The story we started

[A police car with high beams on appears at the entrance of the alley and drives towards here quickly. As it gets closer, the lights become clearer, which makes No. 3 feel even more distressed.]

[“You saved your life! Linduo!”]

It couldn't be seen because it had no eyes, but it seemed to glare fiercely at the fallen Zaimokuza Yoshiki and Kousaka Kyosuke, and after saying something harsh that the two of them couldn't understand, it flapped its wings and flew into the dark sky in the distance before the police car arrived.

[The police car with high beams on stopped and the door opened quickly. Patrolman Kameyama, holding a gun, looked at No. 3 with horror, then ran to the fallen Kousaka Kyosuke and helped him up.]

[“Mr. Kosaka! Wake up! Are you okay!?”]

【Zaimokuza couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the unconscious Kousaka Kyosuke being rescued by the people who came. His clenched fists loosened, and then he felt the scene in front of him spinning. He was exhausted and seriously injured, and he fainted after exhaling this breath.】

【Nagano Prefecture, Hospital】

【6.18pm】

[Zaimokuza sat in the hospital corridor with gauze on his face. Contrary to his usual lively appearance, he rested his hands on his knees, lowered his head in silence, and no one knew what he was thinking.]

【“That’s fine, thank you.”】

[“How can there be no problem!? Maybe there are already cracks in the bones! Mr. Kosaka! Come back quickly, you need to be hospitalized for observation!”]

【Snap! 】

[Kousaka Kyosuke came out of the clinic, ignored the nurse's call, and walked towards the elevator with his windbreaker in his hand, looking a little pale.]

【“Mr. Police!”】

[After hearing the voice behind him, he paused, but continued to walk towards the elevator. Zaimokuza quickly followed him and walked to the elevator with Kousaka Kyousuke.]

[“You’re still here? I’ve already told you to stop interfering in this matter.”]

[Kousaka Kyousuke didn't even look at Zaimokuza beside him, and replied in a somewhat cold voice. ]

[“But I——”]

[Before Zaimokuza could finish his words, a hand grabbed his collar and pushed him back against the wall of the hospital corridor.]

[“Listen to me!”]

[Looking directly at the surprised eyes of the white-haired young man, Kousaka Kyosuke's face was solemn, and he spoke word by word.]

[“It’s your business if you have the power to fight monsters, but like I said before, you have no obligation to fight monsters at all!”]

[“It was just an accident that you got the power to fight against those monsters, but you are just an ordinary citizen. You have never had the obligation or responsibility to do those dangerous things. Those things that we police officers should do are to protect the ordinary lives of ordinary citizens like you.]

[“So do you understand? Stop worrying about unconfirmed life forms! Go back to where you belong and live the life you should live!”]

[After he finished speaking, the elevator arrived at this floor. Kousaka Kyousuke loosened his grip on Zaimokuza's collar and walked into the elevator without saying a word.]

[After the elevator door closed, the elevator carried Kousaka Kyousuke down, while Zaimokuza still looked blankly at the place where he was originally. ]

[For some reason, at this moment, the illusion that the belt gave him appeared in his mind again.]

[That was a warrior standing alone in the darkness, he had sharp golden horns, flaming red eyes... and armor covering his upper body that was as red as fire.]

[“Red warrior?”]

[Hearing Zaimokuza's words, Yukinoshita Yukino narrowed her eyes slightly, and a thoughtful look flashed in her eyes. ]

【"Um."】

【Zaimokuza nodded slightly in response, his eyelashes covering his eyes, his gaze fixed on his hands clasped together in front of him.】

[“At that time, the armor on the warrior I saw in the illusion was red, but the form I turned into was white. I thought that was what I should really become.]

[“But I didn’t become like that… I think the reason for this is that I’m not firm enough and I’m still hesitant.”]

[“…I didn’t expect that you, Zaimokuza-san, who is always fearless, would actually have moments of hesitation?”]

[Yukinoshita Yukino raised her eyebrows, her tone seemed a little surprised. ]

[“Of course I will, Minister.”]

