The silence lasted exactly thirty seconds.
Then the sirens changed.
Not civilian alarms.
Military sirens.
Deep. Structured. Authoritative.
Tatsu sat up slowly.
"…That is not normal police sound."
Leonhart stood straighter immediately.
"That is containment protocol."
Fridge Sama looked mildly curious.
From beyond the skyline, aircraft emerged.
Not commercial.
Not news helicopters.
Black angular transport units with rotating mana stabilizers glowing along their wings.
They moved into formation above the district.
A voice boomed across loudspeakers.
"ALL UNREGISTERED AWAKENED INDIVIDUALS STAND DOWN."
Tatsu blinked.
"…That sounds like us."
Leonhart exhaled quietly.
"Yes."
Armored personnel descended using gravity rigs, landing on rooftops and intersections. Their suits shimmered with reinforced mana plating.
Specialized anti-awakened units.
The captain stepped forward, visor dark.
"Independent combatants," he said sharply. "You are interfering with military containment."
Tatsu looked around at the piles of unconscious livestock.
"We were saving the city."
"You escalated it," the captain replied.
Leonhart's flame flickered faintly.
"We neutralized the command unit."
Fridge Sama spoke calmly.
"You arrived late."
The air temperature dropped slightly.
Several soldiers shifted stances immediately.
Weapons raised.
Mana cannons aimed.
The captain's tone hardened.
"Last warning. Stand down."
Above them, another rupture began forming.
Not sheep this time.
Something larger moving behind the distortion.
The soldiers noticed it too.
Formation tightened.
"Airstrike ready," someone shouted over comms.
Tatsu's eyes widened.
"Wait. Airstrike where."
The captain didn't hesitate.
"On the rupture."
Fridge Sama's gaze sharpened.
"No."
The captain turned toward him.
"You do not have authority."
Fridge Sama replied quietly.
"You do not understand."
The rupture expanded.
Through it, a massive winged shape became visible.
Not livestock.
Something else.
The air around it warped violently.
Leonhart felt it immediately.
"That is unstable."
The military fired.
Energy shells streaked upward.
They hit the rupture.
It reacted.
Not collapsed.
Reacted.
The distortion expanded violently, doubling in size.
The emerging creature roared.
Shockwaves shattered windows for three blocks.
Tatsu grabbed his head.
"You just made it worse."
The captain barked orders.
"Second volley."
Fridge Sama stepped forward.
The temperature plummeted sharply.
Ice formed mid-air around the rupture's edges, stabilizing it temporarily.
The soldiers froze in place.
The captain stared.
"What are you doing."
"Fixing your mistake," Fridge Sama replied.
The creature began forcing its way through the rupture.
Leonhart stepped beside him.
"We cannot let that fully manifest."
Tatsu swallowed hard.
"Team or military."
Fridge Sama did not look away from the sky.
"Team."
Leonhart nodded once.
The captain hesitated.
Then snapped a new order.
"Hold fire. Observe."
The rupture split further.
The creature finally emerged fully.
A massive winged chimera stitched from livestock remains and arcane machinery. Horns layered with runic amplifiers. Wings reinforced with metal lattice.
The Shepherd's escalation.
The military cannons charged again.
Fridge Sama raised one hand.
"Do not fire."
The captain clenched his jaw.
"Why."
"Because this one absorbs kinetic mana," Fridge Sama replied calmly.
Leonhart looked at him sharply.
"You know that how."
Fridge Sama's expression did not change.
"Pattern recognition."
The chimera dove.
Fridge Sama froze its left wing mid-beat.
Leonhart launched compressed flame at the right joint.
The creature twisted violently but did not fall.
Tatsu shouted.
"Central harness. The runes on its spine."
Leonhart adjusted immediately.
Fridge Sama froze the airflow around the spine, slowing its rotation.
Leonhart fired a concentrated ignition directly into the rune cluster.
The runes cracked.
The chimera screamed.
The military units watched, stunned.
No artillery.
No bombardment.
Just three individuals dissecting a war-class monster mid-air.
The chimera attempted one final dive toward the ground.
Fridge Sama stepped forward.
For the first time—
He moved with full intent.
He leapt.
Air crystallized beneath his feet.
He reached the chimera's head.
Placed his palm against its forehead.
And froze it from the inside out.
The creature fell.
Leonhart incinerated the shattered remains before impact.
The rupture sealed.
Silence returned.
Smoke drifted upward.
The captain lowered his weapon slowly.
"…You neutralized it."
Fridge Sama landed lightly.
"Yes."
The captain studied him carefully.
"You are now considered a strategic asset."
Tatsu blinked.
"…Is that good."
Leonhart answered quietly.
"No."
Fridge Sama turned toward the military line.
"We are not joining."
The captain did not argue.
But his gaze lingered.
"You will be contacted," he said.
The aircraft retreated.
Units withdrew.
The city began cleanup operations.
Tatsu sat down heavily on the curb.
"…We just got labeled by the government."
Leonhart exhaled slowly.
"And the Shepherd escalated."
Fridge Sama looked toward the skyline.
"Yes."
Tatsu glanced up at him nervously.
"We are not doing mystery."
Fridge Sama replied calmly.
"No."
He paused.
Then added,
"We are doing consequences."