#applause applause

Applause, Applause Yuki Shasendou

A sequel to the original story's best episode, "The Underground Empire 'Yomi' Arc." For whom will the cyborg warrior fight?

We would like to state in advance that this work (along with the "*" below in this commentary) contains parts that touch on the famous ending of the "Underground Empire 'Yomi' Arc."

As stated by Tsuji Masaki himself, the final scene of Black Ghost "The Warrior of Peace Never Dies" is a homage to the end of the "Underground Empire 'Yomi' Arc" in both the animated and novelized versions.

In the giant demon statue that flew into the stratosphere, 009 confronts the "true identity" of the Black Ghost Gang, and the Black Ghost Gang finally meets its end. 002 comes to save 009, but the jet engine runs out of energy, and the two of them turn into shooting stars and fall to the ground…

Monster Island: The story of Cyborg 009 has come to an end, but in response to the cheers of fans hoping for a resurgence, the serialization of the "Monster Island" arc will begin. In "Applause Applause," a small mystery that occurred between the "Underground Empire Yomi Monster Island" arc and the "Monster Island" arc will be revealed.

Shasendou Yuki was born in 1993. In 2016, she won the 23rd Dengeki Novel Prize Media Works Bunko Award for "Cinema Detective Kaleido Mystery," and made her debut the following year with the same work. Her work "Paradise is the Absence of a Detective" (2020) was nominated for the novel category of the 21st Honkaku Mystery Award. Her other works include the Corpse Burying Club series, the God Deity Avatar series, Until I Kill the Novelist I Love, The Return Tree, The Book's Spine Remains at the End, and others.

When the sound of the scum is left behind, Joe always thinks of the deep sea. Neither sound nor light reaches him, and only a faint heartbeat wells up from within him. It is not a sound, but a vibration that gently shakes him.

In the field of acceleration, objects come up against several barriers. Mach 1 is the sound barrier. Once you reach a speed equal to the speed of sound, you will encounter air resistance and impacts, making it difficult to move. Anything that crosses this barrier will be greeted by a silence unlike any other, faster than sound.

This is because the speed at which Joe Shimamura can accelerate using the device is Mach 3. Even at Mach 3, there is a problem with acceleration. There is something called a heat wall. When approaching this speed, objects begin to burn due to air resistance. Joe can only withstand this because his body is no longer human.

Joe used to be a four-wheel racer, and at 280km per hour the world is still full of sound.

Beyond that there is silence. The whole world is separated by air, and you can't hear anything. I had a similar feeling when I was thrown into the ocean.

But I was greeted by a quiet world, and for a moment I had no idea what I was doing.

There was silence around Joe. Nothing in space carries sound, and there was no sound as his nemesis crumbled into dust. All he could hear was the voice in his head. No, no, it's too late. The only exception to the silence. All that remained was darkness and silence.

I heard applause.

As if guided by the applause, Joe slowly regained consciousness. It was as if a spotlight was on the dark stage. Or as if the curtain had been lowered and the hall was brightened. If that was the case, the show was over. Although he had never been on stage before, he knew he had to bow to the audience. As he did so, the applause stopped, and he heard Great's voice.

"Oh my goodness, you're really back. What a terrible actor."

Out of the vast light, a familiar face suddenly appeared. It was 007, Great Britain. After a moment, Joe said, "The applause just now…"

"This is my farewell gift to you. People are born crying. I am sad that you were brought onto this stage by these fools. You were on the verge of stepping down from that stage.

In that case, it would be okay if I gave you some applause."

In the silence came the sound of applause, which he followed to show that Joe had returned.

"…Now that I think about it… 007 also received applause on stage…"

"I got bouquets of flowers and passionate kisses from beautiful women. I was on stage.

A great actor."

Great said jokingly, and Joe found himself surprisingly relieved. His jokes were a part of everyday life for Joe. The world hadn't ended, and Joe wasn't dead. His friends were probably all safe. Great's joke made that clear to Joe. If anyone hadn't been safe, Great's voice would have conveyed that even more eloquently.

"Was I… saved?"

"Of course. Do I look like an angel?"

"A bald angel is quite novel…"

"If you can talk like that, your brain must be fine. Your energy tank, lungs, and blood pipes were all on the verge of burning out. You were like 008 the other day. Poor 003, she was crying so hard, poor thing! You shouldn’t make a beautiful woman cry.”

