Another spark jumped between electrode and metal sheet, effectively meld them together. That was the last sheet for Link Support Device casing, if I read the schematic right. My welding skill was among the best in maintenance crew, thanks to my immunity against virtually any hazard. Why? It simply because I didn't need any protection. Not those heavy welding mask, or cumbersome insulating cloth, not even those stupidly thick welding gloves. That made me much nimbler and accurate than other crew. I did need darker welding goggles though, for my eyes were extremely sensitive.
Stretching my hands after working for few hours felt quite nice. Not that I need it. Ever since I was changed, never once I felt a sore muscle. But it just like they said, old habits die hard. Another part of protective casing finished and ready to be placed. Without Licca my progress reduced to a complete halt. Creating a circuit board from scratch was beyond my capabilities, so I created its frame and casing instead.
I took few steps back and examined my handiwork. Pride swelled in me. Three weeks ago this thing was merely a sketch, a rejected schematic. Fenrir deemed it a waste of resources, I deemed it a waste of potential.
Working in this place was quite exhausting, mentally, so I decided to take a break. Becoming an Aragami didn't strengthen my mind, scratch that, it gave me troublesome Aragami instinct instead. My nose scrunched from my own foul stench, I was covered in greases, oil, rust, and dust. Having extraordinary senses had its own drawback it seems.
Back in my bathroom, my laundry bin filled with stained Fenrir uniform. Slowly, I sat in the tub, allowing warm water around me carried my mind off. Lindow had gone missing for four days now. I never found his track, no matter how hard I tried. It was frustrating. No point in having a sharp senses if I couldn't even track a single person.
Stench that tainted me faded with each scrub, replaced with fresh lavender from my soap. It took more than just few swipes to washed the stench away, but in the end, I managed to.
This bath reminded me of Lindow's house nine years ago. Back then, he still a young corporal, yet he had saved enough to buy a small house in the Outer Ghetto southern district. One day he brought us a brand new bunk bed and a bathtub out of the blue. We told him it was unnecessary, for our old bunk bed and shower were still functional. He insisted, telling us that he planned to brought it even before he took us in. We never had a chance to use it, in the next morning Fenrir shipped us off to Magnolia Compass.
Funny, we cried in each other arms, loud enough to annoyed the hell out of our pilot. We didn't stop crying even after we arrived, we collapsed, and cried ourselves to sleep on our new bed in Magnolia orphanage. I held a grudge on Fenrir for a long time, only recently I began to understand why they did it. We have no parents, and they wanted the best education for their God Eaters, so they sent us to Magnolia, regardless our objections.
I left my bathroom after... twenty minutes? A warm bath and weary mind was a fine combination to lose yourself. I sat on my sofa, contemplating my next move. That was when I sensed someone entered Dr. Sakaki's office. It was him, Dr. Sakaki returned from his lab, he finished analyzing the new Vajra sample I that brought two days ago.
The red metal door opened, I strode across his room and took an empty seat in the corner. He furiously stroked his keyboard, archiving his knowledge into his personal computer.
"How's the result doc?"
"We call it Prithvi Mata. From the samples you brought to us, we can tell it's a distinct species of Vajra that use ice instead of lightning. It had different yet closely related Oracle pattern and interconnected Bias Factor. It also had mis-"
"Explain it in simple way. I'm an engineer, not a scientist." I interrupted him. Dr. Sakaki had nasty tendency to rambling around. If I didn't stop him, he might continued his lecture and bore me to death.
"This is not the only new Vajra species you'll encounter. The missing pattern of Bias Factor in its body indicate that another similar Vajra is exist somewhere."
Similar Vajra? Could it be... The black man faced Vajra I saw in my sister's resonance? I should keep an eye on it then.
"Thanks for your info. By the way, do you know where I can find a Quadriga or Vajra?"
Dr. Sakaki fixed his glasses then resumed typing. He intensely watched his monitors ony by one, until a beeping sound came from the top monitor.
"Got it, come here Rena."
So I did. Two red dot marked on his monitor, one directly above Infernal Subway while the other one was around Temple Area.
"A Quadriga directly above Infernal Subway and Vajra near Tranquil Temple." I nodded at him. "I'll borrow your helicopter for a while, doc."
