Walking To The Incinerator

0905 hours, 3 July 0145...

I stood in front of a suspicious-looking structure with no entrance door in a somewhat dim alleyway, just as Sergeant Adipati had shown me via the messaging applications.

As a result, I drew my phone and texted him.

"I have arrived at the pinpoint, and I don't know where the entrance is."

But as I fixated my gaze on the pinpoint location on my phone and let my thoughts wander to my earlier dispute with Antonio, I heard a voice calling out to me from the other side of the alley.

"It seems like you came in at the right time."

It startled me to death when I scanned the area in case the noise belonged to a Cleanser Squadron's spy.

But as time passed, the mysterious figure emerged from the shadows, unveiling himself. And it was... Sergeant Adipati!

Thankfully, it was him. If it were someone else, I'd turn that dumbass into a million pulps in an instant with my brute force.

With a hint of relief but slightly worried, I then approached him and spoke.

"Sergeant Adipati? Shouldn't you be worried that the Cleanser Squadron will come after you after you dig up their corruption?"

But with a little chuckle, he then responded with confidence.

"Even if they do, it's no different than falling into their own pitfalls."

As I sighed with relief, I put my telescopic stick in my tote bag and glanced over at Adipati. Approaching me, he continued with a noticeably relaxed demeanor.

"And you were lucky enough to come earlier than I expected."

Feeling perplexed and somewhat irritated by the unusually tidy alleyway, I questioned him.

"Where the hell is the underground bar?"

He turned around and walked a few steps away from me as he spoke.

"Follow me."

As he looked over his shoulder with a grin, he pointed at my stomach, which made a little gurgling sound.

"And it's obvious you haven't had breakfast yet."

As I groaned in frustration at his tease, I then responded by following his lead.

"So what's the deal with that?"

"Be grateful that someone's putting you out of danger, or you'll be dead in no time."

And all I could do was silently follow his lead to the underground bar.

***

Adipati switched on the lights as he unlocked the entrance to the basement bar, and I watched as the luxurious establishment sprang to life. He went to the kitchen, took off his coat, and put it on the coat rack.

"Sit on whatever you'd like, and let me prepare the breakfast first."

I could only nod in response and take a seat at the bartender's table.

A dark wood wall, a red carpeted floor, several scenic portraits on each wall, and a rack above the bartending station filled with a variety of exotic alcoholic drinks adorned the underground bar. This seemed like a comfortable place to live.

In front of the bartending table, Adipati approached me and inquired as he took up the shaker cup.

"What would you like to drink, Tsuyuki?"

But I denied his request, shaking my head.

"Sorry, I don't drink."

"How old are you, then?"

"21."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't like getting drunk."

"I have non-alcoholic drinks. Juices, for example."

"Go with that, please."

As Adipati went back to make breakfast, I waited by taking my phone out of my backpack and reading texts from friends. It appears that there are none. Perhaps the issues with the Cleanser Squadron will continue to occupy their time.

As I fiddled with my phone screen, a woman sat down at the bartending table and spoke softly.

"It's been years, Tsuyuki."

Her sudden statement surprised me so much that I hurriedly shut off my phone and put it in my tote bag. As I cast my gaze to the right, I saw a woman with a long ponytail of reddish-brown hair, dark orange eyes hidden behind black spectacles, a dark green trench coat paired with a red sweater, a dark green skirt, black tights, and dark brown boots.

The more I look at this woman, the more I wonder if I've seen her before. As soon as she put her tote bag above the table, she cocked her head with a question.

"What's wrong?"

But all I could give her was a stuttering response with a slight surprise.

"Doctor… Leah… Dolmas?"

Yes, the woman is named Dr. Leah Dolmas. Based on what Adipati's flash disk ever mentioned, she was previously a well-known psychiatrist on Minerva, particularly for her treatment of Minerva Authonoids with acute post-mission trauma.

She was similar to Commander Marisa, but her method of calming her patients was even more unusual. But she defected to Crescent because she had major disagreements with Director Brezhnev's current draconian policy.

She let out a playful chuckle as she patted my left shoulder and questioned me in a gentle tone.

"How did your time serving on Minerva go?"

I remained silent for a moment while looking at the table's surface, and then I answered.

"I forgot that I'm no longer a newbie."

She burst out laughing and patted my left shoulder somewhat roughly in amusement after my reply. I then remarked again with a slightly serious tone.

"I remember you being an ignorant scum, leaving your husband and your twin daughter for your goal of nothing after defecting to Crescent."

But as she answered, she shook her head, giggled softly, and laid her right face on her right knuckle as she answered.

"Who said that? We're still trusting each other. And I'm proud of my twin daughters' successes in college, as I also took care of them."

Despite my nodding in understanding, a sense of unease gnawed at me from within.

"I can't stop thinking about what Onigashi has ever done to me back in the Harimal Forest. But what do you think of her as a whole? And why didn't you stop her in the first place?"

She looked in my direction and broke down the details with hand gestures.

"She is a bounty hunter who frequently faces off against a more powerful opponent in order to overcome herself through any possible gap. She considers competing against weaker opponents an insult, as it's also a part of her coping mechanism."

"Her leadership does surprise me, as she encouraged the Crescent's members to think creatively when confronting future challenges."

"And although it's my responsibility to calm her down whenever she goes too far with that, still, getting on her way is no different than walking into the incinerator."

