"Giving something that valuable to someone? Who is that person!"
Walker finally exploded. The blond-haired man with sharp blue eyes grabbed Omar's collar and lifted the frail body roughly. His hair, which had been neatly combed back, was now slightly disordered, yet the anger on his face stood out far more than his appearance.
"Hehehe…"
Omar's hoarse laughter came out just like that. In his eyes, Walker's anger looked almost amusing. The reaction made the veins at Walker's temples visibly bulge. Without hesitation he swung his fist.
THUD!THUD!THUD!
Blow after blow struck Omar's face mercilessly. The old body staggered, yet Walker continued venting his rage. Five minutes passed before he finally stopped. Omar's face was already battered, blood flowing from the corner of his lips and nose.
Walker stared at him again with a murderous gaze.
"Don't make me angry for the last time, Omar. The reason you were in your position before was because of me! And this is how you repay it!"
"Cough… cough…"
Omar coughed violently. Blood sprayed from his mouth, his body trembling as he endured the pain spreading across his crushed face. Yet in the middle of that condition, his answer remained calm.
"I do not regret it."
Walker's patience finally ran out completely. He slammed Omar to the ground brutally, then grabbed a pistol from one of his subordinates. The weapon was pointed straight at the researcher's head.
At that moment, a subordinate standing closest hurriedly warned him.
"Lord, if we lose this traitor, the other elders will surely protest you."
Walker snorted softly.
"Heh, it doesn't matter. After all, we can create another Mato Essence. Even though he destroyed the traces of his research, from the beginning we already had backup data at the center, didn't we?"
He paused for a moment, then looked at Omar once again.
"And I still have one last question for you, Omar."
Omar, lying on the ground, tried to lift his head. His eyes stared straight at the muzzle of the pistol before him, listening to every word Walker spoke with the remainder of his consciousness.
"Mato Essence… it doesn't only extract the peach fruit, does it? There is something you mixed into it. Could it be… Eve?"
For the first time since earlier, Omar fell silent.
Walker's guess was almost correct. Yet in that silence, Walker instead took it as confirmation. A faint smile appeared on the man's face—a belief that mass production of Mato Essence was now possible, as long as they possessed the main ingredient.
What Walker did not know was one crucial thing: the true method was known only by Omar. Without it, all the data they possessed were nothing more than pieces of a puzzle without the key.
As he realized that his life had truly reached its end, Omar only chuckled softly. In his mind, he felt his task had been completed.
The rest… would become that boy's responsibility.
Kazuma Satou.
The young man who now unknowingly carried the potential that would become the center of a great conflict in the future. Omar believed in his own judgment. If there was one remaining possibility to change this world, then the seed had already been planted.
Walker pulled the trigger.
BANG!
/---/
Inside the airplane, Kazuma suddenly felt something in the pocket of his jacket. He reached inside and found a small flash drive.
"Hmm? When did I get this?"
The question immediately appeared in his mind. From its shape and model it was clearly not his. Most likely it belonged to someone who accidentally left it behind or somehow slipped into his pocket. Yet for some reason, there was a strange feeling that stopped him from handing it over to the airport staff as a lost item.
His intuition told him something different.
'What exactly is this?'
He himself did not understand why he felt that way. Besides that, his body suddenly felt warm even slightly hot followed by a mild dizziness that came without warning. Assuming it was simply the effect of exhaustion after the long trip, Kazuma eventually decided to close his eyes and sleep. Without realizing it, something was beginning to change inside his body.
After the plane landed in Tokyo, Kazuma returned to the modest house left behind by his grandfather. The house was not large, but it was comfortable enough for one person to live in. He had been living alone for a long time.
His father died while trying to protect him inside a shelter when a group of Shuuki managed to break through the defenses. The memory of that day remained vague in his mind only the sounds of chaos and the image of his father standing in front of him, his body trembling yet not stepping back even once.
His mother now lay in a coma in a hospital. She used to be a member of the Anti-Demon Corps, a frontline soldier who carried out her duties without ever complaining. The cost of her treatment was fully covered by the state as a form of respect for her service.
