Episode 156: The World in Slow Motion
A wave of shock ran through the personnel at the Ministry of Defense in Ichigaya.
“An accident involving a civilian vehicle! The driver’s condition is unknown!”
Takakura stood up and looked at the monitor. Traffic congestion had occurred on a public road, and one car was emitting smoke.
The thing he had feared had happened. Civilians may have been injured or killed.
“The operation is canceled! Eliminate Hell Garm!!”
Overwhelmed by Takakura’s Oni-like expression, Serizawa said, “Y-yes!” and immediately relayed the order to the field.
The Seekers near Hell Garm began to move swiftly.
Ideally, they should have stopped the accident before it happened, but Hell Garm had suddenly charged into the car, leaving the Seekers helpless.
No further expansion of the damage could be tolerated.
Yamauchi, who led a semi-major Seeker Clan, instructed his comrades to surround Hell Garm.
The headquarters would be handling arrangements to help the victims. Yamauchi hesitated.
They should concentrate on Hell Garm. But they couldn’t defeat it completely. Yamauchi steeled himself to stall Hell Garm until a major Seeker Clan or overseas Seekers arrived as reinforcements.
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“Ugh…”
Yuma, who had lost consciousness, regained his senses. He didn’t understand what had happened. The car seemed to have stopped after crashing into a building wall.
The car body was battered from rolling over several times, but fortunately, it hadn’t flipped over.
“Did Hell Garm crash into us…? But why here?”
Yuma held his head and looked next to him, where Tanaka was slumped over, looking lifeless.
“Tanaka-san! Are you okay!?”
He immediately called out and checked for external injuries. Tanaka was bleeding from his head, but he was breathing.
He seemed to have just lost consciousness.
Yuma unfastened Tanaka’s seatbelt and tried to get out of the car, but the door was warped and wouldn’t open.
“Damn it!”
He kicked the driver’s side door with all his might. It didn’t open with one kick, but after kicking it several times, it opened a little.
He held Tanaka in his arms and somehow got him outside.
“Tanaka-san, stay with me!”
“Ah… ugh.”
Tanaka regained consciousness.
“What happened to me…?”
“I’m not sure either. Let’s get over here for now!”
Supporting the staggering Tanaka, Yuma quickly moved away from the car. In that condition, the car might burst into flames.
He glanced over and saw Hell Garm in the middle of the road. Flames were raging from its body.
Several men and women surrounded the Monster. Were they Seekers?
Anyway, they had to get out of here quickly. Without being able to use Metallization, he couldn’t fight Hell Garm.
As Yuma headed towards the crowded Downtown area, he heard a scream from behind.
Turning around, he saw the Seekers struggling against Hell Garm.
Taking advantage of a momentary lapse, it broke through the encirclement. The Hell Garm ran straight towards Yuma.
“Seriously!? Again? Why is it coming here!?”
Yuma ran with Tanaka. There were many commercial facilities around, so there were quite a few people.
When people spotted Hell Garm, they panicked.
“What!? That dog!”
“Isn’t that a Monster!?”
“Uwaaaaa! Don’t come here!!”
Hell Garm rammed into the people in its way, knocking them down one after another. At this rate, there would be many casualties.
–If only I could Metallize…
Just as he thought that and bit his lip, several men stood in front of Hell Garm. They seemed to be different Seekers from before.
They were fighting the Hell Garm using Magic Enchanted Armaments. They seemed to be struggling, but he had no choice but to leave it to them.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m just trying to take care of myself.”
Yuma took Tanaka and disappeared into the depths of Downtown. After Yuma and Tanaka left, the battle continued in a corner of the road surrounded by Commercial Buildings.
Hell Garm growled at the enemy in front of it and spewed flames.
The Seekers desperately dodged the scorching flames that easily melted concrete.
But they couldn’t avoid the charging Hell Garm, and one of them took a headbutt head-on.
He flew away, broke through the show window of an apparel shop, and lay on the floor covered in blood.
The Hell Garm once again broke through the Seekers’ encirclement and went out onto a street with many people.
“This is bad! We can’t catch up!”
“Are reinforcements here yet!?”
The Seekers began to panic. The semi-major Seeker Clan that had rushed to the scene didn’t have enough strength to stop Hell Garm.
They desperately tried to catch up. However, they couldn’t keep up with Hell Garm’s speed.
At that moment, a mother and daughter came out of a restaurant, looking happy. The Hell Garm headed straight for them. The mother and daughter hadn’t noticed the approaching threat.
“Danger! Run away!!”
The girl noticed the Seeker’s scream and turned around. There was a red and black dog with its mouth wide open.
Flames leaked from its entire body, and its sharp fangs were pointed at the girl.
The girl, unable to move due to surprise and fear, froze with her eyes wide open. The mother, noticing the abnormality, screamed.
Everything seemed to be in Slow Motion to the girl.
The dog’s fangs, covered in saliva, approached. At that moment–
A black fist caught the dog’s face. The face of the Monster, pierced by the thick arm, slowly distorted and buckled.
The girl’s senses returned. The world that had been in Slow Motion disappeared, and time began to flow normally.
The red and black dog flew away at a tremendous speed and crashed into the wall of a building. The stunned girl cautiously raised her eyes.
There stood a monster, entirely black.