【Zaimokuza seemed to smile cheerfully, but his left hand slightly clenched his right palm into a fist.】

[At this moment, the memories of him using his fists to attack unconfirmed life forms appeared before his eyes. His hands seemed to experience that feeling again, the touch of the fist bones attacking the flesh and blood body entwined with them. His eyes closed slightly, and his hands gently rubbed each other.]

[At this moment, Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly felt that this friend whom she had known for many years was a little hard for her to understand, and there were some emotions that she had never felt from Zaimokuza.]

[That emotion is... disgust? ]

[Zaimokuza looked at his hands open in front of him. Every line on his palms was clearly visible, but his eyes were filled with a rare feeling of confusion.]

[Can I...really do this? ]

11. Her tears are his reason to fight

[Nagano Prefecture, Natsume family. 2023txt.com]

【07.29pm】

【Three days ago, Natsume Mika remembered that the last words her father said to her were "I'm going out." She was used to her father, who was engaged in archaeological work, always leaving early and returning late, but he had never missed any important day for her, whether it was her birthday, kindergarten graduation ceremony, elementary school entrance ceremony, elementary school graduation ceremony, or junior high school entrance ceremony. Her father would never be absent, always appearing by her side with a smile, accompanying her to take important photos of each stage of her life.】

[So she never thought that her father would one day leave her life forever, and that sentence became the last words her father said to her.]

[In the narrow mourning hall, a black-and-white photo of Natsume Kokichi was framed and placed on the mourning cabinet. Below it was the coffin containing Natsume Kokichi's body. The coffin and the surroundings were filled with white wreaths.]

[The "body" in the coffin is a nice word. In fact, when the body was found, it was so damaged that it was difficult to even call it a wreck. The undertaker spent a lot of effort to make Natsume Yukichi's body look like it could finally be placed in the coffin. At the beginning, the police dared not even agree to the family's request to see the body again, fearing that the family would be too shocked and sent to the hospital.]

[Facing the portrait of Natsume Kokichi, Yukinoshita lit several sticks of sandalwood, inserted them into the incense burner in front of her with a heavy face, and then put her hands together and bowed. ]

[Natsume Mika bowed with the people around her according to etiquette, and the girl who was kneeling was trembling slightly while trying to hold back the tears that were about to fall from her eyes.]

[Before the wake, the girl who was still in junior high school still couldn't accept that her father had left her like this. He had clearly promised to go camping with her after the investigation was over, so why did he break the promise? ]

[But it was not until she saw her father's portrait and the coffin containing his body at the funeral that she finally realized the fact she was unwilling to face - her father was dead.]

What is death?

[It is the end, it is a farewell forever, it is irreversible, it is a hand that I can never hold again, a warmth that I can never feel again, and a "welcome back" that I can never say again. ]

[Natsume Mika stood up suddenly in the astonished eyes of the people around her, and rushed to the door at the last moment when tears were about to burst out. This was her last bit of strength.]

【…】

【Zaimokuza leaned against the wall, with his motorcycle parked next to him. Not far away was Natsume's house with a lantern hanging on it. He looked up at the dim starry sky above him, waiting for Yukinoshita Yukino to finish her vigil and come out.】

【"department--"】

[The sound of the door opening attracted his attention. Zaimokuza mistakenly thought it was Yukinoshita Yukino coming out and subconsciously wanted to turn around and talk, but the scene that came into his eyes made him swallow back the words that were about to come out.]

[A girl in a black sailor suit leaned against the gate with a royal lantern hanging on it, curled up into a small ball, and her suppressed crying sounded in the silent street. Zaimokuza subconsciously wanted to go forward to comfort her, but his steps froze in mid-air. In the end, he silently retracted his foot that was about to step forward, and even pressed his body closer to the wall to prevent Natsume Mika from noticing him while she was crying.]

【"dad--"】

[The girl's mournful sobbing echoed in the silent and deserted streets. She wrapped her hands tightly around her knees, lowered her head and bit her lips. Clear tears flowed from her wet eyes, running down her face, and finally turned into drops of tears at her chin, dripping onto the cold street. Under the reflection of the night, the girl's tears dripping in the air looked like crystal clear pearls.]