Hearing this, Joe slowly regains his memories. Joe faces off against the Black Ghosts in space, and although he wins the battle, he has no way to return to Earth, and is destined to burn up like a star. Then 002, who has the ability to fly, comes to his rescue.

But…

"That's right! What about 002???"

When he came to save Joe, the jet's energy was already running out. It should have fallen towards the Earth and the two of them should have burned together as one star. But Joe is still alive. If the other half of the pair, who were destined to commit suicide together, is still alive, what happened to the other half?

Indeed, Great said.

"Don't worry. In fact, 002 woke up earlier than you."

"He's still alive…! How on earth is he alive!?!?"

"Why don't you be a brat? In fact, we are better than you---"

At that moment, Chang Changku came into the room where Joe was sleeping. Upon seeing the awake Joe, Chang Changku flipped over and hurriedly ran back the way he had come.

"I'm coming in a bit! 009 has woken up!"

It was as if the curtain had been raised once again. Joe had left the world of silence and entered once again a world of noise.

Within a few minutes, most of the group had gathered in the room, including not only Great and Chang Changku, but also Professor Gilmore, Heinrich, Geronimo, and Pyunma.

And then, 003|--Françoise Arnoul.

Her large eyes were rimmed with red, and it was obvious she was about to cry. Seeing that, Joe felt a ache in his heart for the first time. If he had died like that, Françoise would have been overcome with sadness. Joe had not been able to fully recognize this.

Françoise looked like she wanted to say something, but she just stared at Dr. Gilmore in silence. She probably needed to recognize the situation first. Dr. Gilmore realized that he had been pointed at her.

He began to speak slowly.

"What happened to you guys is like a miracle."

The doctor, who had successfully resurrected the two Black Ghosts, looked more tired than usual. Perhaps it had been very hard to revive Joe and Jet. Or perhaps he was a little exhausted after the battle with the Black Ghosts.

Joe and Jet were found half dead, like cinders. It was a literal miracle that they had no brain damage. They spent days holed up in a modification room, and only managed to survive after replacing most of the mechanical parts. This explanation reminded Joe a little of the Ship of Theseus. After replacing so many parts, is it really the original ship?

"But… why… we should have been completely burned out."

“It was Ivan's telekinesis."

Joe repeated Dr. Gilmore's words.

“Telekinesis…”

"As you entered the atmosphere and burned alive, you lost consciousness. But that was a blessing.”

"I see, 001's mind teleportation doesn't allow conscious beings to be transported…"

"That's why you were put into a state of suspended animation."

That was what Albert Heinrich said. He seemed to have mixed feelings about mechanical bodies among the people. Ivan's mind-shifting was like dissecting the machine part and the human part of a cyborg. Joe thought that there might be something to be said about that.

"Well, it's all thanks to 001…"

Having said that, Joe was suddenly struck by something. If Ivan's mind-transportation had saved him, then that meant… However, only Ivan himself could clear up this doubt.

So Joe decided to finally ask the question that had been bothering him.

"…Dr. Gilmore, where is 001 now?"

There were two people missing from this room. Apart from Jet, who was probably also recovering, Ivan was not being held by anyone, which bothered me. As expected, Dr. Gilmore frowned.

"For the past month, I have been sleeping, just like the rest of you. I don't know if this is a normal sleep, or if I have used too much power. It's probably the latter. It is no mean feat to mentally transport an object that has fallen from space."

“Like that.”

Joe was obviously shocked. It was not uncommon for Ivan to be asleep.

This time, things are different. Moreover, Ivan has fallen into this state in order to save himself and Jet. I want to believe that he’ll wake up. However, Ivan's abilities are unknown, and even fellow cyborgs often fail to understand him.

"I know you're worried about 001, but you and 002 were pretty tough guys too. In fact, 001 was the one who tried to make you commit suicide with the Black Ghosts," Heinrich said sarcastically.

"Yeah. It was a real shock at the time. I didn't know what to do."

Françoise said in a strained voice, though she seemed to be trying hard to hold back her tears.

"The scariest thing was that if I concentrated, I would be able to hear your voice. I would be able to hear the sound of you burning up, and that really scared me. When 008 pulled you and 002 out of the sea, I… I didn't think you were alive."

Tears welled up in Françoise's eyes. Joe wondered how worried she must have been, waiting for him to wake up. It made him happy and sad at the same time.

