The JGSDF Special Region Expeditionary Force began to pull out.
By the time half the troops which remained in Arnus had departed, units dispatched to various other areas finally returned.
"The 2nd Combat Group's returned."
"Mm. Send them on to Ginza. Leave as many vehicles and as much weapons and ammunition behind except for what we need to transport the wounded and critical resources.
"Yes."
As the personnel went through the Gate to Ginza one after the other, Hazama and the others gathered up the men who wanted to stay as well as the Arnus townsfolk and had them pile up the dirt inside and outside the dome to help set up wire obstacles. They were preparing to deal with the bugs that would rush out of the Gate when Lelei ran out of strength.
"Everyone from this unit who wants to stay, assemble over here!"
"All returnees, leave your ammo and other stores behind!"
"Prioritize the movement of the wounded! Hurry!"
The members of the various recon teams showed up among the people who were going back.
Sergeant Major Kuwabara ordered Tozu and Azuma to carry Higaki's stretcher, and as he supervised the construction of the fortifications, he found a plain-clothed Kuribayashi among the workers.
"Oi, Kuribayashi, what are you doing!? You want to stay?"
"I'm bad at giving up."
"Won't that be troublesome for you?"
"It's fine, besides, there's nothing interesting waiting for me at home. I want to go wild over here."
"So the JSDF's the best place for you, then? Don't get hurt, you hear."
"You too, boss."
Higaki hummed a tune from where he lay on his stretcher. It must have been the morphine at work. Nishina, Katsumoto, Sasagawa… the members of 3rd Recon left Kuribayashi behind and vanished beyond the other side of the Gate.
Kuribayashi, who had stayed behind, gathered several lower-ranking people as temporary subordinates, and together they worked on setting up the barbed wire. Hazama called out from behind her.
"Can we get three rolls of concertina wire here?"
THe person addressing her was Hazama, the commander of the Special Region Expeditionary Force. Kuribayashi saluted and replied:
"Roger. Triple concertina it is… although, will it really work against those bugs?"
"Just install it first. We might not be able to stop the bugs' assault if we rely solely on the dome's walls. The dome is our last line of defense. Surely you don't want to regret it later, no?"
"Roger."
"Also, if you want to stay, you'd best gear up. Do you plan to fight like this?"
After Kuribayashi ran off to change, the officers under Hazama came up to him, their hands full of items to be brought back, and asked:
"General… aren't you going back?"
"As a commander, I have a duty to complete my task. When we advance I must be the first in, and when we retreat I must be the last out. That is how I feel that a commander ought to act."
"But, how about your family?"
"My son's old enough to take care of himself. There's no need to worry about my wife. More to the point, you'll have to sort things out after you get back. I'll leave that to you."
"Sir! In that case, please excuse us."
Saying so, the officers saluted Hazama and then vanished through the Gate.
***
At the same time, Yanagida and Furuta were on a helicopter headed for Arnus.
After sighting Arnus Hill, the pilot adjusted his course and flew straight for it.
A shout of "anyone who wants to stay can stay" rang out over the aircraft radio. It would seem they wanted to gather all the airmen who wanted to remain.
After hearing this, a surprising number of people broke out in cheers.
"Well, a lot of people seem happy."
"Being allowed to fly around freely here is very attractive, and it feels good to not have weird restrictions on you. But I have family on the other side…"
"Then why not bring your family over?"
"That was the original plan. But dammit, it was so sudden…"
"Lieutenant Yanagida, I wish to stay in the Special Region. Please let me off at Arnus."
Still immobilized by everyone, Furuta expressed his desire to remain. However, Sherry ― who had been silent all this while ― addressed Furuta like she was chiding a petulant child.
"Is that what Tyuule-sama would want you to do, Furuta-sama? I'm sure that's not it."
"What would a kid know?"
"Well, I'm a woman too," Sherry continued. "Therefore, please go back to Japan and fulfil your dream, Furuta-sama."
"No."
After that, Delilah interrupted in an annoyed tone of voice.
"I should have just killed her on the spot. That way Master Furuta wouldn't have had any lingering attachments to this place."
"In any case, I want to stay."
"You can't. You still have a duty to fulfil your dream, Furuta-sama."
"A duty!?"
"Tyuule-sama believed you could fulfil your dream. That was why she looked so happy."
"What part of Tyuule looked happy? How was she happy!?"
In Furuta's eyes, Tyuule's face had been a jumble of emotions.
But Sherry nodded without any hesitation.
"Mm, she had a very happy look on her face. I'm sure she felt happy because she felt you could fulfil your dreams, Furuta-sama."
"Why is that!? How is there any happiness for Tyuule-san in that!?"
"I'm not quite sure how to explain it to you."
"...I don't get it. That's not normal at all."
And so, Delilah said, "Maybe, just maybe, I can sort of understand how that woman feels."
Delilah looked outside as she continued speaking.
"If someone's been in despair for a long time, then even the thought of "maybe I could be happy" might be enough for them. The fact is that you thought of her, Master Furuta, and you told her, 'come with me'. And you can do it if it's you, can't you, Master Furuta? Therefore, she felt that she could be happy."
"In that case, why didn't she reach out and take it!? It's the same as looking at food and saying, 'oh, it's delicious, but I'm full', isn't it?"
"Do you understand what it means to be afraid of happiness? Imagine there's a door, and that going through it would make you happy, but once you think that you might not actually be happy, you start to have doubts. Maybe there'll be nothing behind that door after you open it. On the contrary, you might be filled with despair instead. Therefore, maybe it's better not to open the door, but to press your ear to it, listen to the sounds from the other side, and maybe you'll be happier that way."
"Can you even do that?"
Furuta did not want to accept Delilah's words, because they were just too sad. However, his heart understood what she was trying to say.
Furuta fell silent, and Yanagida said to the pilot, "Alright, we don't have time to land, just fly straight through the Gate."
