In the middle of a wide-open clearing, Captain Tomborg stood atop the most conspicuous spot, raising that peculiarly shaped microphone and announcing loudly:
"The event for today's competition is—kite flying!"
"The rules are very simple! Teams of two will work together to fly kites. One person controls the kite from the ground, while the other directly rides on the kite! Cooperate to knock down other teams' kites; the last team whose kite stays airborne wins!"
"All methods of attack are permitted, excluding firearms, artillery, and other hot weapons. Both the kite-controller and the kite-rider may attack other teams. Alliances are permitted, but only one team can claim final victory."
To smoothly lift the kite and maintain altitude, the lighter the rider, the better. Additionally, given the huge risks of crashes, the rider also needed to be sturdy, resilient, and tough-skinned. Therefore, without question, the best candidates for kite-riding were the various Initiators.
Among all the Initiators, only Senju Kayo showed a troubled expression after hearing the rules.
As a Cursed Child possessing a Dolphin Model, her Gastrea traits didn't significantly boost physical abilities but granted her an astonishing IQ of 210.
Thus, in battles against Gastrea, her partner Ikuma Shougen typically charged at the front wielding a Varanium greatsword, while she provided support with firearms from the rear—a task allocation completely opposite to other pairs.
With the ban on firearms, the one most affected was Senju Kayo. Even without guns, Hiruko Kagetane still possessed his repulsion field, powerful enough to deflect anti-tank rifles.
And her Promoter partner, Ikuma Shougen, was currently lying unconscious not far away. Helpless, Senju Kayo could only choose to withdraw.
Seeing all competitors ready, Captain Tomborg nodded.
"Now! I hereby declare! Let the competition begi—"
"Uncle! Uncle Captain Tomborg!"
Suddenly, someone interrupted Captain Tomborg.
To Satomi Rentaro and Aihara Enju's surprise… it was actually someone they knew!
"Nursery Rhyme?"
"Ah! It's Satomi-oniichan and Enju! Hello there!" Nursery Rhyme blinked, greeting them cheerfully. "Hello, Your Highness Prince and Princess! Have you been eating properly? Playing happily? Are you cherishing each other as always? Ehehehe!"
"Why are you here?"
Satomi Rentaro couldn't wrap his mind around it—could Nursery Rhyme possibly be an Initiator? If that were the case, where was her Promoter?
There was indeed someone next to Nursery Rhyme, but… it was another young-looking girl with signature crimson eyes and waist-length aqua-blue hair—clearly a Cursed Child. Could it be that this girl was the Initiator, and Nursery Rhyme was her Promoter partner? After all, a Promoter's key role was supervising Initiators to prevent loss of control. Would ISO really assign an Initiator to someone as childlike and innocent as Nursery Rhyme?
"Onii-chan, are you curious about her identity? Hehe! Let me introduce her!" Nursery Rhyme laughed joyfully. "This is Scorpio-chan. She's my good friend!"
The girl named Scorpio had a stiff, doll-like expression. During Nursery Rhyme's introduction, she merely nodded wordlessly toward Satomi Rentaro.
However, Rentaro noticed that the girl constantly glanced toward Captain Tomborg—or more accurately, toward the "Legacy of Seven Stars" beside him.
Only when Nursery Rhyme called her name did she withdraw her gaze.
"What are you doing here?"
Captain Tomborg addressed Nursery Rhyme, clearly surprised.
"I saw you guys playing a game," Nursery Rhyme said, pouting with dissatisfaction. "It's unfair! You're playing without me. I really wanna play too… After all, playing games together makes everyone friends quickly, doesn't it?"
"This isn't a game. It's a competition…"
Captain Tomborg's expression remained unchanged, yet his discomfort was evident.
"But you're clearly holding kites; you're planning to fly them, right?" Nursery Rhyme's face brimmed with innocent delight as she swung her arms gently. "I used to fly kites a few times when I was little, but they never flew very high... no matter how fast I ran, they always fell to the ground."
