CHAPTER 10 . CAT AND MOUSE
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Konoko follows Mukade through the city's rooftops, battling Ninjas, Strikers, Tankers and Furies along the way.
Summary
For some reason Mukade is unable to lose Konoko even when he escapes from her sight, and Konoko is puzzled by this fact. She feels that they are somehow connected on a deep and unpleasant level. Finally cornered, Mukade implies that they are the same. He tells her to surrender to her violent nature and be consumed by what is inside her. In denial of any similarity between them, Konoko kills Mukade and retrieves the disc containing the data about her life which Mukade removed from the Regional State Building.
Added Value
- What is the nature of Konoko's and Mukade's connection? Two main possibilities present themselves, not mutually exclusive:
- 1. They are related somehow. Konoko sure does a lot of thinking about her Dad while tracking him:
That data file contains information about my past. About my dad. I guess I knew I had a father at some point but I don't remember him. Now I want to know everything about the man I tried really hard not to think about... |
- 2. Mukade also has a Chrysalis. This is a fairly obvious revelation once we find out what the Chrysalis is, and would explain his superhuman abilities (teleportation and the Devil Star; the invisibility appears to come from his suit). It could also explain the mental connection between Konoko and Mukade without a need for familial relation. Hardy LeBel confirmed this second point on the forum shortly after the game shipped: see Mukade#Commentary.
- We can learn a fair amount about the mindset of Mukade and Konoko from their brief exchange. Let's break it down:
Mukade: All you have done by hunting me is force me to fight. You should have let me go. |
- It seems that someone doesn't want her to know the truth, and a confrontation is not desired (not yet, anyway).
Konoko: Who are you? Why can I feel you inside me? |
Mukade: Does your blood burn when you kill? Mine does. |
- Does this exchange imply that they are related? Is it referring to the Daodan surges Konoko had after defeating Barabas and the room of bad guys guarding Shinatama?
Konoko: Stop it... |
Mukade: We writhe inside as we are torn apart to make way for what we will become. Surrender to it. Let the bliss of oblivion free you of all your doubts and fears... |
- This also makes sense in retrospect when we learn that the Chrysalis replaces its host from the inside out. However, Dr. Kerr's explanation in the next chapter assures Konoko that she will not truly change in personality. Mukade views his transformation as something that will kill him as a person, and, believing this to be inevitable, welcomes it. Konoko, of course, has no way to respond to this intelligently, not even knowing what he's talking about.
Konoko: You are one of Muro's thugs, nothing more. |
Mukade: We shall see... |
- Konoko is clearly trying to distance herself from him; the common ground she feels with him disturbs her. So she belittles him as a mere thug. After beating Mukade, Konoko's unnecessary breaking of his neck brings into question just how good she is. We know how evil Muro is from plenty of evidence, but we've also been assuming that Konoko is basically a good-hearted victim. Her killing of Mukade seems to be a desperate, self-defeating attempt to show that she's not like him. On the other hand, since Konoko is without a real identity at this point, killing Mukade could be seen as a total rejection of the identity that Mukade offers her, one of nihilism and death. An identity that has more in common with Muro's.
- Note: For an alternate interpretation of these events, see the fan theory Truth Number Zero.