"Not human?"
Ikoma was completely stunned.
Just then, Mumei suddenly lunged forward, darting in front of Ikoma and tightly grabbing his cloak before he could react.
"Riiip—!"
Amid a tearing sound like ripped silk, Ikoma's cloak was torn straight open by Mumei, exposing the body beneath it to the air.
When Ikoma's body was revealed, everyone present sucked in a sharp breath.
Metal plates had been welded all over Ikoma's body, wrapping around nearly a third of him like rigid, unbendable bandages.
Not only was Ikoma's skin an abnormal color, but red, vein-like patterns also covered it, extending toward his heart.
And within the area around Ikoma's heart was something glowing.
That was Ikoma's heart.
A glowing heart.
A heart exactly like a Kabane's—
"K... Kabane!"
The surrounding civilians screamed in unison.
"You...?!" Kurusu Kunoichi's heart tightened, and his expression was completely overtaken by killing intent. He shouted, "You really are a Kabane!"
"N-No!" Ikoma staggered backward again and again, as though the entire world had betrayed him, as though he refused to accept reality. "I'm not a Kabane! I'm not a Kabane!"
Unfortunately, faced with such ironclad proof, no one believed Ikoma.
Kurusu Kunoichi had no intention of saying anything more. He directly aimed the Steam Gun in his hand at Ikoma's heart, his finger curling toward the trigger.
But before Kurusu Kunoichi could fire, a hand suddenly reached out and pressed the gun down.
"I swear, when are you going to fix that temperament of yours? You look calm, but you're actually quick to lose your temper."
The person who pressed down Kurusu Kunoichi's Steam Gun was Fang Li.
"Don't rush." Fang Li did not look at Kurusu Kunoichi. He continued staring at Ikoma, watching his deeply shaken appearance as he said, "Give him some time to explain."
"Explain?" Kurusu Kunoichi's expression did not change in the slightest. Like Fang Li, he merely watched Ikoma, the coldness in his eyes undiminished. "What is there to explain? Isn't that heart enough to prove that he is a Kabane?"
"But have you ever seen a Kabane that looked this human?" Fang Li curled his lip. "Besides, someone just spoke up for him and said he wasn't a Kabane, didn't they?"
Upon hearing Fang Li's words, the first person to react was not anyone else, but Ikoma.
Ikoma turned his head to look at Mumei, who had torn off his cloak and caused this situation, yet now stood there yawning like an uninvolved bystander. He instinctively wanted to speak.
However, before Ikoma could say anything, Mumei began explaining on her own.
"I've said it many times. He isn't a Kabane, but he isn't human anymore either."
Mumei seemed to have recovered some of her energy. Her lazy eyes began to regain their sparkle as she swept her gaze over everyone around her.
"He... no, we should say we. We are beings between humans and Kabane—Kabaneri."
After saying that, Mumei turned around and swiftly removed the outer garment draped over her body, exposing her back to everyone's eyes.
At that moment, everyone's expressions changed.
"You..." Ikoma cried out in shock. "Y-You're the same too?"
That was right.
The same.
On Mumei's slender, fair back, exactly where her heart was, there was also a glowing heart.
Seeing the glowing hearts of Mumei and Ikoma, hearts identical to those of the Kabane, everyone was rendered speechless and unable to react any further.
Only Fang Li already understood everything.
—Kabaneri.
Just as Mumei had said, they were beings between humans and Kabane.
People bitten by Kabane would turn into Kabane after dying.
That was common knowledge to everyone in this world.
Even if they did not die after being bitten, they would gradually turn into Kabane after the incubation period, becoming monsters.
However, the world never lacked special cases and exceptions.
When someone was bitten and infected by a Kabane, but for one reason or another the virus failed to reach their brain, they would not completely transform into a Kabane. Instead, they would become a being between humans and Kabane.
Such beings were Kabaneri.
Kabaneri possessed the physical abilities of Kabane while retaining human hearts.
That was the greatest reason Mumei was so strong.
For some reason, the girl had become a Kabaneri. After receiving specialized training, she possessed extraordinarily powerful combat ability.
As for Ikoma, he had merely transformed into this kind of being without even knowing Kabaneri existed.
In the original story, when Aragane Station fell, Ikoma escaped from prison. In order to fight the Kabane, he returned home to retrieve his Tsuranuki-zutsu and fought them, only to be bitten.
In his desperation, Ikoma came up with a method: welding metal plates onto his body to prevent the Kabane virus from invading his brain. In the end, he succeeded and did not become a Kabane.
However, even though the virus had not invaded his brain, Ikoma's body had still transformed into that of a Kabane.
Thus, Ikoma became a Kabaneri, becoming something no longer human.
Of course, Ikoma had still managed to preserve his human self and had not become a monster that only attacked people.
Naturally, the others, who did not know any of this, could not accept it.
But at that moment, Mumei suddenly put her outer garment back on, turned around, and shifted her gaze into the distance before saying this.
"We can talk about the rest later. The Kabane you all keep talking about are already here."
Hearing that, everyone was startled and reflexively turned to look in the direction Mumei was watching.
There, a black tide surged toward them.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH—!"
The terrifying roars were louder than ever, becoming a wave of sound that spread through the air.
Hundreds upon hundreds of Kabane packed together densely, surging toward them like a black tide, like a stampeding herd of beasts.
The sight made every heart tremble as fear rose within them.
"Move!" Fang Li spoke without hesitation.
"Get on the Iron Fortress!"
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