Chapter: 182. Report Part 02
As the brilliant stars fell from the sky like shooting stars.
Thump—thump—
Renji couldn’t help but stop his fleeing steps, causing the girl walking ahead, Mana, to turn around in confusion.
“Renji?” Mana was clearly right in front of him, but her voice seemed distant.
At first, he thought the dizziness and tinnitus were a result of the recent impact, but the dull, sticky sound of his heartbeat unsettled him.
“What sound?” Renji asked Mana while keeping one hand on his head.
“Sound?” Strangely, it seemed Mana did not hear the unsettling heartbeat.
However, before Renji could explain to Mana, the edge of a white coat entered his vision. At the same time, Mana noticed this unexpected visitor and abruptly turned around, the shadow at her feet transformed into a sharp blade, aimed directly at the man who had suddenly appeared.
Yet the man casually grasped the blade with his hand.
In an instant, Mana felt the control of the shadow blade slip away from her grasp. She couldn’t tell if it was due to her lack of magical power or the man’s ability.
“Calm down; we are not your enemies, Hiyakawa Mana,” the man in the iconic white uniform of the A Special Team said with a steady and firm voice. “This operation of the A Special Team has been infiltrated by the End, and we are here to stop the End from killing our true protagonist—Hoshimiya Nagi.”
Mana did not immediately lower her guard upon hearing this, but she realized she no longer had enough magical power to deal with the man in front of her, so she intentionally pretended to be half-believing and lowered the shadow blade in her hand, trying to stall for time.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” the man said sincerely as he reached towards his ear, seemingly receiving information from other ability users. His expression gradually grew grave and serious, during which his gaze swept past Renji, who appeared to be in pain, and their eyes inadvertently met.
Renji seemed to look away, feeling an inexplicable sense of intense unease.
When he came to his senses, he had already lunged at the man, gripping the white collar tightly with both hands.
“What happened to Nagi!? Answer me—” He didn’t even understand why he suddenly became so agitated. He had never doubted Nagi; he firmly believed she would return safely, just as they had agreed.
“Renji?!” The nearby Mana was startled by his reaction and quickly stepped forward to support the swaying Renji.
Just as the man in uniform displayed a troubled expression, there came the dull sound of a cane striking the ground from behind him.
An elderly man approached, wearing a badge from the Sun Academy.
At first glance, he seemed like a kind old man with white hair, but Mana felt alarm bells ringing in her heart.
The elderly man’s eyes sparkled with starlight as they slowly swept over Renji. Behind his kind gaze was a scrutinizing look.
Thump thump.
The old man slightly tilted his head, as if he faintly heard a heartbeat-like sound.
“The edge of awakening…?” the old man murmured softly to himself, and then, as if making a decision, he stepped forward heavily, his expression grave as he approached Renji.
The man from the A Special Team had a bad feeling, but due to the old man’s status, he didn’t dare speak out.
In the midst of this hesitation, the old man stood before Renji, took a deep breath, lowered his head, and slowly began to speak:
“…I’m sorry; we are late.”
“Hoshimiya Nagi… she is a hero.”
In that instant, Renji felt as if his consciousness had been drained away, the sounds around him coming through like thick water.
The sound of his heartbeat became extraordinarily clear, pounding heavily against his eardrums.
His brain refused to comprehend the meaning behind these words; his mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.
In a heart that teetered between darkness and light, the scales were slowly tilting to one side—
“What does this mean!?”
As Renji was in a daze, Mana threw her fear of the old man aside and shouted her question.
She clearly knew the answer to this question, yet helplessly, she asked, her last bit of hope hanging by a thread.
“…It was her selfless sacrifice that saved all of us, including ourselves.”
If it weren’t for Hoshimiya Nagi seeing through the truth that Adam was controlled by the End, and willingly allowing the End’s fragments to merge with her soul to be eliminated by Tsukimi Kanade, then the A Special Team and the three major academies might never discover this latent huge crisis in their lifetime. Without a doubt, she truly deserved the name of the savior, sacrificing herself once again to save this world.
At that moment, the old man suddenly sensed an unusual reaction.
It was not the magical reaction that emerged during awakening, but something of a higher level—
Before the old man could figure out where this aura was coming from, Renji grabbed him by the clothes.
“…She is not a hero; she is my sister!”
This was the first time Mana saw Renji display such a twisted and grotesque expression.
But in the blink of an eye, he staggered and collapsed to the ground like a marionette with cut strings.
The earlier reaction seemed like it belonged to another person.
Renji pushed himself up off the ground, looking up at the sky above.
“Can I see her…?”
Whether influenced by Renji’s desolate atmosphere or not, the personnel from the A Special Team responded almost instinctively: “No, the target has been infected by fragments of the End; until we ensure that the contamination of the body has entirely vanished—”
Before he could finish, Mana reflexively slapped the man from the A Special Team.
“Take that back—” Mana exclaimed, her crimson eyes glistening with tears.
Such words that did not regard Nagi as human disgusted her toward the man before her and the A Special Team.
For a moment, she wanted to tear apart this man who spoke such nonsense.
That gentle girl had protected everything with her life, but her corpse was viewed by them as a potential threat—
“Enough, Mana.”
Surprisingly, it was Renji who spoke to stop Mana.
“Since the so-called End can contaminate them, then we are likely also seen as potential threats. It’s not wise to act against them here.” As he spoke, Renji stood up.
“Renji!? What are you saying—” Mana froze upon hearing this.
Because Renji’s voice was so calm and collected, as if he were narrating a question from a test paper.
