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  Copyright

  THE ISOLATOR Volume 3

  © REKI KAWAHARA

  Translation by Jenny McKeon

  Cover art by Shimeji

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  ZETTAI NARU ISOLATOR

  © REKI KAWAHARA 2016

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by ASCII MEDIA WORKS

  First published in Japan in 2016 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.

  English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2016 by Yen Press, LLC

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  First Yen On eBook Edition: November 2017

  Originally published in hardcover in November 2016 by Yen On.

  Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-9753-0076-0

  E3-20171030-JV-PC

  INTERLUDE 01 THE RETRIEVER

  For what must have been the hundredth time today, Minoru heard a sigh from the small headset attached to his left ear.

  “Ugh…why are we stuck coming to a place like this when it’s almost New Year’s Eve?”

  Before he could respond, the voice spoke up again.

  “I still have to do my homework from winter break, and I haven’t even bought anything to cook for New Year’s yet.” Another sigh, then another complaint: “I haven’t even done a big end-of-the-year cleaning of my own room yet! So don’t you think it’s ridiculous for me to have to help someone else clean their home?”

  As this last complaint came in the form of a question, Minoru Utsugi was finally able to reply. “Erm… I don’t know if cleaning is the best word for the job we’re doing here…”

  The girl who was standing by his side, Yumiko Azu, aimed a kick at a piece of the rubble that was scattered at their feet. “We’re taking something dirty and making it clean again, right? What else would you call it?”

  “Technically, I guess you’re not wrong, but still…”

  Both of them looked up at once, gazing at the enormous structure that loomed some distance away. Rectangular in shape, it stood about fifty meters tall and thirty-five meters wide. There was not a single window anywhere on the ashen gray surface. At first glance, it seemed to be nothing more than smooth masses of concrete, but just looking at it with the naked eye brought on a feeling of suffocation.

  Why? Because it housed the nuclear reactor at the Tokyo Bay Nuclear Power Plant.

  And why was Minoru using a headset to communicate with Yumiko when she was right next to him? That would be because they were both wearing protective anti-radiation suits that were enclosed in sheets of tungsten.

  The Tokyo Bay Nuclear Power Plant was built on the reclaimed land of the coastal area Uchibo. Utilizing a third-generation boiling-water reactor, the latest model at the time, and located right next to the coastline, it was hoped that the plant could be used as an alternative to thermal power stations. However, eight years ago in the summer of 2011, the magnitude 7.8 “Uraga water supply earthquake” caused a serious incident to occur there.

  Flooding due to the land subsidence and tsunamis caused the nuclear reactor to lose power, and with the emergency reactor core cooling system not functioning, a meltdown occurred. Fortunately, the concrete structure did not sustain major damage, but the interior and the surrounding grounds were polluted by the radioactive material, and now in 2019 the nuclear decommissioning process was still barely making progress.

  Atomic fuel debris had most likely melted through the bottom of the containment vessel and fallen below, but more details about the situation would be needed before the deadlock could be broken. Therefore, the previous week, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Eastern Electric Power Company had deployed a new weapon: a completely autonomous probe robot able to operate without any human control through the use of both wired and wireless communication.

  Manufactured on an astronomical budget, the robot was able to arrive at the underside of the damaged containment vessel. However, the signal was somehow lost at that point, so the robot was unable to return. The only way to recover it would be to build a second robot; however, fearful that a similar incident would occur, the committee refused to approve the budget. And so the organization Minoru belonged to received an unusual, desperate, and highly confidential proposal from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.

  Of course, Minoru didn’t know the exact wording that had been used, but he could guess at the contents. Most likely, some bureaucrat or politician was trying to use the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare Industrial Safety and Health Department Specialized Forces Division as a pawn in a power struggle and had promised in some fancy restaurant near Akasaka that “my department’s SFD can definitely get the robot back for just one little favor!”

  Then, someone way up at the top of the ministry gave orders to Chief Himi, the head of the department; their commander, Professor Riri, reluctantly agreed; and now, on Saturday, December 28, 2019, here were Minoru and Yumiko paying a visit to the Tokyo Bay Nuclear Power Plant.

  “…Really, though, I thought I had prepared myself for wearing this thing, but it’s even worse than I thought!”

  Yumiko tugged at the gray material of the protective suit as she resumed her grumbling. “It’s so stiff and crinkly, it’s sweltering hot, the mask is way too tight, it stinks of rubber, and it’s just not cute at all!”

  Under his mask, Minoru couldn’t help but smile—in all her complaints, she had somehow left out the immense weight of the suits. Unlike regular anti-radiation clothing, which can block out only a lower level of radioactivity, these suits weighed about 150 pounds. The two were still able to move in them, since the Third Eye parasites raised their strength to several times that of an average human, but they could certainly still feel the extra weight… Compared to that, the suit’s stiffness or smell seemed like trivial concerns.

