Why Are You the One Who Gets to Be Happy?
And just like that — he got absolutely wrecked.
Shalla's fist connected squarely with Chain's face. That should have been the end of the fight.
Click.
Click. Click. Click!!
A cascade of mechanical sounds erupted right in front of Chain's nose.
"What the—!!!!"
Circuitry unfolded in glowing blue across the empty air, and from within it, countless mechanical shields came pouring out. Not just one. Dozens. Each shield layered at a different angle, covering Chain's entire body without a single gap.
"What is that?"
Shalla's eyes went wide.
KWAAAAAANG---!!!
Her fist smashed the first shield head-on. The special-alloy steel crumpled like paper.
The second.
CRACK!!!
The third.
KRAKA-RAKA-RAK!!!!
The very space her fist touched split apart. Reality itself shattered, and the shields burst one after another in a chain of explosions.
But behind each one, there was another shield. And behind that one, yet another. No matter how devastating Shalla's strike was, the force bled out of it as she broke the shields one by one.
And finally—
Crack...!!!
The last shield split open.
But Chain was unharmed. Shalla's fist had connected, all right — yet the shields, deployed in that split instant, had stopped it dead just short of his face.
".........!!!!"
Shalla's pupils trembled.
Her attack had been completely neutralized. No — that wasn't quite right. Chain had prepared a way to block her attack before it ever came.
"That just now...!!"
Shalla's breath caught in her throat.
"My strike...!!"
Then Chain smiled. It was a smile that treated the blood and wounds covering his face mere seconds ago as if they were nothing at all.
"I came pretty thoroughly prepared this time."
".......!!!!"
Shalla's expression froze.
"I came here to capture the Akra and you. It'd be weirder if I hadn't prepared, wouldn't it?"
Vmmm.
Chain's right eye. The pattern in the eye he'd uncovered from its eyepatch was moving again — reading Shalla's movements, predicting her next action. And now, it had calculated the exact moment his attack would land.
"SHALLAAAAAAA--!!!!!"
Rai's voice echoed from far across the rooftop.
But Chain's hand moved first.
VRRRRR--!
The chainsaw roared to life, spinning with deafening clamor.
The color drained from Shalla's face.
"The distance...!!"
Tat!---
Chain took a single step forward.
"!!!!!!!!"
Shalla scrambled to retreat, but he was already too close.
CHWAAAAAAAACK--!!!!
Chain's chainsaw bored into her abdomen.
"Kghk...!!!!"
Shalla's body jackknifed. Her breath jammed in her throat, and the world went white before her eyes. A searing pain spread from her stomach through the rest of her body.
"Uuuuuuuugh...!!!"
Swish.
On pure instinct, Shalla thrust her hand forward. Right in front of her, space warped.
KRRK-CHAK!!!
Space ruptured, and the chainsaw's trajectory twisted. The force of the blade had been diminished. But... this time, he was far too close. Weakening an attack by warping space and erasing it entirely were two very different things.
Shalla's face contorted.
"No... don't..."
Blood ran down from the corner of her mouth. Her legs gave out, and the moment Chain's chainsaw withdrew, she sank to one knee.
Thud.
"Haah... haah..."
She pressed her hand against her stomach. Blood welled up between her fingers. This time, it was a truly fatal wound.
Shalla realized she had made a mistake. No — Chain had simply been a step ahead of her the entire time. She couldn't believe it: even after laying out her own plan, he had seen through every inch of it.
"I was..."
Her vision swayed.
"...too careless..."
That instant.
WHAM---!!!!
Chain kicked her.
".......!!!!"
Shalla's body skidded backward. And then—
THWAM---!!!
She sailed clean over the railing.
"SHALLA-----!!!!"
Rai's scream tore across the rooftop.
WHOOOOOSH...!!!
Shalla fell, plunging down the side of the building. The wind whipped through her hair. Her body spun, the building's facade streaking past before her eyes.
"............"
Clutch.
She barely managed to wrap her arms around her stomach. Her fingertips wouldn't obey her.
"Rai... I'm sorry..."
Murmuring his name in a faint whisper, Shalla tilted her head back and saw the sky.
And then—
WHOOOOOSH...!!
Something was flying down from that sky.
One. Two. Three. Dozens of metal rods were raining toward her.
Shalla's eyes widened slowly.
"Those are...!!"
Circuitry flowing along their surfaces. Mechanical construction. And the distinctive magic she could feel radiating from within them.
She recognized them instantly.
"Argentium...!!!"
The same family of equipment as the mechanical shields that had blocked her strike just moments ago.
"No way...!!"
The rods shot past her, surrounding her on all sides. And then—
Click!
Click!
Click!
One by one, they locked into place around her. Shalla stretched out her hand desperately, trying to manipulate space — but her fingertips held no strength at all.
"Nooo, please..."
Her voice shook.
"Not now...!!!"
VMMMM--!
Violet energy erupted between the rods. Glowing violet lines connected to one another — click, click — and in an instant, a colossal structure took shape: a barrier unfolding with Shalla at its center.
"!!!!!!!"
She flung her hand toward it.
KWAANG---!!!
Space shuddered. But the barrier didn't break. Instead, a violet shockwave knocked her hand away.
"I can't fall here...!"
Shalla gritted her teeth, but her rate of descent was already far too fast. And then—
KWAAAAAAANG!!!
Her body slammed into the ground. The pavement caved inward with a thunderous roar.
KUUUUUUUU...!!
Dust and debris exploded in every direction. For a long moment, nothing could be seen. Then, slowly, the dust began to clear.
Thud... crick-crack...
There she was. Shalla — soaked in blood, lying utterly motionless. The violet barrier still wrapped around her body, glowing faintly in the settling haze.
Shalla had lost consciousness.
".......!!!"
