— — — — — —
As expected, two days later, Tendo Civil Security Corporation received an invitation from Seitenshi. She was summoning all civil officers in the Tokyo area for an important meeting.
"Renzo, Rentaro, Enju, Midori! Let's head out!"
Tendo Kisara called out, holding a katana in one hand as the group piled into a car and sped off to the meeting venue.
"What's this about? They called in everyone from the Tokyo area? That's huge," Rentaro asked, confused.
"No idea yet. We'll find out when we get there," Kisara replied, shaking her head.
After about half an hour, they arrived at the venue. Led by Kisara, they pushed open the doors to a massive hall.
"Well, well, looks like anyone can call themselves a civil officer these days, huh? This meeting isn't for kids like you. Why don't you just turn around and crawl back home?"
A bulky man with a giant sword strapped to his back mocked them the second they entered.
Everyone in the room turned to look. Some were watching for drama, others narrowed their eyes slightly when they recognized Renzo, their gaze turning amused as they looked at the burly man.
Renzo and Rentaro exchanged a silent look. Renzo gestured with his eyes: Who's handling this guy?
"I got it," Rentaro sighed and stepped forward. "I know you. You're Ikuma Shougen, IP Rank 1584. You picking a fight on purpose?"
"Oh? So you do know who I am," Shougen raised an eyebrow and looked down on him with a sneer. "If that's the case, you must have guts to talk to me like that."
"If you're done acting tough, could you get out of the way?" Rentaro shook his head, clearly not in the mood.
Shougen's grin widened, clearly enjoying the attention, and looked like he was about to spout more nonsense.
That's when Renzo stepped in, casually cracking his knuckles. "Rentaro, I told you to handle him, not stand around chatting. With guys like this arrogant idiot, the best way to deal with them is to beat the crap out of them."
"What did you say?!" Shougen roared and charged straight at Renzo, fist flying. "Alright, punk, let me teach you a little something about respect!"
His fist aimed straight at Renzo's face—
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, before anyone could react, Renzo was already in front of Shougen.
He lifted his leg and slammed a brutal kick into Shougen's stomach, sending him flying.
"PUUGH!!"
Shougen coughed up a mouthful of blood mid-air before crashing straight into a middle-aged man seated near the conference table.
"GAHH!!" x2
The impact was so strong, both men screamed in pain as bones cracked audibly.
The whole room went dead silent.
That speed... damn.
Renzo walked over slowly, unbothered, to where the two men lay.
A small girl with ash-blonde hair stepped protectively in front of Shougen, arms outstretched. Her voice trembled as she pleaded, "M-Mr. Renzo! Please let Shougen go... he's already been punished enough. I beg you!"
Renzo looked down at her and gently patted her head. "Oh? You know me? You must be Senju Kayo, right? What a smart and adorable girl. Don't worry. I wasn't planning to kill him. Just giving him a... small lesson."
The others glanced at Shougen, who lay unconscious with blood seeping from his stomach. Their expressions twitched.
A "small" lesson, huh?
That man's half-dead! If he doesn't get medical help soon, he might really die!
"Besides..."
Renzo continued, his voice suddenly colder. "This brute was just a pawn, right? Sent here to provoke us. Isn't that right, Mr. Boss of Shougen?"
Renzo walked around Kayo and stood before a middle-aged man.
"I honestly wonder what gave you the confidence to come after me. Did you not do your homework before making enemies? Or..."
Renzo leaned in closer, eyes gleaming dangerously. "...do you actually think I wouldn't dare to kill you, huh?"
"Y-You... d-don't do anything stupid! This is a meeting arranged by Seitenshi-sama! If you fight here... if you do anything here..."
The middle-aged man stammered, face pale and soaked in sweat, absolutely terrified—and deeply regretting everything.
He had just wanted to make an example out of someone to show off, hoping it would earn him some points when contesting for missions.
Basically, he wanted to "Make an example out of someone," while showing off his company's strength.
He even told Ikuma Shougen to pick a few kids who looked young and easy to bully.
How could he have known these "kids" were monsters—especially that Renzo?
This guy was a straight-up demon.
That terrifying speed, and how he casually knocked out a Rank 1584 officer like Shougen with one kick—it was nightmare fuel.
"Renzo, that's enough. This is an official meeting hosted by Seitenshi. Let's not cause too much trouble," Tendo Kisara called out with a sly smile from nearby.
The message was clear: the intimidation was effective enough. She didn't want to escalate things too far—not here, not now.
Still, inside, she was pleased. Renzo had become stronger and more mysterious lately. Just watching him was exciting.
She couldn't wait for the day she could finally get her revenge—with Renzo's help.
"Heh, well... since my boss is giving you face today, I guess I'll let you off, you fat bastard! But next time—oh wait! Scratch that!"
"There won't be a next time. If you screw up again, no one will be able to save you. Got it?"
With that, Renzo casually walked back to stand behind Kisara.
Everyone else in the hall stiffened up.
In their hearts, they silently placed Renzo in the category of "do not mess with under any circumstances."
If someone like Shougen—Rank 1584—got one-shot like that, what hope did they have?
Soon, security arrived to carry away both Shougen and the fat middle-aged man.
As Kayo walked away, Renzo's voice echoed softly in her mind:
"~Little Kayo, if you ever have nowhere to go or you're in danger, just use the communicator bracelet I gave you, okay? I slipped it into your pocket."
She felt her left pocket grow slightly heavier. Reaching inside, she pulled out a metallic bracelet and stared at it in shock. Her head turned toward Renzo.
He looked back at her with a wink and put a finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture before turning away.
"Brother Renzo is so cool... and so mysterious!" she whispered in awe as she left the conference hall.
She had heard about Renzo before—from the cursed children he helped around Tokyo. Word of his actions had slowly spread among them.
That's how she knew his name. And from that day, she had always been curious about him—maybe even a little fond of him.
Not long after, an older government official walked to the front of the room and announced, "Next, Seitenshi-sama herself will explain the details of the mission."
...
The screen at the front of the hall lit up, revealing Seitenshi—and standing beside her was none other than the old geezer, Tendo Kikunojo.
Seitenshi looked over the crowd with a calm, dignified gaze before speaking: "Greetings, everyone."
"Today's urgent gathering has two missions. First: eliminate the Gastrea that entered the city yesterday and became a new infection source. Second: recover the container it swallowed."
"Huh?"
Murmurs of confusion filled the room.
"That's it? Those two things don't sound like enough to gather everyone," someone whispered.
"Yeah, unless that Gastrea-monster is really dangerous."
"Or maybe... it's not the creature, but the container that matters."
Tendo Kisara raised her hand and asked directly, "Excuse me, what exactly is inside the container? What's so important that it deserves this kind of large-scale operation?"
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