“Alright, let’s begin, Amasawa Rui! Try not to get hurt.”
Tanabe chuckled and left the room. Tennoji and Taizen, watching through the reinforced glass, looked worried, but Rui was unusually calm.
The men poured Water Magical Power into their weapons and attacked all at once.
Rui also held her Katana at a low stance.
Water has the advantage over fire. Moreover, it’s four against one. It’s an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, but if she can’t overcome this, defeating Black Armor is just a pipe dream.
Rui gritted her teeth and poured Magical Power into her Katana.
The next moment—
Tanabe and Tennoji were speechless. Taizen and Misaki were also dumbfounded.
The inside of the room was charred black, and the four Seekers were blown away to the walls and collapsed. They didn’t seem to be seriously injured, but their battle suits were covered in soot, and their weapons were shattered to pieces.
Rui, standing in the center of the room, stopped with her Katana swung through.
The Katana continued to burn, and smoke rose from the blade. Rui exhaled and lowered the Katana, turning her eyes to the outside of the room.
Tanabe let out a dry laugh, “Haha.”
“To think, she can suddenly use Second Tier Magic.”
“Amazing, right?”
For some reason, Tennoji looked proud. Tanabe shrugged in resignation and pressed the audio switch connected to the laboratory.
“The experiment is over. Amasawa-san, that’s a sufficient result.”
Rui, still holding the burning Katana, said brightly, “Yes,” and swung the Katana.
The flames disappeared in an instant, and only the blade glowed eerily. Sheathing the Katana with a kin sound, Rui looked at the weapon in her hand again.
“This is… Scorching Blade Type-0.”
◇◇◇
Ibaraki Prefecture, Red Dungeon—
Ishikawa of Elceed Corporation was holed up in a room within the facility. As one of the people in charge of managing this Dungeon, he was preparing for the shelter to be installed on the fiftieth Stratum.
Just as he was about to finish his work, he received an unpleasant report from a subordinate.
“What? Hell Garm is coming up again?”
“Yes, it seems to be near the fortieth Stratum now. What should we do?”
The subordinate looked perplexed. Defeating Hell Garm would require the deployment of considerable forces.
Fortunately, security had been greatly strengthened after the previous escape incident.
With this force, it would be possible to intercept it within the Dungeon. Ishikawa, having thought that far, suddenly realized.
—Wait a minute. If what Tennoji said before is true…
Didn’t Hell Garm come to Tokyo to meet Black Armor? Tennoji had said so. He also said that it was a Monster with high perception abilities.
Ishikawa immediately called the Elceed Corporation headquarters. He couldn’t make this decision on his own. He had to ask for instructions from higher-ups.
If Tennoji’s idea was correct, they could flush out the elusive Black Armor.
However, it would involve taking a huge risk—
That day, the Ministry of Defense was in an uproar. They were already dealing with Black Armor, and now an emergency operation had been proposed.
“Are you sure such a method will work?”
Defense Minister Takakura grimaced. Serizawa, the Defense Counselor who had come to report, also looked incredulous.
“I don’t know. It’s an unprecedented operation with no examples overseas. Even among experts, opinions are divided…”
Listening to Serizawa’s story, Takakura closed his eyes quietly. If it failed, it would become a matter of responsibility.
Still, if there was no other way to find Black Armor, he couldn’t blindly oppose it.
Opening his eyes, Takakura looked at Serizawa, who was standing with a pale face.
“I understand… I’ll talk to the Prime Minister myself.”
That afternoon, information was shared with many people involved, including Seekers from overseas.
The government had approved an unprecedented operation to intentionally release Hell Garm from the Red Dungeon.
Since there was a possibility of civilians being harmed, it was necessary to keep a certain distance from Hell Garm and have many Seekers watch over it.
Therefore, Seeker Clans were dispatched from major companies such as Elceed and were stationed everywhere.
Hell Garm emerged from the Dungeon in the early hours of the next day. The broken dome had been rebuilt, but all the doors were open.
The Scorching Hell Garm emerged onto the ground without any obstacles. It seemed somewhat wary, but it soon left the dome, entered the central street of the city, and ran straight ahead.
Its destination was southwest—towards Tokyo.
◇◇◇
“Is it coming this way?”
Taizen, sitting in the back seat of a minivan, asked Tennoji with a sullen expression.
“Yeah, it seems to be heading towards Tokyo.”
“Still, how did such an operation get approved? One wrong step and civilians could die.”
Tennoji agreed with that, but he also showed some understanding, saying, “The government must be desperate.”
Currently, all the members of Roar of the Raijuu were waiting in their cars. This was to move immediately when Black Armor appeared.
Three cars were prepared, and Taizen, Tennoji, and Rui were in this car.
The black minivan was parked in a corner of the Toneri Park Street in Adachi Ward. If Hell Garm entered Tokyo, it was likely to pass near here.
Tennoji had judged so, and they were ready to track the Hell Garm if it came.
However, they didn’t know if it would really come, and Taizen’s anxiety caused him to constantly jiggle his leg.
Rui, who was in the same vehicle, also had a tense expression.
She was quite surprised when she first heard about this operation, but Tennoji had told her that there was a high chance of success.
Rui looked at the Katana placed next to her seat.
It was prepared to defeat Black Armor. Tanabe had said that this Scorching Blade Type-0 would reach the life of the Black Lord.
—This time, for sure…
Tennoji checked the situation on his smartphone. Mana was overflowing on the ground, causing communication failures, but they could still use it for now.
“Hell Garm seems to have entered Saitama. At this pace, it will probably be in Tokyo by the afternoon, but there’s also a possibility that its destination is Saitama or Chiba. We have to be ready to respond no matter where it goes. Stay sharp!”
To Tennoji’s words, Taizen responded with “Alright!” and Rui nodded with “Yes.”
The time of the decisive battle was approaching moment by moment.