Apocalypse Witch: To the Strongests of an Age of Plenty
Episode 21
Part X
Public relations networks and government television and radio broadcasts around the world still seem to be silent, so reporting from commercial broadcasts such as our broadcasts is becoming increasingly important in providing the latest information to all of you.
We hope to provide you with as much detail as possible to allay your worries and fears while helping you see the world as it is.
First of all, there is no new news related to the loss of Problem Solving. We do not receive information or messages relating to them. We decided that it was in itself an important message of any kind.
Your memory of the chaos in London is likely still fresh in memory, but pieces of information we received from emergency medical teams and medical experts show evidence that the chaos was part of a deliberate attack on the Troubleshooters. The host nation of the UK and other G21 nations has not officially confirmed this, but it seems highly likely. For example, can the silence of so many governments really undermine the restrictions on information and allow previously unheard of witness testimony to be heard on social media and elsewhere?
It also raises worrying questions about Miss Elicia Luxverg not making a media appearance since her live interview was broadcast across Southeast Asia.
Were they injured in the fight against the Threat?
Are they the target of something other than a threat?
Or both?
And if it was another human who attacked the Solvers, what was their motive? Solvers can be seen as the foundation of the modern world. You could even call them the five pillars that support our entire life. Why would someone want to take or destroy it?
In the past, we have seen a thunderous attempt to destroy the Threat after being connected to religious motives or passages from the books of prophecy, he said, but such efforts always happen once or briefly and never lead to significant things. The Solutions of Problems are the strongest people in the world, so they have the power to penetrate any plan built against them.
But maybe not always so.
We find that this unidentified Individual X is scarier than the Threat. Whoever he is, might be even stronger than a Problem Solver. In other words, they were completely uncontrollable monsters. Perhaps a monster that even exceeded Threat. As individuals, we want to focus our attention on this Individual X. We will do our best to accurately understand the dangers at hand so that we do not trap you with unnecessary confusion and speculation. Remain your usual self and do not be misled by baseless rumors and fake news. That's the only way to deal real damage to Individual X.
The flat-screen television went silent again.
Crystal Girl Aine threw the remote at her to see how the condition of the arm successfully taped back.
"Hey! Aine!!"
"If the item is damaged, it's fine if I dismantle it and extract the gold from its circuit board, isn't it? It would be a more efficient use for him."
Aine showed no signs of guilt, instead giving strange advice while almost drooling.
They had driven an RV from Finland in Northern Europe to a rural Russian town to escape the chase. The news is more or less the same, no matter where they go. The only difference is the language used.
Disciple Council President Omotesandou Kyouka sighed.
"I guess we end up feeling at home by being crooks."
"What they say, to keep everyone calm, but the script they read clearly makes everyone anxious. In fact, they treat us like cryptics. Not that being seen as a terrorist would be any better" said Amaashi Marika listlessly as she stuck her lips out.
Threats are not important here.
Whether it exists or not, governments must have used information about it to cause anxiety and confusion among the public as well as manipulate public opinion to their liking.
No one believes in Anastasia, The Final Problem Solving.
Doubtful if he'll be back guarding the space elevator.
The heads of state must be confused because they cannot contact him. They want to comment on Problem Solvers. But they cannot cause any more anxiety and confusion and have lost the way to control public opinion. Now that the common people had regained their composure, they must have brought a proper feeling towards the head of state who just sat down and let the Problem Solvers take care of everything. In such a time that it looks as if simultaneously, coordination in the international community could be lost and some governments might even collapse.
Right now, the enemy before their eyes was more important than the Threat they did not know the information about.
However, this is still chaos and some may wail due to this futile mess. The whole city or country can oppose it.
Nevertheless, Utagai Karuta's group could not stop now. With one Problem Solver left, a tropical cave containing 700 Magic Crystals could be found and all of them would be left without being able to live again. Death is no worse than not being able to live. Although they could not speak to 700 more people and there was a seemingly infinite time separating them, they could not allow any further danger to reach Kazamuki Gekiha and the others. They have beaten four Problem Solvers, but they will lose everything if they give up now. They could not save anyone's life if they did not settle this grudge to the end. Not a single life.
“So, what do we know about the last one?” asked Karuta while staring from the sofa.
