A NEW MYSTERY

“There’s an invisible shield around your gauntlet, something like glass, am I right?” I said, confident I saw through their tech.

“Glass from the bubble—a mixture of calcite and quartz. How did you break that thing?”

“From the bubble? I can’t believe you got access to that,” said Kouji, clearly shaken by how a regular person could obtain that glass. It was true; the bubble—an invisible protective layer surrounding all cities and villages to shield us from the sun and regulate its rays—wasn’t easy to come by. The fact that regular people had these shields probably hurt this important status.

“Bubble or not, I simply noticed how your subordinate had to remove one bullet after I shot two in the same place. It seems the shield doesn’t block bullets but traps them in the shield.” I said, firing a bullet at their leader, then another in the same spot, pushing the first one slightly deeper into the shield, and then a third.

“Don’t think I’ve come this far only to stop now!” he shouted, charging at me with his shield raised. I had one last bullet to fire to break the shield completely, but he got rid of the gauntlet since it was useless now, and closed the distance, kicking the pistol out of my hand. However, it was already too late for him to turn the tide of the fight.

“I was waiting for this the whole time,” said Masashi, pulling the pin on a smoke grenade, giving us the cover we needed to run to the plates. "Hurry up everyone!"

“Ryo, get out of the smoke already!” shouted Riko, who was with the rest of the crew.

“I have to get one of these. I’d feel even more powerful with it,” I uttered to myself, standing in the smoke and removing the shield device from one of the dead attackers. A strange feeling washed over me as I held it—like the gauntlet, like the one gun before it, had chosen me. It felt like these powers were becoming my identity, like I’d be nothing without them, and without them, I wouldn’t have the strength to save her.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Do you think I’d stay behind?” I said, getting out of the smoke and stepping onto the plate, but—

“I’ve caught you. You’re not getting away,” said their leader, jumping onto my plate just as it was about to take off.

“Just who even are you!?” I yelled, trying to shove him off. The only visible part of him was his eyes, and even as he confronted me, he wouldn’t stop glaring at the officials.

“Get off the plate! I have to use it!” he demanded, punching the left side of my stomach

“Are you insane? Do you want to crash and die!?” I retaliated, , hitting the right side of his jaw.

We were hurtling down to the first floor, exchanging blows without either of us backing down—though, truth be told, we couldn’t even give up, as our feet were stuck to the plate, pushing us into constant conflict.

“This is good. We’re already near the third floor. When I get off this plate, I’m kicking your ass,” I said, blood covering my face as I grabbed his hoodie.

“That’s my line! You’ll pay for standing in my way!” he growled, clutching my uniform, leaning his head back in pain.

Suddenly, the plate began malfunctioning, and I didn't feel my feet stuck anymore.

“Shit, what’s happening to the plate—?”

“Ryo!?” shouted Riko as she saw the two of us falling.

Before I realized it, I was on the ground, and I couldn’t feel anything. Lying there, I stared up at all of the floors above me

“They do say the higher you climb, the harder you fall. But I don’t have time to waste,” I muttered, slowly forcing myself to stand. The enemy was already on his feet, aiming his gun at me. From the shocked crowd surrounding us, I spotted Kouji, who had been separated after he got off his plate, standing nearby.

“I’m not dying as a symbol today,” I said, grabbing Kouji and using him as a shield just as the leader fired. The bullet only grazed Kouji, probably because the shooter realized he would hit the target he wanted alive.

“Shit, what are you doing out of the blue !?” the leader shouted, realizing just in time what I did.

“Leave the kids alone, man. They’re just doing their job,” said the stranger who helped us on the street earlier, landing a clean punch on the leader.

“Tch, I guess it’ll have to be another day for this,” muttered the leader, shaking off the stranger's punch and vanishing into the crowd.

I finally got a good look at the stranger’s face as he stared at me briefly before disappearing as well.

