Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

Even on the wall next to the dead end, monsters began to climb up, looking down at them menacingly.

With his escape route blocked and even the hope of climbing over the wall cut off, Ito Reita's face turned ashen.

He was very clear about the strength of these monsters that had appeared. Although the big shot in front of him could wipe them out with a single finger, it was hard to say what would happen if their numbers increased.

The companions who had previously teamed up with him were able to kill their opponents in one-on-one combat without getting hurt, but they were still knocked down and dragged away when surrounded.

Their strength lies not only in their ability to use siege formations to fight off opponents, but also in their unique abilities. When they gather together, each individual can draw powerful energy from those around them. The more numerous they are, the more powerful they become.

A single fireball, or even a military-grade weapon, could easily injure them. Ten or more became impervious to bullets and blades, even spells were ineffective against them. And to wipe them out was a group of thirty. Back then, these monsters still possessed a bloodthirsty ranged attack ability.

There were more than forty monsters gathered here that he could see with his naked eye, and his keen senses could hear the footsteps rushing in from afar.

Fifty? One hundred?

Ito Reita was somewhat dejected. The monster's commander had once arrogantly told them that once they gathered a hundred of them, their power would reach a near-qualitative level, making them capable of easily defeating a small army fully equipped with modern firepower in a direct confrontation. Even awakened individuals with special abilities would be defeated by them.

Fujimaru Ritsuka had no idea what Ito Reita was thinking. The reason he didn't leave was not only because he was skilled and daring, but also because he had another idea—who gave you the guts to cause trouble on my turf?

Therefore, he happily and without any scruples used Ito Reita as bait, wanting to lure the guy who was following behind.

Unfortunately, it seems the mastermind behind it all didn't come; only these cunning monsters with beast-like savagery were present.

"Okay... I'll move around a bit. Even though I haven't eaten much, I still need to warm up and get some exercise."

Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to step forward when she was blocked by a holy spear.

"Uh?"

“I haven’t had a proper chance to fight since I woke up, so let me do it. By the way,” Artoria glanced at him, “I’ve eaten quite a lot, after all.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka was speechless. "I just mentioned it casually. I didn't mean to complain that you eat too much. My lady, don't take it seriously."

However, seeing that she was still in the middle of something exciting, I couldn't stop her, so I had to give up my seat.

Artoria snorted and slowly walked forward, holding the Holy Lance.

"You can't win, you stupid guy. Why don't you go into battle with your girlfriend? At least you can die together that way."

Hearing the dejected voice beside her, Fujimaru Ritsuka turned to look at Ito Reita and thought to herself, "This guy is quite pragmatic. As soon as he saw that the other party was powerful, he immediately dropped the title of 'commander'."

He curled his lip dismissively: "Come on, uncles, you can't win because you're bad at the game."

"Say whatever you want...we're all going to die anyway." Ito buried his head in his knees, not wanting to see what was about to happen.

The sight of the beautiful woman being torn to pieces didn't evoke any feelings of sympathy in him; he simply didn't want to see the monster tear the despicable couple apart and then pounce on him.

But after he lowered his head for a while, he still didn't hear any sounds of fighting.

What was going on? He looked up in confusion and saw only the beautiful blonde woman approaching step by step, while the monsters kept retreating.

"W-What's going on? Could it be..." Ito Reita suddenly realized and exclaimed excitedly, "Your strength is actually greater than theirs?! Then stop dawdling! They're waiting for reinforcements if they don't retreat! The more they gather, the stronger they'll become. Quickly reduce their numbers while we have the chance."

"Oh? The more there are, the stronger they are?"

Artoria looked on with interest, like a cat spotting a mouse dangling in front of it. Unfortunately, she wasn't Tom, and the other person wasn't Jerry.

Without hesitation, she vanished from her spot, gripping the still-unsealed Holy Lance, and with a baseball-like motion, sent a retreating monster flying.

"Yes! That's it! Wait, why did you stop?!" Ito Reita cheered at first, then looked bewildered.

"Too weak..." Artoria shook her head in disbelief and stopped in her tracks.

Her touch told this battle-hardened king that the little guys in front of him had indeed improved in strength, at least several times stronger than those that Fujimaru Ritsuka could kill with a single finger.

A battle master's eyesight is sufficient to assess the enemy's strength.

But this improvement is still not enough for her.

So she walked into the open street, scanned the monsters that kept surrounding her, and revealed a condescending smile: "You must be even stronger, so that I have something to do with you."

A rustling sound kept ringing out, whether under the streetlights at night or in the darkness. More and more red eyes appeared, so many that they began to make people with trypophobia uncomfortable.

At this point, the monsters finally felt they were ready.

