Only I Think It's Sacred?

But what met their eyes was a flash of steel.

Just as Gotou was about to take over Ken Sudō's body, he noticed that Sudō was visibly fading away!

"What the hell..." Gotou cursed.

Parasites had to rely on human hosts to survive. If they were separated from a body for too long, they were as good as dead!

Despair washed over the parasites.

Three thick tentacles lashed out wildly in the cramped space.

Without a complete body, their attacks had less range, but they were much faster and more powerful!

Ryuen Kakeru and Kanzaki Ryuji didn't react in time and became casualties.

Katsuragi Kohei was lucky enough to have those two unlucky fellows take the hit for him. Su Wei rescued him before he was struck.

The last one standing, Gotou, turned his attention to Shiranami Chihiro and the others, who had been avoiding the fight.

As the strongest parasite, its attacks could just barely reach them.

"If I can't live... then we'll all die together!"

A double loss was better than letting the other side win outright, wasn't it?

Because of where they were standing, Kaneda Satoru and Machida Koji were the first to bite the dust.

Just as its blade pierced Shiranami Chihiro's chest and was about to strike Shiina Hiyori in the face as she reached for the other Capture Gun in Shiranami's hand—

"...Chihiro!!!"

Watching it all unfold, Ichinose Honami finally snapped. Her Reinforcement Suit tightened around her body, outlining her muscles.

She charged forward at a terrifying speed that even Su Wei found astonishing.

She smashed through the two tentacles, already at the end of their strength, and drove a fist straight into Gotou!

Now that's a punch with some power. Not bad! Su Wei marveled inwardly.

Note 1: Acceleration Watch: Once worn, it lets you adjust the speed of your movements.

Note 2: Magic Cylinder: A Continuous Trap Card. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, it negates the attack and inflicts damage to the opponent equal to that monster's attack points.

Only I Think It's Sacred?

The escalator entrance was dim and gloomy.

Two pairs of bright eyes watched without blinking.

Everything had happened too fast: Gotou had abandoned its tail to survive, split apart, then gone on a rampage, only for Ichinose to erupt with emotion and crush it with one punch...

Kamuro Masumi clutched her chest, still shaken.

She wasn't being melodramatic. She had just watched Ryuen Kakeru, Kanzaki Ryuji, and the others—who had been standing there alive a moment ago—fall like wheat before a scythe.

The fear of watching lives vanish had left her instinctively terrified.

Sakayanagi Arisu, beside her, reacted very differently.

So this is... the power of the Reinforcement Suit?

Even a girl like Ichinose, who didn't seem to exercise much, could unleash such strength when her emotions ran high.

Then...

Sakayanagi Arisu unconsciously stroked her thigh.

If I were healthy... if I could fully master this power...

The thought of running freely and being in control of everything was enough to make her heart flutter with excitement.

"Phew..."

Noticing her breathing had grown a little rapid, Sakayanagi Arisu lightly bit the tip of her tongue.

Now wasn't the time.

She turned her head, looking toward the other end of the corridor.

There, Su Wei was killing two parasites that were on the verge of death and begging for mercy.

Charlie, the Ape-Man, huddled in a corner, head bowed and body trembling as he made a hiccup-like noise.

"Heh..."

Sakayanagi Arisu murmured softly:

"Just as I thought."

"No matter how proud or rational someone seems in everyday life, when they truly face death, they'll be afraid."

"Faced with the instinct to survive, no living creature is immune..."

Kamuro Masumi's mouth twitched.

...No kidding.

If you weren't afraid of dying, why did you cling to me and hide in the corner just now?

As the two of them helped each other up from the shadows, in the middle of the corridor—

Gotou drew its last breath. Ichinose Honami panted, but didn't have time to savor the victory. She spun around and reached toward where Shiranami Chihiro had fallen.

"Chihiro!!"

Her fingertips swept through the air, touching only a cool breeze.

Just like when she had tried to grab Amikura Mako's hand before the last exam.