Not just Mana; even the man from the A Special Team and the old man looked at Renji with strange expressions.
“This is reality; venting emotions will not lead events in a good direction.” Renji’s response was so cold, and the expression on his face was remarkably composed, as if at that moment, “absolute rationality” occupied his soul.
Renji paid no mind to the bewildered Mana and walked slowly in front of the man from the A Special Team, asking in a calm voice:
“Since I cannot go to see her, can I go home now?”
Renji raised his head, the blue light swirling in his eyes.
“As contacts, you need to cooperate with us for an investigation—” the man’s response escaped his lips uncontrollably once again.
But this time, the old man reached out from behind and gently pressed on the man’s shoulder.
“Enough; let them go home. I’ll take responsibility for anything that arises.” After the old man finished speaking, he turned to Renji: “Do you need us to escort you back to see your family?”
Renji sensed the implication of the old man’s words but rationally shook his head.
“No, it might be easier for me to explain things alone.”
As he watched Renji’s departing figure, the man finally regained his composure, casting a terrified look at the old man.
The old man gently nodded, seemingly confirming the man’s speculation.
“Without a doubt, it is power… and it’s a very special power.” The old man said softly, before turning to face the bewildered Mana, who remained rooted in place.
“Miss Hiyakawa Mana, do you need to go home to calm down first? Or will you come with us?”
“After the inspection, we can let you see her… body, but on the condition that… we have a problem that needs your help to resolve.”
—————–
Renji did not know how he made his way home.
All along the way, his mind was not filled with sorrow over losing Nagi, but seemed to be persuaded by another thought, wasting precious contemplation on an unchangeable past.
Renji felt a bit fortunate that today was summer vacation, and his parents had left Kawano City to travel, so when he returned home, he wouldn’t need to face too many people. He only needed to convey this news to Sayaka.
As he stood at the door of his home, a place he had visited countless times before, he vaguely sensed an unusual atmosphere flooding the space behind the door.
Though he felt this sensation for the first time today, deep inside, it naturally acquired a familiar yet strange name—power.
Absolute rationality led Renji to abandon any meaningless thoughts regarding this matter.
He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.
As the gap widened, the bright scene inside the house came into his view.
“Ah, Renji, you finally came back!? How unfair! Today is supposed to be Nagi’s birthday party, and you left me here to do everything alone!!!” Sayaka pouted, poking her head out from the living room, glancing down the long corridor at Renji, who stood at the entrance.
The siblings exchanged glances for the first time today.
Time flowed between them.
“Say—” Renji began to speak but was interrupted by Sayaka.
She pulled her head back from the brightly lit living room and complained in a mock-innocent tone: “Ah, I won’t listen to your excuses, Renji! If you know you were wrong, come help me set up the birthday party~”
Although Renji noticed something off about Sayaka, he didn’t waste his breath on it. Instead, he methodically changed his indoor shoes by the entrance and slowly walked toward the living room.
The scene in the living room was drastically different from when he left this morning.
Colorful streamers and little flags decorated the room, and a cake sat on the table, each element exuding a joyful birthday atmosphere.
This was a scene Renji had witnessed countless times.
In previous years, on Nagi’s birthday, the house would be decorated this way. Though he and Sayaka’s own birthdays were not celebrated as grandly, it seemed like the family collectively piled all the worthy celebrations onto Nagi’s birthday, signifying that her birth was the most worthy occasion in this family.
“Sayaka, I—”
“—Have you prepared this year’s gift for Nagi?” Sayaka had her back turned to Renji, seemingly searching for something in the living room cabinets.
“No, because Nagi said she wouldn’t come back this year, so I haven’t prepared anything.” Renji continued with Sayaka’s words, surprisingly, this time, he was not interrupted.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sayaka let out a triumphant hum.
“I knew it! This year, I specially prepared a surprise gift~”
“Isn’t it recommended by a friend?” Renji seemed to know the truth about Sayaka’s gift.
“Yap, yap! That just means I asked for advice!”
…
…
The siblings chatted casually, as usual.
It seemed they both already knew what the other was thinking but had the tacit understanding not to voice it.
Time passed unbeknownst to them.
Beyond the large floor-to-ceiling window, the sunset was buried among the mountains.
The sky began to sparkle with countless stars, spilling starlight over the tranquil and peaceful Kawano City.
Sayaka slowly lit the candles on the cake one by one, and Renji did not stop her; instead, he quietly retrieved the knife and three plates to cut the cake from the kitchen.
As Renji placed the plates on the table, Sayaka had already turned away from him to turn off all the lights in the living room.
Under the brilliant starry sky, Sayaka and Renji sat facing each other, both silently staring at the candlelight of the cake. The colorful candles continued to burn down until they finally extinguished, yet the girl who was meant to blow them out did not appear.
“Hey, Renji, actually you knew from the start—this would happen, right?” As Sayaka’s face was shrouded in darkness, her eyes, glowing with purple light, still focused on the extinguished candles, she calmly asked.
“Yes.” Renji also kept his gaze on the cake, not knowing if his answer was correct, but rationality told him this response would help his sister vent her anger towards him, making her feel a little better.
Surprisingly, Sayaka did not say another word on this topic; instead, she slowly stood up and turned to walk towards the balcony.
Renji silently followed her.
The brilliant starry sky cast its light over the city.
Standing on the balcony, Sayaka maintained a posture of looking up at the stars for what felt like a long time.
Only after some time did she slowly speak: “Hey, Renji, help me—”
“I can’t find—my favorite star.”
