Strolling through the streets, the denizens of Paradiso were carrying out their daily lives.
A man in formal attire with a combat knife in his hip was walking while completely engrossed in his MED, a young woman with a spear beside her was talking to her friends at the bistro, and a group of armed individuals were getting ready to enter Inferno.
Kairi glances at them while stroking the handle of her weapon, she was thinking about her encounter with the boy on the tram.
'Who was that guy? Never have I met someone so clueless.'
There was something striking that stood out for her.
'Also... how come I did not notice him as soon as he got into the compartment? I'm certain that my senses haven't gone dull.'
"AGHHHHHHH"
She was in deep thought when suddenly a scream could be heard from the alleyway.
She ignored it, 'Looks like the angels have another sinner to deal with.'
Looking ahead of her, someone turned towards the alleyway where the scream could be heard.
It was a girl with short, braided red hair carrying a rifle with canted sights.
The most important thing about her was that she wore the same uniform as Kairi.
Noticing this, she followed the girl, but when Kairi went to the alleyway where the girl went, she disappeared into thin air.
'Hm, she used a mantra, no matter.' Kairi's MED lights up, and text appears that says [TRACK].
Her MED shows a GPS of the surrounding area with a moving dot.
The backstreets of Paradiso were a maze to navigate; if it wasn't for her MED she would've been lost.
Tight corners, a dreary atmosphere, linear pipes—no one knows where they'll end up, such are the many characteristics of the backstreets.
The braided girl stopped, it seems she had found what she was looking for.
Arriving where the girl was, it was a gruesome sight—a humanoid creature with indistinguishable facial features, fingers sharpened to a razor's edge, and legs malformed into beastly form, shot dead.
Near it, a body was ravaged by claws, an unfortunate victim of the monster.
Kairi was curious as to why she was here.
The girl was inspecting the body, then she pulled out her MED that was strapped around her body and took a picture, which prompted Kairi to confront her.
Taking a deep breath, Kairi exhaled to let her presence be known.
This startled the girl, who aimed her sights at Kairi.
Unfazed, she glared at the girl and said, "Firstly, name."
Seeing that Kairi had the same obligations as hers, she lowered her sights and answered, "Tch, it's Claer..."
"You have no jurisdiction over the documentation and subjugation of sinners, it is advised that you hand over your MED and yourself to the nearest angel.
It took a while for her to respond, "Yeah, no." Claer said, her body posture gives another answer.
Kairi's gaze was sharper than the tip of a needle. "Why? Do you not realize that you're breaking a taboo?"
Claer was avoiding eye contact with her; the uneasy air was starting to weigh on her. "It's for a personal reason."
"Either way, a taboo-breaker must be dealt with." Kairi readies her weapon, but she doesn't unsheathe it.
As Kairi's intent to attack her became evident, sweat began to trickle down Claer's face.
Claer put her hand on her chest, trying to take a deep breath.
When Kairi noticed this, she informed her, "It's useless; I have set up an atma-blocker; save your breath for—."
Kairi was about to make her first move when suddenly, she fell over.
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Darkness surrounds her, illuminated only by her MED.
Eyes closed, she feels at peace, falling into oblivion.
Though, her moment of peace was interrupted by a feeling of wriggling around her neck,
"You and I are not so different." A voice of indiscernible origin could be heard.
As she opened her eyes, a pair of arms were straggling her.
"As a gift, whether you accept it or not, you will see this story's end."
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Kairi's eyes snapped open, she jumped up in shock as cold sweat covered her face.
Breathing heavily, she touched her neck, feeling that she had swallowed something vile.
Collecting her composure, she checked the recording of her MED.
It was deleted, which made her quietly close it and stand up.
She looked over at the humanoid creature, but it had evaporated after some time had passed.
Left with nothing, she went over to the dead body.
*thud*
*thud*
*crack*
*squish*
The once-recognizable body was nothing more than the outcome of her rage.
"I need to get going; the orientation will start soon."
She left the scene with a tired expression.