A policeman in uniform came running toward them.
"What are you two doing lying in the middle of the road? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
Gojo and Betty exchanged a glance but didn't move. They had been looking for someone to ask about the situation anyway, and now one had come straight to them.
The officer approached with a stern expression, but something about his gaze caught Gojo's attention. From start to finish, the man's eyes never left Betty.
Only when he got close enough to confirm something did he finally relax.
"You're not Civil Security, right? Show me your IDs."
Gojo blinked, puzzled.
Civil Security?
Wasn't this guy the equivalent of that? Why was he asking them?
"No ID," Gojo said, spreading his hands casually.
…
"So this was your plan?"
Inside the police car, Betty stared at him, clearly unimpressed.
"What's wrong with it?" Gojo leaned back, unconcerned. "Doesn't matter where we get information from."
He tilted his head slightly. "Besides, we need some kind of identification in this world anyway, don't we?"
"If things get troublesome, we just leave," he added. "So far, I haven't noticed anything particularly unusual about this world."
He looked out the window at the passing scenery.
"I haven't sensed anything strange either," Betty said thoughtfully. "But what exactly are Gastrea? I don't recall hearing that term before."
She frowned, thinking back to the nature documentaries she had watched.
"Is it some kind of marine species?"
"Gastrea, huh…"
Gojo tried to dig through his memory, searching for anything that matched the term.
After a few seconds, he gave up.
If it were about Cursed Spirits, he'd have an answer immediately. Animals, though, were not his specialty.
"Doesn't matter. We didn't come unprepared."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a tablet.
It had already been loaded with software and reference materials, originally meant for Betty's studies. Now, it served as a handy search tool.
"Protostomia are a major evolutionary branch within the animal kingdom, alongside Deuterostomia. They include most invertebrates…"
Gojo lowered his voice as he read aloud, giving her a quick explanation.
At that moment, the police radio crackled.
"District 12, Kiba Town 3-4-7. Suspected Gastrea sighting. Requesting backup…"
The officer's expression changed instantly. He jerked the wheel, turning sharply and accelerating toward the address.
Gojo and Betty exchanged another look.
A suspected Gastrea sighting?
They had just finished looking up the term, and according to the information, it was simply a classification for certain invertebrates. Insects, crustaceans, mollusks, even some parasites.
Technically speaking, a snail by the roadside or an octopus at the supermarket fell under that category.
So why would something like that require police intervention, let alone backup?
Thinking back to the signs and warnings about Gastrea scattered throughout the streets, both of them sensed it at the same time.
This "Gastrea" was not what it seemed.
The car sped through the streets and soon arrived at the destination.
"You two stay here. Don't wander off," the officer instructed as he stepped out.
He opened the trunk and quickly geared up. Within moments, the previously relaxed-looking policeman was fully armed.
Gloves. Knee pads. A bulletproof vest. A helmet.
And a submachine gun.
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "Feels like he's about to deal with terrorists."
"Looks like Gastrea aren't ordinary," Betty said.
She had spent some time learning about modern weaponry at shooting ranges out of curiosity, so she could recognize the difference.
Compared to the police in Gojo's world, the firepower here was on an entirely different level.
Back home, officers usually carried little more than a baton and patrolled on bicycles. Nothing like this.
Fully equipped, the officer headed straight into a nearby apartment building.
Gojo winked at Betty.
"Let's go take a look."
"They can't possibly be fighting a giant earthworm, right?"
"Ugh, that's disgusting just thinking about it."
"It's fine," he said with a grin. "If it's scary, you can just close your eyes and hide in my arms."
"Now that you've said that, even the earthworm sounds better."
Trading comments like that, Gojo pushed the car door lightly. The locked door clicked open.
They stepped out and followed the same stairway the officer had taken into the building.
Climbing five or six floors, they slowed near the corridor and peeked around the corner.
At the entrance of one apartment, two heavily armed officers stood tense, guns raised as they advanced inside.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind them.
Gunfire erupted.
Then came a piercing scream.
The chaos lasted only a few seconds before everything fell silent again.
"Seems stronger than your average Mabeast," Betty murmured after watching for a moment.
Even the wolf-type Mabeasts Meili Portroute used would struggle against firearms.
But here, the fight had ended almost instantly.
"Seriously? Now I'm curious."
Gojo grabbed her hand and headed toward the apartment.
Standing at the door, he paused, then knocked politely.
"Hello? Any Gastrea home? Mind if I come in?"
"Are you stupid? Just open it."
"I figured I'd be polite. You know, I'm a very polite person."
"Are you going in or not?"
Despite the likelihood that whatever was inside had just killed two officers, neither of them showed the slightest tension. They even had the mood to joke.
As they spoke, the door creaked open on its own.
"Not sure what a Gastrea is, but I appreciate the manners," Gojo said, pushing it open and stepping inside.
The smell hit him immediately.
Blood.
Thick and overwhelming.
They passed through the entryway into the living room.
Two mangled bodies lay sprawled across the floor, their heads crushed as if by immense force.
Near the window stood a tall, slender figure in a red tailcoat and top hat, facing away from them.
"Oh, it's a person," Gojo said. "Not a giant earthworm."
"So that's a Gastrea?" Betty tilted her head. "Doesn't seem related at all."
"Maybe it's like those sci-fi movies. Could transform any second."
"I doubt it. That's fictional."
"So is magic…"
Their conversation drifted further off track.
The figure by the window slowly turned around.
A pale, smiling mask covered his entire face.
His attire was immaculate, every detail perfectly arranged, even the bowtie.
Rather than a murderer who had just killed two officers, he looked like a gentleman on his way to a formal event.
"Hey," Gojo said, stepping closer with curiosity in his eyes. "Can you talk?"
"Hello?"
…
No response.
Gojo glanced at Betty, a little disappointed.
"Shame. Doesn't seem like the communicative type."
"Or maybe he just doesn't want to talk to you."
"That hurts."
"Should I take off his mask and check? Hopefully he's not too ugly underneath."
"Worth a try…"
Just as Betty spoke, the masked man suddenly opened his mouth.
"You're not Civil Security?"
Gojo's eyes lit up.
"Oh, you can talk."
He waved a hand casually. "Do we look like police? We don't even have uniforms."
Then he smiled. "More importantly, mind introducing yourself?"
"We don't really know what Gastrea are. First time seeing one."
He stepped closer, as if chatting with an old acquaintance.
The masked man fell silent.
He hadn't expected this. Faced with two corpses and the obvious killer, this boy still spoke such absurd nonsense.
After a brief pause, a faint sigh escaped him.
Then he raised his hand toward Gojo.
"Hm?"
Gojo tilted his head, confusion clear even behind his sunglasses.
In the next instant, the man's arm blurred.
A sharp gust of wind tore through the air as his strike shot toward Gojo's head, fast enough to kill instantly.
If it connected, the result would be no different from the officers on the floor.
And yet—
Gojo didn't move.
The attack stopped midair.
An invisible force blocked it.
It felt less like hitting a wall and more like something strange was happening to space itself.
The man could feel his hand moving forward, inch by inch.
But no matter how much effort he exerted, the distance between them refused to shrink.
His arm hung frozen in place.
"An Imaginary Device? A Repulsion Shield?"
Gojo raised an eyebrow.
First time hearing someone analyze his ability in such a similar way.
"No… that's not how a Repulsion Shield works."
The masked man withdrew swiftly, creating distance.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"As someone who values manners," Gojo said with a smile, slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out a piece of chocolate, "I think you should introduce yourself first."
He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.
"Kagetane Hiruko."
"Satoru Gojo."
"Betty."
Names exchanged.
Silence fell over the room once more.
"So?" Gojo looked at him expectantly. "Anything else? Like explaining what you are, as a Gastrea and all that."
For some reason, despite the mask, Gojo could practically feel the man's irritation.
"I'm not a Gastrea," Kagetane Hiruko said flatly.
"Not a Gastrea?"
Gojo tilted his head, glancing at the crater in the wall and the twisted corpses on the floor.
"Normal people can't do this."
He sighed lightly. "Guess you've got secrets you don't want to share."
"That's disappointing. I've been completely honest."
He let out another sigh, almost theatrical.
"Looks like I'll have to figure it out myself."
The moment those words left his mouth, Kagetane felt it.
A surge of danger, overwhelming and immediate.
Even with his body modified into a half-mechanical form, a chill crawled up his spine.
Without hesitation, he activated his Imaginary Device.
A pale blue barrier materialized around him.
At the same time, he leapt backward toward the window, intending to escape.
But something was wrong.
Midair, he felt it.
A force pulling at him.
He should have crashed straight through the glass and out into the open.
Instead, his body slowed… then began drifting backward.
Suspended in the air, moving in the opposite direction.
An impossible sensation.
One he had never experienced before.