kscans

Chapter 260 - The Capture Operation Begins

The battle between the Mantis and us began.

...Normally, we could hunt it without any trouble. But this time, it was a live capture. And we had to capture it unharmed.

"This is going to be tough. Be careful," I said.

The four of them nodded.

...The five of us surrounded the Mantis in a circle. The Mantis looked around, trying to decide who to attack first. Not missing this opportunity,

Tina shouted, "Wind Shot!"

She fired a bullet of wind.

...Milfy and Matilda did the same. A simultaneous attack from three directions. The Mantis couldn’t dodge and was hit. The impact was only enough to throw it off balance.

Rumily and I closed in from the left and right at once.

But neither of us had weapons in our hands. They were too sharp.

I channeled magic into the gauntlets on my hands.

"Lightning Strike!"

I punched the Mantis with a fist of lightning.

...It was supposed to be just enough to paralyze it, but the power was tremendous and it froze the Mantis solid.

Rumily unleashed a wind bullet from close range. The Mantis was sent flying several meters.

It landed in the same spot without even having time to unfurl its wings. The Mantis collapsed and was twitching.

...While I had the chance, I used ‘Matter Conversion’ to create an iron cage from the earth. I then changed the iron into Mithril. Just as I opened the cage door to put it inside, the Mantis stood up. It was standing tall and seemed perfectly fine.

It hadn’t taken much damage. Well, we were holding back, so that was to be expected. Just as we were about to form the same formation, the Mantis charged at Milfy.

As expected, the same trick didn’t work twice.

Milfy reacted immediately without surprise. ...She fired a wind bullet. The Mantis exhaled a gust of wind from its mouth, canceling out the wind bullet. The Mantis, without losing momentum, was about to bring its large scythes down on Milfy.

But it was never brought down. Rumily, moving like the wind, closed in and fired a wind bullet from the side, throwing the Mantis off balance.

Milfy moved away from that spot. Matilda and Tina fired wind bullets, hitting the Mantis’s four legs. As the Mantis collapsed, I rushed over and unleashed a lightning strike.

A fierce jolt of electricity ran through it, and it twitched. We hurriedly carried the Mantis and put it inside the cage.

It was barely alive. Since we couldn’t have it dying, we gave it its food, meat and medicinal herbs. It didn’t feel like eating yet, but it probably would eventually.

We had successfully captured the Mantis.

After taking a break, we buried the bodies of the dead bandits and took their weapons as keepsakes. We had to take them as proof that we had defeated the bandits.

I said, "...I just thought of this, but can’t we just bring back a head or the body itself?"

Tina said, "That would only attract more monsters. They’re sensitive to smells. There are even monsters that eat rotten corpses. We just need to bring the weapons. After that, the guild will investigate to see if the bandits used them. I don’t know the details of the method, but they use magic stones to investigate or something. It seems to be a guild secret, so I don’t know the specifics."

A secret method, huh.

...Well, it’s only natural for them to have one or two of those. I made a further change to the cage and created a cart. I also made a cart for the keepsakes. The Mantis was heavier than I thought, and it was quite tough for one person to carry.

Rumily and Matilda lent a hand. I should have called Bardos for this.

Tina was pushing another cart. Milfy was on guard for the surroundings and followed behind us.

Evening.

...While we were transporting it, the Mantis woke up and started rampaging inside the cage, but the Mithril cage remained unscratched. Sensing this, it then tried to reach us with its large scythes. However, the cart was wide enough that it couldn’t reach us, so there was no problem.

...As if losing its patience, it released a gust of wind from its mouth. We couldn’t block it completely and got some scrapes on the parts not protected by our armor or robes. ...Was it generating a kamaitachi? I made another change to the cage, turning it into a box with small holes dotted all over it. I thought another gust of wind was coming.

But it came to us like a gentle breeze. That was a relief.

On our way, we finally arrived at the city.

Since it would be a hassle if the soldiers found us, I told the three of them that Tina and I would take a detour to my house.

Milfy said, "...Understood. We’ll report to the guild about the bandits’ belongings. You two, please deliver that to those people."

She bowed once and headed towards the city with the cart.

We headed home. When we arrived, we teleported the cart and all onto the magic circle.

Earth.

Night. My house.

...It was pitch black outside with no lights at all. I turned on the lights in the house and made a phone call.

After a few rings,

"...Yes, Kuroda speaking. How may I help you?"

To the customer-service-mode Kuroda, I said, "...Mr. Kuroda, it’s Kaikawa. I’ve procured the item. Can you come over soon?"

Kuroda said, "Of course. I’ve made arrangements so that we can go as soon as we hear from Kaikawa-san. Please wait a moment."

