170Chapter I: The Power of the King
It is the year 2039. Ten years since a horrific disaster struck Tokyo on Christmas Eve 2029. This event was named Lost Christmas. The disaster came in the form of a pandemic; it was the result of the Apocalypse Virus. Having become the epicenter of this crisis, Japan called for immediate international help from an organization called GHQ to contain the virus from spreading within the country. However, it came at a cost.
Japan was forced to surrender its identity to receive aid, including food, water, and other essential resources from GHQ. Yet because of this, GHQ imposed harsh authority and implemented authoritarian governance that Japan could not resist. GHQ even established the citadel in the center of Tokyo to consolidate its sovereignty: the GHQ headquarters known as Ward 24.
It has been nearly 10 years since that terrible pandemic. And while the virus continues to infect civilians, thanks to medical breakthroughs and vaccinations, the virus has been contained and civilians were able to resume their normal lives under GHQ's authoritarian watch.
Among these civilians that have managed to get by with a normal routine is a student going to Tennouzu High School in Roppongi.
Today would just be another normal day for this average student entering another year in Tennouzu High.
On the morning of one of the first days back in Tennouzu High, Shu sat at his desk staring outside the window next to him. As per usual, the morning homeroom became rampant with activity and gossip among his student peers. However, and although he wasn't an asocial person, all he wanted was some distance. School life has been mundane and quite frankly not exciting. He partly wanted this so he could get by without problems. On the other hand, he wondered if anything could alter his usual routine and add some unpredictability to his life, granting him some freedom.
Last night, all he could think about was the Egoist singer he watched last night. His mind wandered off as her enigmatic singing replayed in his ears. Closing his eyes, he started to visualize her sitting in front. Then, he felt someone shaking him, which snapped him out of his fantasy and back to his mundane reality.
"Hey, Shu! Wake up, man! Class is about to start!" A male student whispered loudly, shaking his right shoulder hard.
"Huh?"
"And you're not going to believe this! Looks like we got new classmates!"
"Wha…?" Shu blinked thrice as a male student with short black hair continued shaking his shoulder. "I'm here, Souta! I'm not asleep!"
"Well, you were daydreaming again, weren't you?"
"Not really."
"C'mon, Shu. We have two new classmates. I'm so excited!" A girl with dark brown hair with pigtails giggled.
"Two new classmates coming in now? Who would've thought?" A tall male student with short brown hair added as he sat down.
"We get new students all the time though, don't we?" Shu asked.
"Not this early on. Look, there are two of them! That makes it more exciting, man," Souta said.
Shu turned and faced the front of the class where their homeroom teacher, a man in his late-20s, had two students standing next to him.
"Class. Settle down and please get to your seats," the homeroom teacher addressed his students, who sat in their chairs and faced the new students. "Thank you. Now, I know we're barely starting the year, but do expect the possibility of new students joining our class. These two are no different. These two are transfer students from Sakai of the Osaka Prefecture. They're part of a year-long exchange program from their old high school. These two are also siblings. So, if you two would like to introduce yourselves to your new classmates?"
Looking up at the two new students, Shu saw a young man wearing a black long-sleeved uniformed shirt with a blue tie and the yellow Tennouzu crest, matching black dress pants male student uniform, and brown shoes. The teen has a thinly-shaped face and body, a fair skin complexion, dark brown hair with an unkempt style at the front with his bangs covering his forehead and hair sticking out in the back. After writing his name on the board, his brown eyes navigated across the classroom, eyeing his new classmates.
With a bow, he casually greeted them. "Good morning, everyone! I'm Heath Jones! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" His greeting elicited enthusiastic nods from the other students and some giggling from the girls. Based on this name, the students easily discerned Heath and his sister being part-Japanese and Caucasian, but the siblings' ethnicity didn't deter the students whatsoever.
As Heath faced Shu's direction, Shu gave a faint smile and eyed the girl standing next to Heath.
After she finished writing her name on the board, the young woman turned wearing a bright red long-sleeved girl's top uniform coupled with a red bow and the yellow Tennouzu crest, a dark blue skirt, and brown shoes. The girl also has a thinly shaped face and body, but naturally has more feminine facial features than her brother, including her eyes and lips. Like her brother, she has a fair skin complexion. Her dark brown hair is short and neck-length coupled with longer locks hanging down the sides of her face and like her brother has hair sticking out the back, making them look like identical twins. Seen tied on the right side of her hair is a red hair accessory resembling a rope with a three-leaf clover. Her green eyes shifted through the classroom.
With the chalk still in her hand, she twirled it on a finger and grinned in a sassy manner, as opposed to her brother's polite and casual greeting. "Yo, what's up? My name is Akiko Jones, and I'm looking forward to being your classmate! No autographs please!" Her more laid-back greeting elicited enthusiastic murmuring with the male students as the girls were unsure what to make of Akiko's eccentric personality.
