Chapter 19: Operation Meeting

It was a symbol of despair.

Tens of thousands of Tokyo residents had died.

The damage reported was greater than that of a major earthquake, a massive typhoon, or even an infectious disease outbreak.

Multiple wards in Tokyo had been designated as restricted-access "Special Zones."

The existence of the monster responsible for a death toll the likes of which no one had ever heard of spread across the entire country in the blink of an eye.

Having appeared in the earliest days and still yet to be defeated, it was the most famous case of "Fictional Invaders" in Japan.

It was said that only around ten percent of the residents had managed to escape alive from the "Special Zone" that had become its domain.

The rest of the residents never emerged from the monster's territory.

The surface was filled with miasma, making it impossible for even rescue teams to enter.

According to observations from helicopters overhead, the residents left behind had collapsed on the streets, dying horrific deaths as though they had been afflicted by every disease imaginable.

A monster that spread filth and pestilence, transforming part of Tokyo into a domain of death in an instant.

That enemy was feared as the "God of Calamity."

Thinking about what I was about to tell them made me feel heavy.

I already knew how they were going to react.

Even so, I had to be the one to tell them.

Unless we overcame the climax of the second chapter of "Girls in False Pretenses," Hibari and Victoria would never truly be saved.

Overcoming trauma was something that came with pain.

I stood at the podium in the classroom and began speaking to all the students looking toward me.

"The target we're going after in this operation is the 'God of Calamity.'"

The moment they heard that name, two girls audibly sucked in their breath.

Hibari and Victoria's eyes sharpened. For the two of them, the name of the God of Calamity was something they could never simply ignore.

Hibari was the first to speak.

"Defeating the 'God of Calamity'? Why now, of all times...?"

"Contrary to expectations, the situation in Tokyo has stabilized considerably. We haven't seen any major enemy movements since the appearance of the Formless God."

Originally, the "transfer students," including Saisei Kanon, were elite Bluffers gathered in preparation for a further enemy offensive.

Despite concentrating our forces in preparation for an attack from central Tokyo, the enemy's momentum had begun to wane.

――The Fiction Countermeasures Committee's judgment was that if that was the case, then perhaps we could launch an offensive of our own.

"Now that our forces are assembled and we haven't suffered many casualties, we have a chance to avenge the people of Tokyo. Defeating the God of Calamity would have an impact far beyond its military significance. If the operation succeeds, there's also a good chance the government will provide us with even more support. That's the adults' way of looking at it."

Hibari thought for a moment before quietly muttering.

"I see. ...So it's finally happening."

Her meaningful words and sharp gaze made Protagonist-kun look at Hibari suspiciously.

Victoria, sitting beside her, was unnaturally silent.

Her attitude clearly suggested that something was going on. I already knew exactly what it meant.

Still, there was no need to force her to talk about it here.

With that thought, I brought the conversation back on track.

"We already know full well how powerful the enemy is. That's why this will be a joint operation involving two squads. That's also why I've asked the Sugar Squad, made up of the transfer students, to join us today."

I looked toward the unfamiliar girls sitting beside the familiar members of the Fox Squad.

There were five of them. Apparently, uniforms for them hadn't been prepared yet, so they were all wearing different school uniforms.

"Sugar Squad. Could your representative give us a brief introduction?"

At my call, one of the girls from the Sugar Squad stood up.

She smiled politely and came over to stand beside me.

Even seeing her up close, she was still exactly the same girl I had seen on the other side of the screen.

"My name is Saisei Kanon, commander of the Sugar Squad. I've already introduced myself once as a transfer student to those of you in the same class. I look forward to working with all of you in this joint operation."

Several people bowed their heads after Kanon's flawless introduction.

That said, we'd never actually conducted a joint operation in this unit before.

The Fox Squad itself had been formed by gathering nothing but people with strong, eccentric personalities.

I would have to be careful about coordinating their teamwork and interactions.

"...A joint operation? That's an unusual decision for you, Raika. Is there a particular reason behind it?"

Hazuki asked me the question frankly.

"Yeah. Against the domain spread throughout the Special Zone where the God of Calamity resides――the 'Hallowed Land, Hated'――Kanon's ability here is extremely effective. ...I suppose I should explain things in a little more detail."

Hibari and Victoria probably knew all this already, but Protagonist-kun looked completely clueless. Since he apparently had no idea what we were talking about, I'd have to give him the tutorial myself.

"The 'God of Calamity' is a form of 'Fictional Invaders' based on disease and impurity. This thing, which appeared during the earliest stages of their emergence, still resides in western Tokyo――the area commonly known as the 'Special Zone.' The place is filled with miasma, and an ordinary human being who enters would die in about ten minutes."