The aircraft radio said, "There's no time, hurry!" If they chose to land and then walk off the helicopter, they would not be able to return.
"Roger!"
The pilot nimbly worked the control stick and the collective, then flew into the opening of the dome.
"Watch out! We're going in!"
The people inside the dome and around the Gate saw a helicopter that was practically scraping the ground flying in at high speed, and they hurriedly dove aside. Others did not dodge, but instead dropped flat to the ground. Yanagida and the others nearly grazed their backs as their helicopter plunged into the Gate.
After entering the Gate and passing through a murky world of whiteness, the scenery of Ginza unfolded before them.
"It's Ginza!"
After passing through the Gate, the helicopter nearly hit the personnel coming back from the Special Region, and so he pulled up on his stick and raised the helicopter's nose. However, he nearly struck the dome's ceiling, so he pushed down on his stick and forced a descent.
After this rollercoaster ride, the helicopter exited the dome and scraped against the ground outside the Ginza garrison.
The helicopter's fuselage gouged a furrow into the asphalt road and its blades of its rotor bent and broke after they struck the ground. It slid amidst a trail of sparks into an alley between two department store buildings.
If the Ginza Garrison had not been besieged by protesters, if the surrounding traffic had not been diverted away, there would probably have been an accident. But currently, all the cars in the area were gone, and so only the riot police saw as the helicopter expended its momentum in a slide across the tarmac.
It ground to a halt in front of a store window.displaying wedding dresses.
"Hey, everyone alright?"
The smell of iron and aviation fuel filled the air. Amidst all this , the riot police rushed over.
They were closely followed by men from the fire department, which doused the helicopter in water to prevent it from burning
Yanagida was face down on the ground and hosed from head to toe, and he raised his head with a "Pwha!"
"I thought I was going to die…"
"Ah, yes... I saw Father and Mother told me it was too early to join them..."
Sherry s petite frame was stuck between Yanagida and Delilah, and she was flat on her back.
"Is everyone alive?"
"Yup~"
"I guess this counts as living."
"I am fine."
All the men responded in turn. The pilot silently raised his right arm.
Yanagida and the others had successfully returned to Ginza.
***
"Guh…"
The sweat on Lelei's forehead was like a waterfall as her body listed to one side.
Keeping the Gate open for several hours had almost depleted Lelei's strength. In particular, suddenly enlarging the Gate for Yanagida and the others had taken a severe toll on her stamina. After that, the Gate had shrunk to a size where their personnel could only pass through single file and with their heads ducked.
"Lelei, are you alright?"
Lelei nodded weakly in response to Tuka's question.
Since she was clenching her teeth and focusing her strength, she did not have the energy to speak.
"How much longer can she keep this up?"
Kato answered General Hazama on her behalf.
"About another ten minutes or so."
"Can't you take over for her, Kato-sensei?"
"I couldn't do it!"
Hazama regarded the line of JSDF personnel. The remaining men would not be able to fully pass through the Gate in the next ten minutes.
Hazama waved his hand to hurry them up.
"Everyone who doesn't need to go back, fall out now!"
"I have a pregnant wife!"
"Alright, you go first."
"I'm single, I'll go back later!"
Those people who had pressing reasons to go back were clapped on the back and forced through by the others.
By this time, the Gate had narrowed to the size of a pipe. The servicemen who wanted to go back had to crawl through it.
"Hurry! Hurry!"
They would not be able to go through while carrying things.
Many of the men dropped what they were holding and stuck their arms out while pushing their heads through to let the people on the other side pull them over.
"Lelei-san! Do your best!"
"Come on, it's just a bit more, so hang in there!"
Lelei responded to everyone's cheers by sweeping back her sweat-slicked hair and nodding.
"You lot, hurry up!"
But the Gate was gradually shrinking.
"Oh no!"
And then, Lelei finally passed out.
The last man to go through had the toes of his combat boot cut off by the closing hole, and the severed tip rolled around on the ground.
"Ah, dammit!"
After that, there was a small earthquake. However, the soldiers punching the ground in resentment did not feel it.
Isn't there a way ― everyone looked over to Lelei, but when they saw her in Kato's arms, nobody could say anything. That was because everyone present understood that her efforts had gone beyond her limits.
The men looked nervously to the piece of combat boot that stood where the Gate had been, and they all breathed a sigh of relief to see that there were no toes in it. Its owner must have been hugging his toes on the other side in relief and going, "That was close!"
Finally, the black sun appeared on top of the dome again. The world began to warp once more, and the flat surface began to sink down.
"Alright, the bugs are coming. Everyone to your positions. Close the doors to the dome."
Under Hazama's orders, there was a weighty clang as the steel doors slammed shut, and the servicemen each took their assigned places.
Since many of the people with families had chosen to go back, most of the people who remained were young. The people who had remained here with Hazama were largely single junior officers.
"So, how many people stayed?"
"I estimate around four to five thousand."
"So a total of four to five thousand people who have something good here and who couldn't get back, huh? Alright, everyone who stayed, reorganize into new units. It's okay if it's a bit messy. Get them outside the dome and prepare for the walls to be breached."
"What about the Arnus mercenaries?"
"We can count on them in a melee. Have them join the defense."
"Roger."
The troopers each readied their rifles and pointed the muzzles of their machine guns towards the black hole at the heart of the depression.
Rory levelled her halberd at it, her toes grinding through a bug's corpse as it slid across the ground and her heel firmly planted on the floor. An air of power radiated from her, like a fully-drawn bow.
Beside her was Kuribayashi, her bayonet-equipped Type 64 rifle in hand. She was in full battle order and was fully loaded, complete with a spare rifle on her back.
"So we're fighting together again."
"I'm looking forward to it."
The two women exchanged looks and then smiled to each other.
The mercenaries formed a shield wall around the dome doors. The JSDF troopers pointed their rifles out through the gaps in preparation for the enemy to arrive.