As Akiko handed the chalk back to the homeroom teacher, Shu was taken aback by Akiko's behavior, having never seen someone like her express herself less formally. Moreover, he and the other classmates were taken aback by Heath and Akiko's English-sounding accents as they tried to speak Japanese. Some speculated if the siblings were foreign exchange students but it didn't appear to be the case. He noted how comfortable the siblings seemed to be around his classmates.
"We welcome you two to the class. Now, let's see where we could put you two. Hmm, oh there are two vacant seats next to Ouma." The homeroom teacher pointed toward the two empty seats near Shu, who watched as Heath and Akiko took their seats.
"Hey, pleased to meet you, Ouma."
"Yeah, you, too," Shu formally replied.
"Hey, Ouma, don't look glum. We're gonna have a fun time this year!" Akiko said with an enthused grin.
"I'm not… it's just I don't usually get kids sitting this close to me."
"Don't you have friends?" Heath asked him.
"Of course, I do." Shu pointed the Jones siblings toward three of his closest classmates. "There's Souta and Yahiro. I talk to them. And the girl there is named Hare." He then showed them to other students he's had interactions with, including a girl with glasses and a female student with an elegant presence. "Over there is Kanon and there's our class president Arisa." He then showed them the other students, including two other boys, a teen with glasses and groomed brown hair and a slim-faced teen with a ponytail and two girls, a girl with neck-length brown hair and a girl with glasses and long dark brown hair. "Over there are Nanba, Sudou, Ritsu, and Miyabi. So, it's not that I don't have friends or talk to people. I just prefer solitude when my mind is elsewhere."
Heath nodded. "Ah, I get it. Don't worry we won't bother your daydreaming."
Akiko chuckled. "Heheh, but if we catch you sleeping I'm gonna wake you up, ok?"
Later as class was dismissed, Heath and Akiko introduced themselves to Shu's friends.
"Yo, man. I'm Tamadate Souta!"
"I'm Samukawa Yahiro."
"Nice to meet you all," Heath formally greeted the two.
"And I'm Menjou Hare! It's a pleasure to meet you two!" Hare kindly responded.
Then, much to Hare's surprise, Akiko grasped and shook her hands. "You're so cute! I could hug you!"
"T-Thanks!" Hare replied, taken aback by Akiko's open and eccentric behavior.
"I hope you'll enjoy your time here in Tennouzu," Yahiro said.
"Same here. It looks like we're already making new friends," Heath stated.
"I call that mission accomplished, bro. Now, how about you show us around the school?" Akiko asked the group. She then grabbed Shu's hand and dragged him along. "You'll come with us, too, right? After all, we're class seat neighbors!"
"Sure, um, so what brings you here to Tennouzu?"
Heath answered. "You heard your teacher. We're here on a one-year exchange program from our previous school. Akiko and I are staying with our grandparents until then."
"Our folks are fine and all, but we want to hang with kids our age. Maybe you and your friends will make this year exciting for us, Shu?" Akiko smirked, giving him an innocent wink.
"Yeah, sure. Count on it," Shu nodded, unsure of how to discern Akiko, whose eccentric personality is making her stand out more.
"Hah, don't let my sister get to you, Shu. She only acts like this with boys she knows she's going to form strong companionships with."
"I see. Then, I hope we'll get to be good friends, you two," Shu chuckled modestly.
Throughout the rest of the day, Shu and his group properly showed the Jones around Tennouzu High. They also got them acquainted with their other classes and their usual hangout spots.
After school, Shu walked out the gates with Heath, Akiko, Souta, Yahiro, and Hare.
"See you all tomorrow!" Souta waved off to his friends and headed home.
"Take care, Shu! I hope to see you two tomorrow!" Hare called out to Heath and Akiko.
"Later, Shu. Heath and Akiko, be sure to check out the clubs we have tomorrow," Yahiro suggested before taking his leave.
"So, where are you heading off after school?" Akiko asked Shu.
"My usual hangout place."
"Ooo, may we come?"
"Akiko, please. Besides, we promised we'd be back home early on our first day," Heath reminded her.
"Oh yeah," Akiko sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, see ya tomorrow, Shu!"
"Be safe on your way, Shu," Heath bowed as he walked off while Akiko waved to Shu.
Taking a deep and exasperated breath, Shu muttered. "Wow, talk about a different kind of day. Maybe that was my wish for a less boring day? I should be more careful with what I wish for." He headed off toward his solitary hangout spot.
