Listening to the worries of Kouenji Rokusuke and the others, Chris only gave a noncommittal reply:
"We really didn't detect this figure at the start. I'd guess he only descended to Earth a little while ago."
"Otherwise, given the authority of the Black Sphere's equipment, it wouldn't have taken until now to pick up the Alien Mefilas's presence."
"Since he's a newcomer, for now he shouldn't pose a direct threat."
Yotsuya Miko, hiding in the middle of the crowd, wrung her hands uneasily:
"But… if the Alien Mefilas exists, then the so-called 'Calamity Beast' is a hidden danger. And who's to say that Godzilla out there… isn't one of the Calamity Beasts that Mefilas secretly lured out?"
"If that's the case, wouldn't we be caught between two fronts?"
"That reasoning doesn't hold." Shiraishi Asuka brushed a stray lock of hair by her ear and denied it at once: "I don't think Godzilla has any connection to Mefilas."
"After all, Godzilla was already worth 150 points in the catalog to begin with, and after evolving a little just now, it's reached 180." Shiraishi Asuka analyzed coolly. "Going by the Alien Mefilas's current score on the radar, there's no way he could establish absolute dominance over Godzilla."
"No one would be stupid enough to drop an enemy they can't even keep in check onto the very planet they intend to conquer."
"Especially… when he's a spaceman who prides himself on cunning."
At that, Yotsuya Miko nodded thoughtfully. Though the weight in her chest lifted a little, the worry in her brow didn't fade:
"Then… what do we do now?"
Kouenji Rokusuke drew a deep breath:
"For now, let's just act like we never noticed him."
"With the energy we have left, there's no way we can take on two high-scoring enemies at the same time. Fighting on multiple fronts will only get us killed in ugly fashion."
Katsuragi Kohei rubbed his bald head and agreed in a low voice:
"Kouenji's right. Let's warn everyone first — whatever we do, don't tip him off."
"Our ability, our time, and our energy are all extremely limited right now. Dealing with the Godzilla in front of us is what matters."
Chris nodded, giving his tacit approval to their judgment.
Behind him, Morishita Ai hunched her shoulders slightly.
Her usually blank little face — normally void of expression, emotion, or a single spoken word — was now full of conflict.
She clearly wanted to join the discussion but had no idea where to jump in, starting to speak and then swallowing it back, until her little face went taut from holding it all in.
Chris glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
Given that Ai really was the classic type who "talks big with the wind at her back and vanishes without a sound when it turns against her," Chris didn't bother calling it out or scolding her.
After all, she wasn't like Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida was the sort who'd joined the Black Sphere exam from the very start and enjoyed the perk of extra life count, yet had been coasting the whole time — a pure deadweight hoping to hide in the back and wait for someone else to come save her.
Morishita Ai, at least, would still do her duty when it counted.
Who knew — maybe one day when Ai finally came into her own, she'd actually make good on her "Morishita Ai Family-Style Martial Arts," and pull off some peerless-through-the-ages, rise-from-nobody-to-dragon feat?
As the thought crossed his mind, an idea suddenly took shape in Chris's head.
According to the script already laid out in the Book of Ages.
The original causal line was supposed to run like this: Ryuuen would apply force from afar, using a remote-controlled drone swarm to drain most of Godzilla's energy.
Then, once it fell dormant from energy depletion —
— everyone would use the prepared coagulant and the [Demon Essence] to lock down Godzilla's movements, and finally join together to detonate the nuclear reactor inside its body, sealing the kill.
The Alien Mefilas, meanwhile, would watch the whole thing from the sidelines.
Standing at a distance, collecting and observing their data.
The plan was solid and steady — you could say there was nothing much wrong with it.
Only… doing it that way would mean far fewer casualties.
True, most of the people in this group were down to their last life after the earlier rounds of attrition.
But this was Godzilla, after all!
