18

Boom! Crash! The sound of explosions rocked the furnace, and the whole thing began to sway perilously. As the catwalk crumbled to pieces, the warrior woman Pawoo called out, searching for Bisco and her little brother, driven to mad panic by the thought of him being in danger.

“Milooo! Akaboshiii! Where are you, Milo?”

Above her head, a large chunk of debris fell from the dome toward her. Then: Pchew! There was the glint of an emerald bow, and a clump of clamshell mushrooms blasted the rubble to pieces. As Pawoo was cloaked in choking dust, Milo grabbed her in his arms and leaped between the fragments.

“Milo! You’re okay!” Pawoo beamed, her face riddled with cuts and bruises. As Milo put her down, she looked around expectantly. “Where’s…? Where’s Akaboshi?!”

“…In here,” said Milo, clutching his chest with a peaceful expression. From the way his eyes trembled, Pawoo gleaned all she needed to know. It looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment. “He’s right here. With me.”

Pawoo was struck silent. Her brother’s innocent words left her unable to form a response. Eventually, she bit her lip and persevered.

“…Jabi and I destroyed the Ganesha gun. All that’s left now is to get out of here, but I wonder if we even can.”

“We’ll be fine, Pawoo!”

Putting Bisco’s death out of their mind for the moment, the pair sprang up and out of the crumbling rust furnace. Leaping off the walls and beams, they managed to arrive at the emergency exit. Pawoo blasted the crumpled door off its hinges with her staff, and the two of them barely managed to put the dome behind them before it collapsed completely. Rolling to avoid the rubble that was thrown up in the destruction, Milo and Pawoo made it at last to an area of relative safety.

“That’s the end of Kurokawa’s insanity,” said Pawoo, turning to watch the pillar of black smoke that rose out of the ground behind them.

Milo thought of his partner, left within the smoke.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

At the quiet voice, Pawoo turned to her brother. He was staring intently at the column of smoke, his expression calm…and his eyes trembling, as though he was afraid his courage might give way at any second.

“His body, I mean. Do you think it’s still safe?”

“I imagine so. We’ll clear off all the rust…and burn it. Then we’ll take it to his village, and—”

“No, Mushroom Keepers don’t burn their dead. They bury them. That’s what he said.”

Milo looked out distantly, as if beyond the smoke, and spoke in a clear voice.

“Maybe I just want to see you one last time… Please don’t be mad at me.”

Pawoo watched her brother’s face in profile, her hair buffeted by the strong wind. She opened her mouth hesitantly, as if to speak, when…

Kroom! A great noise erupted from the destroyed remains of the dome, and a huge chunk of debris flew out toward the two of them.

“Watch out, Pawoo!”

Just as the two leaped aside, an enormous steel girder impaled the ground where they had been standing. When they landed, they both looked out toward the rubble.

There they saw a colossal arm of rust-colored metal, stretching out of the smoke.

The arm swung sideways through the air, striking one of the base’s watchtowers and sending it crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust. A great gust of wind blew the dust aside, and where the dome once was, there now stood a giant human figure. Its entire body was coated in rust, and upon closer inspection, it seemed to be wrapped up in scrap metal from the collapsed dome.

“What is that?!” Pawoo cried as Milo grabbed ahold of her and hid the two of them out of the giant’s sight. A squadron of the base’s tanks approached in formation and fired, and although each of their main cannons hit the giant directly in the stomach, it didn’t so much as flinch.

Suddenly, the mouth of the iron mask that covered the giant’s face opened sideways. The giant took in a huge breath, and then…

“GOOOOOOOOHHHH!”

It blew a deep, hollow breath toward the tank squadron. Only a few seconds after the tanks were exposed to it, they, along with the entire road and nearby buildings, were coated in a thick layer of rust.

“Th-that’s Tetsujin…!”

It was truly an incarnation of humanity’s ruin. A weapon akin to a god.

As more and more of the government’s weapons joined the fight, the giant crushed them underfoot, swept them aside, and slowly but with a very definite intent, it started to move in a particular direction.

“I thought it was just supposed to be generating the Rust!” cried Pawoo. “How can it still move?!”

“…It’s…,” Milo began but then swallowed his next word, “Kurokawa,” with a gulp. There was no doubt now that the giant was moving on to Akita, toward the Weeping Valley. What’s more, in its empty eyes, Milo could feel a familiar darkness—and Kurokawa’s distinctive ambition.

“…It’s going to destroy Japan. Again…”

Pawoo froze in terror as she looked up at the walking weapon of mass destruction. Milo slipped past her and ran. When Pawoo tried to stop him, he brushed her aside, hopped onto his sister’s motorcycle, and twisted the accelerator.

“Milo!”

“He’s heading for the Weeping Valley,” said Milo with determination. “He’s trying to exterminate the Pipe Snakes and get rid of the Rust-Eater. I have to stop him.”

“Didn’t you see what that thing just did? It’s a god! Destruction incarnate! You’ll turn to rust before you can even get close!”

“No, I won’t. I’ve had the Rust-Eater vaccine. That means I’m the only one who can stop it.”

Milo brought his hand to his sister’s cheek. Even now she seemed ready to break into tears.

“I have to leave,” he said softly. “You go and free the Shimobuki people.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m coming with you! I can’t let you go out there alone!”

“Pawoo,” said Milo, and for the first time, a grin spread across his panda face, showing the glint of his teeth. “I’m not alone anymore. You know that.”

Brushing his sister aside, Milo disappeared after the giant, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Pawoo clutched her chest tightly as she watched him depart.

I saw it on his face. He doesn’t intend to die…!

Her hesitation evaporated in moments. She knew what she had to do now. She turned to run.

Suddenly, a van drove up, tires screeching, and stopped before her. The passenger door was kicked open, and a petite girl called out from within.

“You’re Pawoo, of the Vigilante Corps, right? I’ve been lookin’ all over for ya! Get in! The troops are close by!”

“The troops? Who are you?!”

“Tirol Ochagama! But that don’t matter! Ya wanna beat Kurokawa, right? Well, these vigilante dudes ain’t gonna listen to a thing I say! Come with me—quickly!”