After leaving school, Shu headed straight for his usual hangout spot: an empty warehouse studio. Once he arrived, Shu was taken by surprise by an unexpected guest. Much to his surprise, it was the same pink-haired songstress from the music video he viewed the other night. Guarding the girl was her robotic companion Fyu-Neru, who readily prepared to attack Shu.
Nearly ready to defend himself, Shu picked up a pole, but the girl beckoned Fyu-Neru off. She calmly introduced herself as Yuzuriha Inori. After introducing himself, Shu told her he was a fan of her music. Needless to say, Shu knew he wanted a less mundane life and a little unpredictability to break that routine. The Jones being his new classmates was one matter, but he never expected Egoist's singer to show up in his life.
During their conversation, Inori wrapped strings in her hands and showed her cat's cradle while mentioning bonds with him. Noticing the wounds she sustained, he helped treat her. As a favor for treating her, she asked him a favor and to protect Fyu-Neru, which contained the vial containing the Void Genome.
Just then, GHQ and several Anti-Bodies led by Major Guin broke into the warehouse and captured Inori. As he attempted to save Inori, a GHQ soldier stopped him at gunpoint, forcing the student to back off. Major Guin questioned if he was in league with Inori. As Shu denied, Major Guin and his men escorted Inori to GHQ custody. After they left, Shu regretted his decision not to stand up for Inori and followed her path. Fyu-Neru assisted Shu and navigated him toward the location in Roppongi Hills to find a person named Tsutsugami Gai, who leads a rebel organization called Funeral Parlor. Inori was intended to meet and give the vial to this individual.
By nightfall, Shu and Fyu-Neru arrived in Roppongi Hills, but they encountered a group of thugs. Fortunately, a young man with long blonde hair and dark clothes named Gai arrived just in time. Shu heard him declare, "Well, look at all those corpses!" As he made his declaration known, Gai proceeded to beat the piss out of the gang and scared them off. The other Funeral Parlor members showed up: a young man with spike backed caramel and brown hair named Tsukishima Argo, a thin man with silver hair and glasses named Shibungi, a large rotund man with light brown skin named Oogumo, and a girl with black hair worn in a ponytail named Kyo. Then, Tsugumi, a hacker girl with long dark violet hair, a full-bodied dark and white skin-tight bodysuit, and metal cat's ears fashioned on her head, confronted and confiscated Fyu-Neru from Shu.
Both Shu and Gai had a brief confrontation with the latter questioning Shu about Inori's whereabouts. Before Shu answered, they were attacked by GHQ's Endlaves.
Funeral Parlor summoned their Endlave partner, Shinomiya Ayase, who appears to be piloting her Endlave called the Steiner, which originally belonged to a GHQ member named Daryl Yan. Funeral Parlor previously stole it during a past mission, denying Daryl the chance to utilize it. Using her Steiner, Ayase fought off the Endlaves. During a crossfire, a blast from their attacks collided with an armored truck holding Inori captive. As a result, Inori was set free. Acting and self consciously realizing he was 'doing something out of character for a change', Shu stormed into the fray in search of Inori. Eventually, he found the singer. Running towards her with the vial in hand, Shu heard an ammunition shot from an Endlave shatter the vial from his hand.
In that eventful moment, threads from the broken vial merged with Shu's body and the Void Genome bonded with him. This resulted in him connecting with Inori. A maple leaf-like symbol appeared and embellished itself on Shu's right hand. Released by the bond of two hearts, Shu manifested and wielded the power of the kings: the power of the Guilty Crown.
Two individuals witnessed this event unfold: Gai from close by and Keido Shuichiro, who witnessed it from a distance within GHQ headquarters. Keido is a mustached man with gray hair and a cold, steely-eyed exterior. Also in the distance, a mysterious boy, with a white coat and unkempt light blonde hair, and icy blue eyes, named Yuu keenly observed the Guilty Crown's manifestation.
With this new power, Shu wielded Inori's Void called the Singer's Sword and easily wiped out all of the enemy Endlaves.
Surprised by this turn of events, Shu wasn't sure how to react. Upon confronting Shu, Gai informed Shu that he was originally intended to use the Void Genome until destiny changed that and selected Shu to be the chosen wielder. Gai told Shu to survive and be prepared to make a change in his life. Then, Gai received a report from Argo that GHQ led by Guin and Daryl are holding hostages.
Later, Gai and Inori took Shu to the Funeral Parlor headquarters. Once they arrived, they saw a gathering of fellow Undertakers, members of Funeral Parlor's collective. There Shu saw Argo, Shibungi, Oogumo, Tsugumi, and Kyo again.
