A paper bell.
How could it be this?
After the explosion and the tidal surge, the one thing Reze had tried so desperately to protect was nothing more than this fragile piece of folded cardstock.
Cael felt a complicated weight settle in his chest. The killing intent that had surged through him moments ago receded like the tide.
He picked up the bell and studied it in his palm.
It was folded from plain white cardstock. Across its surface was a strange doodle drawn in blotchy ink. A ferocious soldier in military uniform lay flat on the ground with his tongue hanging out. A muscular giant mouse stepped on the soldier, and behind the giant mouse, a smaller mouse carrying a bundle hid cautiously.
It looked like something a child might draw without thinking twice.
Next to each figure were notes written in Russian.
Хранитель, Ешьте кошки и мышки, Деревенские крысы.
Cael could not read a word of it. His phone had been swept away by the sea, otherwise he would have translated it. Still, considering Reze's background, he could roughly guess the meaning.
At that moment, Reze slowly opened her eyes.
She stared blankly at the sky. Her fingers twitched, then clenched.
Her heartbeat skipped.
Her hand was empty.
Where was it?
Anxiety flickered across her face. She turned and saw the bell resting in Cael's hand. The tension in her chest dissolved at once, and she let out a weak sigh.
"The gift is for me… are you going to take it back too?" she murmured.
"What do the notes on it mean?" Cael asked.
Reze gave him a faint, desolate smile. "Your face already gave you away. Why ask when you've already guessed?"
"Fair point."
Cael crouched and pressed the bell back into her hand.
"A gift's a gift. I'm not that cheap."
Reze tucked the bell away and slowly pushed herself upright. The way she looked at him now was different.
"You had the chance to kill me just now, didn't you? Why didn't you?"
"Well… yeah. At first I was going to. Then, for some reason, I just didn't feel like it anymore."
"You're strange," Reze said quietly.
"Tell me something I don't know."
Cael dropped down beside her, scooped up a small sea turtle that had been carried back with the tide, and flicked it across the water like a skipping stone.
Plop… plop plop plop plop.
"Ten skips," Reze counted softly. "That's impressive."
"Damn right it is."
"Let me try."
She picked up a fiddler crab, took aim, and hurled it toward the sea.
Plop plop plop plop.
Cael smirked. "Four. I still win."
"That's because your material was better."
"Bullshit. I could skip a starfish farther than that."
She snorted. "Unless you use a jellyfish or an octopus."
It was absurd.
Not long ago, they had been trying to kill each other. Now they were arguing about whose sea creature skipped better.
Reze's smile softened.
"Cael, you won. My mission failed."
The moment she said it, a mechanical notification echoed in his mind.
Ding. Host has defeated the Bomb Weapon Human Form. Extracting ability, Bomb Weapon Human Form. Pull the ring on your neck to transform into a Bomb Man. Note, only one Weapon Human Form can be active at a time.
The Dark Water Advanced II absorption effect did not require a kill. A defeat was enough.
Neither of them had died. They had both been caught in the explosion and dragged underwater. Cael had woken first, but it could have been called a draw.
Now that Reze had admitted defeat, the ability activated.
He felt a subtle shift in his body. The pull cord embedded in his chest responded to his thoughts. If he willed it, the chainsaw cord would retract, and in its place a bomb pull ring would emerge at his neck.
A powerful ability.
He did not care.
"Whose mission?" Cael asked.
The salty wind brushed against them. Reze stared at the horizon, as if she had finally set down a burden she had carried for years.
"The KGB. I'm a trained agent. My orders were to take the Chainsaw Man's heart."
Cael went quiet.
He had asked out of curiosity. He had not expected her to answer so easily.
That kind of information was not something you gave away unless you had already stopped caring.
"The mission failed. What happens to you now?" he asked.
"What happens…" Reze gently rubbed the bell with her thumb. "A tool that can't function gets discarded. That's the usual ending."
She smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"So whether you kill me or not doesn't really change anything."
Cael rubbed his chin.
"If working for the KGB is such a shitty gig, ever think about switching jobs?"
She blinked. "What?"
"My shop's short on staff."
Reze stared at him. "Are you saying you want to be my boss?"
He shrugged. "I'm not into strict hierarchies. Partner sounds better. So what do you think, Reze?"
She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
"Cael, are you insane? I was trying to kill you an hour ago, and you're offering me a job?"
"You're not trying to kill me now, are you?"
Her laughter faded. Her expression turned serious.
"Cael, you don't actually think I like you, do you?"
Her gaze sharpened.
"From the first moment I saw you at that charity lottery, every smile, every blush, every word I said was calculated. All of it was training. All of it was to lower your guard."
Cael gave her a small, knowing smile and pointed at her hand.
"Then why are you still holding onto that bell like it's the only real thing you've ever had?"
Reze froze.
She had no answer.
Cael stood and brushed sand from his clothes.
"I've got a girlfriend. I wasn't counting on you falling for me anyway. And my shop genuinely needs help."
He glanced back at her.
"You've got more than one path, Reze."
She said nothing.
Cael turned away and lifted a hand in farewell.
"Your flight's this afternoon, right? If you change your mind, come to Erdao Coffee Shop at six. I'll be there."
Reze bit her lower lip as she watched him leave.
After a long silence, she muttered under her breath,
"Cael, you bastard… like I'd ever show up to work for you."
2:30 PM.
Disguised, Reze dragged her suitcase into the train station. A mechanical announcement echoed overhead.
The 14:35 Shinkansen Tsubasa bound for Tokyo Airport will soon depart.
She stood at the ticket gate, unable to take the final step.
Then she heard a familiar voice calling out nearby.
"To help children harmed by devils, please donate. Kind people who give 1,000 yen get a chance to draw a prize. Prizes are generously sponsored by public welfare organizations."
Reze exhaled softly.
She turned and walked toward the donation booth, slipping a 1,000 yen bill into the box.
"Thank you for your donation, ma'am. Would you like to draw a prize?" the girl asked brightly.
"Yes."
Reze spun the wheel herself.
The pointer slowed, ticking past several larger sections before landing on the smallest slot.
"Wow, you're so lucky. It's the grand prize."
The girl handed her two tickets.
"The grand prize is two tickets to a super popular movie."
Reze looked down at the title printed on them.
Explosion, Love, and the Chainsaw.
Her fingers loosened.
Her suitcase tipped over.
Without another word, she turned and walked out of the station.