Even though the Reinforcement Suit had given her superhuman speed, she still couldn't outrun the Black Sphere's unreasonable rules.

But that time, she knew there was still hope.

This time...

She watched a warm tear fall from the air and land in her palm.

Ichinose Honami couldn't help recalling the look on Shiranami Chihiro's face in the instant before she vanished.

Her mouth had opened as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out. All that remained was this tear, filled with reluctance and regret.

"How could this happen..."

Grief clogged her throat, raw and painful.

She had promised to protect everyone... She had even gotten a Reinforcement Suit...

Why had it still ended like this?

"...Cough, cough."

Just then, Katsuragi Kohei leaned against the wall, barely managing to stay upright.

From the shadows nearby, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had cautiously slipped away when things looked bad, returned after confirming it was safe.

Su Wei walked up behind him, glanced at the shell-shocked Ichinose, and sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't expect the parasites to still be this strong after separating from their hosts... This was my mistake."

He paused deliberately, his tone turning more serious.

"But there's no need to lose all hope."

"According to what the Black Sphere said earlier, we can revive our dead companions as long as we gather 100 points."

"Each parasite is worth 20 points. This fight was tough, but largely because we lacked experience and our weapons were knocked out of our hands in a sneak attack."

"Once we get more practice and learn to work with the Reinforcement Suits... 100 points won't be out of reach."

Ichinose Honami's body trembled slightly at his words.

Without turning around, she shook her head quietly.

"This isn't your fault, Su Wei."

"If you hadn't stepped in at the crucial moment, we might all have been wiped out... and I wouldn't even have had the time to stand here grieving."

As she spoke, Ichinose squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back the tears that were about to spill.

When she turned around, she wore a smile that was a little bitter, but not too hard to look at.

She went over to Shiina Hiyori, who was lying on the ground, and held out a hand.

"Shiina, can you get up?"

"You should still owe points from the last time, right? It looks like we won't get any extra rewards this time."

Ichinose looked at the Ape-Man in the corner. "You're almost at your limit... Go kill it first."

Shiina Hiyori hesitated.

She looked at Ichinose's red, swollen eyes and felt a slight stir in her heart.

She didn't refuse the offer.

After all, if she went into debt again during this exam, she really couldn't guarantee she'd survive the next one.

"Thank you, Ichinose."

Shiina Hiyori took her hand and used it to pull herself up. Rather than touch on Ichinose's vulnerable feelings, she suggested, "But before that, let's ask it what's going on. We might get some information about GANTZ."

Ichinose nodded.

The two of them helped each other over to Charlie.

The Ape-Man was still hiccuping uncontrollably from fear.

Ichinose looked down at him coldly.

"Mr. Charlie."

"Could you tell us... about the world you came from?"

"Hi... hic..." Charlie curled up into a ball, still hiccuping.

"Thud!"

Before Ichinose could even frown, Su Wei kicked Charlie in the back, sending him spinning like a top.

"She asked you a question."

"We don't have much time. We can't stand around waiting for you to pull yourself together."

Feeling the pain of his bones being knocked out of place, along with the cold stares around him, Charlie finally realized:

This world wasn't like the one he'd come from, where everyone was so tolerant. They weren't going to let him run wild just because of his special status, either.

He curled up and spoke haltingly.

"I... I'm not really sure what happened..."

"I just woke up one day and realized the world didn't match the one I remembered... After talking briefly with some half-human, half-black-chimpanzee brothers who were also the result of human experiments, I figured out that we'd crossed over."

"While we were still confused, a group of people came looking for us..."

Charlie swallowed.

"They said they'd protect us and fight for our rights... I didn't completely agree with their radical beliefs, but I didn't oppose them, either."

"So I went on television. And after that... I somehow ended up in this shopping mall."

"Looks like he has no idea what the Black Sphere is."

Katsuragi Kohei rubbed his bald head, his brow furrowing.