For the first time, Shu saw Ayase, a beautiful woman with a radiant and youthful face and rounded eyes full of fervor. Her russet brown hair, pulled up in a back-length ponytail by a red hairband, shone with life. A pair of bangs parting from her face revealed most of her forehead. Though her complexion is mostly fair, her skin has some brown and light peach flesh colors. Her outfit is a form-fitting full-bodied red, black, and gray suit, covering all but her fingers. Despite being seemingly disabled, her body has the stature of someone who's been fairly active. She has a lean figure with a defined tone in her arms, girth, and legs.
Having amassed his members, Gai announced that they'd save the civilians from Guin and Daryl along with a plan to push the resistance group to reveal themselves to the public. Although Shu was unsure to go along with this, he knew he had a new responsibility to uphold the power of the kings at his disposal.
Upon arriving at the hostage location, Funeral Parlor went incognito and witnessed GHQ containing the hostages. On the scene were countless Endlaves, Anti-Bodies, and GHQ soldiers armed with weapons. Daryl, a young man with neck-length blonde hair with two long fringes hanging in front of his face, walked out and formally greeted the hostages. Then, a drastic moment saw a mother plead to Daryl to help her and her son. Before even acknowledging her, Daryl saw the mother approach and accidentally grab, causing him to snap.
Then, in a shocking turn of events, Daryl frantically beat her up, even going as far as stomping on her head. Then, in a moment that stunned Shu and Funeral Parlor, Daryl shot the woman in front of her child. This moment sparked fear from the hostages and fire from Funeral Parlor, but none were as angry as Shu, who witnessed GHQ's act of cruelty. As he resolved to stop GHQ, Gai briefed Shu on what to do next.
Wasting no time in response to the cold-blooded murder, Ayase and her Endlave intervened. With her Steiner, Ayase fought Daryl and his Endlave. Angered over losing his Steiner Endlave to Ayase, he fought Ayase hard to reclaim what he deemed 'rightfully his'. However, Ayase's upgraded Steiner overpowered Daryl's Endlave and knocked him out.
At that moment, Gai appeared in the open as his enemies noticed him. Major Guin and his GHQ forces became dead set on firing their lasers at Funeral Parlor's leader. As Gai kept them distracted, Shu, who extracted the Singer's Sword from Inori, came out of hiding and drew out the unconscious Daryl's Void: the Kaleidoscope.
Once GHQ's forces all turned their lasers and fired on Gai, Shu used Daryl's Kaleidoscope and repelled Guin and his forces' lasers on them. As a result of his act of bravery, Shu instantly wiped out the GHQ forces, killing them all in one fell swoop. Although once Shu realized what he had done, his eyes widened in shock and he had a look that said something along the lines of, "Holy shit, I did this?" without saying it.
When the battle ended, Shu's Kaleidoscope Void and the reflected lasers obliterated Major Guin's Anti-Bodies, Endlave Gautiers, and his soldiers, sans Daryl and a few unconscious soldiers.
A dying Guin, who was gravely wounded by a laser, turned to desperate measures. Taking out a device, he waved it around. With the push of a button, he scowled realizing his conventional methods failed him. He was forced to take drastic measures.
"I can't believe I'm forced to release the experimental creature. You've done it now, ingrates! Now prepare to be expunged...!" Guin shouted before he collapsed facefirst and died.
Shu, Gai, and Funeral Parlor quickly pivoted toward the loud beeping of a large truck pulling up toward them.
Coming into view is a large armored vehicle several times larger than the Endlaves. The top of the armored vehicle is a large dome roof. Then, the armored vehicle started rattling with force on its own. Inside the dome, heavy breathing was heard as fog covered the dome glass interior. Then, low and heavy growls were accompanied by breathing and shaking, causing everyone to face the truck apprehensively. Inside this vehicle had been awakened by the explosions caused by Shu's Kaleidoscope Void.
Shu didn't know what to think as he felt his body quivering and his heart racing at a rapid pace.
As his mouth became dry, Gai lost his words while meticulously eyeing the armored vehicle. The back of the vehicle rattled again with whatever was inside waiting to come out. A computer screen on the left-side door had identification for the subject inside.
The screen read:
SUBJECT: Fafnir rex
As the doors opened, the creature inside quickly pushed the doors down with force. Following more low grunting, everyone saw their eyes and mouths widen in aghast when the creature poked its massive head and long snout out.
"What in god's…" Gai muttered in horror as everyone witnessed something that came out of another time emerge into full view from the vehicle.
