After that, he took the two of them for a casual stroll around the mall.
One guy walking hand in hand with two beautiful girls naturally drew plenty of stares.
By noon, the three of them decided to rest at a dessert café.
Eriri and Utaha were still quietly plotting in their minds, each wondering how to close the distance between them without looking obvious.
"Beep—!"
Out of nowhere, a deafening siren echoed through the city.
"Eh? What's going on?" Eriri perked up, startled.
"Looks like… a movie?" someone in the crowd outside muttered.
But the commotion outside grew louder. People were gathering in the square, voices overlapping in panic.
"What's happening?" Eriri leaned out the window, but the crowd blocked her view.
"Let's go check it out," Yami suggested.
He caught fragments of conversation—words like monster thrown around, mixed with disbelief.
When they stepped out of the café, they saw everyone in the square staring up at the massive screen overhead.
A live news broadcast was playing.
[Three unknown lifeforms, each exceeding ninety meters in height, made landfall on the coastline of Tokyo District at 7:00 a.m. today. The Self-Defense Forces have already launched an interdiction operation… All residents in coastal areas are advised to evacuate immediately!]
"Monsters…? Are they serious?" Eriri's hand shot up to cover her mouth.
The screen cut to footage of the creatures—three towering monsters, their bodies armored in thick scales.
Rows of tanks fired round after round, but the explosions barely scratched the surface—just sparks, like firecrackers against a wall.
Helicopters and fighter jets swarmed in next, missiles streaking across the sky.
It all looked so surreal—like Hollywood CGI dropped into the middle of the noon broadcast.
The suddenness made it hard to accept as reality, and some people around them whispered suspicions that the news was just a prank or elaborate viral marketing stunt.
"Buzz—"
Yami's eyes stayed locked on the screen, tracking every detail of the monster's movements.
And then, right on cue, his phone began to ring.
He raised it slowly and answered.
"Hey, Yami, you've seen the news too, right?"
Mizuki's voice came through the receiver, nervous but faintly exasperated.
"Yeah… monsters," Yami replied flatly.
"Exactly. The higher-ups immediately deployed thermal weapons to try and contain them, but the situation's not optimistic. The front lines are collapsing fast—they're about to reach the city limits."
Mizuki's tone dripped with frustration, as though scolding the government for their incompetence.
They'd only just received word of the incident, yet already wanted to throw ordinary forces at the creatures, expecting results.
But reality was merciless.
The monsters shrugged off everything. Unless high-yield missiles—or worse, nuclear weapons—were used, they couldn't even scratch them.
But if those were deployed, every nearby city would be wiped out along with millions of civilians.
That was why the brass finally swallowed their pride and called Yami.
The government hated relying on "unknown powers," but right now, they had no choice. The situation had spiraled too far.
And the truth was already out—news broadcasts, social media, the entire internet was exploding with the word monster.
"If you see them, tell the troops to hold out for one minute. I'll be there."
Without waiting for Mizuki's reply, Yami hung up.
Eriri and Utaha were both staring at him.
"Yami-kun… those monsters…"
Yami scratched his cheek, forcing a casual tone. "I didn't want to worry you two, but yeah. They're real. And I have to deal with them."
"..."
The silence weighed on them. Both had overheard the conversation, and they knew this wasn't some prank or movie stunt.
"Yami-kun, can you not go? What if…" Eriri's voice trembled.
Every disaster movie she'd ever seen flashed through her head—heroes charging off to fight impossible odds, never returning.
And now, the monsters on the screen were the kind that even the military couldn't stop.
"Idiot, don't jinx it like that!" Utaha flicked Eriri's forehead and gave her a sharp glare.
Then she turned to Yami, her usual calm voice softening. "Go on. We'll wait here for you to come back."
"Utaha, that's a flag too, you know."
Yami chuckled, letting some levity break the tension. "Relax. If things get bad, no one in this world can run faster than me."
With that, his form melted into the shadows—vanishing in an instant.
Eriri clutched at Utaha's sleeve, her eyes wide with panic.
"You… you idiot big-boob woman, how could you just let Yami-kun run off to do something so dangerous?! It's a monster!"
Her voice cracked, anger and fear tangled together.
Utaha closed her eyes, hiding her own unease behind a calm mask.
The she opened her eyes and started at the big screen, her tone unusually heavy.
"Eriri… even if we begged him not to, Yami-kun would still go. You saw it too—he has his own goals. All we can do now… is pray and wait."
"But…"
Eriri bit her lip, her hands trembling.
No matter what Utaha said, her chest still ached with worry. She couldn't shake the unease. But she also knew—there was no stopping him anymore.
So all she could do was silently clasp her hands together under the table, praying for Yami's safe return.
LycoReco Café.
Chisato and the others had closed up shop early. The four of them huddled together around the counter, eyes fixed on the live broadcast.
Their café was far from the coastline—at least for now, they were safe.
"…Do you really think Yami can beat those monsters?" Chisato tilted her head, her usual playful grin gone.
"That body size is ridiculous. Even missiles barely scratch them. How's a human supposed to fight something like that?"
Takina's brow furrowed. She didn't voice it, but she shared the same doubt.
Kurumi, on the other hand, was relaxed as always. She pulled up footage on her laptop, a spoon of ice cream hanging from her lips.
"There should be no problem. Remember the first time that thing—Leatherback Turtle—showed up? Yami killed it like it was nothing."
She pressed play, and the video of Yami slaying the monster lit up the screen.
Kurumi munched her ice cream as if she were watching a late-night movie. Fearless, casual—almost bored.
After all, they'd already faced worse things inside the virtual world. Compared to that, three oversized lizards weren't worth losing sleep over.
"Leatherback Turtle, huh? Then one of these three looks like it. Hey, hey… isn't this literally Yami's specialty boss?" Chisato teased, her grin returning slightly.
"…Wait, look." Takina suddenly pointed at a tiny black silhouette soaring upward across the live broadcast feed.
The others leaned closer to the screen.
"That… is that Yami Tsukishiro?"
The figure shot higher and higher, a streak of black cutting across the pale sky.
"…Seems like it," Kurumi muttered, eyes narrowing in faint amazement.
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