Chapter 54

Act 3 Backstabbing 1 Jiguan Xia and his subordinates waited for Yahiro’s group in the underground railyard of the Nagoya Station Fortress. They had two armored trucks ready, but not many soldiers—only seven, including Xia. Although their job was only showing Galerie Berith the way, there weren’t enough people to head into a Moujuu colony. “You’re here, Lazarus! Just in time.” Xia wore a look of relief as he saw them approach. Yahiro was surprised by the man’s reaction. So even he gets nervous, he thought. “This is everyone coming from your side? Quite the sad party, wouldn’t you say?” Giuli teased. Xia only laughed boastfully. “Never fear. They all have Relicts. We can’t take people that will only get in the way into Moujuu territory. Although…there is an exception. Two exceptions, actually.” “Exceptions?” Giuli tilted her head. Xia scratched his head and appeared to be embarrassed. The next moment, a young soldier paused while checking the truck and yelled: “Waon!” “Wh-what did you just say?!” A big, bald man threw his wrench aside, stood up, and sprinted over to them. The young guy who yelled first followed close behind. “Wha…?” Iroha mumbled. Nuemaru was cradled in her arms. She froze in confusion at the soldiers’ intense reactions. The two men stopped in front of her and looked up to the heavens as if praising God. “She’s—she’s real… The real Waon is right before my eyes…!” “She’s tridimensional! She moves in three dimensions…!” The two soldiers hugged each other tightly, so elated they could cry. “Um… Wh-who are you…?” Iroha asked as she took one step back. The soldiers came back to their senses, schooled their expressions and straightened their backs to salute her. “Excuse us. We’re your fans, Waon.” “We discovered you thanks to Yamadou’s channel and felt the hand of fate at work.” “We looked into the dragon mediums and became obsessed… We despaired at the news of your account being deleted, but to think we would get to meet you in real life!” “We have all your videos saved and backed up, so rest easy! HA-HA-HA! Waooon!” The androgynous young soldier and the brawny skinhead took turns speaking. “Oh, r-really? Ah-ha-ha-ha…” Iroha was uncharacteristically overwhelmed by their excited chatter. She could only force a smile and let their joy wash over her. Xia sighed as he gave a sidelong glance to his subordinates’ conversation with the dragon medium. “So? The plan is to investigate why the Moujuu attacked the fortress, but do you have any leads?” “First, we wanna go to Hikami-jingu. Care to show us the way?” Giuli cheerfully answered Xia’s question. Xia stared back at her, stiff with surprise. “Are you insane? That’s the deepest part of the colony—the biggest danger zone.” “And that’s why it’s worth looking into it, don’t you think?” “Yup, you’re insane.” Xia sighed, but then sported a competitive grin. He adjusted his evaluation of the Galerie and decided to be more wary of them once he realized Iroha was not bluffing about going to the core of the colony. “All right. I’ll lend you a truck and a driver. Follow me,” Xia said while pointing at the armored trucks, which were all ready to go. The Galerie operators boarded one after the other. Yahiro and Iroha tried to follow, but Xia stepped forward to block their way. He smiled defiantly as Yahiro frowned. “You’re coming with me, Lazarus and Dragon Medium. Not to say you’re hostages, but I need to keep an eye on you two menaces.” Xia pointed at another armored truck with his chin. The truck, labeled 201, was the command car he was taking. Yahiro and Iroha had no reason to say no, so they did as indicated. The only one making a fuss out of it was a CFA soldier. “W-Waon is getting on my truck…! Fuwoooh…!” The bald one’s nostrils swelled as he let out a cry of victory. Iroha stopped in the middle of getting on the back of the truck, a strained smile plastered on her face. “Sorry about them. They’re not incompetent soldiers, I promise.” Even Xia was embarrassed, holding his forehead as he excused them. “O-oh, no… I’m sorry my fans are causing you a headache… Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha,” Iroha laughed dryly. Yahiro sighed as he got on the armored truck. So began their exploration of the Moujuu colony. The Moujuu colony was over four miles from the Nagoya Station Fortress. A ten-minute trip by train before the