"So you're saying that monster was transformed from a Tailless?"
Astonishment crossed Geno's face too — he'd never imagined a weapon could turn into a monster, let alone that Hoshimi Miyabi could actually wield such a thing. For a moment he couldn't decide which of the two was the bigger monster.
"Seems that's about right. But whatever it is, we have to stop it now."
Yanagi Tsukishiro pushed up her glasses. She could tell that although the monster wasn't heading toward the Throne Quarter, whatever it intended to do, its very existence was a threat to New Eridu.
"In that case, there's nothing more to discuss. Let's move."
Asaba Harumasa immediately drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and took aim at the Calamity Beast's eye. The arrow shot out with a whoosh.
It flew at tremendous speed, closing the distance to the beast in a breath or two. Lightning crackled along its shaft as it streaked toward the beast's eye amid rolling thunder.
Unfortunately, before the arrow could even touch the beast's hide, frost-fire flaring up from its body burned it to nothing — not even ash remained.
"?"
The Calamity Beast slowly turned its head, swept its gaze around, and finding nothing amiss, continued on toward the Hollow as if nothing had happened.
"Am I... being ignored right now?"
Geno nodded instinctively, then realized that might be a bit rude and shook his head instead.
Yanagi Tsukishiro, however, had no such reservations. "Mr. Asaba," she said, "it's not your fault."
"Saying it like that just makes me feel worse."
Asaba Harumasa felt as if the arrow he'd just loosed had struck him square in the chest instead, leaving him thoroughly miserable.
But he also knew this wasn't the time for jokes.
"Looks like the few of us alone can't take this thing down. We need to find some backup."
But there was the problem — where would they find backup?
Never mind that the whole city was in chaos everywhere; even if help started rushing here right now, nothing could match that thing's speed.
"Heard you're looking for some backup?"
Just as the three of them were at their wits' end, a familiar voice rang out from behind them.
Geno turned in surprise toward the voice, and there, right in front of him, was a familiar shock of red hair swaying.
"Shorty? And Grace too? What are you two doing here?"
The newcomers were none other than the crew from Belobog Heavy Industries. Behind them came a rolling rumble — the intelligent machines and the prototype unit.
"I'll let the 'Shorty' thing slide for now. Anyway, we got a distress signal and rushed over."
"A distress signal?"
Geno was puzzled. Who could have sent it?
"Who else? Me, obviously!"
Little Geno's voice echoed in Geno's mind. It turned out he hadn't only alerted Geno — just in case, he'd sent distress signals to every other faction as well. Belobog Heavy Industries had simply gotten here the fastest.
"So that's how it is. But didn't the cultists attack Belobog Heavy Industries too?"
"Actually, they did. But Belobog Heavy Industries' big guys and heavy machinery already took care of them."
Ah, that explained it.
Hearing Little Geno's explanation, Geno felt a wave of relief.
As a "construction company" with more bears than people and more machines than bears, it made sense Belobog Heavy Industries packed some serious muscle.
After all, if this crew traded the construction site for the battlefield, they could still shine and burn bright.
As opposed to heat converting into light, that is.
"Anyway, thanks so much for the help. Things are urgent — see that big thing over there? Help us hold it back!"
"No problem! Leave it to us — Belobog Heavy Industries' finest employees and machines!"
Koleda threw up a thumbs-up, then hopped into the prototype's cockpit, ready to jump into the fight herself.
"Koleda! Get down here right now! The prototype's already had its intelligent logic core installed! What do you think you're doing, horning in on this!"
Seeing Koleda's antics, Grace didn't waste a word — she just hauled her straight back down, then set about directing the intelligent machines toward the distant Calamity Beast.
"Ow, ow! Sis! Don't pull my ear! Pull any harder and it'll come off!"
Watching the two of them — so different from before, clearly much closer now — Geno felt a quiet warmth settle over him.
But rather than stand around here squirming and letting out awkward, twisted laughter, he had more important things to do.
"I'm going to help too! You two keep watch here."
As he spoke, Geno leapt up onto the prototype. He was a little worried more enemies might show up.
Yanagi Tsukishiro and the others meant to stop him, but Geno moved so fast that they never even got a hand on him before he was gone.
"Uh... that was way too fast."
Seeing this, Harumasa scratched his head. This guy — always so impulsive, gone the moment he decided to go.
"Can't be helped. If we went too, we'd just be dead weight. Geno, though — he might actually be able to hold out for a while."
With things as they stood, Yanagi Tsukishiro could only hope Geno wouldn't run into trouble. But given what she knew of his strength and his true nature, he probably wouldn't... right?
Whatever Yanagi Tsukishiro thought, Geno had already hitched a ride on the prototype — Geroy — and was racing toward the distant Calamity Beast.
"Come to think of it, wasn't the prototype's got four iron legs for getting around? When did it switch to treads?"
"Because Koleda said this looked cooler, so we swapped them out."
"I see... wait, huh? You're talking?"
Geno, who'd nodded along on instinct, suddenly realized — wait, had the prototype just been talking to him?
"Yes, Mr. Geno. I've been fitted with an intelligent logic core, so naturally I can converse. Also, please call me Geroy — it's the name President Koleda gave me."
The prototype — no, Geroy, rather — introduced itself to Geno with great formality.
"I see. So, Geroy, what other modifications has Koleda made to you? Surely it's not just the treads, right?"
"Of course. The president also equipped me with a heavy-duty demolition toolkit, a blasting toolkit, an excavation toolkit, and a high-firepower annihilation toolkit."
"Wait, hold on — isn't something off about that last one? Is that really something a construction machine should have installed?"
Geno broke into an awkward sweat. It felt less like modifications made as needed and more like Koleda was treating Geroy as one giant action figure — bolting on whatever crossed her mind.
"That's right. Grace resisted fiercely at first, but in the end she caved under the president's offensive, and that's when this firepower toolkit got installed."
"If I may ask — what exactly do you mean by 'offensive'?"
No hidden agenda — Geno was simply curious what tactics Koleda had actually used to talk Grace into it.
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