Ever since his predecessor Imai told him that his uncle, Hanyu Yukiki, had left with the DRG, it had become a knot in his heart.
Hearing the word “DRG.”
That man, who had seemed as lifeless as ashes, trembled violently.
His fingers gripping the doorknob tightened instantly.
An indescribable aura erupted from him.
For a moment, Kazama Yin and Kagegaya Tsubaki even had the illusion that the man standing before them wasn’t a washed-up wreck.
But a lion, grievously wounded yet still capable of tearing out throats at any moment.
But it was only for a moment.
That aura dissipated rapidly, as if it had never been there.
The man lowered his gaze, his long bangs obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
“I don’t know.”
With those words, the man didn’t hesitate.
Bang!
The door was slammed shut heavily.
An awkward, dead silence fell over the living room.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
Amuro Funae quickly broke the silence, her face full of apology. “My brother… he’s been like this… since the year before last.”
“He used to… actually be very impressive.”
Amuro Funae looked at the closed door, a glimmer of tears flashing in her eyes. “But the person he’s waiting for… never came back.”
“And…”
She seemed to think of something, bit her lip, and didn’t continue.
“It’s… it’s okay.”
Hanyu Suoluo sat back down on the sofa, looking somewhat lost.
“Um… Miss Amuro, is your brother also a Superpower User?”
To ease the atmosphere, Kagegaya Tsubaki asked cautiously.
“Yes.”
Amuro Funae nodded, forcing a bitter smile at the corner of her mouth. “You could say so.”
“But now… superpowers are probably just a curse to him.”
By the time they left the Amuro residence, it was completely dark.
The streetlights stretched the shadows of the three of them very long.
“Hey, don’t you guys think…”
Kazama Yin looked back at the house that seemed especially lonely in the night. “That brother, even though he looks like a loser… feels kind of cool?”
“Huh? Kazama, has your sense of aesthetics broken down?” Kagegaya Tsubaki rolled her eyes. “Where is he cool? He’s clearly a shut-in, with hair so long he won’t cut it, looks gloomy.”
“No… I also think he’s not simple.”
Hanyu Suoluo, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. “Did you notice? Those materials in his room… some of them are even classified.”
“How could an ordinary shut-in get his hands on that stuff?”
“And…” Hanyu Suoluo’s mind flashed again with those golden eyes.
“He feels more dangerous to me than Teacher Endo.”
“How is that possible? That shut-in looks like he couldn’t even open a bottle cap.”
“Alright, alright, stop guessing.”
Kazama Yin stretched, crunching the lollipop in his mouth. “Stuck in the past and can’t move on… there are plenty of people like that in society. I really wish something could happen to cheer him up.”
“Like… GPRI coming back to life or something?”
“Shut your crow’s mouth!”
Kagegaya Tsubaki slapped him on the back. “The world has only been peaceful for a few days!”
The three of them roughhoused as they walked away, the laughter of youth echoing in the night.
And on the second floor of that dimly lit detached house.
The curtains moved slightly.
A pair of dull, lusterless Golden Eyes peered through the gap, quietly watching the backs of those vibrant young boys and girls receding into the distance.
Then, the gaze slowly shifted upward.
Looking at the pitch-black night sky.
To the southwest.
Even further southwest.
The young man withdrew his gaze, sat down on the tatami. The communicator on the small table flashed with a green light.
He took a deep breath and pressed the chipped button on the communicator’s base.
At the same time, the golden light in his eyes began to flicker. An intangible Domain began to emanate from him, spreading…
In the kitchen, Amuro Funae was organizing the supplies delivered by volunteers, her mood tinged with faint sorrow.
Continuing to spread, a metal parts factory worker passing by outside the detached house carried his dinner, feeling happy after getting off work.
Sugamo, at a detached house where a funeral for the original owner was being held, the heirs happy about inheriting the estate.
Mejiro…
The edge of the Domain lingered for a while over the now-ruined Mejirocho, then continued to expand rapidly.
Tokyo, Kanto, Japan…
The emotions of all sixty million people on this land were encompassed by the young man.
He just waited quietly like this, receiving the varied emotions of everyone, his hand pressed tightly on the button on the communicator base.
Suddenly, the young man sensed a large area of panic. He immediately spoke up: “34.66417530324956, 135.82009895562746.”
It was a set of latitude and longitude coordinates for Nara, Osaka.
“Received.” A woman’s voice came from the communicator.
Half an hour later, the fear subsided, and the woman’s voice came through the communicator again: “Target was a Devouring Body. Resolved.”
“Mm.”
The young man said nothing else, just lowered his face, his fallen hair blocking the golden light in his eyes, his hand still pressed hard on the button.
One hour… two hours…
He was like a lifeless statue, not moving at all.
Until the clock struck twelve, and the woman’s voice came from the communicator: “My shift is over. Thank you for your work.”
As usual, the young man said nothing, just waited for the line to switch, for the voice of the next dispatcher on duty.
