COMA: Fragmented Reality Chapter 21 - The Girl in the Glass tube

As soon as Sir Lucas brought down his glowing sword, a wave of light spread throughout the area which caused the incoming vehicles to veer away from the road and crash on the trees and road barriers.

"Detonate it! Now!"

"""<Electrokinesis!>"""

Several electrokinetic psychics sent their electricity into the wires and one by one, the claymore mines was activated and rained slugs into the vehicles, killing those that were caught off-guard by the ambush.

"Subspace! Now!"

"""<Subspace Creation!>"""

Another group of Psychics chanted as they surrounded the area. A thing that I wasn't taught before was made known to me which is if several Psychics created a subspace using a shared mental bond, they can effectively extend the range of the subspace that is created.

Nevertheless, once the subspace was made and every unrelated thing in our surroundings was rid of their color, the battle started in earnest.

"Attack!"

"""Yes, sir!!!"""

"Argh! It's them! Protect the storage truck!"

"""Y-Yes, sir!"""

Sir Lucas ordered his men to press the attack while the Miyazono group's officer ordered for a truck in the middle of their convoy to be surrounded and protected at all costs.

"Boss! I'm heading in! C'mon Rai-kun!"

"Right!"

"Alright! I'll give you two some cover!"

We three moved out of our cover as I took out the blood from my flask and Kai held some seeds that he brought with him. Furuta-sensei attracted a door from the crashed car and used it as our shield until we get into a proper distance to the enemy.

"<Geokinesis!>"

"Uwagh!"

"Form barriers around the truck and combine your strengths to destroy this Subspace!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

The Miyazono Psychics began to pile stone and earth around the truck, blocking our attacks from reaching them.

"Renjiro! Do your thing!"

"Got it!"

Furuta-sensei ran into the open space and clasped his wrists close while keeping his palms wide open.

"<Ferrokinesis!>"

"W-whoa!"

Suddenly, the cars around us were disassembled piece by piece and stuck together in front of Furuta-sensei into a semi-conical shape.

"<Artillery Shell!>"

"Brace for impact!"

*Byuk-!* *Pyiiiiikkk-!!!*

Sir Lucas shouted a warning before the metal shell pierced the dome of stone and earth and exploded inside of it.

"Damn!"

"That'll teach 'em!"

"Huh-hah!"

When the dust settled and we looked at the dome, it was clear through the hole that Furuta-sensei made that the inside of the dome was charred.

"Hahaha! Boss really knows his stuff… He even used the gas from the cars as an incendiary material."

"Are you alright, Kai?"

"Yeah… Just fell the wrong way. Ow, ow, ow… I'll definitely feel that tomorrow."

I turned to Furuta-sensei who fell down on his bottom after expending most of his power on that last attack.

"Sensei?"

"I'm alright… Just let me rest a bit. You two go ahead with Lucas' team. Go check if the enemy is still alive."

"Yes, sensei."

Kai and I followed the approaching Sumeragi Psychics, focusing our Astra energy on our eyes to check if the enemy is still alive inside the dome of earth.

"Ephraim, can you probe into the dome and check for survivors?"

"I can, sir. Just let me focus."

I closed my eyes to gain more focus on the blood that I was manipulating and after sending it inside the dome, manipulated it to feel around the inside of the place, trying to find traces of life.

"…"

"You can do it, Rai-kun."

"Yeah. Don't make a noise, I'm getting distracted."

"O-okay…"

After feeling around the ground, the walls, the insides of the truck and the slight bumps that I assumed was bodies, I took my blood out of the dome and reported my findings.

"It seems like they were all charred, sir. We should open it but remain vigilant."

"Alright. Geo Psychics, do your thing."

"Yes, sir!"

Four Geokinetic Psychics approached the dome and piece by piece, brought down the stone walls of the dome until it was large enough to let us peer and enter it.

"<Photokinesis!>"

Sir Lucas led the entry and used his glowing sword to shine some light into the place. He was also followed by Pyrokinetic psychics who sent fireballs inside to light the area more.

"Damn… these guys got burnt to a crisp."

"Leave them be. We've got better things to do."

All around us were the burnt or mutilated bodies of the Miyazono Psychics who trapped themselves inside the dome and was burned by the gas explosion from Furuta-sensei's attack.

Luckily, it didn't hit the truck and its container van which was our target. We approached the truck carefully, checking if it doesn't have survivors inside or it was somehow booby trapped.

"This is a hard one, sir. Alphanumeric lock with 30 lock latches."

