Chapter 84: Mass Disintegration and Falling Stars
"Papa!"
The girl who had been staring intently at Tina just a moment ago suddenly turned and threw herself toward a tall figure.
"..."
Tina silently watched the scene, while Mahiro could only sigh helplessly as he caught the girl in his arms.
Somehow, after bringing the unconscious Tina to the underground facility, this girl had woken up and immediately clung to him, calling him "Papa."
She remembered nothing—not her past, her name, or even her origins—only him as her father.
I didn't do anything, damn it!
Still, noticing Tina's gaze, he reluctantly set the girl down, even though she seemed reluctant to let go.
Then, clearing his throat, he spoke.
"Ahem... Miss Tina—no, Tina Sprout. As IP Rank 98, [Black Wind], you were supposed to have died in battle against Rank 134. You understand what that means, right?"
"In other words, from this moment onward, you are my prisoner, my slave, my spoils of war. Understood?"
Though he pitied Tina, that didn't mean he would go easy on her.
Naturally, she would take the place of Asaka and Enju, staying by his side as an Initiator to continue fighting.
Of course, he wouldn't let her do something as dirty as killing—that kind of work was better left to him.
But—
Despite his harsh words, Tina showed no resentment. Instead, she smiled brightly.
"I understand."
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, she closed her eyes softly, as if making a vow.
"Mahiro, you have given my life new meaning... So, I, Tina Sprout, hereby swear—"
"I willingly become your captive, your slave. My body, my heart, everything belongs to you. And I will forever cherish you."
"Oho~ What a bold declaration."
Sumire, who had just arrived, couldn't help but tease the boy upon hearing Tina's explosive statement.
"Uuu..."
For some reason, the blue-haired girl suddenly puffed up her cheeks, hugging Mahiro's leg tightly as she glared up at him with teary eyes.
"No! I love Papa the most!"
Seriously, don't make this more complicated...
Mahiro patted the girl's short hair with a wry smile.
Being popular with girls was nice and all, but he'd much rather be popular with older women!
Though... was it just his imagination, or did this girl look a bit like Rem from Re:Zero when she was younger?
"My, my~ Truly the King of Lolicon, Mahiro-kun~ First Asaka, Enju, and Kayo, and now you've set your sights on Tina and the Scorpio. As expected of you."
Seizing the perfect moment, Sumire stepped forward to tease him.
Faced with the doctor's teasing, Mahiro responded with his usual composure, even quipping back:
"Doctor, why are you acting like Kayo? What... are you jealous?"
...
The next day.
Mahiro received a call from Seitenshi early in the morning.
But it wasn't to arrange a second informal meeting—instead, she informed him that the bodyguard mission had concluded.
The reason was that early that morning, Sogen Saitake had boarded a plane to leave the Tokyo Area. Although Seitenshi had received the news, it was clear his departure had been extremely hasty.
As for the reason behind this, even a figurehead like Seitenshi could guess.
"Hah, with this kind of behavior, he still wants to rule the world? He's far from ready."
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, Mahiro gazed at the towering Monolith in the distance, a faint smile playing on his lips.
...
"Damn it! Didn't that bastard Ayn Rand guarantee everything would go smoothly? How could it fail?!"
On the plane, Sogen slammed his fist against the armrest in fury, his thick fingers crumpling the intelligence report in his grip, his face twisted with rage.
"Yotsuba Mahiro again...!"
Last time, this time—it didn't matter.
He couldn't understand why this bastard was everywhere!
Indeed, it had been his idea last time to propose and dispatch Mitsugi Yuuga and his team to replace Hiruko Kagetane in seizing the case and summoning the Scorpio.
Originally, Hiruko Kagetane had also been his man, coincidentally hired by that vengeance-blinded old fool Tendo Kikunojou.
So he had simply gone with the flow.
But who could have guessed that before the plan even began, Hiruko Kagetane would be killed by someone else?
That was why he had sent the Five Wings Syndicate's team.
As for the goal? Of course, it was to completely eliminate that old fool Tendo Kikunojou, and then, after the Scorpio destroyed the Tokyo Area, he would take over and gain full control of the Varanium resources!
He had even gone so far as to sabotage the weapon originally meant to be placed on the moon—the Ladder of Heaven.
Yet this foolproof plan had ultimately failed due to a single oversight.
That invincible Zodiac, the Scorpio, had been taken down by some rookie who had only been active for a year—using some unknown method!
And then there was this time. He had planned to take advantage of Tendo Kikunojou's absence to eliminate Seitenshi, along with that brat who refused his conditions and ruined his plans.
But he had failed again!
Two consecutive failures—he knew all too well what awaited him next. He would likely face demotion in rank.
From Five Wings to Four Wings, reduced to the level of those livestock-like slaves!
"—I refuse to accept this!"
Sogen gritted his teeth so hard his entire body trembled with fury.
"Material Burst"—Activation.
At that moment, the plane's alarm suddenly blared.
The entire aircraft began shaking violently, and Sogen was thrown from his seat onto the floor.
"What's going on?! What the hell are you idiots doing, flying so recklessly? Do you have a death wish?!"
Sogen roared as he looked up, but the next second, cold sweat drenched him in terror.
He witnessed a sight of absolute annihilation, one he would never see again in his lifetime.
Right inside the cabin where he sat, a searing orb of light had formed.
At first, it was only the size of a ping pong ball, but suddenly it began to expand. The extreme heat it emitted heated the air, creating shockwaves that melted and vaporized the plane's interior walls, windows, and everything else.
Transforming into a massive inferno, it swallowed the entire aircraft.
Hanging in the sky like a second sun, it parted the clouds and illuminated the heavens.
Then, just as swiftly, it collapsed, rapidly shrinking into a singularity before vanishing without a trace.
Not a single remnant was left behind.
"Whew~ Who knew 'Material Burst' would be this handy..."
Standing atop the 32rd Monolith, Mahiro gazed at the azure sky and couldn't help but whistle.
The pinnacle of decomposition magic—Material Burst—a spell that converted mass directly into energy.
Not annihilation. Since mass was directly decomposed into energy, there was no energy loss from neutrinos as in annihilation reactions.
Instead, following Einstein's formula, mass was converted into energy at the square of the speed of light.
Even a single drop of water—just fifty milligrams—when decomposed, released heat equivalent to a thousand tons of TNT.
In both power and effect, it was unparalleled. Using it over the ocean might trigger tsunamis, but in the sky, aside from creating air currents, it left nothing behind—not even a trace of radiation.
Its precision far surpassed that of the radiation-emitting heavy metal burst.
Tatsuya probably never imagined that someone could cast the strategic-class magic he created without relying on the long-range assistance of the "Third Eye" CAD.
Or perhaps he had foreseen it all along?
Mahiro didn't know, and his campaign of vengeance had only just begun.
His next destination was the America.
With Tina's hints and the memories of various high-ranking American "benefactors," he successfully located Ayn Rand's laboratory.
There, he unleashed another high-scale Material Burst.
However, since the range wasn't as impressive as he'd hoped, he followed it up with another strategic-class gravity magic—
"Have you ever witnessed the spectacle of 'Meteorite Fall'?"
A deafening roar echoed across the heavens.
A meteor orbiting Earth was forcibly dragged down, accelerated by thirty-two layers of gravity magic, its trajectory precisely adjusted. Like a blazing fireball, it scorched the sky before striking the North American continent, recreating the apocalyptic scene of prehistoric mass extinction.
Nations across the world were left in profound shock upon receiving the news.
No one could explain why a meteor had suddenly fallen.
But the sheer computational effort required left Mahiro utterly exhausted after casting it.
When he returned, he brought back many souvenirs—
The Cursed Children wandering the streets of America. Sadly, their numbers were few—less than ten thousand.
Or perhaps, only a few hundred thousand Cursed Children remained in the world, maybe even fewer.
Aside from the drastic population decline after the Gastrea War and the low birth rates, much of the credit went to humanity itself.
Yet, to Tina's delight, Mahiro had brought back her sisters.
IP Rank 100: Asari Springersteen, codename [Giant Needle Dragonfly].
IP Rank 95: Eileen Spencer, codename [Meteor Fall].
IP Rank 88: Fay Kurenmiller, codename [Black Mamba].
IP Rank 70: Louise Seiraznii, codename [Demon King].
Along with the strongest at IP rank 21—Rita Southbury, the leader codenamed [Pluto].
Like Tina, they were all homeless orphans who had been captured by Ayn Rand and forced onto the operating table. Countless lives had been sacrificed to create these few.
Of course, these children weren't as soft and adorable as Tina. After being forcibly taken, they were filled with hostility toward Mahiro.
But that was fine—kids who didn't listen just needed a few beatings to behave.
Thus, under his "physical education," all of them except for Louise chose to obey obediently.
Then Louise was singled out for a few more private "discussions," after which she completely lost her defiance.
The escort mission was over, and he hadn't shown his face at the agency for a while. So the next day, he went to clock in.
The shop downstairs was the same as always—quiet during the day but bustling at night.
When Mahiro arrived at the Tendo Detective Agency, Kisara, the agency's president, was already seated in her boss chair.
"Yo, morning, President Kisara."
"Ah... Good morning, Mahiro."
Upon seeing him, Kisara forced a faint smile. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept for days.
"What's wrong? Work hasn't been too heavy lately, has it? Insomnia?"
Mahiro sat on the sofa and teased, "If it's insomnia, I have a great remedy. Just get a boyfriend—with a figure like yours, President Kisara, you'd never lose sleep again."
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you idiot! Big dummy!"
Flustered and furious from his teasing, Kisara slammed her desk repeatedly.
Hmm, this reaction finally brought her back to her usual self—the Tendo Kisara everyone knew.
"Mr. Mahiro, here's some water."
"Oh, thanks, Tina."
Mahiro had just taken a sip when he suddenly realized something was off and immediately spat the water out.
With a startled "Eek!", the girl raised a tray to block the spray aimed at her face.
She slowly lowered the tray and lifted her eyes to look at him.
"What's wrong with you?"
"No, what are you doing here?"
He distinctly remembered that Tina had been assigned by Miori to handle night security at Arcadia. Why had she suddenly shown up at the agency?
"Hehe, I've hired her~"
The one who spoke was Kisara.
Smiling, she walked around behind Tina, placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, and looked over at him.
"Hired?"
"That's right. Rentaro is still hospitalized recovering from his injuries, you won't let Asaka work, and Enju has school. So I hired Tina to help out at the agency." Kisara declared proudly.
"Did Miori agree?"
"Mhm, of course. That girl is pretty easy to talk to."
Though she said that, Kisara couldn't help but recall her earlier negotiation with Miori...
At first, Miori had refused to let Tina come to the agency, citing her as a dangerous individual and a close comrade to the Cursed Children.
But her attitude made it clear—she wanted money.
And so, Kisara ended up extorted for a hefty sum before Miori finally agreed to let Tina stay here.
Yep, a total of one billion yen—exactly the reward from the Scorpion incident.
"Starting today, I am an employee of Tendo Civil Security. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Mahiro."
Tina even gave him a deep, polite bow with a smile.
"...Kisara, do you know Tina's background?" Mahiro, already suspecting some shady deal between Miori and Kisara, asked cautiously.
"Yeah, I know. She's the assassin who tried to kill Her Excellency Seitenshi, right? So what?"
"So what...? That's exactly the problem." His lips twitched involuntarily.
He had originally planned to take Tina to the Holy Palace first to apologize to Seitenshi and seek forgiveness before bringing her to work.
But now, this idiot woman had ruined everything!
"What, you don't like it? Tina seems perfectly happy to be here." Kisara said with a grin.
Tina also nodded earnestly and said, "Yes, I truly wish to work alongside Mahiro-san. After all, I am Mahiro-san's slave—it is my duty and obligation to stay by his side and help resolve his troubles."
Mahiro: "..."
Kisara: "...?"
Such a bold declaration left Kisara utterly stunned.
Her face turned pale as she stared at Mahiro, trembling hands pulling out her phone from her pocket:
"P-police... I'm calling the police."
"Wait! Hold on a second!" Mahiro quickly grabbed her hand, speaking seriously. "I can explain this! It's just a minor punishment for her, not what you're imagining!"
Though it had been a bit of his own mischievous whim, if he'd known Tina would go around saying things like this, he would never have said it to her in the first place!
"Give me back my phone! What do you mean 'not what I'm imagining,' you pervert! Disgusting! I can't believe this! Even if Tina does seem mature, she's only ten years old!"
Kisara struggled, trying to wrestle her phone back from him.
It wasn't until Mahiro had Tina personally explain the situation that Kisara finally calmed down.
Still, Kisara warned him sternly not to do anything strange to Tina or any of the other children.
Mahiro could only sigh in exasperation.
If he really wanted to do something, little Asaka would have been "devoured" by him a year ago—and not only would she not resist, she might even unexpectedly go along with it.
But alas, he wasn't that kind of pervert.
Once she had cooled down, Kisara returned to her executive chair and got down to business.
"...Mahiro-kun, there's something I think I need to discuss with you."
The girl propped her chin on her hands, speaking with such gravity that even the air seemed to grow heavy.
"This serious?"
"Mmm..."
Kisara nodded, pulling open a drawer and retrieving a stack of documents. She then rose from her desk and walked over to hand them to him.
"Since there's no one else I can talk to about this, I wanted to share it with you."
As she passed him the documents, her body trembled unnaturally, her grip on the papers unusually tight—her fingertips shaking and turning white from the force.
When he looked up, the expression on her delicate face had shifted subtly.
A smile like mockery.
It was a smile he had seen before—one that appeared only when the vengeful spirit within Kisara burned fiercely, the expression of a true avenger.
Then, she spoke again.
"Hey, Mahiro-kun, thanks to you, I've finally caught the Tendo family's weak spot!"
Her shoulders shook slightly as a sickly smile spread across her face.
She tried to suppress her laughter but failed completely.
The documents she had handed him bore a conspicuous line of text:
'Inspection Report on Monolith #32'
The content mostly detailed issues of substandard materials and shoddy construction in the monolith.
But the most critical line was at the very end:
'—As stated above, Monolith #32 was newly constructed during the final stages of the Gastrea War. Furthermore, the contractor for this monolith was the current Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism—Tendo Kazumitsu—'
The rest was unimportant.
For Tendo Kisara, cutting corners and the name Tendo were more than enough.
"Hey, Mahiro-kun, with this, I can finally take down a part of the Tendo family, right? I can finally begin my revenge, can't I?!"
Yet the moment those words left her lips, Kisara suddenly groaned, her expression twisting in pain.
Her face paled as she bit her lip, clutching her lower abdomen before swaying unsteadily and collapsing.
"Hey!"
That was the last word Kisara heard before she lost consciousness.
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