【“…”】

[Zaimokuza, who was hiding behind the wall and peeping at the girl, stared blankly at the falling tears, and slowly clenched his open hands, with his fists making a "crunching" sound due to the force.]

[At this moment, the girl curled up crying under the lamp gradually became blurred and distorted in his eyes. The quiet streets around him seemed to have the sound of raindrops falling from the sky, and another figure slowly replaced the image of Natsume Mika in his eyes.]

[It was a completely different figure, a boy, whose back was blurred in the heavy rain. The only thing that could be seen clearly was his messy white hair that was soaked like a drowned chicken in the heavy rain.]

[There was no other sound around except the sound of raindrops, but Zaimokuza was well aware that there were other sounds in the rain.]

【That's crying.】

[The boy was crying silently in the rainstorm, but no one could hear his crying, so no one noticed.]

【Zaimokuza looked at the boy with his back to him. Not a single drop of the pouring rain wet his shoulders. All of it passed through his body, but Zaimokuza could clearly feel the coldness of the rain, exactly the same as he remembered.】

[“…Is everything alright?”]

[The boy with his back to him spoke softly, his voice blurred by the rain.]

【"……ah."】

【Zaimokuza slowly loosened his clenched fists, and gently opened his palms and let them hang at his sides.】

[The feeling of hitting a fellow creature of flesh and blood still lingered on his fist, but Zaimokuza's eyes were as clear as an ancient well at this moment, with a bottom that could be seen, and all the confusion disappeared from his eyes.]

[His face once again showed that optimistic and cheerful smile, just like he did at the beginning.]

[“A real man.”]

……

[Patter. 】

[Kousaka Kyousuke gently opened the door that Zaimokuza had pushed open, and looked around cautiously. He only walked out after confirming that there were no other figures around.]

[He learned his lesson this time. Two consecutive encounters with these unidentified life forms proved that the ordinary firearms equipped by the police were completely useless. Therefore, before leaving the police station this time, Kousaka Kyosuke secretly took a shotgun from the armory. The administrator at the armory door who knew him well remained silent about his behavior of taking firearms without reporting it. He manually disabled the surveillance and hinted to him whether the firepower was sufficient and whether he needed more ammunition.]

[This nighttime break-in to the church was his personal act, and no one knew about it.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke specifically asked a park ranger who said he was attacked by a bat monster. The unconfirmed life form is still kept secret, so the ranger's words were regarded as nonsense caused by hallucinations after drinking too much, but as an insider, he took it to heart. ]

[The administrator, who was very happy that someone finally believed in him, spoke directly to Kousaka Kyousuke, skipping a lot of family matters. He said that he saw the bat monster flying in from the open window of St. Mark's Church.]

[After learning that Father Dio of this church had not appeared for two days, Kousaka Kyosuke immediately gave up the idea of ​​saving people and changed his action plan to annihilate all living things in the church except humans. ]

[Kousaka Kyosuke's considerations were not unreasonable, but he still made a fatal mistake. ]

[That is, he still thought about the enemy's actions in a human way, so the search before entering the door only scanned the surroundings and the corridor on the second floor, and ignored the rooftop vertically above him. ]

[Above Kousaka Kyosuke, on the top dome of this Gothic church, the "Father Dio" in priest's clothes was hanging upside down on the ceiling with his feet hanging on the chandelier, his head facing downward, staring at Kousaka Kyosuke who was standing right below him with a shotgun and vigilantly observing the surroundings with his extremely cold eyes.]

