ALL NOVEL Up until now, the invasion of color had begun, but in many ways, the atmosphere was still quiet and calm.
However, I knew it was nothing more than a harbinger. Accordingly, we tried to prepare in our own way, but if you asked if there were any significant gains… well, who knows.
To put it coldly, there wasn’t much we could do, and time kept ticking away.
If it had continued like this, voices might have started to rise everywhere asking, “On what basis did the Student Council President declare a crisis? Nothing’s happening!”
…The truth is that there was no crisis, and it would have been better if the new Student Council President had just ended up causing a huge accident from the start.
Maintaining a state of tension with the thought that something might happen at any moment didn’t feel good for my health.
Kuuwuuung—
That, too, would come to an end from this moment on.
A massive tremor, like an earthquake, struck D.U. From the highest floor of the Student Council building, which had now become my office, I looked out the window and couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
The Sanctum Tower was collapsing.
A grotesque black tower that gave off an ominous aura just by looking at it. As an unknown structure began to replace it, the sky turned red almost in response.
“Mika, there’s been a fluctuation in energy levels—”
Temporarily, Aco, who had become my personal secretary during her time in the Student Council, rushed in, and upon seeing the scene outside, froze in place.
“T-the Sanctum Tower…?”
“…This is a total disaster. Yeah, I didn’t just disappear like someone else. But the Sanctum Tower collapsing entirely is a bit too much… By the way, Aco, could you check if the situation is the same in other places here?”
“Ah, yes!”
While Aco struggled to assess the situation, I took out my phone to contact those I knew but paused.
There was no signal. I couldn’t tell if it was because the Sanctum Tower had collapsed or if it was due to that structure taking its place.
“Uh, Mika, I can’t get through at all… Yeah, it’s completely down?!”
“…Yeah, I just checked too.”
But the important thing right now was that we had completely lost contact with the outside.
“The internal communication network of the Student Council… Ah, this one works. I guess that’s sort of a silver lining.”
The number of members that I needed to communicate with in the Student Council right now was three. Although I’ll be exerting pressure on their subordinates, still.
First on the list is Kaya, the Defense Office Head. I know it’s impossible to coordinate with the Valkyrie Police Academy right away, but the Defense Office still needs to step up.
If necessary, the Defense Office will have to mobilize and get the Valkyries into action, yeah. Kaya is quite capable, so she should have no trouble thinking of what to instruct her subordinates.
Next is Momoka from the Transportation Office. Residents near the Sanctum Tower have already evacuated, but given the outside situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if there was a need to evacuate a larger area.
Moreover, it was painfully obvious that that fierce storm would negatively impact transportation, so I believe some degree of traffic control is necessary.
Especially considering that the most anxious in this situation are the Helmet Gang or the delinquent kids. They might just lose their minds and drive around on bikes, or worse, bring tanks to fan the flames of chaos.
Although it could be argued that these usual delinquents might keep a low profile in situations like this, the price of failing to see that hopeful future is far too terrifying…
Finally, we have Ayumu from the Coordination Office. We need to come up with measures to fill the gap left by the Sanctum Tower.
After all, just earlier this year, the Sanctum Tower had entered an uncontrollable situation, so there must be some strategy prepared or at least a rough sketch.
Normally, I could have given directions through Rin, but since Rin has her hands full right now, I think it’s better that I handle the small stuff myself. Yep.
“Oh. It seems the external communication network is just now being restored.”
Heueng… Fast, huh? Got it, please handle the request I made earlier first.
I decided to finish what I was doing. After issuing directives to Kaya, Momoka, and Ayumu in turn, I quickly organized priorities in my mind.
First off…
“Mika, we received information from the Chief Admin’s side… Something bizarre and monstrous is pouring out from the coordinate of the Sanctum Tower…”
“Wait a second. Do we have forces properly prepared to defend that area?”
“The Valkyrie students have set up a defense line, and I think if SRT heads to the scene immediately, they could somehow prevent the damage from spreading to the outside. However, with only Valkyrie forces, it’s still going to be touch and go…”
“Aah, this is driving me crazy. If it’s like this, there’s no way only our side is in this kind of mess… In that case, cancel those previous orders. First, issue deployment orders to the SRT excluding the RABBIT Squad, and also contact the teacher. Yes, let them know that firearms will be allowed for initial suppression.”
“Understood, I’ll handle it swiftly as instructed.”
…A situation that Mohe would probably enjoy. Normally, she’d be thrilled to launch missiles.
