Episode 354: Canberra
“I’m so glad you’re all safe,”
Mayor Madeline, having returned to the shopping mall’s plaza, addressed the gathered crowd of about two hundred people.
Although there were casualties among the soldiers who fought the Seekers, no civilians were harmed.
“It seems the naval base personnel from Brisbane took down the terrorists. We owe it to them that the citizens were spared. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude.”
The surviving soldiers were battered and looked exhausted.
Madeline and the citizens observed a minute of silence to honor the fallen soldiers.
Yuma also closed his eyes, bowed his head, and observed the silence.
After fighting the Seekers as a Metal Slime, Yuma returned to his human form and went around casting Recovery Magic on Wilson, Olivia, and other injured people.
Some had suffered severe injuries, but they were now completely healed.
However, he only healed those who were unconscious. If it became known that he was a Messiah who could use Recovery Magic, he might be swamped with requests for treatment.
–Sorry, but I’m in a hurry to move on.
Madeline spoke about future plans: Brisbane would maintain its independence and distance itself from the Seekers.
She also mentioned relocating their living quarters in preparation for another attack.
Now, what to do with these guys?
Yuma’s gaze was fixed on the Seekers tied to iron pillars in a corner of the mall.
They were currently groggy and sprawled out, but there was no telling when they would regain consciousness.
It would be troublesome if they used magic again, Yuma thought, and asked Anzai.
“Anzai-san, what are you going to do with them? It must be hard to keep them restrained…”
Anzai, when asked, said, “Ah,” and smiled.
“It’s okay. I heard there’s a Magitech Device that can disable a Seeker’s magic. I guess they’ll use that.”
“There’s such a thing!? I’ve never heard of it.”
Yuma asked back in surprise. There had been countries using Magitech Devices before. But he had never heard of a device that could disable magic.
“Well, I don’t know the details either.”
“Is Australia advanced in the development of Magitech Devices?”
“It seems so. I heard they have technology on par with or even surpassing the United States, but I don’t know how advanced it really is.”
“I see.”
Yuma was impressed by this unexpected side of Australia.
Led by Madeline, many people began moving from the destroyed shopping mall to another facility.
He should be helping, but Yuma’s heart was elsewhere.
Rui, Akito, and the American soldiers, if they were alive, would likely go to the Black Dungeon. Believing in their survival, Yuma was driven by the desire to reunite with them as soon as possible.
Perhaps noticing Yuma’s feelings, Anzai called out to him.
“Yuma-kun, I’m sorry. I came back here without permission, even though we were supposed to go to Canberra.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s only natural to worry about the people here.”
“It seems like things are okay here now, so should we depart now?”
“Eh? Is that okay?”
Anzai answered with a smile, “Of course,” and went to talk to Wilson and Olivia. The two readily agreed.
They once again saw Yuma and Anzai off.
“Yuma, thank you. I’m really grateful you came back,”
Olivia nodded in agreement with Wilson’s words.
“Yuma, I don’t know what would have happened to Luna if you hadn’t been here… I heard there are many Seekers in Canberra, so please be careful.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Anzai and Yuma got into the car parked in front of the shopping mall and headed for Canberra, where the Black Dungeon was located, once again.
◇◇◇
Thirteen hours south of Brisbane. By the time they arrived near Canberra, the sun had already set, and it was late at night.
Anzai stopped the car on the road before entering the city.
The two unfastened their seat belts and got out of the car. Despite it being night, the city was brightly lit.
Considering the current situation in Australia, it would be normal to dim the lights at night to avoid attracting Monsters. The fact that they weren’t doing that meant—
“Because the Seekers are gathered, they’re not afraid of Monsters, huh?”
Rumor had it that the entire city had become a nest of Seekers. If there were many high-ranking Seekers, they could defeat most Monsters.
It seemed that the biggest obstacle was not the Monsters, but the Seekers.
Yuma turned his gaze to Anzai, who was locking the car with the keyless entry.
“Anzai-san, I’ll go from here alone. Please return to Brisbane before you get caught up in any trouble.”
“Eh?”
Anzai, who had been planning to go with him, widened her eyes at Yuma’s words.
“That’s… you still can’t walk properly. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.”
“It’s okay. My injuries are getting better little by little. Look, I’m walking without a cane now, right?”
Yuma walked slowly but surely without a cane. Anzai sighed softly.
“But you can’t even run. What are you going to do if you’re found by Seekers?”
“I’ll manage somehow. I’m a Seeker too, after all.”
As the two were talking, a car with its headlights on approached from down the road.
The highlights were so bright that Yuma and Anzai shielded their eyes with their hands.
A large car stopped in front of them.
It was dark, so they couldn’t tell the color, but it seemed to be a 4WD.
Three people got out of the car and walked towards Anzai and Yuma.
“Hey, what are you guys? Where did you come from?”
One of the men spoke to them. All of them had rifles, but they also had longswords equipped on their waists. They were definitely Seekers.
Yuma clicked his tongue in his mind.
–I wanted to send Anzai-san back before these guys found us… They came at a bad time.
Yuma bit his lower lip, thinking that he could have managed somehow if he were alone.
“W-we evacuated from Newcastle. We heard that Canberra was being protected by Seekers.”
Anzai was explaining in English. He didn’t understand what she was saying, but she was probably making excuses to get out of this situation.
Fighting here might involve Anzai.
Thinking so, Yuma decided to watch silently. After Anzai finished speaking, the Seeker nodded and looked at Yuma’s face.
“I see. I’ll guide you to a facility in this city.”