Episode 160: A Ray of Hope
“Wow, that’s amazing. This is the first monster that hasn’t been torn to pieces by that! I guess I underestimated it a bit.”
Albert raised his left hand languidly, pointing it towards us. Four red rings adorned his fingers, glowing eerily.
–So, that was a Magic Enchanted Armament!?
“It seems I need to use my full power against you. I wonder if this magic will work?”
The ground beneath Yuma’s feet began to glow red. A chill ran down his spine, his instincts screaming of imminent danger.
–This is bad! If I take that…
“–Volcanic Eruption–“
The ground exploded, and fierce flames soared into the sky. The pillar of fire, unlikely to extinguish easily, testified to its immense power.
The ground was gouged out, and fire and smoke spread everywhere.
◇◇◇
“It’s over, isn’t it, Albert?”
Mia approached and asked, but Albert, without answering, kept staring at the area where smoke was rising.
Mia followed his gaze, and the smoke gradually cleared.
What the two saw was an unexpected sight.
“No… way.”
Mia opened her mouth in surprise. Emerging from the smoke was a black figure. The Black Armor stood there, still in a defensive stance.
Blue streaks ran across its body, and its entire form glowed faintly.
“Is that… Water Magic?”
At Albert’s murmur, Mia reacted with a “Huh!?”
The Black Armor, having withstood the explosion, retreated with a backstep and then ran away.
“Chase it! Don’t let it get away!!”
Mia gave instructions to the Prometheus members lurking nearby.
The plan to surround the Black Armor and defeat it with Mia and Albert had completely failed. Mia, suppressing her agitation, looked at Albert.
“If it used Water Magic, does that mean it’s a monster from the Blue Dungeon, not the Black Dungeon?”
“…No.”
Albert looked in the direction the Black Armor had fled.
“That Mana felt unmistakably like a monster from the Black Dungeon. Yet, it channeled Water Magic throughout its body to significantly weaken the force of the flames.”
“That’s impossible! There’s no precedent for a monster using magic from a different element!”
Albert lowered his eyes and quietly looked at his left hand.
“…Perhaps, we may be witnessing it for the first time.”
“Witnessing? Witnessing what?”
As Mia looked puzzled, Albert raised his head and a smile crept onto his face.
“A form that has not yet been confirmed… the King.”
◇◇◇
“Please watch! Metropolitan Route 311, Kanpachi-dori Avenue, is closed to traffic, and a section of Heiwadai and Kitamachi has been cordoned off by the police. According to the government’s announcement, the Black Armor that was being searched for has been found. Including Seekers from overseas, they are currently responding to subdue it…”
Kanzaki, who was watching the news on his phone, clicked his tongue.
He was heading to Heiwadai by car, but due to the chaotic road network, he wasn’t making any progress.
“Damn it! Would it be faster to run?”
Kanzaki stopped his jeep on the shoulder of the road, assembled the Hexagonal Rod he took out of his bag, and got out of the car. He took out his phone while running and made a call.
“Aisha! It’s me.”
“…Where are you now?”
“The place where Yuma was sighted. I’m heading towards the urban area of Nerima.”
As Kanzaki ran, he saw the police had blocked the road with barricade tape. When he got close, a young male police officer called out, “Entry is prohibited!”
“I’m a Seeker. I’m going in.”
Kanzaki showed his license card to the officer and forcibly went under the barricade tape.
Originally, only high-ranking Seekers were allowed to enter, so the officer hurriedly tried to stop him, saying, “Hey, wait a minute.”
But Kanzaki forcefully broke through and ran towards the center of the city.
Crushing Impacts could be heard from afar.
“I’ve entered the restricted area. The fighting has already started.”
Aisha on the other end of the phone let out an unpleasant sigh.
“There’s no helping it now. Somehow, bring Yuma-kun to my Laboratory.”
“Will that really solve anything!?”
“I have a device that blocks Mana, albeit a simple one. If he enters it, he won’t be detected and found.”
“Is that the sauna-like thing you were making the other day?”
“That’s right. If he goes inside, even if he’s Metallized, the Mana won’t leak. If all goes well, we can shake off the pursuing Seekers.”
“Wait a minute! Does that mean you realized we’d be using Hell Garm to find Yuma, so you made that thing?”
“I wasn’t certain. I was just considering it as a possibility. I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”
Kanzaki grew increasingly irritated by Aisha’s story.
“Civilians could die because of this! How can you use such a dangerous method… are you out of your mind?”
He jogged across the roadway. There seemed to be no cars or civilians, probably because the area was sealed off.
“Normally, they wouldn’t do it. Even if the people on-site thought of it, the higher-ups would stop it. The fact that it went through means there are political motives.”
“What is it? What political motives?”
Kanzaki turned the corner of a building and headed towards the sound. The location of the Crushing Impacts was gradually changing. It seemed to be moving.
“The Iwaki administration’s approval ratings are falling right now. They probably want to raise their evaluation for the next House of Councillors election.”
“So, they’re desperately trying to subjugate the Black Armor for that!?”
“They’ve been touting the danger of the Black Monsters all along. They figured that even if there were casualties, defeating the Black Armor would raise their approval ratings.”
“For such a trivial reason? That’s insane!”
He saw figures across the street. Probably Seekers.
“Anyway, somehow make contact with Yuma-kun! Tell him to come to my place.”
“I know! Easy for you to say… I’ll do something!”
Kanzaki hung up the phone. He had called Yuma many times, but he couldn’t get through. The Metallization was probably causing communication interference.
“He’s scattering a huge amount of Mana, after all. Can’t be helped, I guess.”
Kanzaki took a short breath and then moved in the direction the Seekers were running.
◇◇◇
Fire burst in front of my eyes. Seekers were approaching while using magic. A dozen or so from the street in front, and several more from the street on the left.
–Damn it!
Yuma turned right and ran. He wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible, but at this rate, he wouldn’t get anywhere.
“Should I force my way through, even if it’s a bit forceful?”
As he was running while thinking about that, several figures emerged from the corner of a building on his right.
He was fed up with the thought that they were Seekers again, but he recognized those faces.
“That’s…”
Tennoji, Taizen, and other members of Roar of the Raijuu. And–
“Rui!”
His well-known childhood friend was glaring at him, wearing a battle suit.