Raising its massive head after being cramped in the armored vehicle, the creature stretched out its whole body. Then, it let out deep and gravelly bellows, causing those near it to quiver fearfully in its wake. The large creature is larger than the tallest Endlave, even towering over Ayase's Steiner. The length of its body is longer than the armored vehicle it came out of. Its body shape is thickset and robust. Shaking its large head, it opened its fearsome maw, exposing its set of sharp teeth for all to see. Its bodily scales are a mix of a white underbelly, dark gray for most of its body, and olive green for some skin textures. It has a pair of large two-clawed forearms. Its hands and wrists are notably non-pronated, allowing the creature's hands to grab something. Its rear hind legs are thick and covered with dark gray scales and three claws on each foot. Waving its massive white and black tail around, it has the features of a tadpole, which is then used to knock over the armored vehicle. Razor spikes are seen covering its tadpole-like tail, its underbelly, and its neck sides. Short black spines lined across its back.
With its yellow eagle-like eyes, the experimental dinosaur's greater visual clarity and binocular vision allowed it to discern Shu, Gai, and Funeral Parlor. With a quick swing of its thick tail, it sent a dismantled Anti-Body into the air. After the unit crashed to the ground, it then scanned the vicinity, eyeing Funeral Parlor.
"How…?" Shu's mouth dropped. "But, something like that… shouldn't even be around anymore…!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ayase trepidatiously yelled inside her Endlave.
"Aya, you and the others have to be careful! We can't let that thing get loose or civilians are going to be in danger!" Tsugumi cried out through Ayase's communications.
"But, what if we…"
"The Steiner should be well equipped to fight that thing!" The hacker added.
"Shu! Find cover!" Gai called out to him.
Taking heed of Gai's advice, Shu slowly backed off toward the back of a dismantled Anti-Body unit. He watched the creature prowl through the vicinity in search of prey.
Making its way around, the creature walked past the ravaged Anti-Bodies & Endlaves and several slain GHQ soldiers that were wiped out by the reflected lasers. Unbeknownst to the dinosaur, an audibly grotesque sound was made. It crushed Guin's dead body with its left hindfoot. Removing its massive foot, Guin's body was left flattened and broken. His face was crushed in. Anything resembling the commander of GHQ's Anti-Bodies Third Squadron was a bloodied and flattened corpse.
As it paused, the creature let out a deep bellow and set its sights on Shu, who had watched Guin being crushed quickly. As Shu backed off, he readied the Singer's Sword and Daryl's Void. Undeterred by Shu's defensive stance, the creature stalked toward the boy.
"Everyone, move in! Do not let that beast get Shu and escape!" Gai commanded. At the sound of his commanding cry, Ayase, while piloting the Steiner, mobilized into the fray. Joining her, Gai and other Funeral Parlor members teamed up to engage and eliminate the monstrous dinosaur. The Funeral Parlor members quickly blasted the beast with open round fire.
Seemingly unfazed by their bullets, the creature's thick skin protected it from most of the blunt trauma. Bellowing another low snarl, the beast charged toward the Funeral Parlor, who quickly spread out and took cover behind rubble and dismantled Anti-Bodies once occupied by enemy lines. Oogumo and his squad took turns shooting the beast.
"Our bullets are barely even grazing the thing, Oogumo!"
"Yeah, who would've thought GHQ would make something like this?! This is impossible!"
Oogumo grunted as he scanned the dinosaur. "They just keep delivering unwanted surprises." He fired rounds at the creature as it had its sights set on Shu, who backed away while using the Kaleidoscope Void to protect himself from the creature's maw strikes.
"I can't believe this is happening! Get back!" Shu cried out, defending himself with the Kaleidoscope Void's strong barrier, which had enough power to repel Guin and his force's lasers. His defense Void was now put to the test against a greater enemy.
When the creature went for a side bite, Shu blocked its bite with Inori's Void. After striking the dinosaur's maw with the Singer's Sword, the beast slightly turned its head and scratched its nose where Shu wounded it. Shaking its head, the beast bellowed a low snarl, causing Shu to sink back.
"SHU!" Gai called out as he picked up a gun from a slain GHQ soldier. Drawing the beast's attention away, Gai fired several shots into the creature's left hind leg. The beast pivoted from Shu and rushed toward Gai. Throwing itself forward, the dinosaur attempted to snatch up Gai, but he narrowly rolled away and escaped its jaws, which clamped tightly.
Having realized he escaped the jaws of death, Gai assessed its bite force and realized it would've been instant death had he been caught.
"Gai, are you ok over there?!" Argo yelled out from a distance. "Gai!" He saw the aforementioned hiding under some rubble while the dinosaur sniffed out the Funeral Parlor leader's scent. Hearing the dinosaur's low growling, Gai kept still while in hiding. "Oh shit. Gai!" He took cover, avoiding being seen by the beast.
"Gai!" Shu yelled while slashing the dinosaur's side head with the Singer's Sword. Quickly withdrawing the Void, he elicited an angry bellow from the dinosaur as it set its sights on him and charged into him.
