At this moment, in the tunnel network of the JGSDF base, it has been so long since anyone used it that maintenance of the lighting and warning systems here seems to have been neglected. Inside the pitch-black tunnel, the only light came from my Cr-unit, hovering within.
This route is a crucial tool for the AST spirit defense team, allowing them to quickly use the high-speed train to reach every corner of the city where spatial quakes appear. That's also why I've come here—to prepare for the final step of the plan to 'purge' the evil that exists here.
At certain fixed points, at regular intervals along the tunnel, I tightly secured fully charged mana cores to the ceiling. And I kept repeating this process countless times. It took nearly eight continuous hours, and using only one hand to do so was extremely frustrating and inconvenient. Eventually, I finished placing all the mana cores in every corner of the tunnel. The power these cores bring is unquestionable, and with this massive amount, I doubt anything could survive the explosion.
Fortunately, I had Mildred's engineering team mass-produce these masterpieces. Otherwise, I wouldn't even dare think about making them all myself. Though I've installed them everywhere, there are still plenty left—perhaps nearly a thousand—so I concentrated the remainder in a single spot, which I would consider the graveyard for all spirits: Raizen High School.
"Good, this place is done. Now then..."
With those words, streams of spiritual energy enveloped my Cr-unit, gradually merging into one and transforming into the spirit armor I wore. It was still the same, still exuding the majestic aura as always. As the last trace of spiritual energy faded, the mask was also fully formed.
It was a relief that, even after all that time unconscious, my spiritual energy remained intact. No, perhaps it's a little less than before, but at least it didn't disappear after that fierce battle, and that's something to be thankful for.
"It's already 13:06?!"
"I'll be there soon, just wait."
With that, I teleported instantly to the top of a building, one heavily guarded from the outside, so tightly that even a mosquito would struggle to get in. Watchtowers, patrol planes, guards, cameras everywhere… But all of that was meaningless before the power of a spirit.
Looking down from the darkness, I drew
With a gentle swing, a wave of spiritual energy shot forward, slicing the sturdy building in two. Alarms blared everywhere. Immediately, planes, tanks, and a fully armed force surrounded me below. Surprisingly, a place meant for hosting important meetings for the entire country had not a single Wizard or any technology related to Realizers or mana.
"Stop that action now! You are surrounded, flying entity." A voice echoed from a radio on a helicopter, relatively far away.
"Flying entity? You don't even have a better word to use, huh… How about 'God' …"
"Stop wasting words! Drop your weapon and surrender, and we'll go easy on you."
I sighed as I listened to that foolish statement from the humans I was trying to protect in this world.
"Well… I'm just too great… There's no way they could understand what I'm doing…" I muttered to myself.
"I don't want to hurt anyone; I just want to meet the Prime Minister."
"Want to meet without notice and yet attack the base? Don't try to fool us."
"Enough with the words, full force attack, eliminate the 'supernatural' terrorist."
And so, bullets and missiles flew directly at me without hesitation, as if this were a war between two opposing nations. One wave after another, relentless attacks came. And after a long while, only when they ran out of ammo and missiles did they finally stop their assault.
The dust began to clear with the wind, and from within, my silhouette, covered by an impenetrable shield of spiritual energy, gradually became clearer.
I yawned as if I had been waiting too long for this boredom, almost falling asleep.
"How... How is this possible?"
"Is that it? Want to keep attacking?"
"Though you won't get the chance, now it's MY TURN!"
My voice echoed as a shockwave burst outward, repelling everything surrounding me.
I wielded
"This is all your fault, you foolish lot."
I then flew down to the building I had sliced in two earlier. Inside were high-ranking officials from Japan, here to discuss something important. At this moment, they could only huddle together in fear, unable to do anything more.
"Hey, which one of you is the Prime Minister? I need to have a 'friendly' chat with them… Or maybe it's her… Doesn't matter. Who's the Prime Minister here?"
Whether they were too scared to listen or deliberately covering for someone, no one stepped forward or pointed anyone out.
"Alright, you made this choice." I sighed in exasperation.
I approached the closest person and, without a word, sliced them in two, blood splattering all over me.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The group screamed, with some even on the verge of vomiting.
"Come on, quickly now. WHO-IS-THE-PRIME-MINISTER-HERE?"
At that moment, a young woman in business attire stood up amidst the horrified faces of everyone, trembling as she pointed at a middle-aged man in a suit hiding behind the conference table.
"It's… it's him… Please don't kill me… Please… Spare me…"
"How dare you reveal the Prime Minister's identity?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
"How could you betray your country like that?"
"SHUT UP! I WANT TO LIVE! PROTECTING HIM WILL GET US ALL KILLED."
She screamed angrily at those criticizing her. Seeing this, I approached the group. Everyone held their breath in fear with each step I took.
"You did well, young lady. Though I won't make any promises, you can leave now. Everyone, except the Prime Minister, stays for a 'pleasant' conversation with me."
"Anyone who wants to stay and listen is welcome, but I can't guarantee you'll have a second chance."
Under this oppressive threat, one by one, they fled from the ruined building, leaving only me and the Prime Minister sitting at a halved conference table.
"No one left, huh?"
"Hello, Prime Minister. I wonder if you know my name?"
"You… Are you the spirit
"Glad you know me well. We could have had a peaceful negotiation… But your forces attacked before I could even speak…"
"What do you want from me, you demonic spirit?" His voice was firm and unyielding, in stark contrast to when he was trembling behind the table earlier.