For the King of the Monsters to be ground down and finished off by a painless war of attrition like this…
It was hard not to feel it was a bit of a waste.
Of course, Chris had no intention of stepping onto the field himself to tip the scales.
All he needed to do… was nudge the butterfly's wings a little at the crucial junctures.
…
Having spent too long in the Mirror World, the ordinary people's bodies began to show mild discomfort from particlization.
Using this perfectly reasonable excuse, Chris called a halt to the discussion, led the group through the mirror surface, and returned to the real world.
At the entrance to the underground shelter.
As the mirror surface rippled like water, Chris and the others stepped out one after another, and there before them stood Shiina Hiyori, on guard beside the Clockwork Wraith Oriana.
Once the intel on the Alien Mefilas had been shared, the timeline, too, quietly diverged in this moment.
"The Alien Mefilas…?"
Shiina Hiyori murmured the name, then lifted her head:
"Do you need me to send someone from the Phantom Legion to keep watch on him in secret?"
Chris shook his head firmly and explained:
"There's no need for that."
"Either way, whether it's the advance test you're running or our own formal exam, he isn't the target."
"So there's no point doing anything extra and inviting trouble."
"I just came to give you a heads-up," Chris cautioned. "If you run into a disguised Mefilas later, don't make a fuss."
"If you assume he's like a Parasyte… that'll land you in real trouble."
At Chris's pointer, Shiina Hiyori froze for a beat.
Then, as if it suddenly hit her just how aggressive her earlier suggestion had been, her fair cheeks grew warm, and she lowered her head in embarrassment:
"Sorry…"
"I feel like… this mask might be affecting my mind a little."
The girl bit her lower lip lightly. "There are all these strange thoughts in my head now, this impulsiveness — I'm barely thinking before I speak…"
Seeing her chagrin, Chris gave an easy smile:
"Relax. Don't let the darkness inside you take hold."
"Everyone has a dark side. It's precisely because darkness exists that light can exist. Those who've never embraced the darkness can never truly illuminate this world."
Chris's tone was gentle. "So just treat it as using your power normally. Think of it as a necessary trial of the heart on the path of mastering the Ripple and cultivating your Ki."
At Chris's reassurance, Shiina Hiyori's gaze steadied.
Reason told her she should respond right away.
But… the Phantom Mask's curse, which endlessly amplified the darkness within, kept finding the most sensitive spot in her heart with pinpoint accuracy, and began to needle her without pause.
Worse still, that needling used the private, wicked little feelings she harbored toward Chris as its lure!
Be brave, Hiyori…
The bewitching voice deep inside her went on whispering madly:
Those women crowding around Chris — like that Shiraishi Asuka, that Morishita Ai — kick every last one of them to death…
The way they look at Chris — surely you can see it by now?
And if you can't, go look in a mirror! Are you really content to be like some loser dog who never even entered the race, forever stuck in the corner watching him get snatched away by someone else?
Accept your heart, and join the glorious evolution!
Once you've earned a revival life count in this test, go take part in the exams that follow, fair and square, and step by step, rightfully ascend to the throne of the primary wife…
Haah…
Honestly, in that instant…
Shiina Hiyori was very nearly swayed.
Such possessive, aggressive thoughts — the old her would never have dared entertain them.
And naturally, Hiyori was far too embarrassed to lay them all out for Chris.
But now, the seed had quietly been planted.
Over on the other side, Kouenji Rokusuke.
Seeing that the information had been passed along, he turned more of his attention to Oriana beside him.
As the "Mystery Merchant" of this exam.
Even while holding that special identity, Oriana could somehow still redeem items from past shop rotations.
Kouenji Rokusuke wasn't sure whether this was a hidden privilege that ordinary students possessed by default once they became Mystery Merchants.
Or whether only a true Mystery Merchant like the one before him was exempt from such restrictions.
Or whether both might be true?
In any case, Kouenji Rokusuke hoped to dig some valuable information out of Oriana.
