Siege

"We have said everything we need to say. We only pay a small donation every month, and we don't perform any rituals that violate morality or the law. Besides, the Holy Infant truly manifested and bestowed pills upon us; the benefits are real and tangible," a housewife argued.

"I did it for my child. He was always mischievous, and I hoped the Holy Infant could help him find his way. My husband and child didn't believe in the Holy Son Pill I exchanged for, so I gave it to a disabled fellow believer, and he stood right up on the spot," another housewife sighed.

Noguchi Yuji read through the interrogation records, pointed to the files of the two housewives, and asked, "Are they the only ones with 'superpowers'?"

"There is one more, but among those we captured, only these two had taken the Holy Son Pill. We verified this with other members. One of the pills they exchanged was given to another member, and the other was given to her own son. Her son suffers from severe persecutory delusions and only trusts his mother; our men let him slip away."

"Did he cause any casualties?"

"No, he didn't hurt anyone, so we didn't open fire."

Noguchi Yuji exchanged a few words with Major William, who had been standing by, and confirmed that they would immediately arrange for a full-body examination of the two housewives and non-lethal tracking for the delusional boy.

"Section Chief Noguchi, tell me, is there really such a miraculous pill? Not only can it cure all terminal illnesses and make people younger, but it can also grant powers similar to superheroes. It's just like a science fiction movie," Major William remarked with a hint of emotion.

Noguchi Yuji shook his head. "All the gifts of fate have already been marked with a price in the dark. They seem to have gained benefits, but until the dust settles, no one can say for sure if this is a blessing or a curse. I don't believe these abilities come without a cost."

Major William nodded noncommittally. "That quote was originally about Queen Marie Antoinette. For some people, rather than worrying about whether they can afford the future price, it is better to ensure they get the gift first. If news of the Holy Son Pill spreads, I'm afraid the upper echelons' attitude toward the Holy Infant Society won't remain as firm as it is now."

Noguchi Yuji's expression remained unchanged. "That is not something we can interfere with, Major William. If I'm not mistaken, the report on the Holy Son Pill should already be on the Lieutenant General's desk, and perhaps before long, it will appear on the President's desk as well."

Major William shrugged and did not answer the question.

As night fell, the two finished handling their respective matters and finally received word from Kuroki Niizumi.

She had located Nakai Hayato's hideout.

Under the heavy veil of night, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ordinary vehicles merged into the traffic, heading toward a warehouse center in Tokyo Bay.

After these vehicles entered the roads near the complex, someone immediately blocked the section under the pretext of road repairs.

Looking down from high above, all roads leading to the logistics park were cut off, and all employees received orders to conduct an emergency evacuation drill led by police officers.

Area after area was cleared, and fire positions were rapidly established.

Some uninformed officers thought a large number of terrorists were hiding in the warehouses, necessitating such a methodical, interlocking display of firepower.

Inside the warehouse, there were only Nakai Hayato and his two assistants. After this period of brainwashing and the display of miracles, these two former low-level Yakuza quickly accepted their change in status, becoming full members and thus receiving the grace of the Holy Son Pill.

Unfortunately, both could only adapt to the [Steel Body] ability.

This once led Shiraishi Wataru to suspect that the adaptation conditions for [Super Strength] were not as closely related to physical constitution as he had thought.

After all, these two members had the best physical fitness of anyone besides the Ninth Guardian, yet, like Sato Tomomi, they could not adapt to [Super Strength] and could only briefly gain the ability through parasite stimulation. They were slightly better than those who couldn't even adapt to the stimulation—they were simply higher-grade consumables.

Of course, the reason Nakai Hayato remained here with his two assistants was that the Advent Body of the Holy Infant Lord was also present. He planned to wait until the dead of night to take the Advent Body to his safe house.

He had arranged for the other members to be dispersed. Although he didn't have much preparation time, his years of management allowed him to properly settle these twenty or so devout members.

Around nine or ten o'clock, Nakai Hayato, who was in the middle of his daily prayers, frowned, stopped, and began to listen.

The two assistants also stopped, so as not to disturb their leader.

"Has it been several minutes since we heard any noise?" Nakai Hayato asked.

The assistants were startled, recalling that the surroundings did indeed seem much quieter.

Although this was a warehouse district, it was located within a logistics park. Even if there were no operations at night, logistics work in the distance usually continued 24 hours a day.

"Protect the Holy Infant Lord, I—"

BOOM!

With a deafening roar and an explosion, the entire warehouse was swallowed by flames, and debris flew in all directions like rain.

"Snipers, engage all living targets moving inside the warehouse," Kuroki Niizumi ordered from the command post outside.

But within the rolling inferno, there seemed to be no further movement.

Kuroki Niizumi was patient; she didn't let anyone get close, waiting for the fire to burn itself out.

Finally, a few minutes later, accompanied by two roars, two figures wreathed in flames charged out.

In an instant, the gunfire became more intense than a rainstorm. The weakest weapon there was a rifle. Even the two fanatical members who had been temporarily activated with [Super Strength] could only barely reach the front line before being riddled with bullets and collapsing, breathless.

Seeing this, everyone felt a sense of relief. It turned out that in the face of sufficient firepower, so-called monsters were nothing more than this.

Nakai Hayato, surrounded by the raging fire, was also helpless. [Steel Body] was immune to short-term flames, but it couldn't withstand a fire that burned continuously; the most critical issues were the lack of oxygen and the thick smoke.

Just then, the Holy Infant opened his eyes.

"Holy Infant Lord, I am incompetent and have implicated your Advent Body," Nakai Hayato said, his face full of shame.

The Holy Infant shook his head, reached out, and tapped Nakai Hayato on the forehead, granting him the adaptation for [Regeneration]. Tapping his forehead was merely a gesture of ritual for Shiraishi Wataru.

Nakai Hayato felt his whole body tremble. A cool sensation washed over his injured areas, and his wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"I have ordered the Ninth Guardian to rush over. You hold them off first and then find a chance to escape. Don't worry about this Advent Body of mine; as it happens, I would like to have a chat with the authorities here." After speaking, without waiting for Nakai Hayato to reply, he lay back down in the Iron Coffin.

"As you command!" Nakai Hayato breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the Holy Infant Lord did not blame him, the situation was not at its worst. Besides, with the Ninth Guardian coming to help, he could find an opportunity to escape once chaos broke out outside.

However, he also had to find a way to prove his worth so that the Ninth Guardian would have a chance to create a distraction.

He scanned the fire-ravaged surroundings, looked at the burning objects, and an idea formed in his mind.