kscans

Chapter 201 - Interlude: Another Unlucky Day

Side: None

In Tokyo, in a location outside the 23 wards.

Farmland that had once been meticulously maintained was now overgrown with weeds.

There was no one left in this land to cut those weeds. The houses that were once dotted here and there showed no signs of life; instead, numerous trucks came and went on the narrow roads.

This was the land that had become the epicenter of the ‘Tokyo Incident,’ where giant footprints remained everywhere. A Dungeon Store was currently under construction, encircling the gate.

Access was poor, to say the least, so the construction was not progressing well. This was also a consequence of allocating too much personnel to the damaged wards.

Still, the Self-Defense Force was conducting surveillance and thinning out the monsters. While the exterior was under construction, they were also building a structure identical to an outpost around the exit inside.

Therefore, it was inevitable that they noticed the change.

As the foundation and pillars were completed and they were beginning to install the walls, a Self-Defense Force member came rushing out of the white gate in a panic.

"What is it?! What happened!"

The guard stationed in front of the gate approached the soldier, who was on his knees, gasping for breath.

The soldier’s head shot up.

"It’s-it’s terrible! A dragon! A dragon!"

"Fafnir? Don’t tell me, that fused individual—"

"No! Fafnir was eaten by a ‘red dragon’!"

"...Huh?"

The phenomenon of multiple boss monsters fusing, which occurred during the Tokyo Incident, had been witnessed.

But that didn’t mean the ‘type’ of monster would increase. Although the number of monsters inside a dungeon could increase, the appearance of a different monster had been unheard of until now.

The guard, stunned by the unexpected words, had his radio snatched away by the soldier who had escaped the gate.

"This is the ‘Giant Dungeon’! A red dragon has broken through a collapsed section of the dungeon and entered! I repeat, a red dragon has entered through a collapsed section of the dungeon! It’s fighting the giants and Fafnir inside! That monster, it’s eating the other monsters!"

That report, almost a scream, shattered the common sense the Self-Defense Force had updated over the past two years and several months.

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At the same time, in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo.

A large-scale demonstration was currently underway in front of the National Diet Building.

"The government needs to put more effort into dungeon countermeasures!"

"You murderers! My daughter died because of you!"

"We won’t forgive a government that has been blinded by dungeon profits and has neglected cooperation with other countries!"

"Lives over drop items! The lives of the Japanese people over land in another world!"

There had been similar demonstrations before, but this time the number of participants was an order of magnitude larger.

The police were trying to respond, but they were short-staffed and couldn’t keep up. For the time being, order seemed to be maintained, and the demonstrators had not resorted to any criminal acts.

A single car drove past the scene.

"What a commotion. There are more people than usual."

Inside were Director Akasaka, who had been attending a briefing with the Prime Minister at the Kantei, and two of his subordinates.

"Well, it hasn’t been long since the Tokyo Incident. Even if the roads and buildings can be repaired, the lives that were lost can’t be brought back..."

"That might be part of it, but something seems off."

Satou Kenji, a male employee sitting next to him, was tapping away at a tablet screen.

"It seems like foreign influencers instigated this demonstration."

"...What?"

"I’m checking the posts, and there are a lot of ‘shills.’ To go to this much trouble to organize a demonstration, they must have some kind of goal."

"..."

"Could it be the work of foreign powers who want to get involved with the dungeons and the other world?"

The other subordinate, who was driving, joined the conversation.

He had been stopped at a red light, and although he still held the steering wheel, his gaze was directed at Akasaka and the others through the rearview mirror.

"From what I overheard, their main demand seems to be to allow foreign militaries to participate in thinning out dungeons and preventing stampedes."

"Ah, that’s possible. As expected of Takeuchi-san, sharp mind despite your tough exterior."

"The tough part was unnecessary. And besides, you used to be a baseball kid, right? From a powerhouse school that always went to Koshien, no less."

"I retired after injuring my knee, and I was on the bench the whole time anyway. Man, it’s still hot, but to be outside in this..."

"I’m getting out of the car."

"Huh?"

Akasaka unbuckled his seatbelt and picked up his bag, earning dumbfounded responses from his subordinates.

"Satou and Takeuchi, park the car at a suitable convenience store and get out. Do not, under any circumstances, get back in this car until you hear from me or Saejima-kun."

"Uh, D-Director?"

"I’ll take a taxi back to the joint government building. This is just a hunch, but—"

Cold sweat trickled down his cheek as he spoke to his bewildered subordinates.

"Someone is trying to do something in this city. The target is likely me, or the ministers at the Kantei. But employees of the Dungeon Agency might be targeted, so be careful."

"What are you—"

"Tell the other employees as well. And tell them not to act alone. Got it!"

