K SIDE:RED Chapter 5.2

“The third king, Suou Mikoto, has infiltrated the Center!”

At that announcement, Mizuchi’s constant faint smile froze for one moment. He had been prepared for this, but he could feel panic bubbling around his heart. Mizuchi closed his eyes silently for a little while, and accepted that feeling. Even then, he had no intention of retreating. He had no intention of letting go of this ‘possibility’.

…yes, this 'possibility’. It was something worthy of being put on a scale against destruction.

Mizuchi slowly opened his eyes, and looked towards Anna. The doll-like girl looked up at him with a pale face.

“Are you feeling like a princess waiting for her rescue?” In response to Mizuchi’s words, Anna shook her head fiercely.

“I don’t want to be saved.” In response to Anna’s words, Mizuchi deepened his usual smile.

“About your aunt…" 

Anna’s shoulders shook a little.

"You’re going to protect her, aren’t you?”

With a fearful color in her marble-like eyes, she looked up and nodded.

“Then you’ll need to hurry. The only one who can stop a king is a king.”

You’ll need to hurry. Anna needed to become the blue king as quickly as possible. Mizuchi gently touched her hair. Straight hair that was cold like water.

“Pain in your heart, pain in your body… the more you’re driven, the more your power will increase. Now, you should be able to reach the 'Slate’.”

One more time, Mizuchi said in a whisper.

“We’ll make time. But you’re the only one who can stop the red king… don’t forget. You’re not a princess who’s waiting to be saved. You’re a knight who has the duty of protecting her precious aunt and a human with the caliber of becoming king.”

This is a bet, Mizuchi thought. Whether the red king made it here or the 'rabbits’ arrived before that, it would lead to Mizuchi’s destruction. But even risking that danger, Mizuchi couldn’t give up on Anna, on the 'Slate’. 

It had been over ten years since Mizuchi had become a golden clansman. The golden king’s eyes find the 'gold’ sleeping within a person- in other words, the person’s 'talent’. During the 'installation’, that 'talent’ is drawn out to its fullest and blossoms. Mizuchi gained a superpower from his 'installation’ to join the golden clan. It was a power of recovery and rebirth. When his powers awakened, Mizuchi, who had been a researcher until then, thought that it was his mission in life to /heal/ people. But that was just at the beginning.

Working beneath the golden wing, Mizuchi soon became unsatisfied. Was this really all, he felt as depression swelled within him. Having one’s 'talent’ blossom to its extreme… was also having one’s limits shown to them, and it was a denial of 'possibility’. One time, his fellow clansman had called the golden king an incarnation of 'fate’. They were a silly person satisfied in the 'talent’ brought out by the golden king, and they had decided to use up that 'talent’ for the golden clan and by extension the country. Mizuchi couldn’t empathize with them. He felt as though he had had his fate, his way of life decided for him by the golden king, as though all of his dreams and ambitions had been denied, and the depression within him increased. 

It was around that time that the Kagutsu Crater Incident occured. 

Mizuchi had watched the previous red king, Kagutsu Genji’s Sword of Damocles fall from what was barely a safe distance. 

It had been amazing. Just when he thought the red light had exploded, an incredible wave of heat pushed against him, and a great piece of land was burned up. For a moment, Mizuchi couldn’t understand what had happened. It took him some time to realize that that was a king’s discharge… that the Weismann factor had gone past its limit and the Sword of Damocles had fallen. 

The first thing he felt, before even fear, was admiration. He felt so much admiration that his body shook at the fact that a single person could hold this much power within them. He felt a crazed charm in and held a fierce interest in the mysterious object known as the 'Slate’. 

The Dresden Slate. The thing that had the power to change humanity’s history. Mizuchi drudged himself to death to acquire the seat of the Center’s chief while holding his feelings towards the 'Slate’ in his chest. He tried to get even one step closer to the 'Slate’ by researching Strains who were created by some sort of activity by it. 

The 'Slate’ was protected by the golden king himself. Even for a golden clansman, there weren’t many opportunities to experiment on it. But right now, within Mizuchi’s hands was a powerful Strain. With her power, they may be able to contact the 'Slate’. It may even be possible to 'create a king’. 

Mizuchi wanted that answer no matter what. At the moment, his boredom knew no end. If it was revealed that he had abused his position to perform inhumane experiments hidden from the 'Rabbits’, then he wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment. But if he managed to turn Anna into a king, he would get closer to the 'Slate’s’ mystery. He wouldn’t even mind becoming a blue clansman like that. If he managed to get blue power as well as golden, then the golden king would also no longer be able to deal with him as his own clansman. After that, he could just control Anna, the blue king, from the shadows. 

