Tiamat, Gazer, and Hiyori: All-Out Giant Monster Attack

Mokutan wanted me to clean his ears, so I was making a metal ear pick in the workshop.

Apparently, seeing Hiyori and me take turns cleaning each other's ears while resting our heads in each other's laps had made him jealous.

I had initially planned to make a bamboo ear pick. However, the moment I inserted the bamboo pick into the excited Mokutan's ear while he rested his head on my lap, it caught fire and crumbled, so I had to make a metal ear pick that wouldn't burn.

While testing the feel by sticking it into my own ear and making fine adjustments, Monster-kun repeatedly rang the front doorbell and arrived in a fluster. I heard him arguing about something with Hiyori, who had gone to answer the door, so I stopped making the ear pick and headed out too.

In the entryway, the kappa was bowing so deeply that his beak nearly touched the floor as he begged Hiyori.

"――――So please! I beg you! There is no one but you, Blue Witch-sama, who can defeat Tiamat!"

I had indeed invited Monster-kun to the house, but something about this situation seemed ominous.

He didn't look like he had come for a tour of the workshop.

"What's up, Monster-kun? Wanna talk?"

"Oori-san. I fully understand how rude it is to visit without prior notice and say something like this, but I beg you to ask her as well...!"

"I said I'd listen. What is it? Tell me what happened."

Listening to him didn't mean I would grant his request, but we weren't on bad enough terms for me to refuse to hear him out.

When I prompted him, Monster-kun made his desperate appeal.

According to him, his pet, the Class 1 monster Gazer-kun, had gone out to intercept the Class 1 monster Tiamat, which was coming from Izu Oshima.

Gazer-kun was an unlicensed secret pet, so the unsuspecting public would see him as nothing more than a terrifying giant-eyed monster.

If a kaiju battle broke out in the metropolitan area, even the heroic monster Gazer-kun would be killed along with the other monster. He wanted to prevent that.

He wanted the Blue Witch to use her power to somehow settle the matter peacefully...

After hearing him out, I first doubted my own ability to understand what I had heard.

"Just to confirm one more time. Monster-kun, you secretly kept a Class 1 monster?"

"Yes..."

"You monster bastard! What the hell were you doing?!"

No wonder Hiyori had ended up arguing with him.

I only knew about the Giant Monster and Daidarabotchi among the Class 1s. That was based on old data, and I had never seen either of them in person.

However, I knew about the tremendous damage they had caused. They were genuine monsters that could even kick Transcendents—beings who surpassed humanity—aside. They were disasters capable of casually annihilating two or three cities.

Don't secretly keep something like that in your basement! The monster in the basement you said you'd show me was Gazer-kun, wasn't it? You idiot! You monster bastard!

Hiyori had shown remarkable restraint by settling for an argument. The Hiyori of old would have disposed of Monster-kun, then frozen Gazer-kun and Tiamat together with the entire city. She had mellowed out quite a bit.

"I realize I am in no position to say this, but attacking Gazer-kun would be a mistake. He is fighting for humanity. However, he is not sacrificing himself for humanity. If he is attacked, he will feel pain and resent it. He will become angry. If he becomes angry, he will stop siding with humanity."

"I can instantly kill both of them in succession. There is no problem."

Hiyori spoke curtly and matter-of-factly, but Monster-kun was skeptical of the strongest witch's words.

"I do not doubt that you could overwhelm a Class 1 monster, Blue Witch-sama. However, there is no precedent for defeating a Class 1 monster that has appeared in an urban area without any damage to the surrounding area."

"Daidarabotchi... was that in a remote area? No, I heard that Conrad killed one without any human casualties a few years ago."

"Are you referring to the Midland Incident fifteen years ago? Three oil tanks exploded, and the surrounding residential district and factories were destroyed. There was only one Class 1 monster, and they were very fortunate that a strike meant there were no people in the factories. This time, there is absolutely no way the evacuation will be completed in time.

Only by coordinating with Gazer-kun, who is already ahead of us, can we minimize the damage... No."

Monster-kun had been trying to persuade her by calmly laying out the facts, but then his tone changed, and he dropped into a prostration at Hiyori's feet.

"Let me be perfectly clear. I simply want to save Gazer-kun. He is my friend! Gazer-kun is risking his life to confront Tiamat in order to save me. I cannot abandon him. I will do anything within my power. So please, please...!"

Even as Monster-kun repeated his plea through his tears, Hiyori showed no interest. Looking thoroughly annoyed, she stepped over him with Cuanos in one hand and tried to head out to battle.

"Blue Witch-sama, please. Just spare Gazer-kun...!"

"I don't know. Even if you believe he is harmless, that gives me no reason to believe it."

"Hmm. I feel like we can trust him about fifty percent."

Hiyori had been looking irritated by Monster-kun clinging to her, but she frowned at my words.

"Hey, what are you saying? He's a Class 1. It is far too dangerous to trust him based solely on this man's testimony."

"But the fire lizards were the same, weren't they? We thought they were dangerous and tried to dispose of them, but in the end we were glad we hadn't."

