Chương 78: Chapter 21 Akihabara Incident(Part 3)

"Welcome. And please leave. You are not invited here." On top of a throne made of crystals and corpses… It was there. The thing was waiting. The silver sphere was not as large as the one I had seen before. I tried to crush it with my motorcycle the moment I encountered it. However, its shape became fluid, wrapping itself around the tires. Thank you, partner. That was a good ride. While jumping off, I fired a flame bullet at the motorcycle. The explosion sent the silver sphere sprawling outward.

It spread like a sheet of liquid metal. But immediately afterward, it returned to its original shape. A silver sphere. An absolutely perfect sphere. How do I break it? A sphere. A perfect circle. Impact— It flows away. Fire— It does not melt. Lightning— It conducts and disperses. Think. Imagine. Break it. Crush it. Define the image of destruction. It is— of course— something that can be killed. From the sphere, countless needles extended and rushed toward me. I stepped back and dodged. Jumped diagonally.

My foot was pierced. It rewound. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. But my opponent did not wait. I created a barrier and blocked the flexible tendrils. However, they spread like a flower. Thin needles pierced through my back. And emerged from my chest. 『Annoying. Has it still not solidified? 』 『It is an amorphous perfect sphere. A sphere is difficult to destroy. 』 『Sigh. I'll do it. You certainly use magic well, but you think too narrowly. 』"Shining silver color.

Your form is a ball of iron. Melt. Melt. What you touch is poison!" The tendrils that touched me melted and fell away. I grabbed the tendril emerging from my chest with my bare hand. Smoke rose from my palm. When I pulled— it tore away effortlessly. I accelerated myself with magic and drove my hand forward like a spear. Like piercing through a paper door with a finger… my fingertips pierced the monster. This is… acid? 『Because of your body, you always forget one thing when you define magic.

You imagine the phenomenon… but you forget to define the target itself. 』 『... 』 『That thing is nothing more than a simple metal ball. 』 『I see. I'll try. 』"Kaori. It's finished. What's next?"

"The numbers have decreased considerably. Both monsters and soldiers. We are entering the cleanup phase."

"I see. Then the party is ending."

"In the end, the main course was…" Before I could finish speaking… my wife's voice came through. It was not the announcement of the end. It was the signal that pushed the pieces forward toward the final battle. Reaching the cleanup phase meant that they had somehow overcome the seventeenfold difference in strength. However… 『We will now remove the trash from the middle layer. Total count: one. With this, forced ejection will end. Please proceed with cleanup immediately. 』"Ah! Not the main course! Kaori!

Where is it? Ah… it has been so long since I dealt with middle-layer trash!"

"Unknown… Wait. What? Tsukasa… The images of the people in front of the Akihabara Gate have disappeared. The last one is probably there."

"... Are you going?" I had already taken one step forward. The soldiers had died and returned to the earth. The monsters had vanished, leaving only crystals behind. Those returning were nothing more than cold metal dog tags. I did not know if the damage had been reduced. The person who caused this whole situation would survive by deceiving everyone. So this was both entertainment… and duty.

"Yes! Of course I'm going. Everyone else, withdraw. If you haven't even reached the middle level… you won't be a hindrance. You'll simply die for nothing."

"But… isn't that the same for Tsukasa?"

"Who knows? But someone has to go. I will go with my own feet and defeat the monster. No one is forcing me. This is the work I choose to do for myself."

"... I won't say goodbye. Let me hear you say you're home."

"Yes. I promise. Kaori… I'm heading out." I stored the communicator in my ring. And stood alone in the wasteland. Akihabara's concrete jungle had sunk into a sea of fire, blood, and crystals. It was no longer recognizable. Mochida did not mention the fact that something had escaped outside. Whether that was consideration… or because the volunteers had truly done their best… I did not know. Perhaps the number of monsters was smaller than expected.

"Now then… Let's go." Wind. Wind that carries me. Please take me there. A guest from the dark place… I have been waiting for you. Let us play. Let us talk. What do you see in the void? I flew through the sky and reached the area near the Akihabara Gate. There was no sound. No movement. A silence so complete that it resembled the unbearable silence inside the Gate. But inside the Gate… there had been human voices.

"Oh? My little doll?"

"uavwj'j@3tj2rmjptjgj6tgtj""!" I did not expect an answer. Yet the thing replied with something meaningless. It was not like the words of Sōtsu. I did not even know whether it was a voice, a scream, or a birth cry. But one thing was certain. What I had to do was already decided.

"I'm sorry. You're not my type. Please disappear." Its face resembled that of a large dog. But no matter where I looked, it resembled nothing that existed on Earth. Its body was covered in countless black needles. Its appearance was an abomination, as if flesh and machinery had been forcibly mixed together. I took a puff from my kiseru. The dog moved first. I had no idea how it happened. How could such a thing occur? Its mouth opened. Its mouth closed. That was all. And my left arm— was eaten.