[Republic of Colombian — Barranquilla]
Barranquilla was the fourth largest city in the Republic of Colombian. Located in the north of the country, it was the capital city of the Department of Atlántico and home to around fifty million people. Every year, a carnival took place there from February to March. Even the dungeons’ appearance had not taken a toll on the Latin Gamerican people’s jovial nature.
A long truck ran along Olaya Herrera Street on a day in early July when the temperature was above thirty degrees Celsius. A man dressed in a clown outfit sat in the passenger seat and took a bite out of his empanada—South Gamerican street food—and drank some water.
“Boss, we’ll be there soon. I think the Colombian Army is awaiting us.”
Venisuela had long since become South Gamerica’s powder keg. Following their latest threat, the world had expressed its support for Sarmiento, the current Colombian president. Supportive words were easily given, of course, but when Colombian had contacted several South Gamerican governments, putting in requests for material help in the hope of receiving arms that could fend off the wyverns, the response hadn’t been too good. Offering that sort of massive military support would easily cost billions of dollars. Naturally, Colombian did not have the means to finance such an endeavor, and Gamerica was left to take on that burden. Still, no one could make that sort of decision amid the elections.
In the end, no one offered Colombian any tangible support, and after two weeks of negotiations, Colombian had no choice but to bow down to Joker and accept his terms.
“I think you’re already all clear on this, but don’t forget we’re the Legion, not a band of outlaws. Whatever you do, whether it’s going out for a meal or fooling around in town, affects the image of our army. You’d better keep that in mind.”
Most Venisuelans walked on eggshells when interacting with Joker and his men. They wouldn’t hurt you as long as you didn’t make an enemy of them. If anything, there was even a chance they would help you out in times of need.
As for the criminals Joker had liberated, a good number had already been captured or killed. Venisuela was steadily stabilizing, despite being ostracized by the rest of the world.
They finally found it, inside a shop located on a corner of Olaya Herrera Street. The area was sealed off, but the men guarding it were scattered around haphazardly, and the barbed wire fence didn’t even cover the whole area. Unlike most other advanced countries, Colombian was still pretty much a developing country and could not afford to spend large sums on dungeon security. On top of that, they failed to recruit civilian adventurers, due to the poor equipment they provided to prospective adventurers. Their only option, in the end, had been to somehow put the surroundings of each dungeon in lockdown and order people not to wander too close.
“All right. Go secure accommodation and some food. Make sure to pay with US dollars,” Joker instructed.
Having received their boss’s orders, his underlings hurriedly ran off. Joker threw his cigarette to the ground and patted an anxious Colombian soldier on the shoulder.
“You worked hard,” Joker said. “We’ll go and clear it now, so rest easy, all right?”
The soldier felt as though a mafia boss had addressed him. He didn’t know how to react, unable to answer.
Despite the likelihood of assassination attempts by intelligence agencies such as the CIA and MI6, Joker—public enemy number one—was happily walking around in broad daylight without a care in the world.
At this time, the Colombian government was agonizing over the situation. Joker and his self-proclaimed army, Legion, had demanded the total cession of all dungeons located on Colombian soil. At the moment, Colombian had absolutely no way of knowing when they would be able to clear the dungeons and did not profit from them in any way, shape, or form. Many had started to think that, considering the circumstances, there was no reason not to give Joker the dungeons if it meant citizens could stay out of harm’s way. On the other hand, accepting Joker’s presence in the country came with the risk of being shunned by the rest of the world. The government half-hoped for Joker and his army to act like criminals so that public opinion would turn against them, but the Legion was perfectly behaved for the moment. They had neither stolen anything nor hurt anyone.
