On the ground, the rain was coming down harder than before. In the pouring cold rain, heroes were fighting a deadly battle against mysterious beings.

「We, The Hundred Beasts Legion, had already defeated 30 people! How’s that, Zazomaa!!」

「It is not a fool who is deceived by fire and burns his wings. If it is because you seek the light, then follow the path of the silkworm. We are the shadows, we are the darkness, we are the pure evil that has violated the light with its jet-black melody.」

「Zazoma-sama said, “We, The Strange Insect Army, had already defeated 31 people. A bear should just stay quiet and pick up acorns to eat”.」

「Nuguuuh!!」

The Hundred Beasts General Bearion stepped on the ground, causing his body to shake and scattering water. Next to the beautiful Insect General Zazoma, who was drenched in the rain, her servant Michalikki stretched out his body to protect himself from the water.　

Next to the beautiful Strange Insect General Zazoma, who was drenched in the rain, his servant Mikarikki stretched out his body to protect himself from the water.

It was a rare sight to see the top executives of an evil secret society standing side by side. From behind, two shadows, one red and one blue, approached at high speed.

「Hahahahaha, you finally showed an opening, you idiot! I am The Gale Warrior, Red Hayate!」

「As am I, Blue Hayate! I’ll get the general’s head!」

With slender swords in their hands, these gale warriors rushed toward the two mysterious being generals at speed beyond human understanding. They are Gale Sentai Shippuuja, if it’s just based on speed, they surpasses those of Fuuma Sentai Ninjajan. The raindrops that fell from the sky were as fast as still water in front of their extraordinary speed.

「Aaan? What is it with you guys?」

「Hahahahaha, too slow too slow! Where exactly are you looking, you mysterious beings!」

「Can you see our speed? Take this, sure-kill move, “ultra-high-speed whirlwind slash”!!!」

Their ability were not just empty words, it was truly a flash of divine speed. Leaving behind even the distant thunder, the tip of the gale’s sword pierced deeply into the bristly body.

――or so they thought, however――。

「Oioi, what’s wrong! It was so light that I didn’t even noticed that you hit me!　Gahahahaha!!」

「「Impossibleeeee! The Shippublaaades are-!?」」

Shipuuja’s swords were indeed sharp, but they’ve got the wrong opponent. Shippuuja’s swords snapped off in front of his well-trained muscles.

The Hundred Beasts General Bearion brushed off the broken tip of their swords as if they were dust, and raised his beast-like mouth with a grin. In front of his body, which is like an armor, There is no need to dodge.

「These flies are so noisy, Oraaa!! Hundred Beasts King Double Lariat! ! !」

His log-like arms attacked the two shaken Shippuuja.

Taking the stiff-armed blow squarely in the face, Red Gale and Blue Gale were slammed into the asphalt in close proximity. A large crater formed in the middle of the road with a roaring sound, testifying to the strength of the impact.

「Gahahaha! It’s 32 people with this!!!」

「A lion’s roar is not a threat. A piece of dog flesh is used to inspire heaven and earth to behold me. It is the duty of a strong man to take up the sword and show his might. My name is Zazoma, strange insects army, and the time of the black feast has come.」

Zazoma opened his long, slender arms and looked up at the sky with an out-of-place serenity. His whole body was bathed in raindrops, and he licked them off his white cheeks, then snapped his fingers as if in a magic show.　

At the same time, three shadows fell from the sky, one after another, head first onto the road.

「You are doing great. As expected of our master, the Strange Insect General Zazoma-sama.」

Even from a distance, one could tell from the colorful suits that these were heroes with jetpacks on their backs. It was the three remaining members of Shippuuja, who were flying through the air so fast that they were invisible to the eye, as if they were Skyfish.

「Uguguge…… Gogo……!」

If you look closely, you’ll see needles so thin that they are invisible sticking into their necks. Everyone of them was convulsing with the whites of their eyes showing as if they had been poisoned.

「What is not seen is the same as the wind. If you cannot see it, it is the same as darkness, it lurks and is conceited. If you can’t touch it, it’s like fog, if you can touch it, it’s like a lure, it’s like a prodigal. Spin and praise, all in my hands, dance madly and draw the trails of rouge.」

「Hohoho, Zazoma-sama said, “With this, The Strange Insect Army has gotten 34 people. You stuffy mammals can just go dig mushrooms and eat them”.」

「Nugaaaaaaah!!!」

The Hundred Beasts Legion and the Strange Insect Army were competing for scores by defeating heroes as if they were playing whack-a-mole.

Their mission, coincidentally, was the same as that of the Hero Headquarters: to stop Hinosmera from escaping. However, the fate of mysterious beings and heroes is that they must fight once they have met, even if they share the same goal.

For Rintaro and Tagaraak, who planned this operation, it was within their expectations.

…………

『As expected…  there are a lot of people.』

「This is no good, ssune. If we go aboveground now, Ojiki and the others will find us, ssu.」

Samecchi was secretly peeking through a gap in the manhole as the Hero Headquarters and Ark Dominion clashed.