"Is that so? Darn… if only Renjiro still has some steam to-"

*Byok-!*

While they were analyzing the lock, Kai left my side and his hair tips became green before he sent a punch to the locking mechanism that broke it into pieces.

"H-Hey, Kai!"

"What the hell did you do?!"

"What are you guys getting troubled about? If it's just a lock then break it if you can't open it."

"D-Don't you have any sense of hazard?"

"What if the container exploded once you forced your way in?!"

"Oh, come on! It didn't do that, right? Stop being so square about things."

""We don't want a reckless brat like you telling us off about that!""

"Ahahaha… Typical straightforward Kai, huh?"

Kai's made some of the Sumeragi members scold him, but he didn't seem troubled at all as he continued to punch the hinges off the container van's door that made Sir Lucas chuckle lightly.

"There! It's open!"

After punching the locking bar in the middle of the two doors, it swung open and fell off.

"Let me light it up. All of you, assume combat positions. We don't know what's in here."

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone prepared their manipulatable materials as Sir Lucas illuminated the inside of the van and after adjusting our eyes, we found that it contained some boxes.

"…Cancel the subspace. We don't need it anymore."

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as the order was given, the Psychics who made the subspace broke it and color returned to our surroundings alongside the dissolution of the stone dome and the return of the dead bodies from being burnt to just being brain dead.

"I can sense something behind this wall of boxes. Call someone from Morioka and tell them to bring a truck of our own. We're taking all of this since it looks like it is full of intel."

"Roger that, sir!"

"Kai, I know that you are still recovering, but can I ask you to help lift up these stuff into our truck once it arrives?"

"Sure thing! Anything for you, boss!"

"Thanks. Ephraim-kun! I have a task for you."

"Sir?"

"Come here. I need your skill's ability for this one."

I boarded the container van and there, was told to do the same thing as before. I took out my blood, made it squirm into the gaps on the stack of boxes and once it arrived at the other side, feel around it to sense what was there.

"…"

"What do you sense, Ephraim?"

"There's some strange instruments there… made of glass and metal panels, I think. There's also some kind of battery that is whirring and supplying power to something large in there…"

"I see… Take your blood out and assist me later once we have get these boxes off of here."

"Yes, sir!"

It only took a few minutes before a moving truck from the city arrived and Kai and the others hurriedly emptied the boxes off the container and slowly, we began to sense something on that other side of the container van.

"…Lucas."

"So, you also sensed it, Renjiro?"

"I sure would after that thing kept on pounding the walls of the container while you're removing the boxes."

"Sensei… what can that be?"

"So you also sensed it, huh?"

"Yes… as soon as some of the boxes were removed, it began to emit some Astra energy."

As a column of boxes were removed, we finally had enough space to crawl into the other side and there, we saw something… almost otherworldly.

"This is…"

"A Replicator Cell?"

It was a glass tube that are used for cloning humans, a Replicator Cell. Knowing the Miyazono corporation's activities in Chiba, I wasn't that surprised. This one has a covering of glass that might have been to make sure it wouldn't be damaged during transportation.

"Is that what I think it is, Renjiro?"

"…Yeah. A Thorium reactor. A top-notch one at that."

"So that was the whirring thing that I sensed earlier?"

"Probably. These things should be as large as a normal nuclear reactor. But if it's only supplying power to this Replicator Cell, then its almost handheld size would suffice."

There were other things on the other side that Furuta-sensei and Sir Lucas inspected, but for some reason, I didn't feel interested in looking at those as well.

"…"

My attention was attracted to the cloning machine for some reason. It is almost like I was deeply intrigued by it.

"…!"

As my hand grazed the glass underneath the tarp, I felt a light shock on my finger which made me draw it back quickly.

"W-wait… a voice?"

And then, I heard a faint voice in my ears that spoke a single word to me.\

{"Run!"}

"-!"

In that very instant, all of the hairs in my body stood up as I sensed a massive wave of Astra energy from behind the truck.

"Sensei!!! Close the door!"

"-?!!"

I shouted to Furuta-sensei who quickly moved his hands to crumple the rear of the container van just in time for the explosion of stones from outside to not enter the container and hit us.

"What the hell?!"

"Everyone! What happening in there?!"

{"A strong Psychic appeared from the pile of dead bodies, sir!"}

{"We're assuming combat positions, but please come out and assist us, sir!"}

"Alright! I'm coming out right now."

Sir Lucas gave a look at Furuta-sensei who punctured the ceiling of the container to let the knight out.

