"I hear there's a party tomorrow at some high-end hotel in the city. They’ve rented out the whole place for a bunch of rich types and big shots. It’s gonna be massive."
"How do you even know about stuff like that, old man?"
"Just shut up and listen to the end. Since the party's so big, they're scrambling for extra security on short notice. They're hiring part-timers."
"A security gig, huh?"
"The pros are handling the important areas. You'll just be patrolling the empty floors at most."
So far, it sounded like a standard short-term gig. But if Masao Shimogaki was calling it a "good deal," there had to be an angle.
"Here's the real talk. Some Dark Matter remnants are planning to raid the place. They're gonna take the VIPs hostage and start making demands."
"What?"
"By remnants, I mean a motley crew of low-level grunts like I used to be. But even grunts are still modified humans created by the organization. I hear there won't be any heroes on site, so they'll probably breeze right through regular security."
"And you want me to help them?"
"Don't be an idiot. I don't care how many hostages they take, there’s no way the plan will actually work. The heroes will just show up later and crush them. Only a moron would go out of their way just to get arrested."
He was essentially calling his former colleagues morons, but I decided to ignore that for a moment.
"Then what? You want me to play looter in the chaos?"
"No, no. What you’re gonna do is much more respectable. Listen, it doesn't matter who it is—just save someone who looks loaded."
I started to see where Shimogaki was going with this.
"Save a rich person and hope for a reward, you mean."
"Exactly. And even if that falls through, you'll probably get hazard pay from the agency. You'll make a decent chunk of change either way. Just take it easy and go."
"Take it easy? Is that what you say to someone you're sending into a literal war zone?"
"What's so dangerous about it? It’s just a bunch of armed combatants. They’ll be a piece of cake for you. Just get out there and make some money."
That had been our conversation yesterday.
In the end, I’d let Shimogaki talk me into it. Now I was at the hotel, dressed in a navy blue security uniform and cap, patrolling my assigned floor alone. Even the guest floors, which should have been occupied, felt eerily silent today.
What kind of party required renting out an entire hotel? Well, if Shimogaki was right, the place was about to be raided anyway.
"I guess I’ll just do my best to make sure no one dies."
Since I was already here, I figured I might as well try to save as many people as I could. Knowing an attack was coming and letting people die would be beyond "awkward."
That said, if the attackers' goal was taking hostages, they probably wouldn't start killing people indiscriminately.
About an hour into the party, a sudden, heavy premonition washed over me. The next instant—
Boom!
A roar loud enough to rattle my eardrums shook the building. Then came more—boom, boom!—a rapid succession of blasts that made the floor sway beneath my feet.
A shrill, ear-piercing fire alarm began to wail, signaling a building-wide emergency.
"This isn't what you told me, old man...!"
The plan was supposed to be a simple raid and hostage situation. Nobody mentioned anything about bombs. This wasn't just a heist; it was a terrorist attack aimed at total destruction.
With the explosions and the spreading fire, there was no telling when the building might collapse. I sprinted toward the emergency stairs, aiming for the top floor where the party was being held.
"Cough... the fire's spreading faster than I thought!"
I raced up the stairs, but the upper levels were already engulfed in flames.
"Factor Release: Water Flow Kaijin Bakusui."
I stirred the Kaijin Factor dwelling within my body, manifesting a massive sphere of water in my right hand. I blasted a torrential stream into the inferno, drenching the flames and carving a path through to my destination.
I dashed up the remaining steps and reached the target floor.
"Cough, cough...!"
When I burst through the door, the smoke and heat were far worse than in the stairwell.
"Is anyone here?! Anyone?!"
"Y-You're..."
As I moved through the haze, a man in a black suit and sunglasses emerged from a nearby room. He was clearly one of the SP guards assigned to the VIPs.
"A security guard? How did you get up here? The stairs were supposed to be blocked by the fire."
"I managed to clear a path. You can evacuate everyone down the stairs now."
"Is that true?! Thank god. We can get them out."
Looking past him, I saw about a dozen people—men in expensive suits and women in elegant dresses—huddled on the floor, covering their mouths.