As Hazama checked on his men's status, he took up a wireless handset and spoke into it.
"This is Hazama. Itami, can you hear me? How's things on your end?"
"Actually, things are not going too well here."
"What happened? Do you need assistance? Have you planted the explosives?"
"They're all set up. Just need to hook up the detonator…"
"Think of a way to deal with it within ten minutes..."
Saying so, Hazama put away his handset. An elephant-sized bug was about to emerge from the abyss.
"Requesting reinforcements. This is Itami. Situation critical, I need backup."
However the wireless went silent before the crucial request could go through, and there was no response.
"Did something happen?"
"I guess."
"Deal with it within ten minutes… easier said than done."
"Of course he'd think that way since you didn't explain the situation over here to him."
Itami grumbled and Tomita tried to soothe him from where he was dangling on a rope halfway down the wall to plant explosives.
"So, are we going to find a way around this? After all, if we've got no more tricks up our sleeves, we'll have to give up."
Tomita was being lowered himself to the center of the wall to organize the fuses that were connected everywhere. He could not let go of them. If he did, the fuses would be a mess, and sorting them out again would waste valuable time. If he wanted to finish this job, all he could do was wait for Itami to lower the cable for the main detonator to him.
"Well, it's not like we have a choice, do we? Wait here, Tomita."
However, a Dar appeared in front of Itami. It was probably a survivor from the group that had caused havoc in town. The Dar bared its fangs and glared at Itami, looking like it was going to lunge at any moment.
"In any case, I need to think of a way to deal with this guy."
The detonator and its cables were all behind the Dar.
The problem now was Itami's weapons ― his shotgun was loaded with 12 gauge birdshot (each pellet was 2.75mm across), and he could only load two rounds at a time. He felt uneasy about taking on a monster like the Dar with that.
"If only I had some slug shells…"
"How would a normal person have something like that?"
"Good grief. If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken that death flag back."
Itami loaded his shells into the shotgun, then closed the weapon that was folded open in the middle.
Rory and Kuribayashi faced a large bug that looked like a spider.
The bug was incredibly dextrous in a way that did not match its massive body at all, and it stabbed repeatedly with the sharpened tips of its tentacles and limbs. It was bigger than them and it rained a series of stabs at them from above was like a killing storm. Rory's nimble footwork carried her past the strikes, which barely grazed her.
However, its bladed limbs, which slammed down with tremendous force, could cause incredible damage with just a slight graze.
Her goth lolita's priestess uniform was ripped, baring great swathes of her skin, and even the demigoddess clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Nobody asked you lot to come to this world!"
Rory's sweat beaded on her skin like pearls, and they scattered as she jumped.
As she fell, she raised her halberd and swung it down to add her momentum to the strike.
It plunged down toward the giant bug's head, which leapt back a considerable distance to evade.
Having missed its mark, the halberd crashed against the concrete floor, and the explosive impact threw up a cloud of dust which briefly obscured her vision. However, Rory easily pulled the half-buried halberd from the ground, then stepped forward with a cry of "over here" and stabbed its body with the spike on its tip.
Her blow struck true. It felt like she had made contact with a heavy slab of metal.
The bug's exoskeleton was a thick plate of carapace, and while she could not pierce it, she sent it flying and knocked it to the ground. Rory immediately pressed the attack and delivered a blistering combination of strikes.
"Take this take this take this and die!"
It was very difficult to block each and every strike in the savage storm of blows she unleashed. The bug's massive body quivered, as though it was afraid of her overwhelming destructive power, and its survival instincts sent it scurrying back to its companions.
Kuribayashi kept pulling the trigger, wiping out the smaller bugs in front of Rory. Now that her way was cleared, Rory charged.
"Tremble before me! Cower in fear!"
Rory stomped through the bug horde and suddenly turned, using the force of her rotation to reap a swathe through the bugs
She sent the bugs flying like she was shaking them off her weapon. The massive body of the spider bug was slowly exposed.
"Now! Open fire!"
Under Hazama's order, flashing tracers lashed out in a rain of bullets as they covered Rory.
"Fire! Fire!"
The heavy machine gun and the tank cannon punched the immobilized bug's carapace full of holes.
Rory and Kuribayashi backed off to avoid the explosion.
A mantis-type bug spread its wings to pursue them. Kuribayashi showered it in bullets, but the wounds it received were not fatal, and it immediately prepared to attack upon touching down.
Just as the mantis bug was about to bite her, Rory ducked aside, and once she recovered she immediately prepared to intercept an attack.
"Hmph, so you're smart enough for teamwork. I can't look down on you, even though you're a bug."
Rory turned at the waist and swung her halberd. The mantis bug leapt at her, and Rory waited for the right timing before hacking at it with her halberd.
However, the mantis bug suddenly flared its wings and stopped its advance. Having missed her timing, Rory lost her balance and cleaved nothing but air. Her black goth lolita priestess' outfit blossomed like a flower with the force of her revolution, and Rory stepped boldly across the ground like she was dancing.
Carried by the weight of the halberd, she spun again, and then she took another step forward and accelerated her spin. From her steady, even steps, one could tell her toes were stably supporting her center of gravity, doubling the force of her spin, and this doubled destructive force clashed with the mantis bug's scythe arms.
"Still, far too naive!"
There was a sound like metal striking metal, and the impact shattered the scythe-bladed claw which the mantis bug had extended for defense.
A solid hit. Hazama and the others believed Rory would win.
However, a rain of bullet-like interlopers fell from the sky and grazed Rory's body.
She narrowly managed to avoid them, but the blow had done some damage to Rory.
"My left arm? Hmph, so be it."
Rory paid her dangling left arm no heed. She might be a demigoddess, but recovering still took some time. She would not be able to fight if she waited for herself to heal. Thus, Rory abandoned the idea that she had ever had a left arm and her mind switched over to only using her right arm to fight.
