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Nakano Village, which had been so lively, was now as quiet as a ruin.
The evacuation of almost all residents, both human and beast, has just been completed. By now, they should be heading north into the territory of Nerima Tribe, led by Kumagai and the security team.
“–Where is that guy who gathered us all together? That terrorist who wants to be in charge?” (Wanda)
Diana said irritably. About 30 people who are still in the village are gathered in front of the town hall. Tamiko and Kinami are the only carbuncles.
“I think he’s up there.” (Shuu)
“Up?” (Wanda)
When I pointed my finger above my head, the man’s figure comes into view. The fake Tsuruhashi, covered in glittering spores, slowly descends from the shadow of the Sacred Tree.
“Oh, excuse me, excuse me. It took me a while to get a signal.” (Tsuruhashi)
“Signal?” (Wanda)
“You can ignore all of his gibberish, Ms. Diana.” (Shuu)
The fake Tsuruhashi landed on the ground with a thud and stared around at everyone in the room with annoyed or disinterested gaze.
“Twenty-somethings, including that three and that one. It’s reassuring because we’re going to fight an army of tens of thousands of beasts.” (Tsuruhashi)
The hunters were me, Noa, Aomoto, Kure, Yoshitsune, Giran, Hakuou, and Dignified Fungal Balls. There are five people in the village, including Diana and Sudou (one-armed, how is he here). And the fake Tsuruhashi of the “Cross Border Brigade”, “Spooky”, Kawataro and Toroko. The three would be Tamiko, Kinami, and Kaeru, and the one would be Suzuki.
All the combatants who were below level 30 were escorted by the refugees. The two surviving boys from the village of Hikifune, Isaki and Kohada, were said to be among them, along with the younger members of the security team.
“Abeshu, Loli Hag is not here, squeak.” (Tamiko)
“Ah… she said something like, ‘I’m done with my work! I’ll be right back!’ and went somewhere…” (Shuu)
I half doubted the possibility that she would vanish just like that. I’m not going to blame her for that, though. But she left behind sister Hakuou, who looks grumpy.
“My ‘eyes’ confirmed the collapse of Shinjuku Metro and the appearance of a gigantic creature. It’s moving slowly, cleaving the trees and kicking up a cloud of dust, straight at us.” (Tsuruhashi)
“What do you mean by ‘eyes’?” (Shuu)
“There’s a lot of things to do when you’re my age. Shall I show you guys too?” (Tsuruhashi)
When the fake Tsuruhashi swings his arms, he scatters spores. They stayed in the air and gathered into a rectangle.
“This is……” (Shuu)
As the surroundings became noisy, I noticed. this is a screen, a pure white screen projected directly into the air like in science fiction.
And then it suddenly changes color. Green and blue, forest and sky. The screen, or rather the projected image, is shaking slightly.
A small speck of dust appears at the edge of the screen and gradually becomes larger and closer.
“Is this a monster movie…” (Shuu)
We can see that a huge creature is approaching, but we cannot see it clearly.
Then, suddenly, it goes dark.
After a few seconds, it returns to the previous white screen. The video seems to have ended.
“This is the last image captured by my ‘eyes’. (Tsuruhashi)
“I didn’t know a Fungal Skill that could do that.” (Shuu)
“I’m special. I’m proud to have the highest number of Fungal Skills among all ‘Master Threadweavers’ up to the present, you know? I have about ten times the official number.” (Tsuruhashi)
I remember that Noa had told me long ago about a “Master Threadweaver” with twenty-six Fungal Skills. If that is true about Tsuruhashi Minato, and if it is true that it is ten times that number, then…
“That figure you just saw, that’s Watanabe… that’s him, no doubt about it.” (Suzuki)
Suzuki murmured, and the fake Tsuruhashi grinned.
“Wasn’t that just some hoax?” said Diana.