J-nocide, but the catastrophe caused by the dragon and the Moujuu after that left the surrounding area in terrible condition. The paths were closed off by fallen buildings and collapsed roads, leaving no vestiges of what the modern city was in times of peace. “This is awful…,” Yahiro muttered, wincing at the bumps and jolts as the truck crossing the rubble. The road was in such bad shape that the truck couldn’t get any speed. They could only travel a hundred feet before having to stop and move obstacles, then rinse and repeat. It was so bad Yahiro even thought the 23 Wards were in better shape. “Our armored troops have been ruthless with the Moujuu,” Xia said. He observed the destruction caused by cannonball pits without a shred of regret, his lips curving up. The Chinese Federal Army had been shooting indiscriminately, turning their surroundings into ash in order to exterminate the Moujuu from their territory. These apocalyptic ruins were the result of that—of the CFA prioritizing their occupancy of the land over Japanese cultural assets. “I heard that way too many people died, but in exchange, the Chinese Federation got that fortress. Our country is the only one that has been able to drive away the Moujuu, despite the losses, and build a base on their territory. But well, maybe that’s why they hate us,” Xia said with pride. Iroha didn’t believe that was the case. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow in protest. “Mmm… I don’t think they’d attack the city because of that. The guys that got into the station were acting a little weird…” “Yeah, they did feel different from the Moujuu in the 23 Wards,” Yahiro agreed. A far greater number of Moujuu lived in the 23 Wards than in Nagoya, but they never acted in herds. It was unthinkable that they would attack a human base in groups to take revenge for their fallen brethren. The only exception was when they were manipulated by a higher being, such as the dragons. And finding a clue like that was the purpose of this investigation. “Wait a second. Mr. Xia, stop the car.” “What…?” Iroha, sitting on the provisional troop seat, suddenly raised her hand. Nuemaru was growling where he sat on her knees, and his ears began twitching. “Moujuu…!” Xia’s expression turned grim as he looked out the window. Around fourteen or fifteen Moujuu surrounded the truck. A couple of them were Grade II or over. The driver stopped the truck immediately—breaking through was impossible. Xia’s subordinates on the back of the truck began preparing their weapons: Relict Deserver equipment. Big, crude handguns similar to the one Xia used. Relict users could easily take care of a dozen Moujuu. Xia was clearly intent on doing just that. But right before the truck came to a complete halt, Iroha jumped off of it. “Hey, wait! What’re you thinking, Dragon Medium?!” Xia yelled at her. Xia drew his sword and started to follow her, but Yahiro stopped him before he could get out of the truck. Yahiro raised his uchigatana at the man, still sheathed. Xia glared at him with bloodshot eyes, and Yahiro returned the glare. “Don’t get in Iroha’s way, Jiguan Xia.” “…Now that’s a good look on your face, Lazarus. It’s like you’re a different person from yesterday.” Xia laughed heartily while pointing the gun at Yahiro’s chest. Yahiro kept the katana up. Iroha was already right in front of the Moujuu, by herself. She would be in greater danger if Xia tried to attack. “Shangxiao Xia…!” a Relict soldier shouted in a panic. Then they realized the number of Moujuu surrounding them had grown. There were over thirty of them in sight. More had to be on the way there. “They’re swarming the place. Escaping this many won’t be easy. What now, Lazarus?” “We don’t know if they’ll attack yet,” Yahiro responded calmly to Xia’s aggressive question. “What…?” Xia raised an eyebrow. Then the Moujuu’s roars echoed throughout the ruined city. The giant beast facing Iroha let out a battle cry, and Nuemaru in her arms howled in return. The entire Moujuu herd followed with their own roars. “Tsk!” Xia pointed his gun at them again the moment the bellowing shook the air. He froze in place, his finger on the trigger. He was paralyzed by the sight of Iroha, surrounded by Moujuu, waving at them with a smile on her face. Iroha walked over to Yahiro, dozens of Moujuu trailing behind her. Xia and his soldiers could only stare