That girl was surely done for.
However,
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal colliding rang out.
Immediately following that,
Came a streak of silver light almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
Tendou Kisara's figure did not fall.
On the contrary,
She vanished from her spot like a phantom.
Her blade sliced through the bullet,
Precisely cleaving the rapidly spinning projectile in half!
Then,
The two figures crossed paths.
Tendou Kisara stood behind Tendo Wako, maintaining the posture of having swung her sword.
Tendo Wako remained frozen in the posture of holding the gun.
The ferocious expression on his face hadn't even had time to fade.
One second.
Two seconds.
"Uh...?"
Tendo Wako blinked in confusion.
He felt his vision was strange.
Why...
Why was his line of sight getting lower?
The next second—
Screeeech—!
A grating, tearing sound erupted.
His legs were severed cleanly at the knees.
The Seitenshi trembled as she opened her eyes.
Then,
She witnessed a scene that would be etched into her memory forever.
Scalding blood erupted like a fountain from the severed stumps of Tendo Wako's legs, instantly dyeing the carpet red.
"My legs! My legs, ahhhhh!!!"
Tendo Wako lost all support and crashed heavily onto the ground.
The delayed, intense pain instantly shot through his brain.
He dropped the gun, clutching his severed legs with both hands, rolling frantically in the pool of blood while emitting pig-like screams.
That sound...
Piercing, desperate...
It hardly seemed like something a human could produce.
"Ugh..."
The Seitenshi turned ashen-faced, her stomach churning violently.
She covered her mouth with both hands, shrinking into her chair and trembling.
It was too bloody.
Too cruel.
She had never seen such a hellish scene.
Instinctive fear made her subconsciously want to close her eyes and turn away to escape everything.
However,
Just as the Seitenshi prepared to close her eyes,
Heimer held up her cheeks.
Forcing her to turn her head back.
Forcing her to open her eyes.
To stare directly at the gory scene.
"Don't close your eyes,"
Heimer's voice sounded next to the Seitenshi's ear.
"Miss Seitenshi."
"Don't you want to govern this country well?"
"Don't you want to protect your people?"
"Then watch closely."
"The only path for a flower raised in a greenhouse to grow,"
"Is to—witness death."
The Seitenshi was forced to open her eyes wide, watching the Vice Minister, who usually treated her with utmost respect, now howling on the ground like a dog with a broken spine.
Watching the ceaseless flow of blood.
Watching the stark white bone shards.
The Seitenshi's body shook violently, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Too... too cruel..."
She said, trembling.
"Cruel?"
Heimer chuckled softly.
"Then what if I told you?"
"This man writhing on the ground."
"Tendo Wako."
"As the current Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport."
"He is responsible for building the No. 32 Monolith to defend against Gastrea."
"To line his own pockets, for that dirty money."
"He mixed a large amount of inferior metal into the building materials."
"Do you still feel sorry for him?"
"Think about it."
"Once that shoddy project is completed."
"Once the Gastrea attack."
"How many people can he kill at once?"
Heimer articulated each word with exceptional clarity.
Every word was like a heavy hammer, striking hard at the hearts of everyone present.
As soon as these words were spoken.
Tendou Kikunojo, who had been silently standing aside, suddenly tightened his grip on his cane, his face instantly turning ashen.
Tendou Kisara also didn't expect to hear such a thing.
—Monolith?
That was a defense line crucial to the survival of the entire Tokyo Area!
"What did you say?!"
The anger in Tendou Kisara's eyes instantly intensified.
She walked straight up.
And kicked hard at the wound on Tendo Wako's broken leg.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah—!!!"
Tendo Wako immediately let out an even more agonizing shriek, his entire body arching like a shrimp from the pain.
"Speak."
Tendou Kisara's voice was as cold as ice.
"A Monolith built to that standard."
"How long can it last?"
"Ah ah ah ah—I'll tell you! I'll tell you!!"
How could Tendo Wako dare to hide anything now?
"O-one... one year..."
He cried out, wailing.
"At most one year... the magnetic field of the enju metal will weaken... and the Monolith will... fail..."
Boom!
As soon as these words were spoken.
It was as if a bombshell had exploded in the conference room.
Everyone present, including the officials who still couldn't move, all stared with disbelief.
