Broken Innocence

PARAD

…My heart trembled.

I was standing in a place that looked familiar.

The silence was as if I had paused a game.

The dark blue surface of the water stretched out in the darkness as far as the eye could see.

It was not an ocean, a lake, or a pool. Bottomless water.

Something white is shimmering in the water. Something white is trying to invite me into the water.

I couldn’t help but turn away.

I hate it. I’m scared. The water reminds me of death. Stop it. Please stop.

I regulated my ragged breathing and looked at the white thing again.

As I stare at it, I can see the outline of something white gradually appearing.

No, it’s not. It’s not trying to invite me in.

It’s asking me for help.

It’s… a white coat.

It’s Emu. Emu is drowning in the water.

“Emu! Don’t die!”

I reflexively jumped into the dark water

Forgetting the fear I had earlier, I waded through the water selflessly.

Aiming at the white coat illuminated by the scarce light. Just straight ahead.

The distance between me and Emu is gradually shrinking. Five meters. Four meters. Three meters.

I reached out with all my might. Two meters.

Emu reached out to me. One meter.

I’ll never let Emu die. Fifty centimeters.

I’ve almost reached his hand. Ten centimeters.

I grabbed Emu’s hand. You’re safe now, Emu.

But the next moment, Emu pulled my arm. He dragged me into the bottomless water.

I let out a gasp. Air bubbles came pouring out of my mouth.

It was painful. I couldn’t breathe.

I struggled. I immediately tried to get out of the water.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reach the surface. I couldn’t even tell which way was up and which way was down.

Emu, who was watching me struggle in vain, was laughing at me.

Why are you laughing? If you stay here like that, you’ll die too.

I hate it. I’m scared. I don’t want to die.

Please help me.

I opened my eyes with a start. In front of me was a pure white ceiling.

I was lying in CR’s hospital bed. My heart was shaking to death.

What a dream… What a dream…

“You’re awake, Parad.”

Brave was standing beside me in a white coat.

I looked around the room and saw Snipe, Lazer and Nico.

I immediately turned my brain to full speed and sorted out the situation I was in.

That’s right. I’ve been asleep all night. Emu activated Mighty Novel X. Emu and I were infected with the bugster virus and…

“Calm down and listen, Parad.”

Brave gave a brief explanation of what had happened so far.

Details of Mighty Novel X, the game that Gemn set up. Emu and Poppy seemed to have had a game over. Emu’s past hidden in the story of Mighty Novel X. The truth about Emu.

It seems that the situation is quite serious.

“But if Parad is awake, then it seems that Emu’s mental condition is slowly getting better,” Lazer said.

“Yeah. It seems that our operation was not in vain,” Snipe said.

I see. So these guys have been working hard to heal Emu.

“Where is Emu?” I asked Brave.

“You should know that better than anyone. You share the same heart as the pediatrician.”

The same heart. That’s right. No matter where we are in the world, Emu and I share the same heart.

I meditated in order to feel Emu’s heart.

Emu. Where are you now? What are you thinking about?

But Emu’s mind was empty.

It’s not that I couldn’t communicate with his mind. It’s that I sensed his heart was empty.

I understand. I know where you are. I know where your heart is.

“I’ll do the rest.”

I got out of bed and grabbed the Mighty Novel X gashat from the bedside table.

“Wait, Parad! What are you going to do?” Nico was worried.

“It’s obvious. I’m going to save Emu… I’m going to save Emu’s heart.”

“Take good care of him, Parad,” Lazer said.

“Wait. Is it okay to leave it to Parad alone!?” Nico began to worry again.

“The pediatrician has a mind game disease. Unlike normal illnesses, it’s not something we doctors can cure. In the end, he has to face his own heart. That’s why we have to leave everything to Parad.”

Yeah, Brave is right.

I am Emu. Emu is me. I am the one who will save Emu in the end.

I made up my mind and activated the Mighty Novel X Gashat.

“Mighty Novel X!”

The Mighty Novel X game start screen appeared behind me. A black-and-white panda-like Mighty character holding a brush was drawn on the Mighty Novel X title logo.

This is something that only I, as a bugster, can do.

As a bugster, I can access the game world directly from the game screen.

I’m not going to let you follow Gemn’s scenario.

Wait for me, Emu, Poppy. I’m going to rescue you from your confinement.

I jumped into the Mighty Novel X game screen.

The special space of Mighty Novel X.

However, this is not a special space where you have to follow a regular route.

Normally, players follow the rules of the game and move through the special space in the given order.

But I went in through the back door, directly accessing the data in the gashat to move freely between special spaces. It was subterfuge, so to speak.

Inside the gashat, there is a storeroom where the various data that make up the game are recorded.

Of these, the largest amount of data is in the art setting space.

Emu’s house, the hospital, the Next Genome Institute, and so on. In any case, there are stacks for every space related to the game. There is also a library of characters, a library of text related to dialogue, a library of audio, background music, and sound effects. The number is enormous.

The landscape of Seito City, where the art setting spaces chain together, is spread out in front of me in the form of an open world.

I’ve known Gemn for a long time, and I’ve met no other man as diligent as he is.