in astonishment. “We’re back. I talked to them. They’re gonna show us the way to their nest,” Iroha said as she pointed at one of the Moujuu behind her. It was over six or seven meters tall, its silhouette that of an elephant with a shell. It was a specimen so huge it could pulverize one of the CFA’s armored trucks with one stomp. “You talked to them? You made a deal or something?” Xia asked in confusion. Iroha put her hand to her cheek, wondering how to explain it. “We didn’t make a deal, per se, they just understood that we’re friends.” “…Insanity. Your woman is insane, man,” he said to Yahiro with a sigh. I know. The Lazarus shrugged. Iroha’s absurd behavior when it came to Moujuu was nothing new. Yahiro’s allies was used to it at this point, and it still caught them off guard—Xia’s people had to be losing their minds. Yet… “Woooh! You did it! You’re amazing, Waon!” The bald soldier got off the truck and knelt on the ground, overcome with emotion as he showered her with praise and worship. Iroha, expecting the overly dramatic reaction at this point, puffed out her chest with pride. “I know, right? Hee-hee! Praise me more!” “Waooon! I will follow you to the end of the world! Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!” “Hee-hee-hee, thank you, thank you.” Iroha did a bizarre dance to the beat of the soldier’s clapping. The rest of the soldiers stared in bewilderment while Xia shook his head with disgust. “Tsk… I’m surrounded by idiots…” “But hey, we’re not under attack. For now, at least,” Yahiro pointed out as he put down his blade. Xia frowned in annoyance, but did not argue. “Yeah. The power to tame Moujuu… But it’s not quite a power, is it? So said that woman.” “What woman?” Yahiro narrowed his eyes with suspicion at Xia’s comment. Xia chuckled as he realized his slip of the tongue. He kept the wariness unconcealed in his expression as he glanced suggestively at Iroha. “Nothing. It’s just that I made the right decision coming here with you.” 2 “It appears the dragon medium and her Lazarus are headed to the Moujuu’s nest,” a man said merrily as he breathed in the fragrance of the coffee just brought to him. He was an Asian man in his midthirties. He had an intellectual air about him, yet looked younger than his actual age. He wore no ostentatious accessories, but his suit and leather shoes were obviously high quality. Giuli or Rosé would have guessed his identity right away, were they present. This young billionaire had adorned the covers of finance and world news magazines. Chinese entrepreneur Liu Ryland—founder of Melora Electronics, one of the biggest IT companies in the world. “Should we have let them go, Ryland?” Chief Executive Zeming Hou asked, his eyes wandering anxiously. They were in the chief executive’s office, on the top floor of the SAR government office building inside the Nagoya Station Fortress. Despite Hou being the master of the room, it was Liu Ryland, his guest, who seemed more relaxed. He felt at home because of Melora’s generous donations to Zeming Hou, as well as their sponsorship of the fortress’s construction. “Don’t worry, Chief. It was the dragon medium who suggested investigating the Moujuu, wasn’t it? There is no reason for us to stop them.” “That is true, but…,” Hou stammered. He showed no surprise at Liu Ryland’s knowledge of the details of their negotiations with the Galerie. Everyone knew that Deputy Commander Jiguan Xia and the Relict Deservers basically worked for Melora; it was likely they had leaked the news to him. “Do you think Galerie Berith might find the reason behind the Moujuu attacks, Chief?” Liu Ryland asked after taking a joyous sip of coffee. Hou nodded with a bitter expression. “We can’t deny the possibility.” “Indeed. But we can let Shangxiao Xia take care of things if it comes to that.” “You mean Deputy Commander Xia might kill the dragon medium? B-but wouldn’t we be making enemies of Ganzheit?” “If it worries you that much, you should have let the Galerie’s train through. You still have time to do just that, in fact,” Liu Ryland pointed out with an impish smile. Iroha Mamana was only heading to the Moujuu colony because the Chinese Federation asked Galerie Berith for their Relict Regalia. Hou could do away with the request and the Galerie would have no reason to go there anymore. Yet, he shook his head with a pained expression. “No… I