Chapter 312: The Comatose Hoshimi Miyabi (Patreon)

"What does it mean… to become the Void Hunter?"

Only a few hours had passed since Geno woke from his coma.

In that time he'd stayed in his hospital room, and apart from Twiggy and the Timefield family's doctor, he hadn't seen a soul.

Belle's sudden visit had brought news this astonishing, and it hit him hard.

But when Geno pressed her for details, Belle looked deeply uncomfortable.

"Well, I only got a notice from the Mayor. We'll have to wait for his follow-up for the specifics."

Geno felt miserable as hell. It was like hearing gossip halfway through, only for the teller to admit she hadn't caught the second half and would go ask around later. Absolute agony.

"Forget it. At least it's not bad news. Oh right, how are Lycaon, Hugo, and Hoshimi Miyabi doing?"

His mindset had quickly shifted to "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," but Geno hadn't forgotten that several people had been hurt in the incident.

"Oh, Lycaon and the others are awake already. They're bickering nonstop like always. It's just Miss Miyabi…"

Halfway through, Belle's face fell, and Geno's heart lurched. Could it be that Hoshimi Miyabi had already…

"Don't jump to conclusions. I saw her injuries. They're serious, but nowhere near that bad. Something unexpected must have happened."

Twiggy could read Geno like a book. One glance was all it took to know what was rattling around in his head, and she rapped him on the skull to knock the spiral out of him.

"Right, right! We don't know why, but Miss Miyabi just won't wake up. Her life isn't in danger, though."

Belle hurried to patch things up. The last thing they needed was for the story to get passed around until the poor woman had been talked right out of existence.

"Whew. That's a relief. As long as everybody's okay, I can relax."

The stone weighing on Geno's chest finally lifted. Everyone was wounded, but everyone was alive, and that was the best news he could ask for.

"True, but we can't let our guard down. We may have stopped the Exaltists' plot for now, but there are still plenty of questions and hidden dangers."

Twiggy frowned. Something about this attack struck her as too sloppy. It had dealt New Eridu a real blow and nearly cost the city dearly, yes, but it had also dragged the Exaltists out of the shadows and into the light.

And they'd sacrificed who knew how many followers hidden throughout the city. Could that really be called reasonable?

By comparison, the Rebel Soldiers' movements were far more normal.

Twiggy recalled the report Number Four had sent back after the Rebel Soldiers' attack was dealt with.

The Rebel Soldiers had planned to borrow the Exaltists' power for a surprise strike on New Eridu, but a handful of Twiggy's side, working together with Scott Outpost, had wiped out two of their strongholds.

Having already taken heavy losses, the Rebel Soldiers naturally had no intention of fighting on. They meant to withdraw and lie low outside New Eridu again.

But right then, Sarah Floren showed up. Who knew what she'd done, but somehow she changed the Rebel leader's mind.

Not only was the retreat canceled, he led a huge force straight at Scott Outpost, just to buy time and draw attention for the Exaltists' operation. It was sheer madness!

Then there was Perlman. The Exaltists' abduction of him seemed to be only a distraction, meant to leave Public Security's defenses hollow so they could rescue Bringer.

Yet judging from the behavior of the Calamity Beast Bringer had become, it didn't look like it meant to attack New Eridu at all.

If the TOPS bunch hadn't meddled unnecessarily, maybe none of what came after would have happened.

"Ugh, what a mess. Trying to understand madmen with normal logic really is too hard."

Twiggy rubbed her temples, trying to ease her exhaustion.

She didn't know that the Calamity Beast wasn't actually Bringer, but she had the rest of the details right.

Even so, they still had no clue what the Exaltists would do next.

"Anyway, let's wait until everything settles down. For now, getting healed up matters more than anything."

Geno nodded and dutifully lay back down on the bed.

He healed fast, but he'd burned through a lot all the same. Better to keep resting.

Just as he was about to pull up the blanket, he remembered something.

"Oh right, where's Tailless?"

Geno suddenly realized his temporary partner wasn't by his side. The two of them had some business to settle.

"Tailless? Miyabi's sword? Section 6 took it back already… What, you miss it already? Don't tell me you've been molded to fit someone else's shape?"

Twiggy was teasing him, though she knew he wasn't that kind of person.

"No, it's not that. How do I put this? I promised someone. Well, a ghost? Anyway, I've got some business with that sword."

Geno hadn't forgotten his promise to Hoshimi Misako, and Miyabi's unending coma had given him a few more guesses.

Things being what they were, he couldn't sleep anyway. He got up and prepared to take Twiggy to find Hoshimi Miyabi.

Seeing this, Belle naturally wasn't about to pass up the chance to join the excitement, and she left the hospital with the two of them.

…

In the infirmary at HAND headquarters, Hoshimi Miyabi lay on white sheets, her body wrapped in bandages, her lovely eyes shut and her brow faintly furrowed, as if she were trapped in some nightmare.

"Still no improvement in Section Chief Miyabi's condition?"

Yanagi Tsukishiro watched Miyabi's pained face through the infirmary glass, unable to hold back the ache in her expression.

"Sorry. We've run three full-body exams on Section Chief Hoshimi Miyabi and still can't pinpoint why she won't wake up. The only thing we can confirm is that her coma has nothing to do with her physical condition."

The female doctor beside Yanagi Tsukishiro shook her head helplessly.

They wanted to find the cause just as badly. To learn more, they'd even gone to Zhu Yuan to ask what had happened at the scene, and still came away with nothing.

"Don't blame yourselves. You've all worked hard today. Go get some rest."

Yanagi Tsukishiro propped herself up and motioned for the doctors to go rest, but anyone with eyes could see she was the one who needed it most.

"Um, Deputy Section Chief Tsukishiro, you…"

"Is there something else?"

The doctor who had spoken looked at the eyes behind Yanagi Tsukishiro's lenses, weary yet still resolute, and the words "You should rest early too" stuck in her throat and refused to come out.

"No, it's just…"

The doctor wanted to say more, but a sudden commotion behind her pulled her attention away.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Excuse me, Deputy Section Chief Tsukishiro, a few guests would like to see you."

"Turn them away for me. I don't have time to spare right now."

"They say it's about Section Chief Hoshimi."

"…I'll be right there."