Within the Japanese chamber, even the sound of respiration seemed to cease. Parliamentarians stared blankly at Ryuichi's back on the dais, desperately hoping he would utter, "It's deception; Japan shall remain the world's preeminent nation..."
They would believe him. Even if his expression betrayed the truth, they would cling to belief. Yet, Ryuichi offered no rebuttal. The reality was terrifyingly palpable. Annihilation seemed inevitable...
"Ah!!!!" The suppressed, frenzied throng roared. Disregarding the surrounding soldiers, they surged from their seats, swarming towards the dais, demanding naught but an explanation from Ryuichi. The scene descended into chaos exceeding that of a riot. Though equally terrified, the soldiers' innate obedience compelled them to maintain composure. A contingent formed a neat line before the dais, raising their firearms in parallel. Close observation revealed trembling hands, the parliamentarians' fear infecting every Japanese soul.
The crowd encroached ever closer. Breached, the soldiers would be utterly overwhelmed. They needed... needed an order.
Ryuichi remained facing away, his gaze fixed on the retreating Orochi on the screen.
"Fire!" A calm command issued; the soldiers, uncertain of its origin, reflexively squeezed their triggers. Firing pins commenced their frantic dance. As casings ejected rhythmically from bolts, bullets tore through the bodies of the advancing parliamentarians, one after another.
Even so, the continuous gunfire failed to quell their bellows. Not until magazines ran dry did silence descend, replaced by the agonized cries of the surviving parliamentarians writhing on the floor. They crawled over their fallen comrades, inching towards the dais—a tableau evoking hell itself. Brutal, sanguinary, terrifying, melancholic...
"What are you doing?" Never anticipating Ryuichi would genuinely order the shooting, Shinta abandoned all decorum. He seized Ryuichi's collar, enraged by this unforgivable act. Though perhaps a collection of reprobates, these men governed Japan's various institutions. Without their signatures on documents tomorrow, Japan's operations would grind to a complete halt—a situation more chaotic than China during its upheavals.
"Kindly mind your conduct, Mr. Prime Minister..." Ryuichi's countenance was frigid enough to kill; Shinta instinctively released his grip.
"Today's events have fundamentally altered. They must absolutely not reach the outside world. Otherwise, national panic will precede any foreign invasion, leading to internal collapse." Smoothing his wrinkled collar, Ryuichi's composure starkly contrasted his earlier demeanor—the Emperor's foremost strategist, after all.
"Will there not be panic now?!" Shinta utterly failed to comprehend Ryuichi's reasoning.
"No. Tomorrow morning, you shall announce that Japan will deliberate crucial proposals. All parliamentarians will remain in prolonged consultation within the Diet. Departments will be handed over to interim administrators. I shall provide you with the specific personnel list before dawn. Once they fully assume their duties, detonate the entire Diet building. Attribute it to a Chinese terrorist attack. This, I imagine, presents no difficulty for you. Then, leveraging public outrage, launch an immediate assault on China. Their 'sacrifice' will thus become martyrdom for the nation..." Ryuichi's plan seemed pre-meditated, yet it was conceived in that very instant.
"Is there even a tomorrow?" Shinta leaned weakly against the dais, a scornful smile playing on his lips. "I too am aware of Serpent. I dare not doubt its intelligence gathering capabilities. If all our data truly reaches nations like America and Britain... they won't care a whit about past alliances. Use of biochemical weapons? Invasion of foreign territory? A new generation of fascism? Any pretext will suffice for our annihilation. As Serpent stated, we are a naked woman, and the most 'alluring' one at that."
"Such events will not transpire." Ryuichi's tone brooked no argument. "Because 13 and his Serpent shall perish tonight at Orochi's hands!"
Ignoring Shinta's bewildered gaze, he picked up the phone again.
Hideaki once more received Ryuichi's communication signal, connecting without hesitation.
"Hideaki, I have but one command, which is also an entreaty." Ryuichi inhaled deeply, calming his emotions. "Kill 13. Employ every conceivable means to eliminate him before dawn!"
"Somewhat challenging. Unsure what concoction he ingested, but he can regenerate wounds." Hideaki finally grasped he confronted a true monstrosity.
"Challenges must be surmounted!" Ryuichi clenched his fists. "Prepare for sacrifice. Even mutual destruction is acceptable to ensure his demise. Otherwise, Japan faces genuine extinction. I am not jesting. This crisis surpasses World War II..."
"Father." Hideaki called softly, his voice imbued with tenderness. "If I perish, will you acknowledge my strength?"
"Foolish child..." Ryuichi smiled through falling tears. "You have always been Father's proudest child. Your strength is undeniable to the world. I am honored to have a child such as you..."
This was the most authentic exchange of emotions. Hideaki harbored no further regrets...
The world operates strangely indeed... Some strive lifelong for wealth, power, women. Others dedicate everything for affection, a single conversation, an affirmation. Regardless of the objective, through human endeavor, attainment is possible!
The communication ended; the computer resumed normal function.
Serpent returned to 13's screen.
"Have you completed your task?" 13 inquired lightly.
"Naturally. My efficiency is unparalleled globally." The evolved Serpent remained as arrogant as ever.
"A question lingers. Though you hypnotized my cells facilitating recovery, I lack confidence in defeating him with this body." 13 candidly admitted his limitations.
"Who claims your body remains unchanged?" Serpent eyed 13 disdainfully. "My hypnosis is no simple matter. Post-recovery, your cells retain heightened activity. Your current state mirrors that on the Taipei rooftop—achieving, in your parlance, one hundred percent potential. Furthermore, you are now—stronger!"
"Stronger, is it?" 13 murmured doubtfully. "Yet, my adversary has also grown stronger..."