"Alright! Come and… huh?"
The newly-arrived adversaries had the form of the crawling bane of housewives everywhere.
"Aiiiieeeee!"
Both Rory and Kuribayashi blanched as they saw them. Their flesh was covered in goosebumps, and they suddenly broke out in a sweat.
"No, noooooooooooo!"
Rory and Kuribayashi wailed as they hugged each other. They simply could not overcome their biological reaction.
The kitchenbane bugs rushed at the two of them.
Just then, a flaming arrow flew out from nowhere and struck one of the bugs in the eye.
The oily bug was promptly consumed by flame
"Rory, Shino, leave this place to me, now get back!"
After nocking another arrow, the elf maiden Tuka drew the fiberglass compound bow (with mechanical pulley assistance) to full extension. As the most skilled of the three girls with housework, she did not hesitate in exterminating these pests and promptly pressed the attack."
"Acute-hno unjhy Oslash-dh jopo-auml yuml-uya whqolgn! Oh fire, cleanse and purify these vermin!"
Arrows loosed from a pulley-system bow could reach speeds in excess of 270 km/h, After being further boosted by the power of the sylphs, they pierced the verminous bugs like thunderbolts.
To Tuka, this was a recreation of the nigh-divine skill that her father favored. In addition, the power of the flame spirits wreathed her opponents in flame.
The bugs' cries echoed throughout Arnus.
The bug horde converged on Tuka, possibly considering her a new threat.
However, Tuka pulled away from them with athletic moves.
The smaller bugs crawled all over the ground.
"Defensive stance!"
After that, on Yao's command, the mercenaries formed their unevenly-shaped shields into a wall on both sides of her, in order to block off the bug horde.
They stabbed the incoming bugs with their swords while the JGSDF members spat fire from their rifles through the gaps, mowing down the bug hordes.
During this time, Tuka finished incanting a spell and released a bolt of bluish-white lightning. The smaller bugs were immediately roasted to a crisp. While it did not harm the larger bugs, the JSDF troopers were now free to focus their fire on the surviving large bugs.
After seeing how Tuka had bravely fought, Rory could not continue to be afraid.
As the cockroach bugs appeared before her, Rory raised her halberd and shouted, "Ahhhh, I'll have Itami bathe me after this!" and hacked at the bugs.
A sickening sensation ran up her arm and Rory wrinkled her pretty eyebrows and shut her eyes. Perhaps she had anticipated this, but when she gingerly opened her eyes, she found that the bug's fluids had painted her halberd a gruesome new shade.
The pellets from the shotgun's muzzle raked the Dar.
Several small sphere's sank into the creature's flesh. However, the monster was covered from head to toe in thick fur, and it showed no sign that it had been hurt. After backing off from Itami, it raised its claws and bared its fangs in a threatening display.
"I didn't expect to step into a post-apocalyptic movie here of all places…"
Itami took out a pair of shells and fed them into the shotgun. However, after seeing the small pellets in the plastic cartridges, Itami sighed.
"The hell am I going to do with birdshot!?"
Cut-down shotguns like these were often used by radical terrorists.
They were both easy to hide and did not require precise aim. They did great damage and performed well in close combat.
But in turn, they had a very short range, and they lacked punch. It was enough for humans, but their firepower was insufficient to take down monsters.
The Dar roared and leapt at Itami.
"Uwah!"
As Itami ducked the monster's claws, he pointed his weapon at the monster and pulled the trigger.
There were two gunshots.
The Dar's hide ripped open, and blood sprayed all over the surroundings.
However, the monster looked like it had merely been tickled.
The battle inside the dome grew steadily more intense.
The bugs pouring out increased in quantity and variety, and the winged bugs in particular seemed to be pouring out like a river.
The wire obstacles they had spent so much effort setting up appeared to be completely useless against the shelled bugs. The JSDF servicemen could no longer aim at individual bugs with their firearms, and could only shoot wildly in the general direction of the bugs. Even so, their bullets were not wasted, because many winged bugs were shot out of the sky and the smaller bugs were pulverized. There were so many bugs crawling around in front of them that they did not need to aim to score a hit.
The mercenaries held their shields in a wall against the shelled bugs that poured down like bullets. However, the bugs' spear-like sharpened feet pierced the mercenaries' shields and hit them, gouging chunks out of their chests.
"Guwaaargh!"
The floor of the dome gradually filled with countless corpses of giant bugs. But the bugs crunched over the corpses as they attacked, and the mercenaries fell one after the other.
The JGSDF casualties outnumbered the mercenaries.
"Uwah, uwaaaaahhh!"
"Someone, get it off me!"
A trooper ran around, covered by countless bugs which then stabbed him, dropping him to the ground as he foamed from the mouth. This was no longer the sound of the troopers encircling the black hole and keeping its contents from spilling out, but the troopers being surrounded by bugs within the dome.
Shelled bugs flew over like bullets, and Tuka neatly shot them out of the air.
However, after bringing down the last one, she was out of arrows.
"Oh, oh no…" As she mumbled to herself while feeling around for an arrow, a winged bug pressed close, intent on impaling Tuka's body.
"Look out!"
Yao pushed Tuka down to protect her. However, the bug stabbed Yao square in the chest.
"Yao!"
Tuka embraced Yao, who had fallen face down.
"It's just a flesh wound! Hang in there!"
But Yao did not respond to Tuka's cries.
The mercenaries took a square formation to defend themselves from all directions. The JSDF troopers retreated inside the squares, and continued firing on the bugs that assaulted them. However, as the troopers and the mercenaries on the outside went down one after the other, the square began slowly shrinking.
Elsewhere, the bugs which filled the dome finally reached the outer wall.
They attacked the concrete wall with their sharp legs, chewing away at it like drills. They were breaking apart the dome to open a path to the Special Region.
