By the time Usami Reiko's group arrived, the mist had gradually begun to disperse.
Several bulletproof police cars stopped at the school gate. SWAT teams armed with live ammunition filed out of the vehicles, lining up in a well-trained formation.
The school leaders rushed out in a panic. At White Torch's signal, they began evacuating the crowd.
"Everyone must be evacuated within twenty minutes.
Minister Usami, Sakai Takashi, and I will go in first."
White Torch watched the hurrying crowd and gave instructions to his deputy.
"You don't have to go yourself—"
The deputy's expression was grim. He cast a thoughtful glance at Usami Reiko and quietly tried to stop him. This deputy had very complex feelings toward Usami Reiko.
"I'll go with you."
White Torch shook his head in refusal and patted his shoulder: "Next time."
...the mist was right before their eyes. The three small figures were like pebbles thrown into the deep sea, vanishing instantly into the grayish-white mist, leaving not even a shadow for those outside.
"I remember it was here?"
Usami Reiko opened a map. The three of them were facing a forest of giant trees.
She leaned in, showing the map's GPS location on the screen to the other two: "It shows we're already at the foot of the new teaching building..."
Where's the building? Where's the building?
White Torch turned his head warily—they were still where the three of them had just left, seemingly not having gone far.
It seemed they were just going in circles?
The roadside flowerbeds were planted with seasonal greenery. There were a few dilapidated stalls; the owners had long since left the school under the SWAT evacuation.
Was the map wrong, or was it because of the mist?
White Torch opened his rough palm; a layer of damp, gray, sticky residue clung to it.
"Sakai, give it a try. We don't have time to keep circling the perimeter."
Although in a domain of chaos, order-aligned Ritualists cannot draw mystery supplies from space, wandering in circles was clearly worse. At this time, they couldn't afford to be stingy with energy.
Sakai Takashi nodded, paced to the edge of the flowerbed, and knelt down gently.
In an instant, somewhere in the man's heart, it was as if a dark green mouthpart had grown—it began to breathe greedily and deeply. After a few crisp sounds of roots breaking through the soil, a pale grass-colored aura dissipated into the grayish-white mist.
Sakai Takashi unleashed his mystery.
[Gardener (order):]
[They have always been there.]
[Feed and tame it, or... release and embrace it.]
[Time is the best cultivation.]
[Ability:]
[Cold Pleasantries (Origin Point):]
[A Gardener proficient in natural languages can briefly pose questions and communicate with plants.]
[Of course, there is no guarantee that he will receive an answer.]
[No one likes to hear nagging, and plants are no different.]
[Price:]
[Until your death, you cannot consume any plants.]
[Try being a carnivore.]
[Mr. Vitamin Tablet.]
[Energy Level: Lv 1 · 'Origin Point']
This was why Sakai Takashi had always said, 'A perfectly suited Ability is often far superior to one with great destructive power.'
Only... the price of this Ability was high.
At least for Sakai Takashi, who loved eating vegetables, it was.
The man stepped back a few paces to the corner of a flowerbed, found a Chagall Chrysanthemum, and squatted down, speaking softly.
"Beautiful Chagall Chrysanthemum,
We are looking for the site of the new teaching building,
But the mist has blocked and distorted the terrain here.
Can you show us the way?"
A thin layer of emerald mystery enveloped Sakai Takashi.
A gust of wind blew past.
After a long while, a long sigh murmured in the man's ear.
"Gardener?"
The slightly feminine voice sounded soft and elegant.
Sakai Takashi responded joyfully, "Yes, beautiful Chagall Chrysanthemum. Please help us and take us to this place."
After a moment, the other party replied.
The voice was unhurried and gentle: "As you wish, Gardener."
"Close your eyes and proceed nine hundred meters to the left from the flowerbed."
"You and your companions will arrive at your destination."
Sakai Takashi turned his head and waved vigorously at the two people nearby!
It worked!
The man thanked the flower and was about to stand up, but then he hesitated and squatted back down—
You see, not every plant was willing to pay attention to him; since he had finally found one that was easy to talk to, Sakai Takashi naturally wanted to ask more.