"Straight to the point, huh? That's the style of someone with power."
"Stop beating around the bush."
"Very well. I want you to mobilize the entire defense force across Japan to surround Tenguu City and submit under my command."
"ALL OF IT?! WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS? HOW CAN I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, one of his arms was gone without a trace.
"AHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
"I slipped, sorry."
"The next answer better be what I want, or I won't 'slip' again."
"And…"
"Alright. I agree, please spare my life. The entire army will be under your command, I can even give you this Prime Minister position." He begged before me, like nothing more than a groveling dog.
"What a cowardly traitor, selling out the country just to save your life… But that suits me well."
"As for the title, I don't need it."
"Make it happen quickly, Mr. Prime Minister, I'm looking forward to our next meeting."
Then I gradually disappeared into a flow of spiritual energy surrounding my body, leaving behind a scene of devastation and bloodshed at the Prime Minister's residence.
◊
Everything was gradually reaching the end of the plan, and this task marked the beginning of its execution.
At the moment, I was creating a large number of drones powered by mana and coated with a thin layer of Territory, enough to activate the stealth mode for the entire device.
"Now go, my 'eyes and ears,' observe every move of Shido and those spirits."
"Receiving uploaded data… Identifying targets… Targets confirmed… Initiating large-scale scan," the AI voice echoed from the computer.
"Mildred truly is a genius. Perhaps I should thank her more. Her contribution has been enormous."
"Are you talking about me, Watano?"
"M-Mildred?" I was startled by the voice from behind.
Afraid of being caught, I remained calm and responded.
"Is something wrong? You seem busy after returning."
"Ah, it's nothing major. After all, I was unconscious for quite some time, so I've got a lot to catch up on."
"Then continue your work, but don't push yourself too hard."
"Got it, thanks for the concern."
"No problem."
After Mildred left, I finally sighed in relief.
"That was close..."
"Now all I have to do is wait…"
◊
Day after day, I kept watching Shido's group, and it was so boring that even handling paperwork would have been more productive. All I could do was observe their everyday activities, which felt monotonous. But no matter how dull, I couldn't let myself get distracted for even a single moment.
"Still not good enough… If only I had the strength I used to, I wouldn't be so cautious."
One by one, the drones I sent were being discovered and destroyed day by day.
I sighed in frustration after nearly a week of surveillance with no useful results. All I had were scenes of their daily lives, with nothing of real significance.
"At this rate, Ratatoskr is going to destroy them all soon."
"Today is already the 28th of December… Time flies. It's been over eight months since I was brought here for some unclear reason."
"And since then, I've been pulled into this endless conflict. I don't even know if my choice back then was the right one—"
I splashed my face with both hands in the freezing weather to shake off unnecessary doubts at this critical moment.
"Watano… Don't forget… You've witnessed so many lives taken by the spirits… So stop having such foolish thoughts before it's too late…" I seriously reminded myself.
"Well, it's still early before heading home. Maybe I should drop by Mildred's workshop for a bit."
I stepped out of my room. Outside, snow was falling gently, covering the ground in white.
It was already 8:07 PM, and the base wasn't as crowded as it used to be, leaving the scene rather quiet, with only the glow of lights from the buildings scattered across the base.
"It's freezing. I better hurry."
With that, I rushed to Mildred's area.
Standing in front of the workshop, I knocked lightly on the door.
"Coming, coming! I'll be right there!" A soft voice echoed from inside.
"Oh, it's Captain Watano! Please, come in."
"Sorry to bother you."
"No worries, make yourself at home."
Inside the room, though a bit cramped with mechanical parts scattered around, it felt cozy.
"Sorry about the mess. I didn't expect you to visit, so I didn't tidy up."
"It's fine. I'm just stopping by for a bit."
"So, what brings you here?" she asked as she prepared some tea.
"Well… I just wanted to thank you again. Without you, I wouldn't be here now."
"Is that so…? As long as you're healthy, I'm happy."
"To be honest, you're probably the second person who's helped me the most."
"Really? That makes me happy. Who was the first?"
"Probably… Captain Kusukabe."
"Ah… That makes sense."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."
"Don't worry, I understand. She was always a great leader."
Noticing that my words made the conversation a bit gloomy, I quickly changed the subject to lift the mood.
"Though it's a bit late, Merry Christmas, Mildred."
From my coat pocket, I pulled out a gift box and handed it to her.
"You've surprised me, Watano. Thank you."
"I didn't have time to prepare a gift for you, though."
"You've saved my life. To me, that's the greatest gift."
"Oh, come on. Here, let me give you something."
Curious, I watched as Mildred rummaged through some parts.
"Where is it…? Ah, here we go."
"Ta-da."
In her hands was a left arm of a
"Mildred… That's…"
"It's a part we found from your battle at the D.E.M. campus. I'm not sure where it's from, but I think I can modify it."
It seemed Mildred didn't know this was one of D.E.M.'s critical technologies. Either way, it made sense to keep this hidden.
"Modify it? What do you mean?"
"Exactly that. I'm going to turn it into your new left arm."
"R-Really?" I was stunned by how confidently she said it.
"Nothing is impossible for Mildred's engineering team."
"Thank you. That's amazing."
Overwhelmed with joy, I instinctively hugged Mildred, not realizing what I was doing.
"H-H-Hey, Watano… Suddenly…"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I got carried away."
"It's okay. But it'll probably take a few days for us to modify and test it."
"I can wait. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Well, see you around. Don't overwork yourself."
"I know, Captain Watano."