"Kid, how did you sense that?"

"I was-"

I was about to say that I heard a voice from within the glass case, but I instinctively stopped speaking for some reason.

"You were what? What is it?"

"I… I just sensed it. I sensed a sudden wave of Astra energy from behind us."

"…Alright. Let's not worry about that for now. Let's head out and help the others outside."

"Yes, sensei!"

We jumped out of the container and outside, saw something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"This looks like trouble…"

"I know."

I spoke those words as one of the Psychics from the Miyazono side began to stand up and shout loudly. The boulders around him flew towards him and after sticking to his body, formed a gigantic monster made of stone.

"GRUAAAAAHHH!!!"

"Shit! This guy's gone haywire! Hey! Can someone form a Subspace?!"

"The thing is emitting large amounts of Astra waves, sir! It's overpowering our subspace creation!"

"Darn it."

Furuta-sensei is still weakened after almost dying yesterday and the attack he did earlier. Because of that, I knew that he isn't so confident about our chances this time.

"Boss! I think I can trade blows with this guy if I go all-out on my flow state."

"Don't do it, Kai. Your Augmenter core might not be able to handle it!"

"I think it can do for about five seconds tops. Anything over that and your words might become right."

We are still holding our ground as the stone monstrosity is still forming its body. But we knew that once it moves, it will certainly gather attention from the nearby populated areas.

"Kai-kun. You said that you can handle it for five seconds?"

"Yep. I'll endure the toll on my body but I am not confident that anything over that five seconds is good for me."

"Ephraim, do you think you can alleviate the toll on Kai's body? I heard that you're a medical person."

"I can't promise anything. But if it's something that I can do, I'll definitely do it to keep Kai alive."

"Alright. Wait for my signal, you two."

"Sure thing, boss!"

"-!"

Sir Lucas took his longsword out of its sheath and unfastened his knighthood cloak which he handed to me.

"Hold this for me, Ephraim. A Knight isn't meant to remove his cloak in battle, but this battle isn't about my knighthood… this is for the protection of the people that the Sumeragi organization promised to serve."

"Boss! We're ready to back you up!"

"Alright… Let's show this oaf how the Sapporo detachment does things!"

"Uwooooughh!!!"

Sir Lucas closed his eyes while walking towards the stone monster, chanting a verse from the Bible that I am very familiar with.

"The Lord is my Sheperd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

"AGAWOUGH!!!"

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over."

The soft glow on his longsword became stronger and stronger until he stopped just a few meters away from the still immobile stone monster.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

He raised the sword and I suddenly noticed that there were blobs of water above us that are angled to face the bright full moon.

"Huhahaha! Hwahahaha!!! This is it! This is the form that was promised to me!"

The stone monster suddenly gained the ability to speak and looked down on the lone man who is standing in front of him. From his voice, I identified him as the one who commanded the Miyazono Psychics earlier and made that earthen dome around the truck.

"And who might you be, insignificant insect?"

"I am Lucas Alfonse B. Tetian. A Knight from the Knight's order of Malta and Kanbu officer of the Sapporo detachment of the Sumeragi organization."

"Forget that I asked… Because you will die now!"

The stone monster brought down its fist towards Sir Lucas in such a quick speed that I almost didn't notice it at all.

"-!"

"Sir Lucas!"

"Don't panic, Rai-kun."

"Huh?"

"Boss Lucas ain't some pushover to be beaten by that kind of monster."

True to Kai's words, Sir Lucas emerged from the cloud of dust, still holding his glowing sword and simply watching the monster in front of him.

"Boss! This one is done!"

One of the Sumeragi psychics sent forward a glowing ball of water that he pierced with his sword. It turned the pale white glow of the longsword a bit more to a bright tint.

"You…! How come you dodged that?!"

"…"

"Boss! Here's another couple of 'em!"

Two more glowing water blobs were sent to his direction, and he pierced both of them, turning the glow of his sword a bit brighter each time.

"You-! You can't be!"

"Kai! Ephraim! Prepare yourselves!"

"Yes, boss!"

"Yes, sir!"

Kai activated the photosynthetic cells on his hair and I placed my hands on his back, analyzing the processes that are happening inside of his body right now.

"-!"

To my surprise, what I saw inside Kai's body was a marvel that I never expected at all. The process in which the photosynthetic cells on Kai's hair worked is very similar to the metabolic process that powers the human body.

"Amazing… this is so amazing…"

"Huh? What are ya talkin about, buddy?"

"Your Flow state form… it's so fascinating."

