I'm sorry for not updating as I just got a shit ton going on in my life these past 2 days.
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The moment the box containing the relic of Seven Stars popped open, the joy on Rentaro's face instantly vanished.
From great joy to utter despair.
For a moment, Rentaro's expression was frozen stiff.
He had fought his way here alone, defeating powerful enemies. He was just about to achieve his goal...
And suddenly, everything was lost.
The sacrifices of his comrades, his own efforts—all reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.
Rentaro found it hard to accept.
At that same moment, inside the meeting room, the cheers were cut off as if strangled by an invisible hand.
The excitement that had just surged now felt like it had been doused with a bucket of ice water. Everyone stared at the screen, at the opened silver box.
Inside, reflecting moonlight, was a child's red tricycle.
Worn, old, and simple in construction.
The expressions on everyone's faces slowly twisted into fear.
Then, Rentaro's comms came through.
The first thing he said was:
"Did something go wrong? Was the box swapped out? Can we still catch that guy? That's it—it must be. He ran off because he swapped the relic, trying to buy time."
Rentaro's voice rang out, desperately trying to make sense of it all.
But reality was cruel.
"Satomi Rentaro, that is indeed the relic of Seven Stars. Please bring it back immediately."
Seitenshi's voice was calm, but her expression had darkened considerably.
"But…"
Rentarou= was about to respond.
At that moment, someone in the meeting room suddenly shouted:
"Saintess-sama! A Stage Five Gastrea has appeared off the coast of the Tokyo Area!"
That sentence crushed the last sliver of hope Rentaro had been clinging to.
In truth, one only needed to climb atop the church's rooftop to witness the legendary creature with their own eyes—a Stage Five Gastrea from the Zodiac Twelve.
Just offshore of Tokyo…
A massive entity rose from beneath the waves, displacing seawater and letting out incomprehensible sounds.
It looked like something out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.
Distorted, covered in tentacles—nearly indescribable. Countless red eyes were scattered all across its enormous body.
In the pitch-dark night, they glowed like warning lights.
Its size was staggering.
Even the warships on the sea seemed tiny by comparison.
The moment it appeared, countless fireballs shot from the sea and inland alike.
Tokyo's stored strategic missiles—enough to level entire cities—launched in a full-scale bombardment.
But compared to the behemoth...
Those explosions were laughably insignificant.
The flames of humanity's most destructive weapons landed on its body—and it didn't even flinch. It simply kept moving forward, making its unholy sounds as it approached the Tokyo Area.
"Saintess-sama, according to records, it's Scorpio…"
The technician monitoring the situation was trembling.
The first sightings of Stage Five creatures dated back to the Gastrea Wars.
Back then, humans had labeled them temporarily with the names of the Zodiac. Today, those were their official designations.
So far, eleven such creatures had been recorded globally.
During the Gastrea War, they had unleashed devastation so great, humanity nearly went extinct.
They possessed:
A body far larger than Stage Four Gastrea,
Skin impervious to conventional weapons,
Regeneration on a molecular level,
And immunity to the Stone Monolith barrier's magnetic fields.
Their regeneration—known as "Regeneration Level Five"—meant they could survive even in extreme conditions like vacuum, absolute zero, or lava.
So long as they adapted, they would recover.
Humanity currently had no known physical means to kill such a being. Only items made from super-Varanium stood a chance of harming them.
At this point, retrieving the Seven Stars relic no longer held meaning.
With Scorpio appearing near Tokyo, the area was doomed to be trampled.
The people of Tokyo had only two fates: evacuation, or death.
The monster would not negotiate.
To it, the destruction of humanity was a matter of indifference.
"Saintess-sama, let's evacuate… there's no hope left."
"Yes, it's Stage Five! Not even the Gastrea War could defeat such monsters!"
"If we evacuate now, there's still time—we can make it to Osaka District!"
The room filled with desperate pleas.
Even the usually calm Kikunojou Tendo spoke up:
"Saintess-sama, it's time to make a decision."
Evacuation seemed the only rational choice.
But it meant abandoning over 90% of Tokyo's population.
Even setting aside how difficult it would be to gather and direct everyone in time—
Let's say they somehow could.
In this relic retrieval mission, elite Civil Officers had been slaughtered the moment they left the Monolith's barrier.
Ordinary civilians?
They'd be torn apart instantly.
Perhaps 10% might survive—But only if the rest sacrificed themselves to protect them.
That route was basically feeding Gastrea with corpses so a few might live.
Even so, it was preferable to total annihilation. And yet, amid the fearful voices, the Saintess shook her head.
"No. There's still hope."
Everyone turned toward her in confusion.
Where was the hope?
But the Saintess stood firm—more resolute than ever.
This wasn't just about her bet with Haruto.
Even without the game they were playing—She would never abandon 90% of Tokyo's people.
"Activate the Ladder of Heaven."
The room went silent.
Everyone was stunned. Their expressions wavered.
They had thought of this option before…
But the success rate was far too uncertain.
And once this path was chosen, they would miss the last window for evacuation.
Yet the Saintess had made her decision.
Never had she acted so decisively.
She was acting not just as a ruler—but as the Saintess of Tokyo.
The "Ladder of Heaven".
A superweapon proposed during the Gastrea War—considered a super-artifact. Its core was a linear electromagnetic launcher.
The idea was born from the unique properties of super-Varanium. Objects made from this metal could be accelerated to 5% the speed of light without disintegrating.
The Ladder of Heaven's original plan was to launch super-Varanium projectiles from space onto Earth.
A true orbital weapon.
But the war ended before the weapon was completed.
So while the Ladder of Heaven was finished, it was never installed in a satellite orbit.
It remained abandoned at the edge of Tokyo.
However—
Even without space deployment, the land-based launch system could still accelerate super-Varanium to over 3% the speed of light.
Such a projectile might be able to kill a Stage Five Gastrea.
"Satomi Rentaro, look southeast. That's our last hope."
Seitenshi's voice came through the still-open comms.
"Understood."
Rentaro gave a resolute reply and sprinted toward the towering shadow in the distance.
And perhaps fate was kind—
Because the path ahead remained surprisingly clear.
Most of the Stage Three Gastrea had been drawn away by Hiruko Kagetane, to stop the incoming Civil Officers.
So Rentaro encountered no Stage Threes.
Even Stage Twos were few and far between.
The control center granted his phone access.
He approached the Ladder of Heaven's gate and used the device to authorize entry.
With a loud hiss of venting gas—
The sealed gate opened.
Inside was a technological marvel beyond its era.
Rentaro ran into the control room, quickly connected his phone, and confirmed access.
A soft blue glow lit up the room. The screen came alive.
"Linear Electromagnetic Launch System—Initializing."
The cold voice of a machine echoed.
As if declaring the arrival of hope.