After making a small hole, the bugs poured out into the air of the Special Region.
"Flamethrowers up! Sweep them!"
The NBC troopers waiting outside sprayed tongues of flame at the hirde, burning away the bugs swarming out of the hole. But the bugs' insectile instincts made them fly towards fire, and they mauled the troopers even while wreathed in flame.
"Uwah, someone, help…!"
A trooper wearing a flamethrower was grabbed by a burning bug and burned by his own flames.
Under the mercenaries' testudo formation, Hazama took out his wireless handset and shouted into it.
"Itami, hurry! We can't hold out much longer!"
The monster's telephone-pole-sized arm swung at him.
Every time the razor-sharp claws sliced through the air, Itami evaded them by falling flat on his ass.
I can't kill this monster by keeping my distance and using this shotgun on it. After coming to that conclusion, the only thing Itami could think of was luring it as close as possible. However, Itami only knew enough close combat skills to fake his way through. While he was by no means an amateur combatant, there was no way he could fight a monster to a standstill.
"Cut it up and break its bones! ...As if I could do that! Uwah!"
Itami's plan was to observe his foe and then rend its flesh. But he was just a little off in misjudging the distance, and the Dar's claw was suddenly in his face.
He raised his arm to defend himself, but the shocking impact sent him flying through the air and sprawling to the ground. The shotgun shell he had gone to so much trouble to discharge at point blank range merely dented the monster's skin.
"Koff, koff! My ar'sm still attached!?"
It hurt so much that he thought his arm had been shredded. Yet strangely enough, Itami had not been harmed.
"Dammit!"
He wanted to stand up, but his body creaked all over. Still, it was not unbearable.
It hurt badly enough to make him clench his teeth, but Itami wanted to see what had happened to his body.
After that, fresh blood spurted from his arms, like they had been raked by the claws. He wondered what it was, and it turned out to be writing. The scratches took the form of words which appeared on his skin.
"The blood flowing within your body is mine. Therefore, your wounds are also mine."
"Eh, Rory? Seriously…"
Itami thought back to when Rory had grabbed the same part of herself where blood had been taken from him.
"Try your best not to get hurt. A terrible fate awaits those who scar a maiden's flesh."
Itami knew why Rory had done this.
"Now I can't even die or get hurt! I can't believe that woman's taking herself hostage like this!"
"Also: I can only take your wounds. If your head comes off, you'll die."
In other words, she was warning him, "don't get hurt and don't die."
After loaded his next round into the shotgun, Itami face the monster. Its eyes seemed to be saying, "you're a troublesome bastard."
"Closer. Just a little closer."
All he could do now was press his shotgun directly against the monster and pull the trigger.
Itami obliqued his body slightly, still staring the Dar in the eye, and waited for it to swing with all its might.
But the Dar moved with speed that could not be seen by the naked eye and ripped open Itami's chest.
"Crap! Sorry, Rory!"
Itami pressed his chest and moved his legs.
Thinking that Itami was beaten and could not fight any more, the Dar gaped its maw open wide, prepared to crush Itami's skull between its teeth.
"I was waiting for you to do that!"
Itami jammed the muzzle of his shotgun into the depths of the monster's throat, and opened fire at point blank range.
The two loads of 12 gauge No. 6 buckshot tore through the Dar's throat, pulverized its cervical vertebrae and penetrated all the way to its breathing center ― the medulla oblongata.
The monster stiffened up, and Itami kicked it with a great cry, sending it toward a fissure on the ground.
On its way down, the Dar swiped at Tomita, who was still clinging to his rope.
Tomita, who had very nearly followed it, shouted:
"El-tee! Are you trying to kill me!?"
Ah, sorry! Are you alright!?"
That was close. Next time, tell me if you're going to drop something on top of my head."
Itami shakily approached the roll of detonation cord and lowered it to Tomita.
After taking hold of the cord, he spliced it together with the fuses.
Countless bugs passed through the holes that led from the inside of the dome to the outside world, and then they spread out.
The troopers waiting outside used flamethrowers to keep the bugs from flowing out, but as more of the bug holes appeared, the men were gradually overwhelmed. As she saw more and more bugs escaping outside, Rory shouted:
"This is bad!"
Rory ran towards the wall, intent on keeping the bug hordes from spilling out. But Rory's chest immediately gouted fresh blood, and she coughed up blood from her mouth. It was as though an invisible opponent had stabbed her in the chest. It forced even a demigoddess to her knees.
"Guh!" Someone stop them!"
But nobody answered Rory's cry.
Everyone had their hands full just protecting themselves.
The bugs escaped the dome in incredible numbers. Countless winged bugs, shelled bugs and crawling bugs made their way outside.
However, it was immediately followed by a fearsome roar that drowned out all other noise.
The helicopters of the 4th Combat Group appeared, and they bathed the bugs emerging the dome in a rain of bullets.
"Kill every single one of them!"
Following Kengun's orders, the UH-1Js harried the escaping shelled and winged bugs all over the place. Their wings and shells filled with holes and they went down immediately.
On top of that, the skies over Arnus filled with Wyverns.
"I have no grudge against you, but since you're a danger to the world, I shall wipe you all out. Everyone, get them!"
After Giselle's exhortation, the Wyverns plunged down.
Then, the Wyverns descended in unison upon the bugs leaving the dome, chewing and devouring them. The bugs' numbers diminished.
"Don't let a single one escape!"
As others took care of the bugs outside, Giselle ordered her Wyverns to work their way into the dome through the holes.
Giselle's minions ― the Wyverns ― made it inside and laid into the bug horde.
As the tide turned, a look of relief came over Rory's face, and she panted heavily while using her halberd to prop herself up.
Giselle walked over to Rory.
"Onee-sama. I trust my debt is cleared now?"
"Mm, that works for me."
After hearing the answer she craved, Giselle clapped and exclaimed, "Yaaaay!" After that, she addressed Rory again.
