CHAPTER 6: The World of the Tormented
As Rexy and Epifanno walked out of the shop, they saw Cassirino and Clockwise walking with Teacher Ryouko.
Rexy approached them and asked Clockwise,
"Have you heard the news? There's a new mission coming in. It's going to be my first mission. Do you have any tips?"
Clockwise stopped and looked at Rexy with a stoic expression before replying,
"For this, you shouldn't be here. This mission is a world mission with an extremely dangerous individual. I don't think you should rush to your death."
Hearing Clockwise's words, Rexy's excitement dropped slightly. He replied,
"Well, I'll be in the backup line then. Everything's going to be fine, and everyone will be happy afterwards."
He said the last part with a hint of sarcasm, but it was mostly genuine.
Clockwise's ticking quickened before he let out a laugh.
"Yeah, I hope so..."
He spoke sarcastically, but a hint of bitter sadness lingered in his voice and gestures.
Epifanno noticed and patted Rexy on the back.
"No worries. You can be in the frontline. I'll make sure you survive. I've handled world missions before. Based on my experience, direct fighting is not recommended unless you're confident."
Rexy smiled and replied,
"We still have a lot of time before the fight. Can you let Reimu teach me a few of his techniques?"
Suddenly, Reimu appeared right beside Rexy, startling him.
Epifanno smirked and remarked sarcastically,
"Speaking of the devil."
Reimu looked at Epifanno with a blank expression.
"You were going to accept his offer, right?"
Epifanno looked away and shrugged, giving an obviously false expression.
Reimu frowned and looked at Rexy.
"Not yet. You're not prepared. My technique is too risky for you."
Rexy's expression softened with disappointment at being rejected by Reimu, but his smile returned when he saw Cassirino.
"You joined the Soul Army?" Rexy asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Cassirino smirked, nudging Clockwise slightly.
"Yes, all thanks to Mr. Grumpy Clock."
Clockwise sighed with mild annoyance before playfully punching Cassirino in the stomach, causing him to grunt in shock.
"The test was very easy. As long as you're morally stable and determined enough... yet this fedora-hatted buffoon keeps getting anxious. He was nearly rejected at least twice," Clockwise said, pulling Cassirino up, who was still faking pain.
Epifanno suddenly received a call from the O.D.F (Outer-Cast Defensive Force). He picked it up, but before he could speak, a shrill, explosion-like sound and cries of pain greeted his ears. He flinched, then heard a weak, pained voice.
"S-Sir Epifanno..."
Epifanno replied urgently, clearly worried,
"What is it? Is that you, Private Ethan?"
The voice, identified as Ethan, begged,
"T-Tell Lady Kuyo... He has arrived."
Epifanno looked at the phone in confusion, replying urgently,
"Who?!"
The audio distorted. The last thing he heard was the voice glitching,
"K-K-Kamikaze, He-He's ba—"
The call was cut off by a loud crash, as if someone had body-slammed a huge object onto the phone, followed by a squelching sound. Epifanno shouted in a commanding tone,
"Who's there?!"
A raspy voice, likely from a man in his 30s, replied. Deep, low, and oddly depressing,
"Do you have anyone on planet Earth whose name is, by chance, Kamikaze Ryoushiru?"
Epifanno frowned before replying,
"No, we don't. But we only know Kazuki Ryoushiru. What is your business? State your name."
The voice went silent, then asked,
"Male or female?"
Epifanno answered,
"Male."
The voice from the other end laughed, then screamed into the phone,
"Kazuki Ryoushiru... you took everything. I'll make sure you feel every second of it, I WILL MAKE YOU FEEL THE PAIN I SWEAR—"
The call ended, likely because the scream broke the connection.
Rexy covered his ears from the loudness, then removed his hands and asked in confusion,
"Why does he want to kill me, exactly?"
Epifanno shook his head, equally clueless, then snapped back into urgency, texting Kuyo,
"Hey, Kuyo. The O.D.F has been terminated, and the target is looking for Kamikaze Ryoushiru—and also Rexy."
Kuyo paused, then texted back,
"Wait, what? Kamikaze was on our watchlist. Why is he targeting Kamikaze, and why also Rexy?"
Epifanno replied,
"Maybe it's a paradox within the Mirror World. Identity-related, like last decade. But we must prepare for war. Call every elite soldier and have them in the line. We must not waste a second."
Kuyo responded with a "yes" and began individually calling everyone.
"This will be a dizzy trip,"
Epifanno said as he grabbed Rexy, Cassirino, and Clockwise by the collars and leapt at immense speed toward Soul HQ.
He tunneled through the clouds, landing on a mountain, then used it as momentum to jump again. Rexy got dizzy and fell. Epifanno didn't even look back.
Confused, Cassirino yelped,
"He's falling! Save him!"
