During the freefall, the rapid acceleration caused Tina's head to throb with a piercing ache. Her vision blurred, nausea swirled in her gut, and she felt as if her physical form was being pulled apart by the wind.

  But Tina didn't react with pain. Instead, a look of profound relief washed over her face.

  As an IP Rank 98 Cursed Child, she possessed the physical coordination to force her body to twist mid-air and potentially crash through the windows of a nearby building to save herself. But she didn't want to. She allowed herself to plummet, racing toward death at terminal velocity.

  She had chosen to accept the end.

  Tina knew she was Rand-sensei's masterpiece; she believed she couldn't truly defy him, and his order to kill the Seitenshi had made her Haruki's enemy. She didn't want to kill Haruki, but she couldn't disobey her creator.

  In her mind, death was the only way to break the chains of her fate.

  "I'm sorry, Haruki-san... if there's a next life, I want to be a normal girl... maybe then, we could have truly met..." she whispered into the wind, her voice like a fading dream. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

  Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from the top of the skyscraper.

  Like a bolt of violent crimson lightning, Haruki Aizawa descended. He had thrown himself into a vertical dive, his speed boosted by a terrifying surge of Blood Burst. He closed the gap between them in a heartbeat.

  "!!!"

  Tina's eyes flew open. She saw Haruki looking like a primal beast, having cast aside all reason to sustain such an exaggerated aura of blood-red energy. She was paralyzed with shock.

  On the other side, Haruki had pushed his life-burning power to a point where he was nearly consumed by the red mist. Every breath felt like his lungs were being shredded by gss. His own life was ebbing away at a terrifying rate, but he didn't care. Ignoring the agony, he reached out with a speed that defied the limits of matter and snatched the falling girl into his arms.

  He pulled her tight against his chest and rotated his body mid-air. He focused the entirety of his momentum into his lower body and smmed feet-first into the pavement.

  KABOOM!

  The impact echoed through the Tokyo night. A massive plume of dust and smoke engulfed the street.

  When the haze finally cleared, Tina—who had been shielded in Haruki's embrace—was completely unharmed. Haruki, however, was in a state of unprecedented weakness. He knelt on one knee, coughing, his body trembling from the massive strain of the Blood Burst.

  "W-Why?" Tina asked, staring at the man who looked like he was on the verge of death just to save her. "Why save me?"

  "Because," Haruki said, a faint, bloody smirk touching his lips as if he were perfectly fine. "You called me a 'Hero of Justice' the other day, didn't you? I figured I should py the part for once and save an innocent girl."

  "I..."

  Tears welled up in Tina's eyes. After a few seconds of hesitation, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Haruki-san. I shouldn't be alive. Please... kill me. Give me the final blow."

  "And why is that?"

  "I'm the culmination of Rand-sensei's technology. I can't be captured alive by other nations."

  "Then just betray him," Haruki said simply.

  "Betray him?" Tina fell silent. "But... if I do, he'll send assassins. I'll never be able to live in peace."

  "Then I'll kill the Professor and every assassin he sends," Haruki said, his voice ft and absolute. "If they send one, I'll kill one. If they send a hundred, I'll kill a hundred."

  "W-Why go that far for me?"

  "Is there a problem with a 'Hero of Justice' going that far?"

  "..."

  Tina was stunned. The tears finally overflowed, her shoulders shaking as she let out a soft, broken sob. She felt a wave of embarrassment and buried her face in Haruki's chest, her tears soaking through his shirt.

  "I'm so happy, Haruki-san," she whispered with a bittersweet smile. "My life was supposed to be nothing but battle, and my defeat was supposed to mean my end. But... even though I lost... why do I feel so happy?"

  "It's simple. Your old life was twisted," Haruki said, his hand resting on her shoulder. "From today on, you're going to live a normal life."

  "A normal life?" Tina looked up at him. "If I do... will you take responsibility for me?"

  "Responsibility?"

  "You defeated me. So, you have to take responsibility."

  "...Fine." Haruki nodded. He figured he was already looking after Kayo; having one more Cursed Child to feed wouldn't make much of a difference.

  He realized that if he was going to take her in, he needed to tell her his true identity. "Tina, to be honest with you, my real name isn't Haru. My name is—"

  "Haruki Aizawa?!"

  Before he could finish, a swarm of Civil Security officers and police vehicles rounded the corner.