<We, the Legion, fight to destroy the world order. Humanity only has ten years left, no matter what. Gamerica, the EU, Japan... All of you will also disappear. Bonds and real estate won’t help you then. I have one piece of advice for the rich! Enjoy your money while you still can!>
Joker’s sphere of influence was currently limited to South Gamerica. The exchanges and stock markets in other areas had yet to be heavily impacted. If Colombian collaborated with him, however, it meant that Joker’s next target would be Brezil. South Gamerican countries would fall to him one after the other, like dominos, at that point. If it came to this, Gamerica—along with the rest of the North American continent—would no longer be able to ignore Joker. The reason was simple: Gamerica’s economy would go through a rough patch if South Gamerica stopped exporting oil, mineral resources such as rare metals, and agricultural and livestock products such as chicken and coffee beans. In fact, prices had already gone up on the forward market, and large sums in foreign currency were entering Colombian.
<Slavery has yet to be dealt with. There are more than 160 million child laborers worldwide. Ten-year-old children are being made to work all day long on coffee plantations for a few dollars a day. Ironically, human rights organization members all over the world chit-chat in endless meetings, preaching as they drink the very coffee that comes from those children’s labor. Such hypocrisy makes me want to throw up. Don’t you think we, the Legion, are a hundred times more righteous than those geezers?>
The scariest thing about Joker was his ability to pinpoint the world’s most grotesque contradictions. A small percentage of the rich preyed on the resources of poor countries. Joker referred to this reality as “the world order” and claimed that his goal was to destroy it. Although they could not express open support, there was no doubt his words echoed in the hearts of many.
“Mr. President, Joker has entered the dungeon. The Gamerican ambassador has suggested that we try to bury him alive, but—”
“They won’t budge or send money, and they still try to order us around?!” President Sarmiento spat, outraged.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force — Fuji Garrison]
“Impact... NOW!”
The ground shook, and thick smoke rose. The monster had received a direct hit from a shell and instantly disappeared in a puff of smoke. The man who had been observing the situation through a monitor was pleased.
“It was a success. FH70s are effective against wyverns!”
“Moving on to the next target. This is an orc king, a Rank A monster. It’s much smaller, so it won’t be as easy!”
The three-meter-tall colossus lumbered around.
“Hitting a static monster with a shell isn’t an issue, but it may prove difficult with a moving target,” a woman whispered, eyes trained on the screen.
Ishihara Yukie, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Dungeons, had made some time in her busy schedule to stop by and inspect the activities of the Fuji Garrison. The JGSDF was working in tandem with Dungeon Busters to experiment with monster extermination techniques. The Busters were materializing Rank A monsters they had obtained from the gacha while the army tested several modern warfare weapons on them.
“So, what does Ezoe-san think about using monsters?” asked Ishihara.
“Kazu-sa— I mean, Ezoe said that he’d rather avoid using them if he could help it. He’s worried that some people may reach the wrong conclusions if they see the Busters collaborating with monsters. He said this kind of misunderstanding could easily spread and scare the general population,” Kusakabe Rinko, Rank B adventurer and dungeon Buster, answered.
Every dungeon Buster obtained the ability to materialize monsters above ground. Rinko had obtained her dungeon Buster title by taking control of Kanazawa Dungeon. She had then been asked to assist the army.
“You’re right. For better or worse, he is in the limelight. If he were to start materializing monsters outside, people may raise questions, regardless of his intentions,” agreed Ishihara. “By the way, what is he up to these days?”
“He’s inside Abyss with Akira-san. They’re trying to reach Rank A, but they seem to be having a hard time. I heard the usual ranking-up method isn’t working anymore.”
“I see. Well, tell him something for me then. There’s still time. He doesn’t need to rush. And tell him not to overwork himself as well...”
Some people abroad had lost their minds trying to push past human limits and reach Rank C. When it came to Rank A, the hardships were unimaginable. No one would be able to endure all that for the sake of greed.
The same rules apply to Joker and his allies. They must also be fighting for something greater than themselves. It just so happens that this grand goal of theirs is an inconvenience for us...
Ishihara could never say such a thing out loud because of her position, but she did have some level of respect for him deep within her.