The Destruction of the World by Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

charge of the team leaders. In other words, it is a completely different system from the one used during the Kagetane Hiruko terrorist incident. Currently, in order to organize large-scale squads of civil officers, we are reaching out to leading civil security agencies. I would like you to become a team leader, too, by gathering members to fight in the decisive battle against the Gastrea.
    “Satomi, no matter how much we hurry, the production and transportation of the replacement Monolith will take nine days. I would like you and your squad to intercept all the Gastrea that will invade in the three days between when the Monolith is destroyed and when the replacement is put in place.”
    The Seitenshi folded her hands in her lap.
    “I understand that you must be confused by the suddenness of it all. But please, Satomi, for the sake of the country, will you lend me your strength just this once?”
3
    Things had gotten bad.
    Rentaro hurried home, his hands in his pockets and eyes downcast. The moon shone in the sky, and the dazzling streetlights cast his shadows dancing across the paving stones, while cheerful jazz music leaked out of a store somewhere in the distance. Hearing it, Rentaro paused and turned his head.
    The area around Happy Building—the building that Tendo Civil Security Agency was a tenant of—turned into a street full of bars at night. The night tribe of drunk men staggering with their neckties around their foreheads, thin dogs nosing about the trash, and people passing out flyers for their establishments became a thick crowd.
    Normally, Rentaro wouldn’t even pay attention to them, but tonight, he gazed upon them for quite some time. The scene was completely normal—it didn’t look as if Tokyo Area was going to be annihilated in six days. He wondered if the Seitenshi tricked him; if he was just being made to play along with a bad joke.
    But this was just an attempt on his part to embrace plausible deniability. He shook his head and rebuked himself. That straitlaced national leader would not lie about nor fabricate something of this level.
    What a pain.
    He glared in the direction of the faraway Monolith, but of course, it was too dark to see it. The ever-standing wall that had protected people for ten years…the strongest, most reliable wall, built from the knowledge of mankind: The Monolith. It was going to be destroyed. In six days, it would definitely be destroyed.
    Rentaro realized that he was starting to feel on edge and turned onto the road that led home.
    The fact that the Seitenshi came to see him directly probably meant that she had high hopes for him. It was a big improvementfrom the arrogant attitude she had held during the terrorist incident. Even so, he could not give the Seitenshi an immediate answer when she offered him the job. This job was just too dangerous.
    Besides, how could civil officers who were all show-offs form a team and fight? If it weren’t under these conditions, he would want to tell her not to be ridiculous. She shouldn’t expect such a prideful group to work cooperatively. Even when her commander gave his order, the best they could probably do was fight separately, on their own.
    And looking at the facts of the Monolith attack, the enemy Gastrea corps was undoubtedly a highly organized system. In a team battle, it didn’t matter how specialized each individual was, as evidenced by many recent battles in history.
    The tepid night wind blew from his chin to his neck, and the soles of his shoes hit the stone pavement rhythmically.
    What should he tell Enju? With the Kagetane Hiruko terrorist attack and the Seitenshi assassination attempt still fresh in their minds, could he tell Enju to risk her life again? She was still a child, only ten years old.
    Before he knew it, he was standing in front of their run-down apartment. Scratching his tired face, he climbed up the metal stairs that creaked with rust and turned the knob of the door.
    Suddenly, he was accosted by two