The Reincarnation Room
Kabaneries

"I'll introduce you, my name is Ryan." Ryan's eyes looked sharply at the middle-aged man. "Then, what's the name of this important pretentious guy?"

"I am a confidant of the Yomogawa family, and also a government official of Aragane Station! Even the samurai respect me! Therefore, you also have to–"

Not finished speaking, the middle-aged man instantly shut his mouth. Before his eyes, he saw Ryan pointed Mumei's Steam Gun at the middle-aged man's head.

"So so ... an Aragane Station government official huh?" Ryan kept smiling at the office. "Then, what's the deal with me? Never use your office in front of me! Especially in times like this!"

"You!" The officer was very angry with Ryan's actions. He's already alerted his position at Aragane Station. However Ryan did not care about his status that even the samurai bowed to and respected him.

Ryan paid no heed to the expression of anger the official exuded. "I don't care who you are or what your job is. As you know, now are the crucial moments where life is at stake. Can your job save you from the kabane? Would if you told your post to the kabane, then automatically those kabanes would give you a way to pass?"

Ryan's words were so piercing into the middle-aged man's heart. In the minds of ordinary citizens, these words seemed to represent their feelings for government officials who always act arbitrarily.

"If you really want the privilege here, I can give it to you. The specialty I mean is, the privilege for me to kill! Death is a privilege that I only give to the chosen people. Including you, the office master. Enjoy the trip to hell~"

Just as Ryan was about to pull the trigger, suddenly a screaming voice sounded. "Stop!"

"Huh?" Ryan then looked towards the direction the voice came from. There, stood a strange-looking young man. The young man wore a red robe and held a strange weapon in his hand. He also has a rather pale skin.

"I'm sure the man is aware of his mistake. So please stop this. If you really want to brandish a weapon, point that weapon at the kabane!" said the strange young man.

"Ikoma!?" Some people called the young man's name. They looked like the mechanic who used to take care of the Hayajiro train.

"You!? Aren't you the one who fixed the Governor's weapon this morning?" kibito. Ayame also knew Ikoma because he was the one who fixed his father's weapon.

Suddenly, Kurusu brandished the Steam Gun in her hand towards Ikoma. "Why are you here!?"

"I told you no, if you want to brandish a weapon, point it at the kabane!" But Kurusu still gave his Steam Gun to Ikoma.

'Hmm... So that's Ikoma, the main character in Kabaneri The Iron Fortress? As in the anime, he looks very upholding justice, until you could say he is very naive. But there are 2 points that make him deserve to be the main character. The first point was the weapon he made himself, Tsuranuki Zutsu. A weapon similar to a pile bunker that can puncture and penetrate the steel membrane of a kabane. Then, the second point is Ikoma's body. As the main character, he has a special body like the one Mumei has. At the same time, Mumei continued to look at Ikoma. It was as if he felt someone similar to him.

Looking at Kurusu's expression, Ryan understood what was really going on. In the first episode of Kabaneri's The Iron Fortress, Ikoma protects someone who is thought to have been bitten by the kabane. Because of his actions, Ikoma was accused of being a kabane and locked up in a special place for people suspected of being bitten by kabane.

"You're supposed to be in a cage! So why are you here!?" kurusu.

"Of course I unlocked the cage myself and escaped. If I don't run away, then I'll be bitten by a kabane!"

"So yeah, you almost got bitten by a kabane? Or maybe you've been bitten?" Kurusu narrowed her eyes. He retreated slightly to take some distance from Ikoma.

The citizens who heard Kurusu's words also took some distance. They were very afraid that Ikoma would suddenly turn into a kabane and attack them. Including government officials who had been in conflict with Ryan. He also immediately shunned Ikoma who had saved him from Ryan.

Ayame desperately wants to defend Ikoma, but Kibito holds Ayame and asks her to shut up. "I beg Ayame-sama, please don't interfere in this matter. Let Kurusu take care of it."

"But–"

"Look around Miss, everyone is so scared. Imagine if among us, there was one person who turned out to have been bitten by the kabane, then we would all die!" Ayame could only shut up after hearing Kibito's words.