—Monolith.
It was a black giant wall built with special enju metal, capable of emitting a magnetic field to repel Gastrea.
It was the only barrier protecting the Tokyo Area from those man-eating monsters!
If it failed...
That would mean...
Thinking of what might happen a year later.
Everyone's faces turned pale with horror, and a bone-deep fear instantly enveloped the entire room.
"See?"
Heimer's voice rang out at the opportune moment.
He released the hand that was holding the Seitenshi's cheek, but he didn't let her avert her gaze.
"Once the Monolith collapses."
"Tens of thousands of Stage IV and even Stage V Gastrea will flood into this city."
"At that time."
"It won't be just one person who dies."
"But tens of thousands."
"Even everyone in the entire Tokyo Area will become food for the monsters."
"Including you, Miss Seitenshi."
"And all of this."
"Is to exchange for the numbers in your Vice Minister's account."
Heimer pointed to the twitching lump of flesh on the ground.
"Now."
"Knowing he did such a thing, Miss Seitenshi, do you still feel sorry for him?"
"Even if he were to be cut into a thousand pieces, he would still deserve it, wouldn't he?"
"…"
The Seitenshi stared blankly at Tendo Wako.
She had always thought that these officials who assisted her, although somewhat opportunistic, were at least working for the country.
But now.
The bloody reality shattered her illusions.
Is this...
The country she governs?
Are these...
The subjects she relies on?
"Hmph."
Tendou Kisara snorted coldly.
She flicked the blood off her sword, looking down at Tendo Wako with no pity in her eyes.
"Tendou Sword Art Zero Form Three—"
"Asafoetida Twin-Headed Sword."
"How is it, Brother?"
"This is the name of the move that injured you."
"It's a move I created myself."
"It's both one strike and two strikes."
"The second strike's speed surpasses the speed of sound."
"You didn't see it clearly just now, did you?"
"It's truly pathetic that you can't even see the move that injured you."
Tendo Wako had no mind to listen to any of this now.
He was so much in pain that he was about to faint, his face covered in snot and tears, looking utterly disgusting.
"Next."
"The second matter."
Tendou Kisara's eyes darkened.
This was what she cared about the most.
"Ten years ago."
"That night."
"The Gastrea attack case."
"Why did only my parents die that night?"
"Why did wild Gastrea appear in the most central part of the heavily guarded Tokyo Area, in the Tendou Family residence?"
At this point.
Tendou Kisara's voice was already trembling slightly.
It was anger suppressed to the extreme.
"The truth..."
"Spit it all out!"
With the last sentence, Tendou Kisara's decade-long resentment completely erupted at this moment.
She raised her demonic blade.
The cold blade pressed directly against Tendo Wako's neck.
It even created a bloody mark.
The cold touch instantly cut short Tendo Wako's screams.
Stared at, Tendo Wako was so scared he could barely breathe.
Fear made him temporarily forget the severe pain in his broken leg.
"I... I don't know... I don't know anything..."
He shook his head desperately, his eyes darting around.
"It was an accident! It was a Gastrea attack! It has nothing to do with me!"
"Nothing to do with you?"
Tendou Kisara's face was cold.
She slightly exerted force with her wrist.
The sharp blade instantly cut through the top layer of skin on Tendo Wako's neck.
Blood quickly flowed down his neck, staining the collar of his expensive shirt.
The threat of death was imminent.
Tendo Wako completely broke down.
He turned his head for help, looking towards Tendou Kikunojo not far away.
"Grandfather! Grandfather, save me! Save me!"
However.
This old man, who usually doted on him,
was now standing there with a gloomy face, saying nothing.
He didn't even spare him a second glance.
As an old fox, Tendou Kikunojo knew very well.
Speaking up now would only invite trouble.
In front of this mysterious man, whoever stuck their head out first would die.
Sacrificing a grandson to save himself—he calculated this trade-off very clearly.
"Right now, it's me talking to you."
"It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."
Seeing this, the mockery in Tendou Kisara's eyes deepened.
She twisted her wrist.
The tip of her blade sliced directly across Tendo Wako's cheek.
From the corner of his eye all the way to his chin.
Scalding blood slid down Tendo Wako's cheek, making him look like a bloody mess.
As expected.
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