Inside a building not far from the concert venue, an Ursus man held a communicator with an extremely grim expression.
"…All the people planted inside have been exposed? Are Lungmen's Infected all idiots? In a place without oppression like this, their drive is nowhere near that of Ursus Infected. If Megumi was not dead and Gojo was not captured, I would never have used these people to carry out the plan."
As he finished speaking, the Ursus man crushed the communicator in his hand and slammed the remaining fragments onto the table.
A loud bang echoed as the table caved in from the force.
"…"
The others in the room were startled, but seeing the man's rage, none of them dared to react. They simply let the fragments scatter onto them.
"Hah… report the current situation in detail."
After venting, the leading Ursus man exhaled and sat back down. The iron table in front of him had completely collapsed and was unusable.
"Inside, the stage is being guarded by Blacksteel Worldwide while the outside is handled by the Guard Department. Now that most of the disposable pawns inside have been exposed, our options for attack are limited. Perhaps we should…"
Another, thinner Ursus man reported the situation.
There were five Ursus individuals in the room, each with orange cloth tied around their limbs.
The thinner one speaking had faint Originium crystals on his neck, barely visible unless his collar was pulled down.
"Then we will not attack from inside. According to Gennady's plan, we must cause chaos today."
As he spoke, the seated Ursus man lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and continued:
"Too bad we lack manpower. If Gojo were here, with his Originium Arts, we could have sent him in alone and blown up the entire concert, blasting both the Guard Department and those damned civilians to pieces."
"Enough, Gojo is still in the Guard Department's underground prison. Ever since that red-haired guy interfered, our plans have gone completely off track."
Another Ursus man frowned as he spoke.
"It is all because of him. Our plans keep changing again and again. And Gennady too, after hearing that guy uses the same combat methods as the 'Red Devil,' he shifted the target from Lungmen to him, and it did not end well."
At the mention of the red-haired man, the seated Ursus man grew even more irritated.
Their plans over the past few months, almost all of them had been ruined by this guy.
First, they tried to capture Infected from the slums to expand their forces. Failed.
Then Megumi, unwilling to accept it, took Gojo to bomb a building as a warning and in the end one got captured while the other died.
After that, they shifted to targeting the Guard Department intending to test their strength according to Gennady's plan.
And then that guy joined the Guard Department.
Damn it!
It was as if Reunion was fundamentally incompatible with him.
He used the same kind of combat methods as the Red Devil, so why was he standing against the Infected?
"By the way, it seems to be him who is exposing our people inside."
The thinner Ursus man added.
Boom!
The already damaged iron table was completely destroyed this time.
"If I get my hands on him, I will tear him apart! Everyone, get ready. Today, Reunion will cause chaos here!"
Biting off his cigarette, the Ursus leader stood up and shouted.
They were an advance team persuaded by Gennady to come to Lungmen. Their numbers had once been large, but now only a few remained.
Some of the Infected they found in Lungmen's slums had refused to join them. To avoid exposure, they had no choice but to kill those people.
The result was that the remaining ones were not particularly capable, and during the previous operation against the Guard Department, they had suffered heavy losses again.
The Infected they had brought from Ursus had also perished in that operation.
They knew about the Red Devil, even believing he had left the northern plains of Ursus for better living conditions.
But those in this room had learned the truth from Gennady.
The Red Devil of the Ursus had died three years ago…surrounded and eliminated by a large army and several Emperor's Blades. No one could have survived that. Moreover, he had already been injured and withdrawn from active combat, instead teaching children survival skills.
In the end, he triggered an avalanche with a pillar of light that pierced the heaven, burying all enemies along with himself.
That was the end of the Red Devil of the Ursus, the protector of Ursus Infected.
As for the one in Lungmen now, at most he was just someone with similar Originium Arts.
After learning this, Gennady had them send out related information, attempting to link this person to the "Undying Black Snake" Koschei of Ursus, but it failed.
They did not know why, but they followed the orders anyway. He also instructed them to cause as much chaos as possible during this concert so that the next stage of the plan could proceed.
As for the details of that plan, they were not told. That was why they were merely the advance team. After this operation, they might all die.
But compared to the "grace" Reunion had given them, death was something they were willing to accept.
"For Reunion."
"For Reunion."
The people in the room spoke in unison before splitting up to carry out their tasks.
The room was left behind, scattered with documents, a destroyed iron table…
…and a chair crushed into scrap metal by the enraged Ursus man.
On the other side, outside the concert venue, Shirou was currently resting near the back entrance.
Holding a bottle of mineral water, he gulped it down in one go, finishing it instantly.
"Hey, look at you, you are completely worn out. Take a break and eat something."
Hoshiguma handed him a chocolate bar. The high-calorie chocolate would help him recover some energy.
"Thanks, there were too many people inside and it was hard to move around."
Shirou did not stand on ceremony. He took the chocolate, tore open the wrapper, and started eating.
The crowded conditions were one reason. The heavy use of magecraft was another.
Though the mana consumption itself was not too high, since he had only been using reinforcement and analysis.