But, unfortunately. The rabbits had already decided to head to Abydos as supported by the higher-ups.
Anyway, I still had plenty of contacts to reach out to. As promised to the previous committee, I need to request troop support from the Millennium. I also needed to contact other Autonomous Districts.
Still, this should count as an initial response to the color invasion, right…?
*
[Mika, you’ll be contacted soon for something important. When that time comes, you must set aside time no matter what.]
Heueng…
After some time calling here and there, people began to gather one by one in the Student Council Meeting Room. With everyone busy, a few kids seemed fatigued during the brief moments of respite.
I’d ask about Seiya’s contact later; for now, we needed to start the meeting.
This time, not just the Student Council, but kids from other academies had also expressed their willingness to participate in the meeting via video call.
By the way, I had asked Valkyrie to take good care of the teacher, but I’m worried if they’re actually doing that. The outside situation feels ominous.
Hmm, but it should be fine with that teacher, right? If a crisis situation occurs, they seem like they’d coordinate with the surrounding delinquents to handle things.
“Student Council President, we’ve just connected with most of the academies that attended the committee.”
“Okay, good. Then… before we start the meeting, let’s all refrain from unnecessary chatter given the circumstances. First and foremost, the current situation of Sanctum Tower. A black tower-shaped structure has fallen in its place, rendering the Sanctum Tower inoperative, and unidentified troops are pouring out from there.”
Hoo, hoo. That’s Peroro.
“…Teacher?”
The image of the teacher wiping the sweat from his brow appeared on the video call. He still boasted a picturesque appearance, which was quite annoying, to be honest. Seriously.
Wait, what do you mean by Peroro all of a sudden? What does that even mean?
“There were grotesque glow-colored Peroro-sized figures spilling out.”
…
Whoa, is this for real? The color invasion sounds totally fake now…
[It sounds like something Hifumi would really enjoy… I can tell what everyone is thinking right now, but those things are stronger than they seem. The Valkyrie students are struggling, so they’ve been helping out, but if it weren’t for SRT’s bombardment and the Gourmet Research Club and Heungsinso coming in time, we would have likely had to pull back the defense line.]
Wait, the Gourmet Research Club? What’s that about——
Oh. It’s lunchtime right now. That means the Gourmet Research Club probably got caught up while trying to have lunch at D.U.
I silently cheered for Haruna in my heart. Anyway, I thought I’d join them after the situation settled down, so I hope they can hold on until then.
As for Heungsinso, they already have their office nearby, so there’s no surprise there. With Saori added to their power, they should be a great help, so this feels reassuring in many ways.
[And Mika, I wanted to tell you something because you should know… someone from Gematria came looking for me.]
“Eh? Wait a second. Who?”
[They introduced themselves as Francis. They said they have something to convey to you. They went on for quite a while, rambling about forgetting all the past stories and how genres are disbanding, so I cut them off and left.]
“Francis… Huh?”
I’ve seen Francis before. The one who replaced Golkont with Dekalcomani… It’s speculated that they were also dyed by color and reversed.
Actually, that wasn’t very important.
According to the original work I know, Gematria is attacked by a Sunaokami who has been tainted by color. And I believe Francis is also one of the results of that.
However, this Sunaokami in this world probably hasn’t been colored, right?
“Hoshino! Where is Sunaokami right now?”
[Uhe? They’re over here fiddling with a drone. Should I call them over?]
“Ah, no. As long as they’re fine, it’s okay.”
Looks like Sunaokami is out. Then… it means that ‘Mika’ is the culprit behind the attack on Gematria.
She was the one fervently spreading the message to not trust Gematria; the motivation for that must be overflowing now. In fact, I wonder if the urge to keep Gematria from dragging her out into the open was the reason she wanted to warn us.
…Well, whatever. That doesn’t seem to be something I need to know right now.
[…Ah. We’ll focus on maintaining the front lines, so please relay the results of the meeting later.]
“Sure, teacher. Now, returning to the main discussion. The black towers have also fallen at the other five coordinates, right?”
The reply I received was uniformly ‘yes.’
They confirmed that Millennium, Trinity, and Abydos had all welcomed the black towers, and information was passed on that enemies were spilling out from there.
“The forces are already in motion, so let’s start analyzing these black towers. Rin, put up the prepared materials.”
“…Yes.”
Since the situation is serious, even when I call her Rin, she doesn’t react.
I can’t help but feel the weight on my shoulders…