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Napoleon, the little dog-Snake, indeed moved much faster than Asakura with his mantis shrimp-like propulsion.
Just as he reached the shore, and before he could even head to the Chiba Port Tower, which was now reduced to a mere remnant that could only be described as 'ruins', Yui Yuigahama and the others had already caught up.
"I told you it's okay if you don't come over."
Asakura gently placed the girl from his back onto the ground. He looked at the dust-covered Yui Yuigahama and the crying, utterly coerced Chihaya Anon, who had eaten a mouthful of seawater and sand on the way, and shook his head helplessly: "It would be troublesome if you got hit by falling debris from the sky on the way."
That stuff felt like wall plaster magnified dozens of times, but in reality, it was hundreds of times more troublesome, as it was part of space debris after all. God knows what would happen if one were truly hit.
"That's exactly why I came with Anon-chan to help—" Yui Yuigahama said earnestly. "After all, from what you said, there must be quite a few children who were spirited away, right?"
"If we directly teleport them back with Great Blessing, no matter how many people…" Asakura mumbled indistinctly.
"Are you sure?" Yui Yuigahama pointed to the Chiba Port Tower not far away.
Only a small portion of the Chiba Port Tower's broken body burned in the twilight, like a snapped giant sword, obliquely impaled on the shattered coastline. Flames leaped from the fractured tower body, licking the charred concrete, emitting a low crackling sound, as if the sword blade was wailing as it fractured in high heat.
The remnant of the tower leaned, like a broken blade tip, with half a neon light tube still hanging at its top, emitting its last faint light in the flames. Thick smoke poured from the depths of the ruins, interweaving with the false sea breeze into black ribbons, slowly rising in the twilight.
Burning debris was scattered around the tower's base, and glass shards sparkled in the firelight, like scattered stars.
The seawater was dyed blood-red by the flames, and waves crashed against the debris-strewn shore, emitting a trickling sob.
The air was filled with the smell of scorched metal and salty sea breeze, occasionally punctuated by a low rumble, the sound of some structure collapsing in the high heat.
This building, once a landmark of Chiba Prefecture, had now become a burning tombstone.
Asakura was speechless.
Oh right, he had directly blown up the tower earlier to save time.
Although he had wrapped those unconscious children in a layer of "Scale" before setting off to prevent any accidents, with the explosion of the Chiba Port Tower, those who were originally safely on the bottom floor were probably thrown into some corner or another by the impact of the explosion.
Thinking about it that way, it was indeed a bit inefficient for him to search alone.
As Asakura came to this realization, Ayase Aragaki, standing beside him, accepted Yui Yuigahama's scrutinizing gaze with some apprehension.
Normally, Ayase Aragaki was a very strong-willed and opinionated person. Coupled with her part-time job as a magazine model, she was long accustomed to being looked at by others.
But that was only under normal circumstances. Everything she had experienced recently was simply too bizarre, far exceeding what a fourteen-year-old girl could comprehend. Being stared at by someone who seemingly possessed supernatural powers made her feel even more uneasy and restless.
However, to her surprise, the girl in front of her merely showed a gentle smile, gently embraced her, and softly comforted her: "You must have been very scared, right? Very uneasy, very helpless, right? It's okay, everything is over now."
In fact, ever since she woke up from the 'nightmare' of having her body occupied by a monster from another dimension, Ayase Aragaki had a persistent sense of unreality, as if she hadn't truly woken up. Even when being carried across the bay to the shore by her savior, she hadn't been able to fully grasp the situation.
But at this moment, feeling the girl's warm embrace and being enveloped by genuine kindness, Ayase Aragaki suddenly felt a strong, uncontrollable surge of grievance welling up in her heart.
She could no longer hold it in and burst into tears, as if to release all the fear, worry, and grievance that had accumulated deep within her during the time her body was occupied by the Evil God's followers.
Yui Yuigahama said nothing more, merely gently stroked the girl's head, allowing her tears to soak her chest.
Chihaya Anon, standing beside them, also looked on tenderly. Both she and Yui Yuigahama had experienced similar situations, and precisely because they understood the helplessness normal people felt in the face of such supernatural disasters, they could empathize even more with the other person's feelings.
"Ahah, back then, I didn't have such a gentle senior to hug me and let me whine." Chihaya Anon said, looking at Asakura with a complaining glance.
"Got it." Asakura nodded, saying with feigned seriousness, "When we get back, I'll tell Asagumo you said her chest is small."
"Huh?! That's not what I meant…"
"Hehehe, Anon-san, you wouldn't want me to frame you, would you?"
"Is it really okay to proudly say 'frame' like that? Shouldn't something used as leverage be a fact…?" Chihaya Anon complained weakly.
"Anyway, don't just stand there, come help me rescue people." Asakura put away his exaggerated villainous smile and gently tapped her head.
"I know, geez, why can't you be a little gentler with me, Anon?" The girl covered her head, pouting and complaining.
"I just feel like if I'm too nice to you, Anon-san, you'll easily take advantage."
"That's just your misconception, misconception! Anon, I'm the type who can do anything if I'm praised!"
"As expected of Anon-chan (monotone)! I have a calculus problem here…"
"Let's go rescue people quickly!"
The girl firmly pretended not to hear Asakura's words and started flipping over small stones on the ground, making it unclear whether she wanted to rescue people or ants.
Asakura shook his head, ignoring the lively character, and instead activated the byproduct of the Curse [Snake], using infrared vision to search for the children. Although the burning ruins of the Chiba Port Tower made the effect slightly worse than normal, it was still more efficient than searching with ordinary vision.
Ayase Aragaki, who had stopped crying at some point, shyly emerged from Yui Yuigahama's ample bosom. She sniffled, as if to hide her embarrassment, and said, "I'll help too…"
Yui Yuigahama smiled gently, with a hint of encouragement.
Meanwhile, Napoleon, at some unknown point, had already picked up a missing person he had found in the ruins and lightly placed him on the wide open space.
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