"Don't make me feel this way. Don't make me hear any more of these things I don't want to hear."

"Don't cry, Françoise. It's okay now, it's all over."

At that moment, Joe quite naturally called her Françoise instead of 003.

Happiness once led us away from our mission.

Having been remodeled into Black Ghost Cyborgs, they thought they were already cut off from human society. But that wasn't the case. Rather, they were able to live relatively happy lives while coexisting with the abilities they were given. This delayed the start of the battle that would put an end to their relationship with the Black Ghosts.

"Without you, 001, or 002 waking up, my world seemed to have gone quiet. Everything was different to how it was before. But then I realized… when I walked down the street, or watched the world on TV, it was the same as always. Can you believe it? No one noticed that we had been fighting such a big battle. We saved the world, but no one knows about it. Not only that, there's a war going on in the world that was saved. It's strange… Even if we're not threatened by the Black Ghost Squad, there is evil and Black Ghost Fear in the world.

It's full of suffering."

As she spoke, Françoise placed her hand on the left side of Joe's chest, as if she couldn't continue speaking until she was sure that the artificial heart was functioning properly.

When everyone was giving him a strange warning and he was left alone with Françoise, he wondered what on earth he should say to her. However, as soon as they were alone, Françoise leaned close to Joe and quietly began to speak.

"Hey, Joe. Can you believe it? You and 002 became shooting stars. That day, it was a small news item that a striking shooting star was spotted. Maybe a lot of people even made wishes for you."

"Even so, I didn't have time to grant wishes. Shall we ask 002 about it?”

I said jokingly, and Françoise laughed a little.

"But even though there are people who make wishes on shooting stars, there are no people who express gratitude to them. I realized that…"

In the future, if some kind of crisis occurs in the world, Joe and his friends may fight desperately. But even in that case, there will be very few people who will be grateful to Joe and his friends. Perhaps only those who were saved from danger.

I don't feel tired of helping others, but helping others means sacrificing myself.

Françoise must have been reminded of the balance between happiness and the balance when she saw Joe, half dead and half alive.

After thinking for a moment, Joe spoke.

"I woke up to the sound of 007 clapping."

"No. And that woke you up?"

"It may have just been a trigger, my brain reacting to the sound from outside, because it was already awake. But the applause brought me out of the silence."

Françoise listened to Joe with a very serious expression on her face. Then she clapped her beautiful hands together and gave a light clap. The sound was delicate and supple, different from Great's.

Françoise looked at her hands intently, as if she had never heard such a sound coming from them before.

"…Whenever I finished performing on stage, I always received applause. Applause that brought the house down. Even without using my powers, I could feel the audience's breathing. But no one ever applauded me as 003. Not even you, the shooting star 009. I've always felt regretful about that."

The applause gradually grows weaker and fades away, leaving a lingering echo.

"But I remember that you worked harder than anyone else, that you truly saved this world. I applaud you, the shooting star. You are truly amazing.”

"Thank you, Françoise. You were the most wonderful person. You are even better than a prima donna. That important role was played by none other than you."

The applause naturally caused Françoise's hands to move away from Joe's chest.

It also felt a little lonely.

"Hey, Joe, did you hear any noises while you were sleeping?"

"I don't know. It feels like I was dreaming, but it also feels like it was just a moment--"

"I was talking to him too, but none of what I was saying got through to him."

Françoise frowned dramatically. Joe seemed a little flustered by this. Françoise then looked completely satisfied and gave a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll tell you when you're awake from now on."

*

"Joe! Where do you want to fall?"

When Jet asked him that, Joe felt a sense of relief. He was also filled with fear that he would die and take his precious friend with him, and he was also filled with fear that he would die alone in the lonely universe.

His heart was stirred with joy, not the least of which was the feeling of great relief.

---Ah, he had no intention of involving the people on earth.

Joe was a star that could not choose where he would fall. Joe no longer knew what was on the ground. All he could do was become a firework of destruction in front of him. At the moment he thought he would die while holding his burning body, a certain anxiety passed over him.

Would he fall on someone?

What would happen if someone was unlucky enough to be there when it hit the ground? How much of an impact would the shock wave have on the ground? If it fell into the ocean instead of on land, what if there was a ship there? What if there was an offshore facility there? What if the impact of the fall created waves? Joe's excellent auxiliary electronic brain simulated the damage like a slideshow. Sadly, the predictions were very accurate.