  Forgetting to complain about the biggest issue, despite finding fault with almost everything else, seemed to indicate that Yumiko, too, was feeling the gravity of their current mission. Eight years after the earthquake, the nuclear accident had become an ordinary fact of life, but it was still one of the most difficult ordeals this country had ever gone through. It could even rank on the same level as the bizarre calamity that had rained down from outer space, the Third Eye.

  “Hey, what are you smiling about?”

  Caught off guard by the question that suddenly rang out in his earpiece, Minoru hastily shook his head. “…I’m not smiling.”

  “Oh? Well, that’s fine, then… Still, they’re awfully late, aren’t they? We were told to wait here and they’d send a car to pick us up, but it’s been at least five minutes already!”

  “That’s true…”

  Once again, Minoru surveyed his surroundings through the lead glass of his goggles.

  The two of them stood at the front entrance of the anti-seismic building that served as the control room of the repair work. As it stood some distance away from the structure that housed the nuclear reactor, the radioactivity levels in the air were fairly low; the wrist communicator installed on the left side of the suit (whi
ch, despite the name, was essentially just a waterproof smartphone affixed to a wristband) displayed the microsievert levels every five minutes and at the moment read “no effect on health at present level.” The protective suit would absorb the majority of the radiation anyway, but still, it was difficult to feel at ease in such a place.

  “Um…I know I said this earlier, Yumiko, but it’s okay if you just want to wait here,” Minoru said as he lowered his left hand, knowing full well what her response would be.

  “Yeah, right! What would be the point of my coming in the first place, then?”

  “But I’m going to have to go into the building by myself in the end…”

  “Yeah, but we have no idea what it’s like in there! If anything happens to you, who do you think is going to have to save you?”

  She was right: The weight of both suits plus Minoru’s body weight added up to almost 204 kilograms, which only someone with a Third Eye like Yumiko’s could carry. Still, hearing her words, Minoru couldn’t help but feel like a princess whose knight was coming to her rescue. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

  “Hey… Come on, I was just stating the facts.” Yumiko nudged Minoru as she spoke, the tungsten lining on her elbow digging into his right arm.

  It had been more than three weeks since Minoru had met Yumiko, but he still had no idea how to respond to her at times like these. Luckily, just as he was searching for the right words to say, the sound of an engine came roaring from the direction of the parking lot.

  “Oh, good, the car is finally…here…” Minoru trailed off as the car came into view. Instead of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare minivan that had brought them here from Tokyo, an enormous olive-green off-roader pulled up in front of them.

  “What is this…? The Self-Defense Forces?” Just as Yumiko muttered these words, the driver-side window rolled down to reveal a man whose clothing confirmed her speculation.

  He was wearing a suit and mask like the two of them, but he also wore a helmet, and most of his equipment was in a camouflage pattern, which in this country could only mean a member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

  The driver gave a crisp salute with his right hand, then used the same hand to motion her toward the back of the truck. Minoru and Yumiko exchanged glances before reluctantly complying, heading around the large HMV and opening the double doors on the back, then hoisting themselves inside.

  The interior of the HMV had benches lining either side, almost like a train car. As soon as the pair sat down, the diesel engine noisily roared into action, and they were on the move. Perhaps because they had been used by so many working vehicles in the past, the roads were full of cracks and holes, each one sending a jolt through the seats in the HMV as its tires rolled over the gaps.

  There was not a single bush or tree to be seen among the dreary mortar grounds of the power plant, and since it was nearly New Year’s, there were no workers around, either. Minoru had seen images of the contaminated water tanks lined up along the right side of the road, on TV and online, but in person their size was truly overwhelming. In this surreal landscape under the ashen winter sky, the HMV traveled slowly onward.

  Suddenly, a quiet electronic buzz sounded in Minoru’s headset. Looking at his wrist communicator, he saw a message requesting a new connection, so both he and Yumiko pressed the Yes button. Immediately, a voice just as noisy as the engine came blasting through the earpiece.

  “Sorry to keep you kids waiting! It took ages to get this thing on!”

  The speaker seemed to be the person in the passenger seat, not the driver. Since they were wearing camouflage from head to toe, it was impossible to see anyone’s face, but judging by the speaker’s physique and (more importantly) that voice, they were probably—no, definitely—a woman. Of course, there were plenty of female members of the Self-Defense Forces, but this one’s manner of speech seemed rather unbefitting of a soldier.

  As Minoru sat dumbfounded, Yumiko responded in a rather sharp voice, “We arrived right on schedule, so you should have had plenty of time to prepare… But more importantly, who are you people?”

  “Ah-ha-ha, yikes! You’re scarin’ me!”

  Pop.

  That was the sound of Yumiko’s anger meter going up a level. Minoru hurriedly cut into the pair’s conversation. “Erm… We’re from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare Industrial Safety and Health Department, Specialized Forces Division, code names Isolator and Accelerator. Would you mind telling us your affiliation?”

  “Ooh, you’re just as stuffy as the rumors said!”