The call ended.

...As expected, I was impressed.

Twenty minutes later.

I heard the sound of several engines. That was fast. We went to the entrance to greet them.

Three vans, one truck... and a Rolls-Royce. Several dozen men in black suits came out, armed. Were they here for a fight? ...We were also still in our armor and armed as a countermeasure against the Mantis.

As we went on alert, Kuroda appeared.

"Please calm down. These men are armed for the Mantis. ...So? Where is the Mantis?"

I led him to the garden.

...I changed the holed cage back to a normal cage. Seeing the giant mantis, the men in black all raised their weapons at once. The Mantis remained unfazed and glared at them. The men in black flinched.

Well, that was to be expected. A monster like this. It was impossible to see it alive. Unlike the Reverse Slime, this one was 100% harmful.

Seeing the Mantis, Kuroda said, "...Wonderful!! To think you would actually capture such a monster for us! You have truly answered our unreasonable request!! Thank you."

He was moved.

I said, "...Let me tell you, a cage prepared by you guys will never hold this thing. I’ll go with you to the research facility and prepare the Mithril."

To this, Kuroda said, "That would be very helpful for us, but... um, are you angry?"

To Kuroda, who was trying to read my expression, I said, "Of course I’m angry. ...But I’d feel sick to my stomach if innocent people got involved because of that. So I’ll help with the cage to put this thing in. ...But after that, you’re on your own."

I said it a bit forcefully.

...In other words, I was telling him that from then on, it was their responsibility. Kuroda nodded. We got into the car.

Three hours later.

We arrived at our destination.

...A research facility a little ways from the city. It had the atmosphere of a place where shady research was being conducted. The truck went into the basement of the facility. We entered through the entrance.

In a word, it was a drab place. There was no unnecessary luggage or tools, only the necessary items were placed there. The researchers who passed by were looking not so much at Kuroda and his men, but at me and Tina.

Were outsiders rare? Just as I was thinking that, Kuroda said, "They’re just looking because your attire is anachronistic."

He had read my mind.

...It was true. Anyone would turn their head if they saw someone in armor in modern times. I stopped caring.

And then, we entered a room with a large door.

There, old men and young people were looking at a large window. I followed Kuroda to take a look. It was a large space, big enough for a hundred people to enter without any problem. In the center was only the Mantis in its cage.

Kuroda said, "...Kaikawa-san. Could you open that cage now?"

After thinking for a moment, I said, "...Can I assume you’ve taken measures other than Mithril?"

To my confirmation, Kuroda said, "...Yes, a high-voltage current is flowing through this entire wall. No matter how much of a monster it is, it won’t be a match for electricity. ...In the unlikely event, please take care of it."

He said the last part in a low voice.

I understood Kuroda’s thinking, but I asked, "...Tina, is the Mantis weak to electricity, to lightning?"

To this, Tina said, "I’ve heard that its weakness is fire magic, but a bonfire-level fire won’t work. It needs a considerable amount of firepower."

She explained.

Before I could say anything, a young researcher said, "You guys, hurry up. We’ve taken precious time out of our schedules to be here. What are you so afraid of with a mere insect like that?"

He was mocking us.

The other young people were also smirking.

I said, "...Is that so? Then, Mr. Kuroda. I’m opening the cage."

Kuroda bowed and said, "Please do."

I left the room and headed to the room where the Mantis was.

I approached the cage and changed the Mithril back to iron with my hand.

I said, "...Now it’s a cage that even you can cut. I don’t know if you can understand my words, though."

With that, I took some distance.

The Mantis swung its large scythes as if to test it. The cage was easily cut.

From the speaker, Kuroda said, "...Please get away from there. We’re releasing the high-voltage current."

I immediately flew back to the door and retreated.

...Then, as if lightning had struck from above, electricity ran through the room. The vertical electricity was like a cage of lightning.

When the Mantis came out of the cage, it was looking not at me, but at the people by the window.

It seemed to have thought that they would be easier to deal with than me. The Mantis spread its wings and flew.

...The Mantis headed straight for them. ...The spectators were impressed but didn’t move. They trusted the cage of lightning.

However, that was an illusion.

The Mantis made contact with the cage of lightning without a care. ...It stopped moving for a moment.

But the next moment,

...It passed through without any trouble.

So that much was only enough to slow it down. The spectators were understandably shaken by the approaching Mantis. But they still didn’t run. Was it because that window was made of reinforced glass?

..Fools. Weren’t they watching? I immediately went through the door and decided to go back.

..The Mantis reached the window, slashed it three times, and shattered it.