On the rooftop, Chain stared down at the ground below. For a long while, he said nothing at all.
Ha.
"Ha..."
A hollow, strength-drained laugh spilled out of him. His shoulders shook faintly.
"This time..."
Chain wiped the blood from his face.
"...I won. Shalla Crosshope."
And then—
"Sh...alla...?"
At the sound of the voice behind him, Chain turned around. Only Rai was standing there. Rai's face was chalk-white — the shock of watching Shalla fall in front of his eyes.
"You... idiot..."
Rai's lips trembled.
Chain spoke as if nothing had happened.
"Hey, junior."
One step.
"Shalla lost."
Another step.
"And the time you have left is..."
A smile spread across Chain's mouth.
"...twenty hours."
Rai stumbled backward. One step. Then another. Chain advanced steadily, watching him retreat.
"Look forward to the next twenty hours."
Chain's voice was calm.
"I've prepared quite a lot."
Crushed beneath the fear, Rai couldn't say a word. Chain tilted his head slightly at the sight of him.
"So then."
Grin.
"Go ahead and scream for me, nice and quiet-like."
That instant—
The corner of Rai's mouth twisted. Whether from fear, or sheer disbelief, even he couldn't tell. A crooked, involuntary smirk.
"If you mean screaming..."
Rai let out a short, sharp laugh.
"...the last time I did was when Shalla raided my emergency stash without asking. I'd rather not, thanks."
At his words, Chain's smile vanished.
The next instant—
WHAM!!!
Chain vanished from his field of vision. And in the very next moment—
CRACK-----!!!!!!
A fist buried itself in Rai's face.
"Kghk!"
His body lurched backward.
THUD-THUD-THUD--!!!
His nose burst open. Drip... drip... Rai staggered, clutching at his face.
"Urgh... aargh..."
Blood streamed down between his fingers. His nose had been shattered straight down to the bone.
Swish.
Rai lifted his head. That instant, Chain's fist came flying again.
WHISH--!
"!!!!!"
He ducked desperately. Thankfully, this time the fist grazed past above his head. But Chain had already anticipated even that.
"!!!!!!"
WHISH--!
Chain's knee rocketed upward.
KWAANG!!!
The knee slammed directly into Rai's jaw.
"KUHAK---!!"
His body was launched into the air, blood spraying from his mouth, and crashed onto the pavement.
KOOM...!!
Just two blows. That was all it took for Rai to become unable to move.
Swish.
Chain looked down at him and asked quietly:
"Hey, junior."
At the sound of his name, Rai's eyes drifted weakly toward him.
"Living together with Shalla..."
Chain's voice was unnervingly calm.
"...was it fun?"
Rai's brow twitched faintly. He couldn't understand the question.
Chain asked again.
"Taking care of that girl who controls the tentacles, too."
A pause.
"Was that fun?"
Rai moved his bloodied lips.
"Why are you even asking? Of course it was."
That instant, the light in Chain's eyes changed.
".......Fun?"
His voice quavered low.
"You say it was fun?"
Ha.
Chain straddled the fallen Rai. And then—
WHAM!!!
A fist hammered into Rai's face.
"KUHAK--!!!!"
WHAM---!!!
Again.
WHAM-----!!!
And again.
Rai's skull slammed against the ground, over and over, and Chain's breathing grew ragged.
"Why...!!"
WHAM----!!
"Why does a worthless piece of...!!"
WHAM----!!!!!
"...get to be HAPPY----!!!!"
WHAM!!!
"Why does garbage scum like YOU get to----!!!!!!!!!"
Chain rained down fists like a man possessed. This was no longer the Chain anyone knew. The casual air of someone toying with an opponent — gone. The teasing, the jokes woven between blows — all of it gone. There was nothing on Chain's face now but rage.
Fury. Envy. The resentment he had swallowed down for so long. And a pain that had no name. Every one of those feelings detonated at once.
WHAM!!!
"Every single time I see you grinning like that----!!"
WHAM!!
"It feels like my skull's splitting open-----!!"
WHAM!!!
"What gives a worthless bastard like you the right to make that face---!!"
Rai raised his arm, trying to shield his face.
THWAM--!!
But Chain seized the arm and flung it violently aside, then drove his fist down once more.
WHAM!!!
"Who do you think you are----!!!"
WHAM!!!
"Who do—!!"
WHAM!!!
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU AAAARE----!!!!"
WHAM!!!
The sound of impact rolled across the rooftop. Once. Twice. Endlessly, the fists kept falling. By now, Rai's face was drowning in blood — lips split, nose streaming, every inch of his skin swollen red and raw.
But Chain didn't stop.
"Why you...!!!"
WHAM--!!
"Why does it get to be you...!!"
WHAM---!!
"Why are YOU the one who's laughing---!! WHY----!!!!"
WHAM--------!!!!!
Slowly, Chain's fist came to a halt. He hauled in great, ragged breaths.
"Heh... hehk..."
He stared down at Rai's face. His own hands, too, were soaked with blood — but Chain paid it no mind. After gazing at Rai for a long, long moment, he spoke in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.
"...You."
Rai's clouded eyes turned toward him.
"You're the calamity that stole the happiness of countless people."
There was no shouting left in Chain's voice. If anything, that made it colder still.
"A being incapable of loving anyone — and the one who killed the only person who ever gave you love with your own hands...!!"
Chain looked down at Rai's blood-drenched face. His eyes were not the eyes of someone looking at a person. There was fear mixed into them — the terror one feels toward something that cannot be understood.
"And yet you... why..."
His lips trembled.
"Why do you get to feel happiness?"
Rage still burned in Chain's eyes. But deeper beneath it, an emotion that fury alone could never explain was flickering and swaying — as if the mere sight of Rai's happiness was a pain Chain simply could not endure.