Live A Hero Chapter 4 Episode 10: Invisible Arm

A government official is on air talking about how the whole city is under attack by Monsters and there is an emergency evacuation order being put out. All citizens are asked to please head to their nearest shelter to bunker down in. Out in the streets, the Monsters are screeching and approaching, and some mafia dudes are screaming in terror as they try to escape. They feel that they have no chance against them, so they're abandoning the fight to prioritize their own lives. Mafia Yellow attempts to reprimand them into staying, but he freaks out at the monsters approaching too. A random citizen tells him (or somebody else) to stop standing there until they too freak out about monsters being too close. A child cries, and a lady demands to know why the train station is closed up as she bangs on the door. The people are running scared, as are the heroes with no faith in their abilities. Sirens ring endlessly over the sounds of screams and destruction, and the city is a portrait of hell itself.

The party enters the city around this point, and Ryekie comments on how terrible it is, though he saw it coming. He's aghast that there are heroes running from the battle, but Mokdai sympathizes saying he'd have run too if he wasn't determined to fight. Sui points out that driving is supposed to be prohibited during evacuations, so she asks why people still tried to do so. Akashi points out that they're desperate and panicking, so they're in no shape to keep that in mind. Huckle says it's times like these that people want to pack their things into their car and get as close as they can to where they're going, but there's nothing to be done about that. Crowne still has some parts on her, but she warns the party that she won't be able to do much in repairs so everyone should be careful while battling.

The party pushes forward and through the crowds of panicking people towards the battle zones, and you start seeing the Monster's tentacle crushing buildings left and right and destroying a view you've come to familiarize yourself with. You express your sadness and horror at this, so Monomasa advises you to not look too much at at. He's heard that an Observer's abilities are highly dependent on their mental state, so stressing yourself like this too much will also affect the people going out to fight as well as yourself.

Melide gives a cry as she gets jostled by some random citizen, so Yoshiori catches her, asks if she's okay, and comments on the people losing sight of things around then at this point. He tells her to hang tight onto him since normal people will walk right through him. Melide does so, thanking Yoshiori. Yoshiori then asks if she can sense Exio around, but Melide says she doesn't. She only feels the three Observers present between you all, though an Observer on Exio's level would be something she could sense from some distance away. Yoshiori is disappointed and notes they'll just have to be patient and search around for him. He swears to find Exio before Crowne Alter does since his life is on the line, and Melide agrees.

Eventually the party reaches one of the front lines against the Monster swarms in the city, and there you find Barrel getting slammed by the giant Monster's tentacle and coughing from the impact. Gammei calls out to Barrel in concern, and Victom says they can't see where the attacks are coming so they can't avoid it. Furlong calls out to Victom that one of the buildings behind and to the left of them is coming down, and Victom is taken aback as he says he'll never be able to throw a defense up in time. Maculata says she'll take care of it, but the tentacle ends up knocking her aside before she can do so. Barrel calls out to her and is frustrated he's unable to hold his guns right, but Furlong tells him to not push himself because he's been damaged to the point he can barely see anything. You call out to Barrel, Maculata, or the group in general. A gets an extra bit of Barrel recognizing you by your voice and asking if you're there, apologizing because he can't see well. B instead has Maculata noting you guys came to help, and she thanks you before coughing a few times.

Anyways, Akashi is shocked speechless at how the group is. Gammei is relieved you guys showed up but trails off, so Huckle says they can tell how awful it is and how they seem to be at their limits. Furlong apologizes, saying they hung in there for an hour but things never really turned around. Victom says they can't land any attacks on the main body and can't tell where it's coming from. The smaller Monsters spawn in while that's been happening, so they go and destroy those, but it just loops back to where they started. Maculata says they're exhausted, and she notes if they keep going someone's going to die eventually as she looks towards Barrel.

Ryekie quietly assures them that you guys can handle this, then asks them to go get themselves some medical attention. Sui tries to talk to Maculata but can't come up with anything. Maculata apologizes to her, saying she didn't want to let her see how badly off she is. Sui however says it's fine, promising to fill in for her and asking her to rest. Maculata gives a little laugh about how reliable Sui's gotten and thanks her. Gammei apologizes about not being any condition to fight himself now that Barrel is doing badly, but that said he's barely standing himself. Barrel starts crying in frustration over how the fight went, but Gammei tells him to stop since he did plenty. He then lends his shoulder to Barrel, so Barrel thanks him as he accepts the help, bleeding from the head and unsteady on his feet.

Mokdai expresses concern for Barrel, and Furlong apologizes as he says they'll be leaving since UEHA's main office has put out an order to withdraw for now. Maculata says she'll take you guys up on your suggestions and bow out too, though she's reluctant to do so. Ryekie says they'll pick things up for them, assuring the group that you guys have six heroes still ready to go. Monomasa stays silent at that.

Gammei asks Huckle who the villain gang is, noting he feels like he's seen some of them before. As it is though, he can't think of anything. Huckle fumbles around for an answer to give him, so Monomasa speaks up and says they can't reveal their affiliation but assures Gammei they're allies. Yoshiori also adds that they won't stab them in the back, so Gammei decides to leave it at that and entrust them with things before he passes out. Furlong calls out to him in concern, and Victom tells him to carry Gammei while he'll take Barrel. Barrel is ashamed at his condition. Crowne tries to talk to Maculata but can't come up with anything, and Maculata asks Crowne to make sure Sui doesn't push herself too far before stumbling off with the UEHA heroes. Crowne worries about how badly Maculata was beaten since she's never seen her so damaged before. Akashi says the same thing about Barrel, and Mokdai says that those are signs of how crazy strong the Monster you guys are up against is.