Although I gave her a satisfied nod after hearing her explanation, I asked her again with some hesitation.

"What is Onigashi's real name?"

She then gave a curt response.

"Rukia."

It was as if lost-time memories washed over me upon hearing her respond. After standing up straight, I asked quietly.

"Wait, have I ever heard that name?"

Dr. Leah then elaborated with a gesture of her right hand.

"She's a former Minerva Authonoid and used to be one of your competitors five years ago. Don't you remember that?"

But her answer still left my mind oversteering, so I shook my head and responded.

"I'm sorry. Got any proof of that?"

Dr. Leah then took out some paper from her tote bag and gave it to me as soon as I accepted it. With my whole attention, I studied the document and saw that it detailed Rukia's combat record from her first year aboard Minerva.

Below Rukia's biodata, I came upon an interesting expert's take on her fight results:

"She is such a quick learner and thinker who always triumphs over herself. Despite this, she often oversteps her risky bounds, as she is too ambitious in her pursuit of power. As a result, she has to work on her willpower to prevent her greed."

Once I read the report about Rukia's history, all I could do was nod in agreement, feeling empathetic all the while. Onigashi, formerly known as Rukia, shares a common trait with her previous counterpart: she relentlessly pursues increased power without any justification.

I still don't understand her motivation to be stronger than the latter. Regardless of my efforts to calmly convince her, I really doubt that she will continue to aim her katana at me.

After reading Rukia's old paper and handing it to Dr. Leah, I posed another question.

"Is there any reason she changed her frame?"

Dr. Leah then went on to elaborate once more with hand gestures.

"The Scorching Virus has weakened her inner frame and consciousness. Henceforth, we spent months gathering rare materials to construct a more robust framework that would revive her while preserving her original awareness."

"But curing the Scorching Virus infection is an impossible task since it's an all-invasive virus with no effective cures, and it'll remain dormant in your body until your death."

"So instead of making everything from scratch, which could waste more resources, we instead let the virus linger in her consciousness while we gave it a special serum to soothe the virus's infection, as we trained her to manage it all."

"By modifying her virus filter, she can convert the virus inside her body into her base element, but on a higher level than any normal Authonoids."

"But there's a twist: If she always pushes herself to the limit, the virus will infect her often, which could act like a boomerang to her. I also want her to control her willpower to prevent any unwanted casualties."

She suddenly sighed in exasperation and then proceeded with a hint of melancholy.

"Unfortunately, the incinerator she's strolling on wasn't exactly a walk in the park. The Great Pope, Enzio Busso, has limitless ace cards for municipal governance since Cleanser Squadron isn't exactly an organization she'd easily wipe."

Although I nodded in agreement, I queried her once again while wondering about my thoughts.

"Is there anything I could do to stop these megalomaniacs?"

She smiled at me, stroked my back, and patted me in response.

"Just keep digging and never look up."

While I was still talking to Dr. Leah, Adipati came out of the kitchen and placed the breakfast tray on the table in front of me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, kid. And it seems like you had a pleasant conversation with Dr. Leah, didn't it?"

Dr. Leah suddenly stroked Adipati on the left shoulder and smiled seductively at him.

"Of course, honey. Both Tsuyuki and Rukia are such unique Authonoids."

The word's "Honey," coming from Dr. Leah's mouth, caught me off guard, which prompted me to express my surprise.

"Did you say honey to him?"

But Adipati responded by handing me their marriage card with a playful chuckle. Perhaps the fact that they hadn't mentioned this marriage card before surprised me. As a result, I asked myself an unclear question.

"Why the hell didn't I see this before?"

Adipati and Dr. Leah had a lighthearted chuckle as he presented the meal, interrupting my question and preventing my mind from wandering.

"Anyway, here's your breakfast: beef organ curry soup with bitter crackers and hot ginger milk with an egg yolk and pure honey for energizer."

The intense, fragrant aromas of these foods wafted towards me, almost making my mouth water. But because the term "organ" was a mystery to me, I felt obliged to ask him.

"A beef organ curry soup? What the hell is this?"

But Adipati's only response was giving me a confident hand motion that I should give it a go.

I wasted no time reaching for the spoon and tasting the broth. As I tasted it, the broth's taste gave my tongue a kaleidoscope of feelings like no other.

Grabbing some intestines in a rush, I tasted them. Despite the unusual texture of the meat, the spices that coated the organs made them moist, and I nodded again to enjoy the flavor.

The astringent flavor and savory bitterness of the cracker appear to run counter to the soup, but I also understood why the two would complement each other so well.

With a smile on his face, he stroked my left shoulder and said something before coming back to the kitchen.

"If you like it, enjoy your breakfast, kid."

Halfway through the bitter crackers and the soup, Dr. Leah commented while smiling and patting my back.

"It seems like you have a pleasing appetite, right? Unfortunately, I have to say an unconvincing truth to you."

Despite continuing my breakfast unfazed, she leaned close to my right ear and whispered.

"There is no such thing as frantilos, and there are more than one Scorching Virus' outbreak source. Good luck for tomorrow."

She patted my right shoulder twice as she finally left the underground bar.

I must tread carefully for tomorrow's event, as it looms as the most perilous day of Rukia's reign of terror, poised to unleash unprecedented chaos.