Chapter 5-11 - Loophole
11 - Loophole
“What?” Mukawa asked, confused but thoughtful.
“Or what if we manipulate his memory and force him to subconsciously release the barrier?” Dima asked.
“There’s a difference..” Kana said. “Mukawa’s memories are limited to the brain, they’re physical memories. Kaito might have done something more tied to the soul itself.”
“I like the idea, but I have no idea what to do with it.” Mukawa sighed. “How does convincing that he’s dead even work?”
“We implant certain memories of an event where he dies.” Dima said. “You can do that, right? While self-aware people will immediately refute that and just end up confused, he might be convinced.”
“And what if he fully believes that, and his body ends up shutting down?” Haruki asked.
“It won’t. Soul determination will awaken him.” Dima said. “Or we will.”
“God dammit...you’re all placing your hopes on soul determination. It’s like you’re not even listening to what I’m trying to say.” Kana complained.
“We are listening, we just choose to stay delusional.” Mukawa said. “Dima’s right, if I pull that off, it might work.”
“Unless the body is irreversibly damaged, soul determination can keep a soulful alive.” Haruki said. “In this case, his body will be perfectly fine, it’ll just be turned off...that’s assuming it shuts down in the first place.”
“Then that’s what we’re gonna do.” Mukawa said. He looked at Dima. “Good catch.”
He closed his eyes and concentrated.
“I’ll let him awaken for a second before the memory fully kicks in. Reality will match with my forged memory, and his brain will be tricked into accepting it as the truth. His own consciousness probably hasn’t developed yet, and won’t object to it.”
“There’s too many risks...”
“Vivid Daydream Cemetery, connect me to his mind. Let my command be a predicament his vessel had to go through.”
“You were alive, perfectly fine. Everything was going well in the submarine.”
“You awakened to the sight of your guardians dead. You instantly died from shock and fear.”
“Now...”
“Awaken.”
“Here it comes.” Mukawa said.
The child slowly opened its eyes. They were beautiful and blue. But a few moments later, nothing happened. It looked confused.
“Fuck...” Mukawa sighed.
“So we’re back to square one?” Dima asked. “The heart stoppage trick isn’t gonna work.”
“Isn’t this proof that he has soul determination? We can try it!” Haruki said.
“No, it’s only proof that the Dreamcatcher trick doesn’t work. I only tried Dima’s idea because we had nothing better."
“Can you try this again?” Kana asked.
“No, once I awaken someone, I can’t put them to sleep again with my acclamation.” Mukawa explained. “And I sure as hell can’t use my divine acclamation twice in a row. I’ll need some rest time, and by that I mean a few hours to a day at least.”
“Great. Not only did we not do anything, but the child is also awake now.” Haruki said. “So who is gonna bear the sin?”
He was met with a dead silence.
“Mukawa, you can put him to sleep again.” Haruki said. “Without your acclamation, just a normal dream. No need for assured memories.”
“For what?”
“One, so he’s asleep.” Haruki said. “Two, so he sees some nice things before he...you know...”
“You’re planning to do it?” Kana asked.
“Yeah.” Haruki replied. “There’s no other option. We have to do this. There’s no going back from this. I know I’ll go to hell, but at least I’ll see Kaito down there.”
“Are we sure? Maybe if we get them far enough from one another...” Dima said.
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“The barrier is maintained regardless of its distance.” Mukawa sighed.
“A-are we even sure that he is the source of the barrier?!” Dima asked.
“There’s no other way. This is the right submarine, and we got even more proof that it is.” Mukawa said. “I also hope that it’s not him, but at this point, it’ll unfortunately be better news if it is.”
“You don’t have to look.” Haruki said. The other three turned around. He summoned his weapon and held it up against the child.
“It’s a tool. A weapon.”
“Don’t think about it.”
“Just swing your blade. Don’t even think about it. Please.”
Finally, he raised his blade...and felt that something stopped him.
“What?” Haruki said, turned around.
“I feel another soul presence approaching us. It’s much stronger compared to the child.” Mukawa said. He was the one who stopped the movement.
The four of them quickly hid by the submarine’s walls. The aforementioned presence entered the submarine - it was a younger man. He was instantly ambushed and held down.