Even just a little.
So Kouenji Rokusuke leaned in and tried to use Mefilas as a way into the conversation:
"Miss Clockwork, by what you told us earlier, Godzilla is an ancient sea creature that mutated after being contaminated by nuclear waste."
"In that case, I'd assume it has no direct connection to the Alien Mefilas."
"In fact, Mefilas only appeared in this world a short while ago."
Kouenji leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping:
"What worries me now is… after we go through all this trouble to deal with Godzilla and leave, what will Mefilas do?"
"Just facing Godzilla has already pushed us to our limit. You can't be pinning your hopes of handling him on us too, can you?"
Kouenji looked toward the ordinary refugees:
"And as for simply letting it be… expecting this world's ordinary people to face a spaceman is even more absurd."
At Kouenji's probing.
Oriana pondered for a moment:
"If something like that really happens, I'll step in."
Though for now she still wasn't sure exactly who the "friend" her papa had spoken of referred to.
But since it was still undetermined, that meant it could be anyone.
Whether the testers currently competing, the qualified candidates taking the exam, or the ordinary residents of this world who needed to be relocated…
As long as it was possible, she naturally had a duty to protect her friends.
As for the Alien Mefilas…
As a clearly hostile target that had shown up in the radar Controller, he'd long since been slapped with a villain's label in Clockwork's mind.
"I won't allow him to bully my friends."
Oriana affirmed it again.
As she spoke, she raised a hand and gently touched her chest.
There, she kept a trap card Chris had once given her for self-defense — [Causality Severance].
By discarding a single shop item as the cost, it could banish any enemy straight into another dimension.
Not to mention, as a Mystery Merchant, she now held the privilege of borrowing a shop item directly, one time.
She wasn't the least bit afraid of a mere Mefilas.
But this was also her only trump card.
She had just one chance, so she had to use it wisely, and besides…
Everything they'd just discussed had, in fact, been picked up crystal-clear by the Alien Mefilas, hidden among the refugees far away in the area where Kushida Kikyo and the others were.
"Oh? Guarding against me…?"
With the Alien Mefilas's cunning, having discovered these visitors from another world, how could he not pay special attention to the Clockwork Wraith — that mysterious being who could peddle the [Beta Box]?
Indeed, upon realizing that the Cyborg named Ryuuen had seized control of this country's network, he'd quietly slipped a hand in as well.
Tapping specifically into the communication frequencies of this band of fellow otherworlders.
Still, though he found Oriana's arrogant tone a touch startling.
Mefilas had no intention of moving directly to test her.
For caution's sake.
He meant to kill with a borrowed knife.
Using the Godzilla already on hand to see just how much strength this group of otherworlders truly had!
And if it forced the Clockwork Wraith to play her trump card, all the better for him!
At the thought, the fingers Mefilas kept hidden beneath his sleeve lifted slightly.
Soon.
Up in the sky, the drone formations and fighter jets that Ryuuen had been controlling to run "Kite Tactic" against Godzilla —
As if disrupted by some powerful signal source.
All wheeled their noses around in unison!
And flew straight toward the safe zone Ryuuen had deliberately steered clear of — the one being used to guide the human evacuation!
By the time Ryuuen sensed something was off and immediately started fighting for command…
The Alien Mefilas had already severed the connection and withdrawn without a trace.
But his brief nudge had been enough.
Following the drone swarm, Godzilla was drawn straight to that area teeming with human evacuation activity.
Seeing the dense stream of evacuation vehicles below and the crowds moving like ants.
Godzilla instinctively recalled the tanks and armored cars that had frantically rained shells on it earlier.
Sure, those tin-can toys weren't even fit to tickle it…
But, just like the drones now buzzing back and forth before its eyes… they were really annoying —
And so.
Godzilla halted, and the purple light along its back began to flicker once more.
It opened its maw and began to charge, ready to spit a blast of Atomic Breath straight at them!