  Haruki realized too te that his mask had been incinerated by the heat of his Blood Burst. He was standing there in the middle of the street with his face fully exposed.

  The Promoters immediately recognized him. The "Dead Hero" was standing right there.

  "Aizawa... you're... you're alive?" Rentaro Satomi stammered, his eyes wide with a storm of conflicting emotions.

  Seeing that the cat was out of the bag, Haruki didn't bother hiding. He stood tall, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "That's right. I'm Haruki Aizawa. I'm a Promoter, and I'm back."

  The news hit Tokyo like an earthquake. From the highest levels of government to the average person on the street, the return of the savior caused a massive shockwave across the district.

  At the IISO headquarters, Haruki had just received his updated IP Ranking. His previous rank in the thousands had been scrapped, and he was officially promoted to Rank 100.

  This was a conservative estimate, given he hadn't even performed a new hunt yet. But based on his victory over Kagetane Hiruko and the world-renowned sniper Tina Sprout, the IISO had no choice but to pce him at the very peak of the triple digits.

  In reality, his power was easily in the double digits—a tier reserved for individuals who could single-handedly sway world wars. But moving into that tier required more "official" results and political clearance.

  The public reaction to his return was overwhelmingly positive. After all, Haruki was the man who had led the Seven Stars Legacy away and saved Tokyo from the Stage V Scorpio. To the masses, he was a living saint—a savior.

  However, not everyone was celebrating. The extremist factions who hated Cursed Children were outraged by Haruki's obvious friendship with the "monsters." They viewed him as a traitor to the human race.

  The leader of this sentiment was Kikunojo Tendo. He had spent his career blocking the Seitenshi's "New Gastrea Law" and maintaining the status quo of discrimination. Haruki's return gave the Seitenshi a powerful, popur ally, which made Kikunojo's blood boil. But even he couldn't move against Haruki openly. Haruki was too popur and far too dangerous to threaten. For now, the old advisor had to py the part of a "friendly" superior.

  Meanwhile, Tina's status had changed completely. Though she was a foreign asset, the Seitenshi used her executive power to pardon her and freeze her Initiator registration. This effectively cut Rand's legal leash on her.

  Haruki and Kayo worked together to dismantle the mechanical chips in Tina's body. While Haruki didn't understand electronics, his Sense of Fluctuation allowed him to "see" the internal structure and signals of the hardware. With Kayo's 210 IQ, they bypassed the fail-safes Rand had installed and removed the trackers and "kill switches," making Tina a free agent.

  Tina officially moved in with Haruki as his second Initiator. While the rules usually restricted Promoters to one partner, Haruki simply ignored the bureaucracy—and no one at the IISO was brave enough to tell him "no."

  The only person with a loud enough voice to compin was Kayo Senju.

  For several days, the green-haired girl followed Haruki around the apartment, whispering "Cheater... cheater... unfaithful... cheater..." into his ear every time he looked at Tina. Haruki eventually had to take her to a theme park for an entire day to quell her jealousy.

  Eventually, the two girls bonded. They formed a terrifyingly efficient support team. When Haruki went on missions, Tina provided long-range suppression while Kayo handled tactical pnning and command. Haruki's efficiency reached a point where he was clearing Gastrea faster than the IISO could record them.

  Haruki spent his spare time practicing the Darkin Bde style he had unlocked in the wastend. It was powerful, but he cked a proper weapon for it. The style required a heavy greatsword. He submitted a request to the IISO for a custom-made, high-purity Varanium Greatsword, which was approved instantly.

  Things seemed to be looking up. The New Gastrea Law was finally gaining public support thanks to Haruki's influence. If it passed, the Cursed Children would finally have legal rights.

  But the abyss was watching.

  Haruki was just returning from an IISO hunt when his phone rang. It was the Seitenshi. Her voice was frantic, breaking her usual calm facade.

  "Haruki-san, it's a disaster! A Stage IV Gastrea that can bypass Varanium magnetic fields is invading the Tokyo area! Its name is Aldebaran, and it's systematically destroying the Monoliths!" she cried. "The Cabinet has calcuted that if the Monoliths fall, 70% of the city will be dead in two days. In four days... Tokyo will be extinct!"

  "Aldebaran... so it's finally here."

  Haruki wasn't panicked. He closed his eyes, feeling the vibration of his destiny. He nodded to the empty air and told her he was coming.

  ***********************************************

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