The helicopter rotor spun at full speed, ready to take off at any moment. The hangar ceiling folded neatly, allowing full access for the chopper to pass through. Sleek, seamless, and black as night, that the nature of Dr. Sakaki's helicopter. An extremely fast and agile helicopter capable to carry six persons. Even untrained eyes could tell this was not a garden-variety helicopter, must be a custom made or heavily modified. I opened its passenger door and sat on the middle seat.
"Metro Area, Infernal Subway entry point."
The bearded pilot nodded at me. Where did Dr. Sakaki found his private pilot? A perfect pilot, albeit too quiet. Like robot, he always on stand by every time I arrived. Gave him a direction and he would fly you to it in record time. Asked him to transport Aragami remains, and he would bring it to your destination. No chit-chat, no questions asked. Not even once he talked to me, nor I ever saw his face. He always waiting for me in the chopper, with his helmet on.
I jumped from the helicopter once I reached my destination, without destroying its door of course. Infernal Subway entryway was located in the remains of nameless suburban about ten kilometers northeast of the Den. I landed on a roof near Infernal Subway entrance. This place inhabited with many kinds of Aragami. Floating egg like Zygote, common Ogretail, slow moving Cocoon Maiden and its cousin Night Hollow, even occasional Dreadpike.
However, despite being highly inhabited, buildings around this area were relatively intact. Sure, wear and tear was to be expected, some even lost part of its wall, but still infinitely better than almost unrecognizable ruins in Tornado Valley. I sniffed the surrounding air, thoroughly, yet I only found sulfur like scent that emerged from a hole leading to Infernal Subway. So, he wasn't here either.
It didn't take long for me to find my target, a giant Aragami towering over nearby ruin. Quadriga, just like what NORN described, a massive, heavily armored and armed tank Aragami with human like torso. It had arsenal of different sized rocket and missile, it even had a napalm bay on its belly. Here I thought having a rocket booster strapped to my back was absurd enough.
Seize any chance for sneak attack, that what Lindow taught me. I crept closer to the unsuspecting Aragami. One by one, my spikes formed and hovered in place, waiting to be unleashed. My spikes launched once it reached two dozen, barraging the Quadriga down with tide of spikes. Most of it were deflected, but some hit gap on its armor and penetrated it.
The tank launched its own swarm of rockets at me, forcing me to duck. Concrete, asphalt, and dirt scattered around me, creating a natural smokescreen and caused a ringing in my ears. That was my chance, I created a pair of gauntlets and charge forward. My gauntlet cladded hand slammed its front armor and shattered it apart, exposing its soft tissue and three missiles that grew in it.
Three missiles in its chest flew in sequence, right at my face. The first missile completely missed me. It flew above my head and blasted a concrete wall behind me to pieces. Second missile went at my chest. I didn't have any time to duck, so I crossed my gauntlets cladded arms and braced myself. The explosion obliterated my gauntlets and damaged my arms. I forced my still throbbing hand to move. Just in time, I grabbed the fin of third missile and held it firmly. It took everything my damaged muscles had to alter the missile course and sent it back into its chest.
The missile exploded, setting off a chain explosion with other three newly grown missiles in Quadriga's chest. Once the dust settled, all I found was a disabled Quadriga lay on its side. Its entire front armor, chest tissue, and missile pod were replaced with a massive cavity. It stayed there, unmoving, but definitely alive. It would regenerate itself given enough time. Only by destroying its Core one could stop any kind of Aragami from reforming back.
I checked on the wound that tank had inflicted on me, that was the first time I realized the true nature of my body. Jagged and cracked, that how my wound appeared, as if my hands were made up from glass. Still, better than cruel reality that lurked beneath. White, my flesh was inorganic grey gel that rippled around and mend themselves right before my eyes. A wave of nausea struck me. I thought I was ready, fully accepting the fact that I had lost my humanity, how wrong I was.
Took less than a minute for my injury to healed, but it would take forever to remove the picture that recorded in my mind. I carved a hole in its chest with my blade and plucked its Core, permanently sealed its fate. The only thing left was to gather its armor. Piece by piece, my pocket slowly bulged with shards from Quadriga armor.
[Rena? The Vajra from before suddenly moving, it heading to your location.]
"Thanks for the warning doc."
Loud and heavy stomp gradually got louder and louder, it came from the south. Twin blades grew on my hands, couple of spikes formed and hovered above me. A loud roar on the distance signaled the Vajra arrival. It was coming.
