The terrifying lightning lit up Tokyo Area brighter than broad daylight.
It also excited the atoms and molecules in the plasma, pushing their accumulated energy past a critical threshold and triggering plasma explosions.
Whether they were watching from the operations headquarters in the First District or the facility in the Outer District, everyone saw the same thing: enormous, irregular wounds glowing bloodred across the ground around Scorpio.
As the ultrahigh-voltage current radiated in every direction, some of it struck the ground. It tore through the earth and triggered plasma explosions, ripping what would have been narrow fissures into gaping wounds.
The red glow came from the ground itself. The immense energy had melted it.
Meanwhile, a reconnaissance drone that had only just ventured closer became a lightning rod, drawing the current straight to it.
The electricity punched through it in an instant, reducing it to a ruined shell. What metal remained melted like ice cream and dripped toward the ground.
"Is that another ability it evolved?"
Shiba Miori finally recovered enough to speak, her voice trembling.
The records contained no mention of Scorpio possessing anything like this.
Its electrical discharges were powerful enough to trigger plasma explosions. The thought alone made her skin crawl.
Then she realized something and immediately looked at the device in Dr. Muroto Sumire's hands.
The feed from Kain had disappeared.
They had lost contact with him.
That meant something might have happened to him during that electrical attack.
"Whew..."
Beside her, Tendo Kisara let out a breath of relief.
Scorpio's attack had caught her completely off guard. When the connection went dead, her heart had nearly stopped.
She had immediately checked the Hyperdimensional Channel. Only after seeing that Kain was still online had she allowed herself to relax.
Scorpio itself seemed to have suffered considerable damage from the attack. The current had struck its own body as well.
But it was already visibly recovering. Charred tissue sloughed away, replaced by regenerating flesh.
Even its ruined eye grew back.
A moment later, it began to cry out again.
Its body writhed strangely, giving the impression that it was enduring excruciating pain.
That did not last long.
Then the sound of its cries changed. Somehow, it sounded as though the creature had finally found release.
When its cries stopped, it fell silent.
It remained perfectly motionless, almost as though it had fallen asleep.
Kisara's pupils widened slightly.
The only clear footage they still had was coming from Senju Kayo, and the image was growing larger as she approached.
Kayo must have lost contact with him too. Worried, she was bringing the aircraft closer and even preparing to use its weapon.
"Kayo, wait! Don't fire that weapon. He's all right!"
"H-he really is?"
"Yes!"
Almost as soon as Kisara answered, something happened.
Kayo trained the camera on Scorpio's mouth.
A flash of light erupted there, melting an opening through which a figure emerged.
Kain was no longer encased in that bulky iron shell. Instead, he wore a sleek suit of power armor that looked straight out of science fiction.
Apparently, the heavy outer layer had been destroyed in the attack.
He signaled for Kayo to come closer, then boarded the aircraft. When he emerged from the rear compartment, he was dragging a long hose.
With that in hand, he climbed straight back into Scorpio's mouth.
What was he doing?
"Extracting bone marrow?"
Sumire realized what he was up to and struggled to process what she was seeing.
She had asked him to collect as much bone marrow fluid as possible, if the opportunity arose.
It was valuable stuff.
Some of the special drugs she had developed through Gastrea research could induce regeneration in humans.
There was still a ten percent chance of failure, however.
Bone marrow fluid was one of the ingredients, and it was difficult to obtain. Once a Gastrea died, the fluid almost immediately deteriorated into useless sludge. Ideally, it needed to be extracted from a living specimen.
The higher the Gastrea's stage, the more effective it was.
But what Kain was doing now was absurd.
Scorpio was not moving at all. It was simply letting him do whatever he wanted.
What had happened?
Had he done something after breaking into its brain? Had he turned it into an idiot?
No. It was more like he had left it in a vegetative state.
When he emerged from Scorpio's mouth again and the hose began pumping something out, Sumire pressed her fingers hard against her temples.
Her head was spinning.
Scorpio really was letting him do whatever he pleased.
"Shiba, arrange transportation immediately! Hurry! I need to get over there!"
A living Stage V Gastrea, completely at their mercy, was right in front of her.
How could she possibly resist? She could hardly wait to get started.
At the operations headquarters in Tokyo Area's First District, everyone had fallen silent.
They stared at the screens, dumbfounded.
"Is Scorpio... dead?"
"Dead? Does that look like a dead Gastrea to you?"
"What did that man do to it? Why isn't it moving?"
"Could he have injected it with some kind of anesthetic?"
"What kind of anesthetic could knock out a monster more than four hundred meters tall?"
The conference room erupted into discussion.
Then an idea occurred to a few of those present.
"Quick, arrange to send our people over there too!"
"Exactly! We can't pass up an opportunity like this to study a Stage V Gastrea!"
They made it sound as though they only wanted to better understand the Gastrea so humanity could fight other Stage V threats in the future.
In reality, some of them clearly had other intentions.
They wanted to turn Scorpio into an opportunity for personal gain.
"Heh. Already scrambling for a slice of the pie? What makes you think that man will share?"
Someone with a clearer grasp of the situation gave a mocking laugh.
"What, is he planning to keep the whole thing for himself?"
"It's a mountain of flesh! How could he possibly use all of it?"
"For the sake of humanity's future, he ought to let everyone study it!"
Some were already invoking the good of humanity, trying to make their demands sound like a moral obligation.
At the head of the conference table, the silver-haired Seitenshi silently watched the argument unfold.
Eventually, both sides turned to her, leaving the decision in her hands.
Or so they pretended.
What they really feared was provoking that man into attacking them. If people died as a result, none of them wanted to bear the responsibility.
Earlier, they had still believed they might be able to deal with him by bringing greater firepower to bear.
But now they had witnessed his strength, along with that futuristic aircraft capable of turning invisible.
Dealing with him alone might require everything they had.
And what about the forces behind him?
Surely he was not operating entirely on his own.
If those forces retaliated, the consequences were impossible to imagine.
By having her make the decision as Seitenshi, they could place the blame on her if anything went wrong.
"I will discuss the matter with Mr. Kain."
Her expression remained blank.
Discuss it?
Inwardly, she gave a bitter laugh.
That was merely a polite way to phrase it in front of everyone.
What she would really be doing was asking him for a favor.
What price would she have to pay just to let government researchers take part?
And what did she even have to offer?
If there was a price she could pay, that would at least be something.
What she feared was that he would want nothing from them and simply refuse to let them get involved at all.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]