Chapter 22

In the Koi District of Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, at the Shizuoka Prefectural General Hospital.

It's probably past the clinic hours.

There are no other patients around, and although the corridor is lit, it still feels eerie.

I walked quickly with the nurse to the family waiting room where Milk was waiting.

When I arrived at the place I was told to go, I saw Milk's mother sitting alone, her head bowed.

She must be crying.

I ran up to her.

"Milk!"

"Taiga!"

When Milk noticed me, she hugged me, crying.

I had heard the situation over the phone.

A horde of monsters had emerged from the dungeon at Mount Fuji.

The Self-Defense Forces were around the dungeon and tried to deal with the situation immediately, but modern weapons like guns were completely ineffective.

At that moment, only Ushizou was outside, and the Self-Defense Forces unit was almost annihilated.

Ushizou, who was preparing to re-enter the dungeon at the summit of Mount Fuji, charged into the horde of monsters alone to help the Self-Defense Forces escape.

Even outside the black dungeon, the area around it functioned the same as inside the dungeon, so Ushizou fought well against the monsters.

However, a problem arose.

The range in which the dungeon's effects were active had not been fully verified.

It seems Ushizou moved outside the effective area of the dungeon.

At that moment, he was defeated by the monsters.

Some of the Self-Defense Forces managed to bring Ushizou to this hospital, but he was in a critical condition, unconscious and in grave danger.

Milk and her mother learned about this after they arrived in Shizuoka.

At that time, the government wanted to deal with the situation before making the emergence of the monsters public.

However, more than half a day had passed since the monsters overflowed from the dungeon, and the government could no longer hide the situation, so the information was made public. The news was all over the TV and social media.

"Calm down, Milk."

"......Calm down...... Taiga, how did you get here so fast!? We just talked on the phone a little while ago."

"I was brought here by a friend. More importantly, how is Ushizou? Is he still alive?"

"Y-Yes, but he's in a very dangerous condition. The doctor just came and said tonight is critical. Mom fainted, and I didn't know what to do on my own—"

"If he's still alive, we can make it. I brought this."

I said this and took out a vial from my inventory.

"It's from the D-can I got from Ushizou. It's called the Hero's Elixir and can heal any injury. Use it on Ushizou."

"Wait, that's—"

"Just hurry up!"

"......Okay! I understand! I'll go!"

Milk ran off.

It's okay, if he's still alive, he'll be saved.

That's what this medicine is for.

Please recover, Ushizou.

I still need you to be my goal.

"You keep surprising me today. I didn't expect you to have the Hero's Elixir. And to just hand over such a priceless secret medicine—"

Hime, who had walked over slowly, said this.

I had asked her to bring me here by helicopter.

I caught a taxi driver right after getting out and moved to Nara Airport, where I met up with Hime's helicopter and it took another hour.

Somehow, she managed to get permission to land at the hospital's helipad, so it had only been about an hour and a half since I last talked to Milk on the phone.

No wonder Milk was surprised.

"Don't say it's a waste."

"Ushizou is a top 10 explorer in Japan and a former professional boxer, so he's very popular. It's not a bad thing to do him a favor."

"......You're right."

"I hope he'll be okay."

"Yeah."

When I nodded, Hime turned on the TV in the waiting room.

Suddenly, intense images and sounds of battle were displayed.

It didn't look like a typical Japanese scene.

A horde of monsters was slowly descending from Mount Fuji, and the Self-Defense Forces were fighting back.

I had seen the information in the helicopter, but the situation was not good.

"The advance of the monsters shows no signs of stopping. The Self-Defense Forces' attacks are completely ineffective."

"An emergency evacuation order has been issued for the following areas. Please evacuate according to the instructions. The evacuation centers are different from usual. The evacuation centers are—"

"The government is considering requesting the deployment of U.S. forces—"

No matter which channel I changed to, it was all news about the monsters.

The evacuation centers were different from usual because, unlike earthquakes or typhoons, evacuating to a school gymnasium would be ineffective against monsters.

The Self-Defense Forces were trying to lure the monsters to another nearby dungeon.

Inside a dungeon, high-level explorers could handle the situation.

However, the luring wasn't going well.

If this continued, the monsters would reach populated areas.

The evacuation had started, but since the evacuation centers were far away, it was difficult to evacuate.

Many people would be left behind, and the expected number of casualties was unimaginable.

"Hime—there's one more thing I need to ask."

"I'll listen."

"Can you take me to the monsters? Not right in the middle, but just a bit away from them."

When I said this, Hime's eyes widened.

"I don't remember recruiting a suicide volunteer."

"I can win."

"Outside the dungeon, you can't use your sword skills or magic. How can you win?"

"I can use magic. The magic that defeated the Evil Ogre."

"Taiga, do you know what you're saying? Using magic outside the dungeon is something even Dad couldn't do...... Is it true?"

I nodded silently.

It seems Hime believed me.

But she still wasn't convinced.

"The monsters are equivalent to level 50. Taiga, you said you could only handle one Evil Ogre inside the dungeon, right?"

"That's inside the dungeon. Outside, I can take one down every minute."

"How is that stronger outside...... Ah, fine. I understand. Can you go right now?"

Hime said this and made a phone call.

I could barely understand some of the words in the native English, but not the content.

The conversation ended.

"Who did you call?"

"The monsters and the Self-Defense Forces are fighting. Even if you say a bit away, it's impossible to get there. So I'm taking action here."

As Hime said this, her smartphone rang.

She answered immediately.

"This is Hime Oshino. Yes, yes, it's fine. We're leaving now. We'll be in the air in twenty minutes. I'll definitely stop them. Our only request is that you don't investigate the person who solves the problem. That's it—Okay, I'll establish communication when we arrive. This should work."

"Who was that?"

"The Minister of Defense. I had Dad contact the Prime Minister. We're sending a helicopter now, so don't attack. Don't attack the person who gets off the helicopter. The person who gets off the helicopter will show you how to defeat the monsters. What do you think? Do you want to prepare something to hide your face?"

"I'm fine, I have this."

I took out a hero's mask from my inventory.

It came with the Hero's Elixir.

It felt like this item was made for today.

"When you wear this, you become unrecognizable. It's a magical item."

"......Amazing. Even though it only covers your eyes, I can't recognize you as Taiga, even though I've been talking to you."

"For a hero, my clothes don't change much......"

"They look the same as usual. But somehow, they feel different."

Even the clothes look different?

Is that also an effect of the hero's mask?

"The question is whether it works on recorded video."

"It looks like a different person even on a smartphone screen, so it should be fine."

Does it work over radio waves?

If so, it should be fine.

"Let's go to the roof. I've already told the helicopter pilot."

"Okay."

I prayed for Ushizou's safety and said,

"I'm off."

And I left.

This is the climax of the chapter.

What is Taiga's plan?

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