Anyway, now was the time.

Mizuchi ordered Anna to reach out to the 'Slate’ again and entrusted the researchers with her observation, as well as with 'helping’ her along if necessary before leaving her personal experimentation room. 

s.h.i.+otsu was waiting outside the room. As usual, he had a boring, flat look on his face and was wearing his uniform, which was supposed to be neat, all sloppily. This man couldn’t be said to have a good att.i.tude, but he’d do what he was told to the best of his ability and was skilled. He was  a prized security guard.

“s.h.i.+otsu-kun. Come with me.” Being spoken to, s.h.i.+otsu lazily moved to follow Mizuchi. Even though he was only about in his forties, he gave off the atmosphere of an old man. 

“Where to?” He asked.

“Floor B.” In response to Mizuchi’s short reply, s.h.i.+otsu’s eyebrow raised. Floor B. It was the floor where highly dangerous Strains who had stained their hands with violent crime were kept after being captured. In the past, the place where criminal Strains were kept was Scepter 4’s detention center, but because no one could be at ease keeping them there when the organization was weakening without its king, Mizuchi had taken all of those Strains into the Center. 

Strains who had committed violent crimes had powerful abilities. They didn’t interest him as much as Anna, but were still interesting samples. 

The research building of this Center was larger than it looked from outside. Above ground was the standard research labs and the facilities for housing the Strains who had no problems during their stays for examination. But the Center was stretched deep into the underground. The underground was completely cut off from the above ground facility. 

The floor here with Anna’s experimentation room was on the lowest floor. The floor above it was Floor B. 

“What exactly are you going to do there?”

“Preparations to slow down the red king.”

He spoke as he walked quickly down the hall. His head was already full of simulations of what he should do next, and he no longer paid attention to s.h.i.+otsu walking beside him.

With a heavy heart, s.h.i.+otsu followed Mizuchi from half a step behind. 

For his own desires and interest, he was cornering a child and now was about to use violent Strains. He was probably going to offer them a deal. Tell them that if they beat the man who was about to come here he’d free them, and so throw them against the red king. 

This man was heading towards destruction. s.h.i.+otsu thought that as he looked at Mizuchi from the side.

…no, he should be destroyed.

Surely it would be a tragedy if this man’s ambitions were granted, a poor child became a king, and this man and they, Scepter 4, managed to get away. Even as he thought that, within s.h.i.+otsu was no willpower to move against this man. Without objecting, without thinking, he would move as ordered. When, exactly, had such a thing become part of him. Thinking for just a moment, then soon ceasing such thoughts, s.h.i.+otsu deepened his frown and closed his eyes.

Once the twins had stopped fighting separately and returned to their usual fighting style… to where they attack one target with the two of them, their strength increased greatly.

The twins were now only blocking Fus.h.i.+mi’s attacks and stubbornly targeting Yata. Black haired Hayato’s saber sharply stabbed at Yata’s stomach. When he blocked it with his bat, brown haired Akito would aim for the blind spot created and slice down at Yata’s neck. When Yata somehow did something about that while getting cut shallowly on his neck and shoulder and tried to counterattack, Hayato cut at his back. 

Fus.h.i.+mi swung his knives surrounded by red power, flicking away Hayato’s saber and feinting with his throwing knives. Hayato flicked the throwing knives away, but he was still mostly focused on Yata rather than Fus.h.i.+mi. 

“Are… these guys really blues?” Yata glared at the blues while breathing heavily. His various shallow cuts hurt annoyingly and began to bleed. The twins giggled. They smiled, in a way that could be described as sweetly, which didn’t match their indifferent features. 

“Isn’t it late to be saying that?”

“We’re Scepter 4.”

“We bring justice to those who sin.”

“We’re guardians of our cause.”

Yata spat out a 'keh’. Fakey. Stupid. Of course he knew that these guys were part of the blue clan. But they weren’t humans working for a great cause like they bragged. In fact, most of the blue clansmen here had nothing great like a 'cause’. He could tell by looking at the eyes of the blue clansmen who were facing off against the Homura members. They contained nothing like heat.

They had a blue barrier up around the area, and they tried to stop their opponents while protecting themselves from flames and strikes. But that was just like it was a ch.o.r.e, a fighting style straight out of a manual. They had no light in their eyes. It might appear nice and proper, but to Yata, they seemed to just be fighting as part of their job. 

The current of the battle seemed equal at the time, but even if the other side’s swords were sharper, or their skill was a bit higher, he didn’t feel that Homura would lose. But within that, the twins in front of Yata and Fus.h.i.+mi stuck out. It wasn’t a cause moving the twins. And yet, they weren’t doing it for work, either. 