Scared out of his wits, Shu looked for cover to hide, but he then tripped over a dismantled Anti-Body and fell on his back. The monster hastily dashed toward Shu and attempted to seize him in its jaws. As it reached for Shu, the teen desperately raised the Kaleidoscope Void, forming a protective barrier that protected him from the beast's jaws.
As Daryl's Void protected him, Shu's frightened yells filled the vicinity along with the dinosaur's deep bellows. Shu's face contorted with apprehension and uncertainty of his chances of survival. Having been thrust into a battle with GHQ Endlaves and Anti-Bodies was one matter, but a survival battle with a carnivorous dinosaur was a whole new matter. He never would've imagined being in his current situation in a million years.
Getting a close-up of the nightmarish view of the beast's jaws, Shu shut his eyes. The monster continued bashing against the beehive barrier. It attempted to penetrate through and bite Shu. Just as the barrier started to give in and crack, Shu resigned to his impending fate.
Suddenly, the Steiner quickly intercepted the monster and grabbed it by its snout. Utilizing the Steiner's limbs, Ayase tried closing the dinosaur's maw shut.
"Get back and help Gai! I'll handle this thing!" Ayase shouted from within the Steiner. As Shu rushed over to find the Funeral Parlor leader, the Steiner tussled with the dinosaur in a battle between a human-piloted machine and an experimental beast. "C'mon, big guy! Bring it on!" She goaded the beast to attack her.
Letting out a terrifying bellow, the beast charged into the Steiner. Swinging its tadpole-like tail, the Steiner sidestepped its powerful tail swipe and punched its left side. Leaving itself open for body shots, the Steiner landed successive blows into the dinosaur. Pummeling its sides and underbelly, the Steiner punched its head, slightly disorienting the creature.
"Be careful with its jaws, Aya! I've done a quick scan on its anatomy and its jaws have an incredible bite force! It might be strong enough to bite through the Steiner's armor!" Tsugumi frantically warned the Steiner pilot.
"Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind!" Ayase declared. While steadying the Steiner into a fighter's stance, the dinosaur charged into and tried headbutting the Endlave. However, the Steiner sidestepped its head. When the beast turned its head and opened its jaws, the Steiner grabbed its jaws. Seizing a tight hold, the Steiner attempted to snap the dinosaur's jaws apart. "I've got a hold of you! Now, hold still!"
While the machine tussled with the beast, the Steiner came close to splitting its jaws apart, but the dinosaur shook off the Steiner and closed its jaws tightly.
"Oh shit! So close!" Ayase shouted as the dinosaur tail whipped and knocked the Steiner back.
As the Steiner tussled with the beast again, Shu recovered Gai. The latter placed a hand over Shu's right shoulder. With some words of encouragement, he helped restore Shu's confidence.
"It's ok to be scared. Hell, I am, too. None of us saw this thing coming. This just tells us GHQ has been playing god and creating experiments. We mustn't let any of these experiments run loose and harm civilians."
"Yes," Shu nodded.
"Remember you now wield the Void Genome. You bear the responsibility to utilize Voids. Use them to slay this monster. Help Ayase before it's too late!"
"Gai…" Shu muttered, looking over his shoulder as the Steiner tussled with the dinosaur. From the sidelines, the other Funeral Parlor members fired shots into the massive abomination. Turning and facing Gai, Shu felt his entire body shake, including his hands. His eyes then became resolute.
Turning and heading back into the fray, Shu still felt apprehensive, but rather than run and abandon his new allies. He used those fears to motivate him to confront and overcome his fears. He knew Gai was right and that it is unmistakably clear this monster shouldn't be allowed to be let loose on society. No GHQ abomination wasn't going to get by Funeral Parlor's watch.
After delivering more body blows into the beast, the Steiner snatched its jaws. Ayase's Endlave attempts to break apart its jaws and crush its head. Try as she might, the beast proved too strong and tossed her off again. Now sporting wounds from the Steiner's blows, the behemoth rushed forward to attack. When it snapped its jaws over the Steiner, the Endlave seized its head. While pushing it back, Ayase yelled with ferocity in the monster's face.
"You're not going to fucking get me, you GHQ abomination!" Ayase cried resolutely. As she tightened her hold on the monster's jaws, someone swiftly jumped in and stabbed the monster's right eye.
Jerking its head away from the Steiner, the monster shook its head. With its entire upper body still lowered near the ground, Ayase's savior quickly took his Singer's Sword and stabbed through the beast's mouth. Everyone witnessed Shu inside its mouth with Inori's Void splitting open its mouth. With an intense look, the glare in his eyes became bold and focused. Gripping Inori's Void, Shu stabbed the sword upward, slashing through the beast's forehead and into its brain. Following one quick and powerful slash with the sword, the Void wielder brutally tore the beast's upper head open, spilling boundless amounts of blood all over him and his sword. With a swing of the Void, Shu sent flesh, brain matter, and blood splattering on the ground. As the dinosaur's body collapsed on itself, Shu jumped off and watched in awe of his work.
