The group walked together, chatting and laughing as they made their way forward.
The sky had already begun to darken.
However, just as they passed by the unfinished shell of an abandoned construction site, a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"No, no..."
"Don't come any closer!"
"I didn't do anything. Please, let me go..."
The voice was young and fragile. It belonged to a girl.
Judging by the sound, she was probably around the same age as Enju.
Hearing it, Rentaro stopped walking and turned toward the direction of the voice.
"Hm? It sounds like something happened."
Gojo also looked toward the abandoned building in the distance.
In a deserted and remote place like this, criminal activity was the kind of thing that happened most often.
"I'll go take a look."
Rentaro frowned and spoke in a serious tone.
Being a Civil Security operative was his job, but more importantly, Rentaro had always carried a strong sense of justice.
Even though he was technically off duty, and even though the person involved was not a Gastrea incident, he still could not ignore something like this after seeing it.
"Let's go together. It's not like we're in a hurry."
Gojo looked into the darkness of the unfinished building and smiled.
Since both of them had decided to go, the others naturally had no objections.
The group entered the abandoned construction site and followed the sound up into the unfinished building.
The moment they reached the second floor, the girl's voice became much clearer.
The building was dark, with no lights inside, but the streetlights outside provided enough illumination for them to barely see what was happening.
In the corner of the floor, two police officers were surrounding someone and repeatedly kicking them. Every kick produced a dull impact.
"Are they arresting a criminal?"
Gojo curiously leaned forward to take a look.
But that one glance caused his expression to turn cold.
The others could not see everything clearly, but under the effects of the Six Eyes, darkness was no obstacle for Gojo.
He could clearly see that the person being surrounded by the two officers was not some dangerous criminal.
It was a small girl.
A girl around the same age as Enju, with torn clothes and a fragile body.
From the wrist exposed beneath her sleeve, it was obvious how thin she was. Her body was practically nothing but skin and bones.
At that moment, she was curled up tightly, doing everything she could to reduce the damage caused by the two officers.
But...
How could a child of around ten years old possibly withstand the strength of two grown adults, no matter how desperately she tried to protect herself?
After a series of brutal kicks, the girl's face twisted in pain. She coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the ground, and her tightly shut eyes slowly opened.
They were crimson.
A crimson color unique to the Cursed Children.
The officer standing nearby saw her spit blood and immediately stepped back several paces.
"Disgusting. Good thing it didn't get on me. I don't want to turn into one of those damn Gastrea."
"Hahaha, what kind of nonsense are you talking about? Just touching them won't infect you."
"You think I don't know that? I just don't want to be disgusted by these things."
"Still, finding a punching bag like this to vent all the frustration from work feels pretty good. Those idiots come bothering us over every little thing and treat us like we're their servants."
"They don't even talk like they understand human language."
"Exactly. It's just a shame this one is so dirty, and her looks aren't anything special."
"Not like the one we found last time. That one was actually pretty fun."
"That's why you don't have a girlfriend, isn't it?"
"A girlfriend is too much trouble. Who wants one? You have to spend money on gifts and all that nonsense. These ones are much easier. They're disgusting, sure, but once you're done playing, you can just get rid of them."
The two officers had no idea Gojo and the others were there. They casually chatted about things that made everyone's expressions darken.
Everyone present was close to adulthood, so they understood exactly what those two men were implying.
And precisely because they understood, they could fully comprehend how vile those two people truly were.
They were worse than Gastrea.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's finish this."
"Tomorrow, let's go to the 39th Area. We can each find a cleaner one to play with."
"Sounds good. After we're done, let's find somewhere to drink."
One of the officers spoke as he reached toward the handgun at his waist.
"What are you looking at me like that for? I don't like that look in your eyes. You Cursed Children were born to die. You don't deserve to live in this world."
However, while he was doing all this, he did not realize something.
The little girl lying on the ground between them was not looking at either of the two officers.
Her crimson eyes were fixed on the people standing silently behind them at the staircase.
Gojo and the others.
Watching the scene unfold and listening to their words, Enju's eyes gradually turned red as well.
She bit down on her lower lip and was about to rush forward to stop everything.
"Don't move. You'll be discovered."
"If a Cursed Child attacks an ordinary person, even an Initiator will be held responsible."
Rentaro had been watching Enju's movements the entire time.
The moment he noticed her trying to move, he immediately covered her mouth and pulled her back, whispering into her ear.
Enju's large red eyes quickly filled with tears, but her struggling slowly weakened.
Rentaro released his hand.
Then he heard her voice, trembling with grief.
"I know her. We met before, back when I was in the 39th Area."
"She was asking me for..."
Enju's voice was filled with sorrow.
Rentaro remained silent.
He knew exactly how deep the prejudice against Cursed Children ran in this world.
But there was nothing he could do.
Just like now.
If he and Enju stepped in, those two men would not stand a chance. They could easily save the girl.
But what would happen afterward?
They would inevitably become involved.
Enju might even be punished because of it.
She could even lose her life.
He could not gamble with that.
He could not do something like this.
"Gojo-kun, take Enju and leave first. I'll stay behind..."
Rentaro let out a quiet breath and spoke heavily.
He intended to remain alone and see if there was some opportunity to act.