【“——”】

[“Father Dio” slowly revealed a hideous smile and silently opened his mouth. The pale teeth in his mouth, which were reminiscent of a ghoul, gradually transformed into a mouthful of ferocious fangs in a twist. The eyes on his face were covered by patterned muscle bulges. The precious priest’s clothing was torn apart by the swollen muscles on his body. Tissues similar to wing roots tore through the clothes and stretched out from his elbows—]

[The clothes on his body turned into tiny pieces of cloth and slowly fell down. At this moment, "Father Dio" turned into a huge bat monster hanging upside down on the ceiling. ]

[This familiar shape, it seems that it is the newly appeared unconfirmed life form that appeared not long ago, defeated Zaimokuza and killed a large number of police officers, No. 3! ]

【“!”】

[A piece of black cloth fell from his eyes like a black feather. Kousaka Kyosuke's pupils shrank and he quickly looked up. The deadly monster was spreading its wings and rushing towards him with its fangs bared! ]

【boom!!!】

[Countless steel bullets were shot out in the smoke from the muzzle, hitting the number three who was diving vertically. The effect of heavy firepower weapons was indeed far superior to ordinary firearms. This shot directly interrupted the potential energy of the number three's attack, knocking it down from mid-air to the wooden chair where the believers were sitting.]

【Click.】

[Kousaka Kyosuke loaded the gun without hesitation, aimed at the place where No. 3 fell and fired again. The scattered bullets directly smashed the row of wooden chairs into flying pieces.]

[But among the broken pieces, only number three is missing. ]

【“!?”】

【Kousaka Kyosuke's eyes became solemn. He pulled the bolt and walked slowly and cautiously over there, but found that there was no trace of No. 3 there. He could not help but look around more vigilantly. This time, not only did he look at the top of his head, he even looked at the floor. His sharp eyes swept through every inch of the church, but he did not find the terrifying blood-sucking monster.】

[The fearless policeman slowly walked to the center of the church, his vigilant eyes never relaxed, the sweat on his forehead flowed into his eyes, but he didn't even close his eyelids, his eyeballs endured the erosion of salt and stared at the surroundings. That expression perfectly explained the image of a tough guy who could never be fooled by a young guy.]

【bump!】

[The glass window behind him suddenly shattered, and the bloodthirsty monster's hideous face was reflected in the clear fragments. Number Three pounced on Kousaka Kyosuke, who had his back to it.]

[Even though Kousaka Kyosuke pointed his gun at his back at an extremely fast speed the moment the glass shattered, he was still a step too late. The ferocious claws of No. 3 had already grabbed the hot barrel of the shotgun in his hand before his pupils shrank, and with a fierce tug, he snatched it from his hand and threw it away.]

【Oops! 】

[“Woo!”]

[Number Three grabbed Kousaka Kyousuke's neck and pushed him against the church wall, then slowly lifted his body up. The strong pressure from his palm and his own weight on his neck made his face flush red and he could hardly breathe.]

[To make matters worse, when he was pushed against the wall by No. 3, a row of candles on the wall were hit by his body, and one of the candles happened to ignite the curtains next to the stained glass window, and unfortunately a corner of the windbreaker he was wearing was also ignited.]

[“Uhhhhhhh!!!!!!”]

【In the midst of the raging fire, No. 3 threw Kousaka Kyousuke towards the row of seats in front of him. As he fell towards the seats, he happened to be hit by the back of the wooden chair on his injured left hand. The pain was much more severe than last time, and he fell to the ground. He didn't even have time to put out the fire on his windbreaker. He covered his shoulder, which felt like it was about to break, with cold sweat on his forehead. Sweat seeped out from his back like a waterfall, soaking his windbreaker and the shirt he was wearing under his suit.】

[No. 3 takes a step forward, steps on the barrel of the shotgun, and uses his foot to break the weapon.]

[It walked towards Kousaka Kyosuke who was trying to stand up, and raised its palm in the flames. The deadly claws on its palm reflected a cold light in the fire, which made Kousaka Kyosuke feel cold all over. He struggled to retreat even harder.]

[“I will suck all your blood, Linduo!”]

【"cough……"】

[Kousaka Kyosuke held his aching shoulder, looking at No. 3 who was approaching him in a language he couldn't understand, and gritted his teeth and wanted to reach for the pistol on his waist. Even if the damage of this gun to the monster in front of him was better than nothing, he still had to make a final struggle.]

【boom--】