But even though it was two against one, the situation was not very promising.
The Force Field allowed Kagetane to defend against the full-power attacks of a Rank Four Gastrea; not many things could penetrate it. Rentaro, by combining the explosive power from the Tendou-style martial arts and the reinforcement from his mechanical limbs, could pierce it, but not completely. And now that Kagetane had become alert, opportunities for such a strike were scarce.
However, Rentaro also had a countermeasure.
"Enju, behind you."
"Yes!"
He charged forward once more. Kagetane, prepared this time, immediately unleashed Maximum Pain, firing indiscriminately before Rentaro could gather enough momentum, attempting to crush Rentaro. But to his surprise, Rentaro didn't swing his punch as usual; instead, he pulled something from behind and threw it, impacting the center of Maximum Pain.
Bang!!!
The blinding light momentarily stunned Kagetane, his ears ringing and his eyes burning. As a former soldier, he knew the explosive device was a stun grenade, low in lethality but intensely discomforting. Yet, was that kid an idiot, throwing a stun grenade at such close range? Not only him but the kid would also be affected.
But everything was within Rentaro's calculations.
His ears were throbbing as if they were about to bleed, one eye was squeezed shut, but the other remained wide open. Kagetane finally realized.
It was the mechanical eye, the True Sight.
It was unaffected by the light.
With a long scream, Rentaro's metallic arm exploded, not because it was overloaded or anything, but because of a special, custom-built mechanism. It allowed Rentaro to "fire" a shot inside his arm, generating a terrifying forward thrust without needing any build-up.
Kagetane could only muster all his strength to defend. If he could just hold out for half a second, the kinetic energy from the explosion would surely dissipate, and he would win!
"But didn't you forget something?"
"Don't forget me, Enju Aihara!"
Enju's voice appeared right behind Kagetane. He glanced with his peripheral vision and only saw a pair of small shoes rapidly closing in on his back.
Truthfully, Kagetane's Force Field made Rentaro helpless.
It could attack, and it could defend, without any blind spots in its defense. Unless Kagetane himself made a mistake, the only way was to overpower it with significantly greater strength. But if Rentaro had that kind of power, why would he be reduced to this state?
Therefore, Rentaro thought of a way: exploiting a specific property of the Force Field.
When Kagetane needed to defend against a strong attack, he would draw power from the surrounding Force Field, leading to a weakened defense in other areas.
That was all, and the plan for Enju's breakthrough was created.
Bang!!!
Enju kicked through the protective Force Field, sending Kagetane flying down into the water beside them, creating a massive column of spray that shot up into the sky.
Rentaro also stopped, standing in place, starting to gasp for air.
He was actually not much better off than Kagetane.
"Enju, are you okay?"
"I... I think I got hit by a bullet."
Enju's face was contorted in pain, but she still tried to act like she was fine.
Rentaro frowned. He could clearly see her arm trembling. He quickly pulled up her sleeve in Enju's confusion.
It was a very deep wound, bloody and mangled, almost reaching the bone.
"It's just minor injuries; I'll recover quickly."
"No, this is varanium bullet. That damned Kagetane."
The mark was still fresh; it seemed to be his final counterattack.
"After we bandage up, we'll go to the briefcase. You know its location now, don't you?"
"Yes, it's on that ship over there... Rentaro, behind you!!!"
Enju suddenly screamed.
When he turned around, he saw the battered Kagetane climbing up from the water, beside him stood Kohina holding two broken swords. Around them, the Force Field prevented the water from flowing in.
"Rentaro, let's get out of here!"
"To the ship."
The chance of winning a rematch was slim. Enju proceeded according to the contingency plan. She carried Rentaro on her back, running at full speed toward the ship not far away.
Indeed, a metallic briefcase was placed in the ship's hold.
However, before Rentaro could even be happy, his True Sight activated. The world around him seemed to slow down, and Rentaro saw heat radiating from the briefcase.
"It's a trap!"
Boom!
It exploded, throwing both of them sprawling onto the floor. As Rentaro and Enju struggled to get up, Kagetane and Kohina had already jumped to their location.
However, he didn't attack immediately but asked him a question.
"Satomi Rentaro, why are you alive?"
"Huh?"
A philosophical question confused Rentaro. But Kagetane ignored him and continued.
"We are of the same kind. Power that allows no one else to control, a path that allows no one else to hinder. We are human, yet not human."
"What... what are you talking about?"
"Even the girl beside you is the same, forced to exist in this world, and then abandoned by it."
"Morality, humanity, laws—they were not created for us! And they never will be! This is the goal!"
"Kagetane, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Rentaro shouted, cutting off the bizarre man. Immediately after, Kagetane covered his face, his voice whimpering.
"What if the number of Gastrea decreases? What if peace is restored? You can surely imagine that situation, right?! The reason we, the Cursed Children, can exist is because of the Gastrea! Once the Gastrea disappear, you can surely imagine what will descend upon us!"
"Is our existence a sin?"
Kagetane stared straight at Rentaro. From his eyes, Rentaro could see madness, fury, and... an inexpressible pain.
"I will accomplish this. Destroy Tokyo, Japan, and finally, the entire world! To make the flames of war exist forever, to make the reason for our existence exist forever!"
"You are insane!"
"Insane? Haha... Who among us isn't insane? From your every punch, I can feel it, the exact same emotion as mine! You are disappointed, disillusioned, and truly lost. So, give up everything and join me. We will..."
"We are not the same. Enju and I will never be like you! We still have a..."
"Bright future ahead? How laughable."
"Satomi Rentaro, you probably still remember those gazes—the eyes of disgust, discrimination, as if they wanted to erase you from this world."
Yes.
Rentaro remembered, when he ran to the school to find Enju.
Rentaro remembered, when he brought his mechanical limbs to class.
"No matter how great your sacrifice is, no matter how tolerant you are, they will still betray you! There is no comfort, no empathy. The bright future you dream of does not exist!"
"Shut up!"
This time, the voice belonged to Enju.
"We are not like you!"
"I don't know how much they hate us, but I love them. We will definitely... never be like you!"
"Enju..."
"Is that so? What a pity."
Whoosh!
Kohina, having been waiting, moved swiftly behind Enju. Seeing this, the girl quickly spun around to launch a high kick, but she missed as Kohina ducked.
A massive force from the broken twin swords burst out, throwing Enju horizontally. Just then, Kagetane raised his gun toward the girl, firing relentlessly without any mercy.
It was only then that Rentaro had time to react.
In that life-or-death moment, Enju looked toward him, seemingly wanting to say,
"Hehe, I got shot again..."
"It's okay, Rentaro, it's just minor injuries."
"I'll heal up right away..."
The light before Enju was blocked. Shielding the girl was the ruined figure of the young man. With all the bullets embedded in his back, blood began to flow from his mouth.
"Ren... Rentaro! Get out of the way! What are you doing!"
"It's okay... Enju... I will definitely... protect you..."
He pulled out the single remaining syringe of the Artificial Gastrea Virus, injecting it straight into himself without hesitation. Feeling the enhancement and recovery brought by the virus, he barely managed to brush Enju's hair before turning and lunging toward Kagetane like a moth to a flame.