Vengeance Is Mine Read Free Page A

as if backing up Tina’s words, shadows of people appeared blurrily about a hundred meters in front of them, near where the limit of the light of the bonfires reached, and he could see shadows walking toward them.
    There were about fifty people walking in a line, side by side. They were all SDF officers wearing digital camouflage that met the technical specifications for the year 2031. Among the civil officers an obvious sense of relief spread, and Rentaro could see some civil officers break rank to rush forward and tend to them.
    But Rentaro felt uneasy.
    Thinking about it rationally, they probably came to report that they successfully drove away the Gastrea. But then, why did they send so many people? It would have been enough to radio the information over, so they couldn’t all be messengers. Even if he allowed that they would send messengers, then one, or at most, two, would have been enough. And they weren’t even riding motorcycles.
    Slowly, they grew bigger in his field of vision. They seemed to be injured and were walking unsteadily. Seeing them, the Initiator from the team right next to Rentaro couldn’t help but rush out toward them. She was a girl about eight years old. As an Initiator, she was probably just barely old enough to bear fighting. She had soft curly hair, and she looked kind. As she rushed toward the injured fighters, she peeked up at the faces from below, showing consideration for the soldiers. Then, abruptly, she stopped moving.
    At that moment, Rentaro also noticed something out of place. The soldiers were walking calmly, even as they held in their intestines that were spilling out of their stomachs. And they had gotten close enough that their expressions could be seen—their faces were ashen and their lips blue. The blood spilling out of their cut stomachs soaked brightred into their camouflage uniforms. From their half-open lips came cryptic groans.
    There was no question that they had lost more than a fatal amount of blood. It was an unpleasant sight that they were all too familiar with, and they all got chills.
    Rentaro called out to the girl. “Get away! Don’t go near them!”
    The girl turned back, looking like she was about to cry.
    Suddenly, everything above her neck disappeared. The next instant, blood spurted forcefully into the air like a geyser. The girl’s legs became tangled, and her body fell forward.
    There was a stifling stink of blood. Right next to Rentaro, there was a thud as something about the size of a basketball fell to the ground.
    He froze with his eyes wide open. He could not for the life of him find the courage to turn his head a little to look there.
    As if waiting for that moment, all the soldiers’ bodies burst open from the inside. What appeared from each was eight legs that included a set of two large pincers. Bodies, flattened, slid parallel to the ground, but their backs arched and at the tips of their gigantic tails shone things that looked like sharpened blades.
    Arachnids—mottled scorpion Gastrea—appeared, attacking with red eyes glittering. One made a giant leap into the adjuvant next to them. Even though it was still a larva, it was so sudden that they were too late and were cut, screaming with a shower of blood.
    Looking around, Rentaro could hear screams and shouts from different directions, and their ranks became a melee. Just then, from the centerline where the general commander was, a howitzer shot something into the air with a long white trail of smoke. It stretched far and then opened up a parachute high in the sky. It scattered oxidizing materials, combustible materials, flame-coloring materials, and brightening materials that were fastened to the lower part of it into the sky, giving birth to a small sun.
    It was a flare.
    One after another, parachutes opened, and in no time, a number of lights were in the air, greatly expanding how far they could see. Rentaro shielded his eyes with his hand and narrowed his eyes.
    Then, he took a step