"Director? Wait, Director!"

After rattling off the instructions, Director Akasaka unlocked the door and stepped out of the car.

Without a glance back at his stunned subordinates, he moved from the road to the sidewalk and began walking with long strides.

Even on a weekday, the 23 wards should normally be crowded everywhere. However, due to the Tokyo Incident, the number of people out and about had temporarily decreased significantly.

As the shouts of the demonstrators echoed from a distance, Akasaka walked on in silence, his strides long. At the same time, he took out his phone from his pocket and began sending emails to every reliable person he could think of.

Just then, a figure approached him from the front.

Akasaka put away his phone and saw an old man walking at a leisurely pace. He was a stooped-over old man you could find anywhere.

As Director Akasaka tried to quickly pass him, the old man suddenly stumbled and leaned towards him.

———CRACK!

A sound like a whip hitting the ground echoed through the area.

A translucent barrier had appeared between Director Akasaka and the old man. It had stopped a thrusting knife.

"As expected, you’d be prepared for something like this."

"Kuh!"

A raspy, alcohol-soaked voice came from the old man’s mouth.

Director Akasaka, letting a shattered egg-shaped magic tool fall from his suit pocket, broke into a full sprint.

The old man—no.

The black-haired man, who had removed the mask-shaped magic tool from his face and returned to his original physique, gave a wry smile.

"Guess I can’t just pass this off as a random street attack, huh. Oh well... I really took on an impossible mission."

George. He had discarded his last name long ago; he was just George.

He was an ‘Awakened ex-soldier’ entrusted with guarding the most important section of Doctor Tesla’s research facility, and he had been ordered to retrieve his research data.

With an exaggerated shrug, he deployed his Arcane Gear.

From the top of his head to the tips of his toes, he was clad in gray armor. There was nothing that could be called ornamentation, and the two-meter-long spear he held was a plain black. He had two daggers at his waist, but they were similarly unadorned.

It was equipment designed purely for practicality, a stark contrast to George’s personality, which enjoyed the ‘hunt.’

"Well then, guess it’s ‘Plan B’... Time to get a little flashy!"

George accelerated, shattering the asphalt beneath his feet.

If he were an adventurer, his rank would be ‘B.’ He reached top speed with his first step, pursuing Director Akasaka at 200 kilometers per hour.

The distance closed in a literal instant. From a speed difference that an ordinary person could never overcome, a thrust that could pierce even a tank lunged at Director Akasaka.

However, it was blocked with a hard clang.

"You had another one!"

"You...!"

Akasaka had managed to pull out a spare magic tool from his bag at the last second. But that one blow had broken the second one as well.

Stumbling from the shockwave of the shattered barrier, he threw his bag at George.

Instantly, the bag exploded, and a box-shaped barrier appeared. It deployed around George, becoming a makeshift cage.

"What the hell, I heard the Dungeon Agency was broke!"

"It’s my own money!" Akasaka replied curtly as he ran with all his might.

Staring at his back, George slammed his spear into the barrier. One, two blows from the spearhead created large cracks in the barrier.

On the fifth impact, the barrier finally shattered, and at the same time, his feet kicked off the ground.

The few seconds of delay were nowhere near enough for Akasaka to shake him. An ordinary person and a high-ranking Awakened Person were fundamentally different creatures.

The black spear was about to pierce the now-empty-handed director—or it should have.

"Whoa!?"

George leaped to avoid a car that had swerved onto the sidewalk. With a loud screech of brakes, the car stopped next to Director Akasaka, and the door flew open.

"Director!"

"What?"

Satou grabbed Director Akasaka by the collar and used his entire body weight to drag him inside.

The instant he saw this, Takeuchi floored it without even closing the door. The door slammed into the curb on the side of the sidewalk and was torn off with a jarring sound.

"Oh crap, I just drove onto the sidewalk...! Is this legal?!"

"What are you two doing! You’ll get caught up in this if you’re with me!?"

"We can’t just leave you, sir!"

"Exactly, and—he’s coming after us!"

Seeing the gray armor in the rearview mirror relentlessly pursuing the car, Takeuchi screamed and slammed his foot on the accelerator.

Despite this, the distance between them shortened, and Satou pushed Director Akasaka aside to move towards the broken door.

He grabbed the back of the passenger seat with his left hand and swung his right hand behind him.

"Take... this!"

"Tch!"

The moment George instinctively swatted away the thrown object with his spear, a flash of light burned his eyes.

"It hit!"

"Nice job, Koshien kid!"

"Former, and I was on the bench!"

As his subordinate pumped his fist, Akasaka yelled at him.

"You idiot! A high-level Awakened Person won’t be stopped by something like that—"

Before he could finish his words, the car shook violently.