But with Jet Link, the jet may not have enough energy to land safely, but it can at least choose where it falls. How much that relieved Joe.

He remembered a dream he had while he was still asleep. It was a dream about falling, which starkly reflected the crisis before me. Joe fell in all sorts of places. The familiar race track, their base, the beach where they had first confronted the Black Ghosts. He even fell at the Arc de Triomphe, which he had simply wanted to visit. The fact that he had such a limited repertoire of places he wanted to go made him realize that he wasn't the type of person who was particularly interested in traveling.

This experience made him realize once again that this is the case.

Where on earth did Jet want to land when he asked that question?

"Well, maybe the Grand Canyon. It's huge and majestic, and there are many restricted areas. There doesn't seem to be many people there, and being able to enter the restricted areas at the end would be a special feeling. I've never been there before."

Jet answered that way. Considering that Jet is from America, it seemed like a reasonable choice. I thought it was too general, but he said, "You're probably pretty similar, too."

After waking up from his slumber and undergoing various tests, Jet came to Joe's room. However, their meeting took place in Dr. Gilmore’s mansion, and was separated by a few meters in the hallway. Considering that Jet had traveled tens of thousands of kilometers to meet him, it was a casual distance.

"You look fine, 009. It's like you've been torn apart and reassembled," Jet said, laughing. There were no visible injuries, and his complexion was good. He looked so normal it was hard to believe they had entered the atmosphere together. From Jet's point of view, Joe was probably the same.

"I'm almost too energetic. The doctor says that I'll be able to reach Mach 5 as well."

"If you do that, I'll lose my edge over you!”

"I still can't fly. How about you?"

"Of course I can fly. When I woke up, I was so surprised that I flew."

To Jet's surprise, it was loud applause that woke him up.

"It sounded like someone was busking somewhere - crackle, crackle, crackle - and it kind of woke me up. It was a shock, because I was supposed to have burned out with 009. I thought it had all been a dream."

"The 007 guy is a great actor."

“Is he planning to become a hypnotist instead of a stage actor?"

Jet laughs, grinning.

"But still, you and I did a good job. We deserve a round of applause. I'm being praised for my work and I'm being made a happy comeback. Although, 007 never really acknowledged my work. He said I just fell flat in the end. Which is true."

"It wasn't just a fall."

Jet had given Joe something much bigger than he had ever imagined. But he didn't know how to express it. It was because Jet had flown there that Joe felt from the bottom of his heart that it didn't matter if he burned out. How much that saved his soul.

Joe asked after a moment's thought.

"If you had fallen with me there, I would have been the only one to be thankful. You wouldn't have been the hero who got applauded. Why did you do that?"

“Well, our fight won't be known to anyone else. There's no point worrying about applause from the masses. So, I can fly wherever I want."

Sure enough, Jet said it nonchalantly.

What Jet is saying seems similar to what Françoise was saying, but it's a little different. It's the difference between whether the applause is directed at him or someone else who wants to be rewarded. He wants Joe to be rewarded. He doesn't care if he isn't rewarded. He won't be rewarded anyway. So he can do what he likes.

"I think I've strayed a bit from the point here… What I want to ask is, why did you end up in space after just flying wherever you wanted?"

"I couldn't let my friend die alone. If you were in my position, wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

"That's right… No, I don't know… I mean, isn't it? If we go into space without any plans to rescue you, we'll both die. If I'm gone as well, on top of 002, our fighting power will be greatly weakened. The stability of the team will decrease… But…"

"That's an honest answer. I applaud your calm judgment. I'd rather you survive than die pointlessly for my sake.

By contributing to the world in this way, world peace will be protected. Ultimately, many lives will be saved."

“You too, 002. It would have been better for the world if you had let me die out there, alone."

Although it may seem this way -- or perhaps it is because he fights for the world, knowing that it will not bring him any personal gain -- Jet is hoping for world peace and is contributing to it. Normally, he should be able to make calm decisions like Joe.

"Well then, let me tell you one of the reasons that sent me into space."

As Jet mentioned it, he looked as if he had pulled out his secret weapon.

"One of the reasons………………?"

"I wasn’t going to tell you, but I guess I can’t hide it from you after all.”

And then he spoke something unexpected.

"You probably don't remember this, but it was in the Underworld. In a bottomless swamp of lava, We had to abandon the Dolphin…”

"I remember. You were the one who pulled everyone along and flew."

