Chapter 116 - Decision Made

—3rd Person POV—

"I…I cannot believe it, you were right!", Kisara gasped in shock as she called it in, "Why can you do this on every job?"

Looking at her with an exhausted expression, Cole could not blame the poor guy for his reaction. He was quite popular with the ladies, and each of them wore him out both mentally and physically with their antics. The fact that they did not get along that well with one another further put him in a bind, but that was his burden to bear. If he was not going to lay down the law, and take control he had to deal with the crazy train ride.

Staring at the Cursed Children by Cole, Enju and Rentaro wondered if something was missing from the police report. According to the paperwork they were given, Cole was suspected of being a potential hitman who was after their Governor's life. Not quite sure how they came to that conclusion, given the position they found him in, Rentaro wondered if it had to do with the fact Cole had Cursed Children with him. It was well known that the police did not look fondly upon Cursed Children as they stole food scraps quite often which served to increase their workloads.

There had been several cases where police either beat them to death or watched as the Store Owners did it. Knowing this from first-hand experience, Rentaro started to think they had set up an innocent man for treating them kindly.

"Rentaro…do we have to do this?", Enju said looking up at him, "All of them look so happy, and are just eating ice cream peacefully. Maybe they made a mistake or this guy is not the one we are after."

"I wish we could look the other way, but if we did we could be branded as traitors and thrown in prison for life.", Rentaro apologized to her, "The arrest warrant is only for the man, we can help get the children away before the Police and other Promoters arrive."

"You think they will let the kids just walk away?", Cole remarked appearing in front of them, "There is optimism, and then there is foolishness…and that is the latter.

Realizing that Cole had snuck up on them, the three of them jumped away from him in fright. Reaching for their weapons instinctively, both of them froze as an overwhelming pressure hit them. Falling to their knees as they struggled to breathe, they looked up at Cole to see he was simply staring at them. Moving their hands away from their guns, the pressure lessened significantly allowing them to regain control of themselves.

"Listen, I know the three of you are a rarity among Promoters…I am sorry I placed you in such a difficult position.", Cole remarked as he let out a weak EMP to temporarily take out the electronics in the area, "As Enju suggested, the only mistake here was the Sales Clerk's attitude to these innocent children. I took them to buy new toys, since they had none at all, and that bitch had the nerve to berate and insult the children. She refused to sell anything to us so I set her straight while pinning the responding officers to the ground. This is revenge for embarrassing their public image in front of the woman who called them."

Looking back at the kids, Cole assured them that everything was okay for the moment. Helping the three back to their feet, he apologized for getting a bit rough with them. Stating that he did not wish to fight them, as they were good people, Cole told them that it was refreshing to meet people like them in this world.

"It honestly breaks my heart that you all have resorted to using children to fight. Instead of worrying about learning in school and making friends, your society forces them to fight to the death out there for them.", Cole stated with an irritated tone, "They do the best they can only to be treated like garbage by society and their Promoter. I know that you treat Enju well, but she is one of the few fortunate ones. Most Initiators end up dying on the battlefield or being beaten to death by their allies. Honestly, this world should be erased from existence for the betterment of everyone's sake."

"What is that supposed to mean?", Kisara asked getting a sense that he was capable of doing just that.

Kneeling down to look Enju in the eyes, Cole wanted her opinion on the matter. As one of the few well-treated Cursed Children, he was curious about what she thought about the whole situation.

"Let me ask you Enju, do you think this world is salvageable or are only a few people worth saving?", Cole inquired with a serious expression, "You have seen both sides of society so your insight would be very helpful for me."

"I…I think there are good people out there, but not many.", she answered honestly, "If it were not for Rentaro and Kisara, I would not help the people here. They are the only ones who have shown me kindness, everyone else treated me like a rabid animal."

"I see…", Cole replied with a nod, "If that is the case, then my decision is made. Enju, when the reckoning comes to this world I promise that people like Rentaro and Kisara will be spared alongside every Cursed Child. I will take you all to a much better place that will not treat you that way, all of you will find happiness there."

