As if reading his mind, Suibara spoke first.
"Rentaro, I know you're probably in a rush. But if you want permission to enter the inner area, you can't rush things. I can't violate the rules either."
"Wait, Suibara? You're a leader here?!"
"Haha, I am not a leader. I'm just the patrol captain."
Although he spoke with such modesty, Suibara's smug expression made Rentaro feel that this was fundamentally not modest at all.
That's right, he was the patrol captain, and one of the few people authorized to move freely into the inner area. Suibara was extremely grateful and proud of this.
"But... but..."
Rentaro was anxious. What if he got stuck here too long and Enju wasn't here? God knows what would happen if the girl was left alone out there for too long.
Remembering the image of the Cursed Child being savagely beaten almost to death by the Gastrea-hating extremists, a look of panic flashed in Rentaro's eyes.
"Rentaro, I can help you."
Suibara spoke sincerely; he had noticed the panic in Rentaro's eyes.
"Oh, by the way, have you ever met this girl?"
Rentaro was delighted and hastily showed a photo of Enju. Suibara looked carefully for a long time, shaking his head and sighing.
"I'm sorry."
Rentaro was crestfallen, but Suibara quickly added:
"It might be that I forgot her face. After all, we have several intake batches every day; it's possible this girl blended in with them."
"Besides, Rentaro. Who is this girl that you're searching for like this?"
"She's my Initiator..."
Rentaro told the story. He didn't mention being injured and hospitalized, only that he had been informed today that Enju had run away after her identity as a Cursed Child was exposed to the whole school.
"If I had been there, if I... maybe the girl wouldn't have run away."
"Suibara, do I seem like a terrible person?"
His worry for Enju was genuine, but a deep part of Rentaro's heart also harbored another question.
Hadn't he yet been able to become a reliable pillar for Enju?
This, combined with the scattered turmoil from the life-or-death crossroads after failing against Kagetane, losing the briefcase with the Tokyo-destroying weapon, and losing the one billion Yen, turned the entire chaotic mess into a poison that was slowly killing Rentaro's mind.
Suibara could only pat his friend's shoulder to comfort him.
Suddenly, he received news through his earpiece. After listening, Suibara's expression shifted from surprise to joy, and he quickly shook Rentaro.
"Rentaro, you're so lucky. Approval just came through for you to enter and search for her."
"Really?!"
The sudden burst of joy nearly left Rentaro speechless.
After that, Suibara led Rentaro past the wall structure and into the interior.
The area was very clean, as the canopy had been activated, preventing rainwater from falling inside.
Rentaro's eyes were almost wide as he observed while walking. This place was not built as a paradise as he had imagined. On the contrary, the entire style was completely human, resembling a small-scale city. There were recreation areas, schools, and everything necessary.
Following the instructions, Rentaro was led by Suibara to an open area. This was a training ground, currently half-filled with Cursed Children who had just been admitted today.
There were a few other adults, but most importantly, the Silver King was standing in the center, giving some kind of lecture to the children with his back turned.
When he turned around, Rentaro immediately shifted his gaze, not daring to look directly, feeling extremely nervous.
Sensing the Silver King's gaze focusing on him, Rentaro couldn't help but want to shrink back, wanting to become a roadside rock that no one noticed. However, he suppressed this strange self-pitying feeling and took out Enju's photo from his pocket.
"Sir... Your Majesty the Silver King? I..."
He raised his hand as a signal, and Rentaro wisely stopped speaking.
"I know what you want."
"How about this: as long as you can defeat me in a direct, bare-handed fight, I will give you all the information about that girl you desire."
"What... Really? But why..."
"Accept, or not? Of course, to be fair, all the power I use will be equivalent to yours, Civil Security agent."
Rentaro and Suibara both stared, wide-eyed, at the Silver King's bizarre request.
The Cursed Children who had just been admitted today also looked over in unison. The Silver King remained calm as usual, while Rentaro, being looked at by dozens of pairs of eyes at once, became even more nervous than before.
However, he had no reason to refuse this offer. Finding Enju was truly too difficult, like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Everyone stepped back into a large circle, not by prior arrangement. Under Suibara's worried gaze, Rentaro stepped forward, facing the Silver King.
The scene felt like the Tendou family dojo that Rentaro could remember from the past.
Rentaro took a deep breath, intently observing the opponent in front of him. His whole body shifted into a fighting stance, his lower body starting to gather power, his heel firmly digging into the ground.
As for the Silver King on the other side, even though he didn't assume any familiar martial arts posture Rentaro knew, Rentaro could observe that the distance between his feet was slowly widening, and the ground beneath the Silver King's toes slightly indented.
This was a manifestation of accumulated force.
The two did not move until the third second. Rentaro suddenly charged forward, breaking the equilibrium with a fierce burst of speed, not moving by conventional running but using the accumulated force as leverage to propel himself forward. Simultaneously, capitalizing on the peak kinetic energy, he launched a curved punch, aiming directly for the Silver King's torso.
This move had already been anticipated by the Silver King since the moment they both took their starting stances. As soon as Rentaro made the first strong movement, he acted simultaneously, showing that his neural response delay was approaching zero, allowing him to strike almost instantly.
Before Rentaro's punch could gather maximum force, the Silver King ducked low, one hand accurately catching Rentaro's wrist. His other hand pushed upwards from below, aiming straight at Rentaro's bicep, severing the source of Rentaro's power. This turned the fierce punch carrying enormous kinetic energy into a car that has lost its steering wheel.
Finally, he used that very same force to rebound Rentaro back onto the ground, leaving the reaction force to do the rest.
Thud!
The ground seemed to shake slightly. Rentaro painfully fell to the ground. However, he did not utter a single cry, rolling and standing up to continue the attack.