But before it could reach him...
"Looking like that and still causing trouble," Gojo said lightly as he descended from above.
"Betty doesn't like you either."
He landed directly over the spider.
Given the crowded surroundings, he avoided using Blue.
Instead, he activated the Limitless Cursed Technique, applying pressure downward.
A crushing force descended.
Crack.
The spider let out a distorted screech.
Its eight legs spread wide, carving deep grooves into the ground as it struggled.
No matter how it thrashed, it couldn't escape.
The pressure forced it down, inch by inch, until it was pinned to the ground, completely immobilized.
Rentaro and Enju stared, stunned.
Then Rentaro noticed something.
The spider's head was deforming.
His expression changed instantly.
"Stop!"
"You'll get infected!"
He leapt back, pulling away as fast as he could.
Enju did the same.
"…Huh?"
Gojo blinked, glancing down.
Too late.
"Boom!"
The spider burst apart under the pressure.
A three-meter monster exploding was exactly as disgusting as it sounded.
Yellow-green fluids splattered everywhere.
The stench hit instantly.
"Ugh."
"Could you make it any worse?" Betty's voice came from a safe distance, where she stood covering her nose in disgust.
"Hey, I didn't mean for it to explode," Gojo said, equally annoyed.
He floated backward, landing far from the mess.
Thankfully, the Limitless kept everything from touching him.
*If I knew it'd be this gross, I wouldn't have bothered.*
He glanced back at the splattered remains, the area around it painted in sickly colors.
Then turned back to Rentaro.
"You guys okay?"
"I'm fine," Rentaro said, looking at the ruined street with a helpless smile.
"You could've warned me earlier," Gojo added, adjusting his sunglasses.
Rentaro stared at him.
Warn him?
Who would expect someone to kill a Gastrea like that, without even touching it?
"Rentaro!"
Enju ran over, checking him.
"You're not hurt? No fluids got on you?"
"I'm fine. You?"
"Of course I'm fine," she said, then shot an annoyed look at Gojo. "Do you not have any common sense? Do you even know how dangerous Gastrea are?"
"A kid like you isn't in any position to lecture," Betty cut in coldly.
"Hey! You're about my age!" Enju shot back.
"How arrogant," Betty replied, her tone dripping with disdain.
As the two girls started arguing, Gojo chuckled and turned to Rentaro.
"By the way, we didn't catch your name. I'm Satoru Gojo. This is Betty."
"Rentaro Satomi. And this is my Initiator, Enju Aihara."
"Initiator, huh. Interesting term."
Rentaro hesitated.
"She's not…?"
He stopped himself, recalling that Gojo had said they weren't Civil Security.
But if they weren't, how could they be this strong?
And looking closer, Betty's eyes weren't red.
"Don't worry about it," Gojo said easily. "We're from somewhere else. Still learning about this place."
"Somewhere else?"
Rentaro frowned.
In a world overrun by Gastrea, travel was nearly impossible. Land routes were gone, the territory claimed by monsters.
Only five major cities remained, isolated from one another.
The idea of outsiders arriving freely was… suspicious.
"It's a long story," Gojo said. "Maybe we can talk somewhere?"
Rentaro hesitated, then nodded.
After all, they had helped him.
"Let's go to the company."
"Starting your own company at your age? Impressive."
"It's just where I work," Rentaro replied awkwardly.
After handing off the cleanup to Detective Kinoshita and the others, he led them away.
Along the way, Betty and Enju kept bickering nonstop, like natural enemies.
Gojo and Rentaro, on the other hand, spoke calmly.
From their conversation, Gojo pieced together the basics of the world.
It was almost identical to his own.
Language. History. Geography.
The biggest difference was time.
His world was in 2006.
This one was 2031.
Twenty-five years apart.
Before long, they arrived at the Tendo Civil Security Corporation.
The name sounded impressive, but the place looked like a small detective office.
A rented space, modestly furnished.
Nothing surprising.
"Sorry it's a bit plain," Rentaro said, handing them tea.
"Not at all," Gojo replied.
Enju was promptly sent off to do her homework, much to her annoyance.
With the room finally quiet, Rentaro turned serious.
"You must have a lot you want to ask."
"Yeah," Gojo said openly. "The Gastrea Virus, Gastrea, Promoters, Initiators, mechanized soldiers…"
"I'd like to understand all of it."
Rentaro studied him.
"Those are basic things. Anyone in this world would know them."
Gojo sighed.
"To be honest, this is our first time learning about any of it."
Explaining everything was a hassle.
But thanks to Kagetane's earlier assumption, he had a convenient excuse.
Test subjects raised in isolation, now seeing the outside world for the first time.
Betty sipped her tea quietly, rolling her eyes.
This wasn't the first time he'd made up something like this.
Rentaro clearly didn't believe it.
That was, until—
A small blue sphere appeared at Gojo's fingertip.
Objects around the room lifted into the air, drawn by invisible force, orbiting him.
Rentaro froze.
His varanium eye analyzed everything.
No illusion.
No projection.
This was real.
A power beyond mechanical enhancement, beyond Initiators, beyond even the Gastrea.
"This… this is the result of your experiment?" he asked, voice dry.
"Something like that," Gojo said calmly.
"And earlier… you used this to kill the Gastrea?"
"Yeah."
Rentaro picked up a floating pen, then reached behind him and pulled out a book.
"You should read this," he said, handing it over.
The title was simple.
Gastrea.
"It explains everything about the Gastrea Virus."