Chapter 445: Orthodox (3)
The information the Thunder God shared with me was as follows:
The operation was set to take place in two days.
And for transportation, they planned to use that "Here-and-There Slime."
Along with that, the Thunder God shared some additional news.
It seemed the Management Bureau, after hearing the full story of her fall into corruption, had no idea how to handle her. In the end, they decided to treat her as a "civilian collaborator" for the time being.
I suppose it makes sense. From the Bureau’s perspective, there were no regulations for a Hero who had fallen for the sake of the greater good and then recovered with the help of an enemy. Deciding how to process her or what disciplinary action to take must have been incredibly difficult.
Anyway, under those circumstances, the Thunder God was classified as a collaborator, meaning she could roam the Bureau for a while without any major issues.
As I walked down the hallway, ticking off my worries one by one...
"He didn't use magic; he threw some strange liquid on the ground!"
"Did no one notice?!"
"Secure a sample!"
"According to the analysis, it was just for a flashbang effect, but the magic activation was still successful! We need to study that too..."
Researchers sprinted past us at a speed that made me wonder if they’d shatter world records if they entered a 100-meter dash.
It seemed they had finally discovered Al’shel throwing the ampoule while reviewing the recordings.
Well, I hadn't noticed it either until the Thunder God told me, so I couldn't blame them. No matter how sharp your senses are, there are always things you miss if you aren't paying attention.
Anyway, that was enough regarding Al’shel.
Next was my own course of action.
The remaining rest time was two days.
Normally, I would spend those two days resting my body for the next mission. However, the situation surrounding us was far more serious than usual.
That was why I intended to do what I could, but there was a problem I had to deal with first.
"Un-ho."
"Gueok. Geugeogegog."
I spoke to my partner in my hand, but Un-ho was still letting out weird groans, unable to untie his own knots.
"Hmm."
How do I undo this?
I tried pulling at the tangled parts here and there to loosen the knot.
"Gyack. Hugyack. Kkaek."
The knot showed no sign of loosening; instead, it began to tighten even further.
"Should I try?"
The Thunder God chimed in, seemingly concerned by my struggle.
"No, it's fine."
I declined her favor and whispered into my partner's ear instead.
"This is going to hurt, so bear with it."
"Guak?"
A panicked scream escaped him, but I took it as a sign of consent.
Having received permission to torture Un-ho, I grabbed the only recognizable parts of that chaotic lump—the head and the tail—with both hands to untie this Gordian Knot.
"Heave-ho!"
I pulled both ends apart with all my might.
"KKUAAAAAAAK!"
During this time of "treatment," a never-ending scream of joy echoed through the hallway.
Crunch. Snap. Crackle.
Along with it, the sound of bones and flesh being crushed filled the corridor.
The knot, pulled by the head and tail, grew tighter and smaller, and the clues to untying it began to compress and vanish.
About a minute later.
"Uwaaaaah, I feel much better nowoooooo..."
Having returned to his original form, Un-ho flopped limply onto my hand, his voice sounding half-dead.
Alright. One problem solved.
Now, to talk with Un-ho...
"Wait, wasn't that just weird?"
I was interrupted by the Thunder God’s observation.
"What was?"
I countered her question while spinning the restored Un-ho around in my hand.
"Uwaaaa, the world is spinninggggg."
Meanwhile, a dazed Un-ho babbled nonsense as he spun, and the Thunder God followed him with her eyes before speaking.
"If you pull a knot like that, it usually gets tighter, right?"
"Right."
"But you just pulled it anyway?"
"I did."
"...Then why did the knot suddenly disappear?"
Her doubt was perfectly reasonable. Unless it's a slipknot, pulling both ends should only tighten it. Why did the knot suddenly vanish and Un-ho return to his original form?
From a common-sense perspective, it was a valid point, but there was one thing the Thunder God was overlooking.
"He's just that kind of creature."
"Yes, I am that kind of creature. Poyo."