Satomi Rentaro was perplexed hearing this... What does she mean 'when she was little'? She's still tiny right now, isn't she?
Captain Tomborg stroked his chin thoughtfully before asking, "Did you settle things over there?"
"Yes, yep!" Nursery Rhyme nodded brightly. "But Nangong Wenya went back first. Her power to discern good and evil made her feel extremely uncomfortable here—the air's too foul for her."
Captain Tomborg paused briefly, glancing at Scorpio beside Nursery Rhyme.
"So she is… fine. You can join the competition."
After looking between Scorpio and the "Legacy of Seven Stars," Captain Tomborg reluctantly agreed to Nursery Rhyme's entry.
"But this competition requires teams of two. You—"
"Nursery Rhyme will team up with Scorpio-chan!" Nursery Rhyme happily interjected. "I'll fly the kite from below, and Scorpio-chan can enjoy the view from up top!"
Thus, Nursery Rhyme and Scorpio entered the competition.
Additionally, Captain Tomborg introduced another rule: The competitors on the ground responsible for controlling the kite were strictly forbidden from attacking or interfering with other competitors—whether targeting the competitors directly or their kites.
This rule left many competitors dissatisfied.
What happened to absolute fairness? What happened to impartial judging? Clearly, this rule change was blatant favoritism! Immediately after those two girls joined, the rules changed, clearly because Captain Tomborg was worried about Nursery Rhyme getting hurt, wasn't he?
Watching how familiar and happy they were chatting with the referee, it was obviously old acquaintances shamelessly bending the rules!
Of course, no one dared voice these complaints aloud. They only cursed Captain Tomborg inwardly. After all, they'd witnessed firsthand Hiruko Kagetane and Hiruko Kohina being pressed into the ground by Captain Tomborg—and they'd enjoyed watching it immensely, as delightful as wearing fresh underwear on a New Year's morning.
With Kagetane and Kohina as vivid examples, plus Ikuma Shogen's miserable fate still lying unconscious nearby, none were foolish enough to poke this tiger. Besides, the new rule was actually advantageous… since it forbade all interference, Hiruko Kagetane's troublesome repulsion field naturally couldn't be used either.
The person most affected by the new rule, Hiruko Kagetane, did not share the others' dissatisfaction. Instead, just before the match, he approached Satomi Rentaro to inquire about Nursery Rhyme and Scorpio's identities—since he'd clearly seen Rentaro and Nursery Rhyme recognize each other.
But, truthfully, even Rentaro himself had no clue about Nursery Rhyme's background; they'd met only once by chance. Moreover, even if he did know, would he tell Kagetane?
"I have nothing to say to you, Hiruko Kagetane!"
"Why the hostility, Satomi-kun? Ever since I first saw you, I've felt that we're two of a kind—extremely similar people," Hiruko Kagetane said helplessly, spreading his hands. "The one you should despise, the one you should oppose, isn't me. It's this Tokyo Area, this world itself."
"Don't spout nonsense, Kagetane! I'm nothing like a murderer like you!"
Rentaro sneered at Kagetane's words, and their brief confrontation ended badly, each deciding to settle things in the upcoming contest.
The Initiators riding the fragile kites had to desperately maintain their balance on the swaying craft to avoid falling, all while fending off constant attacks from all sides. It was like walking on the edge of a blade—one misstep meant total disaster.
As soon as the competition began, Hiruko Kohina predictably became everyone's target, instantly drawing the collective fire of nearly every team.
Yet Kohina, despite being targeted from all directions, not only didn't fall, but with her lightning-fast slashes and savage bloodlust, she quickly took down one kite after another.
As a Mantis-type Cursed Child, none of the other Initiators seemed able to withstand even a single blow within the range of Kohina's twin blades.
Except for Aihara Enju.