That condition happened after the Kyoto Incident. At that time, a powerful Shuuki with mental abilities attacked the city. The creature was eventually defeated by the commander of Division 10 of the Anti-Demon Corps, Tobera Azuma. However, the victory still came with casualties. One of them was Kazuma's mother.
For Kazuma, his mother had always been a strong and disciplined figure. Unlike many other women in the world who had grown accustomed to looking down on men due to the new social norms. His mother was never like that. She continued to treat Kazuma with respect and responsibility as family, even though she herself was a frontline soldier.
Upon arriving home, Kazuma first performed a short prayer ritual in front of his father's photograph. After that he began tidying the house alone, a routine that had long become part of his life.
That night he prepared a simple dinner: rolled omelet and a bowl of warm miso soup.
While eating, his mind returned to the flash drive he had found on the plane. There was a strange urge pushing him to immediately find out what was inside it. In the end he decided to check it after finishing dinner.
A few minutes later, after clearing the table and washing the dishes, he took a shower and rested for a moment. When his body finally felt refreshed, Kazuma turned on his laptop and plugged in the flash drive.
The contents inside were surprisingly few.
There was only one video file with a duration of five minutes.
Curiosity made him open the file immediately.
The screen showed an old man sitting inside a study room. His face looked tired, but his eyes were sharp.
Kazuma hesitated slightly. For a Japanese person, opening a personal recording like this felt impolite, almost like violating someone else's privacy. Yet his intuition told him he had to watch it until the end.
"If you are opening this video, it means I am already dead."
A very absurd opening.
"My name is Omar Bradley. I am a researcher from an organization called Eden. This organization was founded with the purpose of creating a peach fruit that also affects men. It was established around fifty years ago… and I am one of its founders."
The man then placed a small tube filled with bright yellow liquid in front of the camera.
"This is my greatest work. I call it Mato Essence. This liquid can be considered the purest form of the power of the peach fruit. It does not only affect women, but also men. Based on the theory I studied, I was convinced it was possible. The reason I made this video… is to explain the truth about Eden."
Without realizing it, Kazuma began focusing on listening.
As if something inside him was pushing him not to miss a single word.
Omar then explained about the Eden organization a group of men obsessed with the idea of "superior humans" and wanting to return the world to the old norms. He admitted that he himself had once been a victim of the injustice of the new norms, until he finally accepted an offer from a mysterious man named Abel who motivated them to conduct unethical experiments.
With a face full of regret, Omar admitted all the atrocities they committed in order to achieve that goal.
He explained about Project Eve, the failure of Golden Apple, Project Adam, until finally the creation of Mato Essence.
"I am a scientist… but if hell truly exists, I will probably be thrown there."
He lowered his head for a moment before continuing.
"I wanted to destroy this Mato Essence. But before I could do it, that man named Abel appeared again in my dream. He told me not to do it… because a greater danger is approaching."
At that moment he abandoned his intention because of that vague message, because within himself there was a strong belief to trust Abel. Omar explained that after the secret of Mato Essence leaked, the members of Eden became mad with their new ambition. They planned a continuation project called Neo-human.
"I am explaining all this to you for one reason. If you are watching this video… it means I have already injected that Mato Essence into your body."
Kazuma slightly frowned.
"You will be hunted by madmen. There is a reason why you were chosen. Find that reason. It may sound absurd… but the man named Abel might know the answer."
Omar looked at the camera seriously one last time.
"My final message do not get caught too quickly. And always be cautious of the people around you."
The video ended.
Kazuma remained silent for a moment in front of the laptop screen. He replayed the old man's words in his mind.
'Did this guy have chuunibyou syndrome?'
The entire video used English, but Kazuma understood enough of its contents. To him it all sounded like the story of a madman full of conspiracies and nonsense.
"Yeah… at least it was entertaining."
He casually closed his laptop.
When he was about to grab a glass to drink, his gaze suddenly fell on his own hand.
"Hah?"
Kazuma rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong.
But when he opened them again, the back of his right hand was truly emitting a faint red glow.
Without realizing it, his hand gripped the glass too tightly.
CRACK!
The glass shattered inside his grasp.