"Also, ah, er… I'd like it if you could help cover things up a little. That way Mistress won't scold me for helping you, Onee-sama."
"Got it. I'll take care of it. You'll be able to return to Belnago with your head held high."
Upon hearing this, Giselle clapped in delight once more.
"Wonderful! In that case, how about marrying Mistress!"
"No can do."
"Cheh. How about free food and drink?"
"This is a demigod's duty, right? Don't get too greedy just because you did what was expected of you! I won't ask about why you gathered so many Wyverns, so check yourself."
"Eh, I guess I was asking for that. Got it. I'll help take care of the rest around here!"
In order to avoid Rory's doubtful gaze, Giselle assaulted the bug hordes once more.
Elsewhere, Hazama was helping up his fallen men, and he barked into his handset, "Say again?"
"What? Ten seconds!? Understood!"
He put down his wireless handset and shouted to his subordinates.
"Detonation in ten seconds! Prepare for the black hole to vanish!"
After receiving Hazama's warning, the troopers did their best to stay away from the black hole. That said, the battle against the bugs still continued. Due to the intervention of the Wyverns, the battle became a deadlock, but it was not over yet.
Tuka did her best to drag Yao as far away from the black hole as she could.
"I, I'll get a doctor for you right away. Come on, Yao!"
And then, a stream of 500 yen coins poured out of the skirt of Yao's armor.
"These are… 500 yen coins?"
Her question was answered immediately.
"50 yen coins are better than 5 yen coins, so 500 yen coins ought to be better than 50 yen coins. And having more is better than having one, so I had the blacksmith fuse a few dozen of them together into a big medallion. That saved me."
Yao looked up to Tuka.
"Don't worry me. I thought you were dead!"
Tuka sat down hard on the ground, and punched Yao's plump bosom. After that, Yao went "Guwaaaargh" and passed out from the commotio cordis.
"Hey, hey, hang on! Your wounds aren't deep!"
Upon hearing Tuka's voice, the JSDF medics rushed over.
"Her heart… oh no! Alright, get the paddles!"
They began cardiac massage to save Yao.
"What happened, Tuka?"
"Don't ask questions with obvious answers! Obviously it was those bug bastards!"
"Ah, er, well…"
Tuka could not give a proper reply.
"Counting down from five!"
Itami retreated to a safe distance, then looked at his watch with Tomita and gripped the detonator tightly.
Tomita teased Itami.
"Hey, el-tee, how's your chest?"
"Er, you mean this?"
Itami tugged at the shreds of his uniform blouse.
"I've been cursed."
"Cursed? Don't tell me you've confused it with a goddess' blessing?"
"Five."
"At this point, it's a curse. It no longer has anything to do with my free will. And because of them, the I'll miss the Summer Comiket and the Winter Comiket… dammit! But I won't give up. I will go back! I'll go back to Akiba and the Comikets!"
"Four."
"But when I think about things that way, shouldn't I be feeling happy at this point?"
"Three."
"Really? Is it like that?"
"Two."
"That's how it is. You'll be punished if you talk too much."
"Really?"
"One."
"But it's not like you totally refused them, right?"
"Well, I guess. It's true…"
On the count of "zero", Itami turned the knob on the detonator.
What would happen if one tied two rubber bands together, stretched them to their maximum extension, and then cut them?
The disappearance of the Gate was like the severance of the bands. In addition, the distortion accumulated from the creation of the Gate until the moment of its closure was discharged into the separated worlds all at once.
However, the earthquake this time was very special.
Regular earthquakes decreased in intensity the further one got from their epicenter. However, this global-scale earthquake's intensity did not decrease at all, and the entire world shook as one."
It was a 5(upper) on the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale. Its magnitude was incalculable.
The power of an earthquake was measured by the degree of damage it caused, but in this case it was not applicable.
This was particularly true in places where earthquakes occurred rarely, and whose buildings were not built for sturdiness.
The Japanese might have said, "whoa, that startled me" about the earthquake, but in other places it destroyed many buildings and caused destruction on a massive scale.
Italica, House Formal Manor
The two earthquakes had thoroughly crushed the fighting spirit of the combatants.
The earth had suddenly lurched up and around in all directions, and the soldiers were assailed by a fear not born of bloody battle.
In battle, one feared the enemy. By slaying the enemy and defeating them, one could conquer one's fear.
However, humans could not do anything about natural disasters such as earthquakes. Thus, they could not conquer their fear with courage. Therefore, the soldiers could not focus on fighting.
Their surging lust for battle and willpower were extinguished as though by water, leaving nothing but emptiness in their hearts.
Once their spirits cooled down, it was very hard to fire them up again. The soldiers recalled the fatigue and pain they had forgotten during their frenzied fighting. And so the soldiers abandoned the thought of fighting, helped their wounded stand or supported them, then began returning to their own lines.
Pina's knights streamed back to her side.
"Your Highness!"
"Oh, Bozes. Thanks for your hard work."
The first thing Beefeater said when she returned was to go "Ahhhh, I'm so tired! Water, fetch me water," before falling on her back in front of Pina.
"For, for you, Beefeater-sama."
The command staff girls ran over, holding a tumbler of water. The girls' faces were pale and their lips were trembling, probably because of the earthquake.
"Are you scared?"
"Yes, very scared, Beefeater-sama!"
Beefeater comforted the girl helping her up and patted her head as she surveyed her surroundings.
The knights, soldiers and demihuman warriors had returned. However, not a single one of them was unhurt, and they were like a scattered mob that could not even form up into a unit or take a formation.
"You think we've had it?"
"Certainly not!"
However, Pina's strident voice slashed through Beefeater's morose pronouncement.
Pina straddled her horse, her sword in her right hand and her left gallantly waving her flag, and everyone's eyes went to her.