The Special Zone was a domain of death spanning multiple wards. Unless we defeated the God of Calamity, the day when people could return to those homes would never come.

"Impurity, defilement――those are lies that run throughout human history. Separate from actual illnesses, humanity has always displayed excessive fear toward disease. We persecuted the sick, isolated them, prayed, and attempted to purify them."

Perhaps he could relate to what I was saying, because Protagonist-kun gave a small nod. After confirming that, I continued.

"Rather than the pathogens themselves, you could call humanity's excessive fear of disease a lie. At least, that's how the 'Fictional Invaders' known as the God of Calamity was defined. The 'God of Calamity' releases every kind of poison, contagious disease, and impurity known throughout history and across the world."

And, of course, that resulted in rumors and prejudice against the people who suffered from those things... but that could wait until later.

"The Special Zone where the God of Calamity has established its domain is surrounded by enormous walls. Well, imagine something roughly ten times the size of Tokyo Dome. The inside is saturated with 'miasma.' It's a deadly poison that will cause even a Bluffer's body to suffer abnormalities if she remains exposed to it for an hour."

That was the God of Calamity's most troublesome characteristic. Its combat ability as an individual was bad enough, but the effects of the miasma meant that prolonged combat put us at a serious disadvantage.

In the original story, I was pretty sure the plan was to approach by helicopter, descend into the area, and destroy the main body in one swift assault.

However, this time, we had a chance of winning without resorting to such a reckless method.

"And the countermeasure against that is Kanon's ability."

When I looked toward her, she stepped forward with a smile.

"The 'Statue of Kannon, Savior' that I manifest possesses purification abilities. It should be possible for it to reduce the effects of the God of Calamity's miasma as well."

In game terms, it was basically a debuff cleanse.

That made her extremely compatible with the God of Calamity, which specialized in spreading debuffs.

Unfortunately, in the scenario I knew, Kanon was already dead by this point.

Saisei Kanon, whose power was ideally suited for fighting the God of Calamity, had already been executed after bearing the Original Sin.

That was precisely the biggest reason I had brought Kanon into this operation.

If she had remained alive, she should have made the greatest possible contribution against the God of Calamity.

With her power on our side, perhaps we could get through this crisis without hurting them.

"Reducing the effects of the God of Calamity's miasma... Is that really possible?"

Hibari asked with a serious expression.

The one who answered her wasn't me or Kanon.

It was Mana, who was knowledgeable about the sciences.

"Based on the results of scientific experiments, that can generally be confirmed. The Fiction Countermeasures Committee collected a portion of the God of Calamity's miasma and tested the effectiveness of Saisei Kanon's ability. According to the researchers' report, the results indicate that a reduction of at least fifty percent can be expected."

I'd read the report Mana was referring to myself. The experiments, conducted with proper safety measures in place, had indeed demonstrated the usefulness of Kanon's ability.

"...Then does that mean we can keep fighting the God of Calamity indefinitely?"

"That would be dangerous to say with certainty. Based on scientific verification, the maximum activity period for which our safety can be reliably guaranteed is three hours. Beyond that, we don't know what abnormalities could occur, even with Saisei Kanon's purification. However, in a short, decisive battle, the effects of the miasma should be considerably reduced."

Mana hated statements with little evidence behind them and vague wording.

For everyone in the Fox Squad, her words were therefore the most reliable basis for making a decision.

"So... it's finally, finally happening."

Hibari muttered those words and fell silent.

I continued speaking.

"If there are any other concerns, I'd like to address them here. Does anyone have anything?"

"Then I'll ask something."

The person who raised her hand was Victoria, who rarely spoke up during meetings like this.

"I understand that we can reduce the effects of the 'miasma.' But what about the plan for defeating the main body? The God of Calamity's body has never suffered so much as a scratch. Even if we conquer the Hallowed Land, Hated, if we have no clear way to defeat the main body, what's the point?"

"We'll throw everything we have at the main body. With the Fox Squad as it is now, we can do it."

"――And with that, can we really defeat that plague-bringing god?"

"...Victoria?"

I questioned her, surprised by how different she was acting from usual. Victoria gave a small shake of her head.

"Sorry. It's nothing. If Old Liar says we can do it, then I'll believe you."

But her expression remained clouded.

"...Anything else? No? Then let's call it a day. If you have any questions going forward, I'd appreciate it if you could check with me individually. We're going up against a monster that doesn't even have a recorded history of being defeated, after all. It's better to be overprepared."

With that, I brought the first joint meeting to an end.

After the meeting was dismissed, as I was leaving the classroom, I approached Protagonist-kun and whispered.

"Hey, come around back later."

"Sounds like I'm about to get chewed out..."

How rude.

What the hell does this guy think I am?