Welcome to Part 7 of Azure Striker Gunvolt: Fleeting Memories! If you missed any of parts 1 through 6, make sure you read those first.

Part 7

A deep red liquid began to drip from Rei’s back.

It was simply too much for Rei to comprehend; it was all happening so fast.

The Miu that now stood before him, the radiant smile on her face had completely disappeared. She was in complete shock; a feeling of dread has completely washed over her.

“Ah……ahh……”

That was all she could muster.

Just what on earth did she see?

All that Rei had to do was turn his head, and he would understand everything. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

The sound they heard was no laughing matter. In this town, everything was so calm and serene; they had never heard a sound like that.

It was a grim premonition.

Fear had completely descended upon them. The reality of the situation looked incredibly terrifying.

Rei tried to assess everything that was happening – he was chasing after his sister, so he ran after her. But, where did that sound come from? It had to have come from where mom and dad were.

What was Miu making that horrified face at? She had to have seen something truly dreadful.

What in the world hit him in the back? What was the red liquid dripping from there? No…deep in his heart, he knew exactly what that was…

As the pieces of what just occurred began to fit together, chaos began to swirl out of control in Rei’s mind. He could feel his body start to sweat profusely.

If he wanted to see what happened and understand it all, he had no choice but to turn around…

He was gripped by hesitation. The horrible potential of what lie behind him rendered him unable to move.

“WAAAAAAAH!”

Somebody screamed (probably just someone who happened to be nearby); Rei snapped out of it and came to his senses a bit.

The screaming began to spread, and in an instant, the neighborhood was in a panic.

“It’s an adept!”

“Oh…oh my god…it’s Raptor, the Obliterator of the Innocent!”

From within all of the noise and panic, that voice could be heard clear as day.

Adepts, those rare people born attached to the Septimal wave…dad had mentioned something about them once. Rei was just hoping that the adept would not come anywhere near him.

Dad always said to be friendly to everyone, no matter who they are. However, Rei couldn’t help but wonder, could that really apply to a situation like this? Was dad wrong?

Today, for the first time, he finally understood what those words meant, as much as it pained him. Rei summoned up all of the courage he had and slowly turned to look behind him…but there was nobody there.

In the spot where his parents once stood, there was nothing but a dark red splatter on the ground…and a large pool of blood.

At that point, Rei finally came to realize just what had happened. His body trembled as reality slowly sank in.

That was his parent’s blood, there was simply nothing else it could be.

Rei’s head was pounding; his consciousness fading in and out as the everything started to fade to black. The whole neighborhood was engulfed in a thick, heavy enveloping darkness. His whole body began to sink.

Further down…deeper…

Just when it seemed that Rei’s entire world was about to be consumed by darkness, a light emerged.