Even after the intense earthquake, Pina was still brimming with confidence, and as the men saw her, they too became brave.
"Your Highness!"
"Everyone, do not panic! A mere tremble like this is nothing for you to be afraid of!"
Of course, she was doing her level best to bear with her fear.
One could say the battle conditions were supremely unfavorable with the occurrence of this sudden earthquake. Pina had broken out in a cold sweat, her feet trembled uncontrollably, and her teeth were chattering since she could not close them completely.
If she could, she would very much like to flee immediately and stick her head under her bed. That was how frightened Pina was.
But Pina had learned. She had gained experience.
During the earthquake in the Imperial Capital. Itami had not shown the slightest bit of fear, and he had even laughed at it. Pina marvelled at how reassuring and heartening that sight had been.
"That's the attitude a general ought to have in a situation like this."
If the general showed no fear, her men could rest at ease too.
She ought to pass the reassurance he had given her then on to her own men. Thus, Pina grit her teeth and forced herself to bend her fear-stiffened lips into a smile.
On the other side, Zorzal was trying his best too.
"Fight, all of you! Hurry up and fight!"
However, his efforts were aimed in a different direction from Pina. All Zorzal did was shout at his generals and tell them to "fight, fight" in the hopes of stoking their morale.
"Why aren't you fighting!?"
"Zorzal-sama. We can't do battle right now. We ought to let the troops rest."
"Yes. Even if you drive frightened troops to the battlefield, they won't be able to fight."
Helm and Mutra tried to express the fear which the troops were currently experiencing in words. They were not in a state where they could fight.
However, this was a ridiculous request in Zorzal's eyes. That was because he felt that he had managed to bear with it, so it only made sense that the men ought to be fighting hard.
"Do you think Pina's troops aren't cowering in fear too? If the conditions are the same, then the side with greater numbers has the advantage! If we attack now, we're sure to win!"
"That is true in theory. But when the men are afraid, they might rout because of small things."
There were countless examples of frightened soldiers breaking and running throughout history. Frightened troops might take flight when they heard the wings of waterfowl or be unable to fight upon seeing an eclipse. In these circumstances, the logic of the more numerous side having the advantage would be very dangerous. Thus, it would be better to let the men rest and calm down before fighting again ― one could say that was a very sensible decision to make.
However, Zorzal could not understand that point.
"What's that supposed to mean? Do you plan to let this golden opportunity slip past you? If this goes on, the main body of the regular government's army might return!"
They were so close to a complete victory, but waiting here might result in that victory being denied; that frustration was what drove Zorzal. No, perhaps he had completely ignored the earthquake because the victory he so craved stood in front of him that. His troops might end up being completely immobilized by their fear of the earthquake if they stood still for a moment ― that uneasiness was what impelled him towards a final showdown.
"But―"
"Silence! We will settle this once and for all, no matter what! Form the men up into units right now! Raise the banners high and order a full advance!"
As they looked at Zorzal, who seemed to be deaf to their pleas, Helm looked to the others and shook his head. We won't make it ― those unutterable words circulated between them.
General Karasta stepped forward.
"Your Highness, we should at least try to persuade Pina to surrender."
"Say what?"
"Perhaps your Highness' valor is such that you have not yet noticed, but if the men are already this afraid, then what of the women? Surely they must be so terrified of the earthquake that they cannot even stand. Perhaps if you urge a surrender now, the foe might obediently comply to avoid having to fight."
Those words seemed to have struck a chord within Zorzal's heart.
That was because Zorzal knew that things would go more easily that way.
"...Uh, hm. Although, will Pina surrender?"
Helm stepped up to lend his support to Karasta's idea.
"It is very likely that she will surrender."
Mutra added his own support as well.
"It, it is as he says. If Pina-denka will not listen to reason, then all we will need to do is attack again. Until then, we should let our troops calm down."
Zorzal nodded, a look of understanding on his face.
"I see. In that case, Helm; you will go to Pina and persuade her to surrender. During this time, Mutra, go sort out our formation and make our troops capable of fighting. Understood?"
As Zorzal instructed, Helm went to Pina's camp in person to parley with her.
He urged his horse forward, and finally saw Pina's troops.
In his heart, he believed that her men ought to be cowering in fear, but the unexpected fact was that all of Pina's men were possessed of steely resolve and filled with fighting spirit. The fact that her men were in such high spirits despite their massive disadvantage made Helm feel that Pina was a superior general to himself.
"Marvellously done."
They could win with their numerical advantage. But there would be many casualties if they brought frightened troops onto the battlefield, and the tables might even turn on them ― such was the morale of the regular government's troops.
In order to completely triumph over such a foe, his men would need to have no fear of death. But how could he do it? Helm could not think of anything for the moment.
"As I thought, I need to get Pina-denka to surrender."
Once he approached close enough to see the base of Pina's banner, Helm called out to Pina.
"Pina-denka, this has been a long, arduous battle. Surely you've had enough? I doubt anyone will dare call you a coward now that you've fought this hard. They will sing of your Highness' courage throughout the ages. Now is the time to sheathe your sword. I urge you to surrender."
Her ranks were silent, and Pina replied:
"No. I will not suffer your existence any longer."
"Why are you so stubborn? Do you not care for the lives of your people? They are all capable and fair; surely they have a bright future ahead of them. Do you not wish to help them?"
"Of course I do."
"In that case―"
"It is because I want to help them that I cannot back down here."
"Why is that? You must know that ahead of you waits certain death."
"That is because if I let nii-sama escape, he will surely rally more troops for an uprising. When that happens, men will die. If we do not settle things right here and now, the number of dead and injured will only continue to pile p."
"What are you saying? Can you not see the circumstances? Should you not be considering how to save your men? Why are you considering Zorzal-denka's escape? In the future, everyone will look up to Zorzal-denka, and he will forge a new Empire, When that happens, who will rise up? Your worries are truly ill-founded. If you are willing to surrender, then the rebellion within the Empire will be at an end."
