Chapter 98 - Heavenly Aloha truth.

(Drako's POV)

The person who had eliminated the Utsusemi was none other than Lavinia. She had given me a KS all over my face, something I didn't think I would say once I came into this world.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"You were taking too long, so I came looking for you. Who knows, something bad might have happened to you, Dra-kun."

Lavinia dressed in a witch's costume is so cuuuuteee...

...…

"Enter inside."

It was late at night when we got back to the apartment.

Tobio still seemed a little lost, so we guided him into the apartment. Two people were waiting in the living room.

One of them is Natsume Minagawa, while the other...

"Drako-nyaa!"

It's none other than Kuroka.

She jumps at the sight of me and would have thrown me to the ground if not for my supernatural strength.

"What are you doing, Kuroka?"

"Recharging my Drakonians energies."

I think it's best not to comment on any of this.

While I have Kuroka hugging me, with her legs wrapped around my back, I introduce Tobio to the rest.

"The blonde girl with the witch's cosplay is Lavinia, and the beautiful student over there is Natsume. You and Natsume went to the same school, but I'm not sure if you knew each other or not."

Tobio and Natsume's left to right head shake tells me they didn't know each other.

"Well, the lazy cat girl's name is Kuroka. Don't pay too much attention to her, she's just stupid."

Tobio nods seriously, which almost makes me laugh. Kuroka, on the other hand, sticks her teeth into my neck in revenge for calling her stupid.

"I'm not stupid, you're the stupid one."

What I was saying, she's a brainless idiot.

Meanwhile, Lavinia and Natsume lean slightly towards Tobio as they say a "Please take care of me."

Are you two in sync?

"By the way, where are the missing ones?"

"Shark has gone home, although we tried to keep him from leaving, after the fight with Valina. He said, "I don't need your protection," and left. Valina and Raynare have returned to Grigori as Azazel has called them both. Actually, he had called you, but since you weren't there, Raynare went in your place."

So the Governor-General wanted to talk to me. I guess it was to make a report on what happened.

"Speaking of the king of Rome, though I think it's better to say queen in this case."

The elevator, which connected Grigori to the apartment, opened, and Raynare entered the apartment.

"I'm back, and I have news!"

Raynare rushed into the room and practically ignored us all as she inserted a DVD into her respective player.

"What is that-nyaa?"

You know curiosity kills the cat.

"It's something Azazel-sama gave me to show the students. A pity that Kouki is not here, this also interests him. Ah, you must be Tobio, I'm Raynare. Now, let's see the video!"

Raynare hits play.

We all start watching the video that appears on the TV screen.

The Heavenly of Aloha incident--.

The luxury liner that Natsume and Tobio were supposed to have boarded. It had sunk along with their classmates, this ship with a 'divine' name. Although the video had no sound, both students showed a complicated look. Both have been suffering these two months, carrying a mental wound from the loss of their classmates.

The video changed. What the screen now showed, it was somewhere in a city environment. In the video, similar to those taken with a home video camera, a group of young men and women were shown.

"Is that… Yada? Kojima?"

Tobio seemed to recognize the people in the video. Which means that the people shown in the videos were the alumni of that school.

Groups of young people were shown successively. There where many faces that both students recognized. Images of young people were shown successively without pause. It was not fifty or a hundred, there were more.

The video was showing people that Tobio and Natsume, until a moment ago, had believed their whereabouts to be unknown. However, the time stamp on the video was a digital number indicating a period in June just half a month ago…

The two-hundred thirty-three Ryoukuu high school sophomores still said to be missing. In reality, the chances of survival were practically non-existent. But, on the video in front of me, everyone whose whereabouts was unknown was alive and active.

Half a month ago...

Azazel knew more than he taught me. That bastard...

I held back from insulting the Governor-General as we continued to watch the video.

Natsume and Tobio are showing different faces as the video progresses. Still, there is one that I recognize above the others.

They are hopeful.

Yeah, I've noticed the same one they have. There's a chance their closest friends are still alive. The Utsusemi Agency may still be keeping the students alive.

One of the male classmates was shown on the screen. There was a monster like a crocodile at his side. From the monster's mouth, a tongue languidly extended. ...No, it was a tentacle.

Other classmates were shown on the screen leading a variety of different monsters. Like the frog, spider, snake, and lizard he had just met... Some looked like huge insects such as moths and mantises. There were ominous monsters whose size was impossible to determine, and also those with distorted appearances. They were monsters, almost like those out of movies and games.

They were stretching their tentacle-like tongues, seizing a live pig. While the video had no sound, the appearance alone was tragic, as the monsters tore up the live pig, and devoured it. Blood was dripping from the edge of the monsters' mouths.

Each and every Utsusemi was a hideous monster with a very long tongue. And all the humans who accompanied them were nothing but artificial humans, failed attempts at homunculus.

More of these Utsusemis were shown.

These creatures, they were monsters with frightening special abilities and high physical capabilities. For a petty attack, it would not be possible to cut the flesh beneath the skin. Even if it was cut, their uncommon resilience would allow them to seal the wound immediately.

For defeat, the nucleus or the head must be destroyed. It seems the nucleus is in the position which for a human would be called the heart. Their weaknesses were fundamentally no different than other living things. However, they were much sturdier than ordinary creatures.

When the video stopped, Raynare talk again.

"This video, photographically doc.u.menting the truth of these peculiar roots, has been kept hidden by people like us. By no means is this CG, nor is it acting. They are the Ryoukuu high school sophomores who went missing in the maritime disaster. Your classmates. And now, they are controlling genuine monsters. Paired with their monster, they apparently are named——Utsusemi."

Raynare said so indifferently, it seems that Azazel has explained her a little bit.

Lavinia continued.

"By Utsusemi, we mean things like imitations created by a certain organization existing in this country, people with artificial supernatural abilities——they would be categorized as something like Inou Tsukai (Special ability users). They are being manipulated by the organization."