With their objective clear, the group pressed deeper into the Great Mine.
Seele: "The giant ore vein—the one they discovered... That must be where the clashes are centered."
She glanced toward the elevated pathways ahead.
Seele: "Come on, let's get to higher ground and take a look."
The group hurried up the ramp. As they approached a bridge overlooking the mine, an unexpected sound reached their ears.
Snoring.
March blinked in disbelief before pointing ahead.
March 7th: "That person up ahead... is he asleep?"
Seele: "Let's head over and take a look. He might need help."
They walked over and found a miner sound asleep against a pile of crates.
Sleeping Miner: "..."
March 7th: "Falling asleep in a place like this... impressive!"
She leaned over him.
March 7th: "Hey, wakey-wakey! You'll get mushrooms growing on your head—"
The miner slowly stirred awake.
Sleeping Miner: "Hm...? Wha...? Mushroom bread...? I can't see it on the menu... Miss Seele?"
Seele crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed.
Seele: "Have you got a death wish or something? How can you sleep here? Get back to safety and take shelter!"
The miner jolted upright as his memories returned.
Sleeping Miner: "Take shelter... gasp I remember now! These guys came out of nowhere and got into a fight with the mining team..."
Sleeping Miner: "At the time I was exhausted—I'd hardly run a few feet when one of them caught me. If it weren't for Wildfire, they'd have stolen the clothes off my back!"
Caelus: "And then? Where did Wildfire go?"
The miner scratched his head.
Sleeping Miner: "Further in, I guess. Those thugs took control of the vein ages ago—and they're fully armed. We poor, defenseless, good folks were no match for them."
Sleeping Miner: "It's only thanks to Wildfire that the Great Mine hasn't fallen into their hands completely."
Seele nodded grimly.
Seele: "...It seems like Chief Oleg must be up ahead. Hurry up and get back to safety—look for Nat. And try not to get into another scrap along the way."
The miner sheepishly smiled.
Sleeping Miner: "Okay! Thank you for, um... getting me on my feet! If I get back soon enough, I'll have time for a nap..."
Without another word, he hurried off.
The group ventured even deeper into the mine.
Not long after, they spotted a woman sitting against a rock wall, clutching her arm as she winced in pain.
Seele recognized her immediately.
Seele: "I recognize that woman—that's Elaine from First Mining Team! Quick, let's get up there and see if she's wounded."
The group rushed over.
Seele: "Elaine! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Elaine: "Seele! Thank goodness. I-I'm fine, just a couple of sprains."
She caught her breath before continuing.
Elaine: "You've got good timing—those vagrants were asking me about the robots, but I don't know anything..."
Caelus: "Robots?"
Elaine: "Oh! Don't you know? The inner section of the Great Mine has been seized by a band of robots! Neither the mining team nor the vagrants can get anywhere near."
March tilted her head.
March 7th: "New challengers enter! About time, human-only conflicts are so boring."
Dan Heng: "Does anyone know where the robots came from?"
Elaine shook her head.
Elaine: "At first, we thought that a collective fault had occurred in the excavation machines, but then we found out those machines didn't even belong to the mining team."
Elaine: "They came out of nowhere and pushed both the vagrants and us back. Then they blocked off the only tunnels into the inner section."
Caelus: "Maybe someone's playing tricks?"
Elaine gave a helpless laugh.
Elaine: "Hehe, there's no way anyone in the mining team is behind this... Operating a single unit is tiring enough, but a whole group? Hehe, impossible."
Seele's expression hardened.
Seele: "Then there's only one possibility... Boss Svarog."
March snapped her fingers.
March 7th: "Svarog? That name sounds familiar..."
Dan Heng: "You remember the robots we defeated in the boxing gym?"
March 7th: "Oh! Boss Svarog's robots! What's his deal?"
Seele: "Let's just say he's not to be trifled with. Let's go and find some other people. Elaine, can you make it back to safety?"
Elaine: "No problem. Seele, and the rest of you... be careful..."
Before Elaine could stand, Kouga stepped forward.
Without saying a word, he summoned the Recovery Capsem. Spinning it once in his hand, a gentle green light spread outward, enveloping Elaine. Her bruises faded before everyone's eyes, the swelling disappeared, and the pain vanished as if it had never existed.
Elaine slowly flexed her arm before looking at herself in disbelief.
Seele, Bronya, and Elaine stared at Kouga with wide eyes.
March, Dan Heng, and Caelus, however, barely reacted anymore. After everything Kouga had done, miraculous abilities had become just another Tuesday.
Kouga gave Elaine a small nod.
Kouga: "Okay, you can go now."
Elaine blinked before bowing gratefully.
Elaine: "Thank you."
She hurried back toward the mine entrance.
Bronya watched her leave before quietly speaking.
