CA [173]: Confrontation

"Enju!!!"

Rentarō roared skyward from the forest floor, desperate to spot Enju Aihara, but the sky was empty save for a single, drifting cloud. Moments ago, she'd been yanked upward before his eyes, vanishing as the cloud obscured his view.

"Damn it!"

After waiting in vain for her to descend, Rentarō turned his glare on Hiruko Kagetane.

"Give me back Enju!"

The blame landed squarely on Kagetane, who shrugged it off, unperturbed by another accusation. He even spread his arms gleefully.

"Indeed, it was me, Satomi-kun! Want your Initiator back? Then defeat me, hahaha!"

He taunted Rentarō, eager for a fierce fight.

Rentarō snapped, charging forward. Like Kagetane, he was a modified human, though less extensively, only his right arm, left leg, and right eye were holmium prosthetics.

Transformed into a close-combat weapon, he unleashed a barrage on Kagetane. Though Kagetane's repulsive force field could deflect bullets, it had limits. Rentarō's frenzied assault surpassed those limits, shattering the field. Caught off guard, Kagetane was overwhelmed as Rentarō closed in, pummeling him with a relentless combo that left him no chance to react, knocking him to the ground.

"Daddy!"

Kohina Hiruko, watching from the sidelines, refused to stand idle. She charged at Rentarō with her blades.

Still in his heightened state, Rentarō dodged effortlessly, retreating to create distance. Kohina didn't pursue, instead standing protectively in front of Kagetane, her red eyes glaring warily at Rentarō.

Rentarō didn't attack either, fixing Kagetane with a deadly stare. "Hiruko Kagetane, return Enju now, or I'll kill you!"

"Hahaha!"

Sprawled on the ground, Kagetane burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"My apologies, Satomi-kun, but I lied. I didn't take your Initiator."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Believe it or not, it's true. Before you arrived, I faced over twenty agents. Like you, their Initiators were snatched before we could fight."

Propping himself up with one hand, Kagetane sat halfway and looked skyward. Under the moonlight, a white cloud stood out starkly.

"See that cloud? It's been trailing me. Whenever I fight an agent, it swoops down and takes their Initiator. Sounds absurd, but it's already collected many."

"Your Initiator is up there!"

Rentarō followed his gaze, spotting the cloud. The moonlit sky was clear, making the cloud's presence jarring. He hadn't noticed it before, why would he? But Kagetane's words made him realize something was off. The cloud hadn't moved.

"Enju!"

Half-doubting, Rentarō shouted skyward.

"Rentarō!!"

Enju's voice echoed back, confirming she was indeed up there.

"It's not a cloud, it's a camouflaged aircraft!"

By moonlight, Rentarō saw small heads peeking over the cloud's edge. He couldn't identify Enju, but he knew she was among them.

"I don't know if it's an aircraft. All I know is it wields a power beyond my understanding."

Kagetane rose slowly, glancing at the cloud before turning to Rentarō.

"Well, Satomi-kun, farewell."

"What!?"

Rentarō looked down to see Kagetane tipping his hat in a mock salute.

"Hiruko Kagetane!"

Distracted by Enju's plight, Rentarō's heightened state faded, and he failed to react as Kagetane and Kohina slipped away.

He wanted to chase them, but with Enju in the sky, he hesitated, torn between pursuit and rescue.

Altair, arms crossed, had watched the exchange with approval. So this was the protagonist, able to unleash such power on command. Though useless against Altair now, Rentarō's performance was impressive, flipping Kagetane with a flurry of moves. The names, though, were bizarre.

Hidden Zen: Black Sky Wind, Hidden Zen: Mysterious Nest, Hidden Zen: Weeping Sting, Hidden Zen: Flower Maze, Altair was dumbfounded by the names. A simple side kick warranted a grandiose title, utterly unrelated to the move itself. Did Rentarō think his attacks were noble enough to be legendary? They were just slightly faster strikes! The world's odd terminology was already excessive, why add more?

After a mental rant, Altair directed the Somersault Cloud toward Tokyo while he pursued Kagetane deeper into the forest.

Seeing the cloud move, Rentarō abandoned chasing Kagetane. Alone, he'd likely fall prey to Gastrea, and without Enju, he couldn't defeat Kagetane-Kohina duo. He ran toward Tokyo, following the cloud.

Altair tracked Kagetane to a small chapel. Outside, a massive spider's corpse lay at the entrance. Kagetane slashed a repulsive force blade, cutting it open and retrieving a silver case from its abdomen, the Legacy of the Seven Stars, sought by all Tokyo's agents.

Kagetane tossed the case to the ground, kicked open the lock, and revealed a rusty child's tricycle.

"So this is the Legacy of the Seven Stars? Quite charming."

"Indeed, this is the Seven Stars', "

Kagetane stopped mid-sentence, spinning to his right. At the chapel's doorway stood a blonde man in armor, arms crossed, leaning against the frame.

"Who are you?"

Kagetane's instincts flared. This man had approached undetected, a feat even he couldn't manage.

"No need to worry. I'm just passing through. Heard about the Legacy of the Seven Stars and came to take a look."

"Just a look?"

"Exactly. Don't worry, I won't touch you. You haven't broken my rules."

Though Kagetane was a ruthless assassin, he'd proven useful in this world, drawing attention and helping Altair collect Cursed Children.

"Oh? Rules? Might I know what those are?"

"My rules are simple: don't harm the children. Beyond that, I don't care."

Altair smiled, radiating a warm, brotherly vibe.

"I wouldn't have pegged you as someone who cares for Cursed Children."

"Something like that. I need them to boost my power."

Altair stated his goal bluntly, adopting the air of a scheming mastermind.

Sure, he saved the girls, but contracting them also increased his strength. No problem there.

"Boost your power?"

Kagetane was puzzled but quickly connected the dots.

"That cloud, it's yours?"

"Sharp, aren't you?"

Altair clapped lightly.

"And by the way, I've been tailing you, snatching those girls right in front of you, tossing them skyward for my cloud to catch."

"You've been behind me this whole time? Your stealth is remarkable. And Satomi-kun was right, it's an aircraft. Impressive technology, blending in so seamlessly and silently."

"Call it that if you like."

Altair shrugged.

"Hey, Kagetane, one question."

"Go ahead."

"How long after opening this thing does the Zodiac show up?"

Pointing at the battered pink tricycle, Altair asked.

"No idea. If the Zodiac's nearby, maybe a few dozen minutes. If it's far, it'll take longer."

"I see."

"Why ask? Eager to see Tokyo fall?"

"Not quite."

Altair uncrossed his arms, stepping away from the wall and approaching Kagetane, who watched tensely as he passed by, stretching his hands.

"I'm just wondering how long until I meet my opponent."

"Your opponent?"

Kagetane was stunned.

"You mean to…?"

"Yup. The Zodiac's supposed to be tough, right? So…"

As Altair spoke, his golden hair lengthened, darkening to black, enveloping his body. In Kagetane's horrified gaze, it expanded rapidly into a shadowy form, transforming into a black dragon hundreds of meters long and over a hundred meters tall.

Nidhoggr opened its eyes, lowering its head to peer at the tiny Kagetane with golden dragon pupils, its voice now deep and resonant.

"It should be pretty durable, don't you think?"

The dragon's massive shadow blotted out the moonlight. Kagetane, engulfed in darkness, stood with his mouth agape beneath his mask before slowly closing it, whispering, "This… this is a miracle!"

***

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