The other four areas of Japan had long coveted the Tokyo Area.
Tokyo produced thirty-one percent of the world's Varanium.
In truth, that meant it wasn't just the other four areas eyeing its resources. Foreign nations were interested, too.
Behind Tokyo and its four rivals lay a tangled web of competing international interests.
Varanium was the main reason Saitake Sogen, the ruler of the Osaka Area, had come to visit.
He probably also wanted to discuss Scorpio and learn more about Mr. Kain, who was serving as her bodyguard for this meeting. He might even try to establish contact and negotiate some form of cooperation.
Truthfully, Seitenshi was very nervous.
Three days had already passed since the problem with the Monolith was discovered. As of today, they had no more than three days left before it collapsed completely.
Even at their fastest, constructing a replacement would take ten days. There simply wasn't enough time.
Once the Monolith fell, Gastrea would pour through the opening. She could scarcely imagine the hell the Tokyo Area would become.
At present, Kain seemed to be the only person capable of helping them. If Saitake managed to win him over, Tokyo's fate could end up entirely in that man's hands.
Saitake might choose to save Tokyo, but he would undoubtedly bring it under his rule.
He was a deeply ambitious man who imposed crushing taxes on the Osaka Area. It was easy to imagine him squeezing Tokyo even harder, with little regard for the people living there.
Seitenshi glanced at Kain beside her. Her lips parted slightly, but she remained silent.
She had no idea what she could offer to persuade him.
Besides, she still owed him what she had promised in their previous agreement.
It wasn't that she had broken her word. Tendo Kisara had told her he was in no hurry. He would notify her when he intended to collect, and she simply needed to be ready.
Before looking away, Seitenshi glanced at the other small figure beside him.
Tina was following him obediently.
Despite his unilateral declaration that the Initiator now belonged to his company, she had offered no resistance. She merely followed in silence.
The pressure Kain exerted on her must have been unimaginable.
As one of the Cursed Children, she could sense his terrifying nature more keenly than most. She didn't dare make a suspicious move, much less attempt to escape.
Ding!
The elevator arrived.
Its doors opened onto the hotel's top floor.
Overhead, hexagonal panels of reinforced glass formed a domed ceiling, revealing the gloomy sky outside.
The spacious room was lavishly decorated, an appropriate setting for receiving such an important guest.
The guest in question had already arrived.
He was a sixty-five-year-old man who gave the impression of a lion. Judging by his vigorous expression and powerful build, however, he could easily have passed for someone twenty years younger.
Several bodyguards stood beside him. Seitenshi could plainly sense their strength.
Yet that very impression told her they were no match for Kain.
From him, she could sense nothing at all.
Another man sat across from the ruler of Osaka.
Before Seitenshi arrived to meet Saitake, Mr. Kikunojo had been entertaining the ruthless politician, a man who had quietly consigned countless political enemies to oblivion.
"Oh? Lady Seitenshi has brought quite an extraordinary guest. What a pleasant surprise. You've saved me the trouble of seeking him out myself."
Saitake, who had been leisurely enjoying a glass of fine wine, was genuinely surprised.
After receiving the intelligence from Tokyo, he had repeatedly ordered his operatives in the area to approach Kain with offers of cooperation.
Every overture had been ignored.
He hadn't expected to meet him here.
Just as he was about to rise and address him, however, Saitake realized something.
Kain had no intention of acknowledging him.
That was fine.
A young man with that kind of power certainly had the right to be arrogant.
In his position, Saitake would have been even more overbearing.
"You must be Mr. Kain. I would very much like to discuss working together. You may name your terms."
"My terms? Are you sure?"
"Of course. I can't guarantee I'll meet them, but if you're willing to make a proposal, presumably I have something you want. After that, it's simply a matter of negotiation."
"President Saitake..."
"Lady Seitenshi, interrupting someone else's conversation is terribly rude! What is it? Are you forbidding me from making a deal with this gentleman? Or are you forbidding him from speaking to me?"
His booming voice made Seitenshi flinch. She had been about to intervene, but the accusation stopped her.
Her reaction only deepened Saitake's contempt.
A little girl, in the end. An excessively softhearted one at that. Yet she thought she could meddle in their world.
She had no idea what she was getting herself into.
That old man Tendo Kikunojo must be going senile, too. Did he really think he could mold someone like her into a capable leader?
"Now then, Mr. Kain. Let's hear your terms."
"Tell me everything you know about the Five Wings Association, including the identities of all its members."
Saitake's face instantly stiffened.
He had considered all sorts of demands.
That had never been one of them.
"What do you want that information for?"
"To wipe them out."
The blunt answer darkened Saitake's expression.
Apparently, cooperation was out of the question.
They might well be enemies instead.
"The Five Wings Association?"
Seitenshi quietly repeated the name.
She had never heard of such an organization. Clearly, though, it was no ordinary group. Merely mentioning it had made the president's expression turn alarmingly grim.
She glanced at Kikunojo.
His expression hadn't changed. Perhaps he was simply composed enough to conceal his reaction. She couldn't tell whether he knew anything about the organization.
One thing seemed certain, however: he wasn't a member.
If he were, he and Saitake wouldn't be such bitter enemies, each eager to see the other dead.
From the look of things, President Saitake himself belonged to the Five Wings Association.
Then, without warning, a wave of murderous intent washed over Seitenshi.
Cold gripped her entire body. It felt as though someone had stripped her bare and thrown her into an ice pit.
Bang!
A thunderous report erupted beside her, nearly deafening her.
Her pupils contracted.
Two clouds of blood burst directly in front of her, spraying flesh in every direction.
The two guards who had been standing beside Saitake were gone.
They had apparently lunged to attack, only for Kain's bullets to tear them apart before they could reach him.
By the time Seitenshi recovered enough to look at Saitake, he had already slammed into the floor.
Kain had one foot planted on him.
Wait.
Was that blood underneath the president, too?
A moment later, one of Saitake's arms split lengthwise like a stalk of bamboo.
Even the bone inside had been cleanly divided.
The hand at the end of that arm held a short knife.
It, too, had been cut in two.
Apparently, the guards hadn't been the only ones to attack. Saitake himself had made a sudden move, only for the bayonet attached to Kain's handgun to slice through his arm.
But there was a more pressing problem.
Kain had already aimed the gun at the president.
If he killed him here, the consequences would be disastrous.
"You dare kill me?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Don't you want the Five Wings Association's membership list?"
"You don't seem inclined to talk. Besides, do you really think I need that list so badly?"
"If you didn't need it, you wouldn't have asked. And surely you don't think a little advanced technology makes you invincible? No, you can't believe that yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't be asking me for names. You'd simply kill everyone standing in your way."
This man was powerful, but there had to be a limit.
He wasn't powerful enough to defy the entire world.
If he possessed that kind of strength, would he still need to make demands of Saitake?
That was why Saitake didn't believe Kain would actually kill him.
"You're right. I should just get on with it."
"Then go ah..."
Bang!
Another thunderous shot rang out.
A gaping hole replaced President Saitake and the floor beneath him.
Thump. Thump, thump.
Something roughly spherical struck a wall more than ten meters from the hole, dropped to the floor, and rolled before coming to a stop.
It was his head.
The blast hadn't destroyed it outright.
Its expression slowly froze in place, never to change again.
The final look on his face was one of bewilderment and disbelief.
He couldn't believe this was how he would end.
(End of Chapter)
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