Her head was pulverized—there was no other valid explanation. From her collarbone up, everything was missing. The sight was something else, and I was one of the few who could stand it.
Saiya had vomited multiple times now, which was surprising, considering she was skilled at ending Nephilims' lives. Yet, she couldn't handle this.
"Ryuma, give me details of the body and what kind of injury it sustained," Captain Leonard asked through the headset.
We had already reported our findings.
"Mm… it's a woman, that's for sure. But as for her age… I can't tell. Her head was blown apart. I don't know what kind of weapon could do this…"
Then the image of the Nephilims I saw back at the wall entry flashed through my mind.
"I think our weapons can do this."
"Our weapons, huh... Take a picture of the body and share it."
"Yes!" I tapped a button on my wrist, and it scanned the body, displaying the image on a holographic screen above my watch.
"This is messed up."
"It's bad," Haruchi, Kitetsu, and the girls on the other team exclaimed.
"It does look like something our guns are capable of, but only Rangers are entitled to weapons. And if I remember correctly, no Ranger unit was ever dispatched to Kyoto... What do you think, Control?" Captain Leonard asked the control room.
"Just as you said, Captain, but keep in mind we still don't fully understand the true power of the Nephilims. Every day, we learn something new about their capabilities, and maybe this is one of those things."
"For now, we should proceed as planned," the Squad Six captain interjected. "Control, scan the area. There might be one of those bastards lurking around."
"Roger."
The mission continued.
The body hadn't been there long. The blood had thickened but hadn't dried. Whoever did this was still around. I scanned the area with my ears, hoping to catch any strange sounds.
Nothing. No signs whatsoever. But I knew I wasn't enough.
'B?? Can you do me a favor?'
'You finally remembered me. I thought you were moving on without me.'
'I'm sorry, you know I've been busy lately.'
'So, what's this favor you want?'
'Can you check if any Nephilims are nearby, please?'
'I already did that when we arrived. I'm always on it.'
'Oh.'
'I'll let you know when I find something.'
'Thanks, man.'
I turned to Saiya. Her face was white, pale. She held her nose and mouth tightly with both hands. This was hitting her harder than I thought.
"Hey, you alright?" I asked. Maybe I was slightly concerned. Even if she's a bitch, she's still my teammate.
She gave me a thumbs-up, then immediately covered her mouth again.
"We can take a break, you know?" I closed the gap between us and pulled her by the arm. She resisted.
"Hey, come on, stop being a baby—"
"I found someone!" one of the girls in the other squad shouted through the headset.
"It's a boy, a small boy."
"What's his status?" the lady asked.
"He's barely alive."
"Bring him to the bus immediately."
"Roger!"
Saiya and I locked eyes.
"I think we should head back too."
This time, she didn't resist.
The sun had dipped below the horizon, and now everything was dark. Only the bright torches stationed at each bus provided light.
The work for the day was done. Captain Leonard and Kitetsu, who had followed one of the engineers to the reservoir's control room, had also completed their task. The flooded water and the tank had been drained.
The boy the other girls found was in better condition. Though he hadn't spoken a word, the poor kid was traumatized. When he finally drank some water and woke up, he kept shouting and crying. They managed to calm him down and feed him before he fell asleep again.
I'm sure that dead body was his relative.
Other than that, everything was going smoothly.
"Here," I handed Saiya a canned meal. She was lying in the bus, clearly still shaken by the sight and smell of the body.
"Thanks." She sat upright and began eating.
The air was awkward, just the two of us in the bus. I wanted to keep her company, but now I wasn't so sure. Maybe I'd made the wrong decision. Should I leave? Probably not.
"I have a sensitive nose—"
"Mm... I know, you told me."
"And it got annoy—huh? When?"
She couldn't remember. She must've been high.
"It was a long time ago. I'm sure you can't recall."
"Oh… well, it got so bad I wished I could cut my nose off. It was unbearable. At school, at home, everywhere—I could smell everything."
"That must've been hard."
"Yes, it was. My parents eventually came up with an idea. They started a small bakery business just below our house. Most of the time, I would sit there, comforted by the sweet smell of cakes in different flavors."
Now it made sense. The name 'Benchiro,' Saiya's resemblance to the picture I'd seen that day—everything clicked. The world really is a small place.
"You like gaming?" I asked.
"Mm-hmm," she nodded. "It's weird for a girl, but I love it."
"What genre do you play?"
"Simulation. Sometimes open-world fantasy."
"Damn… you played those? Then you must know GOG: Call—"
"Of the Last Rider. Who didn't play that?"
"Damn!"
I think... I think she's not as bitchy as I thought.
"I used to attend their festivals and meet other players," she said.
"I went to one too, but I got beat so bad I never went back. Haha… it was fun, though. Too bad none of that exists anymore."
"Right?!"
We stayed quiet, staring at the dark clouds. No stars. I've never seen one, so I guess they don't exist. But I believe in the sun, even though I've never seen that either. Ironic.
"Do you believe in the stars?" Saiya asked out of nowhere, like she was reading my mind.
"Nope."
"I know why. Because you haven't seen them, right?"
"Yeah, more or less. The sky's always covered in dark clouds, so…"
"Before all this, I wanted to be an astronaut. For a lot of reasons. Mostly because I thought since there's no air in space, there'd be no smell either. I wanted to go somewhere free from all these awful smells."
"Valid point," I shrugged.
"I also wanted to see them—the stars. I'd only ever seen them online, in games and comics. Some showed them as star-shaped, others as diamonds, and some said they were burning rocks. But I wanted to see them for myself, the stars…"
She kept talking, her voice getting softer until she began to doze off.
"I think you should get some rest."
"Yeah… my head and nose still hurt."
I stood up, ready to leave, when suddenly…
"Calling all units. I repeat, calling all units. From the control room: Nephilims spotted ten kilometers east of here."
"Tsk… those damned bastards picked the worst time," Haruchi cursed.
"Control, what's their grade and number?" Captain Leonard's voice cut through.
"Grade E, with a possible small count of Grade D. As for their number… over a hundred."
"That's quite the number," the woman remarked.
Captain Leonard's voice grew sharp and unwavering giving a battle command, my first battle command.
"All units, prepare to engage. Control?"
"Nephilim engagement granted. Good luck."