"That would be awesome, but you can leave Kisara and the other girls like her here. Rentaro only needs me by his side to be happy!", Enju stated giving Kisara a smirk.

Going wide-eyed as she looked at Enju the two of them began arguing with one another. Standing back up with a chuckle, Cole told Rentaro that the two of them got along like sisters. Looking at Cole for a moment, Rentaro asked him to take the children and flee from the area. Informing him of the danger that was heading this way, he did not want to see anyone get hurt.

"What the hell Rentaro!? Are you trying to get our licenses revoked!?", Kisara shouted at him as she wrestled with Enju, "If we let him leave, they will hold us accountable!"

"Kisara…do you want to take this moment from them?", Rentaro asked motioning to the children who were happily eating ice cream cake, "You know how bad things are for them out there. Could you live with yourself if we took this moment from them?"

"I…", she said looking at the children as she released Enju, "No, you are right…damn it! We worked so hard to make our company, and now we are going to throw it all away for this."

Feeling his phone vibrate as she continued venting, Cole found that the police were just moments away from them. Ordering the three of them to retreat into a nearby alleyway, he insisted that they not come out till he was done. Telling him that it was suicide to fight all of them alone, Cole chuckled and admitted that it was…at least for their other group.

"This will not even be a warm-up, this will be the quickest fight I have probably had in a while.", Cole commented with a smirk, "Now get going you idiots, they are almost here!"

Doing as Cole asked without any further hesitation, the three of them entered the alley just as the sirens started to be heard. Power sliding around the corner, officers quickly blocked off both ends of the street and used their vehicles as barriers to shelter themselves. Pulling up a few minutes behind his men, the Commander arrived to take command.

"This is Commander Tjio of the Tokyo Police Force, surrender immediately or we will fire upon all of you!", the commander shouted using a megaphone to amplify his voice.

Startled by the sudden police presence and threats of violence, the children immediately began to panic. Looking at Cole for guidance, he told the girls to stay where they were for the time being. Placing a magical barrier over them, the girls watched the barrier appear out of thin air and encapsulate them. Assuring them that nothing this world had could break it, he suggested they finish their ice cream before it melted. Deciding to trust what Cole was saying, they nervously began to eat again while watching their surroundings closely.

Realizing that the man in front of him was not taking the threat seriously, Commander Tjio ordered his men to fire a warning shot at Cole. Doing as they were told, several officers aimed and fired in his general direction making sure to not hit anyone in the vicinity.

"If handguns, a few rifles, and snipers are the best you have…I suggest going home now.", Cole remarked with a prideful smirk, "None of you get paid enough to die like dogs here today. Set your weapons down now, and walk away if you value your lives."

Giving them a few moments to decide, several Promoters arrived with their Initiators in tow. Seeing a few assholes from the anime, Cole marked them for execution as they were irredeemable. One in particular thought of his Initiators as disposable tools, and regularly forced them into dangerous situations since he knew he could always get a new one. That kind of mindset pissed Cole off the most as it relegated an innocent life to nothing more than a throwaway tool.

"That offer does not extend to you Promoters though, all of you child abusers showed up to your funeral.", Cole told them staring straight at Shougen in particular, "Especially you coward, you grind my gears with your attitude toward your partners. Instead of being a grown ass man, you send children to do your work for you. Kayo, I am sorry you ended up with a useless idiot like him for a Promoter."

"How…how do you know my name?", the young girl asked in shock, "Have we met before?"

"No we have not, I am just well aware of who you are and how you ultimately end up dying.", Cole answered, "Once this is over, you can decide whether or not you want to continue trying to save this world. You, like all of the other children here, owe this world nothing for all the hatred and disgust you shoulder. I am truly sorry no one stepped up sooner to put an end to this for all of you."

