As Jimbocho was once again reduced to ashes during the previous battle, a temporary headquarters for heroes was once again set up in Asagaya. As a permanent facility like this it no longer seems temporary, but the facilities were in poor condition as it was occupying the site of an old 45-year-old city hall that was scheduled for demolition.

The room was still lit even though it was around 2:00 a.m. In a room with a flimsy plaque that read “Temporary Director’s Office,” Retto and Asaka were diligently working on documents.

The contents, of course, were a written apology for allowing heinous mysterious Death Green to escape after his capture.

「Kuuuuuuuuuh! Asaka-san, you must be tired! Would you like to take a little break?」

「No need.」

「Oh, that’s right! I’m going to the convenience store for a bit. Want me to buy you something to drink?」

「No need.」

「Then I’ll go buy some coffee!」

Asaka answered dismissively, but Retto kept smiling and sprinted off to the convenience store. Incidentally, a pyramid of canned coffee had been built on Asaka’s desk by Retto, who made a dash to the convenience store once every 30 minutes.

And next to it is an unopened letter.

『Zetsu Green Dog』

Written in the younger sister’s handwriting, it was a “letter of severance” addressed to her own sister. Since it had been left at the scene of the battle with the mysterious being, it should normally be treated as a manifesto of the crime or a mysterious being relic.

However, Asaka was unable to bring herself to read the letter, which was clearly addressed to her.

「…………Saya……」

What escaped her lips was her sister’s name.

In the official documents of the Hero Headquarters, she is described as the Fanged Shark Mysterious Being Samegaro, and they know that she is called Samecchi within the mysterious being organization.

For Asaka, however, her sister was the one and only “Samejima Saya”.

She rose to the position of Chief of Staff and restarted the “Village” project, which had been frozen.

All of this was done to protect her sister, who had turned into a mysterious being, from the eyes of the world and the blade of justice, and to live together again as sisters.

The capture of Kuriyama Rintaro was supposed to be the first step toward that ideal.

Asuka thought that if she could just get Rintaro in her hands, it would be easy to get Saya, who adored him as her big brother, in her grasp. The result, however, was this letter of severance that was presented by her sister.

Now it was Kuriyama Rintaro, the heinous mysterious Death Green, who was becoming the biggest obstacle to her plans.

「……………………」

Asaka picked up the letter of severance and turned on the shredder in the corner of the room. When she turned it on, the steel blades began to spin around and around.

Doing this wouldn’t make everything disappear. But it was a painful reality to keep in front of her and face.

As Asaka was about to shred the unopened letterhead, At that moment.

「I’m back!!」

The thin door of the temporary director’s office opened with a bang, and Retto returned from shopping with a Coke and coffee in each hand.

Asaka reflexively tucked the letter into her pocket.

「Sorry to keep you waiting, Asaka-san. Here, coffee!」

「Thank you.」

「You’re welcome!」

Not that she was waiting for it, but Asaka received her tenth coffee in total and placed it on top of the pyramid of cans. It would have been nice to have at least a variety of flavors, but they were all the same sweet coffee.

…………

The infirmary of Ark Dominion’s underground secret base. The room, usually filled with the aroma of disinfectant, was occupied by cumbersome cords and huge medical instruments.

All of this was connected to Minato’s body as she slept on the bed.

「This should do it.」

Dragging her lab coat along, Tagaraak glanced at the green electrocardiogram monitor. The monitor that should have shown the shape of life was now displaying no waveforms.

Perhaps feeling worried, Kirika, who was acting as her assistant, asked.

「Even if the wound is deep, will it really stop the heart?」

「The cardiopulmonary function has been temporarily stopped to enhance the regenerative power of the mysterious being cells. Don’t worry. She’ll wake up in about half a day. …What I’m more worried about is…」

「……Senpai, is it」

「Umu. It’s a wonder he’s not dead yet.」

Although Rintaro and Minato survived, his body was damaged to the point of self-destruction. It should be noted that the wear and tear from doing actions  that far exceeded human limitations was far greater than the injuries he sustained from the heroes.

In the mechanism of mysterious being awakening, mysterious being cells are responsible for the recovery of a damaged body. In contrast, Rintaro’s body was still a “human body” without mysterious being cells.

「Considering the situation, it seemed like a mysterious being awakening.」

「Originally, the awakening of a mysterious being is caused by innate qualities and strong psychological pressure (stress). …Well, in that respect, Rintaro is quite the logical type.」

Tagaraak pressed her index finger against his wrinkled brow. The deliberate gesture implicitly indicated that she had a hunch.

「If it is the weakness of the heart that creates mysterious beings, then Rintaro’s heart was too strong. If I had to give it a name, I would call it “half-awakened.”」

「Half-awakened, is it? But I couldn’t find any such case in the records of Hero Headquarters.」

「That’s because it is a very rare case. Even I know of only one fool who got into such trouble.」

Tagaraak shrugged in exasperation, but didn’t give up any more information. The wily blonde girl would talk freely about anything she wanted to talk about, but she would never let anything slip that she shouldn’t.

Kirika knows this very well, so she did not question Tagaraak on this occasion.

「Remember, Kirika. Do not let him out of your sight.」

Kirika nodded silently at Tagaraak’s words.

…………

After the two of them left the infirmary, Minato was left alone in the dark, lying on the bed connected to machines.

The way she slept without breathing made it seem as if the room itself was a giant coffin with a mechanism.

However, as if to disturb the beauty’s peaceful sleep, someone opened the door without knocking.

「Swordminus, are you okay, nyan?! Oooh!? It turned so cyberpunk, nyan!?」

「There’s no room to walk, wan… it’s like an old man’s room before he cleaned it, wan…」

Visiting the infirmary was a cat-dog duo belonging to the Hundred Beasts Legion.

As they possess some of the keener ears amonst the people in Ark Dominion, as soon as they heard that Minato was in critical condition, they rushed over to visit her.

「Hie, I brought a melon as a get well gift, nyan, but I don’t have anywhere to put it, nyannaa.」

「Nyanzo, wait, wan… something seems strange, wan…」

「Nnn, nyan!? Could it be, she is not breathing, nyanzo!?」

What they saw was Minato literally sleeping as if dead.

Minato was mortally wounded when she challenged the heroes head-on to rescue Rintaro, but she is recovering well thanks to the activation of her mysterious being cells.

However, due to the fact that the cardiopulmonary functions have been stopped, albeit temporarily, at first glance it appears as if the patient is really dead.

「Sh- She is dead, nyan……!」

「This is a big deal, wan… sad, wan… frustrating, wan…」

「This is big news, nyanzo! Let’s tell Ojiki and Colonel Usanyi-chan quickly, nyanna!」

「Let’s let Leader Dragius know too, wan……」

Both of them ran out of the infirmary with pale faces. The news of the sudden death quickly spread throughout the secret underground base.

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