The battle is still ongoing as we pick up, but as you command the party through the fight the Kaibutsu visibly shrinks as it takes damage. It's now only five meters tall at this point, and the smaller it gets, the weaker its resistance becomes. It's still up and kicking though, so the party musters their remaining energy to stop it for good. Gammei is panting hard but says it's almost over. Victom figures there's only a few more cores left to go, so he suggests going full force to crush the monster. Suhail turns to Mokdai and tells him to do it then, but Mokdai protests.
Barrel however tells him it's not the time to be arguing who should finish this and points out Mokdai's best suited to one-shot it at this point. Furlong also asks Mokdai to strike the last blow on the Kaibutsu while the rest of the party keeps it from moving. You tell Mokdai that things are ready to go and that you guys should go with this course of action. Akashi also encourages Mokdai to go for it and offers to act as a stepping stone to help him jump up. Mokdai gives in to everyone's arguments, then yells as he runs forward.
Mokdai leaps high into the air with Akashi's assistance, then concentrates all his strength into his hands as he yells out Shining Finger his finisher. The impact of the punch goes through the Kaibutsu's body and causes the ground to crack and tremble. The shattering of the remaining cores echo out, and the monster roars its death cries before disappearing into light. Mokdai ends up faceplanting into the ground, and when he pushes himself up he asks if he did it. A moment of silence falls over the ruined city, and then you declare that the live is over and thank everyone for their work, and Akashi cheers.
The rest of the party follows suit in celebrating the win. Barrel starts complimenting Mokdai for being cool and amazing. Furlong says the from way he moved in the battle, you wouldn't think that Mokdai literally only just started fighting. Mokdai is a little embarrassed at the praise but laughs, pleased. Victom gives an amused snort, and Suhail laughs that Mokdai got all the good parts this battle.
Gammei points out that he looks pretty happy for someone who's apparently complaining, so Suhail says he's not someone who's bothered by anything. He didn't get to beat down the monster with his own hands, but he still got to see something interesting out of the whole ordeal, so that's good enough for him. Gammei doesn't prod any further on the subject, and Suhail decides to ask if he's not going to try to arrest him now with the crisis at hand dealt with.
Gammei says it'd be a huge mess of things if he had to get both an arrest warrant and a letter of thanks for Suhail at the same time. He decides to let him go for today as thanks for helping out against the Kaibutsu attack, then prompts him to leave. Suhail is surprised and asks if he's okay with that, especially given his police detective position. Gammei says he's going to get him next time if he decides to start something in the area, and he softens up and smiles a little as he says it wouldn't be any fun if Suhail just let himself be arrested at this point.
Suhail starts cackling after a moment and says Gammei gets it. He says he likes people like him, even if they are enemies. Gammei responds that he hates him though. As the others jostle with the new hero Mokdai and laugh, the curtain draws to a close on this Kaibutsu attack and the wide scale destruction it wrought.
The next day, we tune in on the central district as unseen rescue workers talk to one another about another ambulance coming in and loading them up. The local general hospitals are filled up, so now casualties are being sent to the eastern ward now. Soldiers are directing evacuation efforts, and one expresses amazement that for all the damage that's been caused, no one actually died in the course of things.
Some news crew starts reporting on the scene about how the firefighters, city police, and international army is all working together to provide aid for the city. Evacuation orders have been sent throughout the central ward, and miraculously no fatalities have occurred. That said, there's still widespread damage to the area, and the police is launching a special investigation into suspects related to this incident.
Now that the battle is over, the sky is bright and the city is starting its reconstruction efforts. Raidark is lousy with police officers, fire fighters, and soldiers milling around the place, and you are walking around looking for someone among all that rubble. It doesn't take too long for you to find Mokdai sitting on a bench in a clearer part of the area, spacing out as he stares at the damage. You call out to him and talk to him, and when Mokdai registers your presence he asks you what's up.
You tell Mokdai it's almost time to head back to the agency and tell him Akashi is looking for him too. Mokdai is still a bit preoccupied as he goes 'oh, okay,' sighing sadly at the wreckage. He eventually comments that he couldn't save the place that was supporting those kids' livings, Raidark. It's because of this corporation that the orphans' lives are supported, and now its in the dirt. Mokdai says he's not an orphan himself, but he was a refugee once so he knows how anxious it feels to be living like those children. It's why he wanted to protect the place.
You express some concern for Modkai or stay silent, and Mokdai talks about how he saved the city but failed to protect parts of it. He wonders what's going to happen to the children now when a sudden voice tells him he doesn't really need to beat himself up like that. Mokdai is surprised as he recognizes the voice, and Huckle walks up to greet the two of you. You either take note of his presence or ask Huckle to make you feel better since you were scared when you got kidnapped. B gets an extra bit where Huckle is surprised at you throwing yourself at him (I guess), but he laughs at you being an attention seeker and obliges with a headpat.
Anyways, Huckle tells you guys about something that just came up on the news. Another one of Raidark's main offices on Mars held an emergency conference and have announced a decision in regards to the Earth main office. They will be cooperating with their other branches and the monster attack insurance policies to start rebuilding the Earth office using their own funds. Also while this is going on, Raidark Mars will be working with the Japanese government to give their full support to the refugee social services for Earth and nearby planets.