"..."

When I brought up the past, even Hiyori fell awkwardly silent.

Monster-kun was unquestionably a dangerous nutcase, but he also possessed common sense. Fully trusting him from the outset would be a little much, but I thought we could trust him halfway. When I toured Kappa House, he had taken great care to ensure I didn't get hurt.

"For now, I'll prioritize Tiamat and kill it.

Then I'll check on Gazer-kun. If he seems safe, fine. If he shows any dangerous signs, I'll kill Gazer-kun too.

If siding with Gazer-kun causes the damage to worsen, it will all be Monster-kun's responsibility.

The details will be left to Hiyori's judgment.

Wouldn't that be a reasonable compromise?"

Monster-kun's illegal ownership and negligent management.

With my own favorable bias added to the trust earned through Monster-kun's achievements and conduct.

Taking both his merits and his faults into account, how about that?

When Hiyori reluctantly nodded at my proposal, Monster-kun took my hand and thanked me while crying so hard it seemed the water in the dish on his head might run dry.

No, that's a bit much. I did propose a compromise, but I expect Gazer-kun will be killed nine times out of ten.

Getting along with a Class 1 monster is probably impossible, isn't it? The fact that he has managed to keep one until now was probably some kind of bug. Still, I think it's worth taking a shot at the bug not disappearing.

After the thanks had been exchanged, Hiyori urged us along and spoke as we left through the front door.

"I'll act according to Oori's plan. But you said you would do anything for Gazer, didn't you? Whatever the outcome, do not forget those words."

We headed straight for the coastal area using self-enhancement magic and Hiyori's tailwind magic. On the way, we called out to Monster-kun's younger brother and the enormous tiger monster wandering around in front of the Lost Fog just short of Ome, but the Doppler effect had probably distorted our voices so much that I wasn't sure they heard us properly.

I wasn't very accustomed to self-enhancement, so Hiyori carried me partway and accelerated even further.

In just thirty minutes, we arrived on the rooftop of a general trading company in Shinagawa overlooking the sea.

On the rooftop, a mage operations unit in heavy combat gear somewhere between robes and armor was setting up a command tent. They turned toward the intrusion of the three of us and began murmuring uneasily.

However, when Hiyori held up the Hollow Silver card together with Cuanos, the nature of their murmuring changed to excitement.

Hiyori put the card away, brushed the dust off my clothes, and straightened my collar while lecturing me.

"Oori. Do not even think about getting any closer, all right? At this distance, I can protect you from anything, but I cannot guarantee your safety beyond this point."

"Okay, okay. Man, I've always wanted to see a kaiju battle live!"

"Do you have no sense of urgency at all?"

Monster-kun was saying something, but I was plenty tense myself.

I only believed it was safe because Hiyori had said it was. Hiyori would never bring me into a dangerous area. I could genuinely consider this place safe.

I rested my hands on the railing at the edge of the trading company's rooftop and looked out over the sea. The battle between the four-headed dragon Tiamat and Gazer-kun, the giant eye monster, had just begun over Tokyo Bay. A goddamn huge golden dragon with a wingspan of about one hundred meters and a goddamn huge eyeball half that size were firing massive beams at each other.

Tiamat's golden, lightning-like beam and Gazer-kun's purple beam collided in midair, exploded, and generated a massive shock wave that raised enormous waves.

A powerful wind reached us more than ten seconds after the collision, letting us feel the force of the attacks against our skin.

"That is incredible...! But isn't Monster-kun's basement ridiculously huge?"

A basement large enough to store a fifty-meter monster was basically a shelter.

Without taking my eyes off the kaiju battle, I muttered that, and Monster-kun, standing beside me, spoke with evident surprise.

"Gazer-kun inhales air and swells up when he gets angry. Until now, however, he had only grown to about three meters... This is the first time I have seen him become that enormous."

I see. So Gazer-kun was in fighting mode too.

After the collision of their opening attacks, the two Class 1 monsters closed the distance and grappled. When Tiamat's four jaws bit into Gazer-kun's enormous body, Gazer-kun tightly constricted Tiamat's neck with his seven long tentacles.

The clash between the giant monsters sent wave after wave across the sea. Tsunamis struck the coastline, capsizing ships one after another and washing over the piers.

Well, it looks like zero property damage from this incident is already impossible.

The moment I thought that, Tiamat suddenly split into three bodies and surrounded Gazer-kun, who was fighting desperately.

Gazer-kun's eyes widened in surprise. The moment he broke free of the entanglement, a thick beam slammed into him, and he let out an enraged roar.

I involuntarily leaned forward. Ah, Gazer-kun!

"That dragon can use clone magic?! That's cheating!"

"No, those are illusions created by the Illusion Mage."

"The Illusion... who?"

"A mage from the Tokyo Witches' Assembly. You know, the invisible person."

"I see...?"

I had never heard of them, but apparently there was someone like that in the modern era.

That made sense. Some Transcendents had left because of their lifespans, while new Transcendents had been born. The members of the Tokyo Witches' Assembly had probably changed as well.

