10. The Event's Seven Toys
In the command room, Captain Hoshizora issued instructions: “Take this seriously; do not let your guard down.”
If both university students were telling the truth, then there were two monsters in the Mist-Blowing Mountain?
Along with the “Witch” in the snowy mountain... was this another triple assault?
As the reality sank in, the members of the Victory Team grasped the gravity of the situation.
Monsters lurked both inside and outside the mountains; this time they would likely face an ambush from multiple beasts.
Saijo Nagi, as the commander, immediately devised a plan: “We must defeat them one by one.”
Kishida said, “Let’s deal with the Witch first. The Flying Swallow One will circle the snowy mountain a few times—I don’t believe it can escape radar scans.”
Everyone agreed. On their way to the Flying Swallow One’s docking point, they encountered Koyuki.
She had fallen into a pit dug by several other children, who pelted her with snow while shouting insults:
“Get out of here, you monster’s child!”
“It’s all your fault! Now fewer tourists come here; my mom’s shop isn’t making money, and I have less allowance!”
Emi immediately stepped forward and drove off the bullies, then helped Koyuki out of the pit, brushing the snow off her coat.
“Are you... are you going after the Witch?” Koyuki asked, her eyes red.
Saijo Nagi crouched down, looked her in the eyes, and said earnestly, “A monster is a monster. It must be eliminated.”
Koyuki shook off Emi’s hand and ran back to the small cottage left to her by the charcoal burner.
On the bed lay a plastic Ultraseven toy the charcoal burner had once bought for her.
“Ultraseven, why is everyone treating us like this? We haven’t done anything wrong. I just want to live peacefully here!”
Koyuki picked up the toy and finally broke down, weeping bitterly.
A tear fell onto Ultraseven’s toy, which trembled faintly.
…………………………
Elsewhere, two Flying Swallow Ones took off, beginning to search for signs of the Witch with their radar.
Emi, seated behind Saijo Nagi in the cockpit, felt uneasy. Hesitating, she spoke:
“That Witch... might be the embodiment of Koyuki’s mother who died fifteen years ago.”
“Perhaps the spirit of that mother still lingers near Koyuki, watching over her, wanting to protect her.”
Yamamoto, in charge of mountain operations, immediately reprimanded: “Stop this nonsense! The Victory Team is scientific—there’s no place for souls or spirits here.”
Saijo Nagi added, “Monsters shouldn’t exist in the human world.”
Emi said nothing. She gazed out at the snowflakes swirling like blades and thought of her own father, her mind drifting far away.
Suddenly, Kishida’s surprised voice rang out: “What’s happening? The snowy mountain is fogging over!”
In the deep, unfathomable mountain, mist spread silently like ghosts, enveloping everything in hazy confusion.
A cold wind swept through, accompanied by a low, eerie howl that stirred unease.
Instruments malfunctioned. Yamamoto reported, “Radar is down—it’s the magnetic fog of Mist-Blowing Mountain!”
Damn it, this thing is coming for us!
Kishida said, “Wait, I think I hear the monster’s roar that Squad Member Qi Ming mentioned.”
Saijo Nagi’s tone shifted: “Something’s moving in the fog!”
In the next instant, a massive pincer shot out swiftly from the mist, clawing toward Saijo Nagi’s Flying Swallow One like a hooked talon.
It was Sadra’s Retractable Claw!
Saijo Nagi yanked the control stick upward, narrowly evading the strike.
“There’s another monster!” Taiden burst from the fog, baring claws wildly in a frenzy.
Saijo Nagi said, “Claw-like hands, a flat, round head... So the two university students were telling the truth—they saw different monsters!”
Kishida manipulated the barely functional instruments to scan the two creatures’ exteriors: “They bear burn marks—who did this?”
“Of course, it was me. Otherwise, who else?” Qi Ming’s voice crackled over the comms after a long silence: “Interacting with monsters isn’t so bad. At least monsters are always monsters, but humans are not always human.”
Kishida and Yamamoto immediately knew he was referring to himself but held back their anger.
Seeing the burn marks mostly on the monsters’ eyes and vital areas like the abdomen, Saijo Nagi realized Qi Ming was no ordinary fighter: “Report your situation quickly.”
Qi Ming’s report was blunt: “After hours of guerrilla tactics, they couldn’t handle me, so they fled their territory and moved to the other side of the mountain range.”
Silence fell over the comms channel.
What did Qi Ming’s words mean?
It was like a mosquito buzzing annoyingly in your room, sucking your blood, and despite all your efforts, you couldn’t catch it, so you had to abandon the room.
Who would believe that? Could humans really do that? It had to be an exaggeration!
Emi was somewhat convinced, though. Judging by the monsters’ agitated state, they had clearly endured merciless torment.
Qi Ming said, “Unfortunately, my firepower was insufficient. Even after firing all the bullets from the Victory Hephaestus gun, I couldn’t destroy them. The rest is up to you.”
He refused to transform, hoping the two Flying Swallows could eliminate the two weakened monsters and save his energy.
Yamamoto’s team was still reliable when sane, and Saijo Nagi was the ace pilot.
“You shouldn’t act so recklessly—you should have reported earlier!” Saijo Nagi was both shocked and angry.
Qi Ming’s driving the two monsters into the valley suspected to be the Witch’s lair might ruin their “one by one” strategy.
Hoshizora, listening to the in-team comms, hurried Emi to issue an emergency evacuation notice for nearby villagers.
Qi Ming said, “Sadra is the source of the magnetic fog. That environment makes it impossible for you to contact us.”
He saw this as a good thing because communicating with people of his unusual mindset was more complicated than fighting monsters.
He added, “I checked the locator earlier; the nearest human village isn’t close. Firing here won’t affect civilians.”
Even if they failed, he could still transform into Ultraman as a last resort.
But Saijo Nagi was unaware of this and deeply resented Qi Ming’s unilateral actions disrupting her plans.
Yamamoto and Kishida grasped the seriousness but, faced with a major threat, decided to settle scores later.
At that moment, Qi Ming sped toward the battlefield and asked, “Emi, has anyone else entered Mist-Blowing Mountain recently?”
Emi replied, “No.”
Qi Ming stroked his chin thoughtfully: “That’s strange.”
He now felt a prickling unease, as if something was secretly watching him.
He glanced around; besides mottled tree shadows and occasional unfamiliar bird calls, there was only silence.
Yet whenever he tried to take a step forward, that feeling of being watched returned—like cold tentacles attempting to touch his soul.
The disturbance he had caused seemed to have not only drawn out Taiden but also awakened some ominous presence.