Un-ho, who had escaped the spinning and climbed onto my shoulder, agreed with me.
"...Are you even a living creature?"
The Thunder God, still skeptical, began poking Un-ho.
"You've seen him a few times, so you should know by now. Just give up. He's just that kind of creature."
When it's hot, he melts and sticks to the floor like gum.
When left in the cold, he freezes solid.
When cut in half, he grunts and pulls his own body back together.
I used to think he wouldn't be able to recover if he were blown to bits, but seeing him clump back together after literally exploding recently, I've started to wonder if it's even possible for Un-ho to die under normal circumstances.
"Fine. Whatever. It's not like I haven't experienced weird things before."
After poking Un-ho for a while, the Thunder God finally gave up on thinking and stepped back.
I was finally able to ask Un-ho my question.
"So, Un-ho, do you know where Si-hyun and A-bin are?"
"Ah, they've returned to the laboratory. They're with some gloomy-looking folks who smell a lot like Ha-ram-nim, a man who feels like he’d boil you alive just by being near him, and a small girl."
Hmm.
The gloomy ones must be the Assassination Team.
The sweltering guy is Ultimate.
And the small girl is Chloe.
So the Assassination Team joined up with them too.
"Did they all look alright?"
"Except for Si-hyun-nim. She seemed a bit out of it, shouting, 'The Enemy is over there! Charge!'"
Did she get hit by a mental attack or something?
Well, they'll figure it out. Since everyone seems to be safe for now.
I had considered the possibility that one or two might have met a grim end, but it seemed everyone made it back without much trouble.
Having shed one of my burdens, I asked about the one remaining concern.
"What about Chloe? I mean, the small girl?"
"Ah, that child was really anxious at first, but now she's getting along famously with Tant."
Tant. Tant.
...Who was Tant again?
"Who's Tant?"
"Tanzanite-yong."
Who?
Unable to recall who that was, I tilted my head toward the side opposite Un-ho in confusion.
"The tentacle, the tentacle. The Purple One."
Un-ho thumped his chest in frustration and gave me the clear answer.
"Ah, right. That guy's name was Tant."
Only then did I nod.
At the same time, a new worry bloomed.
A purple tentacle dancing with Chloe.
...Is that really okay?
For now, I'd left the tentacle alone because I judged it wasn't particularly dangerous, but was it really alright to leave it with a child like Chloe?
Moreover, she wasn't just any child; she was Chloe. A child who was like a bomb that could go off at any moment.
Individually, they might be fine. But if you put two bombs together, wouldn't they create some weird synergy and explode?
I pondered that for a moment.
But soon, my mind came up with an answer.
Whatever.
It'll work out somehow.
In the end, only one thing mattered.
"So they're getting along well?"
"Yup. At a glance, you'd think they were a Magical Girl and her mascot."
Un-ho gave a heartwarming smile as he said that.
...If it's a Magical Girl and her mascot, isn't that a sign of impending doom?
Images of a rampaging Chloe and a giant, writhing tentacle began to play in my head.
Perhaps because of that bizarre imagination, the thought crossed my mind that I should stop by the lab to see if things were truly okay, but...
...It'll be fine.
The AO Director is there, along with my disciples and even Ultimate. It'll work out. Even if I, the person who's supposed to be her emotional support, am the one acting independently like this.
Anyway.
Now that my immediate worries were mostly resolved.
Shall I go do what I need to do?
* * *
"Hmm."
I let out a low hum as I gazed at the landscape unfolding before my eyes.
Massive clouds of dust were billowing toward the sky from beyond the horizon.
And the entities causing it.
So many beings were charging toward the city that it felt like the horizon itself was moving.
There was just one problem.
"Those are buffaloes, right?"
"Yeah. Buffaloes."
"They're buffaloes-yong."
No matter how I looked at it, the things charging at us were buffaloes.
Of course, they weren't ordinary buffaloes. They were about four or five times larger, drooling profusely, and their eyes glowed with a red light.