After all, he has managed to completely recreate the city as data, to the point it looks just like the real world. And it’s not just buildings and roads, but everything from trash thrown away on the street to rain that occurs irregularly. The level of attention to detail is unbelievable.

He calls himself a god, and he’s not wrong. This is how he created not only the lives of the characters in the game, but also the world itself.

Oops. This is not the time to be admiring that guy.

I left the library of the art setting space and instantly moved to the library of characters.

It was a place with a series of inorganic spaces covered with black walls.

In one of these spaces, I found the two of them- Emu in a white coat and Poppy bound with chains.

When Poppy noticed me, she shouted “Parad!”

“You’ve had a rough time. Don’t worry. I’m going to get you out.”

“Kukuku… I won’t let you do that, Parad.” Suddenly, a black human-shaped bugster virus appeared in front of Emu and Poppy.

“It’s you, Kurotopi.”

“Your disregard for the rules of the game and your attempt to rescue them by subterfuge are unbecoming of a bugster, Parad.”

“…My heart is boiling. You put Emu and Poppy in danger with your stupid game.”

“Do you think you can save them?”

“The fact that I’m awake like this is proof enough that I’m on the verge of curing Emu’s mind game disease.”

At that moment, Emu suddenly began to scream and suffer.

“Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!”

Emu, who was brainwashed in the game world, was in conflict with his ego.

“Hojo Emu. You must remove the Parad that rudely invades your heart, and excise the virus that infects your body. With your own hands,” Kurotopi urged.

Emu endured the pain and confronted me.

He glared at me sharply and attached his Gamer Driver to his waist.

I didn’t hesitate to take out my Gamer Driver and put it on my waist.

Once you changed my fate. You taught me the fear of death when I was ignorant. You taught me the folly of what I had done and the value of life. You accepted me like this. You saved my heart with your rough treatment.

So now I’m going to save your heart.

It will rough treatment, but please forgive me. This is for your own good.

“…Hyper Dai Henshin.”

Emu loaded up his Gashat and transformed into Hyper Muteki.

I also took out the Gear Dual Gashat.

“Emu. I will change your fate.”

I loaded the Gear Dual Gashat into the slot of the Gamer Driver. Behind me, two game screens appeared: Perfect Puzzle and Knockout Fighter.

“Max Dai Henshin!”

I rotated my arms in a circle and opened the lever on my Gamer Driver.

“Red fist strength! Blue puzzle chain! Red and blue intersect! Perfect Knockout!”

The red and blue warrior, Kamen Rider Para-DX, has transformed into Perfect Knockout Gamer Level 99.

This is a rematch of fate.

I fought Muteki once before and was beaten to death.

But I’m not going to let that happen again. There’s always a way to beat any opponent. It’s a gamer’s job find it, right?

Muteki quickly approached at light speed.

You only get one chance. There was my chance to win.

I received Muteki’s continuous attacks without guarding myself, and launched a counter kick.

The target of the attack was the Maximum Mighty X loaded into Muteki’s Gamer Driver.

I was blown backwards by his attack.

But at the same time, Maximum Mighty X was shot out and flew through the air.

I took a pass, kicked back at the ground, jumped and grabbed Maximum Mighty X.

Wake up, Emu.

I was floating in the air and immediately took out the Gashacon Parabray Gun and loaded Maximum Mighty X into its slot.

“Amazing Technique! Maximum Mighty Critical Finish!”

I pulled the trigger on the Parabray Gun and fired a reprogramming ray.

The ray approached Muteki in a straight line and hit him directly.

If I could initialize Emu’s genes with the power of reprogramming, the brainwashing would be released. That was my strategy.

As I had aimed, Muteki released his transformation as if he had lost the will to fight.

Emu, who had returned to his lab coat, stared at me as if he had come back to himself.

“Parad. I’m…”

I’m glad. The usual Emu has returned.

I also destroyed the chains that held Poppy and rescued her.

“Brave and the rest of the team have made progress in Mighty Novel X. They should be able to attack Kurotopi now. If we can get rid of him, the game will be over.”

I confronted Kurotopi and declared war on him.

“I’ll kill you instantly along with the bugster virus.”

But, surprisingly, Kurotopi sneered with a relaxed attitude.

“Did you think this was the end of the Mighty Novel X story?”

“What do you mean?”

“The story you’ve conquered so far is just a story about Hojo Emu’s past. But his story still continues to be spun from the present to the future. …That’s right. In other words, the ending of this game exists in the future. The one who decides it is Hojo Emu. It’s up to him.”

The three of us were appalled and speechless.

The ending of Mighty Novel X is not scripted. In other words, the story of Mighty Novel X is the story of Emu’s life itself.

The ending is… the end of Emu’s life.

“Hojo Emu. As a doctor, you’ve been trying to save the lives of your patients. You may think it’s natural for a person wearing a white coat, but sometimes your actions have been unusually fastidious, blind, and self-righteous. There is a kind of egoism in it. An egoism born of the darkness of your mind.”

What the… hell are you talking about, Genm?

