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Tl: Sam

…

“Miharashi Park,” which Suda had named, was a park where I often played when I was in elementary school.
A completely ordinary park with a slide, a sandbox, and swings. Back then, we often played tag, hide-and-seek, card games, and handheld video games there.
Suda called it Miharashi Park, but that actually wasn’t its official name.
We only called it that because you could look out over the town from there; the park had a different actual name.
That was why no matter how much the viewers searched for it, they wouldn’t be able to find this park. Suda probably foresaw that and called it by that name too.
…Well, considering I can’t even remember the park’s official name myself, maybe Suda just forgot it too.
In any case, only me, my friends, and a limited number of people knew about this park.

“…You actually came, Tanaka. I’ll give you credit for not running away, at least.”

Stepping into Miharashi Park, Suda, who had been sitting on a bench, stood up and spoke to me.
He looked even more haggard than he had in the video. His clothes were frayed in several places, and the dark circles under his eyes were terrible. He looked just like me back when I was a corporate slave. Our positions had completely reversed from back then.

“That’s my line. I’m surprised you managed to come alone yourself.”
“Hah, like hell I’d run from the likes of you!”

Suda glared at me with eyes filled with hatred.
He looked as if he had lost the ability to think calmly long ago. It didn’t seem like talking would get through to him, but I decided to try communicating anyway.

“Suda, turn yourself in. It’s over. There’s no way you can get away after causing this much of an uproar. Just let yourself be captured quietly.”
“Don’t talk shit! In the first place, this is all because you set me up! And now you’re telling me to turn myself in? Stop talking in your sleep!”
“Hey, at least listen for a second…”
“Shut up! I don’t have a damn thing to talk to you about!”

Saying that, Suda threw a square “box”-like object about the size of a palm onto the ground. It popped open, and to my surprise, a grey wolf leaped out from inside.
I see, so this mysterious cube was what had been spawning the monsters. That setting felt familiar from somewhere; I’m just glad it wasn’t a sphere.

“Go! Kill him!”
『Gau!!』

Baring its fangs, the grey wolf lunged toward me.
This monster, a Grey Wolf, wasn’t particularly strong. As it charged, I struck it down with a hand chop. Then,

“Hm?”

The Grey Wolf’s back glowed, and the next instant, I found myself trapped inside a cramped “cage.”

Seeing me trapped, Suda flashed a slimy, repulsive grin. What on earth just happened?

“You fell for it, Tanakaaa! That’s a top-tier magic tool capable of trapping even an EX-rank monster! Kuku, the monster was just a bluff. It was rigged so that killing it would activate the magic tool!”
“I see. You actually used your head for an idiot.”

The cage was a custom fit for my body, so I could barely move at all.
Like this, I couldn’t even draw my sword.

“It’s still nowhere near 6:00 PM, so you can’t use that weird mode either! Kuku, without your friends and unable to use your sword, you’re nothing more than a piece of corporate slave trash! It’s a shame I can’t make you get on your knees inside there, but oh well. Instead, I’ll give you an even better revenge…!”

Saying that, Suda pulled out a drone and activated it.
He then projected a hologram into the air. Displayed on it was a D-Tube streaming screen, showing me trapped inside the cage.
The account streaming it belonged to the Black Dog Guild. So this account was still around…?

「Eh, a stream started?」
「Why is Shachiken on screen!?」
「The Black Dog Guild account is still alive…? Wait, Shachiken!?」
「Hey, Suda is there too!」
「Wait, why is Tanaka inside a cage?」
「Shachiken got caught!?」
「What’s going on, Sudaaa!」
「Where is this park?」
「I searched almost everywhere called Miharashi Park, but I can’t find it」
「Can’t really see from this camera angle… dammit」
「No, who cares about the location right now!」

“Kukuku… Hahahahaha!! Aren’t you popular, Tanakaaa! You sure played your cards well while I was gone. But that ends today. You’re going to die pathetically right in front of your own fans!”