"Let’s move, fast. They look like they're at their limit."
"I want to, but the problem is—"
"Found you!"
A voice cut through the air. Two men wearing black full-face helmets and armored tactical gear—Battle Suits—came charging toward us, guns leveled.
There was no mistaking them. Those were the outfits of the Dark Matter combatants Shimogaki had described.
"Crap...! They found us...!!"
I realized then that the group had been hiding here to evade their pursuers. The SP drew his handgun, but he was no match for armored combatants carrying submachine guns.
"Factor Release: Superstrength Kaijin Muscular...!"
I activated the Kaijin Factor under my breath. My muscles surged with unnatural power, and I launched myself forward.
Before the combatants could even aim, I closed the distance in a blur.
"Wh—"
"Hmph!"
My right arm, bolstered by overwhelming strength, slammed into the first combatant's chest protector. The armor shattered, and he was hurled backward, unconscious before he hit the ground.
"You bastard!"
"Too slow!"
I was already on the second man. At this range, my fist was faster than his trigger finger.
"Gah...!?"
I drove my left fist home, easily knocking the second combatant out.
"Now then, let's get everyone moving."
"A-Ah, right. Man, you're incredible."
"Ah, haha... the truth is, I used to train to be a hero."
"I see. That explains it."
He actually bought the half-baked excuse. With the immediate threat handled, I began ushering the survivors toward the emergency stairs.
"Is this everyone?"
"Actually..." The SP’s expression remained grim despite the rescue.
"Don't tell me... are there still people upstairs?"
"Yeah. A few were taken. One of the girls even volunteered to be a decoy so the rest of us could slip away."
"I see. I'll head up. You take the others and get them to safety. And make sure you call for backup."
"Got it. You be careful. No matter how strong you are, these are terrorists. There's no telling what they've got planned."
Leaving the group in the SP's hands, I climbed to the floor above. It was even worse here—gaping holes in the walls suggested this was one of the blast zones.
Since the leaders of the raid were likely on this level, I began my search, keeping my presence masked.
"The smoke is brutal...!"
My modified body allowed me to breathe in this environment, but an ordinary person wouldn't last long. I had to find them now.
"Running out of time. Factor Release: Music Kaijin Mike Jackhorn."
I activated the factor that manipulated sound, heightening my hearing to pick up the smallest vibrations. From a room further down the hall, I caught the faint sound of muffled sobbing.
They were alive. But the situation was clearly dire.
I reached the room, but the door was locked tight. For a Kaijin, however, a locked door was barely an inconvenience. I shattered it with a single kick.
"Are you okay?!"
"Mmmph! Mmm!"
Inside, five people—men and women—were bound hand and foot on the floor. A single combatant stood over them.
"Who—"
The combatant reached for his weapon, but I was faster. I grabbed the barrel of his gun, jerking it toward the ceiling, and slammed my free hand into his gut. I funneled a concentrated burst of sound directly into his body, instantly short-circuiting his consciousness.
"I’m here to help."
"Cough, cough... thank you... we're saved..."
I tore away their gags and used a knife taken from the unconscious combatant to slice through their restraints. Within minutes, they were all free.
"Let's get out of here. The stairs should still be clear."
"Wait! Please!"
Before we could move, a young girl—maybe sixteen, a year younger than me—tripped toward me.
"Please! Do you know where my senpai is?!"
"Your senpai?"
"She's my senior... she said she'd be the hostage to protect us! They took her away...!!"
"Tsk. So that's it."
The reason they’d left these five unguarded in a locked room was that the "senpai" was a far more valuable hostage. The situation was unfolding nothing like the simple raid Shimogaki had described. I had a sickening feeling that "hostage demands" weren't the only thing on the menu.
"...But still."
I couldn't just leave these five here. The smoke on this floor was reaching lethal levels, and the fire could cut off the stairs at any second. I didn't know how many enemies were left or where they were.
I wanted to save the girl's senpai.
But I couldn't gamble with the lives of the people right in front of me.
Two choices. And no time to weigh them. Both the flames and the enemies were closing in.