My mind is chaotic… smoky…
Why?…
What was all this..?
What were those things she showed me?
"…Zaack! What's wrong? Are you okay? We were supposed to play hide and seek, remember..? Zaack!! Are you listening to me? Why are you just standing there staring? Zack? Zack!…"
Ah…
What are these..?
More memories I haven't remembered yet..?
"You look bored here… come on, let's go…"
Go where?
"Why are you scared? I'm sure you'll win..!"
Win what?
"Aah! Bifrat! Aa! Stop it!! You're messing up my hair…!"
For what purpose?
"I have to go… Mia… this is the only way!"
"But brother… please… I don't want to lose you too!"
"I'll come back… then… Mia! Tell me everything, okay? Our childhood… but if I don't come back—"
"Stop! I don't want to hear it!"
"…then remember me as I am now!"
As I am… huh?
What was I even like?
"What's with the name mix-up? Just go and say it straight:
My name is Kevin!"
"I'm using your name! If I win, it'll be your leverage in the future…"
"You don't even know what you're doing…"
"I will… at the end, that Ghost guy…
I'll beat him and explain everything…"
But you didn't…
Mia… I need to find her…
She has the remaining fragments…
"Hello… subject 666…"
Zack lifts his head…
A figure in black clothing… with a cloak-like thing over their right side…
It's Lie…
"…."
"Oh… guess you can't talk… well, that works in my favor… you have to come with me…"
Suddenly, a thick Kaishi bursts out of Zack's back…
Lie quickly draws a sword hidden beneath the cloak and slashes the Kaishi…
Two more attack…
But Zack dashes forward…
Lie thinks he's attacking—but then realizes this kind of running looks more like he's trying to escape. She intercepts him:
"Where do you think you're going…"
"Helios… Shin Sekai no Tenshi…"
"Huh?…"
Zack suddenly begins radiating power…
Kaishis swarm around him…
"Power form!"
Lie attacks, but a few Kaishis block her…
They completely wrap around Zack…
He now resembles Venom from the outside…
Suddenly, a thin line, about two fingers wide and a hand-span long, forms at eye level…
From the bottom of the line, around the nose level, a triangular notch juts out…
The Kaishis from his back combine and form 5 thick Kaishis…
"Tch…"
Lie realizes… if she pushes him further, this "monster" will attack her with murderous rage…
He must've defeated Ghost… that maniac…
Lie raises her sword…
The Dark Angel (Zack) attacks her…
Though Lie blocks the strike, she fails to stop the Kaishi attack coming from the side…
She crashes into a tree and falls to the ground…
The Dark Angel immediately escapes…
Lie tries to chase him but—
"Lie! Command from Andew! We're retreating..!" X announces through her comm device.
"What?! What about NWC?!"
"The assault is over! We're heading to the border! You too!"
"Aaarrrghhh!!"
Lie stops in frustration…
————————
The Hawk's Nest; a few hours later; near dawn
Knock knock…
"Come in…"
Denis enters…
"Denis? I haven't seen you the past few days…"
Denis:
"Well…"
"Is something wrong? You seem sad…"
"Ayato gave orders… you're leaving tomorrow…"
Mia pauses…
"So… it's that bad, huh?"
"Why? What happened?"
Emily enters:
"Oh… I'll just go…"
"No! Emily… I was leaving anyway…" Denis says, then turns to Mia:
"Why, Mia?.."
Mia smiles with bitter sorrow:
"You know about the 11 fragments, right, Denis?"
"Uhh… yeah… to access the full power of a core fragment…"
"Right… I told you… well, I have 8 of the 11 required for Helios…"
"Whaaat??"
Both Emily and Denis are shocked…
"The remaining 3 were with Kevin at first, but after he died, they transferred to Zack…"
Emily: "…"
Bifrat enters:
"Sorry kids… I entered without knocking but…
Mia! You need to leave immediately…"
"Huh? Why? I thought it was in the morning…"
"Zack escaped… and Ghost was found dead nearby…
They think Zack is mentally unstable… there's a high chance he'll come here… My daughter…"
Several other men enter…
They take Mia and escort her outside…
Denis runs after them…
The sun is just starting to rise…
Mia's clothes, books, and other belongings are quickly gathered and loaded into a vehicle…
Denis approaches Mia
Mia looks at him:
"I'm glad I got to know you… I hope… we'll meet again someday…"
The vehicles are arranged…
And they set off…
Bifrat and Denis get in another vehicle and escort them until they leave the city…
The city was very quiet…
More than ever before…
Everyone had their own lives
Their own worries and troubles
Strange…
That person you saw as just a background character…
Someone you may never see again
Who knows what burdens they carry
What kind of life they lead…
But naturally, you're just a background character in someone else's story too…
With that, the city exit came into view…
NWC forces were stationed outside the city, and the wounded were slowly being brought into the city
The clash had been incredibly intense
Ayato greeted the vehicles
Bifrat and Denis got out
"From here on, we'll take over…"
"Alright…" Bifrat said
"Um… can I come too?" Denis asked
Mia peeked slightly from the window:
"Let him come, Ayato… come on, Denis…"
"Okay…"
The vehicles were readied and set off…
——————
File #028
Science Committee Report
(on Macu Energy)
Macu energy reacts strangely with the fragments.
Strange. Seems both good and bad.
Experiments continue.