Epifanno chuckled and replied confidently,
"Watch. He'll survive. Don't underestimate him, son."
As Rexy fell, he heard Epifanno's remark and replied in confusion,
"Wait, Cassirino is your so—"
He crashed onto the ground, dust and debris flying into the sky before fading. Clockwise leapt down to check on him. Through the smoke, he saw something that horrified him: Rexy was unscathed.
He dusted off his hair and clothing and asked,
"Can you drag me up? I can't fly."
Clockwise sighed, grabbed Rexy by the leg, and flew toward Epifanno. Meanwhile, Cassirino looked at Epifanno, recognizing him.
"Wait... Dad???"
Epifanno chuckled sarcastically,
"I am not dead. Don't give me the heartwarming family reunion. The last time we met was two months ago."
Cassirino sighed, shrugged, and asked Rexy,
"How does it feel to be trained by my dad?"
Rexy touched a small imprint of the gas mask on his neck, sighed, and replied,
"It was painful, but worth it."
Epifanno grabbed all three tightly, warning,
"No more talking. Cover your eyes and face. Even debris at this speed could be painful."
The three covered themselves as Epifanno prepared. Suddenly, he moved so fast the sky roared, breaking the air and shredding the clouds apart. He arrived at Soul Army HQ nearly instantly. They landed, and Rexy coughed violently, asking in genuine curiosity,
"How fast did you just move?!"
Epifanno frowned,
"I'm not a math guy—"
Clockwise interrupted in awe,
"M-mach 1,947,303... that's like... never mind."
Rexy and Cassirino didn't understand, but Epifanno chuckled,
"I once fought on the frontline when the Soul Army was forming. Not a math guy, but I remember a demon moving even faster than the sound of his leap."
Kuyo arrived at the HQ doorstep in her proper vest, looked around, then greeted Rexy warmly,
"Welcome back, Rexy. Seems like you've completed your training trial, am I right?"
Rexy nodded, then asked,
"Why is that guy Kamikaze specifically targeting me?"
Kuyo's expression went serious.
"I don't know. That's the dangerous part. But I brought a corpse from the O.D.F. Our memory archive might reveal something before his death."
She led them into the lab, revealing a decapitated O.D.F soldier from the incident. His heart had been ripped from his ribcage with brute force; his body was battered as if dragged with chains, his legs flattened. Rexy grimaced.
Kuyo placed his head in a sideways X-ray scanner. Clockwise looked at it and spoke,
"I'm not sure about the machine's accuracy. Need a test?"
Kuyo handed safety goggles to everyone except Clockwise.
"This will be the test."
She flipped the switch. The machine glowed violently, filling the room with blue light. Screams and debris sounds emanated from the monitor. After a few minutes, the light stopped, showing the soldier's memory.
"BEGIN PLAYBACK!"
On the monitor, the soldier walked down a hallway, glancing outside. Darkness and a low humming filled the space. Suddenly, a voice echoed—like an old man, but not human:
"...Astonishing, very impressive. What was your name again, favorable opponent?"
There was silence before someone replied,
"...Kamikaze Ryoushiru... I..."
The voice was cut off by the mysterious figure,
"I do not care about your philosophy. You dared enter my realm, my world. You do not belong, but you've proven yourself worthy of my approval. That slash was faster than I expected."
The tension rose. The soldier peeked through the hallway. A huge hole existed in the interdimensional ship, yet there was no suction. The entity wore human clothes and a scarf; his head resembled an orb containing every star and universe, topped with a top hat.
Before him stood a man in his 30s, wielding a greatsword entwined with dark red ivy thorns. His dark brown coat looked war-torn. A huge, partially burnt cross was chained to his back. He had bags under his eyes, sunken cheeks, and cracks in his skin with dimly glowing red underneath.
The entity smiled, inspecting a slashing wound on its hand, and spoke again,
"For the time we battled, I allow you to enter this place. But if you touch the internal system hierarchy, I will intervene."
Kamikaze nodded, panting slightly with exhaustion. The entity vanished.
The soldier breathed too loudly. Kamikaze turned slowly, radiating killing intent. He swung his chain, entangling the soldier, dragging him violently down the hallway. Blood painted the floor. Using the cross, he slammed the soldier into the wall, then punched him violently, breaking several ribs.
After a relentless barrage, he kicked the soldier to the ground, asking,
"Do you have any information on 'Kamikaze Ryoushiru?'"
Coughing blood, the soldier spat,
"Fuck you! Eat shit!"
He fired a gun at Kamikaze's head, but Kamikaze bit the bullet. He dropped the soldier, pierced his hand into the soldier's ribcage, and pulled his heart out, spilling blood everywhere. The soldier was practically dead already. But Kamikaze still stared down before swinging his greatsword at the soldier's neck, beheading him as the scene faded.