Chapter 4: On the Verge of Explosion
The Crimson Knight neutralized Akatsuki, and everyone in the venue was saved. The venue, which had been floating in mid-air, had also descended to the ground, so there was no fear of falling.
However, the internet was still down, and they couldn’t ascertain the situation outside. Unable to contact their families, friends, and acquaintances outside, many people were bewildered.
Kazuma was no different.
“Mmm… My phone won’t connect.”
“It’s probably impossible right now.”
Souji approached Kazuma, who was grumbling while fiddling with his phone. Incidentally, the Crimson Knight was standing behind Kazuma. Most of the students were intimidated by the silently standing Crimson Knight and didn’t try to get close.
He wasn’t an enemy, but his bright red armor and towering, colossal figure exuded an incredible sense of intimidation. Because of that, the students didn’t know how to interact with him.
However, Souji approached him without hesitation. Having seen him save Kazuma, Souji was convinced he wasn’t an enemy and definitely not a villain.
Well, if they knew that there was actually nothing inside and it was just a doll, they would undoubtedly be surprised. Moreover, it would be quite a sight to see their reactions if they found out Kazuma was the one controlling it.
“Can’t we use, like, a temporary line or something?”
“Even if there were, it would only be for special people like the government or military, not us ordinary folk.”
“Ah, right… But what should we do?”
“More importantly, what are you going to do about him?”
Souji pointed at Akatsuki, who was unconscious at Kazuma’s feet. He was the root cause of this incident. Souji thought they might find some clues if they questioned Akatsuki.
“Hmm… I don’t think there’s any point in asking Akatsuki. I talked to him in mid-air earlier, but he wasn’t in his right mind.”
“Is that so? Then there’s no point in waking him up, huh…”
“For now, should we go outside the venue and check the situation?”
“My companions have already gone to check.”
“You guys work fast, huh~”
“Well, if the information on the net is true, there are probably Ibinom swarming outside.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? Are they going to be okay?”
“I told them to come back immediately if they thought it was dangerous, so they’ll be fine. More importantly, I have something to ask your Crimson Knight-san over there.”
Souji singled out the Crimson Knight standing silently behind Kazuma. He was the only one who could break this deadlock. He had crushed the Humanoid Ibinom with overwhelming strength and had just instantly defeated Akatsuki.
The Crimson Knight could probably do something about it. No matter the situation, he possessed enough power to turn things around single-handedly.
“You’re right. I’ll ask him.”
Saying so, Kazuma turned to the Crimson Knight and spoke to him. It was just a one-man show.
The Crimson Knight was a golem controlled by Kazuma, so it would readily obey his commands. In fact, since it was synchronized with Kazuma, he could move it freely as he pleased.
“Excuse me. Could you please go and check on the situation outside?”
Following Kazuma’s words, the Crimson Knight nodded. The people around who saw this were dumbfounded, wondering why it was readily listening to what Kazuma said.
Just as the Crimson Knight was about to take off, the students Souji had sent outside returned. They were out of breath, their shoulders heaving, clearly having rushed back. There was undoubtedly something urgent they needed to report.
“How was it outside?”
When Souji called out to the returning students, they desperately conveyed the situation outside while gasping for breath.
“It’s the worst…! Pant, pant…! There’s an unprecedented number of Ibinom in the city!”
Many students were shaken by their words. The information they had seen on the net earlier was not a lie. As they wondered how to deal with this desperate situation, they remembered the Crimson Knight was here.
The students who recalled this all turned their faces towards the Crimson Knight at once. Kazuma, being synchronized with him, noticed he was being watched and wondered what to do, but since he was also in trouble, he decided to annihilate the Ibinom outside.
Once decided, the Crimson Knight immediately took action and flew towards the city.
“Alright, let’s get moving too.”
“What do you mean, Souji-senpai?”
“We’re going to gather the Gifted who can fight and solidify the defenses here. Eventually, the Ibinom will probably swarm this place too.”
“But there are quite a few guards here, aren’t there?”
“It’s to prepare for emergencies. Besides, we’ve trained for times like these.”
“Oh! That’s right! You’re absolutely correct, senpai!”
And so, the representative players from the first to eighth academies for the Academy Battle Tournament hastily formed teams and took on the duty of guarding the venue.
There were many Gifted in the venue, but most of them had left, worried about their families, friends, and acquaintances.
However, most of the remaining audience members were people without the power to fight. They couldn’t move, thinking they might be attacked by Ibinom and die if they left.
To protect these people, the students voluntarily took on guard duties.
If possible, they would have liked the Crimson Knight to stay, but he was a powerful individual who had overwhelmed the Humanoid Ibinom that no one else could defeat. It would be too much of a waste to tie him down here.
He could surely save many people. Those who understood this said nothing to complain.
Meanwhile, Kazuma was trying to contact Honoka on his phone. But, as expected, the phone wouldn’t connect. He had carved a Magic Circle into Ivy, turning it into an invincible fortress, so he felt some reassurance, but it was meaningless if she wasn’t inside.
If Honoka had gone outside to help someone, her safety couldn’t be guaranteed. This was because Kazuma had given Talismans only to his friends.
He had given them out just in case, but he never imagined a situation like this would occur. Overcome with anxiety, Kazuma tried calling many times, but there was no signal, and he ultimately couldn’t get through.
“No good, huh…”
Just as Kazuma was about to give up, thinking all he could do was pray for her safety, his phone rang. Kazuma hurriedly answered the call to check on her.
“Hello, Mom! Are you okay over there!?”
“Kazuma-kun!”
“Hinata-san!?”
Kazuma, who hadn’t properly checked who the caller was, let out a surprised voice.
“It’s terrible! Honoka-san went to Nanami-san’s place—”
And then, the call cut off.
That alone was enough. Why the call had connected didn’t matter.
Right now, the information that Honoka had gone to Nanami’s place was more important than anything else.
“Phew…”
Kazuma let out a deep breath, confirmed that no one was around, and instantly moved to Ivy using Teleportation Magic.
Arriving in the courtyard, Kazuma saw Ibinom corpses strewn around Ivy and ground his teeth. It seemed Ibinom had come here as well.
Learning this, Kazuma desperately suppressed the rage that threatened to overwhelm him and headed towards Hinata.
“Hinata-san!”
“Eh!? K-Kazuma-kun!? Huh? Weren’t you supposed to be in the First Area?”
“That doesn’t matter right now! Where’s Mom?”
“Ah! Like I said earlier, we couldn’t get in touch with Nanami-san, so Honoka-san went to get her!”
“Understood! That’s all I need to know!”
“Wait, Kazuma-kun! It’s dangerous outside!”
Hinata, chasing after Kazuma to stop him as he dashed outside, saw him fly into the sky and her mouth fell open in a daze.
“Huh…? No way…?”
Kazuma used light magic to refract light and conceal his form, then searched for Honoka from the sky. Having heard she went to Nanami’s place, Kazuma headed towards the apartment building where his older sister, Nanami, lived.
“Where is she…?! Where are they?!”
If this were the other world, he could search for them using mana, but unfortunately, there were no creatures in this world that possessed mana. Because of that, he had no choice but to search with his eyes. He desperately scanned the city from the sky, searching for Honoka and Nanami.
“Please…! Be safe…!”
Right now, all he could do was pray for their safety. Kazuma offered a prayer to a god he didn’t even believe existed, wishing for the two of them to be safe.