“Not everyone.”

At that time, Joe was indeed the last one left on the sinking Dolphin. The jet started moving before Joe could be grabbed, and Joe almost sank into the lava.

But that was never Jet's fault. It was actually a good decision.

If Jet had not left Joe and acted quickly, the other members might have been in danger. In addition, Joe was able to use the stalactites to safely reach the cave.

There was no problem.

"Could it be that the guilt you felt at that time was the cause…?"

"That's the last thing you wanted."

Things are starting to get a little suspicious. What does that mean?

"That time, I told you to wait. With my speed, there's no way I could have picked you up.

But you tried to do it on your own.”

Jet's mouth corners turn up in a grin. That's right, Joe remembers. Because he can handle it himself. Just in case something were to happen to Jet who was about to fly in to help them. That should be the natural thing to do as a teammate. But it seemed that Jet didn't see it that way.

"I told you to wait, but you didn't listen. So I didn't listen to you either. It was a sight to see you trying to convince me not to die in vain. Hahaha, that was worth it! That made it worth going."

"What is that…so unreasonable…”

He couldn't continue speaking after that. He felt a wave of indescribable emotions, like he was astonished, like it all made sense, like he was so happy he wanted to cry, and like he felt so awkward he could die.

"Maybe it's the human spirit that makes us choose that irrationality. I would have gone to pick you up even if you hadn't thanked me. In other words, maybe this is the essence of what we do."

"Without anyone's thanks or applause, you’d still sacrifice yourself for the world?"

“Sure. But we have friends, and we know how great we are.

It's amazing. It's really amazing. Right?"

Jet claps. It's a surprisingly powerful clap, one that seems to come from anywhere. He remembers the first time he used the accelerator, Jet's voice was the only thing in the world. Beyond the same barriers of sound and heat, every sound Jet made reached Joe's ears.

"No matter what you say, it's nice to have people applaud you. I'm glad I realized that."

Jet said this and Joe felt a swelling in his chest. He was more pleased that Jet was alive than that he was alive.

Joe finally asks Jet the question he's always wondered about - how they managed to survive - but again, he finds out he'll have to ask Ivan directly.

Joe waited for Ivan to wake up.

* While Ivan was still awake, Joe and his friends were enjoying a brief moment of peace when a giant attacked them. Albert Heinrich, who witnessed the horrifying monster manufacturing factory, suggested that it was the work of the Black Ghosts.

"Ever since we became cyborgs, Black Ghost has haunted us… We no longer have a home! As long as they exist, we can never hope to have a home!"

Joe repeatedly replayed in his mind what Heinrich had said when they blew up Monster Island. Did Ivan really sense that his pseudo haven had sunk into the sea?

"If you have something to say, then say it. Your attitude is just disgusting."

When Heinrich, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book, said this, Joe still didn't know what he wanted to ask. For the time being, he just said the first thing that came to mind.

"Well… when the Titan incident happened, you were the first to link it to Black Ghost. That was really impressive. How long had you suspected it?"

“Yeah, I’m the kind of man who would suspect a poor girl who had lost her memory of being a spy. That's pretty impressive."

Joe felt awkward when Heinrich laughed at him like that. What Heinrich was talking about was the time when Helen, a young girl from the Puwa-Work people who lived underground, arrived. Heinrich was the only one who suspected that she was a spy, as she had no one to turn to, and tried to exclude her. Joe strongly opposed this and thought that Heinrich was a cold-hearted man. Considering that Helen turned out to be an unwitting spy, Heinrich's judgment was correct.

Joe went quiet, and Heinrich said, a little troubled, "Hey, that's just a joke." After a moment, he continued.

“If you ask me how long ago that was, I'd say since the very beginning. The Black Ghost Gang is not something that can be eradicated just because it has become space debris. It's like a disease that has taken root on Earth."

"I thought it was all over."

"That's a happy thing. It's good to have hope so that we can aim for tomorrow."

"Maybe it was naivety? I don't really know. I just thought that since so much had been sacrificed, it was necessary for it to end in exchange."

So much blood has been spilled, so peace should come. A cake made with high-quality ingredients should be baked deliciously. A precious person has died, so his death should have meaning. He has fallen, so something good should happen in his place. A shining star has fallen in the sky.