Wait, if they created illusions of Tiamat, didn't that mean humanity was siding with Tiamat?

What exactly was going on over there?

As a member of the Gazer-kun Support Squad, I wanted to complain about humanity taking Tiamat's side, but I didn't have the nerve to lodge a complaint with the tense-looking mage unit. They seemed busy inspecting cannons, magic circles, ingots of magical metal, and the like.

Unable to complain, I instead listened closely to the conversation between stern-faced Hiyori and someone who looked important.

"――――An emergency deployment of a prototype biological weapon? Who said anything about that?"

"Dr. Ashizawa of the monster research corporation Kranom. He said they deployed a Class 1 monster under development to deal with the terrifying threat that appeared in the city center."

"That's a lie. I received information from another Kranom employee, separately from that doctor, and their stories do not match. According to my source, the truth is the opposite."

"The opposite, sir?"

"Tiamat is the attacker. Gazer is intercepting Tiamat to protect Tokyo. Kranom appears to be trying to evade responsibility for Tiamat's rampage, which resulted from their own failure to manage it properly."

"...Are you certain?"

"Verify the information yourself. Given the circumstances, I will prioritize killing Tiamat. I will not touch Gazer as long as he does not go on a rampage. Have the Illusion Mage withdraw. I do not want them caught in the crossfire."

"Hmm... Understood. Sergeant Tsukishiro! Contact the Illusion Mage! Tell them to withdraw! The Blue Witch is moving!"

The communications operator, surrounded by eye familiars, nodded at the important man's order and relayed it. Hiyori began loosening her legs with squats and forward stretches.

If Hiyori entered the battle, the kaiju fight would be over.

Well, this wasn't an entertainment show. Even if I wanted to watch a little longer, it would obviously be a bad idea to say so aloud.

I turned my eyes back to the battle, wanting to burn the sight of this rarely seen kaiju fight into my memory. Just then, Gazer-kun, who had gotten above Tiamat, bundled together his six remaining tentacles and fired an aurora-like rainbow beam at the four-headed dragon.

However, Tiamat vanished like an illusion when the beam pierced it. The real Tiamat, which had been invisible, appeared in its place and fired a powerful golden beam into Gazer-kun.

Thanks to the Illusion Mage's bad assist—helping the enemy despite the mistaken report—the direct hit sent Gazer-kun flying. He bounced across the surface of the sea and crashed into a large warehouse in the coastal area.

Gazer-kun was bleeding from his entire body, struggling weakly as he deflated.

"Aah...!"

Monster-kun leaned forward and let out a heartbroken cry, as if he himself had been attacked.

This was bad. Gazer-kun was in trouble!

"Hiyori, hurry! Hurry!"

"Leave it to me."

When I waved my arm to urge her on, Hiyori nodded and dashed forward like a bullet.

No, she might have been faster than a bullet.

Hiyori leaped from the rooftop and raced through the air, producing a sonic boom as she rapidly closed the distance to Tiamat.

Fast! Far too fast.

The members of the mage unit could do nothing but stop working, gape with their mouths half open, and stare wide-eyed as she passed.

Monster-kun said in stunned disbelief,

"Impossible. She's creating a path out of magic power...?!"

"Is that impressive?"

"I-it is a divine feat. The movement of her magic power is completely different from incantation magic. What is she doing? I can only understand that it is beyond human comprehension!"

Unlike Monster-kun, who looked so shocked that his eyes seemed ready to pop out of his kappa mask, I couldn't see the movement of magic power. However, I understood what she was doing.

Hiyori was creating a path through the air with silent-cast magic, applying tremendous self-enhancement, and racing at the speed of sound.

I had always thought my girlfriend was amazing, but apparently, to someone capable of controlling magic power, she looked not merely amazing but divine.

Hiyori, apparently you are allowed to call yourself a magic god now.

Hiyori, who was in the process of surpassing even the Transcendents, closed the distance between them in little more than ten seconds. Looking smaller than a grain of rice, she charged into the hundred-meter-class golden dragon and drove it away from the coast with repeated violent shock waves.

Tiamat's enraged golden beam was reflected by a gigantic circular shield like a mirror, scorching Tiamat's body.

Unable to withstand it, Tiamat flapped its wings and climbed higher to regain its balance, but the sea directly beneath it began freezing white.

Recognizing the familiar sign, I shouted,

"Go, Hiyori! Finish it!"

As though responding to my cheer, a single white beam shot up from the sea.

The white beam was far thinner than Tiamat's or Gazer-kun's beams.

However, it was the grand magic favored by the Blue Witch.

Pierced in midair by Grand Glacial Magic, Tiamat was killed instantly with its wings spread wide. It froze and became a beautiful golden statue of a four-headed dragon.

The enormous ice statue lost the power keeping it aloft and fell. It broke through the sea ice and plunged into the water, sending an enormous column of water surging high into the sky.

With the rainbow painted in the sky by that column of water and the thunderous cheers rising from the command post, the kaiju battle came to an end.