It was a clear yet graceful voice, exuding nobility through its tone and the careful enunciation of every syllable. Rentaro had only heard this voice on television.
Seitenshi on the screen maintained her composure. Behind her was the old man, Tendou Kikunojou. Seeing him appear, Kisara's face darkened, and she radiated killing intent as if meeting a deep-seated enemy. So much so that Kikunojou, behind the screen, seemed to sense it, glancing towards Kisara without any change in his expression.
Rentaro felt slightly awkward, determinedly keeping silent like a clay statue.
Tendou Kikunojou was Tendou Kisara's grandfather, and also Satomi Rentaro's adoptive father, the one who took him into the Tendou family ten years ago.
He was also the person Kisara swore to seek revenge against.
Although meeting her nemesis here, Kisara only wore a dark expression, not erupting outwardly. This was because the gathering was a serious conference, and the person standing in front of Kikunojou was the ruler of Tokyo, Seitenshi, the Holy Maiden.
Seeing that everything had stabilized, Seitenshi let out a slight sigh. But at that very moment, another unexpected incident occurred.
Boom!
The conference room door was violently flung open. Several people rushed in frantically, including the head of security for this area, his clothes disheveled and his forehead covered in sweat. He spoke hurriedly:
"There's... there's an intruder!"
As if to confirm those words, a series of distinct footsteps entered the auditory range of everyone in the room. The Civil Security Officers present were all experienced fighters. Without a second thought, they simultaneously drew their weapons and took up offensive stances. Even Rentaro shielded Kisara, drawing his pistol and aiming straight at the doorway.
Although he didn't feel any immediate danger, Rentaro inexplicably felt his heart pounding fast.
In front of all the personnel, Civil Security Officers, and the leader Seitenshi on the screen, a figure in silver deliberately strode in, hands clasped behind his back, his steps falling in a steady rhythm on the floor. Full-body armor covered him without blemish, radiating a faint silver glow.
Behind this person were attendant steel robots. A total of ten robots, all carrying something that resembled a massive stretcher.
The astonishment wasn't in this entourage, but in what lay on top of the stretcher. There were five sections of the bodies of five different Level 4 Gastrea, neatly arranged.
"What... what the hell?!"
Rentaro was extremely horrified.
Level 4 Gastrea was considered the pinnacle of Gastrea evolution. In his entire year as a Civil Security Officer, he had never even seen one, let alone fought one. This was because high-level Gastrea were all stopped outside the Monolith blocks.
Yet here they were, not just one but five, laid out like ordinary market meat.
What Rentaro could see, others could too, and even more. The swift and merciless killing methods, all one-hit kills, and they were all primitively cleaved, with no trace of bullet wounds.
"Good morning, everyone."
The greeting was exactly the same as what Seitenshi had just said, but the feeling was completely different. All the Civil Security Officers were tense to the extreme, countless gun barrels aimed straight at Asahi. From a sensory perspective, he appeared the most dangerous, despite not emitting any dangerous aura.
From another angle, this was the most terrifying thing.
"Seitenshi, the Holy Maiden."
Asahi called Seitenshi directly by name. She did not take offense but replied.
"It is I, an uninvited guest. But you know what you are interrupting, don't you?"
"It doesn't matter. I only came here today to say a few words."
Asahi shook his head, looking completely dismissive of everyone. This immediately infuriated some people.
"Don't mess with me!!!"
The big guy who had the conflict with Rentaro earlier roared. His massive body leaped up, and the greatsword was pulled from his back. He brought it down in a straight cleave towards Asahi. Asahi's head was still looking straight at Seitenshi, paying no mind to the attack closing in on him.
Bang!
Along with a piercing sound like metal being cut at high velocity, the greatsword in the big guy's hand shattered into fragments, leaving only a broken hilt. The man himself flew out like a cannonball, and just as he was about to crash into the wall, a little girl jumped out and caught his body. She was clearly his Initiator.
"Open fire!"
Someone yelled. Immediately, all the guns aimed at him opened fire. A barrage of bullets tore through the air and struck his armor, but they fundamentally failed to penetrate any part of it.
Asahi was already fearless of this type of gunfire. The Dragon Form was even less afraid. The layer of dragon scales covering his entire body gave him invincible defense. Even punches or stabs that could annihilate an entire city could not break his defense momentarily.
Click! Click! Click!
The sound of empty chambers echoed, but the man in silver armor remained unperturbed.
"It's useless."
All the Civil Security Officers froze in horror, speechless.
After stopping all the Civil Security Officers, Asahi naturally pulled a chair down and sat down right in the middle of the conference table, despite the others pressing tightly together, trying to distance themselves from him even by a little bit. Even though their reason told them that this small distance, even if magnified tenfold, wouldn't matter to that monster.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"We met again, respected Silver King."
The second uninvited guest had arrived.
While the Civil Security Officers were all tense due to Asahi's presence, this voice shattered their final defense line. Weapons frantically swung towards the source of the voice.
Unbeknownst to them, a bizarre man was standing in the corner of the room. A red tailcoat enveloped his somewhat thin body. A hat on his head and a stark white mask with a smile stretched up to his ears, his two eyes narrowed like crescent moons, looking extremely grotesque.
Like a clown in a circus, and also like a demon that could scare children into wetting their pants every night.
"Ah... I almost forgot one more person. Hello, useless ruler of Tokyo."
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kagetane Hiruko."
The man politely bowed.
Although Seitenshi showed no reaction on her face, she was screaming internally that things had gone horribly wrong. A person called the Silver King, and the masked man Kagetane—today's conference had truly spiraled out of her control.
But Asahi did not bother with Kagetane. He only had one goal for coming here today.
"I have established a safe zone in Area 40. In that place, these poor children can have genuine human rights, eat well, sleep peacefully, and be supplied with Gastrea Virus Inhibitors without limit."
"What?!"
Everyone was silent as a stone, a bomb exploding in their minds.