"Big brother!"
A boy's voice rang out.
"Hm?"
I looked up from the kitchen toward the living room. The little boy was excitedly staring back at me.
"...What's up?"
"Have you ever been in love with someone?!"
"...Yeah, why?"
"Really?! So when can I meet her?!"
The boy's eyes sparkled with intense curiosity. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to resist that look.
Unfortunately, my love story... wasn't something I should tell him.
"Why are you so curious about this stuff?"
"Because in my class, some girls said they have boyfriends or something, and they said dating is super fun. I'm really curious!"
"...They're only 11 years old?" My eye twitched a little.
"Huh? You're not allowed to date at 11?" The boy scratched his head.
"Absolutely not. So who are those girls dating? Hopefully some kids their age—"
"I heard it's the teacher."
"..."
This society is beyond saving. It's completely chaotic.
"...Tell me his name later. I'm calling the police."
"Oh, and I have someone I love too!"
My hand immediately stopped, then started shaking uncontrollably.
"...W-What did you say? You have someone you l-love?"
"Yes!"
My lips trembled, sweat pouring down.
"C-Could you tell me what you know about this person? I just... want to have a little chat with them."
Hearing that, the boy suddenly got shy and scratched his head.
"Eh... That person is an adult."
"I'm gonna kill them."
"They work really hard."
"None of that will save them from what I'm going to do."
"And they live really close to me..."
"Lives really close? How come I don't know about this?"
"And that person is a guy."
"THEN THAT'S EVEN BETTER! I'LL DEFINITELY TEAR HIM INTO PIECES!!!"
"What have you been saying this whole time?"
The boy looked at my face and smiled.
"Guess who it is?"
"I don't know." My eyes were filled with killing intent, as if I was about to commit murder.
"Then I'll tell you!"
The boy twirled his hands together like he was drawing a lottery ticket.
"Booh! It's you, big brother! You're the person I love most in the whole world!"
"...Huh?"
I blinked repeatedly, then let out a huge sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off my face.
"You made my heart stop for a few seconds there... Who taught you that trick?"
"Ah! Why are you acting like it's obvious?! At least act happy about it!"
"Hah, you little brat. Of course it's obvious that you love me. It's normal for siblings not to be super close, but when siblings love each other this much, it has to be us."
"Then hug me! You've only hugged me twice today!"
"If that's what you want."
So I knelt down. My little brother walked over and hugged me, his small hands touching my back.
Then he gently rubbed my back.
"Big brother."
"Hm?"
"Don't work too hard, okay?"
"..."
I just smiled.
"Yeah, I won't."
I lied to him.
"That's good..." My little brother gave the most innocent smile.
It was a necessary lie.
After all, my little brother shouldn't have to understand these things. I'm scared—I don't dare let him face this world.
He's just a kid. He deserves to have the best things a child his age should have.
And I will never regret it, even if this back of mine breaks.
***
Rage.
That one word was enough to describe that emotion.
Recalling those memories brought a mix of joy and sorrow, but they were also things I tried to avoid remembering.
The more I looked at my little brother's face, the image of his lifeless body appeared before my eyes.
'Why did God take him away?'
Birth, aging, illness, and death are unavoidable.
"Big brother!"
But I didn't want that. He still had a long road ahead—how could he die halfway?
"When a single thought of anger arises, a million obstacles open."
My eyes turned toward the person who had unintentionally made me remember those things.
"May the pain of loss be shared with you; in the moment of forgetting oneself."
"W-What are you talking about?!"
I stood up and took the hunchback's knife.
"The calamity of forgetting oneself is bestowed only by me. Evil karma binds the body; willingly endure the agony."
Immediately after, all my Gears began to transform.
The warrior's belt gradually turned into a belt with a taiji diagram plate.
The coward's shoes became sharper and sturdier.
The armor of love transformed into a compressed black t-shirt, and a pair of iron gloves appeared.
The hunchback's knife underwent the most dramatic change.
"Grudge Accumulation Blade"
It turned into a sword, emitting a faint blue light.
"..."
He blinked at my transformation, then panicked.
'This guy... Did he just awaken a different form of the Magical Gears?! Impossible!'
To activate Gears, the user must go through the Gear's trials and earn its recognition to use 100% of its power.
Yet not only did this guy activate them—he even changed their forms?! How high must his compatibility and familiarity be for the Gears to willingly transform like this?!
Remember, Gears almost never change form and are extremely conservative. Changing means they've adapted perfectly to the user's power.
'Damn it! I should've run the moment I found out that crazy woman loved this guy!!'
He backed up, touched the nearby wall, and kept tapping it.
'I'll attack him and then escape. Nothing good will come from staying here!'
He tapped one last time. The wall cracked repeatedly and then flew straight toward Kai.
'Good! This is my chance!'
He immediately ran.
Slash!
"...Huh?"
He looked down at the sword impaled through his body, blood pouring out.
"..."
He slowly turned around, only to see Kai right behind him.
"W-When did you—"
Kai pulled the sword out and prepared to strike again.
The man slammed his hand on the ground. The stone floor beneath both of them cracked and flew upward.
"Motherf—! You think my skills are weak?! Dream on!!"
He jumped down, letting Kai continue rising with the chunk of stone.
Kai spun his sword into position. His shoes began to glow.
"Boots of the Sacrificer"
Instantly, Kai shot forward, kicked off the wall, and dove down at high speed.
"!!"
The man pulled out his knife, poured all his force into it, and aimed at Kai.
"I'm not gonna die here!"
The knife flew straight toward Kai.
"Belt of the War God"
Kai twisted his body. The knife grazed past him.
Then he touched the knife and redirected it back the way it came.
"!!!"
With fluid movement, he threw it straight back.
Stab! It pierced the man's arm!
"Ahhhh! AHHHH!!"
In agony, he watched Kai getting closer, saw Kai preparing the final blow.
"AHHHHH!!!"
BOOM!!!!
...
Kai stood up and looked at the man's mangled, unrecognizable corpse.
"..."
Kai then hoisted Kanna and Lily onto his shoulders and began leaving the area.