The Destruction of the World by Fire Read Online Free Page A

an emergency situation that could mean life or death for this country. I have a favor to ask of you.”
2
    Inside Happy Building 3F—the Tendo Civil Security Agency offices—a heavy silence had fallen. Rentaro and Kisara sat on the love-seat sofa in the reception area, with a glass table between them and the Seitenshi, who sat facing them. Before her, a tea stem floated in her cup of roasted green tea, swaying idly.
    Rentaro and Kisara had just finished listening to the Seitenshi’s explanation. The contents were hard to believe.
    The clear tinkling of the wind chime sounded out of place as it echoed through the room.
    Rentaro wiped the uncomfortable sweat from his face. His temple, which he was pressing down on, was throbbing hotly. He shook his head softly as he lifted his face. “Lady Seitenshi, let me make sure I understand what you’ve said. In six days, a Monolith will be destroyed, Gastrea will rush in, and Tokyo will be annihilated by a Pandemic, right?”
    “If we do not counter, that is what will happen,” she agreed.
    Rentaro looked at the pictures spread out on the glass table: thoseof the bleached Monolith, and the Gastrea head so repulsive he wanted to look away. “The news yesterday said that the Gastrea that approached the Monolith were immediately driven away…”
    “We have told the media the situation and have their cooperation.”
    “People who believe in freedom of speech would be shocked to hear that.”
    “I do not think you wish for Tokyo Area to stop functioning right now either, Satomi. Please allow me to control the information that does not need to be known, the information that will only be poisonous to society.”
    “Dictators say exactly the same thing.”
    “H-hey, Satomi?” said Kisara, trying to stop him.
    The Seitenshi said, “It’s fine,” and shook her head softly. “Either way, in a few days, the bleaching of the Monolith will be visible even from far away. Right now, under the command of Aldebaran, Gastrea are gathering outside the Monolith. We predict that there could be up to two thousand of them in the end.”
    “Two thousand?! You must be kidding!” blurted Kisara.
    Rentaro gave a heavy nod in agreement. “This is rash. We’ll be killed. We’ll all be annihilated.”
    “We are doing everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
    Rentaro put a hand to his chin. “But…why Aldebaran?”
    The Seitenshi shook her head slowly. “I do not know, either. We are investigating that now.”
    “What? What do you mean?” Kisara asked, confused.
    “Kisara, how much do you know about Aldebaran?”
    “Let’s see… If I remember correctly, it’s a Stage Four Gastrea that we knew about pretty early on, and when Gastrea were running rampant ten years ago, it focused on wreaking havoc in Asia, right?”
    “Do you know why it was given its distinct code name?”
    “I…I don’t know…”
    “Aldebaran is an old Gastrea that always appeared with the StageFive known as Taurus. Taurus is a strange Stage Five that acts with a group, and Aldebaran could be called its right-hand man. That’s why it was given the code name Aldebaran, after the brightest star in the Taurus constellation.”
    “But Satomi, isn’t Taurus…?”
    The Seitenshi answered Kisara’s unfinished question. “You’re right. Of the eleven Zodiac Gastrea, three are confirmed to be destroyed. The first is the Scorpion that Satomi defeated; the second is Virgo, which was defeated by the current IP Rank 2 Initiator; and the last was the Taurus corps, once feared as invincible, which was destroyed by the strongest and number-one ranked Initiator in the world. But the most important thing is that Aldebaran is a Stage Four, not a Stage Five.”
    Kisara covered her mouth as she let out a gasp.
    “Yes, Kisara: Other than the Zodiacs, all Gastrea are affected by the magnetic fields generated by the Monoliths, so they shouldn’t be able to get past the Monoliths.”
    “But, Aldebaran retreated