He once asked the plants on half a street just to help a colleague at the Ritual Institute find a lost cat.
Most of the plants told him to get lost... as for that bastard cat, after roaming outside for four or five days, it returned home with its head held high and two little female cats in tow, looking like a victorious scoundrel.
Sigh, speaking of which, he really missed the taste of carrot tempura.
Thinking this, Sakai Takashi continued to speak:
"Beautiful Chagall Chrysanthemum,
Please tell me,
In this school today,
How many Ritualists have you seen?"
"Ritualist? A... creature with energy like yours?"
"Exactly."
The voice remained soft and intimate.
"There is one stronger than you. But weaker than the person behind you."
"There are many like the lady behind you."
"Natural enemies, and the natural enemies of our natural enemies—things we hate."
"The King... is also among them."
The Chagall Chrysanthemum sang like an aria. Sakai Takashi nodded, counting on his fingers to record, while asking back curiously, "The King?"
"What do you mean?"
The sound of the wind grew louder, and the noble, elegant language was masked by the wind, becoming almost imperceptible.
"You do not need to know this, human."
"Wait!"
"You should leave now."
The voice stopped there, followed by a silence that offered no further response.
Sakai Takashi scratched his head, turned with a bitter smile, walked to the two others, and shared the information he had just obtained.
"One Ritualist, probably 'Super-Sequence', and the rest are Contactees."
After speaking, Sakai Takashi fell into deep thought. He was still pondering the words of that Chagall Chrysanthemum.
The King...?
Receiving Sakai Takashi's information, Usami Reiko breathed a small sigh of relief. If it was only a Super-Sequence level Ritualist, with White Torch present, it was almost impossible for any major problems to occur... The three of them followed the Chagall Chrysanthemum's guidance and moved along the flowerbed.
After a few hundred meters, that new building indeed appeared before their eyes: like a mirage, a misty haze enveloped the building, swaying slightly back and forth in the barely perceptible wind like a soft, giant magic carpet.
On the steps outside the teaching building, there were a few fallen insects.
Click.
The crisp sound of metal chambering a round.
None of the three were rookies—
Not to mention White Torch, Usami Reiko had frequently gone to sites where chaos appeared as a logistics support personnel before being promoted to Chief of the Field Operations Department.
Sakai Takashi was even more battle-hardened; not long ago, he had been promoted to Captain of a solo squad.
Thus, without words, they agreed on a strategy through an exchange of looks, slowly stepped forward, and ascended the stairs.
Creak—
Slowly pushing the door open.
The sound of rustling crawling.
The main hall was empty, so silent that a pin drop could be heard.
White Torch made a gesture, pointing at the walls and the ceiling.
Muzzles were raised—
Patter, patter.
No movement.
"White Torch—"
"Shh."
Boom!
Clang!
A massive impact sound!
The ceiling shattered upon impact!
Countless black swarms of insects poured down from above their heads, like a bag full of insects with a giant hole torn in the bottom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Muzzles spat fire, scorching the black insect carapaces!
"Get back!"
White Torch roared, striding forward and running toward the insect swarm!
Sakai Takashi grabbed Usami Reiko and quickly pulled her away from White Torch!
"Blaze!"
The bear-like, sturdy White Torch roared and dove headfirst into the black tide!
Two seconds later... a massive pillar of fire soared into the sky!!
Rumble—
A mixture of white and crimson flames burned the insect swarm, with the sounds of wailing, crawling, and wing-flapping never ceasing.
Standing a bit further away, Usami Reiko's cheeks felt faintly hot, and the meteor-like white flame was reflected in her pupils!
Is this the true power of the First Ritualist?
The flames formed a ring, guarding White Torch at extreme speed, weaving around the man to crush and ignite the insects that lunged forward one after another.
White Torch was wreathed in fire; as he spread his arms and swung his thick limbs, the smell of burning scorched the air!
"Ring!"
He issued a command, and the arc-shaped flames guarding him began to spin even faster. Gradually, with the man as the center, the rotating flames triggered a giant, scorching vortex!
The vortex continuously incinerated everything around it!
In Sakai Takashi's eyes, White Torch at this moment looked like a monarch within the flames!
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