After informing Eto and the others, Amano Hiro returned home with Rize.
He needed to let Rize know the truth so she would not overthink things.
"I'm not planning to dig out the core and destroy it."
He took Rize's hand and sat down with her on the sofa.
"I'm going to directly... 'absorb' the Dragon."
"Absorb it?!"
Rize was startled, instinctively clutching his sleeve.
"Isn't... that too dangerous?"
Amano Hiro smiled, complete confidence in his voice.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm'm doing. The process will probably take some time though. I expect it'll take several days."
Rize said nothing more. She simply hugged him tightly, burying her face deep in his chest as she gave a muffled, "Mm."
A few seconds later, she looked up at him seriously.
"I believe you. But you have to promise me that you absolutely won't do anything dangerous, okay?"
Amano Hiro gently ruffled her hair, his voice softening.
"Of course. You haven't even given me a whole bunch of little brats yet. Why would I go risking my life? Trust me. It won't take long."
"Okay!"
Only then did Rize nod firmly and let go.
Amano Hiro stood up and brushed off his clothes.
"Alright. Wait for me at home. I'll be back soon."
As he walked out the door, the easy smile on his face faded, his gaze becoming sharp.
With a peaceful life finally within reach, how could he possibly take a real risk now?
Absorbing the Dragon was something he was determined to accomplish, and he had absolute confidence in succeeding.
He had a vague feeling that once he completely digested that thing, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap.
When that happened, fighter jets and artillery would probably become nothing more than decorations.
Following the faint connection, Amano Hiro ventured deeper and deeper until he finally reached the bottom of the enormous crater where the "flower" had bloomed.
The place had become a gigantic incubation nest.
Countless translucent egg sacs clung to the crater walls and the ground, pulsing faintly.
Sensing the intrusion of an outsider, large numbers of egg sacs suddenly burst open.
Newborn Dragon Orphans surged out like a tide, roaring as they surrounded him.
Amano Hiro did not even spare them a glance.
His figure darted through the crowded nest like a phantom at incredible speed, continuing downward with a clear destination in mind.
Passing countless writhing newborn monsters, he finally reached the deepest point.
Before him was an even larger vertical pit.
At the bottom, a sphere wrapped in layer upon layer of thick, highly active dark crimson kagune slowly pulsed.
That was the Dragon's core.
Countless thick kagune tentacles extended from around the sphere.
Their tips split open into gigantic mouths lined with razor-sharp fangs.
Like loyal guardians, the moment they sensed the intruder, they lashed wildly toward him, trying to devour him!
Behind Amano Hiro, dark crimson tendrils instantly multiplied and transformed.
They became countless razor-sharp blades, weaving together into a devastating net of destruction.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The massive tentacles rushing toward him were as fragile as vines before the blade network.
They were effortlessly sliced apart, severed into pieces as foul-smelling bodily fluids splattered everywhere.
Without slowing down in the slightest, he landed directly before the core.
His hands transformed into enormous claws.
Aiming at the thick outer shell, he tore at it with all his might.
Riiip!
The sturdy kagune shell was forcibly ripped open, revealing the faintly glowing core within, pulsing like a gigantic heart.
Without hesitation, Amano Hiro leaped into the opening and landed directly atop the core.
Looking at Yoshitoki Washuu, who had long since lost all self-awareness and completely fused with the core, he quietly said, "I'll free you now."
The moment those words fell, the symbiote covering his entire body surged like boiling crimson tides, instantly enveloping the entire core!
Immediately afterward, the crimson substance spread through the energy conduits connected to the core.
It rapidly expanded and consumed everything, extending like blood vessels into every corner of the "core."
In an incredibly short time, Amano Hiro replaced the original core, becoming the new "heart" and "brain" of this colossal organism.
Closing his eyes, he began absorbing and devouring the Dragon's boundless life force and energy with all his strength.
The instant Amano Hiro began absorbing the core's energy, the Dragon sprawled across most of Tokyo suddenly underwent a dramatic change!
Its enormous body began trembling and convulsing uncontrollably.
The tens of thousands of grotesque eyes covering its surface rolled frantically, as though gripped by fear and unease.
Immediately afterward, every Dragon Orphan scattered throughout the city
seemed to receive the same signal simultaneously.
They all let out shrill screams and fell into complete berserk madness!
They no longer wandered aimlessly.
Instead, they began attacking every living thing within sight with frenzied abandon.
This sudden horrifying mutation was instantly detected by everyone on the front lines, every member of Aogiri Tree, and the monitoring systems at TSC Headquarters.
At the front lines.
Standing atop a towering pile of ruins, Eto looked toward the Dragon as it convulsed like a dying beast.
A look of understanding flashed through her eyes as she quietly murmured,
"Hiro... has made his move."
At TSC Headquarters, Command Center.
The violent tremors reached even here, causing the water glasses on the tables to vibrate slightly.
Staring at the wildly fluctuating energy readings on the main display, Marude Itsuki barked,
"What the hell is happening?!"
One of the researchers stared fixedly at the instruments, his voice tense.
"The Dragon's energy is fluctuating violently!
Our current assumption is that it may be about to begin feeding again."
Marude Itsuki's heart sank.
They had only just dealt with the problem of the evolved Dragon Orphans.
Now the Dragon itself was undergoing another completely unknown change.
Was this thing determined to work him to death?
At home.
Standing alone by the window, Rize gazed toward the enormous distorted shadow trembling in the center of the city.
