"Why aren't they out yet?"
Rentarou Satomi had been waiting outside the room for over half an hour, yet there was no sign of Kisara Tendou or Enju Aihara. He knocked on the door and called out:
"Kisara-san, are you two done?"
No response. Frowning, he shouted several more times, but still nothing.
Sensing danger, Rentarou did not hesitate. He put his weight into the door and rammed it.
The door burst open under his impact.
He hurriedly scanned the surroundings and rushed toward the bathroom. No sound of running water.
Opening the bathroom door, he found it empty. Yet the warm steam still lingered, and Enju's ragged clothes lay in a nearby laundry basket.
But Kisara Tendou and Enju Aihara weren't truly missing. Rei Ao had simply taken them along, giving them an extensive tour of the Tokyo Area's current state.
All the while, Rei Ao had kept his livestream going, so everyone in the chat group who was interested in this world could watch.
Kisara was far too overwhelmed to care about whether Rentarou was waiting for them. Her mind was in total turmoil over everything she was experiencing.
They were teleporting instantly to different locales. Hovering in midair. Just like right now.
One moment they'd been inside her home, the next, they were out in a boundless wasteland, where the ruined city had been reclaimed by dense vegetation.
From high above, she saw a horrifying scene below: bizarre, grotesque creatures of varying sizes roamed the wilderness among the ruins.
"These are what you call Gastrea."
Rei Ao's explanation was aimed at the group chat following the livestream:
Miko Yotsuya: "Eek! I see one down there bigger than a building!"
Shiba Miyuki: "They look so vicious."
Shinoa Hiiragi: "Well, they do eat people, so they can't be anything good."
Bibi Dong: "I wonder how these monsters compare to soul beasts in terms of power."
Rei Ao: "Even soul beasts aren't all that strong, but these creatures are generally weaker than those. Ordinary Gastrea can be killed by regular humans using conventional firearms."
Mao Lilian: "There's a hint in your words. Are there 'unordinary' Gastrea?"
Rei Ao: "Of course. Gastrea has levels."
He went on to detail the Gastrea's three primary terrifying traits—Infection, Regeneration, and Evolution.
Infection: injecting the Gastrea virus into other organisms, mutating them into more Gastrea.
Regeneration: powerful self-healing, rated from Level One to Level Five – at Level Five, not even missiles or nukes can kill them.
Evolution: they can keep growing stronger, with five 'phases,' culminating in Phase V.
Mikoto Misaka: "So you're saying a Phase V Gastrea with Level Five regeneration can't be stopped by extreme cold, vacuum, or even lava? They can self-repair at a molecular level? That's insane!"
Rei Ao: "Heh, I'm not exaggerating. This world nearly fell to ruin thanks to the so-called 'Zodiac Twelve'—twelve Phase V Gastrea."
Enju Aihara: "Onii-san isn't lying. Phase V is very scary."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "A monster with infinite regeneration, unafraid of missiles or nuclear bombs... It's hard to imagine the despair of facing something like that."
Saeko Busujima: "Suddenly, a 'corpse virus' seems tame in comparison."
Yomogawa Ayame: "And the Kabane virus might not be so over-the-top, either."
Frieren: "Even so, the law of balance stands. No matter how terrifying they are, there must be a countermeasure, like that Varanium metal you mentioned."
Frieren: "@Rei Ao, we've already seen how disgusting the Gastrea are. Shouldn't we take a look at this world's human civilization now?"
Rei Ao: "Yes, that's precisely my plan."
He turned to the still-shaken Kisara.
"Tendou Kisara-san, from your perspective, where should we begin? Mind you, what happens next may well determine the fate of humankind in this world."
Kisara, who had started to believe (more or less) what the chat group and Rei Ao said, felt a weight descend on her – like the pressure Enju faced when they asked her about humanity. Taking a breath, she answered with some reluctance,
"The central district."
By "central district," she referred to the heart of the Tokyo Area.
In the blink of an eye, Kisara found herself standing on top of the tallest tower in Tokyo.
"If we're going to admire the 'scenery' of the Tokyo Area, just us isn't enough."
Rei Ao intended to invite some special "guests" as well:
[Ding! You have chosen to grant sub-channel chat group access to: Seitenshi, Sumire Muroto, Tina, Miori Shiba, Midori Fuse, Asaka Mibu, Hotaru Kouro, and Kayo Senju, Yuzuki Katagiri!]
He was inviting the notable women of Black Bullet who had left a strong impression on him.
Seitenshi – the Princess, ruler of the Tokyo Area, a student at Miwa Girls' Academy. She had lofty ideals, wanting to find a path for Cursed Children to coexist with the rest of humanity, hoping for laws to protect these hated children.
Sumire Muroto – one of the Four Sages, known as "Japan's strongest mind," head of Magata Public University Hospital, and former top official of the New Human Creation Project.
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