"I'm not kabane!" shouted Ikoma. But with Ikoma's pale appearance, many people did not believe Ikoma's cry. In fact, it was not only Kurusu who brandished his Steam Gun to Ikoma, but all the samurai brandished their Steam Gun to Ikoma.

"You guys .." Ikoma's a little depressed. For Ikoma, humans should point their weapons at the kabane, not at other humans.

Not far from Ikoma's place, Ryan glanced at Mumei who had been continuously looking towards Ikoma. "Hey, aren't you going to help her?"

"Why should I help him?" mumei said in a nonchalant tone.

"Relatedly? You're really not gonna help her?" Ryan's tone seemed to tell him that he knew who Mumei really was. This makes him uncomfortable.

Mumei glanced at Ryan for a moment. Then he got up from Ryan's arms. With his body still somewhat weak, he said in a loud voice. "Let your weapons down! He's not Kabane."

"That's right. We need proof that he wasn't bitten by the kabane. We need to check his whole body!" kibito.

Hearing this, Ikoma's expression froze. Because in fact, Ikoma has been bitten by kabane.

"If you want to know if he's been bitten or not, I can tell you all." Mumei paused for a moment and looked at the people around her. "He's been bitten."

At that instant, the citizens went into a panic. They were all really trying to get away from Ikoma.

Ikoma was deeply shocked by Mumei's statement. He continued to retreat step by step with an expression of disbelief. "I'm not kabane .. I'm not kabane .. I'm not kabane!"

But unfortunately, there is no one who believes in Ikoma, except Ryan and Mumei.

"Yes, indeed you are not a kabane" Mumei said as she looked straight at Ikoma. "However, you are not human either."

"What do you mean I'm not human?"

Suddenly, Mumei lunged at Ikoma and tore off the red robe that covered her body.

Creak

Instantly, Ikoma's robe was torn and exposed Ikoma's body. On Ikoma's body, there was a steel plate attached to the right area of his body. Ikoma's body is also filled with red lines resembling blood vessels that spread throughout Ikoma's body with the heart as its center. And also, the heart of Ikoma is glowing, just like the kabane.

"Kabane!" Some residents shouted to see the condition of Ikoma's body.

Kurusu instantly emitted a killing aura from his body. "You really are kabane!"

However, Ikoma.masih continued to deny this pseudo. "I'm not kabane!"

Before Kurusu pressed the trigger of his Steam Gun, Ryan suddenly appeared and held off the Steam Gun Kurusu. "You've always been impatient, Kurusu. Try to be more patient. Control your emotions …"

"Ryan?" Kurusu was surprised by Ryan's actions.

"Calm down .. let this beautiful woman give an explanation." said Ryan while looking at Ikoma who has continued to tremble since.

"What needs to be explained!? It was obvious that the person's heart was glowing! That's definitely a sign he's become a kabane!"

"Kurusu, have you ever seen a human resembling a kabane? Moreover, just now the beautiful woman said that Ikoma was not Kabane. Listen to the explanation first."

Hearing Ryan's words, everyone started to look towards Mumei who was beside Ikoma. Yawning from drowsiness, Mumei started talking. "I've said many times, he's not a kabane. But not human either."

"He, not . maybe I should call him us. We are existences between kabanes and humans. We call it kabaneri." After he said this, Mumei faced back and took off her clothes. From Mumei's back, Mumei's heart is glowing.

"You're the same as me?" ikoma.

The atmosphere of the station became quiet. Many people do not believe Mumei's explanation. But the real evidence was clearly before their eyes.

Kabaneri is an existence in which humans are infected with kabane, able to withstand the rate of the virus not to infect his brain. Therefore, both Ikoma and Mumei, they used something to tie his neck. It is used to prevent kabane viruses from invading their brains. That way, they have the physicality of a kabane. But they still have human sense.

Mumei put her clothes back on. But after that, Mumei suddenly looked towards the exit of the station. "I see there's a lot of kabane heading this way."

Hearing Mumei's words, people began to look towards the direction where Mumei looked. There, there were many shadows walking towards the station.

"Graaa" Kabane's voice began to be heard. Around thousands of kabanes continued to walk like black waves crashing at anything in front of him.

"Quick! Get in the car!" yell Ryan.