She said nothing.
Her hands were gently clasped before her.
Her fingertips had turned slightly pale from the force with which she squeezed them together as she silently prayed for the man standing at the center of the storm.
Amano Hiro was completely unaware of the earth-shaking events outside.
At that moment, he was experiencing indescribable bliss.
An unimaginably vast amount of energy flowed endlessly into him like countless rivers returning to the sea.
He felt as though he were immersed within an endless warm ocean.
Every cell in his body trembled and expanded with joy.
The sensation of his very existence being nourished and strengthened was simply beyond description.
If he absolutely had to compare it to something.
It was like desperately needing to use the bathroom after suffering diarrhea for three straight days and nights, finally finding a toilet, and letting everything out in one overwhelming rush.
Then multiply that feeling by ten thousand.
Completely immersed in this unprecedented sense of fulfillment and evolution, he remained utterly oblivious to the chaos unfolding outside.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
The Dragon's condition had visibly undergone an enormous change.
It had completely stopped moving.
The crimson eyes that had once flickered across its body like breathing had all gone dark.
Every trace of light had vanished from them, leaving only lifeless gray stones.
Inside the TSC Command Center, Marude Itsuki stared at the screen with deeply furrowed brows.
Once again, he questioned the researcher monitoring the instruments beside him.
"Well? What do the numbers say?"
The researcher set down his instrument, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and answered uncertainly,
"Based on continuous monitoring and data comparison... the Dragon's overall energy levels are steadily declining.
Moreover, the rate of decline is accelerating.
Theoretically speaking... it's very likely... dying."
Hearing that, instead of relaxing, Marude Itsuki became slightly irritated.
"Weren't you the one who said a few days ago that it was probably about to begin feeding on a massive scale and undergo a second growth phase?"
The researcher was immediately rendered speechless, his face flushing bright red.
"Well... the previous energy fluctuation pattern did indeed match the characteristics of an active phase.
But the current changes are completely outside our predictive models... this..."
At that moment, Nishino Kimi calmly interrupted the awkward silence.
"The data doesn't lie. The Dragon is indeed withering. Every biological indicator is undergoing irreversible decline.
At this rate, it will lose all activity within twenty-four hours at most."
Hearing those words, the tension that had been weighing on Marude Itsuki's shoulders finally eased ever so slightly.
He let out a long, heavy breath he had been holding for who knew how long.
It felt as though the massive boulder crushing his chest had finally shifted just enough to let him breathe.
Only heaven knew how tightly strung his nerves had been these past few days.
If this kept up much longer, he honestly feared he might simply drop dead from overwork right there at the command console.
Deep within the core, Amano Hiro stood motionless as though asleep, his breathing steady and his expression peaceful.
Around him, the countless egg sacs that had once relied upon the core's energy and emitted a faint glow had all completely withered away.
With their energy source gone, the enormous incubation system had come to a complete halt.
Hum.
Suddenly, the dark crimson symbiote spread throughout the entire core rapidly receded like an ebbing tide, flowing back into Amano Hiro's body.
The next moment, he slowly opened his eyes.
There was no earth-shattering phenomenon.
No overwhelming pressure that shook the heavens.
He looked perfectly ordinary, as though he had simply awakened naturally from a pleasant sleep.
The instant his consciousness fully returned, Amano Hiro immediately sensed the completely transformed state of his body.
A vast ocean of power, boundless as the stars and surging like an endless tidal wave, flowed obediently through him.
His very level of existence seemed to have undergone a fundamental leap.
Everything he saw and everything he sensed became clearer and somehow... slower.
The symbiote that had once covered him like an outer shell now felt completely fused with his flesh, blood, and bones.
It had become a natural part of his body, moving as effortlessly as his own limbs.
With a single thought,
a dense, smooth layer of armor instantly covered his entire body.
Its color had deepened from dark crimson into an even more oppressive black-red metallic sheen.
Whoosh!
Behind him, a pair of enormous black-red wings spread wide.
They beat once with tremendous force.
Boom!!!
A violent gale exploded through the enclosed chamber with a piercing shriek.
Amano Hiro shot skyward like a blurred afterimage.
The incredibly durable kagune shell above, sturdy enough to withstand artillery bombardment, was now as fragile as paper.
He tore through it effortlessly.
His speed instantly climbed to supersonic levels, leaving behind a conical shockwave and a deafening sonic boom.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!"
The exhilarating sense of absolute freedom brought by his incredible speed, combined with the seemingly limitless power surging through his body, made Amano Hiro burst into hearty laughter.
His carefree laughter blended with the thunderous sonic boom, echoing across Tokyo's shattered skyline.
A distance that had once required a lengthy flight was now crossed almost the instant the thought arose.
Amano Hiro had just taken out his key.
Before it even touched the keyhole, the front door flew open from inside with a bang!
A soft figure carrying a familiar fragrance shot straight into his arms like a cannonball.
Her arms instantly wrapped tightly around him with such force that it seemed she wanted to fuse into his body.
"Hiro!"
Rize clung tightly to him like an octopus, burying her face deep against his neck.
She greedily breathed in his familiar scent, as though trying to make up for every moment they had been separated during the past three days.
Amano Hiro caught her securely.
His arms tightened around her just as firmly, holding her close.
Lowering his head, he softly whispered three simple words beside her ear.
Yet they carried immeasurable weight.
"I'm back."
---
The End.