"You did well. Almost everyone you identified turned out to be correct. Some were registered Infected, but to ensure the safety of this concert, the higher-ups have already made arrangements for them."
Taking the opportunity, Hoshiguma briefly explained the current situation.
Ch'en was so busy that she was practically impossible to catch, and Hoshiguma herself had plenty to handle. She had only come over with water and chocolate after receiving Shirou's request for a break.
On the surface, she was reporting work progress but in reality, she was taking a short break herself.
"That is good to hear."
Even though he knew it was unlikely he had made a mistake, Shirou only let out a sigh of relief after confirming it.
After all, if he had wrongly detained an ordinary person who had simply come to enjoy the concert, ruining their experience, he would have felt guilty.
As for the registered Infected… he could only apologize.
Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures.
"Still, there really are quite a lot of people carrying dangerous items this time. Ch'en and Missy are trying to extract useful information from them."
Looking toward the Infected being interrogated not far away, Hoshiguma showed a hint of concern.
Under normal circumstances, after learning that someone was causing trouble in Lungmen, an event of this scale should not have been held. Yet Chief Wei and MSR had insisted on proceeding, saying too much had already been invested to cancel it.
It was fortunate Shirou had this capability. Otherwise, the situation could have been truly dangerous.
They had not yet found firearms, crossbows, or Originium bombs, but there were short blades and daggers—and most of the suspects were Infected, capable of using Originium Arts without needing a staff.
"That really is not good."
Finishing the last bite of his chocolate, Shirou stuffed the wrapper into his pocket and tidied up his appearance, straightening his wrinkled clothes and messy hair.
Including the sunglasses used for disguise, and the small horns on his head.
"Yeah… the higher-ups never really think about us on the ground."
Hoshiguma grumbled lightly, though it was nothing more than a passing complaint.
After all, having spent so long in the Guard Department, she was already used to it.
Though it seemed Ch'en planned to confront Chief Wei about it in a few days.
Must be nice, that kind of youthful drive.
"There is not much that can be done. There are many factors to consider. This operation might even be bait set by those above."
Hearing her complaint, Shirou shared his thoughts.
People could be very dangerous. There were those who would betray even their closest ones for small gains.
Let alone an event of this scale.
Still, at least they were not ignoring the situation. The Guard Department was taking this seriously, deploying a large number of personnel.
"If it really is bait like you said, that would make things even worse. Anyway, it is about time, are you going back inside, or staying out here a bit longer? I can arrange someone to take over inside."
Hoshiguma did not want to dwell on that topic.
It was not something they were meant to know. Their duty was simply to protect Lungmen's citizens.
Glancing at the time, she realized she had been taking a break for quite a while and needed to get back to work. Before leaving, she asked Shirou what he planned to do.
"…I will stay outside. I have already checked most of the suspicious people inside, going back in would not make much difference."
After thinking it over, Shirou decided to remain outside.
He was not very comfortable with the atmosphere inside the concert. Besides, if he stayed outside, could he not remove this disguise?
"Then stay outside. I will arrange someone to go in and do not remove the disguise, you might need to blend into the crowd again later."
Hoshiguma nodded in agreement, but quickly reminded him when she saw him about to take off his sunglasses and horns.
"…Alright."
Shirou, who had already started to remove his sunglasses quickly withdrew his hand.
"Hang in there. Just a little longer."
Seeing his disappointed expression, Hoshiguma laughed and patted his shoulder before leaving with her shield.
"On the bright side, at least I do not have to squeeze through crowds anymore."
Shirou quickly adjusted his mindset and stretched his body.
Even though he was outside, he could still clearly hear the singing from inside.
Then again, the only person he really knew was Sora, so he was not particularly invested in the concert itself.
"As for now… I will blend into the crowd out here."
With food and rest taken care of, Shirou felt ready to keep going.
After a moment's thought, he decided to patrol the outer area.
Although not as densely packed as inside, there were still quite a lot of people outside but they were more spread out.
Sitting around would just be wasting time so he got up and started moving.
Out here, he did not have to be as careful. He would stand in one spot for a while then move to another. If he noticed someone slightly suspicious, he would casually approach and use analysis magecraft.
This part was more troublesome. Unlike inside, where people were packed together, making contact outside was much harder.
At the very least, he was fortunate that among the suspicious individuals, there were very few women.
Otherwise, he might have been reported for harassment and arrested by the Guard Department.
"Ah, sorry."
Using the excuse of bumping into someone's shoulder, Shirou activated his analysis magecraft.
The man in front of him was an Ursus, but compared to the Ursus people Shirou had met before, this one looked noticeably thinner.
"…It is fine. Are you okay?"
The man frowned slightly after being bumped, but quickly put on a friendly expression and asked.
Shirou noticed the subtle change, but did not dwell on it.
Anyone would be annoyed after being bumped like that. The fact that the man did not get angry immediately was already quite commendable.
It could not be helped, using analysis magecraft required close contact.
"I am fine, I am fine. Sorry, I was not watching where I was going."
Staying as close as possible, Shirou soon received feedback from his analysis.
The situation was very bad.
The man in front of him… was an Infected.
And beneath his coat, he was carrying a full set of Originium explosives.