Rewind two minutes, to the Mirror World.
Just as Sakayanagi Arisu and Ryuuen finished teleporting away Godzilla's juvenile form, Chris flipped his wrist, swinging the [Enma Blade] to carve a cross across Godzilla's skull.
In theory, most creatures can't survive with their brains destroyed. And right on cue, the Black Sphere's chime announcing the end of the exam did indeed sound.
But the first thing to respond wasn't the herald of the exam-end teleport.
It was the Godzilla corpse before them — the one that should have been thoroughly dead!
"Crack… crack!"
The solid ice that had frozen over its body was now melting and splitting apart at a rapid pace.
And deep within the cracks, a horrifying purple glow — the same shade as the Atomic Breath — was seeping outward like magma from a volcano about to erupt!
"Damn it!"
Not far off, Ryuuen — who had just used [Sianweistan] to shift over beside Katsuragi Kohei — ran a scan through his cybernetic eye and immediately roared at Chris:
"Godzilla's brain got wrecked — that's basically the central controller for the nuclear energy inside it going dark!"
"The nuclear energy in its body's gone haywire now, and it's about to implode!"
"The Black Sphere's teleport hasn't kicked in yet. Get caught in this thing's self-detonation and… hurry, pull back — better safe than sorry!"
Chris gave a slight nod, unsurprised by the warning.
He raised a hand and beckoned, drawing the three drop capsules hovering above Godzilla's head into his palm.
Then he drew the Enma Blade and gave a casual slash beside him.
A spatial rift linking to the real world took shape in an instant.
Chris didn't step through right away. Instead he turned to Ichinose Honami beside him and teased softly:
"Ichinose, are you coming with me, or heading over to Katsuragi and the others?"
Ichinose Honami looked at the dazzling radioactive glare below, then at the profile of Chris's face — still composed under the purple light. A touch of helplessness settled over her.
"Senior… you always love asking questions you already know the answer to."
Chris smiled, his tone easy:
"It's called democracy. Consulting a lady's opinion."
With that, he wasted no more time, turning to follow right on Ichinose's heels into the spatial rift.
The very second after they passed through the passage—
"BOOOM——!!!"
The uncontrolled nuclear energy hit critical mass in that instant.
A mushroom cloud blazing with eerie purple light rose up, vaporizing everything around it!
The real world. The ruined streets of Tokyo.
As Chris and Ichinose landed steadily, Ryuuen, Katsuragi, and the others who'd escaped a step earlier had already gathered together.
Ryuuen stood with his eyes closed, trying to reconnect to this world's network base stations.
A moment later he opened his eyes, irritation flashing across his gloomy face:
"Tch…"
"Yamada Albert… you idiot, so you didn't manage to dodge it after all."
But the feeling lingered only a moment before he forced it down, snorting coldly through gritted teeth:
"Whatever. Your life's my responsibility anyway. Next time there's a chance to farm points, I'll just bring you back to life."
Hearing this, Chris — who'd just walked up — paused mid-step and asked:
"Besides Yamada, who else did we lose in this exam?"
Ryuuen sighed, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, his voice low:
"Morishita Ai, Hashimoto Masayoshi, Housen Kazutomi, and Hirata Yousuke."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Amanatsu Kazuha, being lowered slowly by the Phantom Legion's flying ninjas, picked up where he left off.
The red-haired girl set aside her usual flippancy, her expression complicated:
"They… mostly got hit back when Godzilla went berserk, while they were helping evacuate ordinary civilians. They didn't make it back to the shelter in time."
"It was foolish, but… they really did it to save lives."
When Ichinose Honami finished listening, her eyelids drooped on their own.
Even though she'd told herself countless times that it was impossible to save everyone inside a Black Sphere exam.
But as a leader who'd vowed to protect all her companions, the helplessness of watching classmates sacrifice themselves to save others was suffocating.
Chris took in every bit of Ichinose's reaction.
His lips parted — and for once, a rare flicker crossed his face, the look of someone at a loss for words of comfort. All he could do was stand silently at her side, a shoulder to lean on.