"Low B-Rank?"
"That's what they look like to me too."
So, individually, they weren't a big deal.
The problem lay elsewhere.
"Then just how many of them are there?"
There were enough in the first line to fill the horizon, and there were several more lines of buffaloes following behind them.
"Probably hundreds?"
Huuuuuuh.
This is driving me crazy.
There are just too many of them.
Individually they aren't a problem, but if hundreds of creatures that size charge through, the city will be turned into a wasteland in a single day.
Normally, this was a natural disaster that would require at least an A-Rank Hero to stop.
But behind us, there were only a large number of Defense Force members.
There were several reasons why the situation here had reached this point.
First, this kind of thing wasn't just happening here; it was happening all over the world, so there was a shortage of personnel. That much I could understand.
Right now, even at the Korean DMZ, a rush of wild animals from the former North Korean region was occurring, and they were supposedly unleashing insane amounts of firepower near the border.
The Great Barrier was reportedly going haywire as well.
The problem was that even considering all that, if this place was breached, it would hit the U.S. East Coast—a densely populated and highly important area. Yet, they hadn't sent a single Hero, only Defense Force members.
After coming here and observing them myself, I realized there was a fairly logical reason for it.
"Those things, they've gotten bigger than before, haven't they?"
"They definitely have. It's probably an ability."
"Is it... 'The more they run, the stronger they get'?"
It seemed Un-ho had actually hit the nail on the head for once.
Just as he said, the buffaloes, which continued to gallop in a straight line, were gradually growing stronger based on the distance they covered.
Whether their comrades fell or not, whether the Defense Force’s bombardment rained down or not, whether there were rocks in their path or not—they simply charged forward and grew stronger.
"Cannot change direction, can only charge straight ahead, but grows stronger the further they move."
That was likely the condition.
As evidence for this theory, any individual that stopped for any reason saw its strength rapidly diminish, only to be trampled to death by its charging comrades.
Considering that, when the Management Bureau first observed them, they must have appeared much weaker. It would have been a level of threat that the Defense Force stationed behind us could have easily handled.
The problem was that several hours had passed since then, and they had become absurdly strong. At this rate, the Defense Force would be ruthlessly crushed under their hooves.
Normally, an Observation Team would continue monitoring to identify such special abilities, but they were currently short-handed.
So, while my decision to rush to the nearest emergency zone was a good one in hindsight, there was one problem.
"...How do I stop that?"
I couldn't see a way to stop them without any casualties.
To put it simply, I could just jump in and crush them all one by one. That would take care of the threat.
However, in the process, the Defense Force members behind me would be shredded.
Although the Thunder God and Un-ho were with me, neither of them had a technique capable of wiping out such a massive horde in a short amount of time.
The Librarian should have come.
If he were here, he could have used Reality Manipulation to turn the whole area into a swamp, and then we could have wiped them all out with bombardment once they slowed down.
But you can't use what you don't have.
I racked my brain for a way to kill them all without taking any damage.
Just as I was about to give up and resolve myself to 'better to just charge in now,'...
"...Can you pack a punch equivalent to a nuclear explosion?"
The Thunder God, who had been kneeling on the ground and touching the soil, spoke to me.
"Of course I can. But that won't be enough. It might wipe out a quarter to half of them, but the rest will just ignore me and keep going to slaughter the Defense Force guys."
In the end, it was a matter of numbers.
If this were my Adversary and I could release my limiter to use an Ultimate Technique, it might be different, but with simple physical force, there's a limit to how many I can erase.
As I finished my rebuttal, the Thunder God slowly stood up and smiled at me.
"Not at the buffaloes."
She continued with a somewhat ominous smile.
"Dig deep into the ground, and then fire one shot upward toward the surface."
At those ominous words, I stood there blankly, unable to grasp her meaning.
"If a massive crater opens up, they'll just fall in on their own, won't they?"
With a smile, she grabbed both of my shoulders.
"Off you go."