Ryuuen grasped the gravity of this sudden turn in an instant.
"Damn it! We got played!"
He decisively gave up control over the drone swarm that had already gone rogue.
Instead, through the network signal, he forcibly hijacked the custom phones of Chris, Horikita Suzune, and the others!
Skipping the tedious step of dialing, Ryuuen's frantic roar burst straight from the phone speakers:
"We've got an emergency!"
"Some blind bastard jammed the signal! Godzilla's noticed your evacuation zone now, and it's charging up!"
"Get out of there! Run as far as you can!"
At the same time, Ryuuen split his focus and quickly rang the official survivors he could still reach in the area.
Ordering them to immediately warn any civilians who hadn't yet left the shelters — don't come out and throw your lives away.
As for the tens of thousands already exposed on the streets, within the coverage of Godzilla's attack path…
There was nothing he could do for now but leave them to their own luck.
Human strength has its limits, after all.
Hearing the warning from the phone.
Yotsuya Miko went pale and cried out:
"Then… what about all those people out there?"
Kouenji Rokusuke's expression shifted slightly, but his actions were decisive.
He stepped straight into the nearby open Mirror World.
"Save yourself before you save others."
"An attack of this caliber isn't something human strength can block. Better to look after yourself first, Girl."
Shiraishi Asuka let out a sigh too, reaching over to pat Yotsuya Miko's trembling shoulder.
She was just about to offer a few words of comfort and take her along to find cover.
When she saw Chris suddenly turn and stride toward the shelter's exit.
"…What are you doing?" Shiraishi Asuka's eyes were full of confusion.
Chris didn't even look back, his voice reaching their ears clearly:
"Going to see whether the Enma Blade's power to cut through space… can stop Godzilla's Atomic Breath."
Yotsuya Miko's lips parted, but the words wouldn't come.
The ever-taciturn Morishita Ai, too, showed a rare flicker of worry, and couldn't hold it back:
"What if… it doesn't work?"
"There really are a lot of people out there. We can't just watch them die and do nothing."
"Whether it works or not, I have to try… otherwise, how could I live with myself thinking back on it later?"
"Besides…"
Chris turned his head and gave the Advanced Nurturing High School custom phone in his hand a little shake:
"Katsuragi's here backing me up anyway, right? If I really can't hold on, he'll open the Mirror World and pull me out. I won't die."
Hearing this, Katsuragi Kohei drew a rough, deep breath.
And promised solemnly:
"Then I'm counting on you!"
"Don't worry, I'll seize the moment. I won't let anything happen to you!"
Chris gave a slight nod.
And turned to charge out of the underground passage.
Watching his back as he strode resolutely into danger.
Shiina Hiyori's heart clenched:
Please… you have to be all right!
Oriana stood where she was and followed the sound with a glance at Chris's retreating figure.
Even now she still couldn't recall which old acquaintance in her memory banks this boy resembled.
But…
From Chris, she sensed a pure emotion.
Combined with the way he'd just acted — fully knowing it couldn't be done, and doing it anyway.
"He's… a good person."
Oriana lowered her eyes slightly and hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she directed her puppet to possess Chris, layering on double resistance.
And by now, Chris had walked to the very center of the empty street.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Facing Godzilla in the distance, and the terrible breath already blooming with dazzling purple light in its maw.
The surrounding air seemed drained dry, and every fleeing human squeezed their eyes shut in despair beneath the pressure.
Chris, meanwhile, gripped the Enma Blade tight.
A deep breath.
The next second.
He swung the blade.
A straight-line Dimension Slash, cutting against the purple light, tore through space!
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan on Pa+reon for more!🔥👻
🔥 New history: Natsuki Subaru From Honkai: Star Rail to Re:Zero — over on The_Mikudayo
📚 Walnut-chan = +40 chapters of early access, and every bit of it funds the translation work
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone