"What do you think Noriko-san knows?"
"I understand! That's what my parents said while being burned by the fire. That's why I've always thought that no matter what happens, I'll live my life properly."
Thinking of the hell Noriko had been through, Shikishima was at a loss for words. For the first time, Shikishima realizes that no matter how devastated Noriko is, she never loses herself and continues to live an honest life.
Encouraged by those words, Shikishima felt like he saw something like light for a moment. However, that feeling didn't last long. There is a big difference between Noriko being alive and Shikishima being alive.
Shikishima quickly covered his face with his hands and he shut himself up in his shell.
"I can't do it. They appear in my dreams every night. They tell me to come here quickly... and I wonder why they're living so brazenly..."
"That's a dream, an illusion created by Hiroshi."
Shikishima shook his head violently.
"It's not an illusion. The thoughts of those people have come all this way with me, and they've always been around here. And when I sleep, they come into my dreams and blame me."
Shikishima found himself in the same situation as before when he heard the word "dream."
"Am I still alive?"
The veins in his eyes bulged out, and a strange light was shining as Shikishima began to scream as if to vomit.
"I died on that island a long time ago... rotting away... I guess Noriko-san and Akiko are just dreams of those organs."
Noriko made up her mind and scratched Shikishima's head tightly. And he let his heartbeat be heard. Shikishima suddenly came to his senses at that sound.
"He's alive. Hiroshi is alive. You understand."
Shikishima collapsed and put his arm around Noriko's back, and he began to sob like a baby.
"Here, Akiko, taste it. Akiko's favorite radish. Drink the soup too."
When Shikishima wakes up, she finds Noriko tasting her miso soup with Akiko clinging to her feet in the kitchen.
"Is it delicious? Akiko loves radish."
Shikishima, who was looking at the scenery, turned his attention to the photo on the oil paper and quietly muttered to himself.
"...Can I end this now?"
Then he looked at Noriko again and continued.
"I want to live again."
That was the moment when Shikishima finally became convinced that he was alive. The coastal defense ship "Ikuno" continued patrolling near the Uraga Channel. Unexplained sinking of Kaishin Maru in Takao... and report from Shinsei Maru. This information was hard to believe, but Ikuno had been placed there just in case.
The crew of Ikuno then learned that Shinsei Maru's testimony was by no means an exaggeration. Its huge body seemed to far exceed the total length of Ikuno.
"Here's an example."
"Quickly! Report!"
The city of Tokyo, where reconstruction has begun, can be seen in the direction of the giant creature. At the entrance to Tokyo Bay, a sky surveying special mission boat had laid a string of mines, blocking the bay.
If the monster really came, the plan was to defeat it with the "Tokyo Bay Blockade Line" made of these mines. In the middle of this work, the captain, who had changed his face, jumped out of the communications room.
"We received a message from the Ikuno, which is patrolling offshore, that a giant creature is heading towards Tokyo Bay!"
"Are you really there?"
"Then it will be soon."
One person who was checking the mine line with binoculars let out a heavy breath.
"What's up"
"Is this possible?"
The captain also looked through his binoculars. In his field of vision, a dorsal fin of unusual size jumped into view compared to the buoy with the mine attached.
"...Is this really a living thing?"
It was truly a moving island. The captain couldn't answer. He instead reported to headquarters with a telephone in hand.
"We will blow up the Tokyo Bay blockade line, the fourth ward, to prevent the invasion of unidentified giant creatures."
A crew member who kept looking through binoculars reported the incident.
"Just a little more, almost more."
The dorsal fin plunged straight into the fourth section of the mine line.
"Now! Explosion!"
Mines in the Fourth Ward exploded in quick succession. The captain asked, seeing that the water from the mine had completely subsided.
"Did that do it?"
The crew member who was looking through the binoculars muttered with regret.
"No, it's not working. It's not working at all."
The monster's dorsal fin continued to move calmly, as if nothing had happened. The captain, in a tearful voice, began to give a report through the telephone.
"The blockade of Tokyo Bay has failed! The monster has headed towards Shinagawa. It is of an unusual size. Please issue a warning immediately."
At Shikishima's house, Shikishima, who is off-duty, is playing with Akiko instead of Noriko, who has gone to Ginza for work.
Akiko was proudly showing off the beanbag she had recently learned to make. The theme song of the recently popular "Kane no Naru Oka" was playing leisurely on the radio. At that moment, a siren rang out with such force that it tore through the town.
Many people, who had painful memories coming back to them, rushed outside to see what was going on. Shikishima also immediately took the stance of protecting Akiko and listened to the sirens.
It's an air raid warning.
— Which country is launching another air raid? —
Shikishima was thinking of various possibilities and was frightened by the possibility of war starting again. The radio immediately changed to an emergency broadcast.
"We bring you some breaking news. We bring you some breaking news. A gigantic creature has landed from Tokyo Bay. It is expected that it will be in a critical situation. Extreme caution is required. The gigantic creature is heading towards Ginza. If you are in Ginza, please follow the instructions of the police and evacuate immediately.I repeat, the giant creature..."
–Giant creature–
Indeed, the radio said it was a giant creature. That's... Godzilla!
"So fast!"
At that moment, Shikishima remembered where Noriko was now, and he suddenly felt like the ground was falling beneath his feet. Noriko works as an office worker at a department store in Ginza.
"Can I go to Sumiko-san's place by myself?"
Akiko instantly realized the seriousness of the situation and nodded while looking at Shikishima.
People rushed out of the building like an avalanche, running around without knowing which way to turn. A car crashes into a street light pole due to a panicked driver's incorrect steering operation. A young child cries when he loses his hand and is separated from his mother.
A person gets stuck at the exit of a building and screams because he or she cannot withstand the pressure of people coming from inside. The rumbling sound of people's yells and screams subsided for a moment as the ground rumbled.
Over Harumi Street, the tram line was crooked and many cars were flying like tin objects. Then, as if following it, a giant tree-like leg appeared, perhaps 10 meters in diameter. The people who witnessed this ran for their lives, screaming in a way that was incomparable to what they had heard before.
It looked like a huge mountain.
With each step, the ground rumbled and the air trembled. A gigantic mass that should never have been able to move was moving step by step down Harumi Dori towards the Nichigeki area, supported by its two legs.
Every time its playful tail swung, many cars were scrapped. The people who had just jumped out of the building instinctively ran in the opposite direction from Godzilla, unable to decide which direction was the correct way to run.
When Godzilla's foot landed on Sukiyabashi Bridge, the bridge could not withstand the weight and instantly broke. Those who were too late to escape were thrown into the air by the movement of the bridge.
People fell straight into the cracks in the bridge and into the Sotobori River flowing below. As Godzilla moves, the broken part of Sukiyabashi begins to fall again. The people were crushed from above, and all died in an instant.
The Yamanote Line train, which had departed from Tokyo Station, where the commotion had yet to be heard, had just begun accelerating toward Yurakucho Station, just beyond. Without any warning, a streetcar suddenly fell from the sky in front of the driver.
In front of the driver, who reflexively applied the brakes, the tram crashed into the center of the tracks.
The brakes were so sudden that passengers who were standing on the train almost fell over.
"What's this? It's sudden." "Did something happen?!?!" The passengers, who were glaring at the driver's seat while complaining, suddenly heard a thud as the train stopped. I felt it shaking.
"Earthquake?"
Noriko, who was on this train, was thinking this when she saw something unbelievable walking outside her window in the direction of the Nichigeki. There was a huge body of incredible size, probably over 50 meters tall.
The passengers who saw it at the same time couldn't understand what they were seeing, and just stared blankly at it.
Thud, thud. Every time it walks, the train shakes. Before I knew it, Harumi Street was filled with people coming out of buildings and running for their lives. At that moment, Noriko finally realized that the strange, rustling noises she had been hearing from earlier were the collective screams of people running for cover.