Saying that, Suda pulled out a knife with a black blade from inside his coat.
I could feel dangerous magicules radiating from that knife. Apparently, it was no cheap toy.
Or rather, how many magic tools does this guy have? I don’t know who gave them to him, but I really wish they wouldn’t give this guy so many toys.

“The ‘God-Slaying Blade’… Supposedly, it’s a dagger that holds the power to kill a god, you know? Using something like this on someone like you is a waste, but better safe than sorry. Die, you piece of shit!”

Suda gripped the dagger and charged at me. It seemed he intended to stab me through the gaps of the cage.
Trapped inside the cage, I could neither dodge nor defend. What to do?

「Run, Shachiken!」
「Seriously, losing to Suda?」
「Stop!」
「Noooo!」
「Don’t lose, Shachiken!」
「You’re kidding, right!?」

I couldn’t dodge while stuck inside the cage.
In that case… well, I guess I should just get out of the cage.(Tl: It’s the matter of fact tone that really does it for me)

“Hmph.”

Grabbing the cage firmly with both hands, I wrenched it open to the left and right.
With a screeching screeech!, the cage bent out of shape. It was pretty tough, but well, it wasn’t something I couldn’t pry open.

“W-Whaat!?”
“You’ve been acting up too much, Suda. You went a bit too far.”

I unleashed a front kick aimed at the oncoming Suda.
The blow struck Suda directly in the stomach, and he was blown backward with a choked cry of “Gebuoh!?”

「As muscle-brained as ever lol」
「I knew it」
「Why can he break that with bare hands」
「Suda trembling lol」
「Underestimating him way too much lol」
「No, Shachiken is the weird one here (assertion)」
「There’s also an issue with the former president side not gauging his employee’s strength」
「True that」

When he was blown away, he dropped that “God-Slaying Blade” of his, so I stomped on it to break it. It was certainly hard and had a dense concentration of magicules, but it broke fairly easily. Could something like this really kill a god?

“D-Don’t come near me! If you come any closer, I don’t care what happens to the city!”

Suda stood up and barked that out.
A tough guy. His stomach must hurt terribly, so it’s impressive he could stand.

“The city? Is there anything you can even do right now?”
“Mocking me, are you… Take a look at this!”

When Suda operated his smartphone, multiple holograms floated up into the air.
Projected on them were famous locations in Tokyo, such as Tokyo’s symbolic red tower, the Imperial Palace, and the Ministry of Monster Control.

“The monsters you’ve been fighting up until now were third-rate! I’ve been entrusted with the strongest monsters by those guys! If you refuse to listen to me, I’ll unleash them all on the city! Come on, if you don’t want that, get on your knees and beg, Tanakaaa!”

Suda declared with a triumphant look on his face.
He probably thought I would panic and lose my composure. But that didn’t happen.

“…You truly are beyond saving, Suda.”
“Y-You bastard… Why are you looking at me with such pitiful eyes! I’m serious, you hear me!? I’m fully prepared to destroy this city!”
“That’s not resolve. That’s just sheer desperation.”
“You bastard…! Looking down on me! Then as you wish, I’ll unleash the monsters!”

When Suda operated his smartphone, giant monsters appeared on the screen.
They were certainly monsters that looked strong enough to be in a completely different league from the ones I had defeated so far. However, even seeing them, I didn’t panic in the slightest.

“Haha, hahahaha! It’s your fault! Because of you, Tokyo is going to be destroyed! Serves you right!”
“…………”
“What’s with you, say something! Why aren’t you panicking!?”
“…Suda, you’ve underestimated everyone way too much. Me, and the other people who are fighting as well. The one you’re fighting isn’t just me, you know?”
“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”

Suda looked irritated. He didn’t seem to understand the meaning behind my words.
I averted my gaze from him and shifted my eyes to the screen. It seemed there wouldn’t be any need for me to step in this time.

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