Chapter 80: Apostle’s Technology

After Yanase’s parents had a simple breakfast, Ephnel drove them to the vicinity of the Order Organization’s headquarters plaza.

Some time had passed since the disaster that day, and the headquarters was still undergoing tense repairs and reconstruction.

As far as the eye could see, many places were still just desolate ruins.

“The Maesagawa area has now fallen, so I can’t take you there to see it. That’s why I brought you here first,” Ephnel stopped the car and said, looking at the construction site in the distance.

“This was the second of the three major Erosion incidents, which occurred a week ago.”

“This place is perfect. The Maesagawa area has too much chaotic White Hole Erosion energy that would interfere with my results, but it won’t happen here. Naoto, I want to know, where was the first location that Erosion Organisms appeared here?”

Yanase Takuma asked.

“Just ahead, within a several-hundred-meter radius centered on the Order Organization’s headquarters. According to post-incident investigations and calculations, the area where the Erosion first occurred is believed to be in the area on the east side of the building.”

Ephnel pointed forward.

Through the car window, the Yanase couple saw a small flowerbed that looked as if it had been run over by a steamroller.

Now, only scattered, messy blades of grass remained.

Because it wasn’t a building with any important function, the area had been left unattended, and no construction workers had come to tidy it up yet.

“I understand. We plan to get out of the car and take a look.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Yanase Takuma and Yanase Kaoru got out of the car.

Considering this was outside the Order Organization’s headquarters and they were here to investigate privately, they chose not to bring the briefcases with them right away to avoid attracting too much attention.

Instead, they only took a detector that looked like a walkie-talkie.

Ephnel led them to the patch of shallow grass.

“This is believed to be the area that was first hit, but it’s not the area that suffered the most severe damage. After the Erosion Organisms appeared, they attacked the Order Organization’s headquarters building, and some individuals also spread to the nearby residential areas. It’s estimated that there was a gap of at least forty seconds between the appearance of the Erosion Organisms and the headquarters issuing an alarm. Because of this, the Agents were dispatched later than expected.”

Ephnel shared the information she knew.

“In addition to the wounded and deceased soldiers and civilians, three Agents were killed in action during this battle, two went missing, and two were seriously injured.”

Seiran and Hien were still missing to this day.

Although they were classified as “missing,” everyone knew in their hearts that the possibility of their survival no longer existed.

“The main type of Erosion Organism that appeared in this battle was the ‘Whale,’ which is a massive flying Erosion Organism. It has no observed special attack forms, has high defense, and moves by flying and levitating. It occasionally emits an unidentifiable hissing sound. Its own aggressiveness is very limited, and no other special form changes have been observed. It has never displayed any clear means of attack.”

“In other words, it’s just a type that is large and difficult to destroy, but poses little threat…”

Yanase Kaoru nodded slightly.

“Not only that, coincidentally, this type of Erosion Organism also appeared in the Erosion disaster that occurred the day before yesterday. What’s strange is that in this more recent Erosion disaster, it displayed a noteworthy ‘guiding’ role, with ‘Crow’ type Erosion Organisms protecting it from harm.”

“Mmm… is it a very rare non-destructive offensive type?”

“Mom, do you know about this type of Erosion Organism?”

“No, I don’t. Your father and I are not experts in this field. As you know, the appearance of Erosion Organisms is not constant, so I can’t determine its classification just from this description. Besides, what we are here to do is unrelated to this.”

As they spoke, Father Yanase Takuma had already crouched down by a damaged curb.

He rummaged under the rolled-up turf and then carefully scanned the area around him with the instrument in his hand.

“Mom, what is the connection between the ruins you and Dad are looking for and these three Erosion incidents? Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“It’s nothing. We don’t have any conclusive evidence on this matter yet; it’s still just speculation.”

Yanase Takuma said while measuring the data, “By the way, Naoto, you captured an ‘Apostle,’ didn’t you?”

“Dad knows about the ‘Apostles’ too?”

“Yes, of course, I do, but… I know very little.”

Yanase Takuma took a deep breath, stood up, and looked for the next spot.

“You did a great job, capturing an Apostle. That’s a huge achievement. Did you know, in the last two weeks, there have been several incidents involving ‘Apostles’? At first, it was just investigation teams on missions outside the Boundary being attacked by ‘Apostles.’ Later, some cities issued wanted notices for them. Now, the Federation has also taken notice of this suspicious organization and is dispatching special investigators to handle these matters.”

“Dispatching investigators?”

Ephnel frowned slightly, suddenly remembering what Masaki Hinaki had told her.

Masaki Hinaki was deemed negligent in her duties, and the Federation had issued a transfer order for a new commander to replace her.

Several Agents were also assigned as support and would arrive in Seikyo City within two weeks.

If what her father said was true, then this matter probably couldn’t be explained simply as a transfer of duties.

Mother Yanase continued, “We still haven’t figured out the origin of those Apostles. What can be foreseen is that as the Federation grows stronger, the overt and covert struggles between factions and nations are beginning to surface.”

As she spoke, she sighed.

“Conflicts of interest still exist even at this life-and-death juncture. I even suspect that those so-called ‘Apostles’ might be one of those factions. It is said that several cities sent out troops to encircle and suppress the Apostles, but almost all of them returned without success, as if the other party knew about their movements. They even set up ambushes on the routes the task forces had to take. Half of the forces, composed of Agents and soldiers, were killed, and most of the remaining half were injured, while the damage they inflicted on the enemy was very limited.”

“They’re that powerful?”

“No, they have a way to avoid the attention of Erosion Organisms, which don’t actively attack them. Moreover, the attack methods they use can draw energy for long-range bombardment. Without a large number of heavy firearms, it’s difficult to defeat them. It is precisely because of these two strange technologies that the term ‘Apostle’ has spread so quickly throughout the Human Federation. Naoto, you know why that is, right?”

“I understand.”

These two technologies, especially the secret of being able to avoid attacks from Erosion Organisms, were exactly what humanity had been researching to no avail.

The existence of human society now completely relied on the shell constructed by the Boundary Monuments.

Cities hid inside the shell, making them undetectable to Erosion Organisms.

But even so, due to the fluctuations of the White Hole Erosion, “accidents” would occasionally occur where Erosion Organisms broke into the shell.

At such times, Agents were needed to go and eliminate them.

However, resources were becoming increasingly scarce, and the threat from Erosion Organisms was ever-present.

If a once-and-for-all solution could not be found, the collapse of human society was only a matter of time.

At this juncture, the technology to be immune to attacks from Erosion Organisms was particularly precious.

…