While Seoki's situation was still just as chaotic, the taxi came to a stop in the middle of a traffic jam. Kurayami hurriedly jumped out and ran straight into the crowd, heading for a large intersection in the Akihabara district.
Seeing Kurayami disappear into the mass of people, he activated his scanner again. The moment he locked onto her signal, he pushed forward, forcing his way through the crowd.
"Excuse me—sorry—Kurayami! stop!" When Kurayami heard Seoki's voice, she froze in the middle of the road. Hundreds of people wearing goggles stood around them, forming a loose circle. She lifted her hands and raked them through her hair.
"Why… why… why won't you stop following me?"
Seoki stepped closer, trying to snap her back to reality. "I'm your brother. I won't let anything happen to you. But tell me—what are you." Kurayami slowly turned to face him, her expression suddenly calm.
"Brother… please get me out of here." She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.
Seoki moved closer. Closer—until—
"Die!" Kurayami revealed a knife hidden beneath her folded arms and lunged at him. Thanks to his experience, Seoki caught the arm holding the weapon.
"Let me go." Yurei, inhabiting Kurayami's body, turned toward the surrounding crowd. They surged forward, grabbing Seoki and forcing him down to the ground. Kurayami knelt in front of him, using both hands to grab his goggles, about to rip them off—
Then she screamed. "Gyaaaaaah~~~~~!" Kurayami clutched her head with both hands. "It's in my head—can't… control—ghah!" The strength of the people pinning Seoki down weakened as well. The crowd around them began to stir, slowly regaining awareness, though they still couldn't remove their goggles.
"So that's it! Seoki-chan, take their goggles off—now!" Dango shouted.
Seoki immediately tore the goggles off the man holding him down. The man snapped back to his senses. "W-what happened? How did I get here?" He looked around in confusion. "What's wrong with everyone?" The white-haired man grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen to me. You have to take the goggles off these people and pass this message along. If you can, break them."
"Y-yes!" The man did exactly as told, spreading the word as fast as he could.
"Gyaah—!" Kurayami, losing control, ran straight through a glass window and into a nearby office building. Seoki immediately sprinted after her—but a man with a knife suddenly lunged in and grabbed her arm.
"That bounty on you's pretty damn high, kid!" He raised the blade, ready to drive it down and end her life. "Don't!" Seoki tackled him to the ground just in time. Kurayami broke free and fled, rushing into an elevator that shot up toward the rooftop.
The bounty hunter yanked the white-haired man's pistol from his holster and shoved it against Seoki's chest. "You're finished." Crack!
Seoki twisted the man's wrist, snapping it, and knocked the gun away. "Aaagh—!"
As Seoki stood up, three more bounty hunters emerged from the shadows, guns in hand. He glanced at the pistol lying on the floor, then lifted his gaze to the men blocking his path.
"What the hell did you do to my dude? Die, bitch!" One of them raised his gun, aiming straight at Seoki, who stood perfectly still.
Meanwhile, Seto's situation was no better. Oni had smashed his head open.
"Your father was burned alive~ his body reduced to ashes, screaming in agony. I saw it with my own very eyes. All because of scum like the Taiyonshin gang and the Oniwa II, taking innocent lives."
"My father wasn't innocent. And neither are you! And you've got the nerve to talk about justice?"
"People are born into a world balanced on scales. Birth, aging, sickness, death—returning to the wild. Life's nothing more than that. Speeding things up a little—what's the problem? Trash like 'em love using power to twist the rules. I threw everything away, even my own name, just to see karma come back and bite you. I swear I'll wipe you all out—every last one. Including that little slut you're protecting."
"Looks like the rust is finally showing through you. You'll have to step over my body first!" Seto drew the gun from his ankle and aimed at the masked man, but Oni slapped his arm aside, deflecting the shots.
Bang! Bang!
"You still don't see what that girl is? Nothing can save her." Oni slashed at Seto's left shoulder, but Seto blocked it with the gun's grip. Switching hands, he drew a tanto from his waist and stabbed toward Oni's lower abdomen. The masked man raised his knee, catching the blade and avoiding a fatal hit, while his other hand twisted the katana, forcing Seto's gun to turn toward his own head.
Seto clenched the slide of his pistol between his teeth, keeping it from lining up with his skull. They struggled back and forth—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The close-range shots rang out, deafening Oni and creating an opening. Seto slammed his head into the spine of the katana. The blade rebounded and struck Oni's own mask, cracking it. The demon mask pressed forward under Seto's force, the edge slicing through, blood seeping from the letter "裂" engraved on Oni's forehead. "Not bad. But if you kill me—what then, huh?" They stared each other down, neither willing to give in.
"I go home. To my sister. To my friends. To the people… I care about most." Seto shoved him back. The masked man yanked the tanto free from his knee and hurled it straight at Seto's forehead.
"Shit!" Seto raised his hand to block— Thunk! The blade pierced straight through his palm, stopping just short of his eye. But that opening was enough. Oni swung his sword and severed Seto's left wrist. The man collapsed onto the ground, screaming as his hand was no longer attached to his body.
"Fuuuuuck~! My hand!"
"That kind of wound? To me, a bug sting." Oni staggered back a step at a time, catching his breath.
"Chikushou!" Seto slapped a gel patch over the stump. "Damn it! Not so good eh? Hah… hahahaha!" He laughed hysterically, picking up his severed hand.
"Well, guess I can't jerk off anymore." Spinning his body to build momentum, Seto hurled the arm at his enemy. Oni caught it, then noticed the tattoo written on it: 'Oww~ I'm boutta blow!'
Something dropped from the clenched fingers onto the concrete.
Clink. Clink. A compact grenade.
Oni spun around instantly— Boom! The explosion sent Oni's body flying, slamming him into a parked van.