When the Black Ghosts arrive, the wishes of someone on Earth should come true. Such illogical and childish wishes may have led Joe to misjudge the Black Ghosts' malice.

"Well, it's probably a good idea to correct that as soon as possible. There's no such thing as meaningless death or unreasonable loss.

I am reminded of that at every turning point in my life.”

"Well, Venus--"

It seemed that he had changed his mind. Again, the words came out before he could think. Heinrich's expression, which usually doesn't change much, changed slightly.

"There was nothing between Venus and me. There was nothing I could have done. There was nothing I did."

"That can't be true. Your presence was a great comfort to Venus, who was oppressed in the underground…"

“Right, there was one thing I was able to do for Venus that I couldn't do for Hilda.”

Saying this, Heinrich folded his hands over his chest.

In the chaotic battlefield of Tomura, that was his number one priority. In a place where a moment of uncertainty could mean the difference between life and death, Joe watched in an accelerated, silent world as Heinrich very carefully placed Venus' hands together. The funeral ceremony, which took place in silence, was prolonged in the world of Mach 3.

"You said something to me then, didn't you? I only saw your lips moving out of the corner of my eye. What did you say?"

When Joe asked, Heinrich looked blank for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"No, it's nothing."

"I see. But thank you for that time."

"…I…no, it's fine. It's fine now."

At that moment, Joe realized that there was a big discrepancy between Heinrich's perception and his own, but he didn't dare say anything. Instead, he applauded.

"What is that?"

"It's like a bit of a boom for me."

"I'm not cut out for that."

Heinrich said, spreading his hands wide. As a human whose whole body was a weapon, Heinrich's hands were equipped with various weapons. His hard hands did not seem very suitable for fighting.

Until recently, Heinrich had hated his cyborg-like hands. He was the one who was most worried about going from human to half-machine. And now, he was able to point at his hands and make jokes. Heinrich continued, leaving Joe confused.

"I've never liked this hand. It's like a giant wall that separates me from the humans. I hate it next to that ugly wall that separates the East from the West. I'm not going to be able to stand in this way forever.

It makes you feel like they're just machines clinging onto humans."

"We are not machines. We are human beings."

"I'd like to think so too. I could do better if I wasn't human."

Then Heinrich stood up. Joe asked where he was going, and Heinrich replied, matter-of-factly,

"I should buy Zhang Zhanghu a drink. A lot has happened since then, and he hasn't had time to relax at all. Even though he's a human, I made him take on a difficult task. He was covering his eyes with his hands at the time. It's a good thing his hands aren't made of iron. At least the outside is soft."

*

When flying through the night sky, the stars are our guide. Joe didn't know much about the stars, but since getting this body, he has acquired some knowledge so that he can find his direction no matter where he is in the world. To be honest, the constellations he memorized with Françoise's help were not convincing. He had no idea what a bear was and what a swan was. The person who decided this was really…

"Did you think about it seriously?" Geronimo and Pyunma spoke at the same time.

"First of all, it is Nahokos. It represents man and woman, the cycle of the world. It is the fire that protects the home."

Geronimo said.

"That's where the warriors' cows walk. What's a milk path?"

Pyunma says suspiciously.

"Different people have different interpretations of the stars… that makes sense."

Joe looked up at the night sky and called the stars by the names that came to mind at that moment. As usual, the stars did not look like men, women, cows, or hair.

As he fell, Joe couldn't remember the names of any of the stars, and only the legends of shooting stars flashed through his mind. They flow when a person dies. They flow when a person is born. They are both a sign of joy and a harbinger of misfortune. If you make a wish, it will come true. Joe didn't know where he wanted to fall.

He didn't have a dream, but he thought it would be nice he were a star on which wishes could come true.

* It was only after a long time had passed since the big job that Ivan Whisky woke up.

Ivan, who had sustained great damage in the midst of the terrible incident and had taken time to recover, woke up peacefully. Perhaps it was thanks to Françoise's tireless care that he was able to recover.

After the incident had settled down, Joe decided to talk to Ivan alone again.

Because he felt that Ivan himself wanted that too.

"You've been asleep for a long time."

"For me it was just a moment. I was asleep the same way I usually was."

"Isn't it frightening to sleep with such a sense of time? It would be like we were all gone while you were asleep. I thought maybe that's what you were thinking."

"I can feel you even while I'm asleep"

"I see… You saved us at a crucial time in the Underground Empire."