The ATP and ADP produced by the photosynthetic cells… the chain reaction that happens once those are supplied to Kai's muscle and nervous cells. As a medical academic, I was so enamored with all of it.

"Use this last orb of light, kid!"

"I got ya!"

I snapped back to reality as the Psychics threw the last blob of water that contains concentrated moonlight to Kai's head and the photosynthetic cells became so overloaded with light that it made his greenish hair glow.

"Urgh!"

"Just hold on, Kai. I just found what hurts you!"

I finally found the place that makes Kai wince in pain near his lung. It was several alveoli that was closed off, trapping oxygen-rich blood that could've burst his lung if I didn't find it in time. It was probably caused by his organs that are unable to quickly process his body's gas exchange whenever he uses his Flow state form.

"There! Go, Kai!"

"Wohoo! I already feel a lot better!"

Without the painful lump on his inside, Kai let his power loose and jumped straight to the monster with his fists that formed a sonic boom before it hit his enemy's torso.

*Byuk-!*

"UWARGH!"

"Eat this, you oaf!"

Kai wasn't done yet. He twirled in the air and did a roundhouse kick that hit the monster on the side of the head.

"GRUOUGH!"

"Don't let me seem weak in front of my students!"

"Sensei?!"

Furuta-sensei who has been silent for a while spoke loudly after recovering some of his strength and using it to take potshots on the stone hide of the enemy.

"<Ferrokinesis!><Rain of Steel!>"

Pieces of sheet metal was crumpled from the surrounding cars and road barriers to form large bullets that began to hit the stone skin of the enemy and forming weak spots that Kai targeted to whittle the enemy's armor.

"It seems like this is enough."

"-!"

"Kai! Hold onto me!"

"Y-yeah… thanks"

Sir Lucas raised his sword and seeing this, Kai kicked himself away from the monster and quickly undid his Flow state form that drained him of his strength.

"Everyone… Prepare to see the light that judges all evil."

Sir Lucas' words made it clear to all of us that this is the finishing blow that he has been saving all this time.

"Camael! Heed my call!"

I was shocked to discover that the longsword was an Augmenter weapon and understood why he has been keeping it sheathed all this time.

"No! Not yet! I am yet to become a Garde-"

"Silence, pitiful sinner!"

"-!"

"Your reign of terror ends here! And I will give peace to all who became victim to your wrongdoings!"

"No! I will not-!"

In a single flash, Sir Lucas lunged forward to the monster and pierced its torso where the exposed body of the Psychic controlling it was located.

"<Photokinesis><Lunar Style>"

"AWA-GHA!"

"<Psalm of the Sheperd King>"

As soon as the enemy Psychic threw up blood from his mouth, the remaining pieces of stone that surrounds his body fell off one by one and after taking his sword out, Sir Lucas hopped away and knelt in front of his enemy's dead body.

"May the Lord have mercy upon you…"

I was the first to approach Sir Lucas to place his cloak over his shoulders again while the others are either sighing in relief or exchanging congratulatory words to each other.

"I didn't expect you to state that Biblical chapter, Sir."

"I guess you can say that it's something that I've gotten used to as a Catholic Knight. After all, even if we are trained as fighting monks that are willing to battle for our faith, we are still ordained to not carry any ill feelings to those who oppose us after our battle."

"I understand."

He stood up from where he knelt and turned around to face his men.

"Everyone! Finish the loading of the items and let's leave this place! We have garnered too much attention here."

"Yes, sir!"

After he spoke those words, I remembered something inside the container van that saved our lives earlier.

"R-Rai-kun?!"

"Hup!"

I jumped up to the top of the container van and entered that hidden area in there.

"…"

"Who are you?"

I knew that it was almost stupendous, but faced with something that I do not understand, I chose to speak even though I do not know if the other side will speak back.

["Ephraim… I have sensed something strange in this object earlier as well."]

"Law? Y-you heard that too?"

["Yes. Something akin to my kind… a spirit-like power is inside this object."]

With both of us curious, I decided to take the tarp off the glass tube and inside, found something astonishing.

"A… girl?"

["…"]

"Law… what is the meaning of this?"

["I am also clueless… But I am sure of it now."]

"What?"

["Humanity has passed the point of reconciliation with the order of the universe."]

I was shocked with what Law said. Why does a girl inside a cloning chamber made him speak such words?

"Rai! Why did you go back in here… That-!"

Furuta-sensei and the others opened the crumbled rear of the container and walked towards me. However, as soon as he saw the girl inside the Replicator cell, Furuta-sensei's eyes became sharp and he almost got to use his powers to destroy it.