  Minoru was beginning to get the sense that she was deliberately trying to annoy them, but he couldn’t think of any reason why a Self-Defense Forces member would want to do that. As he tilted his head in puzzlement underneath his protective suit, Yumiko half rose from the seat next to him. A short, sharp gasp came in through the headset, followed by an increasingly hard voice.

  “Don’t tell me… Are you people…red…?”

  “Huh…?”

  Stunned, Minoru stared back and forth between Yumiko and the Self-Defense Forces member in the passenger’s seat.

  The slang term red could refer to only one thing. When the spheres had come down from outer space and affixed themselves to people as “Third Eyes,” some of those life-forms were red, and they instilled in their human hosts an overwhelming urge to attack other humans. These violent individuals were known as “Ruby Eyes.”

  Minoru and Yumiko, on the other hand, were known as “Jet Eyes,” who were infected by black spheres and destined to do battle with the Ruby Eyes. Normally, the easiest way for them to detect a Ruby Eye was with their sense of smell. The violent, carnivorous Ruby Eyes had a distinctively strong and savage scent; it was strongest when they used their powers but would certainly be detectable if they were in the very same vehicle.

  Quickly, Minoru inhaled deeply through his nose, but all he could smell was the acrid stench of fresh rubber from his protective mask. Was the mask’s charcoal filter absorbing even the Ruby Eye scent, or was Yumiko just jumping to false conclusions?

  All at once, a childish giggle broke through the tension in the air. “You’re a sharp one, aren’t you, little Miss Accelerator?”

  Immediately, Yumiko started to unzip the front of her protective suit with her left hand and reached inside with her right. But before she could take anything out—Minoru was expecting a high-power Taser or an automatic pistol—another voice broke in.

  “We are members of the Japan Self-Defense Force Ground Staff Office Operational Support Intelligence Department Special Task Squad.” This speaker must be the driver who was grasping the large steering wheel. Without turning his head, he continued in a low, husky voice, “My name is Nishikida, and this is Kakinari. We may not have code names, but we are allies of the SFD.”

  Yumiko’s right hand stopped moving immediately, but she didn’t let go of whatever it was holding inside her suit as she responded tersely, “Allies…? What do you mean exactly?”

  “Heh, isn’t it obvious? This, of course!” Replying in an easy drawl, the passenger whose name was apparently Kakinari bent around her seat to face them and unzipped her suit as Yumiko had; however, instead of drawing something out, she pulled the front wide open with both hands.

  Underneath her suit she wore only a close-fitting olive-green tank top, revealing her considerable bust. Yumiko was speechless, and Minoru hastily moved to avert his eyes; however, when he noticed something shining out from her cleavage, his eyes widened.

  Right beneath the silver dog tag that hung from her neck, embedded in her slightly tanned skin, was a jet-black sphere. Bearing a strong resemblance to a living eye, it was unmistakably a black Third Eye, just like Yumiko and Minoru each had.

  “…Are you both…Jet Eyes…?”

  “Yup, you betcha!”

  With that casual confirmation, Kakinari languidly withdrew back to her seat.

  Slowly, Yumiko brought her empty right hand out of her suit and zip
ped it back up. As if he had been waiting for her to do so, Nishikida spoke up again. “You can call us the STS, since you two are from the SFD. We’ll be your escorts today, so I hope our short time together will be a pleasant one.”

  “Th…thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  As he gave this reflexive response, Minoru was mentally repeating the organization name the man had given a short time ago. Japan Self-Defense Force, Ground Staff Office, Operational Support, Intelligence Department, Special Task Squad. An even longer name than the organization Minoru was affiliated with, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare Industrial Safety and Health Department, Specialized Forces Division. Did a longer name mean a more prestigious organization? Not necessarily, but the news that a group of Jet Eyes like the SFD existed within the Self-Defense Forces was still a significant shock to Minoru. Quietly, he leaned over toward his partner.

  “Um, Yu— I mean, Accelerator. Did you know about this? A group of Jet Eyes in the Self-Defense Forces…”

  After a moment’s pause, a bemused voice responded through the headset. “You know, Isolator, there’s not much point in whispering when we’re communicating via radio.”

  She was absolutely right, of course. Kakinari let out a little snort through the headset, and Yumiko huffed irritably, pressing a few buttons on her wrist communicator.

  There was another little buzz in Minoru’s ear, this one indicating that the previous communication channel had been temporarily disconnected. After a moment, Yumiko’s voice came through, more serious than before.

  “I’ve heard rumors about it, yes. People said that there was another team in the government like ours, anyway… But I didn’t know it was in the Self-Defense Forces.”

  “…Then…do you think the Special Task Squad is made up of only Self-Defense Forces personnel who were infected by black Third Eyes…?”

  “I wonder about that. There may be over 250,000 people in the Self-Defense Forces, but that’s still much less than even the population of Shinjuku alone. Considering that we scraped up only eight SFD members from the Tokyo metropolitan area, I doubt there would be enough Third Eye hosts in the Self-Defense Forces to put together a functional team. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of their members were recruited from outside the organization, just like us.”