Only Enju matched Kohina's ghostly speed. Sparks exploded fiercely as Varanium boots clashed repeatedly against the Varanium blades, every exchange teetering on the brink of disaster.
Among all the Initiators, Enju lasted the longest against Kohina. Clearly, her true strength was far beyond her mere IP Rank of 123452.
But ultimately, even Enju lost.
Enju, as a Rabbit-type Cursed Child, relied heavily on devastating, cannon-like kicks powered by solid footing. Fighting atop a constantly shaking kite severely restricted her movements, and thus, Kohina cutting her kite's string and sending her plummeting was only to be expected.
With Enju—upon whom great hopes had been placed—also defeated, the Civil Security officers felt as though their vision had darkened.
Could it be...? Is Tokyo Area truly destined for ruin?
Is the Great Extinction really coming?
Just then, they noticed there was still one other kite left in the sky besides Kohina's, slowly approaching her.
It was Nursery Rhyme and Scorpio's team! Everyone had been so fixated on Kagetane's team that they'd forgotten about them entirely.
"Ah...so you two are still around?"
Kohina also froze briefly. She'd been enjoying her fight against Enju so much that she, too, had forgotten about Nursery Rhyme's team. Seeing Scorpio approach, Kohina dropped onto one knee, lowering her center of gravity to stabilize herself while gathering strength for a decisive strike.
"Hey...can I kill you? I can, right?"
Her eyes, dyed crimson with bloodlust, fixed intently upon Scorpio, prepared to strike the instant she drew close enough.
Facing the pure, ice-cold killing intent radiating from Kohina, Scorpio tilted her head expressionlessly, seemingly confused. Then, she slowly opened her mouth and uttered broken words.
"Bicycle...my...gift...important..."
And once again, Kohina froze.
What nonsense is she spouting?
Is that even Japanese? Why can't I understand it? What's with the bicycle?
However, Kohina quickly abandoned pointless thinking. If she couldn't understand, she'd simply stop trying, focusing instead entirely on the upcoming attack, carefully observing and predicting her opponent's slightest moves.
Then, Kohina saw Scorpio's hair move slightly...well, that was normal; wind was expected this high up. Without wind, the kite wouldn't even fly, so naturally, the wind would sway one's hair—and then, suddenly, the kite beneath Kohina's feet fell apart, the frame and fabric neatly sliced to ribbons. Losing her footing, Kohina immediately plummeted from the sky.
Thus, the final person still standing atop a kite, and therefore the winner of the competition, was Scorpio. She watched Kohina's descent without expression. Her waist-length aqua-blue hair had grown to more than double its original length, with the ends transforming into eight barbed, scythe-like blades.
It was these blades, swiftly extending a moment ago, that sliced apart Kohina's kite.
"The winners of this competition are Nursery Rhyme and Scorpio!"
In full view of the Civil Security forces and Hiruko Kagetane's group, Captain Tomborg handed the suitcase containing the "Legacy of Seven Stars" to Scorpio.
Though everyone was burning with anger, nobody dared speak out. Never mind whether they could defeat Captain Tomborg—just considering the frightening strength displayed by Scorpio, did they even stand a chance?
Still, it was better the suitcase fell into the hands of these two children rather than the murderer Hiruko Kagetane. After the contest, they'd approach the girls and reason with them. Surely, if they explained patiently and emotionally, these two innocent little girls would return something so important, right?
Perhaps it was their imagination, but everyone felt Scorpio's stiff, doll-like expression soften a little once she had the suitcase in her hands.
"I sincerely thank all participants for giving their best and bringing us this spectacular competition!"
"Well then! I look forward to our next meeting! Hahaha!"
Captain Tomborg smoothly turned around before finishing his words, his cloak fluttering in a dramatic arc. Laughing heartily, he sprinted off into the distance. As he ran, his figure gradually became transparent and ethereal, quickly vanishing entirely from everyone's sight as if he'd never existed at all.
Was that guy even human...?