"W-woah! Boss! Stop!"

"Renjiro! Calm down!"

"Don't stop me! That thing must be destroyed!"

"Kai! Take him out!"

"Come on, boss! You heard the man!"

After Kai took him away, Sir Lucas approached me and looked at the cloning chamber.

"This is an affront to human life… but this is already a life."

"Sir?"

"Why did you come back here? Is she someone that you know before she died and was cloned?"

"N-no… I don't know her but…"

"But?"

"Somehow… she feels… familiar."

Even I was silenced with my own answer. None of it was clear to me… but saying those words seemed to be the right thing to do.

"Alright… It seems like Renjiro is still dealing with his past regarding Replicants like her and would definitely kill her."

"Sensei has that?"

"…It's a long and personal story that I don't want to speak about much as respect for his privacy. Still, if you have some kind of attachment to this girl, I will take her under my wing until she fully matures and wakes up."

"…Thank you, sir."

As we turned around to leave the container van, I heard a soft and gentle whisper from the girl that is sleeping inside the chamber. But the way she spoke was like she's talking to me telepathically.

{"Thank you for saving me… Divine Challenger."}

"…You're welcome."

As we counted another victory for our side, we never knew that all of this was already predicted by our enemies.

"They got it… Those pests got it."

"Damn it all!!!"

Inside the Headquarters building of the Miyazono Conglomerate, five people are sitting in front of a circular table. One of which shouted curses after hearing the confirmation of the news.

"Tetian, can you explain how they escaped from you?"

"…"

"Answer me, you insolent outsider!"

"I only answer to Himari-sama's question… not on anyone else's."

"Why, you-?!"

"Stop that!"

"-!"

"If someone is being insolent here, it is you!"

"…Apologies, Himari-sama."

As the leader of the Miyazono corporation entered the meeting room, the five people inside stood up and bowed towards her.

"I have heard the news. They have stolen the Hybrid, you say?"

"Yes, Himari-sama. They have ambushed the convoy and stolen all of the research data and even the Replicator cell of the pseudo-spirit."

"I see… That is troublesome, indeed."

"Himari-sama, please order me to attack them. I will surely be able to annihilate them and secure the Hybrid again."

"Your request is sustained, Gardener Higashi. I will not allow that for now."

"But-!"

"Are you questioning my sister's decision, you brute?"

"I-I will never, Lady Aishi…!"

Himari's sister spoke and pressured the battle-hungry Gardener with her gaze alone, making him back down.

"…Even though the loss of the pseudo-spirit is a loss for us. It is not something to pour our currently limited power to. After all, I will need to ask all of you to stop our operations due to the events that recently happened."

"I wish to apologize again, Lady Himari. It was my tardiness in the area that caused that Astra energy storm in Fukushima."

William gave a bow to his master and stated the mistake he made of not arriving before his enemies.

"With the evidence that their Psychics gathered, they can pressure us into a legal proceeding that we cannot easily get through. Add to that the fact that the explosion of Astra waves has caused the people around the site to undergo a comatose state, we will have to suspend our Psychic operations for now."

"…"

The meeting room was silenced after she spoke those words. For some reason, all of them seemed against yet accepting about it at the same time.

"Sister Himari and I decided on this not just because of the failed insurrection in Fukushima but also because of this thing that flew under our radar while we're all busy with watching over the problem in Fukushima."

The lively-looking Miyazono girl slid a hologram projector to the middle of the table and it showed a scene from the city of New Osaka.

"T-That-!"

"I-Is that who I think it is?!"

"Yes, our dear Gardeners."

All of the five Gardeners can hardly believe their eyes after seeing the projected image in front of them.

"Our bases are being attacked by these pests one by one since last month's Chiba incident… And I convinced Sister Himari to let you five focus on them first while we're not going after the Sumeragi pests."

"I see… So we're still going to do something after all."

"Hehe! I'm more pumped up for this one!"

The Gardeners and their masters all became satisfied with the current events.

After all, they can now focus on the ones that they truly see as a valid threat.

"1st Spirit of Death… Juror of the Dark. The revered first death god of the Mori cult."

Chapter 21: The Girl in the Glass tube

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ephraim_Chronia

Batch unlock chapters

Chapter 21: The Girl in the Glass tube

CREATORS' THOUGHTS Ephraim_Chronia

Batch unlock chapters

Table of Contents

Display Options

Chapter comments

Paragraph comments

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ephraim_Chronia