receiver to his ear.

“Hello, Satomi. Good afternoon.” A chill ran down his spine. Rentaro tried to calm his wildly pounding heart and let out a deep breath.

“You’re alive, Kagetane?” Rentaro’s feet felt restless as he remembered what it felt like when he sent Kagetane Hiruko flying with his kick.

After that fight, Kohina had gotten up with a selfless expression, slipping past Rentaro to Kagetane’s aid. Kagetane probably did not survive that. That’s what Rentaro had thought at the time even though he wasn’t sure.