Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods by Shiden Kanzaki Page A

host’s body, the host is no longer able to maintain human form, and goes through the process of shape collapse, resulting in the host becoming a Gastrea. Through that process, some individuals gain original abilities that should not exist. Get it? It’s an evolutionary leap through mutation.”
    Before Rentaro knew it, Sumire’s plate was empty.
What in the world is wrong with her sense of taste?
    “That was a long tangent, but the missing source could possess some sort of new ability, you know,” she said.
    “Since we haven’t been able to find it, could it be some kind of optical camouflage?” Rentaro suggested.
    “It could be a simpler mimicry camouflage, like a chameleon. If it really had the ability to distort light, Tokyo Area could be annihilated by a Pandemic tomorrow, even.”
    “Don’t worry. Enju and I, as Initiator and Promoter, exist to prevent that from happening.”
    “Enju, huh?”
    “What is it?”
    “I find the Cursed Children especially creepy. Especially once I found out about their origins. Ten years ago, at almost exactly the same time the Gastrea virus first appeared in the world, children in the womb with Gastrea-controlling factors were born, as if to oppose them. At first, a big deal was made of them being a gift from God to control the Gastrea, but in the end, that was completely wrong.”
    Sumire looked like she was dreaming as she squinted in the air and let her gaze wander.
    “The only way for an ordinary person to contract the Gastrea virus and become a monster is through the blood. Aerosol, or airborne infection, is not believed to occur. There were also many experiments that confirmed that infection did not occur orally or through sexual intercourse.
    “However, when the virus entered orally, it did not die immediately, and if it happened to enter a pregnant woman’s mouth, then the child in her womb stored up the virus before it was born.
    “The Cursed Children had red eyes when they were born, but appeared normal otherwise. In other words, even though they were infected with the Gastrea virus, the progress of the disease was extremely slow. If we think about the fact that normal people who are infected with a large amount of Gastrea virus at once change shape almost immediately, the fact that these girls’ bodies don’t change shape for years is miraculous. It is extremely interesting. See? I explained it without using a lot of technical jargon. Even an idiot like you can understand the gist of it, right?”
    “Yeah, I wish you’d always talk like that…,” said Rentaro.
    She’d stuck in plenty of nasty asides, but he was able to understand the general concept, thanks to her.
Mimicry camouflage, huh?
No matter what you might say about her, she was pretty amazing.
    “Well, I’ll be going then, Doc.”
    Sumire smiled as she gave a light wave to see him off. “Come again, FBI Agent Starling.”
    “So we’re gender-bending now, Dr. Lecter?”
    “Rentaro, you are late!”
    When he returned to his dear apartment, the window of the second-floor bathroom suddenly opened, and out with the bath steam came Enju, leaning her upper body out of the frame. He was glad that she was welcoming him with her face wreathed with a smile, waving her hands, but he couldn’t condone her doing so while she was obviously naked and in the middle of taking a bath.
    “Hey, idiot, what if someone’s looking?” he shouted back to her. “Close the window.”
    “Don’t worry. My body belongs only to you!”
    “Will you please try to understand what I’m saying? I’m saying it’s embarrassing for
me
!”
    Rentaro ran up the stairs and thrust his key into the door of the corner room on the second floor. He flew into his eight-tatami, one-room home, and when he got to the changing room, he could hear the sound of the shower and see the silhouette of Enju’s slender body. It was a modest bodyline, but thin and supple and very beautiful.
    He was flustered for a moment, but when he