Smiling, he canted his body, blade held reverse-grip within the wing—vanishing!
Simultaneously, Orochi crouched, then launched explosively upwards, activating its quadrupedal thrusters, ascending into the sky.
When 13 reappeared, he stood where Orochi had been moments before, gazing up at the colossal "crab" aloft.
"So it truly can fly..." 13 marveled sincerely.
"Cease distraction. High energy concentrations detected within its structure—likely another ultimate technique. Avoid being eliminated by it!" Serpent reminded curtly.
"Yamata no Orochi Technique—" Hideaki gripped the controls, feeling an unprecedented weight. "Swarming Serpent Dance!"
"Evade!!!" Serpent shrieked in panic; 13 initiated movement, having also perceived the crimson glow emanating from the maws of the eight descending serpents.
Vanished! Sprinting aimlessly at maximum velocity—straight, turning, leaping—crisscrossing the small town. No looking back; momentary hesitation signified death. One serpent's laser beam adhered relentlessly, while others functioned as skirmishers, executing occasional intercepts, targeted shots, ambushes. The town's structures and ground suffered calamitously; rows of houses were neatly bisected, concrete surfaces buckled upwards. The areas 13 traversed resembled scenes from an alien invasion film.
"Quit running! At your speed, exhaustion guarantees demise. Besides, your three comrades are in a small clinic to the west. A wrong turn ensures their meaningless deaths." Serpent felt no immediate peril, ensconced within the world's most resilient armor.
"Observe in silence!" 13 executed a slide, entering an intersection sideways, then vanished anew. The laser pursued; the oblique crimson beam sliced through all buildings on the right, triggering a chain reaction of demolitions. Structure after structure collapsed, engulfing the area in vast clouds of dust.
"Hey!" Serpent detected an issue. "Ahead lies the previous battleground; the terrain there cannot sustain your velocity. You'll perish."
"I said, silence!" 13 abruptly lowered his stance, executing a diagonal sliding kick towards another slumbering dragon—the steel cable. The cumbersome cable's end was scooped upwards; as it vaulted overhead, 13 caught it with his raised left hand, cradling it. Serpent grasped 13's intent.
"Halt for over three seconds, and your fate is sealed," Serpent warned with utmost gravity.
"Let's see if it can endure that long!" 13 stabilized his position, then began rotating powerfully. The dancing dragon, far less civilized than the slender light beam, obliterated all structures within its radius.
The laser now struck 13's body; a delicate red line scored his right arm.
"Perish!" After two rotations, he hurled the cable skyward with immense force.
The beam shifted targets, focusing on the massive "adversary" hurtling towards Orochi. Serpent heads frantically sliced at the approaching cable, yet a 5-meter section still impacted Orochi's body, disrupting its hover capability. Like a meteor, Orochi plummeted to the ground, this time without any cushioning, crashing solidly onto the concrete roadway.
Slowly straightening, 13 surveyed the dust cloud rising 50 meters ahead, seemingly content with his "masterpiece."
Examining the wound on his right hand, regeneration had commenced. Perhaps an illusion, but 13 perceived the process as slightly slower than before.
Taking a step forward, he nearly stumbled, catching himself with one hand on the ground. The visual feed flickered, resembling unstable screen jumps.
Respiration grew rapid; perspiration flowed more profusely.
"Remain still! Control your breathing! Relax your body!" Serpent yelled tensely.
"What... what's wrong with me?" He tapped Night's helmet, initially suspecting display malfunction, but confirmed his own vision was blurring. Suddenly, a coolness under his nose; wiping with one hand revealed bright red blood staining the black armor—a nosebleed.
"This is a side effect of the hypnosis." Serpent's voice was hushed. "This is reality, not illusion; all must adhere to reality's constraints. Gaining something necessitates sacrificing something..."
"For instance, rapid bodily recovery is my gain. What, then, is my loss?" 13 inquired with a smile, his body returning to its previous state, rising effortlessly from the ground.
"The price you must pay is the ultimate one: your own life." Sorrow permeated Serpent's gaze.
"I don't quite understand. Could you elaborate?" Exhibiting neither tension nor anger, he posed the question as casually as inquiring about the evening menu...
"In truth, your somatic cells already possess activity several times that of a normal human, hence your predicted lifespan of merely forty years." 13 knew this; Nie Yun had informed him upon his coming of age. "'Hypnosis' further amplified their activity, accelerating their movement, exponentially increasing metabolic rate. However, rapid activity also hastens their demise. Generally, self-repair is the most cell-consuming process. Thus, during the arm wound treatment, you experienced maladaptation, nearly triggering spontaneous cellular awakening."
"Like a candle, accelerated combustion in pure oxygen yields a more brilliant flame, yet hastens its expiration, correct?" 13 asked quizzically.
"Essentially the same concept." Serpent wore a guilty expression. "I didn't intend to accelerate it, but without hypnosis earlier, you would have immediately succumbed to excessive blood loss..."
"It matters not..." 13 clenched his fists. "Being alive now suffices. To breathe a little longer... I bear no resentment. Conversely, I owe you gratitude..."
"Gratitude towards me?" Serpent was perplexed.
"You granted me the prerogative to continue breathing. Though arrogant, ill-mannered, and... 'unconventionally' shaped, just as you stated, you are the most exceptional auxiliary system." 13's intended praise sounded, to Serpent, indistinguishable from insult.
Nevertheless, it stirred Serpent's emotions.
"Very well..." 13 fixed his gaze ahead. Within the dust, a pair of red eyes ignited. "Let us resume combat! Comrade..."
"Mm!" Serpent affirmed resolutely.