“President! What should we do!?”
Yuma frowned and asked Kanzaki.
“We don’t need to fight recklessly. Our role is already over. Helping the injured is the priority now!”
Yuma looked around. Self-Defense Force members and Seekers attacked by Hell Garm were lying on the ground. Many of them seemed to still be alive.
“Understood!”
Yuma, Kanzaki, Tanaka, and the Sakura Port members began rescue operations, dividing the work among themselves.
◇◇◇
“Uooooooo!”
Rui slashed at the Hell Garm in front of him. However, he was blocked by the flames spewed by the hellhound and couldn’t even get close.
Rui also created a “Flame Barrier” with magic to defend against the opponent’s attacks, but he was still inexperienced, and the flames passed through.
“Damn it!”
Rui grimaced, taking a step back after being hit by the flames on his arm.
–If only I could get closer…
Hell Garm zigzagged across the ground, closing the distance in an instant. Out of sword’s reach, the hellhound unleashed flames again.
“Rui!”
A figure suddenly appeared from the side, creating a powerful “Flame Barrier.”
The rising fire blocked Hell Garm’s attack, and the scattered embers soared high.
“Misaki-san!!”
“Rui, I’ll block its attacks! You focus on attacking.”
“Yes!”
The two of them worked together to approach Hell Garm. The hellhound responded by running forward and unleashing a stream of fire.
“Leave it to me!”
Misaki used her fire-clad longsword to intercept the flames, smoothly redirecting the attack backward. Rui was impressed, thinking that he could never evade like that, and circled around to Hell Garm’s flank.
Exploiting the enemy’s slight delay in reaction, he swung his Flame Heat Katana.
The hellhound’s front leg flew into the air.
Hell Garm, howling, retreated backward, glaring at Rui. The severed leg was crackling and burning but gradually regenerating.
“I guess I have to cut off its head…”
Rui bit his teeth in frustration and readjusted his grip on the longsword. Looking around, he saw the members of “Ashura” defeating one Hell Garm.
However, many Seekers had been sacrificed in the process.
–The damage is too great.
Rui, with a stiff expression, turned his gaze towards Tennoji and the others.
In front of the burned-down dome, the three of them were somehow enduring against the “Red Ogre” clad in scorching flames.
If it weren’t for them, they would have been killed instantly.
–This enemy is strong!
As if to fuel Rui’s anxiety, the flames emitted by the ogre burned fiercely and intensely.
◇◇◇
In the Central Management Center, at the operations headquarters on the eighteenth floor.
Honda, the Elceed’s Director-General, sat at a desk at the far end of a large conference room, probably around two hundred square meters in size.
She clasped her hands in front of her face, closed her eyelids, and seemed to be deep in thought.
Her expression looked somewhat tired. A large monitor was installed at the front of the conference room, displaying the outside situation in real-time.
Dozens of staff members were coming and going in the room, rushing around busily. One of them, a young female staff member, approached Honda.
“Director, preparations are complete. We can proceed with the measurement at any time if you give the order.”
“I see…”
Honda touched the earpiece in her ear and pressed the keys on her laptop.
A voice connection was established with someone outside.
“This is Honda. Are you ready?”
“Yes, no problem.”
“Approach from three directions, making sure not to be noticed. It’s meaningless unless you get within fifty meters.”
“Understood. Approaching the target now.”
Honda turned off the audio and stared at the monitor on her laptop. The screen was divided into three, showing the approach to the ogre, circling around the collapsed dome.
“Is it really okay? It’s still a prototype Measuring Device…”
The female staff member who came to report muttered anxiously.
“It has succeeded many times in experiments. Besides, even though ‘Mana’ is leaking, it’s a ground-based measurement. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
Honda stared at the monitor with a stern look. What she had prepared was a ‘Mana Measurement Device’ that could be used inside Dungeons.
It was an improved version of the Spatial Mana Index Meter, which emitted special electromagnetic waves from three directions and measured the Mana Index based on the changes when it collided with Mana.
It was expected to make it possible to measure the Mana of Monsters, which had been difficult until now.
However, it was still in the testing phase. Normally, it would be too early to deploy it in a real situation, but Honda decided to use it because an unidentified Monster had appeared.
–A Monster that even Tennoji and the others are struggling against… If we don’t know its exact strength, we might misjudge how to deal with it.
Honda closely watched the images on the monitor.
Cameras were built into the Seekers’ headgear, and the images were displayed on the monitor from their perspective.
Holding rifle-like Mana Measurement Devices in their hands, they slowly approached, trying not to be noticed by the Red Ogre. When they reached their designated positions, they aimed the rifle-type Measuring Devices.
The ogre had been moving around during the battle, but its movements stopped for a moment.
Without missing that opportunity, the three Seekers pulled the triggers almost simultaneously. Electromagnetic waves were emitted from the transmission ports, hitting the ogre’s body.
The Mana of the target and its surroundings was automatically calculated, and the data was transferred to headquarters.
The female operator who was analyzing the numbers turned around and shouted at Honda, who was looking at the computer monitor.
“It’s out! Mana Index 6000! Estimated to be Duke class!!”
“Duke…”
Tension filled the room. They had anticipated that there was a high possibility that it was a Unique Monster, given its strength.
However, if it was a Duke from the “Red Dungeon,” its combat capabilities would be considerably high.
–Of all times, why now…?
Honda suppressed her frustration and pressed the keys on her computer to open a line with Tennoji.
◇◇◇
A lightning-charged fist exploded on the ogre’s face. Tennoji unleashed a barrage of punches without a moment’s pause, not giving the enemy a chance to counterattack.
The ogre couldn’t withstand it and retreated backward. However, it didn’t seem to be taking any damage.
Tennoji jumped back, creating distance between himself and the enemy.
“…I’m in trouble. This is the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced.”
He wiped the sweat running down his cheek. As he cautiously closed the distance, wary of the ogre’s counterattacks, he heard a voice from his earpiece.
“…zzzz…can you hear me…zz…Tennoji.”
“Yes, I can hear you.”
There was static. Was the “Mana,” albeit small, interfering with the communication? Tennoji responded while holding down the earpiece in his ear.
“With the prototype…zz…Mana Measurement Device, we measured the Monster’s…value.”
“Mana Measurement Device…so that’s why those guys have been moving around since earlier.”
Tennoji glanced around. There were people holding something that looked like guns at a certain distance.
At first, he thought they were Self-Defense Force members, but he understood that it was the Mana Measurement Device.
“So, what were the results?”
“…zz…Mana Index…exceeds 6000. It’s definitely…a Duke!”
“I knew it.”
Tennoji glared at the ogre in front of him. If the Mana Index exceeded 6000, it was incredibly strong.
The reason the communication environment was poor was probably because the “Mana” emitted by this ogre was too strong.
Looking back, Ishikawa and Taizen were nodding. Since it was a multiple simultaneous call this time, the information was being shared through the earpieces that each of them was wearing.
Ishikawa approached Tennoji, cautiously watching the surroundings.
“What do we do? Tennoji. We can’t defeat a Duke of Red easily!”
“Yeah, we have no choice but to use our trump card to stop him.”
Hearing those words, Ishikawa’s face tensed up.