The moment Akasaka grabbed onto Satou, who was about to be thrown out of the car, their vision spun 180 degrees.

"Oh, ahhhhhh!?"

"Guh...!"

Amidst their screams, the overturned car skidded down the road on its roof.

Akasaka staggered out of the car after it had slid for about thirty meters.

A glance at the vehicle revealed that the right rear wheel was completely gone. The axle was bent, suggesting it had been forcibly destroyed with great strength.

And the superhuman who had done it with his bare hands was now running towards him, spear in hand.

Akasaka tried to run, but against his will, his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. An ordinary human body is not as durable as an Awakened Person’s.

"That was kinda fun, Akasaka-san!"

The black spear thrust out by the charging George. Feeling it in slow motion, Akasaka simply glared at his opponent.

As their gazes of elation and resolve crossed, the merciless blade dug into his chest.

George leaped back with all his might, which prevented it from reaching his heart.

"What the hell! I keep getting interrupted right at the last second!"

He shouted, glaring at the spot where he had just been.

Something long and thin was sticking out of the ground there.

It was something like a flesh-colored rope, with a sharp, metallic tip. Only when it was pulled back into a ‘mouth’ did it become clear that it was a tongue.

With a thud, a grotesque figure landed, crushing the guardrail on the side of the road.

"A mon...ster...?"

Director Akasaka tilted his head at the sight.

It had a filthy physique, as if smeared with sludge. It was over three meters tall, with a powerful frame.

Sharp claws grew from its thick, log-like limbs, and bones resembling fox ears protruded from its head. A long, spear-like bone tail also extended from its lower back.

The monster, which had no eyes or nose, twitched its beast-ear-shaped bones and turned its body towards George.

"Hey, hey. Don’t tell me that’s your pet, Akasaka-san."

Immediately after, the bone tail pierced the Dungeon Agency’s car. The impact and destructive force, which shattered the front wheel, elicited pathetic screams from inside the car.

"My bad. Seems I was wrong. This country never gets boring, does it?"

George let out a small whistle and readied his spear, not letting his guard down.

In response, the mysterious monster, judging him to be a threat, lowered its posture and clacked its long, sharp claws.

Just as Akasaka decided to escape, his legs still refused to cooperate. In that instant, the bone tail passed over his head.

It seemed that monster had no intention of letting its ‘prey’ in the rear escape either. What a greedy creature, Director Akasaka thought with a wry smile.

"Found him, over there!"

"Hey, the car’s overturned!"

"This is bad!"

Just as familiar voices reached his ears, four young people stood between the vehicle and the monster.

"Are you okay— Akasaka-san?!"

"Hello. Fancy meeting you here, Yamashita-san."

The cat-eared young man did a double-take at Akasaka, who gave a small wave with a wry smile.

"Let’s exchange information immediately. First, that gray-armored one is an assassin."

"Huh?"

"And that monster?"

Yamashita looked like a cat seeing the universe for a moment, but he too was an adventurer who had survived numerous deadly situations.

He felt like he was shedding more hair under his helmet, but he somehow managed to reply calmly.

"The sludge-covered monster is the handiwork of the Alchemy Enthusiasts Club."

"...They have... peculiar hobbies."

Akasaka’s expression also turned strange for a moment, but he managed to compose himself.

He felt like his stomach lining had been scraped away, but he willed the sensation away.

"We were supposed to release our mana in a trapped location to lure it out."

"But it responded to a denser source of mana and came here instead. Let’s hope that turns out to be a stroke of luck."

Attracted by the commotion, people in the distance screamed at the sight of the grotesque monster.

In Japan, with its frequent dungeon-related disasters, any witnesses who hadn’t fainted immediately ran for their lives.

But that distance was nothing to that monster or George. If either of them got serious, there would be double-digit corpses in an instant. If they actively attacked, the number of digits would undoubtedly increase by one or two.

The reason that hadn’t happened was solely due to the standoff between two powerful beings.

"Shaaa...!"

"Hah! Come on, you monster! I’m either ex-Green Beret, SAT, or Spetsnaz! If you guess right, I’ll take you to Hawaii! The answer button is my neck!"

The two slowly closed the distance. While their attention was on each other, they were also keeping an eye on Akasaka and the others. If they tried to escape, an attack would likely fly their way with top priority.

"...That man. Has he already given up on retreating...?"

Akasaka broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of George, who wouldn’t retreat a single step.

Just a few kilometers from the National Diet Building, the heart of politics. At the battle between inhuman beings that had broken out there, both the police and the Self-Defense Force were scrambling into action.

Those present at the scene would learn a little later that multiple ‘major incidents’ had struck Japan on this day.

But that, of course... was a story for the survivors.