With a deep roar, astonishing changes occurred in the monsters.

Although these monsters move on all fours, to a discerning eye they appear to be, theoretically, mutated humans, with their limbs still retaining some of their original form. However, their skin has been almost completely peeled off, revealing bloody flesh beneath.

However, at this point, they could no longer be considered to have any connection with humans—the muscles of their limbs swelled abnormally, and hair, no, blood vessels, were drawn out from under the muscles and continued to grow, forming a strange outer shell on their bodies.

Even its head began to undergo strange changes, transforming from a hyena-like human head into a chaotic and disgusting shape. Its eyes and eye sockets disappeared, leaving only tiny dots, while its mouth and nose underwent a perverse transformation, turning into a powerful beastly maw with sharp teeth.

Not only that, but they also emitted a strong red light, which mixed with their own kind and then revealed an even more terrifying image above the group.

The monster, sculpted by their red light, was ancient and enormous, exuding a terrifying aura. It seemed to have countless mouths, countless eyes, and countless beastly claws, roaring as if it wanted to devour the dessert before it completely.

Even the lamplight was taken away, and even the darkness was shrouded in crimson.

"It's all over." Ito Reita burst into tears. What is the greatest despair? It is when a terminal cancer patient is overjoyed to hear from the doctor that it was a misdiagnosis, and then the next moment hears that they have been infected with HIV.

But Fujimaru Ritsuka remained completely calm and unfazed. The scene before her seemed impressive, but it wasn't quite there yet. Because Artoria was incredibly strong.

So, Artoria just sighed: "It's all flashy, but... at least it's necessary to unlock the Holy Lance."

Then, the holy spear in his hand broke free from the white, woven-like restraints, revealing its true nature.

That was a pillar of unparalleled glory, an anchor of stars powerful enough to unleash a raging storm that swept across the land.

The dazzling starlight could not be obscured even by the murky red light.

With a mere flick of her wrist, the red light flared up in vain, retreating steadily upon contact with the Holy Lance itself, eventually dissipating to almost no effect.

However, Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned, because the monster chosen as the target of the Holy Lance was only slightly scratched and managed to dodge the attack.

He hissed and gasped, somewhat startled.

Although it was just a casual strike from Artoria, the fact that she managed to dodge a strike aimed at the heart shows that her strength is far superior to that little brat she killed with a single finger.

Fujimaru Ritsuka figured that if she were to go herself, she would probably be exhausted from fighting those hundred or so monsters.

Well, it's already quite remarkable to be able to do this much. Otherwise, why would you want a bicycle?

Artoria was also a little surprised. With her next shot, she took it seriously and finally managed to pierce the opponent's Holy Lance.

However, even after hitting a vital point, the opponent was still futilely brandishing his long holy spear, not yet completely dead.

“This vitality…” Artoria glanced around at the monsters that were closing in with ill intent, and nodded. “Not bad, these evil ones are worth fighting. Well then, I should get serious.”

The next moment, light burst forth.

Countless beams of light rained down from the sky, striking the surrounding monsters with pinpoint accuracy and impaling them all in the ground. The dazzling light completely clashed with and neutralized the murky blood-red light, reducing the monsters to ashes.

Reita Ito's jaw dropped open, and drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Master, translate this: what do you mean by 'surprise'?" Fujimaru Ritsuka patted his shoulder with a smile, completely unsurprised.

Artoria is not like these Awakened Ones. If you had to compare her to Abigail, she's closer to her current state, perhaps even more complete. Her strength is close to 20% of her original peak, far surpassing Abigail's strength, which is less than one-tenth of what it used to be. If it were her, she wouldn't be able to unleash the Holy Lance at full power and recreate a massive landscape, but the claim of destroying a building with a single shot is an underestimation.

So, wiping out the opponent in one go isn't really that difficult. However, he was a little curious about Artoria's assessment of these monsters.

"Hmm, any one of the Awakened members of Chaldea could wipe out this group of guys in a one-on-one fight, or at most suffer minor injuries. But if it were an execution squad, there's a small chance that a squad would be completely wiped out, and they would probably defeat the enemy after suffering casualties."

Artoria, sensing Fujimaru Ritsuka's question, gave a less-than-optimistic answer, but then shrugged: "But this gentleman mentioned that monsters become stronger as their numbers increase. Won't they become weaker after some casualties? Perhaps after withstanding the initial onslaught, killing a few will improve the situation?"

It was only then that she realized she had acted too quickly, resulting in insufficient information gathering.

However, Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't care. Instead, she patted Ito Reita on the shoulder and said with a smile, "So... do you have any news you can tell us? By the way, we are the current leaders of Chiba. On our turf, if you, a former cult remnant, don't have enough useful information, you'll just become a bounty."