"That's enough!!", Tjio shouted, "If any of those monsters turncoats, put a fucking bullet in them!"

Not liking that threat, Cole used his magnetism to forcibly wrap the commander's car around him. Hearing Tjio scream in agony as the driver, car, and he was crushed into a bloody ball everyone watching froze in disbelief. No one had ever seen something like that happen before, and the thought that they were fighting someone with that power terrified them.

"Shit, what the hell!?", Shougen shouted as he and the other teams fanned out, "What kind of monster are you!?"

"The type of monster you make these children out to be. I will show you all just how much of a monster I can be!", Cole told him as his eyes turned blood red, "Now you die next!"

Vanishing from their view, Cole reappeared right in front of Shougen. Grabbing Shougen by the face with his right hand, Cole immediately started electrocuting him while siphoning power from the electrical grid. Screaming at his Initiator to help him, as his body thrashed around in pain, Kayo stood there unsure of what to do. On one hand she felt duty-bound to help her partner as she had a strong urge to fight the Gastrea, but on the other hand, she understood Cole was trying to help children like her. Glancing over at the other Cursed Children under Cole's barrier, Kayo saw how loved and happy they looked.

Before becoming an Initiator, she was a homeless girl who had been tossed out by her family. From the moment she was able to walk, Kayo had been left to fend for herself as her parents could not stand being around her. After being taken in by the government, as an expendable tool, she had been assigned to several Promoters before ultimately ending up with Shougen. Like many Promoters, he fed her the bare minimum and never let her be a normal child. While she had a strong urge to help quell the Gastrea, deep down, she felt cheated out of the childhood that so many others got to have.

"Kayo, it is okay to be selfish as a child. No sane person would blame you for wanting to be a child instead of a killer.", Cole informed her, "If you want to leave this life behind, your freedom is right over there. No one will take it from you anymore, I promise you that."

Motioning to other children with his left hand, as Shougen start to melt, Kayo made her decision. Dropping her sword, she immediately booked it over to the barrier wanting to be free of this. Knowing that she did not have much longer to live because of her recent health check, she wanted to enjoy the last few months of her life like a normal child.

"Shoot her!!", several officers shouted as they aimed.

"Not so fast!", Cole said creating dozens of Napalm Tendrils which ensnared the officer.

Capturing the Promoters as well, all of them looked to their Initiators for help. Unlike Kayo who felt a strong urge to fight the Gastrea, the other children wanted nothing to do with the fighting. Having been forced to fight to survive, they readily threw their arms to the ground and ran the moment the opportunity presented itself.

Watching this all happen from the alleyway, Rentaro and Kisara knew that the Tokyo District was screwed. If Cole decided to liberate the Cursed Children, which neither of them could fault him for, that would leave the people here nearly helpless to stop the Gastrea. The military was not nearly strong enough to fight the Gastrea alone, they needed the Initiators to help level the playing field.

"Enju…you are not going to go, right?", Kisara inquired.

"Of course not, Rentaro and I are going to be married one day!", Enju boasted.

With the children safely behind the barrier, lightning began arcing from Cole's arms.

"All of you are pathetic weaklings that rely far too much on children to solve your problems. Your weakness disgusts me to my core, now begone!", Cole shouted as lightning arced out in every direction.

The moment the lightning made contact with the tendrils, the people captured inside immediately went up in a torrent of fire. Burning some to ash instantly, others were left to burn slowly as a show of force from Cole. Looking up at the street cameras, as they recovered from the earlier EMP, Cole pointed at them with his right hand.

"The Cursed Children of this city are under my protection now. Any aggressions taken against them will be met with a show of force from me.", Cole proclaimed, "Every single one, no matter their age or infection level, will be taken in by me and given the childhood you all stole from them. The days of you abusing these girls to save your hides are over, all of you can fight for your lives with your own two hands."

Turning back to the children, Cole walked back over and sat down again while the screams of his victims continued to fill the air.