Ouma Shu was at a loss for words over what transpired. He then took another look at the Singer's Sword. Having realized he was drenched in the dinosaur's blood, Shu returned to his senses and let out a deep gasp.
"Shu!" Gai called out as he and the other Funeral Parlor members headed down to tend with him and the Steiner.
"Gai… I… I did that…?" Shu realized as his eyes gaped in shock upon the realization of what he just did.
"Ayase helped you keep that thing occupied, but make no mistake about it, Shu. You killed this monster on your own," Gai calmly reassured him.
Clenching the Singer's Sword tightly, Shu wiped the blood covering his face.
"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up, Shu," Gai offered, propping the Void wielder up. "First, let's return those Voids where they belong."
"Oh! Inori!" Shu realized.
"After we clean you up."
As Ayase stepped out of the Steiner's cockpit, she heard Tsugumi's energetic tone congratulating her for another successful battle. However, she ignored Tsugumi through her communication network and meticulously eyed Shu from afar. As she observed Gai cleaning up Shu, Ayase maintained a neutral expression. A part of her was relieved Shu came through and helped her slay the monstrosity, but at the same time, the Steiner pilot was unsure how long Shu could last to fight with them.
"...hello? Aya, can you hear me?!" Tsugumi chimed in through the Steiner's communication.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, Tsugumi. Thanks," Ayase muttered while maintaining eye contact with Shu.
After getting cleaned up, Shu returned Daryl and Inori's Voids into their bodies. After walking back with Inori, Shu took a moment to reflect on the eventful moments that had just occurred. Everything, including the battle against the experimental dinosaur, happened so fast.
Realizing that Guin's entire squad was wiped out along with their experimental beast, Daryl and the remaining GHQ units retreated from the scene. With the local civilians saved, Funeral Parlor prevented what could've been disastrous circumstances, especially if the experimental monster had gotten loose.
With Tsugumi's help, Funeral Parlor was able to hack into the armored truck's computer and pulled up the experimental monster's profile. It was identified as the Fafnir rex, a dinosaur hybrid created by GHQ's scientists with DNA genetic traits of animal variants. This raised concerning red flags for them. If the Fafnir rex was a sign of impending dangers, they may deal with possibly more dangerous GHQ experiments.
Watching Inori sitting and singing to herself, Shu quietly observed the blue skies and a sunset in the sky's backdrop. With a deep breath, Shu looked over his shoulder and saw Gai behind him.
"Well done, Ouma Shu. You've exceeded my… no, our expectations," Gai formally corrected himself midway. "Look around." As Shu scanned the vicinity, the remains of Anti-Bodies, GHQ Endlaves, and the beast were left behind in a war-ravaged space. "We've evacuated the hostages and civilians thanks to your actions. And your actions prevented that creature from escaping into the city. Things could've gone worse."
"I hesitated for a moment during that battle. I could've died. I wanted to run away, but I didn't. Because running away would've meant you would've had to fight that thing."
"We would've died trying to stop it, but we're glad you took the initiative."
"I wouldn't have if not for you and Inori."
"It doesn't matter. Your actions alone turned the tide of this skirmish, Shu."
Shu nodded and passively sighed. "Well, I suppose." He saw Gai raise his right hand to Shu. With a genuine and firm smile, he offered. Behind Gai, the other Funeral Parlor members, including Inori, Ayase, Argo, Tsugumi, Oogumo, and Shibungi, stood in the distance awaiting Shu's response. "Please join us, Ouma Shu. Your potential is limitless and you'll have a place here with us."
Staring deeply at Gai's hand, Shu momentarily hesitated and wondered if he'd get caught in similar life-or-death situations again. Witnessing GHQ men mercilessly killing a mother in front of her child was enough. However, the dinosaur hybrid was not what he expected. If that monster was an indication of GHQ's experiments, he couldn't stand to see more monstrosities unleashed on society.
After what he demonstrated with the Voids, Shu realized only he had the power to combat these experimental entities and the people who created them. With the King's power, he slew a monster king.
This was the calling he had been yearning for.
A chance to be a hero and save lives.
Casting all of his doubts aside, Shu resolutely smiled and grabbed Gai's hand, sealing the deal with the Funeral Parlor leader. Witnessing this, an amicable smile adorned Inori's face.
"I'm in, Gai. When do I start?"
A whole day after resolving the hostage crisis and slaying the dinosaur hybrid, Shu returned to school acting as if nothing happened. However, he remembered all that happened. He remembered obliterating nearly an entire GHQ squadron and slaying a GHQ beast in a single afternoon. He remembered accepting becoming part of Funeral Parlor and shaking Gai's hand.