And standing not far off were Shiina Hiyori and Horikita Suzune — the two whose minds had been eroded by darkness for so long from wearing the Phantom Mask.
Watching the obvious favoritism Chris showed Ichinose, the jealousy they'd suppressed surged up almost on instinct, and just as they were about to say something to shatter this grating atmosphere—
"Tap. Tap."
A set of unhurried leather-shoed footsteps came from the shadows nearby.
Everyone looked toward the sound.
There stood the Alien Mefilas in a crisp, tailored suit, leading an expressionless Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and two old geezers, strolling into everyone's view.
The moment he appeared, Mefilas gave a gentlemanly little bow:
"I trust I'm not exactly a stranger to any of you."
"But for the sake of basic courtesy, allow me a brief introduction."
"I am the Alien Mefilas, from the cosmos — a gentleman who cherishes peace. A moment ago, I reached a preliminary agreement to trade with your Ayanokoji here."
He raised his head and glanced at the sky:
"I simply didn't anticipate this sudden turn of events… It seems the presiding god has left you little time. You'll be leaving this world very soon."
Mefilas paused, his gaze flicking almost imperceptibly over Oriana, who stood blankly not far away, before settling once more on Chris and the others as he explained:
"So, before you truly depart, I decided to come conduct my business in person."
"Consider it a parting transaction."
As soon as he finished, the whole group — Chris and Ryuuen included — exchanged glances.
In the end, it was Chris — the one holding this round's Godzilla drop rewards — who spoke up first:
"A transaction… you mean trading items?"
"What do you want to trade for?"
Mefilas smiled meaningfully:
"I intend to trade my [Beta Box]. I imagine you already have a rough idea of what it does. It's a Miracle of an item, capable of letting a human transcend the very levels of life."
Ryuuen raised an eyebrow at that.
"So that means… the bastard jamming me earlier was you, huh?!"
If he hadn't known his side was in no shape to fight — that they'd most likely lose against this unfathomable alien—
Even if he'd landed a sneak attack in the last few seconds before teleporting out, the ones who'd bear the brunt of this alien's fury would only be the native inhabitants of this world.
Otherwise, given Ryuuen's spiteful, grudge-keeping nature, just for the debt of Mefilas getting Yamada Albert killed, he'd have loved nothing more than to blast the alien right now with a vicious Palm Cannon!
To this, Mefilas neither denied it nor nodded in agreement.
He only narrowed his eyes slightly, fixing them on Chris and Horikita Suzune:
"I'm very interested in that sword you used to cut through space just now, and in the pink-blue 'Stand' this young lady carries."
"If you're willing, I'd trade the Beta Box for them."
At this demand, Horikita Suzune's eyes went utterly cold.
True, the fake [Enma Blade] in Chris's hand was worth 160 S Points, and even counting the [Crazy Diamond] within her, the two combined would never exceed 300 S Points.
Compared to the [Beta Box], priced at 700 S Points, this trade — on paper — would be an enormous bargain for them.
But! That's not how the math works.
[Crazy Diamond] was the only healer in their current party, with no substitute whatsoever;
and the [Enma Blade] wasn't just brutally powerful — it could even be upgraded in the presiding god's space with a bonus Majin bloodline, its potential limitless.
A so-called transaction is only fair when both sides are of equal strength.
The moment either party is at a disadvantage, this supposed negotiation is, at its core, nothing but forced buying and selling!
She turned to look at Chris, wanting to see how he'd handle it.
Only to find that Chris had already refused without a shred of hesitation.
"Your [Beta Box] is indeed quite valuable, but unfortunately, we're not in a position to accept it."
Chris rested his hand on the sword's hilt, his tone flat:
"I have no intention of simply giving up the core tactical items we've relied on for so long. Besides…"
At this point, Chris noticed the Black Sphere's teleport beam at his feet had crept from his ankles up to his waist.
So he dropped the pretense and went on bluntly:
"No matter how you spin it, your interference just now caused us real casualties and real damage."
"There's not enough time this round, so let's leave it here."