“It’s fun for you guys to tease rubes, but at least you know the TPO. At that pace, it’ll take about two or three hours to get here. So, let’s have a strategy meeting, alright?” (Tsuruhashi)
“I think some of you here already know—” (Suzuki)
Suzuki begins to speak.
“Thirty years ago, I fought Watanabe and was defeated. Although I approached his main body, I barely escaped with my life and fled to this land. It was the carbuncles of this village who took care of me and sheltered me after I was wounded.” (Suzuki)
I had also heard this story on the way to the surface. It seems that her fluff-mania started from there. Aomoto nodded with eyes downcast.
“If I had been eaten then, this country would have ended at that point. The only reason he stopped being a shut-in this time is because he found out the little governor was preparing for war, and now that he’s out in the open for the first time in half a century, he’s lucky enough to know where to find the best meal he missed all those years ago.” (Suzuki)
“If the Sect Leader is what they are after—” said Diana. “Isn’t it better to hide yourself again?”
“It’s not a bad proposal, but there are two reasons why it’s not good. One is the smell of that guy that permeated the old beast hag. You killed that Avatar, right?” (Tsuruhashi)
“Smell?” (Suzuki)
Suzuki sniffs her own body.
“I took a good bath and washed it off. Or rather if you call me old hag again, I’ll cut you into pieces.” (Suzuki)
“Oh scary. I only know a little bit, but you’re clearly marked. This time, the Family, they’ll chase you to the ends of the earth.” (Tsuruhasi)
I asked, “What about the main body?”
“If… If they know that Suzuki has escaped, he’d rather have a snack nearby than a treat far away. He’ll be hitting the neighborhood to satisfy his hunger. If you don’t mind the quality of the food, there’s plenty to choose from.” (Tsuruhashi)
“…Everyone in the village is heading to Nerima…!” (Diana)
Diana said in a hushed voice and clenched her fists.
“If the victory condition of the war is ‘If humanity survives even a little bit, we will win’, then that would be the second-best plan. While he’s out there snacking on the small fries, we can gather all the forces in the country and fight an all-out war. If we can do it before he eats a big fish like Suzuki, we have a chance to win. If you have a hobby that allows you to leave hundreds of thousands of corpses, that is not the way to go.” (Tsuruhashi)
“That’s horrible.” (Shuu)
“If that’s the case– we’ll just have to make do with those here. Before I or Plain Face or Suzuki gets eaten, buy some time until the Tokyo Governor Shorty and Nerima’s Old Hag come as reinforcement. Kill that big guy with all the Master Threadweavers… that’s our victory condition.” (Tsuruhashi)
“Are reinforcements even coming?” said Yoshitsune. “If they knew that such a monster appeared on the surface, wouldn’t any tribe prioritize the defense of their own territory?”
“I’m sure Meguro and Nerima would. But Shorty and Old Hag are both raccoon dogs that have been in power for close to a hundred years. They can’t possibly have read this war situation poorly, and they’ll come around, even if it’s only for their own.” (Tsuruhashi)
“Yes, question,” I said. “All ‘Master Threadweaver’, what about Shoumon of the Metro Church?”
“That guy is hard to understand, squeak,” said Tamiko.
“Eh?” (Shuu)
“He was very weak. He was a small fry, about level 20 or so, squeak.” (Tamiko)
“Seriously? That’s new.” (Shuu)
“At the opening ceremony of the Grand Tournament–” said Noa. “Sis said something like, ‘It’s strange that he’s a big fish, but his level is too low.’ At that time, I wondered if she was mistaken, or because he was a ‘Master Threadweaver,’ he was using something to fake his level.”
The fake Tsuruhashi laughs.
“It’s a cheat, isn’t it? [Discovery]. The eyes of the furball over there are correct, the Shoumon that was there was just a small fry.” (Tsuruhashi)
“The Shoumon who was there… you mean–” (Shuu)
My spine shivered, and I turned around. The little girl—Toroko had a crazy look on her face, as if she could pull out a knife right now. Kawataro, who is next to her, gently holds her back and says, “It’s nothing. Can we continue with the talk?”
