"Damn, did you notice my identity?"
"When was it?"
Amid the billowing smoke, Robert Accutrone, whose body was engulfed in flames, collapsed to the ground. He looked down at himself, expression twisted in gloom.
His ribs were cracked, his body charred black — burned nearly beyond repair.
If not for the protection of his Blut Vene, the defensive form of Blut, that attack would have killed him outright.
Even so, the damage was grave.
Because that bomb… wasn't ordinary at all.
Within the Wandenreich's Sternritter, there was a Quincy named Bambietta Basterbine. Her Schrift, The Explode, turned any object she imbued with her Reiatsu into a living bomb — detonating on contact or at will.
Through some method…
They had weaponized and sealed one of Bambietta's bombs, attempting to use it as a disposable detonation — aiming to annihilate the mixed-blood Quincy from point-blank range in seconds.
But from beginning to end… he had been played by that damn brat.
And worse — his identity might have been known all along.
That explosive almost wiped him out.
"When did you notice?"
"From the very beginning, of course."
Kurosaki Kanbaru emerged from the smoke — crouched lazily atop a wall, looking down at Robert like he was trash.
Truthfully?
At first glance, Kanbaru hadn't even remembered who this guy was.
But don't forget — Kanbaru had entries.
---
[An old fossil clinging to life, yet still posturing like a Grandmaster.]
[Secretly brought a "blind box" to this world — it's not a Holy Grail, so don't touch it. It really will explode.]
---
Voilà.
The entry had already exposed Robert's mission and intentions.
A bit vague — but more than enough.
"Where did you get our intel?"
Seeing that Kanbaru truly saw through him, Robert narrowed his eyes, tossed away his cracked glasses, and slowly rose to his feet.
Flesh and skin regenerated — and under the healing properties of Blut Vene, his body rapidly recovered.
That was the terror of a pure-blood Quincy.
As long as their Blut wasn't placed on cooldown or forcibly deactivated, pure-blooded Quincy were nearly unkillable — drawing ambient Reishi from the air to heal almost instantly.
"I don't know how Kirge fell to you…"
"But I'm not like him."
"Because my Schrift works on other Quincy!"
With that declaration, the ground cracked — and Robert vanished!
His speed surged to a new level, blurring from sight.
That was his Schrift — The Speed.
Even without activating his Vollständig, Robert's ability drastically enhanced his movement, propelling him to godlike velocity.
Combined with high-speed movement via Hirenkyaku, his speed transcended normal perception — even other Quincy struggled to track him.
That was his confidence. His edge.
"Too slow."
"Too slow."
"Still too slow."
"Can't keep up with me at all, can you?"
"You finally understand the gap between me and Kirge Opie now."
The world in front of him slowed down.
To Robert, Kanbaru looked like a still image — motionless, helpless.
He raised his spirit pistol, aimed at the boy's forehead.
And fired.
A concentrated beam of Reishi, shot from point-blank range, pierced straight through in a blinding flash.
Direct headshot.
Finished.
"To think… that guy was beaten by a brat like this."
"Kirge… you really did fall."
Holstering his weapon, Robert retrieved a fresh pair of glasses from his coat and elegantly put them on.
"So powerful…"
A sudden voice whispered near his ear.
"Of course," Robert replied out of habit, wiping soot from his face with a silk cloth.
"But getting hit in the head by my sacred bullet, there's no—"
Then his pupils shrank.
Hard.
He turned sharply.
"Nani?!"
"You're not dead?! How—how is this even possible?!"
There Kanbaru stood — beside him — casually scratching his head.
He had dodged it.
That instantaneous headshot.
At that impossible speed.
No hesitation.
Robert inhaled sharply and vanished once more.
Accelerate!
Accelerate again!
Break the limits!
"I don't know how you survived that."
"But you won't get a second chance."
He pushed himself into a true state of super-speed, fully drawing on his Schrift — beyond anything he had used before.
But then…
He froze.
Because he heard that voice again — right beside him.
"Too slow."
"Too slow."
"Still too slow."
"No way, no way… is that really your max speed?"
Robert's own taunts, thrown back at him like knives.
They sounded unbearable now.
But he didn't have time to reflect.
He turned his head — and saw Kanbaru beside him, keeping pace with ease.
Staring right at him.
"Looks like you're the one who can't keep up with me."
Kanbaru stopped, smiled slightly — and spun a silver spirit pistol between his fingers.
"That's… my weapon?!"
Robert instinctively reached for his holster.
Empty.
That brat had taken his gun — while matching his full-speed movement.
Just how fast was Kanbaru?
Had this kid never been serious from the start?
Was that why Kirge failed?
The realization sank like a stone in his stomach — followed by a wave of pure fear.
He was terrified.
Truly terrified.
And then…
Her.
He noticed her.
The green-haired woman — long on one side, short on the other — standing silently off to the side.
She hadn't been there moments ago.
Her gaze was cool. Distant. Disdainful.
But when she looked at Kanbaru, her eyes softened with affection — dependent, protective.
Robert didn't doubt for a second: if he so much as twitched wrong toward the boy, she would erase him.
He had to leave.
Now.
As his profile entry said…
---
[Robert Accutrone — an old coward disguised as a sharp gun.]
---
Escape.
Escape now or die here!
As for the mission?
Don't be ridiculous.
What's a mission worth — if you're dead?
Robert wasn't the sort who'd give his life for Yhwach.
Loyalty?
That word didn't exist in his vocabulary.
Without another thought, he opened a Garganta — a portal back to the Wandenreich.
But just as he stepped forward—
Kanbaru entered first.
He leapt into the Wandenreich's domain.
Voluntarily.
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