"Damn it! What the hell is wrong with that guy?!"
Rentaro still hadn't snapped out of his stunned state, staring intently at the spot where Kagetane had disappeared, his hand slick with sweat. This individual was truly overwhelmingly powerful, and coupled with that lunatic aura, it was hard not to be vigilant.
But the sounds of the police behind him brought him back to reality. Rentaro looked back; the other colleagues of the police officers had rushed in, hastily providing first aid and carrying the wounded away. The police chief also entered. Although horrified by the bloody scene and the loss of his comrades, he still had to focus on the task and asked Rentaro:
"Where is the Gastrea?"
"It's no longer here."
Rentaro returned to a state of serious work. He began to assess the surrounding crime scene. Excluding the giant claw mark on the wall created by that eccentric masked man, the overall incident was quite easy to deduce.
"The victim was definitely attacked here. Outside the balcony is also where the blood trail is most concentrated. Then, in a panic, they rushed out the glass window to seek help."
Rentaro analyzed. After hearing this, the police chief was still somewhat doubtful.
"Really? Able to run out while losing such a horrific amount of blood... and this is the second floor."
"Of course, that's only if the victim was a normal person."
Rentaro's tone was somewhat brutal.
If not a normal person, then it could only be a Gastrea.
Rentaro glanced at the family photo placed neatly on the desk. Even though the entire room was splattered with blood everywhere, only this spot remained clean and intact.
"Who was the victim here?"
"Okajama Sumiaki, male, divorced, and living alone."
Hearing this, Rentaro sighed softly.
"Alright, lock down this area, Inspector Tadashima. That Gastrea is not only life-threatening but also carries the risk of infection."
"If it spreads, the consequences will be unimaginable."
...
A short time before that.
"Idiot! Cold-blooded! Heartless Rentaro! What was he thinking, abandoning his own fiancée like that!!!"
On the street, a little girl angrily grumbled while running continuously as if in a great hurry.
She was a petite girl with many striking features, especially her long, crimson hair that extended almost to her ankles, which she tied up into two long ponytails on either side, highlighting her small figure. She wore two large black hair clips with rabbit prints on them.
Her outfit included a small orange hoodie with a square orange and red design inside. The jacket had a short zipper with an oversized tag. Beneath the jacket was a white dress, cinched at the waist by a belt. Finally, she wore knee-high boots with extremely thick black soles.
Aihara Enju, who was precisely the Initiator "accidentally" abandoned on the road by Satomi Rentaro while he rushed to the scene.
"Bad Rentaro! Wait till I get back, I'll deal with you!"
"M-Miss... little girl..."
A somewhat weak voice suddenly rang out behind Enju. Enju was impatient.
"I'm in a hurry."
"I... I just wanted to ask for directions..."
She glanced backward, her eyes widening. At the same time, her body instantly reacted, leaping several meters backward. Her physical capabilities were clearly not those of a normal child.
Because the man in front of her was covered in blood, his clothes were tattered, and he had wounds all over his body.
"I am... Okajama Sumiaki... I live nearby but... I forgot the way home..."
"Sir... do you know what's happening to you?"
"W-What are you talking about, little girl?"
"I can't help you, and no one in this world can... Do you have any relatives, and do you have any last words?"
A look of sadness flashed across Enju's eyes.
"I... do... but what are you saying... I... just want to go home..."
"I don't want to say this... but please look at your own body."
Okajama Sumiaki followed Enju's gaze down, his pupils reflecting the horrifying injuries on his body.
"Why... don't I feel any pain..."
The moment he realized it, his entire body collapsed onto the street, which was now a pool of his own blood, like a puppet whose strings had just been severed.
"Ah... I remember... now..."
He remembered.
At that time, he had become very poor, and had done some terrible things. His wife left with their daughter.
On the balcony, he had just found a new job.
"Please listen to me!"
"I... I found another job! Now I'm going to focus on life like before! I will try to live with you two again!"
"I'm sorry for what I did before! So... I hope you and our daughter can wait for me..."
He had practiced for hours so he could officially speak to the person he loved most again.
"Alright! You can do this, Okajama Sumiaki!"
"Maybe I should start with an apology first, and then talk about the job."
And when he unconsciously looked up, he saw a giant spider staring at him.
That was the last image remaining in his memory. All his dreams, all his hopes, all his plans, all his ambitions...
Had ended.
And now, his body was continuously undergoing a process of decomposition and regeneration. Blood was constantly being produced without ceasing. This was the final stage before the Gastrea virus completely eroded a living entity and transformed them into a Gastrea.
He wept, two streams of tears flowing down, mingled with fresh blood.
"At least... I still felt alive until my last moments... Little girl, could I ask you to deliver a message to my wife and daughter?"
"Tell them that... I'm sorry... for what I did..."
His memories flashed by like a film reel, finally stopping at the family photo.
Something began to transform out of his body, like cellular proliferation. Blood and flesh poured out, forming the shape of a colossal spider, easily over three meters tall.
Enju was now in combat mode.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw an entity entirely covered in a cloak. It wore a hood, but a small amount of reflected light showed that underneath was fundamentally not a human face, but some kind of stylized mask.
But what frightened Enju even more was that she hadn't sensed this person's presence until he loomed large in her sight, as if he hadn't existed at all. For a professional Initiator like Enju, this was equivalent to a declaration that this individual could easily kill her.
She forced down her fear and leaped backward, not wanting to be caught between two enemies, especially one as terrifying as this cloaked figure.
But the cloaked figure did not react to Enju's vigilance at all. He walked up to the newly appeared Spider Gastrea and, surprisingly, spoke.
"Little girl, can you deliver this man's last words?"
Enju was stunned, then subconsciously nodded.
The cloaked figure seemed to nod slightly. His cloak swayed, and an arm emerged from the brown fabric. It fundamentally did not resemble a human arm but looked like machinery, or a more sophisticated suit of armor—wild, meticulously detailed, and full of power.
"Rest in peace."