It may have been most accurate to say they were playing. The swords they aimed at Yata with their eyes sparkling didn’t have the aim of stopping him. They were swinging their power around like a toy and showing it off. They were like children. And to make things worse, their toy was quite brutal.

Yata, while being attacked, hadn’t taken a serious injury. But, the small damages were adding up and he was getting worn down. Yata irritably wiped off the blood slowly dripping from his neck to his collarbone. It was a place where, if it had been a bit deeper, it would have definitely endangered his life. Yata, who had just become a clansman and didn’t have much battle experience realized that again and felt a chill. Faint gooseb.u.mps came up on his arm. 

“What’s wrong?”

“You don’t have time to be thinking, do you?”

The twins leaped as they spoke in turn. The next moment, Hayato landed in front of Yata and brandished his blade. As he stepped back and barely dodged, he heard a metallic clang behind him. Just from their presence, he knew that as he had been attacked from the front he had also been targeted from behind, which Fus.h.i.+mi had prevented. Without even waiting a moment, Yata used his deeply twisted knee as a spring to jump forward, putting the power of flame into his metal bat and swung at the side of Hayato’s face. 

His opponent had an opening from missing his attack. The other half, Akito, was still facing Fus.h.i.+mi and couldn’t help in time. But Hayato’s reflexes weren’t normal, either. He caught Yata’s bat on the hilt of his sword. 

Another metallic clang resounded.

Yata pressed forward strongly, and used the reaction to jump back in order to avoid staying like that. Hayato raised the corners of his mouth as though impressed. With an expression that almost said 'You can do this a little, huh’, he looked at Yata, who felt blood rus.h.i.+ng to his head. 

…this guy is certain that he’s going to win. 

Hayato’s expression had no panic or fear. In fact, he seemed glad, and looked at Yata like a beast licking its lips in front of prey. 

“Yata.” Fus.h.i.+mi called him. It wasn’t the given name Yata got annoyed at. It was a serious tone and a serious way of calling him. 

“There’s no end to it like this. We’ll both aim for one guy at once, too.” In response to that hushed announcement, Yata widened his eyes.

“Don’t joke around! How could we do something unfair like that!” When he lashed out, Fus.h.i.+mi glared at him in annoyance.

“I haven’t been able to do anything but cover for you. It’s p.i.s.sing me off already.” While Fus.h.i.+mi’s words were flat, they had a dangerous tone beneath them. Enough to make even Yata scared for a moment. Fus.h.i.+mi was truly irritated. Yata stopped howling carelessly and tightened his expression.

“…even then, I won’t fight unfairly." 

Fus.h.i.+mi glared strictly at Yata. Yata returned that gaze straight on, then looked towards the twins. 

"Thing is, Saru. I won’t be satisfied if I don’t beat up these prideless jerks head on.” He intentionally said it loud enough for the twins to hear. Their eyebrows twitched.

“Prideless? What do you mean by that?”

“Are you going to use us fighting unfairly as an excuse for why you can’t beat us?”

Yata laughed out loud as if to make fun of them.

“Wrong. I’m not gonna say this or that about your way of doing things.” Yata’s eyes, which were already showing their whites, sharpened their gaze as they watched the twins. The annoyance he had always felt since meeting these twins. Even though even these guys must have been attracted by their king, chosen, and given power, they used their fellow clansmen as though they didn’t care about them. On top of that, they used the power they once received from their king like waving a toy around.

Yata’s powers were something he received from Suou. These powers were his pride, and something to be used for Suou’s sake. He glared sharply at the twins.

“I just can’t stand you guys when you’re waving around the power you got from your king without any honor, like you’re playing or something!”

“What do you know?” Akito raised his voice like a beast’s growl, which didn’t suit his indifferent face.

Minato Hayato with black hair, and Minato Akito with brown hair. Those twins, who could only really be told apart by the color of their hair, let a blue light rise fiercely from their blue-clad bodies like steam. It’s something that occurs when a clansman raises their power. Now, it seemed like the twins were surrounded by blue fire.

“I’ll leave my back to you.” Yata said this to Fus.h.i.+mi while keeping his eyes on the twins. Fus.h.i.+mi looked like he wanted to respond, but Yata ignored him, raised his hands, and tied up the power within him. The flames within his body. Having them flare up for a moment, but not let them flow out of control, as though bringing up a spear of flame, concentrating it on one point and sharpening it, he imagined something like that. From Yata’s heightened body, like the twins, flames the color of his king fiercely rose up. 

The color of Yata’s light was Suou’s red.

He felt the mark of Homura, the 'proof’ of being Suou’s clansman on his left collarbone take on heat.