“Hojo Emu’s crystal was always clear. It’s not because your heart was pure. It’s because your heart was hollow. In order to turn away from that hollow space. To deny yourself that hollow space. You kept trying to be a saint. You had to continue to be a saint.”

Emu was puzzled. His heart was beating so loudly that I could hear it, and his breathing was becoming ragged.

“…No.” Emu protested. It was like he was talking to himself.

“That’s what you want to think. But Parad’s existence is proof.” Kurotopi said.

…Me.

“The darkness in Hojo Emu’s heart gave birth to Parad. Your desire as a child to have someone to play with gave birth to Parad. Parad’s innocent malice was inherent in your heart. That’s how he was created.”

My malice is… in Emu’s heart…

Emu began to writhe as he struggled for breath.

This is not good. The symptoms of game disease are beginning to worsen due to intense stress.

As if in response, my heart also began to suffer.

I have to endure. I’m going to save Emu.

“That’s ridiculous! Emu isn’t that kind of person! Unlike me… Emu… knows the value of life…”

But no more words came out.

It was true. As a child, Emu wanted to reset his own life. He did not know the importance of life.

Emu at that time was exactly… the way I used to be…

Kurotopi laughed and told me:

“I am you. You are me. …Parad. The words you always say are all the proof you need. It’s a fact that cannot be denied!”

Emu began to suffer more and more. In proportion to the increase in stress, the symptoms of game disease were becoming more and more serious.

“Good, suffer more! It’s your stress that feeds me!”

“Kurotopi, stop!” Poppy shouted.

I can’t let Emu get any more stressed than he already is.

But Kurotopi’s annoying words did not stop.

“Now, let me take you to the final chapter of Mighty Novel X. The story of the origin of all fate.”

Kurotopi pointed straight at Emu. Like when he once revealed that Emu had game disease.

“Hojo Emu! How was the Bugster virus born in the first place…?”

What the hell… why are you bringing that up now?

The bugster virus was created because of the Y2K problem. It must have been created by a computer bug that mutated. Isn’t that right?

“Why did your father give you up to me? Why was your father a devil who didn’t care about his own son? There is only one answer! Because your father was the first man to give birth to the bugster virus! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

The air in the room – as if it had been paused – froze.

My mind went blank. It wasn’t just me. Emu and Poppy, too.

I didn’t know. I hadn’t heard of this before.

You’re saying that Emu’s father gave birth to the bugster virus?

I had never heard of such a fact…

Emu’s breathing was becoming more and more ragged. Emu’s stress was approaching the limit. This is not good.

“That person… gave birth to the bugster virus. …It’s a lie. …You’re lying!”

As Emu’s stress increased, something was beginning to change in Kurotopi’s appearance.

With the biological energy of his host, Emu, Kurotopi’s form gradually began to change into a human form.

Black leather shoes. Black suit. Black shirt. And slicked-back black hair.

It was Genm himself.

As the Bugster approaches perfection, he acquires a human form in addition to his game character form. In other words, Kurotopi’s human form is Genm.

Gemn was preparing a second hand in case he disappeared. The real reason he left Mighty Novel X behind was to restore a backup of himself.

“I’m so close to completion. Hojo Emu, if you disappear, I will become the second Dan Kuroto. I will make a full recovery as Dan Kuroto II.”

“So… the banned word hidden in the beep means… two.” Poppy muttered.

“…After 99 lives, you’ve also got a look-alike Mark 2? You’ve got to be kidding me.” My heart was boiling.

“Did you think I would just quietly disappear without a fight?”

“Why are you doing this now, after three years!?” Poppy shouted.

“Hojo Emu. When you mentioned the names of all the disappeared at the press conference, you included my name in it. That’s why I gave you three years. To see if you, as a doctor, could restore me as you had declared. But you couldn’t. I gave Kujo Kiriya a human body in the same three years since that press conference, and you did nothing as a doctor. That’s why I decided to use my own talent to restore my life! You incompetent bastards! Hahaha!”

Leaving behind an irritating laugh, Kuroto II disappeared in a flurry of data particles.

Emu stood there, stunned.

“Emu. Don’t be fooled by that bastard’s words.”

“Parad…”

“At any rate, you’ve returned safely. Listen, Emu. You’re the only one who can decide the ending of Mighty Novel X. You’re the only one who can decide the ending of your own story.”

“Parad is right, Emu!” Poppy agreed with me.

“The story isn’t over yet. We’ve got to capture Mighty Novel X and get rid of that Genm guy.”

Emu remained silent.

I understand. I know your heart hurts.

If his own father really was the source of the problem, it would be more than heartbreaking…

It’s not surprising that his heart is aching.

Just. It’s still too early to believe everything until we get to the truth. That’s why you have to keep a strong heart.

That’s right, Emu.

I’m you. You’re me. You must be feeling my heart too.

No matter what story awaits you in the future, it’s you who will decide the ending.

I just stared straight at Emu.

Emu just stared straight back at me.

The fate of the story is yours to change.

⇦ BROKEN INNOCENCE (KIRIYA) | CHAPTER INDEX | ENDLESS ENDING (KUROTO) ⇨