The smell of disinfectant filled the air, stinging the noses of anyone smelling it .

  Noah and Rentaro sat on the bench with their eyes on one of the doors along this hallway .

  That’s the door to a surgery room in this hospital .

  The red light with characters "Surgery ongoing" on it lit up, telling everyone that door is meant to stayed shut .

  Rentaro and Noah sat there without talking . Naturally, it’s not because Noah avoided conversations . Rather, it’s because Rentaro’s current state made conversations very hard to carry on .

  Noah helplessly shook his head when he saw Rentaro who is sweating profusely from nervousness .

  "Rentaro, calm down, alright?"

  "Nn . "

  Rentaro nodded but his distant look and sweating forehead suggested otherwise .

  "I know that . "

  Rentaro said, however, he clasped his hands together tightly which looked like he was just giving Noah lip service .

  "No matter how anxious you are, it will not help her situation . "

  Noah advised .

  "The doctor also said the current medical service of Tokyo Area is so high level this operation cannot possibly fail, the risk is negligible so can you stop being a nervous Nelly?"

  "Yeah, you’re right . "

  Rentaro sighed .

  "I just can’t help it . "

  "I guess you have a point . "

  Noah nodded with a troubled look .

  "Right, how about you find a topic to talk about?"

  "Yeah?"

  Rentaro said .

  "Thank you . "

  "Hmm?"

  Noah didn’t know where this came from .

  "What’s with you?"

  "Kisara-san would have never gone through with this if you didn’t interrupt . "

  Rentaro’s eyes flashed with thoughts, he voiced the ideas in his head .

  "Actually, I am starting to think her kidney problem goes beyond affecting her physical health, to some extent, I think it’s affecting her mental health . "

  "Mental disturbance?"

  Noah urged him to go on .

  "What is going on with you?"

  Rentaro stopped for a second, he started explaining after this brief pause .

  "Didn’t you notice it? Whenever she talks about the Tendo Clan, isn’t her reaction too extreme?"

  "You mean that’s abnormal?"

  Noah tried to recall Kisara’s reaction .

  "Sure, but isn’t that because she’s so obsessed with ending the Tendo Clan?"

  "It would have been fine if that was the case . "

  Rentaro bitterly laughed .

  "A friend of mine told me that isn’t normal . For one, her entire mood changes completely . She thinks that Kisara’s hatred got enhanced by the suffering she got from her kidney problems . It’s like she can see her parents telling her to avenge them at all cost . "

  Noah also felt a bit confused when Rentaro placed it like this .

  He can sense her going off the rails whenever she goes on and on about how she wanted to destroy the Tendo clan .

  Like a vengeful spirit returning from hell, Noah frowned whenever he saw her acting like that .

  Indeed, Rentaro might be right to call this a mental affliction .

  "Kisara-san probably recognizes this so she didn’t want to do the transplant procedure, right?"

  Rentaro sighed repeatedly .

  "Without those hallucinations, she’s afraid she will forget her desire for revenge . She is probably relying on this health problem to continuously remember her vengeance through pain and hallucinations . "

  Noah nodded and he loosened his expression .

  "If so, you must be really happy now, right?"

  "That’s why I said thank you . "

  Rentaro laughed .

  "Honestly, I don’t want to see her dirtying her hands with revenge or curse her own clan like that . It makes me very uncomfortable whenever she’s like that . "

  Noah shared this sentiment .

  Noah, however, is neutral in regards to her vengeance .

  If it’s Noah, once somebody harms his family, he will definitely want revenge .

  Now, he might differ in the method through which he executes his own revenge .

  At least, Noah doesn’t think he’s someone who would stop at nothing to get payback .

  Kisara exhibits a rather dangerous trait of reckless abandon when it comes to revenge .

  Noah is uncomfortable with her revenge not because of her motivation but because of her attitude .

  If this transplant can solve that, then all the better .

  Beep

  The [Ongoing Surgery] light dimmed down as the doors opened .

  A few doctors in scrubs came out . They can’t see their faces but they can see the surgery went fine judging by their relaxed eyes .

  Rentaro sighed in relief .

  Kisara’s operation went without a hitch .

  "Doctor!"

  Rentaro caught one of the doctors and he asked him .

  "How did it go?"

  "Relax, the operation was successful . "

  The leading surgeon told him .

  "Since she’s still under anasthetic, I recommend coming back after tonight . She will also be placed under medical care so we can make sure she’s healthy for discharge . "

  "I understand . "

  Noah and the surgeon shook hands .

  "Thank you, doctor . "

  The doctor bade them farewell and they exited the hallway .

  Rentaro and Noah exchanged smiles before they entered the surgical room .

  Tokyo Area 1, Holy Residence . . .

  The base for national defense opened up .

  Seitenshi entered the room with Kikunojou greeting her followed by other high-ranking officials .

  Seitenshi gestured for everyone to sit down . Then, she looked at Kikunojou with a grim expression .

  "What happened?"

  "Yes . "

  Kikunojou nodded .

  "At 2130 today, Monolith no . 32 experienced a Gastrea infestation as the troops stationed there were attacked by an unknown number of Gastrea monsters . "

  Seitenshi balled her hands into fists .

  Gastreas appearing near the Monolith?

  That should have been impossible .

  Excluding Stage 5 Gastrea, weaker monsters should have stayed clear of the obelisk .

  Kikunojou said nothing . He displayed the screen behind him .

  "This was the last photo sent to us by a soldier there before he expired . "

  Seitenshi looked at the screen .

  On it, she can see a blurry photo taken in low-light setting .

  Darker than the night itself, he saw a long-necked Gastrea attaching itself to that Monolith .

  Seitenshi recalled something ominous .

  "This Gastrea, I think I have seen it somewhere before . . . "

  Seitenshi obtained her memories from her mental files as she immediately gasped in shock, covering her mouth, she voiced her disbelief .

  "Stage 4 Gastrea, Aldebaran?!"

  The room immediately went into a turmoil .

  "Aldebaran?"

  "The Gastrea that can produce varanium-corrupting fluid?"

  Seitenshi’s hair stood on ends as she rubbed her cold hands together .

  Why did Aldebaran appear here?

  Why did it attack Monolith 32?

  Seitenshi couldn’t find an answer for her questions .

  However, she can confirm one thing . Tokyo Area is in big trouble .