In the desolate plain world that Maine saw, only Dolio and David remained unchanged.
Sakura saw it and understood that Maine had completely gone mad.
Dolio was shot dead by the NCPD police because she had cleared him, although he didn't kill her by mistake. But it was all his fault. All of this was his fault. But... he just wanted to protect the entire team and everyone in it! So when Dolio died because of him, his spirit had already collapsed.
As Ren said in a previous interview, the essence of cyberpsychosis is not just the erosion of the mind by prosthetics. It is the pressure from the external world that makes the one who implants the prosthetic unable to bear the erosion of their spirit by the prosthetic.
Maine's spirit has completely collapsed due to Dolio's death. Just like in this yellow sand plain, there is nothing but desolation and death.
But David didn't know that Maine was completely mad now. Or even if he knew, he still wanted Maine to live.
"Let's retreat quickly, Maine!"
David turned to look at Maine and said with anxiety and sincerity: "You're going to die."
However, Maine, in his heart, remained on the desolate plain, looked at David, and said calmly: "I no longer want to escape, the god of death has arrived."
"What are you talking about?" David asked, bewildered.
But at that moment, the armored vehicle with the "MAXTac" logo of the Violent Terrorist Squad was rapidly heading there in the rain. Their objective was, obviously, to kill Maine! And David seemed to realize. He pulled out the gun in his hand and aimed at the entrance where the Violent Terrorist Squad might appear.
"Understood! I'll fight with you!"
He was sweating, ready for battle. After all, he had learned from Lucy... Their next enemy is Night City's most violent security agency: the Violent Terrorist Squad! Countless extremely powerful cyberpsychos died at their hands. Even cyberpsychos who also had Sandevistan died at their hands. So... In Night City, no one wants to fight the Violent Terrorist Squad!
"David...", Maine whispered.
However, David made up his mind: "I've decided! I must go!" "I'm going to save you! Maine!" Although he was worried and uneasy, he decided to fight alongside Maine no matter how scared he was. Because Maine was his companion and his older brother! And... all of this was caused by his hesitation. Dolio's death and Maine's current fall into cyberpsychosis were due to him not administering anesthesia to Tanaka in time. With the bond of guilt and friendship, no matter how scared he was, he had to fight alongside Maine! However...
David's gun-holding hand trembled at the thought of facing the Terrorist Squad.
"Damn it! Stop trembling!"
His face was covered in sweat, and his expression reflected uncontrollable fear.
"Go with your Terrorist Squad! Let's go!" —he angrily cursed to encourage himself and fight against the Terrorist Squad.
Maine's serene face appeared in the image, but... Maine, who was once full of vigor and vitality, now looked as gloomy as a dead tree, exuding a dull air—.
"Maine! We can do it together!" —David continued to encourage himself, saying—: "We can undoubtedly do it, and then..."
In the next image, the warning sign of the Mobile Terrorist Team appeared. David also realized at that moment: they were about to face the Mobile Terrorist Team. So... he held his breath, gripping his gun, waiting for the Mobile Terrorist Team to appear, and then... start fighting! But the next instant, Maine's large hand pressed down on David's gun-holding hand.
At that moment, Ren couldn't maintain the tension on David's face like in the original anime to create a tense atmosphere. After all, it was a manga, and it was impossible for two or three images to stay on David's face... 'It was a 'watery' manga, wasn't it?' Still, everyone who watched the plot was very nervous.
"You can't do it now," Maine said to David.
Upon hearing this, a tear rolled down his face, and he exclaimed in disbelief: "Why? Maine...". "Why?" David's gun-holding hand slipped from Maine's. Tears dripped onto the gun.
The members of the mobile terrorist team outside, holding powerful firearms, made some gestures and were about to rush in. On the desolate plain, before Maine's eyes, Maine and David's starkly contrasting bodies stood stiff.
"David...", Maine said softly at that moment.
David raised his head and looked at Maine.
