Deep in the night, the tides rose and fell beneath the brilliantly lit Kobe Bridge spanning Osaka Bay.
On the eve of the appointed day, an eerie silence had fallen over the New Port Town district within a five-kilometer radius of Kobe Bridge in the scenic coastal city of Kobe.
The streets were empty, the residential buildings dark and still, a scene of complete abandonment.
The main roads around the deserted district, however, were cordoned off by fully armed Self-Defense Forces soldiers, while several helicopters patrolled overhead with searchlights.
The truth could not stay hidden forever. New Port Town in Kobe City was about to become the battlefield for Abe no Seimei's death game. However much the Government of Japan sat on its hands, it could not ignore the safety of nearly a hundred thousand local residents.
Thus, emergency evacuations of New Port Town's residents had begun a day earlier. As for the reason, they could only offer a vague claim that unusual activity by Abe no Seimei had been detected.
Such an abrupt reversal left the Government of Japan thoroughly humiliated.
The entire nation erupted in an uproar. Protests continued unabated, and demonstrators surrounded the Prime Minister's Official Residence so tightly that nothing could get through.
But at this point, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, having thrown caution to the wind, became even more hard-line and declared they had no comment.
This time, the Americans firmly backed the Government of Japan, so this wave of protests could not cause too much trouble.
"As expected, finding Superhumans deliberately hiding in a city isn't easy."
Inside a fortified structure within the planned barrier's boundaries, Tosu Hideo spoke face-to-face with Teruzo Kurogane, while Might Guy's spectral figure stood quietly behind Teruzo Kurogane.
After Teruzo Kurogane agreed to cooperate and Might Guy's