They walked along the long underground passageway, repeatedly scouting the ground like this. But the streets of Ginza were now filled with mysterious beings and heroes everywhere.

『Seems like ‘tis hopeless for us t’ break through here…… If I can use my strength, I’d be able t’ break through head-on though……』

「Iit’s Ookaay, ssu! Hino-chan will be protected by Samecchi, ssuyo, as if getting on a big boat, ssu! ……E- E- E- Ekuchi (Sneeze)!!」

In late February, with the weather still bitterly cold and wet from top to bottom, even the healthiest child can catch a cold. One of the mysterious beings fighting aboveground twitched his ears when he heard a small sneeze coming out of nowhere.

「Hmm? Was that voice, Private Samecchi?」

「Awah!? This is bad, ssu!」

Samecchi quickly closed the manhole cover and slid down the ladder back into the tunnels. In the freezing cold, Samecchi, wearing only a pair of damp pajamas, shivered and sniffled.

「Waburururu…… Zuzu-! Mmn, looks like we will have to continue underground, ssune.」

『Samecchi, don’t push yerself too hard. Ya need to warm up and rest.』

「Let’s buy some warm oshiruko, ssu. ……Hah! The wallet in’t here, ssuuu……!」

The subway station, usually frequented by businessmen, was now almost entirely closed to darkness due to the suspension of service following the evacuation order. The area was so quiet that if you listen carefully, you can hear the faint sound of rain on the ground.　

Only the light from the vending machine illuminated the empty, cold tiles. With her back to the vending machine, which emitted a slight heat along with the light, Samecchi sat down flat on her back.

「Muu, Samecchi will hold back on the oshiruko, ssu. Samecchi is an adult lady who can hold back, ssu. Rest assured, Hino-chan. As long as Samecchi is around, Samecchi won’t let Hino-chan be sent to “hokenjo”.」

『I ain’t a stray dog!  ……Well, ‘tis the same anyway, the thing they’d do to me once I got caught.』

「Everyone will surely understand if you talk to them. Even aniki always says, “I am a pacifist who does not kill”.」

Hinosmera was silenced by Samechi’s positive words. Her misdeeds had long since crossed the line of “they will surely understand if you just talk to them”. Unable to suppress the urge that welled up from within her, she turned on not only her enemies, but even her allies.

Not only did she cause Mt. Fuji to explode, causing a lot of damage.

After causing her former colleague to explode, she turned her blade on Rintaro, who had become aware of her own existence. She tried to destroy the Ark Dominion that had imprisoned her from within without leaving a trace.

It was a different story from the one that Samecchi might be thinking, such as keeping an abandoned dog in hiding.

『Hey, Samecchi.』

「Kushun! What is it, ssuka, Hino-chan?」

『…………No, It’s nothing……』

Hinosmera was stumped as to whether she should tell the truth or not. Wouldn’t her pitch-black tale of revenge only hurt the innocent girl?　

In any case, once Hinosmera regained her power, Samecchi’s ego will sink back into the darkness. Then, there will be no need to go through the trouble of telling the truth.

This is because the container (Samecchi) is only a tool for the content (Hinosmera).

――But――

「It’s not good to carry a burden all by yourself, ssu! Samecchi will listen if there are any problem, ssuyo, Samecchi is good at listening despite appearances, ssu!」

『…………Samecchi……』

Hinosmera thought, ‘I bet Samecchi is the type of person who can’t tell a lie. She must not have had any adults around her who could tell a lie. Or perhaps there were only adults who were very good at lying.’

「Ah! Good at listening, ssu(Kiki jozussu)! Jozu (Jaws?) is Samecchis Jozu(Jaws?)」

『Fufuh……』

「Hino-chan laughed, ssune! Mufufun, Samecchi is a good woman who can make people laugh, ssuyo.」

『……No, I just thought that Eastern Japan’s comedy is not funny after all.』

「Waaan! That’s terrible, ssu!」

Samecchi who obediently swallows both lies and truth together. No, it’s because she’s such Samecchi.

Hinosmera took a breath and was quiet. She began to speak in a voice that only the sharks could hear.

『Hino-chan ya see, wasn’t actually want to tell ya this but……』

Hinosmera revealed her heart to the fullest.

Even if every word spun would hurt Samechi. I wanted her to be the only one to hear it.

What exactly did she do to Ark Dominion, which could be called Samecchi’s family? The depth of the karma carried by the evil mysterious being called Purgatory Mysterious being Hinosmera.

I have sinned and will continue to sin countless times. There are some things in this world that no amount of repentance can change. The urge for revenge that even she cannot control is literally a curse.

『…………』

「…………」

Until Hinosmera finished speaking, Samechi listened silently without interrupting a single word. By the time she had finished spitting it all out, tears were spilling from the girl’s eyes.

It may have been shed by Samecchi, or it may have overflowed from the Hinosmera’s heart, or both. Samecchi wiped away her tears and slowly opened her large, fanged mouth.

「Then, gotta say “sorry”, ssune.」

The girl said straightforwardly with a carefree smile.

---

<146: Genealogy of the Heinous
148: The Black Sun That Never Sets>