However.
Before he could finish speaking, a tall figure walked directly past him.
The unrestrained sound of footsteps echoed throughout the empty unfinished building.
Hearing the footsteps, the two officers who had been preparing to attack the girl instinctively turned around.
Under the dim light from the street lamps, a slender figure slowly approached.
His white, messy hair stood out sharply against the darkness.
"Who are you?"
"We're handling a case right now. Don't come any closer!"
The round-faced officer holding the gun raised it.
At the same time, the other officer pulled out a flashlight from his waist, causing the dark environment to suddenly brighten.
But under the light, the girl's miserable condition became even more obvious.
At the staircase, Rentaro watched Gojo and Betty walk out.
He felt slightly relieved, but he also could not help feeling worried.
Since Gojo had stepped forward, the girl would naturally no longer be in danger.
But considering the power Gojo had displayed and his fearless way of doing things, Rentaro was worried that he might take things too far.
"What did she do?"
Gojo completely ignored the guns pointed at him. His footsteps remained steady as he slowly approached the two officers.
"This isn't a place you should be!"
"Get lost!"
Seeing that Gojo continued approaching, one officer shouted angrily.
The other reacted quickly and aimed his flashlight toward Betty.
The light flashed across her face.
"Not an Initiator."
One of them spoke quietly.
The two exchanged glances.
If they were not Initiators, then things became much easier.
If they had encountered a reckless Initiator and Promoter after what they had done, things would have become troublesome.
They were only ordinary people. Even with guns, they could never defeat a Civil Security pair.
Even if someone came to punish the other side afterward, it was still better to avoid that situation entirely.
But if they were not Initiators, then there was nothing to worry about.
"Kid, get out of here."
"That Cursed Child is about to turn into a Gastrea. If you don't want to die, leave now."
No one answered Gojo's question.
And he continued walking closer.
Seeing that Gojo completely ignored him, the round-faced officer's expression twisted with anger.
A grown man with a gun could not even handle a teenager?
That would be humiliating.
"I said I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the round-faced officer swung the handle of his handgun toward Gojo's head.
If it hit, Gojo would at least suffer a bloody wound, if not lose consciousness.
However, Gojo did not react.
Betty did not even raise her eyes.
It was as if neither of them had noticed.
A cruel smile appeared on the officer's face.
He could already imagine the sight of Gojo being struck.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The officer's hand stopped in midair before it could touch Gojo.
The Limitless Cursed Technique was still active.
But that was not the source of the two sounds.
The round-faced officer standing in front of Gojo froze for only a moment before his body was sent flying backward.
He crashed heavily into the wall.
Then his body dropped to the ground with another heavy impact.
Two sounds.
And the officer was already unconscious.
The handgun slipped from his hand.
Everything happened too quickly.
Neither the other officer nor Rentaro behind them had reacted.
They had not even seen how Gojo attacked.
Gojo continued walking forward.
His footsteps remained clear and steady.
Looking at the approaching figure, the remaining officer finally recovered.
He raised his handgun with one hand while pressing the communication device on his chest with the other.
His voice became hurried.
"Don't come any closer!"
"Otherwise I'll shoot!"
"Central district, central district! This is vehicle 302. West Third Street abandoned building, third floor. We are under attack..."
But before he could finish speaking, Gojo had already reached him.
Although he had no idea what had happened earlier, it did not matter.
The other side had just attacked his partner.
According to the law, he had the right to defend himself.
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The gunshot rang out.
Sumire, who still did not fully understand Gojo's abilities, immediately looked over anxiously.
Gojo was her future employer and the source of the materials she wanted to study.
If something happened to him, what would she do?
The moment Sumire leaned out to look, she saw an unbelievable scene.
A brass bullet was frozen in midair.
It was as if an invisible force had stopped it completely.
Under the flashlight's beam, the bullet reflected a faint metallic shine, yet it could not move even a single step forward.
The officer stared at the scene in disbelief.
Then, as if refusing to accept reality, he repeatedly pulled the trigger, trying to break through the impossible barrier.
But nothing changed.
Only after the handgun clicked empty did he finally realize what had happened.
He instinctively stepped backward.
"D-don't come any closer."
Seeing the scene before her, Sumire's eyes lit up.
"Repulsion Shield?!"
As the former highest person in charge of the New Human Creation Plan, Sumire had not personally modified every single subject, but she had reviewed almost all of their test data.
Likewise, she had studied Kagetane Hiruko, the former mechanical modification soldier.
Among all mechanical modification soldiers, he was an extremely rare case. He had successfully adapted to the burden caused by the artificial device.
The experimental data from when Kagetane was still in the military was stored in Sumire's database.
Seeing a scene so similar to that, her first thought was of him.
However.
She quickly rejected the idea.
Because Gojo showed no signs of mechanical modification.
As the highest person in charge of the project, she understood this better than anyone.
"Click."
The officer who had emptied his gun found himself in the same situation as his companion.
In front of Gojo, he had no ability to resist.
He was sent flying backward and collapsed onto the ground, his fate unknown.
With no one left to stop him, Gojo finally reached the little girl lying on the floor in torn clothes, looking like a stray dog.
He slowly crouched down in front of her.