Suddenly, Maine's large hand slapped David's face again. But this time, the force was very light, much less than the previous two times. But it seemed to move David and the manga fans who saw this scene, and the memory was much deeper than the previous two times.
"This is my end." Maine looked at David and said: "But you have to live." David opened his eyes in disbelief and slowly turned to Maine.
At that moment, Maine finally said: "Aren't you faster than anyone else?"
The next panel showed Maine's twisted face, caught between gentle and mad... "Now... run..." Seeing Maine's face, everyone who saw it was stunned. It was an indescribable feeling. They only felt an inexplicable discomfort in their nose and a warm caress in their eyes.
Sakura had seen Maine's face last time, but this time she had read all the previous plots. Looking at it again, she couldn't help herself. She felt her voice crack a little.
Then, the Terrorist Squad appeared before Maine and David in an instant. Maine's prosthetic deformed and fired a projectile at the detonator under Dolio's body, in front of him. In an instant, the flames of the explosion spread, directly engulfing Dolio, Maine, and the Terrorist Squad.
At that moment, David involuntarily activated the Sandevistan ability, and the whole world turned green. He could only hear the prolonged roar of the Terrorist Squad: "There are... explosives... dangerous..."
"Ah..." He could only open his mouth and roar silently; his mouth was like a huge black hole.
David's face was horrible and painful. He could only see Maine's body shattered by the explosion's flames, revealing the bones under his skin and the two detached artificial eyes. Still on the desolate plain, David ran out into the outside world. And Maine... the Maine who hadn't undergone much prosthetic transformation, with a dull gaze, watched David run ahead of him in the distance.
His path... ended there.
The huge explosion engulfed the place where Maine was, while Lucy continued to sit in the car with worry and fear, waiting for David to return. But David hung up the phone, and there was another big explosion outside. This terrified Lucy greatly!
But at that moment... a figure who was holding a huge prosthetic arm burst through the car window and landed next to Lucy. It was... David. In his arms was Maine's prosthetic arm.
Sakura suddenly remembered that Maine had said before that if he died, he would give this prosthetic arm to David... Thinking of this foreshadowing, Sakura felt even sadder. Her tears had already fallen on the magazine, crystal clear.
Maine... this good brother died just like that. Despite dying, he protected David and let him go in the end, and at the same time kept his promise and gave David the prosthetic arm.
In the last scene, Lucy was driving Maine's car and slowly driving through Night City at dawn when the rain gradually subsided. When the first ray of sunlight in the sky broke through the city's darkness and illuminated the car...
Maine's huge prosthetic arm appeared on the screen again. Then David's seemingly scarred face appeared. His eyes were tired and lost. In just one night, he lost two very important people to him: his older brother, Maine, and his sister-in-law, Dolio. David looked straight ahead, and a tear slid down his left eye. Although it was a tear, sadness overwhelmed him.
"End of this episode."
After reading it, Sakura suddenly closed the magazine in her hand. She turned her head and tried to hold back her tears, but finally wiped them with a tissue. The plot of this last episode... is truly uncomfortable. It is so uncomfortable that it makes one want to cry, and it is not only uncomfortable, but also very impactful.
Maine's face, obviously demented, but still retaining half of his tenderness for David, said: "Now... let's run..." Maine's tenderness towards his companions is constantly perceived. Even if his heart is desolate and there is no hope, he still wants to offer his companions his last tenderness.
And Dolio, who could have abandoned Maine and fled. But Maine did not hesitate to expose his flaws and injected immunosuppressants to make him return to normal. In the end, he was beaten to death by the NCPD.
The plot and the image are so impactful that it is heartbreaking. And David's tears at the end are like his feelings at that moment.
Anyway, Sakura could not bear this tremendous shock. She felt she would go crazy at any moment, just like Maine. He became a cyberpsycho.
"Silverhand..." Sakura sobbed and cried out, gritting her teeth.
At that moment, no matter how good her relationship with Ren was, Sakura wanted to hit him, the instigator.
If Sakura was like that, let alone other manga fans.
It's completely conceivable!
- - - -
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