Reiji had completely lost his usual persona.
His feet came to an abrupt halt when his eyes registered the bizarre scene. Apparently, even he couldn't get his head around the situation.
What happened five years ago, the disaster that left its echo in the world, and the rampage of preparator—and also one of the prominent explorers of that time—Hai Ukai, which pushed a bustling city to a desolate tattered town.
Chariot, White Scar Radiance, Class and etcetera—six out of the japan's top 10 guild had taken upon it to stop the rampage of that explorer. The subjugation team had included best of the professional explorers from each guild who had stopped down the calamity that was Hai Ukai with their monstrous strength.
It was the team of top class explorers, there's no way they would have failed the task. But, it was because they knew this that the newcomer group couldn't believe their eyes. How could a dead person be alive?
"This is a lie. You were supposed to have died five years ago; I was the one who did it. I should have killed you with my own hands. Yes, I killed you... I did."
Renji murmured with a voice still unable to grasp reality.
Right. It was Renji, the actual brother of Hai, who had ended the matter by piercing his heart with his own hand.
He had chosen his brother's death. While it had ended with Hai invoking compensation, ending his life by himself, the trigger was definitely Renji.
On that day, with these hands—he had stopped his brother’s heart. So why was he still alive? Breathing there?
"Hai...... What's exactly going on? Please, tell me. Is this also your ability?"
He didn't know how to express himself.
The supposedly dead brother—his loving, and the sole family, was alive, breathing in front of him.
He had wanted to rush over and scoop him in a hug. He also wanted to punch that irritating yet gentle face, he wanted to show how angry he was at him. He wanted to apologize for killing him. But, he also wanted his sole family to praise him for the effort he had put in the last five years.
But, having killed his own brother, he didn't know how to act here.
It was neither anger, nor joy, nor sadness. His heart was just filled with a feeling closer to emptiness.
"............Hai."
Swallowed by a torrent of emotions, Renji abruptly collapsed onto both knees, his head hanging downward.
His guild members were astonished to see the fragile side of their leader they had never witnessed, more so ever that they're in public. Tabusa Kouren, one of the new recruits, who had been standing at the back of the group, hurriedly rushed toward their guild leader to support him, shouting 'Get a grip on yourself, leader' in the mid way.
"Err, everyone?"
Tabusa let out a bewildered voice, seeing no one except him was coming out to help.
He turned behind to see what was going on, and only saw his seniors standing on their spot frozen, their eyes widened to extremes. Their expression explains how much they had been finding it hard to accept the situation.
Among the team that had accompanied Renji, many had been there in the subjugation team five years ago. They had been the one to fatally wound Hai.
Their hands were dyed with the blood of their comrade.
† † †
It was the scene from over ten years ago.
Renji Ukai had just graduated from the explorer school at the top of his class.
In that time, there had barely been any functional organization called guilds. One could say they're no different from any parties either. In the era where individual achievement held more weight than anything, the thought of nurturing youngsters was a foreign concept even for the prominent guilds. The graduated students basically had themselves to rely on.
"My ambition cannot be achieved with the current system. Hai, let's make a guild of our own dreams."
This had been the pet-phrase of Renji in those days.
Along with three other like-minded classmates, the Ukai brothers founded the guild 'Class.' A few years since its creation had been spent on reformation of the explorer oriented society. He built a reputation through achievements in dungeons and increased his influence as an explorer. He played a friendly, approachable character while frequently making statements that challenged the industry.
Slowly but gradually, Renji built the image of his ideal explorer.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, a majority of guilds had started to expand their scale. But as if to refute the trend, Renji inclined toward 'few but exceptionals' policy, accepting only the members he approved of in his guild.
And Hai Ukai was the guild's core member, its founding member, and also his twin member.
Hai was already an irreplaceable part of Renji's life, but his gentle persona had made him the apple of everyone's eyes as well.
While Renji led with charismatic authority, Hai played a role akin to the oil between the cogs for, acting as mediator of sorts. He was kind, considerate, and endlessly gentle. He was the kind of person who listened to personal concerns that could not be shared with the leader and thought things through with them. He was like a mother to everyone.
But, with no prior sign, he suddenly left the guild.
It was right after they had set a new record for reaching the deepest part of one of the main dungeons. It was their guild's golden age uncontestedly.
