Soon, El arrived at the outer area of Tokyo. El and Kayo were close to the monolith aret. In that area, there are remnants of buildings that have collapsed and shadows of destruction from the past.
In fact, the smell of dust and blood still wafts faintly around. This was clear evidence that there had been destruction and massacres in the past.
El looked up at the cloudy sky, and the smell of damp earth began to emanate, a sign that it would soon rain.
The shadow of the sturdy monolith loomed over the ruins, creating a tense atmosphere, amplified by the silence around them.
El stood there quietly, clutching the strap of her bag tightly, as if unfazed by the eerie atmosphere.
Next to him, Kayo, has face contorted and full of irritation, taunted in a protesting tone, "You're completely crazy! Don't know what fear means or what?! Who would voluntarily go to the outside area?!"
El quickly took out a bottle of water from underneath the trench coat, and then handed it to Kayo. "You're angry, aren't you thirsty? Want a drink?" he said flatly, but with a tone of concern.
"Ugh," Kayo complained in annoyance and immediately took the bottle of water from El's right hand, unscrewed the cap and drank it down immediately.
After drinking, refreshing the dry throat caused by grumbling throughout the trip, Kayo continued his taunts. "What a pretender! You have no sense of fear! Crazy person! Ice statue!"
Without responding to Kayo's emotional outburst after drinking, El began to walk calmly and passed through the building debris that was scattered around.
Kayo's tirades and taunts were like music to the ears that faithfully accompanied her on her journey.
Kayo, who felt she was right, took the initiative and tried to dissuade El by pulling El's waist, "Come on.... Let's... Go back... It's not too late!" she said with all her might, hoping to stop him in his tracks.
However, El continued walking without the slightest loss of balance, as if Kayo's pull was nothing more than a gust of wind.
Kayo who was trying her hardest began to get confused, her eyes narrowed in question. 'How can there be a human this strong, even with his slender body and nonchalant attitude?' he thought in utter astonishment.
With despair beginning to give way to shock, Kayo finally stopped, staring at El's back who continued to walk firmly like a solid pillar of the world and calm like a pool of water without ripples.
Kayo frowned, forced to silently admit that there was something far different about this young man. "Who exactly is he?" she muttered, more to herself, as she continued to trail behind, not wanting to be left behind.
***
El and Kayo finally arrived in front of a dense forest that looked untouched by humans for many years. Amidst the eerie silence, strange noises were heard from within the forest, indicating that the place was filled with Gastrea.
Kayo muttered inwardly, feeling increasingly incredulous at El's stupidity. "This guy... is completely out of the realm of reason." muttered Kayo, noticing El's flat face.
"Stupid, reckless, or naive should have limits, but this guy... I don't know what nickname fits him," she thought with dismay and worry.
Without warning, dozens of dog-type Stage One Gastrea began to emerge from among the trees, each with two pairs of fiery red eyes, a body full of wounds as if swollen to the size of an adult goat, and sharp fangs.
It was estimated that there were almost more than 50 of them, approaching aggressively and barking, exposing sharp fangs, full of saliva.
"Danger, a group of stage 1 Gastrea is quite very troublesome," said Kayo, immediately panicking, hurriedly grabbing the bag from El's hand and pulling out an assault rifle.
Swiftly, Kayo raised the Assault Rifle, firing a barrage of varanium bullets that slammed into the Gastrea bodies in front of her.
Bang... Bang... Bang!
Hot varanium spewed out of the gun casings. It hit several targets, paralyzing some of the mutant dogs that were threatening them.
However, some escaped, because Kayo was not too used to using an assault rifle, Assault Rifle. With enough practice, Kayo's shooting accuracy improved.
In between her shots, Kayo tugged at El's body, who seemed indifferent to the incoming attacks. "Idiot! Don't just stand there!" Kayo shouted, frustrated.
However, El remained calm, expressionlessly panicking at the approaching stage 1 Gastrea and Kayo in turn. El lowered his body and opened the weapon bag, taking out a Varanium Katana stored inside.
As an experiment as to whether the Metsu was effective enough to kill the Gastrea, El exchanged the Varanium sword in her hand with the Metsu stored in the Storage Ring.
With a quick and skillful movement, El tucked the Varanium Sword underneath the fluttering trench coat, hiding the fact that the Varanium Sword had been replaced. It was only an instant, but enough to ensure Kayo didn't notice the weapon change.
With Metsu in hand, El stepped forward wordlessly, revealing a focused gaze. El let out a deep sigh as if exhaling mist. "Kasumi no kokyū," she muttered softly.
In one step, El's body suddenly seemed to fade away like a shadow dissolving into mist. At this moment, El was moving at an incredible speed that seemed to create the visual of a sea of mist all around.
Kayo was speechless, stunned by El's incredible speed. "What? Where?" said Kayo glancing around, while continuously firing at the approaching stage 1 Gastrea.
The next second, in Kayo's vision one head at a time, the surrounding stage 1 Gastrea suddenly fell, as if for no apparent reason.
Amidst the mass of severed stage one Gastrea bodies, El's figure reappeared with an almost indescribable calmness, "Go no kata: Kaun no Umi." he said coldly and flatly.
Kayo was still stunned, speechless in disbelief at what has eyes had just seen.
Shortly after El plunged his sword into the bodies of the stage one Gastrea, the creatures began to writhe, emitting black smoke from their freshly ripped wounds.
The thick blood and rotten flesh scattered on the ground gradually clotted back together, as if their bodies were being forced to recover by an invisible evil force.
Slowly, one by one, the Gastrea rose up, albeit with staggering bodies, showing that they were indeed difficult to exterminate completely.
El stood tall, staring calmly as if she had anticipated the Gastrea's regenerative reaction. In a low, flat voice, El commented, "Apparently, Nichirin's metal was ineffective in completely wiping them out."
Then El glanced at Metsu with some disappointment, realizing that the weapons used against demons didn't seem to be entirely useful against Gastrea who had a different life mechanism.
On the other hand, Kayo had already prepared with her Assault Rifle, wasting no time pointing the barrel of the weapon at the Gastrea that rose up one by one.
Kayo fired with precision, every varanium bullet that came out penetrated the Gastrea's bodies and inhibited their regeneration, making them fall back.
"This is strange, why is it so hard for them to die? They should be stage 1, right?" said Kayo in surprise as he continued to fire at the Gastrea who were trying to get up.