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The Rising of Tanaka – 54 Part 1

Pasifista

That Person… Has Gone And Evolved…

　Sacred Mountain Chocoboro – The village of the White Wolf Tribe at the foot of the mountain. With the warrior of the White Wolf tribe, Black Mikeneko as the lead, team Tanaka was guided to the village. They were usually one lively bunch, but at the moment no one was letting out even a word as they made their way through the village. That was inevitable, however, as the place was in such a disastrous state that it seemed closer to an abandoned village than a village.

　The wooden buildings they had been seeing. All of them looked as if they had been torn down. Some of the worst ones had even turned into nothing but piles of charcoal, as though after a fire. Along with the plants that had been growing there, the small fields were trampled and were unlikely to yield any harvest. And then, the fenced-in vacant lot, where livestock was supposed to be raised, was submerged in silence with nothing moving there.

　Finally, a decent building appeared in front of team Tanaka, who had been walking in a daze. Nonetheless, the building was covered in repair works, and was in a state that looked more like it had only been kept standing while maintaining its shape.

「I’m terribly sorry, but this is the only place we can rest properly right now.」

　They were at a loss for how to react to it. However, as expected they couldn’t simply grandly ignore it just like that either. So Tanaka made up his mind and tried to ask him.

「Well, you know. What’s going on here? Is there no one else here?」

「… That’s….」

　–It all started about three years ago. Employing the policy of increasing kingdom prosperity and military power, the Purin Kingdom began to set their eyes on the sacred mountain Chocoboro. To the greed-smeared big shots of this kingdom, this mountain, with the mineral and forest resources that lay dormant within, must have looked like a treasure trove. In particular, the mineral deposits, of which there were few production areas in the kingdom, must have looked no different than a tree of gold which they wanted so badly to the point that arm might protrude out of their throat.

　They wished nothing but to act as soon as possible the moment they laid their eyes on it. Should they fail, the only setback would be their rivals, the other big shots, obtaining it ahead of them. That was surely the only thought that crossed their minds. Thinking nothing but to be ahead of their rivals, they hired workers and hurriedly dispatched them to the sacred mountain.

　However, their plan ended up in failure. In contrast to their expectations, no one managed to get their hands on the treasure. The reason for this was the existence of the guardian of the mountain, the White Wolf Tribe. Every time the workers they hired tried to enter the mountain, they were all driven away and could not even step into it properly.

　There was no way that these greedy people would give up after such an outcome. What they did next was to dispatch a proper army. No matter how brave and courageous the White Wolf tribe was, they were still powerless in front of the overwhelming number of kingdom soldiers. It was only a matter of time before the obstacle known was the White Wolf Tribe to disappear. When they received the initial report, the big shots floated smiles of satisfaction and immediately began to count the chickens before they were even hatched.

　However, once again, their plan fell apart. As the kingdom army managed to drive the White Wolf tribe away, the spirit, the overseer of the sacred mountain of Chocoboro, stood in their way. In the face of such a supernatural being, even their overwhelming numbers were rendered meaningless, the army was thus defeated. Faced with such an outcome, as expected even those greedy people had no choice but to back down.

　Hence, their peaceful life finally returned. Just as the White Wolf tribe returned to their normal lives and were about to forget about the previous battle by busying themselves with the post-war period, it happened. A light descended on the sacred mountain of Chocoboro. With fluttering pure white wings on the back. A huge blood-like red lance in hand. The divinely beautiful figure that had descended from the sky forced them to recognize it. The fact that the figure was on the same level as, if not higher than, the spirit of the sacred mountain of Chocoboro. And the White Wolf Tribe could do nothing but watch. The clash between two supernatural beings–.

「Somehow, it kinda reminds me of a certain someone-degozaru….」

「Yeah, it must be that apostle.」

　Listening up to this point, Suke-san and Kaku-san interjected. Whether they wanted it or not, they had no choice but to recall about the matter. An entity that hunted spirits. The strongest existence among everyone they had ever encountered thus far. By the way, this was a statistic that excluded the select three existences over there.

「Are you aware of that person?」

「Yeah, my fated enemy. We’d once had a clash before.」

「What the!」

　The enemy of his former master. Reminded of said enemy, Kaku-san made no effort to hide his displeasure at all. On the other hand, Black Mikeneko was surprised by the spirit and his comrades who had fought against that supernatural enemy yet still safely appeared in front of him. There, Tanaka, who had been listening in silence up to that point, finally opened his mouth.

「At that time, we were lucky to somehow manage to escape thanks to that mysterious explosion, but there’s no guarantee that we will be that lucky the next time we encounter each other again….」

「What do you mean by that-degozaru?」

　Suke-san wondered. For sure the same went for Kaku-san. That battle, and then that explosion. Even for that apostle who boasted such an enormous amount of power, it was unlikely for her to survive through it. So for the two of them, the battle against that apostle was already as good as over.

「You know that I went undercover into the metropolis the other day, right? At that time, we encountered each other again….」

「Say what? You met that person again?」

　Tanaka recalled. About that terrifying figure–.

「That person… has gone and evolved…..」

　The ultimate life form, the one who devoured everything – All Biter. It may no longer be an existence that could be called an apostle. However, what was certain was that it was an opponent that Team Tanaka would never see eye to eye with. Also, about how much of a fearsome enemy it was.

「Perhaps, the current us won’t be able to defeat it. At the very least, its hidden power. As long as we don’t unravel its secrets, it’s unlikely for us to ever stand a chance against it.」

「No way….」

　Kaku-san was too astonished to say any more words. Hearing Tanaka’s confession, Suke-san also fell into silence. For the two of them, this matter was definitely not something believable. However, the sight of Tanaka in front of them compelled them to believe it. The figure of Tanaka, who was frightened by the unknown existence of the cheat level ability possessed by ‘The strongest monster I came up with’.

　–there, Black Mikeneko, who was kept out of the loop, interjected.

「Umm, may I continue with the story?」