"Brother…what happened to Horobi?!"
Seeing Horobi's face twist in agony after injecting that black fluid, Mui realized the Kabaneri heart inside her was glowing fiercely. A vague sense of danger pulsed through the air.
Biba explained flatly, without a shred of emotion:
"That's Black Plasma—a drug that greatly increases the virus's activity."
"She'll beco a Black Smoke. I need her to test exactly what kind of 'god' is on the Koutetsujou."
He showed no sign of concern or guilt for what he'd done to Horobi, who so deeply revered him.
"…."
Horobi, in her last shred of sanity, looked at Biba's unmoved expression. There was no pain in her eyes—only resignation and relief.
"Aaaaaaahh!!!"
Black liquid burst forth from her heart, and Horobi let out a terrifying scream. Her eyes burned red with madness—completely losing all reason.
"Black Smoke!!!"
The horrifying transformation made Mui's blood run cold. She knew what a Black Smoke was.
"Brother, why…why do this?"
She couldn't understand why the brother she revered would inject such a bizarre drug into Horobi, who had done nothing wrong.
Biba's eyes remained icy.
"For my revenge. I can't afford any mistakes."
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
Horobi roared mindlessly, her body mutating.
"Let's go."
Biba turned to leave the house, knowing the birth of a Black Smoke here was dangerous. But after a few steps, he noticed Mui wasn't following him.
She stared at him, eyes dim.
"I'm sorry, Brother, but I can't abandon my friends."
She pulled away the ribbon on her neck, gave Horobi a complicated look, then rushed past Biba in a blur.
She had to warn Aya and the others.
"….."
Biba watched Mui's retreating figure for a long mont before turning away, expression grim.
At the sa ti, the presence of the mutated Horobi attracted a large horde of Kabane converging on Iwato Station.
…
Late Night at Rei Ao's Place
Sora and Ilia were sound asleep, stomachs filled with contentnt.
Tohru, however, was pouting.
"Damn it, Mai… She said she wouldn't join."
She glared at Mai, who was lying face-down and too exhausted to retort, making Tohru even more annoyed. She reached out and pinched Mai's flushed cheeks.
"Tch!"
Mai glared back as best she could, though her eyes were glazed with fatigue.
"Hmph, that's what you get for breaking your promise. After Sora and Ilia were done, the rest of the ti was supposed to be MINE!"
Tohru put on a pitiful expression, but Rei Ao only chuckled from where he was "driving."
"There's always next ti, Tohru. Since Mai finally let herself go, there was no way I could miss out on this chance."
"W-What chance?" Mai asked hazily. She'd barely managed to see or think straight under all that noise. With Tohru and the others going at it so energetically, she couldn't possibly sleep, and when she opened her eyes—well, she'd ended up getting involved.
But Rei Ao's words sounded ominous, making her tense up.
He leaned down, raising the intensity of his movents as he whispered in her ear:
"The chance to push your limits, Mai. I'm hoping next ti gumi and the others join in, too."
"Eh?!"
That bombshell left Mai stunned.
Sure enough, it started with just her. Then Tohru. Now Sora and Ilia. She really had been slowly coming to accept more and more.
Realizing that, her entire body stiffened. It felt like she was being gradually trained—willingly entrapped in a net Rei Ao had woven.
"Hmm?"
Rei Ao suddenly frowned. It wasn't because of the sensations from the "connector" they were using but rather because of a ssage from the Aya World chat group. Mui had @ntioned him.
Mui: "@Rei Ao, Rei Ao-sama, are you there?"
This surprised him—Mui had rarely contacted him, so whatever happened must be big.
He said in a low voice,
"Mai, sothing ca up. This is the last round!"
"!!!"
Mai felt the bed move beneath an intense surge of force. She completely lost control of herself as Rei Ao delivered an overwhelming final rush.
"Gulp!"
Tohru, who'd been watching, swallowed hard.
If one "sewing-machine speed" was the standard, Rei Ao's phantom-like movents had reached triple that rate, at least.
But Tohru wasn't afraid—she was envious. If Mai hadn't joined, it would've been her enjoying that final burst.
"Hah…"
Rei Ao let out a breath. Even in his finishing monts, he swiftly responded to Mui:
Rei Ao: "What happened to make you contact all of a sudden?"
Mui was thrilled to see his reply:
Mui: "Rei Ao-sama! You can turn Kabane back into humans—does that an you could also revert a Kabaneri who's beco the core of a Black Smoke?"
Her heart pounded in her chest.
"Mui…"
Yukina patted Mui's shoulder in silent support.
Before them lay the massive body of a Black Smoke. However, the entire creature was frozen in place, every part of it sealed under ice arrows fired by Aya's frost bow. At level 23 now, Aya could slay a Black Smoke in an instant—but she'd held off at Mui's plea because the being at the core was soone Mui knew.
Everyone waited anxiously for Rei Ao's response. If it was "no," Aya would imdiately fire another ice arrow to destroy the Black Smoke's core.
But thankfully, Rei Ao didn't refuse:
Rei Ao: "It probably won't be a problem."
What he couldn't do before might be possible now.
Mui: "Thank goodness! That's such a relief!"
Tears of joy rolled down Mui's cheeks. Though Horobi was just a "colleague" and not really a friend, Mui still couldn't bear to watch her die so miserably at Biba's hands.
Rei Ao: "So you want to bring this Black Smoke's core back to human form?"
Mui: "Please, Rei Ao-sama, save her!"
[Ding! Mui has sent a trade request!]
[Trade Details]: Restore Horobi, the Black Smoke's core, to human form.
[Ding! Please choose your trade terms!]
~~~
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