Chương 76: Chapter 21 Akihabara Incident(Part 1)

"Testing, testing. Mochida-san, can you hear me?"

"I can hear you, Chloe. I'm currently at the main command center, further behind the front lines than you are. Leave information management to me. When a Unique appears… please hurry there immediately."

"Understood. I'll leave information management to you, Mochida—""Kaori."

"... What?"

"My name. My name. You're calling me without a title, so… isn't it strange to suddenly add an honorific?"

"Eh? Ah… calling a woman by her first name feels a little embarrassing.... Alright, Kaori. Then you can call me Tsukasa as well. When you come to visit, using family names will only make things confusing when we're trying to tell everyone apart."

"... Tsukasa. Will you come back?"

"Yes. I will. I promise. I won't say goodbye."

"... Understood. Then let me hear you say 'I'm home.'" The communication ended. The noise that had filled the area moments before disappeared. The soldiers vanished like a receding tide. They had probably gone out silently, searching for a path toward whatever awaited them. I could only pray that the road they walked would be a gentle one.

"Are you sure it was okay to make a promise like that?"

"People disappear so easily. A promise—a weight that binds us—" The weight of those words.

"—is something necessary to keep people connected, isn't it?"

"Is that really all there is to it?"

"That's all there is to it. The reason someone returns home doesn't have to be anything grand. Just being able to say 'I'm back' is enough."

"Unfortunately, I don't have anyone waiting for me."

"Come on now. You're going to drink with me again, aren't you?"

"Ah, that's right. I preferred the real you, without the disguise. I'll be going."

"Yes. Take care." The remaining soldier, Hyodo, handed me one of the issued recovery potions before disappearing into the city. Above us, countless helicopters circled the sky, swarming around the battlefield like flies around a corpse. The monsters always had the first move. If they began with a surprise attack, the disadvantage would be unavoidable. But if we could defeat them before they launched that surprise attack... then maybe we could still manage.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I pulled out my kiseru and took one drag. 『Are you still not going? 』 『I am. The appointed time is close. You want to indulge yourself in entertainment, don't you? 』 『Of course! I may be alone, but a Sabbath—a party—is something that must be enjoyed. I wonder what the main course will be? I'm looking forward to it! 』 『I would rather observe from the sidelines, but you won't allow that, will you? Fine. I'll enjoy myself.

』 『Ah, you are me, and I am you. The work of someone else—』 You. 『—is my work as well. I won't hold back. I won't retreat. Go forward. 』 『Yes, my master. Witch, leave the backup to me. 』 『Yes, Master. Sage, I'll handle the entertainment. 』 『『Give us your orders. 』』"Forward… forward, beyond that point. Run through the flames, beyond the twilight. Toward the distant days of ordinary life." I started the engine of my motorcycle. The battlefield ahead was a place where neither side could coexist.

There would be no reconciliation. No threats. No surrender. Only the one-sided desire to erase the existence of the other. I rode forward, covering a distance that was not actually far. And then I saw it. A single beam of light shooting from an office building, piercing through a helicopter. Followed by a tremendous— A birth cry. An explosion. The battle had begun. Listening to the roar of the motorcycle engine, I cut down every monster that caught my eye.

"Nice to meet you. Goodbye. If we become involved, we will eventually part ways, won't we? You are not my type. There is no bond between us. So disappear— like a small flame." The burning monster faded away like the flame of a candle. The small fry were fine. For now, they could still be defeated with a spell fired the moment we met, or with a single strike of a weapon. The screams echoing through the streets. The gunshots. They were the voices of people desperately trying to survive.

"Yodobashi Camera. A Small Bone has appeared. Proceed there."

"Understood, Kaori." A Small Bone. The monster that had given Hyodo trouble. How many monsters was the Witch's "Small Bone" equivalent to? I had no idea. But if I left it there, the pile of corpses would only continue to grow.

"Faster. Faster. A shooting star. Don't even allow them time to blink." I pushed the motorcycle forward like a meteor, accelerating at full speed. The monsters along the way were merely payment for the journey. If they entered my sight— I would consume them as entertainment.

"My arm! It took my arm…! Kill it… don't worry about me!"

"Damn it! Why did it come from behind?!"

"Shoot! Fire! If you have a sword, cut! If you have fists, punch— ghk!"

"Magic user! Take me too… finish it with me!"

"My back is yours to protect… damn it, don't you dare die before me…"

"I did it! I killed my tenth one!"

"First…? Haha… I don't know if that is a mourning dress or a wedding dress, but seeing you before I go…" The screams were everywhere. The monsters continued to appear without end. Those who crawled after losing their arms. Those who bravely shot down monsters. Those who cried after losing their friends. Those who looked at me… and smiled as they died.

"Put some spirit into it and enjoy yourselves. If you hesitate, you'll be eaten. Laugh, make noise, enjoy the festival. The time to appreciate silence comes later." While crushing the monsters that appeared before me with my motorcycle, I encouraged the soldiers. Unfortunately, I could not let them rest. A seventeenfold difference in strength… The buildings. The structures that should have protected them were now helping the monsters launch surprise attacks. Maybe I should remove them.

"Kaori, I'm going to erase the buildings. Please evacuate everyone. The range will be… ten minutes from now. A 600-meter radius centered around the Akihabara Gate."

"Understood. What if evacuation is not completed in time?"

"Then that's unfortunate. Tell me the time." All I could do was pray that evacuation would be completed. If the buildings disappeared, everyone inside would fall. Those who could fly would be fine. Everyone else… would have a difficult time. I would not apologize. They simply had to be prepared.