"Even if you are not happy, there is no need to be sad. The time I spent with you should be like a rocking chair."

Ivan was silent for a while. After a while, a voice that sounded slightly different from usual came from my head.

It resonates.

"Do you resent me? Do you hate me? Because I sent you to the Demon Statue to fight the Black Ghost Gang alone?"

"What a cruel thing to do. 003, shut up…" ( ??? I don’t know what this means LOL)

"If you could turn back time, would still you send me into the demon statue?"

“Yes, I would. Even if you had burned up in the atmosphere… it was necessary.”

That was enough for Joe. In fact, being told that was what made Joe most grateful. Even if Joe became a star there, he wanted to be sent into the demon statue.

"By the way, 001, there's one thing I wanted to ask you."

“What?”

"I thought that if you fell from that high, the energy wouldn't be able to escape even if you teleported with your mind. How on earth did you manage to save me and 002?"

Teleportation or mental movement is supposed to be used to move an object from point A to point B. The theory behind moving a stationary object and moving an object falling at high speed must be different. The general consensus was that Ivan's psychic powers must have offset the energy of the fall, but was that really the case? Joe had been wondering about that for a long time.

"If you notice that, you must have a good grasp of physics."

Ivan said, sounding a little happy. He was on a different level to the other guys in many ways, so he was probably happy to be able to join in on the same conversation like this.

"The hint is what I said.”

"That's not a clue. You're always talking about something.”

“What I said when you were running around at Mach 3. I don't have that kind of experience, so I asked you to teach me how it felt."

There, Joe finally remembered their previous conversation. A world of silence beyond sound. An overwhelming place that even leaves your heart behind. It was as if…

"Oh, I get it. You transported your mind into the ocean once."

“That’s right,”

Ivan told me with satisfaction.

Teleportation Ivan mentally transported Joe and Jet, who were about to burn up due to friction with the air, into the ocean. In water, the momentum of the fall is reduced -- the same principle as diving -- and the cold seawater would have acted as a radiator to cool the machinery. So,

So the two of them were happily saved.

"I teleported you twice. Once from the atmosphere to the ocean. The second time was from the deep sea to the sea surface. That's it.”

"I'm really amazed… you're really smart…"

“Of course.”

Ivan said it so nonchalantly that Joe laughed.

Joe had asked the others about their future lives, but not Ivan. The resurrection of Black Ghost was already certain, and he could not overlook the crisis he had foreseen.

It won't come. That electronic brain continues to be put into operation to save the world. None other than Ivan whiskey.

From the moment he was sent into the statue of the Hesitation Demon, Joe knew what his future would hold. Ivan, like Joe, would sacrifice himself for world peace. And without hesitation.

"I can't overcome the sound barrier, or even the heat barrier, with this body, but I think I can develop a small rocket that I can control by myself. Then I can experience the same silence.”

If Ivan says so, it will surely be the case in the near future. Even cyborgs, the generations after Joe, have evolved incredibly. Even Joe's current body, which was once reassembled, seems to have performance far from what it was before. The world is advancing every moment.

"Yeah, I guess that's what will happen."

"Sate, solo solo mince knattekita." 009, Kimito's storytelling is good cutter.

Looking at it, Ivan seemed to be more than half asleep. It's enough already. Everything I wanted to talk about was addressed. It was the moment I was about to leave the room.

“Oh, I forgot."

Joe began clapping his hands as if he remembered.

"What on earth is this?"

Joe hardly ever put his hands together to applaud someone. The sound of his applause didn’t sound beautiful.

It was not because of his artificial skin and mechanical body. It was because Joe wasn’t used to it.

He had never given any applause, nor received any. But it was going to be different from now on. It was probably difficult to make a suspicious expression on a bewildered baby's face. Still, Ivan's confusion was conveyed to him. Of course, not in a telepathic way. Of course.

"We are never truly celebrated. We are just shooting stars. They only make wishes. Bring peace. Let us never be threatened by evil. No one thanks the stars. No one cheers."

As the sky burned down, Joe, who had become a fake star, could not hear the voices of the people making wishes to the star. It was an imperfect star that missed many wishes and only gave salvation to places within reach. But still, they decided that this was how it should be.

"001, you and we are wonderful. We know that."

The sound of applause gradually fills the room. Applause comes to fill the silence.

In a silent world, it will be a guidepost. Applause, Joe recited in his heart.