With only one pistol each, Gide and I faced off. Showing his teeth in a wide half-moon smile, he laughed. The expression on my face was probably no different.
Dazai calmly stared at the guns pointed in his direction.
“You still haven’t had any tea, Dazai,” Ougai said. “Come—have a seat.”
Dazai didn’t even budge. A guard in a black suit slipped to his side, then pointed the automatic rifle’s muzzle right at his head.
“Odasaku’s waiting for me.”
“Sit.”
Dazai glanced at the muzzle and returned to the middle of the room. Then he stood before Ougai and quietly stated, “I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wondered who was orchestrating the conflict between the Mafia, Mimic, and the Special Forces. But I arrived at a conclusion the moment I realized Ango was from the Special Division for Unusual Powers: They’re the ones behind this. In the government’s eyes, the Mafia and Mimic are just two bothersome crime syndicates. Having these two groups take each other out would be the perfect scenario for the Division, which is why they orchestrated it all. But I was wrong.”
Dazai briefly paused, then looked at Ougai.
“The one who painted this picture was you. You wanted to use the threat that the Mimic posed to help during your negotiations with the Division. Then you used Ango as a pawn for that scheme.” Dazai halfway closed his eyes. “Boss, the reason you sent Ango to infiltrate Mimic wasn’t to get information on Mimic. You knew Ango was from the Division from the very beginning. Am I right?”
Ougai neither confirmed nor denied the statement. “Oh?” he simply said in admiration.
“Various nuances of the truth change when you think about it that way. Ango would give inside information on Mimic to the Mafia while also conveying information to the Special Division for Unusual Powers. Mimic is a group of ghosts in search of a battlefield. There is no way to negotiate or compromise with them. They pose far more danger than the Mafia, and if something isn’t done, then they’ll clash with government agencies before long. That’s what the Division thought, at least. So they came up with a plan to get Mimic to attack the Port Mafia. Ango was used to leak intel to Mimic and manipulate the situation. If Mimic took the bait, then the Mafia would have no choice but to fight back. The Division believed that and gave Ango the mission…just like you wanted.”
“You give me far too much credit.” Ougai smirked. “The government agencies are like wolves before sheep compared with the Mafia. They cannot be manipulated that easily.”
“That’s why you went through the trouble of creating such an elaborate scheme. That’s how much value that envelope has.” Dazai pointed at the high-end black envelope in Ougai’s hand. “You’re right. The Division is like a wolf before sheep. No matter how much power the Port Mafia has, it lives in fear of angering the Division and getting snuffed out. That’s why you offered to destroy Mimic in return for that document.”
Ougai’s smile deepened. Dazai approached him, then pulled a certificate out of the black envelope. It was elegantly written with the government’s seal stamped on it.
“This certification permits activities as a skill-user organization—a Skilled Business Permit.”
Gunpowder exploded and shells flew to the ground as the deafe
ning roars of artillery fire filled the expansive hall. Gide’s gun was pointed right at me, so I knocked it away with my elbow. A bullet soared right by my face, brushing against my ear. I swung my arm in the air and aimed my pistol at Gide’s forehead. He swung his arm up from below, grabbing my elbow. Then he jerked my arm to the side, causing me to shoot and shatter the chandelier. Elbow and wrist against wrist and muzzle—we knocked the other’s gun slightly out of line, making each other barely miss with our shots. Bullets flew past our ears and chins. Countless gunfire created a wall of light between us as we stood close enough for hand-to-hand combat.
We pulled the triggers on our guns simultaneously only to find nothing was firing. Both of us were out of ammo. With our right arms still locked in place, we began reloading our guns. An empty magazine hit the floor. While Gide grabbed another magazine at his waist, I slid one of mine out from my wristband. He began to slide his backup magazine into the gun, but I knocked his right arm to stop him. Then I threw a left hook with a magazine still in my hand. The metal tore his skin, creating a red line across his cheek. Despite being knocked off-balance, Gide finished reloading his gun. I slid behind with my back pressed up against him, then threw an elbow while preventing him from firing. He dropped to his knees to evade. By the time I completed the elbow strike, I had already reloaded my gun. We aimed our weapons at each other at the same time, grabbing the other’s right wrist with our left hands. The two of us froze in this strange position. My muzzle was before his eyes and his before mine. I was holding his gun with my left hand, but Gide was holding mine with his left hand as well: a muzzle in my left eye and a tenacious gray gaze in my right.
“Sakunosuke… You are incredible. Why did it take you so long to appear before me?”
“Sorry about that. I’ll make sure to give you all the time you need today.”
If I tried to break my wrist free from his grip, he would use that opening to shoot. But the same went for him. An odd balance of power kept us calm, allowing us to converse.
“Why did you stop killing, Sakunosuke?”
“Why do you search for a battlefield, Gide?”
I suddenly heard footsteps. It was the sound of many people running our way.
“Your men?”
“Your colleagues?”
The footsteps were coming from both sides of the ballroom. It sounded to be around ten people. If those were Mimic soldiers, I wasn’t gonna be able to take Gide and them on at the same time. I’d have to end Gide the moment they came bursting in, then dispose of them. The footsteps gradually got closer until the oak doors were kicked wide-open. That moment, I broke free from Gide’s grip. A gunshot echoed by my ears as gunpowder burned hair on my cheek. However, the bullet didn’t hit me. Gide evaded my bullet with the same movement.
Our arms locked like hooks. Thanks to my skill, I already knew who was coming. At the door ahead were armed Mafia members, while Mimic soldiers were at the back door. They stormed into the room at almost the same time. As Gide and I bent at the elbows while locking arms, I shot the Mimic soldiers behind him. Pelted with bullets, they flew back. I was sure the Mafia men behind me were being shot in the same manner. I knew what Gide was thinking. He wanted to take out the intruders before anything else, as did I. He grabbed my lapel and pulled me, but I returned the favor. While we used each other as a fulcrum, I faced my enemies once more. I shot. Another Mimic soldier was knocked backward.
This was a ballroom. We stood in the center while empty shells hit the ground like surrounding applause. Using each other as a point of support, we continued to shoot our enemies. Leaning against each other’s backs, we shot them. Our clothes fluttered in the air as we spun, swapping positions. Using the other’s shoulder to rest our weapons, we shot more of them. Fresh blood from the soldiers painted the walls. Our shoulders intersected as we spun, shooting each other’s allies.
The flames from the gunpowder and empty shells glittered around us. Both Gide and I approached our limits as blood gushed from our gunshot wounds. My face turned pale and my vision blurry. Only my focus was sharp. We danced together around the edge of death—a place not of this world. My skill automatically showed me the future, carving Gide’s next words into the back of my mind.