"Perhaps the next time we meet… we may well be enemies who have to settle things to the death."
At this, Mefilas wasn't angered in the least. Instead he shook his head with grace and let out a wistful sigh:
"Failure really does run through the whole of one's life."
"I truly came to this planet to spread peace, yet I carelessly did something wrong and earned all of your resentment…"
He sighed, then suddenly tossed the metal box in his hand to Chris:
"Here's what we'll do. As compensation for my mistake, I'll give you this temporary Beta Box to use."
"Its effect matches the real Beta Box, but the energy is only enough for a single use. Consider it my apology."
A smile returned to Mefilas's face. "After all, don't you have an old saying — even when the deal falls through, goodwill remains."
Chris raised a hand and caught the box.
He gave Mefilas a long, deep look, saying nothing.
The next second, a deep-blue light swallowed them all and carried them away.
Back in the presiding god's space.
Breathing in the pure-white space's air, free of any trace of gunsmoke, everyone's taut nerves finally relaxed.
But strangely, the group didn't rush off to the God Sphere the way they usually did, eager to ask about the exam results.
After all, though it was hard to pin down exactly how many Intruders had survived the disaster relief.
there was at least a baseline expectation once the survivor count was known.
For now, it was Mefilas's last-minute gift of that item that drew more attention.
Chris, naturally, didn't disappoint them.
With a flip of his wrist he produced the silver metal box, then pulled out the Item Illustrated Guide and aimed it to scan.
"Beep——"
[Beta Box (One-Time Trial Version)]
[Details: As an experimental sample of the Beta Box, its core ability matches the finished product. It can instantly enlarge a human or ordinary creature into a 55-meter-class giant, boosting them to a stripped-down Ultraman-tier combat level. However, since it's merely the Alien Mefilas's earliest prototype, the remaining energy is only enough for a single use.]
[Note: The user may spend 400 S Points to upgrade it in the presiding god's space into an unrestricted, complete version.]
"This Mefilas… actually wasn't lying?"
Reading the description clearly, Ryuuen clicked his tongue:
"He really did hand over a big gift for free. What's this old codger after?"
But Sakayanagi Arisu gave a cold laugh from the side:
"If he hadn't been meddling from the shadows, our rescue operation wouldn't have suffered anywhere near these casualties!"
"The Controller had already told us Godzilla's intel and weaknesses. Sticking to the plan, nothing would've gone wrong. You could say Yamada's and Hirata's deaths were entirely his doing!"
The girl lifted her chin and remarked coldly:
"Weighed against the companions we lost, is this measly 30 S Points we saved really worth it?"
"I'd say — hard to call."
Ichinose Honami nodded in deep agreement, her voice sorrowful and indignant:
"Exactly. No matter how you look at it, Mefilas is the culprit who widened the losses in both worlds."
"There's no whitewashing that!"
Chris put the box away, his gaze calm:
"Barring surprises, we'll surely get the chance to meet him again down the line."
As the presiding god, Chris had already decided to merge the world of Shin Ultraman with the world of Shin Godzilla.
Going forward, there would naturally be plenty of chances to return.
After all, across all their many exams, they'd never actually revisited a previous exam site.
Now, having saved tens of thousands in the Shin Godzilla world — descending almost as pure "saviors" and then sweeping away once the matter was settled...
With a reputation that good, it would be a shame not to put it to use in this merged world.
Still, Chris knew full well.
A full-power Alien Mefilas would, by the rating system, be a solid three-to-four-hundred-point threat, no doubt about it.
And there was even the celestial suppression weapon "Zetton" that might show up at the very end.
Its trillion-degree fireball, capable of wiping out all three-dimensional space within a 200-light-year diameter...
was absolutely not something this group of students could pick a fight with right now.
Judging by the current exam difficulty, it could pretty much be considered the final exam of this stage for their group.
Chris reined in his thoughts.
He turned to look at Shiina Hiyori, who stood off to one side — the [Phantom Mask] shed now that she'd left the battlefield — her head lowered in silence.
"By the way… Shiina, how are you feeling now?"