cannot do that. Losing a precious Relict goes against our homeland’s will.” “We feel the same, Chief.” Liu smiled very softly, and just as wickedly. “If Ganzheit’s involvement is what you fear, then fear not. I called a helper just for that.” “A helper?” “Yes. Who better to take care of a dragon medium than another dragon medium? Ganzheit will have no reason to be upset, then. Leave it in our hands, if worse comes to worst,” Liu said, full of confidence as he gazed at the station building below. Inside it was Melora’s own armored train, T(or Tau)-Bullet, as well as Galerie Berith’s. “Can you really win?” Hou pressed. Liu smiled coolly. “Of course. We’re lucky to have the Lazarus, the Galerie’s biggest player, away from their armored train. There will be no unnecessary deaths that way.” “And the dragon medium? You saw that monster’s powers in Yokohama.” “You fear that Iroha Mamana will work together with the Moujuu?” “Naturally.” “That is why the Relict squad is there, isn’t it?” “Mmm…” Zeming Hou couldn’t argue against his strong rebuttal. “Vanagloria’s Relict Regalia… I cannot wait. Perhaps it, newly born, will be able to wake that up,” Liu Ryland said to himself as he looked out the window again. At the other end of his gaze was a strange building in the center of the Nagoya Station Fortress. A cube-shaped building without windows, reminiscent of cutting-edge semiconductor factories, linked to a giant power plant. It endlessly exuded a crimson, blood-like smoke. 3 “Liu Ryland? Who’s that, Lady?” Josh Keegan asked Rosé while munching on sunflower seeds in the Yáo Guāng Xīng’s lounge car. “Melora Electronics’ CEO. I don’t know his full history, but I hear he holds great power in the Chinese Federal Congress. His net worth is sixty billion dollars. One of the wealthiest people in the world,” explained Rosé. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder party dress and Rinka was doing her hair. Her stiff, beautiful looks made her resemble a doll in the first place, but now that she was dressed up, her charm was far beyond that of any regular actress or model. Rinka looked to be having the time of her life, too. “The owner of that armored train beside us? That’s who wants to meet you?” Josh snorted while glancing at the letter on the desk. The envelope was sealed and embossed like an old-fashioned invitation. “It seems he’s invited me for a tea party,” she said apathetically. He had invited her just as Yahiro and Iroha were departing. The CEO of a huge corporation closely related to the Chinese Federation. Something was afoot. “Does he want Ayaho’s Relict?” Rinka asked with worry as she braided Rosé’s hair. “We can’t deny the possibility, but it doesn’t seem right. It makes sense for the army to ask for it, but why would an IT company’s top manager want it? I must look into this.” “So that’s why you accepted the invite. Well, either way, I win, getting to see you dolled up like that,” Josh jested. Rosé glared at him like she would an irksome mosquito. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to turn him down. And I shouldn’t miss this opportunity for negotiation.” “Yeah, it’s obvious you got time on your hands, being stalled at this station. Who’re you taking as your bodyguard?” “Wei. Your squad is staying on the Yáo Guāng Xīng to command the rest of the operators.” “Wei, huh…?” Josh crossed his arms; Yang Wei was just coming into the lounge at that moment. “You okay? You’re not fully healed yet, are you?” “I envy Yahiro’s powers at times like this,” Wei replied with his usual chilly expression. “But don’t worry, I can take care of Rosé. Shouldn’t be as hard as fighting a Fafnir soldier, right?” “Right.” Josh smiled, content. Despite his wounds, Wei was skilled enough—and in the first place, in terms of raw combat skill, Rosé herself was above anyone else in the Galerie. She also figured it was best to bring a fellow Asian to that tea party with Liu Ryland. “It’s done, Rosé. What do you think?” Rinka finished styling Rosé’s hair and handed her a mirror. The corners of Rosé’s lips curved up slightly, though her eyes remained inexpressive. “You’re good at this, Rinka. I did the right thing asking you for help.” “You think? Hee-hee…” Rinka blushed while putting away the brush and hairpins. Rosé took off the apron protecting her outfit and stood up. Wei gave her a handgun and holster.