"And then you will continue fighting Nihon? And then even more soldiers will be made to die?"
"About that…"
Helm could not deny that point. If Zorzal won, he would surely go on to fight Japan.
Having commanded armies against the Japanese, Helm knew very well what Pina meant when she said, "more soldiers will be made to die."
"And then countless innocents will be drawn into the fray. All for the sake of a battle you cannot win."
"Your Highness. No, it is for the sake of winning the battle. This sacrifice must be made for the Empire to triumph."
"Yes. For victory. I am standing here for the sake of victory. I am driving everyone to the abyss of death and forcing them to fight for the sake of victory."
"You believe you will win, your Highness?"
"Of course."
His attempt to persuade Pina had failed. Completely baffled by how these royals did things, Helm returned to Zorzal's lines with his head in his hands.
"Helm. What did Pina say?"
"Pina-denka seems to be in the grip of a delusion. She seems to believe that she can win if she continues fighting."
"What did you say!? Has Pina forgotten even the basics of soldiering!?"
"I doubt Pina-denka is that sort of person."
"She must have been frightened by the earthquake, which shook her and prevented her from thinking clearly. Helm… send Pina on to the afterlife."
"But, our forces…"
"Are fine. The men are also prepared."
"Really?"
"Come with me."
He followed Zorzal out of the tent, where the troops were already in their ranks. Everyone's faces was stiff, like emotionless puppets. He looked around and saw the corpses of several soldiers on the ground.
"May, may I know what you did, your Highness?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I simply ordered Upson to strictly discipline the men and execute any soldier without the strength to fight."
Kobold-helmeted men ran here and there.
"You! Your eyes aren't shining enough!"
"You! Your back isn't straight!"
All these flaws might be inconsequential to the people in question, but the oprichniki seized on them to stab the offending soldiers to death. They also shouted, "this is the fate of cowards, slackers and defeatists!" to intimidate the men.
"What do you think? The men are now ready to fight. Alright, Helm. Hurry up and teach Pina what reality is."
Helm was stunned.
However, if this went on, those kobold-headed idiots would keep on killing the soldiers. That could only result in a defeat for the men.
Abandoning all delusions of control, Helm saluted, then mounted up and drew his sword.
"All forces! Advance!"
As the bugle was played, Zorzal's troops maintained their neat formation as they marched forward, like a gymnastics team.
Pina gulped as she saw the enemy forces advance.
"So they're coming, huh."
"Indeed, your Highness."
"Don't worry. I'm with you."
The staff girls gathered around Pina and drew their daggers. This was not so much to fight the enemy, but to kill themselves before they could be taken prisoner and violated, but Pina had chosen to have these girls fight the enemy instead.
"Emroy will gather the souls of all who die in battle. You must not kill yourselves."
The girls had tied their daggers to their right hands so they would not slip free.
The knights and the soldiers from the various tribes flocked to her side, awaiting the arrival of Zorzal's forces.
"It has been an honor to fight with all of you. My thanks."
And then, Gray laughed.
"I didn't expect you to talk like it was already over. What a surprise, your Highness. After this, we shall show you our true strength. To me, those words are not enough. We're going to fight so hard you won't be able to finish thanking us all in one night!"
"Hm. When the time comes, show me everything you have."
During this time, Zorzal's forces had approached until the faces of his men were visible.
Pina raised her sword to order an advance.
"All forces!"
But the other half of her command did not reach anyone's ears.
There was a sudden roar as two F-4 Phantom fighters slashed through the sky from above Pina's head.
The napalm bombs they dropped devastated Zorzal's forces from the frontline onwards.
In their close formation, Zorzal's troops had no chance to avoid the fires of heaven raining down on them. Until the moment they noticed the hungry flames filling the sky, they had not yet noticed what had happened, and so they died.
"Sorry for the long wait, my future lovers!"
Kamikoda whooped "Yahoooo~" as he pulled his F-4 Phantom into a steep climb.
The shockwave that the fighter-bomber left in its wake seemed like it would soar into the sky, and it pounded the eardrums of the ground-bound troops.
"Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! "
"Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! "
"Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! Ho-jo to-ho! "
And then, the sneers of the Valkyries came from far into the east, accompanied by the beating of helicopter rotors. Things had happened so quickly that everyone was frozen in place, but Pina retained her senses.
"Right now! All forces charge! Do not let onii-sama escape!"
Pina's order resounded through her forces. Under her command, her troops charged at Zorzal's dumbfounded army in unison.
"Ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!"
"Ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!!"
The squadron of UH-1J helicopters directed their machineguns at Zorzal's army and raked them with gunfire.
The JSDF troopers within the aircraft used their own weapons to open fire as well.
Although Zorzal's troops had clearly had it, Duran and his men alighted from the landed choppers and spread out to wipe out the stragglers from Zorzal's army.
A soldier grabbed a riderless horse and said, "Your Majesty, I found a horse, please mount up," and handed the reins over. This was the perfect gift for Duran, who had a bum leg.
"Mm, there's a good lad."
"Think nothing of it."
Duran mounted up and called out to his surrounding men.
"Umu. All of you, gather all the horses without riders you can find, then organize yourselves into a cavalry unit."
The Elbe Kingdom's knights scattered over the battlefield to round up the horses before grouping up again.
Elsewhere, Pina ordered Bozes and Beefeater to chase down the biggest concentration of Zorzal's fleeing forces.
"Seize Onii-sama! Everyone, with me!"
After that, a UH-1J descended, advancing in line with Pina's riders.
Behind Pina, Bozes' golden hair was messed up by the downwash, but she nimbly controlled her horse, and as she saw the faces of Kengun and Tomita, she urged Beefeater to look to the sky.
"Kengun!"
Beefeater flailed both her arms.
Behind her, Bozes caressed her tummy and said, "Daddy came to save us."