Thunderbolt met spike, claw and blade clashed. We traded blow with each other. Despite my superiority I couldn't deliver a killing blow, it kept nimbly dodged my attack. Annoying, this one more calculating and wary than Vajra from before. I dashed forward and sliced its head, only to slashed an empty air instead. It leaped back and fled northeast, to the High-rises Area.
Faster! I kept chasing that cat. My prey ran away like there was no tomorrow, which coincidentally true. I would kill and broke it apart once I caught it. Agility had never been my expertise. Until now, my hunt always went smooth because my prey never ran away. They began acting strange ever since I killed and ate Prithvi Mata's Core. Small fry like Ogretail would scurried away, while larger or stronger one became agitated, ready to tested their teeth, or sprung away at slightest provocation.
Buildings passed, roads traveled, and cliffs crossed, before I knew it, I had chased that cowardly cat down to High-rises Area. It wouldn't stop, it wouldn't slow down, even with couple of spikes stuck at its hind legs. I launched few more spikes at it and struck its belly. The Vajra roared in pain, yet it kept running, completely ignoring its bleeding stomach.
Bad. Definitely bad. I heard a group of people, possibly God Eaters hunting in City of Mercy, few hundred meters ahead. Shouldn't be a problem, if not for stupid cat in front of me that would accidentally ambushed them. I threw my twin blades in one last attempt to stopped it. One of my blade struck its wing and bounced harmlessly, while the other one cut deep into base of its tail, nearly severing it. The large cat leaped from a cliff, right into western part of City of Mercy. I immediately followed its steps.
Rina?! My predicament turned from bad to worst. She stood with her back facing the incoming Vajra from above. I got a clear view on my target, wave of spikes formed immediately, yet I hesitated. No guarantee that my sister wouldn't get caught in my attack. Three Oracle bullets, all blaze. Two of it hit Vajra's head while the last one nailed my left shoulder. It caused no more than a mild tingling, but the force behind it stopped our momentum. Both of us felled to the ground.
I expected certain girl crying from her trauma, slumped down from her horror. I was right, Alisa cried while hugging Sakuya tightly, while my sister and Kota stood on each side. It wasn't cried from terror, it was joy. Alisa overcame her trauma and stood valiantly, guarding my sister. If not for her, Rina might end up in infirmary, or worse...
Alisa flinched when she noticed I ruffled her hat. She still felt threatened even when I was smiling huh? I lowered my voice and mustered my softest smile, which undoubtedly pale in comparison to my sister's smile, still, it was all I can do.
"Don't be afraid, it's all thanks to you that my sister survived unscathed."
"What're you doing here sis?"
"That-" I pointed my finger on Vajra carcass. "is my target. I found it in Metro Area. We fought each other until it suddenly fled, so I chased it."
"What? You tail it from Metro Area to City of Mercy? That's cool man, I can't even do a thousand laps without running out of breath." The young boy suddenly exclaimed.
"Cool? More like a curse." I shook my head. Nobody could understand it, and nobody would, I hoped, for living with eternal hunger and Aragami instinct was a heavy burden.
"Doc? Send the chopper to City of Mercy. I've completed Licca's request."
I found a pleasant surprise back at the Den, Licca had returned from her two-day mission and now calmly sipped a cup of her volatile iced curry while leaned on nearby wall. The container that kept Cocoon Maiden needles and Chi-You tendon now filled with Quadriga armor and Vajra volt generator. I lifted it off the ground and placed it on nearby table.
"Yo Licca, it's done. How's your mission?"
"Went smoothly. Guess what, I've finished another layer of circuit." Licca placed the newly created circuit board on table, beside my storage box.
Green sheet of electrical component, as long as my arm and a feet wide. Many kinds of intricate component such as Oracle comparator or Oracle amplifier embedded neatly on its surface. Forgot about created a circuit board, read its blueprint alone was enough to gave me a headache.
Part by part, another segment started to come together, slowly formed on top of another layer of circuit and wire. We installed the last two God Arc port and initiated a test run. All test results were green. Connection, Core reader, power, port gate, everything in working order. We smiled and nodded to each other, without word, we understand that this God Arc port test marked three quarters of our progress. We took a short break, Licca back on her iced curry while I had... Well, nothing.