“It doesn’t matter especially with the time needed to reveal the truth, it’s not enough. Anyway, all I can say is that Shoumon won’t come to our aid, and he’s not on our side. The only people we can rely on are Shorty and Old Hag, and I don’t like to rely on people who aren’t those.” (Tsuruhashi)
“I see, then I have a question too,” said Kure. “I understand that this battle will affect the survival of the country. How exactly do you plan to fight?”
“That’s a good question, Handsome Macho. Next, let’s discuss our respective strengths. I mean, you guys, come up with a good plan.” (Tsuruhashi)
The earth’s rumbling is gradually getting louder and louder. The ground shakes, the dust dances in the wind, and the smell of some slimy beast wafted.
“…It’s coming.” (Shuu)
The others and I are standing on the outskirts of the village. It’s at the entrance of the village down the slope of the crater.
Looking up, they could see the edge of the crater was thick with dense dust, rattling rocks crumbling and tumbling down.
And then,
“That……” (Shuu)
A huge indescribable creature appears.
At At first glance, it looks like an elephant’s head. Its long, thick snout undulates, its floppy ears flare out to the left and right, and its mouth is split open at the cheeks.
But–suddenly–the torso stood up with a slimy belly like a slug. Countless tentacles undulate left and right like limbs.
“This guy is… ‘Omnipotent Elephant’–” (Shuu)
“Buuuuaaaaaaaaa!!!” (Watanabe)
A deafening roar came from the gaping mouth. With just that, a shockwave hit my whole body, and the fence surrounding the village shakes and falls.
“…It’s been 30 years, Suzuki.” (Watanabe)
The tone is smooth and stern, not unlike that of the owner of the savage roar that just came out.
“As usual, only your body is huge, Watanabe.” (Suzuki)
Suzuki spoke at a normal volume, but Watanabe seemed to hear her. He was smiling with his eyes narrowed.
“Let’s see the continuation of that day’s unfulfilled dream. Become one with my soul and purify this world.” (Watanabe)
“Shut up, you nitwit. If you want to dream, I’ll put you to sleep, here today, forever.” (Suzuki)
“…So sad. I will strip you of your foolish body that refuses me and free your soul.” (Watanabe)
The tentacle breaks off and falls to the ground.
They wriggled like a fish on land, and then they changed their shape, a human-like visage. Is it the “Conductor”?
“Yes, yes…” (Watanabe)
The tentacles fell one after another. They become a “Conductor”, another beast, and then tentacles regenerate from Watanabe’s body. The army of deformed creatures swelled up in no time at all.
“There are probably tens of thousands of them, huh? Nobody will find it lacking.” (Tsuruhashi)
The fake Tsuruhashi’s smile looks more like a look of dismay or stubbornness than a look of composure.
“On the other hand, one… three people?” (Watanabe)
Only me, Fake Tsuruhashi, and Suzuki were lined up here. Everyone else – they’re on their own.
“Three people? You must be insane, who do you think I am?” (Tsuruhashi)
The fake Tsuruhashi spreads his hands.
On his hand, on the arms. Like nasty tumors, blue balls of hypha rise to the surface.
“No need to be stingy, it’s a big show.” (Tsuruhashi)
When he waved his arms, the hypha balls scattered. When they fell to the ground, they sprouted and transformed into blue-black beasts.
“…I have no choice but to do it.” (Shuu)
I closed my eyes for a moment and thought. Two pairs of hypha arms from my back, and a sword and a shield in each hand.
When I grasped the rugged weapon I was familiar with, my resolve strangely hardened.
A battle that cannot be avoided, for the survival of a country. Even so, I have to do what I can. As usual.
“No bullying.” (Shuu)
“Seriously? I’d hate it if you killed me.” (Suzuki)
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