Chapter 12 Arc 1 —- “The CAU”

—Where am I?

“Hey, man, can I get that card? ”

“How much are you willing to buy it from me? ”

Sasaki’s eyes slowly opened up, and his blurry eyes turned from each corner, seeing five men heavily armed with rifles holding cards in their hands. He tried to move, yet he noticed he was strapped in a straitjacket. With an iron mask wrapped around his mouth.

“Hmm, I’d say two hundred thousand.”

“Mmfrr Hmrfmmmm! ”

“You’re joking…”

He tried to scream, aggressively wiggling around the van in a frenzied manner, while the guards paid little to no attention to him, as they were exchanging their trading cards.

Annoyed that they were paying no attention, he wiggled to one of the guards while he was strapped in a chair, headbutting one of them-

“Argh! You damn bastard! ”

The man picked up his rifle, and along with his comrades, they began bashing their rifles at Sasaki, as his cries of pain were muffled by the mask.

As they were beating him up, one of the men accidentally opened fire, piercing through the fiber supporting the iron mask.

Seeing this as an open opportunity, he bit the rifle about to be bashed off his face, destroying its muzzle, before he sat up to bite off a chunk in between the man's legs.

“Get him off! Get him off! ”

Suddenly, the van stopped at a tunnel as a woman opened the door with an exasperated look. She had charming gray eyes and chestnut-brown hair; her figure was small, but oh boy was it seductive.

“What the hell are you doing?! ”

The armed men stopped as they sat back down on their seats while the woman held the door open. Sasaki let go of the man’s groin, staring at the woman.

She was beautiful, more beautiful than Momo. He was delighted to see yet another Goddess like Miyuki to dwell on this accursed land. Oh, how unworthy of him to lay his eyes upon her, but he couldn’t help it.

“Goddess?! Is that a Goddess! ”

“Huh? ”

“Akari-senpai, what’s going on here? ”

She was confused by Sasaki's words as a young man with a tall stature approached her. He was charming, but there was nothing notable about his appearance except for his face and the eyepatch he wore.

“Captain Ryuji! ”

One of the soldiers called out,

“What’s the fuss about? Can’t you handle one kigai bearer? ”

“Sir, we’re sincerely—”

“Goddess! ”

“Shut up, dammit! ”

Sasaki was sticking his tongue out like a dog who was begging for a treat, while Ryuji stared at him, irritated and puzzled by the entire situation.

He had met a bunch of mental criminals before, but this guy didn’t feel like he was off his rocker. And moreover–

“Where is his iron collar? ”

“He pried it out, Captain.”

The soldier replied nervously, knowing the real reason as to why his collar was gone—he didn’t want to lose his job after all, so he had to lie.

Ryuji had gotten even more perplexed by the situation. First, this half-insane man, and second, he pried out a collar that prevents Kigai bearers from using their abilities? He was just insane.

—Just who the hell is this guy…

“Woman! Marry me! ”

“Huh?!”

All of them shouted in unison, perplexed by the sudden proposal. The woman’s face turned red as she walked out of the entrance and returned to the driver’s seat.

“So that’s what happened, Yozo-san.”

Ryuji replied to Yozo while they were walking inside the bunker.

The hallway was just one straight path, with metal doors in every corner. The lights were blood-red and the atmosphere was moody; nevertheless, it didn’t have much effect on the two.

Yozo looked surprised and confused by Ryuji’s story. He’d never thought the day would come that someone could break through the anti-kigai mask. Was it pure brute strength that broke it, or pure wits? Though he doubted the second option.

Although the thought of a psychotic dumbass marrying his cousin began haunting him ever since they were on the way to the holding cell.

Ryuji, noticing something off, turned to Yozo for a moment in a look of concern and curiosity.

“What’s wrong, Yozo-san? ”

“Nothing.”

“Well then, shall we? ”

Yozo nodded as Ryuji opened the door, revealing Sasaki in a white room. He was wrapped in a straitjacket, with his neck strapped to the walls, preventing him from moving, though he wasn’t wearing anything that rendered him unable to speak.

Sasaki turned to Yozo in confusion.

“Hey, wasn’t it supposed to be that chick interrogating me? ”

Ryuji stared silently at Sasaki as Yozo walked in with a wide grin; he sat down, placing his foot on the table.

“Hey! I only consented to this because I want the chick to date—I mean, interrogate me! ”

Ryuji handed Sasaki the cold shoulder, walking away as the metal door closed by itself.

“Hello, I'm Yozo Nakahara, from the Counter Anomaly Unit, founder of the 13th Division. I'll be interrogating you today, Sasaki-san.”

“Where's the chick? ”

“Aka-chan? Well, my cousin won't be available right now due to specific circumstances. Since you've requested “Nakahara” to be the one to interrogate you, I'll be the one to entertain.”

—I knew those bastards in black were lying when they told me to ask for Nakahara… I swear, if I get out here I'll beat their asses.

“Huh? She’s your cousin? ”

Sasaki appraised him with a blank look on his face. To be honest, the two didn’t look alike. Unlike the girl, he looked more like Lucifer than an archangel serving the Goddess herself, comparing his face to the painting of the Fallen Angel.

“I’m not buying it; you’re a devil compared to your cousin.”

“Huh?! What part of me doesn't scream cousin to you?! ”

“Everything—”

Yozo slammed the table out of frustration and irritation from Sasaki's attitude-

“That's cruel! ”

He stared blankly at Yozo, unfazed. He'd started to think may have some kind of narcissistic complex, or maybe…

“Don't tell me... ”

“Wha—”

“You love your cousin! As in love love! ”

Yozo stood confused by his statement, rubbing his chin, trying to make a point from his words.

“What the hell are you–”

Like electricity flowing through a wire, he had concluded.

“No, it's not like that! ”

“It is–”

“It's not! ”

Out of nowhere, a static had through the corners of the small white room.

“Mic test mic test, ahem… Yozo, if you're done asking your future in law about his love interest, would you mind doing your job? ”

“Yeah, whatever, Ryu-chi, anyways. How would you like to be interrogated? ”

Sasaki stared at Yozo's dead green eyes as he sat down, leaning closer to him.

He looked like he was going to torture him for answers, but to be fair, he doesn't even know half of what the hell was happening.

First, he woke up inside a van wrapped in a straitjacket; second, he met this devil with a lifeless smile on his face. Anyone with that kind of look meant bad news.

So since he was meant to choose whether he'd be interrogated with physical torture or not... Well, the choice is obvious.

“Please don't torture me.”

“Who said I was gonna torture you? ”

“You look like you're going to.”

Yozo sighed, wondering how he got riled up into this mess. Sasaki was the first one to ask for him, and Sasaki doesn't even know how his ability works…

“Hey… are you sure you asked for me and not my cousin? ”

“I asked for your cousin, duhh! ”

—Seriously… what's up with this kid? It said on the papers he requested for me specifically… does he know the difference between Ms. and Mr?

“Okay, I guess I'll just explain it to you. Would you rather I interrogate you in my way or the traditional way? As part of the covenant I've made, I'm not allowed to kill you during the process of interrogation. So, which do you prefer? ”

—Kill? Wait wait, wait, aren't we going over the line here?!

“Kill? What do you mean by that—”

“How any other person defines the word.”

Sasaki felt a chilling sensation in his spine as he looked into Yozo's eyes. His eyes didn't look human at all, nor did his entire body scream human.

Whenever he met someone stronger, he would have the same chills he was feeling right now, but… those people were still human.

—This guy…

Yozo cleared his throat as the tone of his voice had changed into a serious manner.

“Well, let's begin.”

To Be Continued...