Melide is alarmed as she senses something and warns the party an attack is coming. You are taken by surprise as a building behind you is destroyed by the giant Monster's tentacle. It slowly rises, then shrinks. Akashi calls out to you asking if you're okay and talking about how the building collapsed without anything touching it. Mokdai then notes that you and Melide are the only ones who can see the thing. He asks you guys what the Monster looks like and why it suddenly attacked.

You answer that the giant Monster is extending a tentacle out and flailing around with it. Crowne has to ask for clarification if you mean like an octopus tentacle, but Melide compares it to a jellyfish's instead. Huckle reasons that means an attack can come from any direction then, and Ryekie says that means you two operating for the party is that much more important.

You say you'll do your best and/or comment on the pressure you're feeling, and Melide says she'll do the best she can too, swearing not to let all the burden fall upon you. Monomasa looks proud of Melide stepping forward, but Yoshiori reminds you guys that things are happening as he points ahead. There are a ton of the larger type Monsters there which Sui notes, and these are ones spawned off from the giant one's tentacles too. 

You tell the party about the Monsters essentially dividing off the big one's tentacles and/or ask what's going on and call it creepy. Melide compares them to the giant Monster's cells that it releases into the city to get food for it. Akashi gets outraged at the idea that the monsters only see you all as food, and Mokdai worries if you guys can beat them all. Monomasa reminds Mokdai that they have to do this, and the monsters start roaring. Ryekie calls out to you that they're attacking, so it's time to start the battle. Yoshiori says he can't go down before you guys find Exio, so everyone needs to get to crushing the things. You call back that you understand as you roll out the transformations and start the episode battle, and more happens after that.

After the battle, things tune in at the end of it with the last of the monsters destroyed. Akashi pants and asks if you guys are done with them, so Mokdai says that seems to be the case. Yoshiori adds that this is only for where you guys are since they're still popping up elsewhere. They'd have to be to explain how the UEHA heroes got so beat up. Sui reluctantly agrees, saying they don't have time to feel tired.

Ryekie apologizes to Akashi, Mokdai, and Sui, saying he'd have preferred not to put them through such a harsh situation while they were still newbies if he could help it. Akashi however tells him he doesn't need to apologize and that more importantly, they need to get ready for the next skirmish. Ryekie sadly agrees, and you note in concern that he's unusually quiet.

Seeing how sad Ryekie looks, Huckle quietly tells Ryekie he should forget about that time for now, saying there was nothing he could have done about it. Ryekie gets upset at that, looking grimmer than he has ever expressed in front of you. He's about to say something, but he immediately gives up on doing so. Huckle tells him he understands how he feels since what's happening now is way too similar to what happened back then. Ryekie then apologizes for causing Huckle to worry about him.

You try to ask Huckle and Ryekie about what they're talking about, and Mokdai asks if this is the same thing Exio brought up to them before. Ryekie's eyes open in shock as he gets evasive on the subject, and just when it seems like he's readying himself to talk more on it the giant Monster's tentacle crashes into him and slams him into a wall behind him. The wall cracks up as it stops him, then crumbles to pieces.

Huckle yells out to Ryekie, then asks if Ryekie was hit directly by the tentacle. Ryekie says he thinks so, then asks you where the thing is. You look around for it to see it converging back together and go back to the main body. Your eyes follow along, leading you to make eye contact with the giant Monster. You see that it is clearly looking towards you, and you yell to the party that it's aiming for you guys.

Monomasa is shocked at that as he thinks through what that means, and Melide calls out to him to be careful from behind to the right. He barely manages to dodge in time, but now an attack is going towards Mokdai. You call out to Mokdai that it's coming from behind, and he is surprised as he tries to get away. The thing barely manages to graze him, which is still enough to send him tumbling on the ground.

Akashi calls out to Mokdai, but you call out to Akashi to crouch down since an attack is coming from the right. Akashi needs a second to process this and barely manages to scrape by the attack as the tentacle slides atop his head. Yoshiori clicks his tongue about how you guys are pinned down in this situation. Monomasa says you guys have your hands full just avoiding damage, but you'll never get anywhere if you stay on the defensive either. Sui points out that the party has six heroes fighting reliant on two people's directions and how there's not enough time to react, but you have to cut her off since an attack is coming from the right and below towards her.

Sui gets mad as she jumps away, using her threads to Spiderman her way over to a nearby building, easily clearing five stories in height while the tentacle grabs at where she was earlier. Sui sighs in relief, but Melide calls out to her that her strings are getting cut. Sui is unable to react in time, causing her to fall into the air. Akashi runs to save her, and he does manage to do so, though the impact causes him to slam to the ground himself. Sui apologizes as she gets up and asks if he's okay. He says he's fine, then asks if she's okay herself, so Sui says she's okay. You're relieved Sui's okay as she climbs down from Akashi's arms. Sui's attention is caught by something when she looks up, which is her strings brushing up against something transparent. This gives her an idea, and from the shadows there is someone watching the battle play out as the episode ends.