As he stared at the hand he used to shake Gai's palm, Shu wondered if he made the right choice. He's longed for some change in his life and he got it. He wanted to make a difference and he did by helping GHQ save hostages.
Shu's thoughts were then interrupted when his teacher announced another transfer student. Both Heath and Akiko already made a good impression with their classmates. The other students were anxious to know who this third transfer student might be.
Upon noticing the new student, Shu jumped out of his seat. Heath and Akiko, too, were surprised to see who it was having seen her on internet videos. The new student's pink hair and celebrity status caught the students' attention.
The new student joining them is none other than Yuzuriha Inori.
A/N: And as of this chapter, Akane no Guilty Crown has kicked off into high gear on its real anniversary date: October 13, 2011!
This chapter adapts Episodes 1-2. We took the liberty to summarize the parts we (and fans) are already familiar with and fleshed out the new scenes, especially introducing this story's two OC protagonists. Besides retelling events with new elements, there will be original scenes and chapters that deviate from the main GC plot, including arcs that flesh Ayase and Heath & Akiko's backstories and characters. While those three appeared here, this chapter served to establish Shu's more heroic personality early on.
Say hi to Heath and Akiko Jones, who going forward will become integral players in AnGC. As their roles expand, their interactions with Shu, Ayase, and the others will enhance those characters' roles. They will not be auxiliary characters. They're central characters throughout the narrative.
Yes, and you've already seen the most obvious alteration to GC's story: the Fafnir rex. Yes, you're likely asking yourselves: "What the hell is this?!"
It's a new direction we wanted to go. For this reboot, we aimed to enhance the stakes for Shu and Funeral Parlor. Moreover, we wanted the first big boss to be something beyond just Guin's Endlave forces. And since future science is involved with GC, we thought what if GHQ had followed through and acquired the resources that managed to extract DNA from fossils (including and not limited to amber) and revive historically extinct species. And ultimately they achieved the means to revive animals that have been extinct for millions of years.
This is a giant flag to show GHQ has been doing more than manufacturing Endlaves and a deadly virus. With the advancement of science and outside sources, GHQ has managed to a Frankenstein monster based on extinct non-avian theropod dinosaurs. And unlike the ones seen in Jurassic Park/Jurassic World and other dinosaur movies, any creature that is a dinosaur will have scientifically accurate designs.
And you know what? Aspects of science fiction have eventually become science facts.
Part of the Fafnir rex is named after the great dragon slain by Sigurd in Nordic/Norse Mythology. In this futuristic tale, Shu doubles as Sigurd slaying a great dragon. However since no dragons exist in AnGCs reality, a Frankenstein dinosaur takes Fafnir's place.
Yes, I know this seems farfetched and completely outlandish but GC, despite having grounded themes and moments, already has science fiction involved.
But, the biggest change in this story besides the Fafnir rex and the Jones' introductions? Shu growing some balls and fighting the beast headlong. And after slaying the Fafnir rex, he accepts Gai's offer and joins Funeral Parlor, unlike Shu (Canon), who remained indecisive and resulted in unwanted character inconsistency. I'd say that's a big improvement for our heroic but still flawed Ouma Shu.
This story is also categorized as a romance. Alongside character studies for a few characters (Ayase will be one to benefit from it), romantic emphasis will be placed on Shu/Inori and Ayase/Heath. Akiko will be paired with another OC who hasn't shown himself yet.
All There in the Manual - Chapter I
-The Fafnir rex has the DNA genetic traits of Giganotosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Saurophaganax, Acrocanthosaurus, Tyrannotitan, Tarbosaurus, Oxalaia, Mapusaurus, Dynamoterror, Thanatotheristes, armadillo girdled lizard, giant girdled lizard, Steller's sea eagle, and Philippine eagle.
-It is male.
-The body/head structure of this variant is shaped like a Giganotosaurus.
-The two eagle species (the ones listed above) have been utilized for the dinosaur's keen eagle eye trait for binocular vision.
That's all for this chapter's A/N. I hope the dinosaur stuff didn't turn anyone off but know that there will be other types of GHQ experiment beasts for variety's sake. Though, I also hope Heath & Akiko's debut and Shu's early character progression are well received. Shu's development into a decisive hero early on already puts him in a better direction than Shu (Canon) in my view.
One more thing: Allfather-Ford will be translating this story into multiple languages: Japanese, Spanish, German, French, and simplified Chinese. You'll find them on this site. If anyone's primary/secondary language happens to be those, then go ahead and read them, even for curiosity's sake.
Until next time, leave a comment and review. AnGC has only gotten started!
Later!