— — — — — —
Kyoto, Nijo Castle—
After slipping past another guard, Georg, who had been waiting for the signal, suddenly froze.
He clutched his throat and doubled over, dry-heaving.
At the same time, the orange-yellow lights lining the underground passage began flickering irregularly. The air itself seemed to warp, as if the light were being twisted out of shape.
A few moments later, accompanied by Georg's violent retching, Cao Cao and the others abruptly emerged from the surrounding air, stumbling as they were forced out of hiding.
"What happened?" Cao Cao asked immediately.
At the same time, he moved to block one exit of the tunnel, scanning the area for guards.
Heracles took up position at the other exit. "The space suddenly fluctuated; it pushed us out."
"Here, drink some water." Jeanne handed Georg an unopened bottle of mineral water, while Leonardo silently patted him on the back.
After draining the bottle, Georg thanked Jeanne and explained, "Something approached Kyoto from another dimension."
He spoke slowly, but his tone was certain. "Maybe not a thing. It could be a being. A very powerful one. Very large, too."
"It came close to the dimensional space surrounding Kyoto. The pressure from its power distorted the surrounding dimensions and squeezed my Dimension Lost space. That's what caused my reaction."
Cao Cao and Heracles exchanged a glance.
Then both spoke at the same time, "Great Red!"
"But we never got the signal!" Jeanne exclaimed, pointing at the watch-like receiver on her wrist.
According to the plan, Indra's people were supposed to send a signal before luring out the Great Red.
But no signal had arrived. And yet something powerful enough to disrupt Georg's ability had already appeared.
Something was clearly wrong.
"The underground prison might be blocking the transmission," Cao Cao suggested.
"Or maybe it wasn't the Great Red affecting Georg at all," Jeanne pointed out.
Cao Cao fell silent.
That was entirely possible.
If they acted on a wrong assumption, their operation to locate Samael could collapse completely.
Forget the ideal outcome of capturing Samael. They might even fail at the bare minimum objective of killing him.
Should they gamble?
Gamble that the Great Red had already appeared.
Gamble that Ajuka would come here to release Samael.
Gamble that, even without Dimension Lost, they could still shadow Ajuka and reach their target.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Then came the guards' shouts.
"Open the emergency passages from Sector One through Sector Six! Satan Ajuka Beelzebub is passing through!"
"Sector One opening!"
"Sector Two opening!"
"..."
Everyone immediately turned toward Cao Cao.
Standing beside him, the towering Heracles looked like a living wall as powerful gusts swept through the newly opened passageways.
"Cao Cao." His voice was low and steady. "What are we doing? Decide now."
Cao Cao clenched his teeth. "We're betting on it."
He looked around at everyone.
"Take out every concealment item you've got. Georg, coordinate everything. We absolutely cannot let Ajuka detect us."
"Understood!"
The group moved at once.
Within moments, they had concealed their presence, appearance, and aura using every stealth item available.
Then they quietly gathered beside the first passage and waited.
Three minutes later, Ajuka arrived.
Dressed in a white suit, he walked calmly through the corridor.
But he wasn't alone. Two people followed behind him.
The moment Cao Cao saw them, he nearly lost control of his breathing and exposed himself.
Because the people behind Ajuka were Arthur and Le Fay. Their own companions.
'The plan's been exposed.'
Cao Cao's grip tightened around the Holy Spear.
If anything went wrong, he was prepared to charge out immediately.
Thanks to the concealment, he couldn't tell where the others were hidden. But he knew they were waiting.
The moment he moved, everyone would attack.
Then, as Ajuka approached the entrance to Sector One, he suddenly stopped.
"Come out."
Cao Cao's heart sank.
He almost stepped forward. Then a hand grabbed him.
Georg.
Only the one maintaining everyone's concealment could accurately locate them.
Cao Cao froze.
A second later, cold sweat broke out across his back.
He understood. Ajuka had been bluffing.
Sure enough, after standing there for a long moment and receiving no response, Ajuka nodded.
"Excellent." He turned to Arthur. "No ambush. It seems no one has received news of this place yet."
"You are incredibly cautious," Arthur replied awkwardly, sweat beading on his forehead. "You don't think I'd leak information, do you?"
"Of course not." Ajuka smiled. "How could I suspect distinguished envoys from the Golden Dawn?"
Then he added casually, "I simply suspect everyone around me. You understand. People with weak combat ability like myself are terribly afraid of assassination."
Every hidden listener twitched at those words.
Weak combat ability?
Coming from Ajuka, that was almost offensive.
"Then, Mr. Ajuka," Le Fay asked nervously, avoiding eye contact, "can we finally go see Samael?"
Her behavior immediately drew attention. And suspicion.
Jeanne, hidden nearby, couldn't help complaining internally about Arthur's clumsy little sister.
'Could you act any more suspicious?'
But Ajuka didn't seem concerned.
"Miss Le Fay, there's no need to worry. Requesting samples of Samael's cells for research is admittedly a rather excessive demand from the Golden Dawn. But considering the friendship between our organizations, it's hardly a problem."
The moment he said that, all suspicion regarding Le Fay's terrible acting vanished.
Her nervousness suddenly made perfect sense.
"In that case, let's proceed." Adjusting his glasses, Ajuka led the way.
Le Fay glanced at Arthur before following after him.
Arthur lingered by the doorway for a moment.
Then he tugged back his sleeve.
A watch was visible on his wrist.
The instant Cao Cao's group saw it, their eyes lit up.
They understood immediately. There was no need to tail Ajuka themselves anymore. They had an insider.
Georg, clinging to the ceiling like Spider-Man, grinned toward a distant corner where Cao Cao was hidden.
'Now we just wait for Arthur's signal.'
Every one of them was thinking the same thing.
...
..
Kyoto, Hokyoji Temple—
The sky shattered like glass.
Cracks spread across the sky before entire sections exploded apart.
Violent winds howled through the area, rattling branches and scattering leaves in every direction.
Amid the raging storm, Ryo stood quietly with Ophis beside him, her hand in his. Together, they watched the dimensional passage in the sky grow larger and larger.
Silence filled the temple grounds.
Then, slowly, a colossal head emerged from the opening.
The dragon's head alone was comparable in size to the main gate of Nijo Castle.
For the first time in ages, Great Red forced part of his body into the world.
A smile appeared on Ophis' face. A genuine one.
She raised her hand, forming a finger gun with her thumb and forefinger, and pointed it at the Great Red.
"Red. You've been checkmated."
High above, the gigantic dragon lowered his gaze toward her.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then, in a deep voice, he finally let out a few words.
"You are..."
There was another pause.
"Who exactly?"
"Ophis: ..."
Watching the former Ophis stand there in stunned silence, Ryo suddenly had a thought.
This was probably the most embarrassing day of Ophis' entire life.
.
.
.