By using themselves as bait, Rintaro’s group successfully captured the traitor inside Ark Dominion. However, the voice of the girl in the sword cage belonged to the most trusted subordinate of Rintaro, who swore absolute loyalty to him.

「Ueeeeeen, it’s dark and cramped, ssuuuuu.」

「Same……cchi……?」

「Oi Rintaro, Is Samecchi the one inside…?」

As if in response to Minato’s confusion, the cage formed by countless swords loosened faintly. However, while Rintaro and Minato were upset, Tagaraak, who had been replaced from the neck down with a robot vacuum cleaner, scoffed.

「Do not relax, swordminas!　She is Samecchi but she is also not Samecchi, she is something else entirely!」

「Minato, do it again!」

「……Mi-, Million Sword Alcatraz! !」

As Minato readied herself, countless swords appeared again from the ground, and the cage of swords was enveloped even more tightly. The sphere that enveloped the Samecchi-like intruder became an iron mass that could no longer even be kicked around.

「Everyone is terrible, ssuuuu」

「Oh, what a joke! You’ve got to stop with the monkey business, the Purgatory Mysterious being Hinosmera!」

「Hino……smera……？」

The name was unfamiliar to Rintaro and Minato, but the eyebrows of the Leader Dragius III twitched.

「An unexpectedly troublesome name came up. I see, you took advantage of the recent cavity incident to have Samecchi unlock the seal.」

Dragius’ voice was filled with a fury that one would not expect from an old man over 70 years old. The wrinkles between his earthy eyebrows were deeper, and his eyes were tinged with an icy darkness that passed through his murderous intent.

Rintaro’s nerves were on edge, forgetting to even swallow his saliva at the sight of the “Hinosmera”, that caused the charismatic evil leader who had reigned in the Kanto region for so many years to be alarmed.

「……What, ‘tis so amusing…… “One hit”」

A strangely clear female voice, clearly different from Samechi’s, permeated his eardrums. Rintaro, sensing the approaching danger with his intuition, readied his Death Green Transformation Gear and immediately activated it.

Immediately after, the sword cage turned bright red.

「Minato! Another one! Give it your all!」

「I’m already doing that!」

Million Sword Alcatraz is not composed of mere cast iron, but forged steel. But as if to mock them, countless swords melted and popped like heated glasswork.

「Kuh……! Lay down, Minato!」

「Hot hot hot hot hot! My hair is on fire!」

Rintaro, who had turned into a death green, flipped his large cape to protect Minato from the flying molten steel. Like a volcanic eruption, the scattered flames spread throughout the venue, and the empty coffin and the silly-looking remains were engulfed in flames.

The sword cage disappears without a trace, and the prisoner covered in black flame was released.

「’tis no good, to capture a weak woman like me and lock ‘er up.」

At the epicenter of the flames, the woman stepped onto the burning carpet and quietly descended. Rintaro’s eyes widened at the sight.

「Samecchi……?」

She looked exactly like Rintaro’s younger sister, Samecchi. However, she was not the Samecchi that Rintaro knew.

Her flaxen hair, which Rintaro had stroked many times, reached down to her waist, and her back and her body shape could no longer be described as that of a child. The chest of her baggy shark-print pajamas was wide open, unable to accommodate her bigger limbs.

Black shimmering flames rose from her entire body, and her grinning mouth was lined with sharp fangs.

When Samecchi grows up, She would surely become a beautiful woman like her. However, Hinosmera’s air was unlike that of the sharks, but evil itself.

「’tis been ten years ain’t it, Dragius. I missed ya so much!」

「……I don’t want to see you again.」

「Don’t say such nasty thing, play with me…… “うつしもゆ”」

A wave of flame approached as it scorched the surrounding air. With a roar and tremendous heat, the wave of black flame attacked Dragius.

「It doesn’t work on me!」

When Dragius held up his hand, the flame disappeared into Dragius’ palm as if absorbed.

However, Hinosmera, taking advantage of the split-second opportunity when he absorbed the black flame, to come in close to Dragius.

「’tis still troublesome as ever. But seems like ya couldn’t react to this.」

「Nuguh!?」

Dragius tried to counterattack, but his hand suddenly stopped. Seeing this, Hinosmera smiled with satisfaction and kicked Dragius’ body away with her long legs.

The entire hall was rocked by an impact that was incomparable to Samecchi’s megalodon kick. Dragius was slammed into the hard wall, splitting the burning Tagaraak’s remains in half.

「Yer’ sweetness hasn’t changed either. Ya must have cared for this container (body) a lot. Samecchi is a blessing.」

Despite the drastic change in appearance, even Rintaro immediately understood that the body of the Hinosmera belonged to Samecchi. The recent changes in Samecchi’s constitution were all caused by this Hinosmera.

But by the time they realized that, it was too late. Now, any attack on Hinosmera will be an attack on Samecchi. That’s why Dragius couldn’t fight back.

「C’mon, ‘tis about time for grandpa to retire.」

Hinosmera clicked her fangs and a sphere of black flame formed on her hand. The sphere was black and large, and even denser than the “Fukahireha” released by Samecchi.

No matter if it’s the king of mysterious being Dragius, with the state of his injury there was no guarantee that he would survive that attack.

「Ri- Ri- Ri- Rintaro, the leader is!」

「I know! But what should we do…」

At that moment, Tagaraak, whose palm tree-like hair was lit on fire and looked like a tasteless candlestick, slide in front of Rintaro while drifting on the robot vacuum cleaner.

「Damn her, she cut off the fire alarm before sneaking in! Rintaro, above, ja!」

Rintaro immediately responded to Tagaraak’s words.

「I see, Minato!」

「Rintaro, here!」

Rintaro held out his hand and Minato held up her hand almost simultaneously. Grabbing the hilt of the sword produced from Minato’s palm, Rintaro threw it toward the ceiling.

A sword, glittering like a meteor, pierced a point on the high ceiling.

「Tch…… ‘twas getting good too……!」

Sensing the drops overflowing from the hole, the Samecchi-faced hinosmera contorted her lips and clicked her tongue.

Rintaro penetrated the sprinkler piping. Water droplets blossomed and fell like a drizzle over Hinosmera’s head.

「“too early”!!!」

With intense heat, a black pillar of fire enveloped Hinosmera’s body. The flames swirled and pushed the ceiling ventilation openings apart, drilling holes in them like a drill.

「Aah, Rintaro! She is running away!」

「Damn it, wait!!!」

Rintaro’s cries were in vain, and Hinosmera disappeared along with Samechi’s body.

Rintaro bit his lip under his death-green mask after narrowly missing Hinosmera.

「Guh…… Nuu…… We’ve been played……」

「You ou ou Rintaro, help p p yoppuririririhaberururururuhohofurya」

All that was left was a deeply wounded Dragius and a waterlogged and short-circuited Tagaraak. The rest was a charred hall and a gaping hole in the ceiling going all the way outside.

---

<140: A Candlelight That Illuminates The Nameless
142: Ark Dominion Emergency Assembly>