But today, the woman’s voice didn’t disappear immediately. Instead, she continued: “Yuki… san? May I call you that?”
“Mm.”
“Well… we are all very grateful for your efforts, Yuki-san. But why… why do you refuse to use the subsidy bonus? Your younger sister must be having a hard time, right? Taking care of you…”
The young man didn’t speak, didn’t even move a muscle.
“And also, actually, Japan is quite peaceful now. The monitoring for Parasites is actually quite thorough. Monsters like the Bug God can also be handled by the grassroots patrols and volunteers.”
“You… you don’t need to stay by the communicator all day. It must be tiring… you could give yourself a break.”
The young man’s body trembled slightly. Then he slowly raised his head. “You mean… I’m useless?”
“Ah! I didn’t mean that! It’s just… it’s just that I’ve been working here for a year now, but I’ve never seen Yuki-san take a break… As a human, you definitely need to rest, right? Otherwise…”
“Shut up!”
From the bedroom came the sound of an emotionally uncontrolled shout.
Amuro Funae gripped the doorknob tightly, her hand trembling slightly. In the end, she still didn’t open the door.
Brother… has been a bit… depressed since the year before last.
The year before last…
To be precise, it was after seeing that news.
Amuro Funae could still recall that afternoon. Her brother, whose mental state was already not great, after seeing the news about “the corpse of the Pale Gray Witch being discovered”…
Brother had wanted to go abroad then, but Japan was still in its post-war development period at the time.
The threats of “Bug God Overflow” and “Dimensional Invasion” still existed.
After being persuaded by many people, including government officials… he ultimately stayed in Japan.
If back then, they had let brother leave Japan, would things have been different?
Inside the bedroom, the young man was panting heavily. Facing the communicator, the golden light kept extinguishing and reigniting. “I’m sorry… I lost my temper. What was your name again?”
“Ah… I was the one being rude. I should apologize.”
“But Yuki-san is so forgetful. I introduce myself every day when I start my shift. I’m Katase Moe.”
“Katase… I’m sorry.” The young man covered half his face, gradually calming down. “You’re right. It’s time… I should take a vacation.”
Click.
The button was released. The young man lay down on the tatami, his pure black long hair spread around him, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He slowly raised his hand, pulled out the Moon Pendant from inside his clothes.
The pendant was connected to a necklace hanging on him, the small silvery-white moon swaying gently.
He got up, took off the necklace, and placed it on the shelf of the bedside table, next to the incense.
“It’s time…”
…
“This is the price of the DRG’s rapid expansion. They ignited the flames of war in the name of the common anti-colonial cause of the African people.”
The history teacher tapped the holographic projection screen with a pointer and continued, “Although they contributed to the development of Central Africa, once war came, all the achievements turned into the current situation…”
“Students, we must be vigilant against war. All those who advocate for war are enemies of humankind!”
Hanyu Suoluo lowered his head, meticulously recording the textbook’s criticism of the DRG’s “military expansionism.”
“Why do we have to learn this in general studies class?!” Kagegaya Tsubaki wailed, slumping over the desk, spinning a ballpoint pen with her fingertip. “They don’t test on war criminal enterprises in the exams…”
“Shut up, idiot!”
Kazama Yin suddenly hissed in a low voice. The students in front turned around.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s precisely because the old government didn’t learn from history that it led to the Asian War! If back then they had been as crazy as the DRG… we would have been wiped out long ago!”
He suddenly fell silent—the teacher’s gaze had landed on him.
The dismissal bell saved the three from their suffocating feeling.
Walking at the back, Hanyu Suoluo suddenly grabbed the other two and pulled out his phone. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
The screen on the phone showed a mapping app, pinpointing a location labeled “Mejirocho Fortress Ruins.”
“I found this info on a niche forum that collects old internet data. These ruins are the former company site of the DRG Japan Branch.”
“Huh? That place… isn’t that the legendary EX-class Supernatural Disaster Containment Zone? Same level as Central Africa now.” Kagegaya Tsubaki gasped. “You want to go investigate? Are you crazy?”
Kazama Yin was slightly taken aback. “Suoluo, are you still looking for traces of your uncle?”
“Yeah, I am.”
Ever since learning that his uncle’s disappearance was related to the DRG, Hanyu Suoluo had been searching for information about the DRG.
But the old internet, damaged during the Millennium Event, was unusable. There was very little information about the Japan Branch on the newly established internet.
After all, only data downloaded to hard drives, and devices that weren’t connected to the network during the Millennium Event, survived.
And those hard drives didn’t necessarily contain DRG information.
Kazama Yin stroked the hilt of his Kendo Sword in silence for a long time. The scabbard suddenly clicked shut. He looked up. “I’ll help you.”
“Huh? Are we really going? We’ll die, you know? We’ll really die!” Kagegaya Tsubaki felt like her two friends had gone crazy.
An EX-class Supernatural Disaster Containment Zone… a place called a real-life hell!