It suddenly dawned on me. Licca was my first true friend. She kind and treated me like human, a survivor from infection rather than Aragami. True, she had the luxury of not affected by my Oracle field, but it didn't change the fact that she absolutely unfazed by my inhuman side. Welding metal without gloves, holding molten bar in my palm, bending steel wires barehanded, she took it all without slightest disgust. The only reaction I got from her was a raised eyebrow, which happened when I accidentally knocked my sunglasses off, thus allowed her to see my slitted eyes.
"It's like a dream." Licca suddenly spoke.
"Dream?"
"I never thought one day I will see this project coming to fruition. Not after Fenrir rejected my father's proposal."
"Wait, this project was your father's?"
"Yes, my father, Shigeru Kusunoki, is a senior engineer. He always travel around the world, helping other branches. He developed this schematic when he was stationed here for three years."
Unsurprising, this Link Support Device took staggering amount of resources. How many Aragami I'd killed till now? Five dozen? Maybe more. Fenrir would never agreed to this project. They chose to spend their funds on Anti-Aragami walls or God Arc instead of project that might or might not useful to them. No pain no gain, but my gain overshadowed my pain this time.
"I see. No need to worry about materials now, I'll stick with you till the end." Yep, my gain towered over my pain, definitely. By finishing this job I helped Licca achieving her dream and got a nice Link Support Device in return.
"Thanks, preciate it." Licca placed her mug back on table. "Break time's over, let's get back to work."
[Come to my office, I have important task for you.] Dr. Sakaki's voice ringed in my head. How convenient, he could instantly call me over my headset.
"Sorry Licca, Dr. Sakaki called me."
"Don't sweat it."
He stayed in his seat, rapidly typing his keyboard. He took a quick glance at me and nodded before returned to his monitor. I sat on the couch, watching him immersed in his work. Unlike Licca, my relationship with him more like professional rather than friendly. Worked for him and he would provide me with my own quarter and allowance, that was our unspoken agreement. Sometimes he asked for a sample or two from me, whether it blood, hair, X-ray scan, and I got extra perk like borrowing his private chopper and information network in return.
"I'll keep this short, I want you to clear out entire Tranquil Temple and surrounding areas. No need to collect anything, just wipe out the Aragami." Dr. Sakaki said.
"That's awfully particular mission, even for you doc. What's your objective?"
"Let's say something interesting will appear if you do so."
There, it was one of the reason I stayed professional, he had a deceitful tendency. No, more like crafty, for I sensed no malicious intent.
"Whatever, not my business." I shrugged.
Friggin' wild-goose chase. Now I tasted the true annoyance of having immensely dense Oracle field. Not even once I found small fry dared to attack me, they all scrambled away. Only some of medium and large Aragami had the nerve to attack me. How the heck I supposed to wipe them out when I couldn't even catch most of it? I perched on tower rooftop in the middle of Tranquil Temple, watched my surrounding, tried to ambushed them so they couldn't run away.
'Why don't you used your Aragami form while fought Quadriga from before?'
'Afternoon, late bird. I trained my real body. Tell me, how severe my wound last time?'
'I'm not late and I'm not a bird. What wound?'
'It called figure of speech you idiot.' I laughed at him, he really one giant ball of cluelessness. 'The injury I suffered on my forearm when I fought it.'
'You call it injury? My regeneration was among the top, and your body adopting my trait. For me, injury is missing limb, or worse.' Rei's tone reeked conceit and amusement, classic.
Birds chirped among the wood, pine scent covered entire forest, fresh flower struggled to bloom amidst the snow, a perfect picnic spot if not for Aragami that wandered around. I left my spot after loud, deep roar disturbed me. Large and presumably strong Aragami howled in northeast of Tranquil Temple.
Large, black cat, with man face. It was like that Aragami, the one I saw in resonance. It eaten Zygote and Ogretail remains, unaware that I stalked it from afar. The more I crawled closer, the more nauseating it became. Loud snapping sound of its jaw, thick and disgustingly sweet blood scent that engulfed us, snow that dyed in crimson red, chunk of Aragami flesh scattered around, indisputable testimony on its ferocity. No matter how ferocious it was, a cat still a cat, it would be an easy kill once I mounted firmly on its back. I pounced on it once I was in range.
'Don't do it! Run!' I heard Rei panicked in my head, too late, I already jumped, why he panicked?
