The Flock

"Based on our preliminary assessment, the appearance of these demons is closely tied to the Faker."

The face the Faker had shown during the Fire Giant incident was no secret among the world's power brokers, so the Special Affairs Bureau had quickly identified him as a suspect during its post-incident surveillance and investigation.

"Half an hour after he entered that nightclub, the demons appeared. There were five of them. Miss Inagaki, you said you sensed a demonic presence around that time too, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"What's the Faker's connection to the demons? Are they creatures from a high-energy plane as well?"

Kuroki furrowed her brow. It was hard to imagine such repulsive monsters, driven only by slaughter, existing in large numbers.

"Perhaps we could ask the Holy Infant," William suggested.

Kuroki Niizumi noted the proposal in her memo.

"The good news is that these demons don't seem especially difficult to deal with. Given enough firepower, they can be killed. The problem is that they appear and disappear without warning, as if they can emerge from a villain at any moment. Before our firepower can reach them, they can inflict heavy civilian casualties."

"Our priority is to find out how these demons come into being and whether there's any way to prevent it. That's why we've invited Dr. Joseph to assist us. He's an expert on demons."

Joseph, a bespectacled man with graying hair, had been studying the relevant documents. At the sound of his name, he stood. "I wouldn't call myself an expert. I've just done some research into demons and the occult."

"From the information I've seen so far, there were no signs of any rituals at the sites where the demons appeared. And their appearance is less like that of traditional demons than like the monsters and aliens imagined in modern works of fiction."

"We've been calling these creatures 'demons' based on Miss Inagaki's description. But the Supreme she worships doesn't appear in our historical records. Of course, we could use 'monotheistic God' as a stand-in for the Supreme. But I doubt Miss Inagaki would agree if I said the Supreme was Yahweh or Allah."

"So I'm inclined to think these so-called demons have little to do with the demons described in our history. Our demons have taken many forms, from snakes and Lucifer to evil dragons and Satan, but none of them closely resembles these creatures."

"To test this theory, we could have people try iron whips, crosses, Buddhist scriptures, and relics to see whether any of them affect the demons."

Noguchi Yuji made a note of Joseph's suggestions. The next time they encountered demons, he planned to have Toyokawa Jousei test these items on them.

It was no wonder they were in a hurry. Compared with supernatural factions they could at least communicate with, these demons were born destroyers. Their bodies looked just like the insectoids of popular imagination, built for one thing: Fighting!

And the moment they appeared, they slaughtered every living thing around them. Their stomachs seemed bottomless. Even when they weren't eating, they crushed anything that moved in sight.

They were utterly incapable of communication, and their actions made it clear they were natural enemies of humanity.

As a result, the Faker was swiftly added to the blacklist and marked as untrustworthy.

After all, the demon rampage had caused severe damage, with nearly a hundred people killed or injured, including many tourists. The recent supernatural craze among ordinary people quickly died down, and several countries had already declared Japan unsafe for travel overnight.

Still, the world was never short of people with a taste for adventure. There would surely still be a considerable number of foreigners choosing to settle in Tokyo, hoping to find a chance at supernatural power.

The wealthy were especially determined. They might not come themselves, but they absolutely couldn't afford to miss out. They'd send someone to Tokyo to keep an eye on things, if necessary.

The moment anyone discovered an opportunity to become supernatural, they'd fly over themselves. They wouldn't even mind changing their citizenship.

"We can't force our way into acquiring supernatural powers for now. We can only hope the Holy Infant Society brings us a pleasant surprise in two days. But we can't put all our hopes in other people."

Kuroki Niizumi turned to Noguchi Yuji.

"Yuji, the director has given preliminary approval to your proposal to set up emergency response units in every ward of Tokyo and every prefecture in the country. He'll have the Self-Defense Force fully support your efforts. Get the system up and running as soon as possible."

"Understood. I'll get right on it."

"William, I know the U.S. military has a weapons lab in Yokohama."

"Understood. I'll represent the Special Affairs Bureau and submit a request to coordinate with them."

While the Special Affairs Bureau was hard at work, Shiraishi Wataru took some time off to watch Ryomiya Hirosue conduct her first animal experiment entirely on her own.

Yes, he considered this taking a break. Sometimes, he even felt like getting a regular job, just to switch things up with a few rounds of showing off and putting people in their place, and a chance to say, An eye for an eye. I'll pay you back double!

But on second thought, he decided against it. He could show off whenever he wanted. What could be more fun than playing the whole world like a fiddle?

Watching all those big shots seriously debate the scenarios he'd made up and spin out countless theories, losing who knew how much hair over it, while he alone had the power to topple their entire theoretical edifice at any moment—it was like being a client who casually rejected a thousand proposals that a contractor had spent all night preparing. What a monster!

"Dharma Protector, does this experimental setup look all right?"

"Mm, it's fine."

What a joke. Shiraishi Wataru hadn't been listening at all. His main body was at home playing Savage 7. Yes, the game had reached its seventh installment in this world.

Ryomiya Hirosue smiled at his approval and pressed the switch to open the experimental enclosure.

Twenty sheep cautiously stepped out and began grazing on the grass.

Smiling, Hirosue had prepared three leopards and five wolves for the flock of twenty sheep. The experiment was designed to see whether the flock would awaken under the threat of steady losses and sustained, high-intensity danger.

Ten of the sheep had been bonded with symbionts, and one of them had also been adapted with Steel Body.

As the experiment progressed, the carnivores were released.

Starving, they needed food—and at once, they spotted the flock laid out before them like a gift from heaven.

The hunt began in an instant.

The sheep huddled together and fled in every direction. The ones that got separated were unlucky enough to become prey, knocked to the ground and kicking helplessly with their hind legs.

The leopards set their sights on the sheep adapted with Steel Body. They bit and tore at it with all their might, but couldn't kill it no matter what. The sheep bleated in agony the whole time, seeming to grow livelier with every cry. Finally, the exhausted leopards gave up on the tough, chewy target and turned to chase the other sheep.

The sheep was injured too, and limped back to the flock in a miserable state.

In the end, the wolves and leopards ate their fill. The sheep huddled together, trembling, many of them wounded.

Shiraishi Wataru glanced at Ryomiya Hirosue, who was steadily recording her observations, and perked up.

He could sense a new ability emerging in one of the sheep.

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