“This is unacceptable! I’ll report this to the higher court and—”

“We got you to the first floor, General Kouji. I’d say we did our job,” said Masashi, appearing and helping me stand.

“Tch. I want all the information about today’s attackers, especially how Selenorans managed to infiltrate the facility,” Kouji barked at a security guard.

“But sir, they apparently entered using Amethystian cards.”

“What!? Are you saying this was our own people’s doing?”

“N-no, sir… but that’s what they used to gain entry.” said the guard, unable to satisfy Kouji's ego that was hurt.

“Sorry we were late,” Masashi said, supporting me as I limped.

“It’s fine. It hurts, but nothing seems broken.”

“Shock-absorbing surfaces. They’ve been implemented since there were incidents like these in the past. You’re dismissed for now, but we’ll see each other again,” said Kouji, leaving with his men.

“Well, I guess science does explain my luck” I said, remembering Doctor Arata's words

“Let’s just get to the place Rin sent us and get you treated better,” said Riko, searching on her phone as we stepped outside the facility.

“I think… that our village burning was the worst thing that happened to us,” said Masashi, staring at the chaos in the building.

“And not get the chance to change anything?” I said, wiping the blood off my face. “I’m done sitting back and doing nothing—”

“Get your hands off my purse!” screamed a woman near the entrance. It was a thief, attacking her.

“Get your hands off her, or I’ll shoot!” Riko shouted, raising her gun. They were apparently ready to go at it again even after such an incident in the building.

“The cops already? This is the worst possible thing! You guys always think you know everything!” the thief yelled, rushing at Riko with a modified crowbar covered in spikes and equipped with an electric current.

Even though I was beaten up, I could feel the knife in my pocket screaming at me, “Use me.” A rush of power surged through me as I stared at the weakling, knowing I could end this easily. My hand moved on its own, and I brushed off Masashi who was supporting me, melting the weapon he had struggled to create. 

“A knife pre-charged with sun power? There’s no way…” he muttered, falling to his knees as he stared at the remains of his weapon.

“Those are… pills?” Riko asked. The woman’s purse had torn, spilling pills onto the ground.

“I just bought them and was about to leave because of the chaos inside , that's when he attacked me“ Said the woman , grabbing her medication.

“Should we bring him to the nearest police station?” Riko asked.

“N-no, please! I can’t go back there again! Lady, at least give some of them to my sister. You already have enough for yourself!”

“Your sister? Did you try to steal these pills for her?” Masashi asked, picking up one of the pills.

“I can’t be caught like this… The defense department is tracking my record.”

“Why are you on their list?” Asked Riko, curious about the ties he had with the army.

“I refused to take the injection. There’s no way I’d accept it after what happened.”

“You mean the injection for radiation? Why would you refuse to take it?” Masashi asked. It was a fair question. The radiation injection was given to everyone since the air still carries particles from the Third World War.

“The injection… makes you sick. My sister’s been suffering since she took it. She fainted a lot and got sudden headaches. Then she fell into a coma…”

“Are you sure this isn’t a coincidence? What do you know about it?” I asked, unwilling to believe him—or rather, denying the similarities to my mom’s case.

“The injection might do more than just that… but that’s all I know. I swear.”

“What do we do with him, Masashi?”

“The police robot didn’t detect a usage of strength. Just go home and take care of your sister without committing more crimes. It looks like you couldn't even hurt this woman."

“Thank you… Thank you so much,” he said, still agitated, about to leave.

“Hey, what are your names?” Masashi asked, stopping him.

“I’m Inosuke, and my sister’s name is Mitsuri.”

“Ryo… isn’t the military producing these injections? What’s going on?” Riko asked, looking back at the facility with distrust.

“I’ll find out what they’re hiding, even if it kills me.”

“Let’s head to the designated spot and rest,” said Masashi, holding his wounds.

Everything has changed now. I can’t stop feeling the need to uncover the truth about her condition—perhaps just to find comfort in knowing it wasn’t my fault, that I did everything I could to help her in those mines.