“Who the hell...are you?! Soulfuls?!” The man tried to speak up.
“Are you the one who maintains Kaito’s barrier?” Mukawa asked, angrily.
“And s-so what if I am? You think Mr. Kamiki needs my barrier to kill all of you?” The man yelled back. “You think this ambush of yours is gonna stop him, huh?!”
“We know it is.” Haruki said, piercing the man’s throat a set of claws emerging from his hand. After further confirming that he’s dead, he sighed in relief.
“To think we almost killed a child...”
“Why was he even here in the first place? I know he’s a soulful.” Mukawa asked.
“That’s for another day.” Dima said. “Let’s leave.”
“Let’s take the child to a fire station first.” Mukawa added. “I’ll report back to Otto.”
“Excellent job, Mukawa.” Otto said. He was still in the conference room, his appearance far more grin than usual.
“Why the sad face, Otto?” Sheller asked. “Are you not satisfied with the progress?”
“Three of my soldiers died, and you’re asking me about satisfaction?”
“I thought you’d be more satisfied with how many soulful dogs I’ve culled.” Sheller boasted. “I can say for certain that things are going very smoothly.”
“I do not need to hear your voice right now.” Otto said.
“You don’t get it, Otto. Soulfuls are a threat to all of us. Just the thought of humans engulfed with the supernatural, especially the likes of that terrorist...we crafted this beautiful system. It’s a perfectly functional machine that lets people live, and makes us rich. We get to enjoy our lives, and they get to...live. But soulfuls disrupt that equation. If another Jackal pops up, we’d be powerless.”
“You have done a great job at starting this war, and your orders have likely acted exactly in the way we intended them to.” Otto said, standing up.
“I know, right? Soulfuls are scum. They’re the cockroaches that swarm a perfectly clean factory. In this game of mine, Otto, I cannot allow any irregularities to disrupt anything. Me and the men before me have spent countless time forging the perfect system.”
“I believe you misunderstood me, Sheller.” Otto said.
“Huh? Did I?” Sheller asked back. “I know you hate me, but agreeing to my actions is a part of your contract. You’ll achieve your goal, and in exchange, you’ll help me create a better world.”
“Hm?”
“A better world, one which functions perfectly as we intend it to. One where life works as an equation and every number fits it perfectly.”
“You still misunderstood me, Sheller.” Otto said, drawing his sword. “What I meant was that I don’t need you anymore.”
“What?” Sheller asked in surprise. He took a few steps back in fear. “No, you can’t... you can’t do this, Otto. I still have supreme command over my forces! Don’t make you cancel everything off! I’m still the most powerful person on this planet, damn it!”
“Then where is your power?” Otto asked. “Is it enough to stop me?”
A sharp increase in gravity broke Sheller’s legs, forcing him to fall down, almost kneeling. With one swift motion, Otto decapitated him.
“After all of this, and especially after the barrier was disabled, he has no other option.”
“The more you hide, the more our kind suffers, Kaito Kamiki.”
He swung his sword in the air, throwing some of the blood on it away.
“Hermann is still alive, but he is on the run.”
“Danny, Victoria and Klaus all perished.”
“It is time I think of intervening personally. However, there is still one more card I’ll need to play. The superweapon...” He thought, as he used his earpiece to contact his men. His voice had some pain behind it. He looked greatly sorrowed when he said the following words.
“Erwin, you’re up.”
[UNDISCLOSED LOCATION]
Kaito felt the energy around him quickly fade away. He rested at a desk, but the quick change startled him.
“Is anything wrong?” Miyuki instantly asked, approaching him.
“Looks like they’re making proper moves now.” Kaito sighed. “Otto may be a soulful, but he is as soulless as they come. He is not capable of sharing my vision.”
“Do you need me to do anything?” Miyuki asked.
“Yes. Contact Alvarez, and find a one-way flight to D.C. as soon as possible.” Kaito said. “I’ll deliver a message to Otto personally.”
“Dad? Is everything alright?” The kid asked, approaching his father’s desk. His dark brown hair was lit up with the warm lights in the room, he had slightly grayish eyes that were enchanted with an aquamarine hue.
“Everything’s okay, Hiroshi.” Kaito said, patting his son on the head. “All of this will end very soon.”