Shiina Hiyori looked up at the words.
Her small face, pale from mental exhaustion, flushed with a faint blush she couldn't hold back.
Inwardly, the girl thought with an irrepressible flutter of joy:
'I knew it… I really do matter to Chris! After wrapping up something that important, he didn't even bother to go comfort Karuizawa Kei — he came to check on me first!'
But the joy lasted only half a second before the girl snapped back to her senses.
'No! How could I think something like that?'
'This possessive, smug feeling… it's completely out of character for me!'
Alarm shot through Shiina Hiyori.
'Ugh… it seems the [Phantom Mask]'s darkening corruption of the mind ran too deep.'
Even with the mask off, those amplified dark sides were still subtly influencing her!
Shiina Hiyori pressed her pink lips together and quietly chalked the anomaly up to the item's side effects.
She gave a gentle shake of her head and answered softly:
"Physically, I'm fine. But mentally… I haven't quite recovered from that darkening earlier…"
Chris comforted her gently:
"Relax. Things really were dire back in the exam, but at least here in the presiding god's space, we're absolutely safe."
"Get some good rest. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Shiina Hiyori nodded obediently:
"Mm! I'm okay."
She turned toward the God Sphere hovering midair and steered the topic away herself:
"Let's check this exam's score first. If we can scrape together 400 S Points for a real Beta Box… for us, that'd just about count as a blessing in disguise."
Chris nodded in agreement and, following her gaze, turned his eyes back to the God Sphere in the air.
Light streamed across the sphere's surface, and the settlement list read as follows:
[Base Survival Reward: 25 Points]
[Kill/Contribution Reward Settlement]
[1. Chris: 205 points (cumulative 280)]
[2. Sakayanagi Arisu, Ryuuen: 75 points (cumulative: Sakayanagi 81, Ryuen 142)]
[3. Hayasaka Ai, Karuizawa Kei, Amikura Mako, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose Honami: 25 points (cumulative: Hayasaka 28, Karuizawa 54, Amikura Mako 49, Ichinose 128)]
[Class Reward Tally:]
[Class C (Ichinose's class): 3392 (original 3142 + 50×500%, each member additionally granted 250,000 spending points)]
[Class A (Chris's class): 5079 (original 2779 + 230×1000%, each member additionally granted 2,300,000 spending points)]
[Class D (Ryuen's class): 3307 (original 2557 + 100×750%, each member additionally granted 750,000 spending points)]
[Class B (Sakayanagi's class): 2645 (original 1895 + 100×750%, each member additionally granted 750,000 spending points)]
Having read through the string of numbers, Ryuuen rubbed his chin, showing little excitement:
"Just as I thought — Godzilla only bumps up the score once it's fully evolved. We froze and finished it early, so in the system's judgment the score stayed stuck at 180."
Chris, for his part, looked entirely indifferent:
"Surviving is what matters. Scores — a few more or less makes no real difference…"
He turned to Karuizawa Kei and Amikura Mako and instructed:
"Kei, Amikura, your scores are enough now. Go redeem the [Blank Card Box] from the shop first."
"Once everyone's rested a few days and recovered mentally, we'll pick a time and head into the Mirror World together to sign Contract Beasts."
Karuizawa Kei and Amikura Mako nodded again and again in agreement, and without dawdling, immediately began working their Black Sphere Watches to redeem.
Off to the side, though, Sakayanagi Arisu pursed her lips, thoroughly unamused.
Then she suddenly leaned in a little closer, tilting her head up with curiosity:
"By the way, Chris — since Godzilla counts as a kill target too."
"What items did it drop? There should be more than one, right?"
Chris gave a light laugh, holding nothing back.
With a flip of his wrist, he tossed over the three capsules along with the Item Illustrated Guide.
"See for yourself."
"[Dragon Talisman], [Gravity Gun (Z-GUN)], and…"
"[GANTZ Mecha (Pilotable Robot)]."
"Aside from the talisman… they all seem to be top-tier gear worth 100 S Points each in the Black Sphere shop."
____
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