The sudden departure of Hai caused confusion among the members. It was the moment when their guild was just moments away from becoming the world's leader. However were the changes, the guild «Class» never stopped its march. They continued to strive for achievements, taking the guild to new heights. Consequently, Renji had swamped with the work that came alongside it, and in all that he never got the time to get in touch with his brother.
In all the hustle and bustle, three years had passed.
One of these days, one of guild members visited Renji and asked him, "Hai Ukai has been accused of robbery, murder, conspiracy, and other numerous charges, and has been placed on international wanted lists. Have you been in touch with him recently?"
Renji thought it was some kind of joke. There was no way that his brother, who was the epitome of kindness, could be involved in such things. Believing it to be a misunderstanding, Renji cooperated fully with the investigation and he came to learn everything.
Over the past three years, Hai had been operating as a black explorer both domestically and internationally. He had frequently been involved with underground organizations in Russia, staining his hands with the blood of numerous explorers. Records showed that he was manufacturing illegal artificial items and selling them for enormous sums of money. He had ventured into a forbidden side that one should have never.
Renji reviewed all the investigation records and then, on a certain day, gathered the guild members and made the following statement:
"—Hai has been listed as a black explorer. We will take responsibility for this."
At the time he announced this to the guild members, Renji's expressions were said to be as if someone had torn apart his soul. The guild temporarily suspended all dungeon operations and participated in the search for Hai Ukai. After butting heads against several places, they came across a piece of information that Hai was going to have an illegal item deal in Fujinomiya City three weeks after. Renji requested assistance from other guilds and began preparations for the apprehension.
Three weeks later, as the information had indicated, Hai appeared.
He was dressed entirely in black and wore a deep black cap. In his hand was an illegal artificial item known as "Awakening Acceleration Liquid." It was something that should have never been touched—the item was made from the heart, brain, and blood of a first-grade explorer. In other words, it was an atrocious item that could only be obtained by killing and dissecting an explorer. Possessing it alone constituted a serious crime.
The operation began immediately.
Hai initially showed resistance, but upon seeing Renji’s face, he seized his resistance and complied.
"Hai, why?"
"……"
"Hai, why?"
"............Big brother, you shouldn’t have come."
These were the final words of Hai Ukai.
Because, Hai had suddenly bitten onto his tongue. Instantly, a copious amount of black water gushes out from his body as if someone had broken some kind of dam—the same black liquid had been what became the precursor to the disaster by causing the tsunami of curse.
Every explorer it touched, they were bound with a strong weakening debuff.
Any commoner it touched, they were granted instant death.
—It was a genocide that he had started.
The black tsunami had swallowed the whole town in mere ten seconds.
Renji guessed the indiscriminate attack should have been the effect of compensation, and his body immediately moved to solve the disaster by reflex.
The originator must be eliminated to stop the effect of compensation. Because he had known that, and that it was his mission as the professional explorer that he severed off his personal feelings.
That day, a big brother's left hand had pierced the heart of his little brother. That day, a big brother's right hand severed the head of his little brother.
Perhaps it was his death that triggered it; as if in to pay for the raging compensation, he had transformed into the lump of meat. So that the suffering didn't continue to haunt Hai anymore than this, and also to completely wiped out all the traces of his flesh, Renji choose to completely wipe out Hai's trace from the face of the earth.
† † †
The guild «CLASS» was made to stand at the summit amidst other professional organizations. And having watched them for as long as he knew, Tenji was astonished to see an apparent show of weakness peculiar to humans, and hesitation in their movements.
As much as he was curious, they also couldn't have left him alone when the seal was incomplete. So Tenji raised his voice.
"Excuse me, but his seal is incomplete. He must be restrained physically!"
The words of a student suddenly brought all the explorers, saving Renji, to their senses. Immediately, a woman from within the group rushed toward Hai.
Yet, she had just taken their action, when—
"Big brother, you shouldn't have come."
Thump
A throbbing echoed in the surrounding.
Hai, who was supposed to be asleep, glanced at his brother with a gentle gaze. But his body moved in a movement in defiance of his will, his chest suddenly jumped up as if he had recieved an electric shock.
Thump-Thump-Thump.
The same throbbing sound echoed three more times from his body.
No one had noticed, or apparently had their attention diverted at the bizarre situation, that Hai's hand had pierced his own heart. It was evidently the work of a will that wasn't Hai's.
But this completed the activation sequence for 'Compensation.'
Black water drops spilled out of Hai's eyes incessantly.