Ito Reita raised his hands in surrender: "No! I don't want to go into that dark prison of the Special Affairs Bureau. I have some big news!"

"This wave of monsters was ordered by someone."

"If you're still keeping us in suspense at this point, fine, I'll turn you into a bounty."

Ito Reita, who had initially wanted to bargain, felt a cold object next to his neck and immediately quickened his pace: "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare to play tricks on you. I was being hunted by those beasts from the Seven Deadly Sins Sect, who were planning to capture me as a sacrifice. Those monsters are the result of them secretly capturing and modifying residents!"

161. Don't let me catch you on the shore! (5K3)

"What did you say?"

"Alas!"

Ito Reita screamed as Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. The middle-aged man struggled weakly with his feet dangling in the air.

But Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't care about his feelings and angrily questioned him: "Since I returned from Britain, I haven't received any tips from the Metropolitan Police Department about missing persons cases. The Tojo Clan, which we cooperate with, has also made no response, and even our enforcement teams haven't found any clues. So, Mr. Ito, are you trying to tell me that all three parties are keeping this from me, and that this has something to do with the person who's been tracking you?"

His tone was icy, not because he thought the guy was lying to him, but because of another suspicion: Could it be... that everyone really is hiding something from us? Gin is actually me?

He didn't consider the possibility that those people might have transformed into monsters from outside and brought them into the city.

Just kidding. Although modern cities don't have walls or anything like that, he could vaguely sense the presence of these guys. Could it be that a city as big as Chiba City doesn't have any way to protect its surroundings? Judging from tonight's situation, the people tracking him probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of monsters under their command. Are they just going to transport these monsters in like that?

However, Ito still didn't answer him, but kept struggling, which made Fujimaru Ritsuka even more annoyed, so she grabbed his collar and shook him.

"Fujimaru...you should put him down first. The uniform is choking him, he can't speak," Artoria said helplessly.

Fujimaru Ritsuka paused for a moment before putting him down. Ito Reita coughed several times, greedily inhaling the fresh air like a drowning person.

Having regained his breath, Ito Reita dared not delay, fearing that Fujimaru Ritsuka would attack him again:

“Sir, you are truly brilliant! That’s right. There are often temples and shrines around modern cities that have set up traps and guard against unknown monsters and strange creatures that might invade. There are even similar patrols near the harbor recently.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka hummed in response, her expression unreadable, but she was somewhat relieved. Sasagawa Yagokoro and the others were indeed working hard, so it seemed that the blame couldn't be shifted onto Chaldea.

"But...who says these monsters are the kind of people who would warrant attention after they disappear..."

Ito Reita smiled with a slightly bitter expression: "Sir, you should know about homeless people, right?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka finally realized that it wasn't that the Metropolitan Police Department had completely kept it from Chaldea, nor that his two underlings had concealed it; rather, they simply didn't know the ins and outs of the situation.

"Homeless" is the term used in Japan; in the United States and other Western countries, it is called "vagrant."

They are often homeless people who have lost their social credit, have no job or income, and have no family support. They can only wander alone in various places, barely making ends meet in places such as riverbanks, under bridges, or abandoned buildings.

Strictly speaking, the well-known social phenomenon in Tokyo and other places, [Waiting for God Girls], can actually be considered as homelessness.

There are various reasons for homelessness, and the number that can be roughly counted in Tokyo alone is more than 5000.

In Chiba City, there are actually quite a few people like this, most of whom are caused by Chiba's economic problems. During the bubble economy period, Chiba, as an agricultural, heavy industry and trading center, benefited from the convenience of Chiba Port. Although its economic development was not as good as Tokyo's, it was actually one of the top five areas in the Kinkyo region.

However, with the collapse of the bubble economy under the agreement signed by its American "father," Chiba's heavy industry was severely damaged. Meanwhile, government projects such as the useless and wasteful Chiba-Tokyo Expressway and the Makuhari Messe convention center, which still had 32 billion yen in debt in 2016, consumed a large portion of the local government's budget. Combined with this, Chiba simply lacked the resources to resettle its unemployed and bankrupt citizens. Many lost everything; those with fighting skills were absorbed into the Yazaku (a type of Japanese militia), those with good looks used their bodies as weapons, and those with little value in any aspect became homeless.

These homeless people, because they don't pay taxes, don't buy insurance, have no housing, and have no social connections, can disappear silently without attracting attention. Unless they die violently on the street, they are not considered human by official organizations such as the Metropolitan Police Department.

Even the well-informed East City Gang has difficulty confirming the movement of homeless people.