Time rewound to several dozen minutes earlier.
Oowada Toshihiro had just taken a slap to the face and scrambled up from the ground as if mad.
But the several empty gun barrels pointed at him instantly doused most of his fury, leaving only stubborn indignation:
“You people from Tokubetsu Ouyouhonbu… are you always this arrogant?”
His gaze jumped over the shoulders of the SAT-EX members in the front row, glaring fixedly at Yuki Asahi.
“Is this what you call protecting the citizens?”
Yuki took a deep breath, suppressing the raging anger churning in his chest.
Oowada’s arrogant posture just now overlapped ghost-like with the image of Maeda Kaiichi in his mind…
He admittedly acted impulsively under stress, but he had no intention of apologizing.
“This is a critical moment—don’t cause trouble for others!”
Takaguchi, understanding Yuki’s temperament, stepped in to defuse the situation, signaling the surrounding SAT-EX members to lower their weapons.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly.
“Hmph… honestly.”
Oowada muttered resentfully as he slammed himself down into the nearest chair, arms crossed tightly.
Suddenly, the meeting room door was knocked.
A man in a disheveled suit, face full of exhaustion, cautiously poked his head in and asked, “I got a text message… is this the place?”
Soon, more people arrived in waves, those around Chiyoda who could make it gradually poured in.
The spacious meeting room, capable of holding more than twenty, still felt empty.
“What’s really going on? Don’t we have a right to know?”
“That’s right.”
With more people gathered, impatience bubbled up, and some began to grumble loudly.
Yuki stood by the window, gazing out at the brilliantly lit Chiyoda nightscape.
Those restless, panicked emotions seemed to materialize into sharp arrows piercing his mind.
I can do this. I will succeed… no matter how many times he cheered himself on, he was still affected by the emotions around him.
His control over his Emotional Control ability was far from proficient.
The near-death experience of a cardiac arrest during his last full-power battle against Devourer G was deeply imprinted on his heart.
For the past two days, he had subconsciously resisted touching that power…
But now, he had no choice.
He had to learn to master it quickly, even if the increase in combat ability was minimal.
Takaguchi, red-faced from the barrage of questions, suddenly pointed toward the window.
“Everyone! This young man has solved major crises multiple times before. With him here, your safety is guaranteed!”
Multiple times?
Yuki sighed quietly. Multiple times?
It had only been twice.
But the doubtful and anxious gazes pressing on him forced him to turn his face and nod stiffly.
Suddenly, a faint warmth flowed into his body from the midst of the negative emotions.
It was the trust radiating from the first middle school girl who had arrived.
Thank you.
Yuki caught that weak yet pure belief, amplifying it to steady his mind.
At the same time, he gritted his teeth and began to devour the tidal wave of panic and anxiety pouring in from all around.
He felt his throat swallowing one icy shard after another—cold and heavy—and his mental energy rapidly drained.
Gradually, the crowd quieted.
Though inexplicable, their negative emotions genuinely dissipated invisibly, leaving them calmer.
“I will protect everyone well.”
After using his ability, Yuki felt most of his mental energy spent, fatigue washing over his whole body.
He couldn’t think of any practical use for the ability in combat for now.
But calming people’s hearts?
He could do that easily.
A nearby SAT-EX member quickly brought him a cup of water.
“Yuki-kun, please.”
The face mask hid the member’s face, but the eyes flickered with burning gratitude.
“Thank you for saving me last time.”
Yuki was slightly startled, realizing this was someone involved in that incident…
He should be thankful that Masakazu Kinoshita’s Devourer body didn’t have much lethality, right?
“Thank you.”
“You’re pretty popular, huh,” Dream Serpent’s hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, teasing.
Yuki turned aside, feeling his shoulder heat up, his cheeks flushing slightly as he muttered, “Just average.”
Bang—
The meeting room door was slammed open like a giant stone tossed into a calm pond.
The Tokubetsu Ouyouhonbu officer who rushed in meant to report an emergency, but froze under everyone’s gaze, his face awkward.
His eyes scanned the crowd before locking onto Yuki by the window.
He quickly jogged over and whispered, “The Hunters have started accelerating their assassinations. They’re no longer hiding their presence!”
Upon hearing this, Yuki glanced at the confused crowd, lowering his voice as well.
“What about the Vice Minister? Any instructions?”
“You have the highest command authority for this operation. You can interfere with the plan at will. The Vice Minister said everything is up to your judgment.”
Hiss—
This was shirking responsibility, no doubt about it.
Yuki had thought the “core” the Vice Minister mentioned was a mascot.
But this was serious.
“What was the original plan?”
“The Police were to gather the targets from the List at Tokubetsu Ouyouhonbu.”
It was also a helpless measure. Relying on the Police to use pistols against Superpower Users wasn’t a good idea no matter how you looked at it.
“And the Self-Defense Force?” Yuki pressed.
“Uh…”
The Tokubetsu Ouyouhonbu officer looked troubled.
“The higher-ups don’t seem willing to deploy the Self-Defense Force. There’s even a rumor that they want all of Tokyo’s police pulled to defend the Imperial Palace.”
“Why?”
Yuki frowned in confusion.
“Shh—”
Dream Serpent crossed her arms, letting out a sharp, cold laugh before speaking softly.
“Politicians—none of them want to take responsibility. To them, Superpower Users are a hot potato. They’d rather have the Hunters clean them all up.”
“What was that term again? Oh right, administrative cost. The administrative cost of managing Superpower Users is too high, and Tokubetsu Ouyouhonbu has no real backing. That’s the result.”
“They’ll bribe some media outlets later, smear these superpower awakening groups, stigmatize them. The public will buy it. After all, these people aren’t like normal folks—they’re different.”
“Do people really think that way? Are the lives of Superpower Users not lives?”
Yuki’s voice rose in anger.
The crowd began to stir again.
Though they didn’t hear the details, it seemed like bad news.
Yuki turned to look into the eyes staring back at him, clenching his fists tightly.
“We should take the initiative.”
“What?” The crowd was puzzled.
“We need to gather everyone quickly! You all should pitch in,” Yuki strode forward, confronting those waves of negative emotions head-on.
“Aren’t we supposed to be protected? Why do we have to…”
“Silence! Listen to Yuki-kun first!”
Takaguchi shouted nearby, clearly fed up with the crowd’s antics.
“All targets on the List cannot escape unless all the Hunters are dead,” Yuki boosted his confidence with his ability, feeling infinite energy bloom in his chest.
“When everyone outside is dead, you’ll be next.”
“We must unite. We’re not defenseless lambs without any means to fight back.”
Yuki turned to Dream Serpent.
“I’m on the List too, but the Hunters can’t detect my dispersed energy, so they can’t track me, right?”
Dream Serpent nodded.
“If they knew where I was, would they prioritize killing me?”
She nodded again.
“Absolutely. You’re cooperating with Tokubetsu Ouyouhonbu and are a well-known genius.”
“Then… let them come kill me.”