"Talking about Anastasia Blast means talking about the thing we found from Susannia Evans."
“Hah?” Marika shook her head adorned with two curly hairs while playing scissors-paper-stones with Aine. “I don't remember finding his car or snowmobile or anything else.”
“Oh.”
"With special products, both hardware and software will not be found in the general market and only a few specific places are able to produce it in terms of technology. So that they can lead us to a hiding place that the Problem Solver fully believes in. And investigating the data on the control circuit board is enough to see some pretty typical signs."
Kyouka turned off the lights in the room and operated the remote projector.
A red mark appeared at one point on the world map he displayed on the wall.
In other words...
"Silicon Valley, in the United States. After being reorganized to handle everything from social media to drone factories, the cityscape turns into a strange precision industrial district. One good example is the precision electronic weapons factory owned by Smart Arms, one of the largest international arms companies in the world. That's the most suspicious place. The supply of electricity and food has been destabilized, but the money expenditure continues to run with a staff of about ten thousand people and without using the giant sword factory☆ ”
Karuta almost asked how he could be so unconcerned when they were the ones causing it, but maybe he was too gentle for not actually killing someone.
"I wonder if weapons production is one thing that a multipurpose factory cannot do."
"But, Omotesandou-san, that's where Susannia supplies the parts, so why can we find Anastasia there?" ask Karuta carefully.
"Of course there are no guarantees," agreed Kyouka in the darkness. "However, what if the online flow of money proves that the factory still maintains an unnatural level of security even after Susannia is gone? This is a disadvantage of relying entirely on outside PMCs to avoid military surveillance as much as possible. We know someone other than the original owner is hiding there, and who's the strongest suspect?"
"I think, another Problem Solver will be easy to adjust there. In addition, Anastasia who is in charge of its military infrastructure and global business is located in North America. This is the perfect opportunity for him."
"Yes, very good, Karuta-kun. You got a gold star from me."
Of course, this could be a trap.
The data stream may have been fake to pull out the Karuta group. Just like how wooden huts in Finland were once used.
Marika frowned.
"The arms company cooperates with the whole country, right? If Anastasia was hiding there, would the head of the company report it? Deliver it to the President of the United States or anyone."
Someone may be considering his or her options. Because, this was the last remaining Troubleshooting and a rarer combat power. The company may want the last member to owe them a debt or the White House may want Anastasia just for themselves secretly.
But, in reality, the talks about the US President and the White House have no clear foundation. Karuta spoke carefully while making sure cowardly speculations did not bind their actions.
"In addition, Anastasia is in charge of the global military infrastructure. I don't know exactly what he's doing, but his presence is the key to the local puzzle on the world map. Every country would want to control Anastasia if there was a chance."
There is no way to know where news of his presence was cut, but the factory is still suspicious. Of course, it was also very dangerous.
That way.
Despite that.
"Nothing's gonna change if we don't go there, huh?"
"Despite it being a decoy or a deviation, we'll probably find other clues based on who gave the order and through what channel."
The OSIS president pressed a button on the projector remote to display a photo of Anastasia Blast.
She is a sexy woman with long wavy blonde hair.
Of course, they wanted as much information about him as possible before going against him, but unfortunately nothing could be displayed here.
"Just like Susannia, she doesn't appear in public. We finished off Elicia in a surprise attack when she came out alone, but they waited as a group at the London Summit and Susannia has set a trap in Finland to kill us. ... Yet Anastasia did not appear in any of them."
"So he's very cautious or cowardly."
It was a strange thing to say about Problem Solver, but some people were timid and very powerful. Those people would go crazy and use everything they had to destroy even a bee that approached them. The panic can create loopholes, but they also never lower their alertness or compromise themselves. If someone like that possessed the most powerful strength in the world, they could become even more dangerous than someone who was calmly looking for the optimal solution to their problem.
And what if that person directly controls the world's military infrastructure?
"We will go into the dark against the strongest again" Marika said bitterly while playing with Aine.
At first they thought Sihrapemjaan Lord from Susannia Evans was about mechanization when it was actually about regeneration. If such misunderstandings lead them to make mistakes here, they could be wiped out. Of course, there is an instinct to avoid returning to such a highly stressful situation.
"But we can't stop, can we?"
"No," agreed Karuta while shaking his head. "We have to end this here."