Massive surge of electricity blasted me away.
I pried open my eyelids. Blurred, I couldn't make out of anything. Was it a tree? The black spot that approached me? Everything felt heavy and abstract, like being submerged in pool of mud. My hands covered in soot, or was it my charred hands? I forced my limped legs to stood up and leaned on tree trunk that I was thrown onto. The blur slowly faded away, granting my vision back. The black spot earlier was Vajra with man face. It snarled at me angrily and unfolded its wings, a pair of razor-sharp black and red bladed wings. It leaped on my half paralyzed body, pinning me down with its front paw. My chest strained from its weight, I tried to wiggled free to no avail. It snarled on my face, blowing its blood soaked breath on me.
'You never listen to me, don't you?'
'It was too late, sorry Rei, I think you'll need a new host.' I laughed bitterly at him.
'I don't think so.'
The faded paralysis came back with vengeance, instantly prevented me from moving. This familiar feeling... No, it was Rei, he took over me. My body shifted, steadily swallowed in ever-growing pool of Oracle. The liquid Oracle hardened, creating my Aragami form.
Rei roared at the black Vajra, menacingly unfolded my wrist blades. Both Vajra and Rei circled each other, assessing, looking for a glimpse of weakness. The black Vajra dashed at us, sweeping its deadly wing horizontally. Half leaped, half dashed back, Rei narrowly evaded its blade and landed few meters back. He ignited my booster, hovering in place for second, and then flew at it with deadly speed.
Two snaps. My right wrist blade and its left wing lay on the ground. Rei redirected my booster and slammed my body on it. He bit its left shoulder. Thick sweet syrup glided down in my throat, revitalized us, and almost made me thrown up.
Black Vajra retaliated, its last wing swung on wide arc. We got away, nearly. Excruciating pain struck my back and Rei roared in pain. Loud thud caused him to looked back. It was my booster? That wing had cut off my left booster?! Rei jumped again, he put even more distance between us.
I sensed that. Oracle field around me moved, floating upward, condensed, rapidly formed numerous large ice spears. Rei threateningly aimed our ice spears at it. The black Vajra halted its advance and snarled. It stayed still, watched the ice field looming above us. We reached a deadlock. Rei couldn't move while maintained such massive number of ice spears, and the black Vajra was out of range. At the same time, that black Vajra surely became a honeycomb if it dared to resume its advance.
The black Vajra ultimately decided to flee, it probably thinks our Core didn't worth the trouble. Rei slumped down and dispelled my Aragami form. Battered, drained, and hungry. The hunger... it started to affect my mind...
'Sorry, I exhausted our energy. Find food as fast as you can, else we both fall to our primal instinct.'
Hungry...
I dragged my body back to Tranquil Temple, searching for any leftover from my hunt. My mind clouded with gnawing feeling in my stomach. I must find food, anything would do. Even Aragami flesh was still better alternative than fell to my instinct.
So hungry...
Cool snow brushed my face. I fell to the ground, face first. My legs strained as I forced myself to stand.
Starving...
Piece of my reason slipped away, eaten by the hunger. I forced my jittery hand to reached my headset.
"Doc... Don't send... anyone... to Tran...quil Temple... lease..."
Must eat...
I clung to the last strand of my reason, which soon severed. My knees soaked in snow, my eyelids closed. I let out a loud feral cry.
Hunt...
Two-legged beast... Kill...
I rammed my hand to its body. Sweet red liquid bursting out of it, splattered across my face. My tongue swirled in anticipation, I drank the sweet liquid, greedily. I ate each pieces of it, until no more remained.
Not enough...
A prey, it float above me. I grabbed its tail and tugged it down. My hand jammed into its body. Red liquid, delicious red liquid. I sucked it, let it slide to my throat, then ate the rest.
More...
Another prey, white skinned creature with four limb and white strands on its head. Foolish creature. I clutched its neck, lifting it off the ground. It pitifully struggling, tried to break free. Slowly, it raised one of its limb, with three bright-colored marbles on it. Food? I snatched it all and threw the creature. It ran away. I didn't care, I had its food in my hand.
Eat...
I chewed one of it, slowly my hunger dwindled. Still not enough. I ate the second marble, the gnawing feeling in my stomach nearly gone. I took the last one, blast of energy surged, flooding my entire body, and knocked me out.