Mokdai is surprised at the news and asks if that's true. Huckle is surprised in turn as he says there'd be no point in lying about it since it's not a huge deal for a company as big as Raidark to be doing all this. They have the assets to fix things up even if the Earth main office got blown up to hell. Huckle then tells Mokdai that the children he saved are here now too. He gestures with his eyes behind him, and there you see the kids from the other day who were trying to fundraise for their orphanage.
Mokdai is taken aback to see them, and you ask the kids why they're there. The kids start talking about how they saw your battle live and cheered for you all. And now that the Kaibutsu is gone, they came to thank you for stopping it. Huckle says he ran into them on his way over here while they were glued to the screen with the livestream. When he talked with them, he found out that you guys saved them earlier. And then when he told them he was your boss, they asked if they could meet with you to thank you guys in person, and now they're here.
Mokdai is touched as the kids start bustling up around him. They start gushing about how cool he is and talk about him being a hero. One is impressed with his punching and asks him to show them how he did it. Another goes on about how they all cheered for you guys and how you guys won after that. Some other kid says Mokdai was so cool and thanks him for saving the city. Mokdai thanks the kids and starts to cry a little, and you're happy for him as you say he's already a cool hero for these children. He thanks them again as he nods some more, happy to have become a hero for them as big fat tears fall down his face. And then he smiles, amidst all their admiration.
Time skips later on to after you've gone back to the agency and filled out some reports and paperwork, after which you leave for the day. You've decided to take several paid days off on Huckle's recommendation. You sigh about how tired you are and wonder what you'll do with your time, but for now you just want to go to bed. You head over to the train station, and you pass by some dark alleyway nearby, where some guy staggers out and walks towards you.
The guy says nothing, and you ask in alarm as to who he is. The mob eventually says you've finally come and asks if you were the Observer that was in the background of the camera. He gets threatening as he starts rambling about how it should have been him standing where you were in the situation he set up. You are confused to what he means, and the mob starts talking about luring Kaibutsu over using bait and feeding his workplace's coworkers to them. HE was going to be the Operator for the heroes who'd show up so he could display his abilities to the world. Then he'd quit his shitty workplace and live a new life as an Operator. It was HIS plan, and you ruined it for him. You hijacked it!
You get more alarmed as you ask what he's talking about, ask if he's the true mastermind behind this incident, or ask about him bringing Kaibutsu over. The mob seems too deranged to actually listen to you, and he pulls out a knife with the full intention of stabbing you with it. He rambles about how it doesn't matter anymore. He only meant to get one or two monsters, except he lost control and brought out a ton of the things. That was where his plan went awry, so he says it doesn't matter anymore. He'll be arrested soon enough, whether the cops do it or the heroes do it. But if nothing else, he'll at least kill you. It'S aLl YoUr FaUlt! He charges at you, and you yell for help as your throw your arms up to defend yourself.
A voice calls out and calls the mob truly terrible as an Observer. The mob turns to look and sees Exio in shock, but before he can get the full name out, he yells as a small Kaibutsu jumps at him and eats him. You are shocked by this turn of events, and when the monster starts to turn to you, a hole of utter darkness opens up beneath it, where it drops in before both disappear from view. You express horror at the monster disappearing while still haven eaten the guy and you try to ask what just happened.
Exio reveals himself at this point, sighing about how little the mob was capable of in the end. He never expected anything of him and yet he's still feeling like he overestimated him. Exio then turns to you and comments about the danger you were in, calling you by name. You either recognize him or demand to know who he is. In A, Exio is happy that you remember him. In B, Exio gives his name and says he knows about you because reasons.
Anyways, Exio asks you to not tell anyone what you saw just now. Then again, he admits that no one is going to remember the mob anymore. The police, everyone who knew him, anyone else, all of them have forgotten about him now. You ask Exio about what he did. Exio is surprised by the question until he realizes that you don't actually know how to use your ability in this way. That said, if you're working as an Operator it'd be better if you didn't know how to do that. He explains that it's another way of using your Observer power, but he's not going to teach you how. And as much as Exio just erased someone from existence, he's still speaking in a casual way while his eyes look cold.
You are afraid and thank him for helping you, but you start to say something else. You can also choose to call Exio out for erasing a guy, and if you choose C there's an extra bit where Exio is surprised you'd show concern for someone who just tried to hurt you. He comments on how kind you are and admits he thought you'd thank him for saving you. He sighs for a moment to collect his thoughts, then gets back to what he was saying.
Exio namedrops the Broker, and you are shocked he'd know about him. He takes your reaction as confirmation of something and says he figured someone with your level of ability would have met him then smirks to himself. Exio tells you he's met the Broker too, and he mentions about knowing what his true motive is. When you ask him about it, Exio says it's too early for you to know what it is yet and that you should strengthen your ability to use your power. Otherwise, when you do find out what's up you won't be able to do anything. It'd be much too painful for an Observer of your potential to be lost here, so he saved you because he has high hopes for you.
You ask Exio what he's expecting of you exactly. Exio declines to tell
you that now, but he says you can think of him as your enemy. He does
promise that he won't let anyone kill or erase you though. He walks up
to you and raises your head up as he puts a finger to your chin, then
bids you goodbye for now. He's absorbed with looking at your face for a
moment, and when he's done he flips around and walks into the darkness
of the alleyway. You wonder what's up with him or what the Broker's deal
is, but by the time you voice any of your questions, Exio is long gone.
So ends Chapter 2: Green Hope.
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