Bronya: "Robots aligned against humans? I've never heard of such a thing. Machines should obey humans unconditionally..."
Seele folded her arms.
Seele: "That's not the only thing you won't have heard of down here, princess."
The group eventually reached an old freight elevator.
Two vagrants stood guard in front of it, arguing loudly.
Dense Vagrant: "Is this elevator b-broken? Why isn't it r-responding?"
Restless Vagrant: "Why are you worried about this piece of junk? Do you really wanna go down there and be a live target for the robots?"
Dense Vagrant: "But, i-if we evacuate, then haven't we lost out?"
Restless Vagrant: "You idiot—we'll just steal off the miners! Look, I saw with my own eyes—they managed to bag some Geomarrow. This is a perfect opportunity."
Seele frowned.
Seele: "Shameless. Still after the miners, are you? Time to teach you a lesson."
The two vagrants spun around and immediately raised their spears.
Before anyone else could move—
Thunk! Thunk!
Both men were struck on the backs of their heads almost simultaneously.
Their eyes rolled back as they collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Standing behind them was Kouga.
His left hand still held the Booster Capsem, faint streaks of white energy fading around him. He had crossed the distance in an instant, knocking both vagrants unconscious before anyone else had even taken a step.
Seele froze with her scythe half-drawn.
Bronya had instinctively raised her fists, only to realize the fight was already over.
March and Dan Heng slowly lowered their weapons.
Caelus merely watched in silence.
...He had gotten used to it.
March sighed before glancing at Dan Heng.
March 7th: "I feel like we don't have to do much if Mr. Hayata is here."
Dan Heng silently nodded in agreement.
With the two vagrants taken care of, Kouga casually searched the surrounding area until he found a sturdy length of rope.
Without a word, he efficiently tied the unconscious pair together, making sure there was absolutely no chance of them escaping once they woke up.
The rest of the group simply watched him work.
March's attention, however, was drawn elsewhere.
A small white object lay on the ground nearby.
March 7th: "Huh? What's this...?"
As she reached toward it—
The object suddenly sprang to life, hovering into the air.
March 7th: "Wh-Whoa!"
She nearly stumbled backward.
March 7th: "What the heck!?"
Floating before them was a small mechanical device shaped like a three-petaled flower.
The Object: "Beep, beep, beep... Searching for potential user..."
The Object: "Beep, beep, beep... Voiceprint detected. Looking up corresponding identity information... Oh my, it's an alien."
March 7th: "Hey, it talks! And it knows that we aren't from this planet?"
Dan Heng examined the machine carefully.
Dan Heng: "It doesn't seem to be technology from here. Look—it even has an Interastral Peace Corporation logo on it."
Dan Heng: "Perhaps it's an antiquity left behind by some past interstellar traveler."
The little machine immediately protested.
The Object: "Beep, beep, beep... Your mom's an antiquity!"
It spun indignantly in midair.
The Object: "Beep, beep, beep... Whatever, whatever. So you aliens know about the Interastral Peace Corporation? That's great."
The machine puffed itself up proudly.
Findie: "Beep, beep, beep... Self introduction: I am Richard, the Home-Use Object Finder. Model information: Version 0.63, Professional model, Annual Deluxe package. Nickname: 'Findie.'"
March 7th: "A Home-Use Object Finder? Who knew the IPC made these kinds of products..."
Findie: "Beep, beep, beep... My brainwave scanner module is damaged. Please send me to an Interastral Peace Appliances retail store near you for free repair within the warranty period of 232 years 84 days."
Findie: "Beep, beep, beep... Alien, please take me to an Interastral Peace Appliances retail store to conduct repairs—"
March scratched her cheek awkwardly.
March 7th: "What!? This fella's already broken... What should we do, take it with us?"
Caelus: "Let's take it. Maybe it could be of some use."
Findie: "Beep, beep, beep... Yes, yes, yes. When you need to find something you can't see, just call upon Findie. That's me."
Caelus picked the little robot up and tucked it safely away.
The group continued deeper into the mine.
As they walked, Kouga quietly fell into thought.
"The Interastral Peace Corporation..."
The name alone made him curious.
Without warning, crimson and silver armor materialized around him.
Kamen Rider Zero-Three.
Blue data streams flashed across his visor as the Rider's super AI activated.
Seele and Bronya nearly jumped in surprise.
March merely glanced over.
Dan Heng continued walking.
Caelus only have one thought
It looked so cool.
Meanwhile, Zero-Three's AI began searching through countless records across the universe.
The atmosphere slowly grew heavier and colder.
The longer Kouga stood there, the darker the information became as the AI uncovered one atrocity after another.
The destruction of inhabited star systems.
Standing by during the Sigonia genocide.
Predatory debt traps that enslaved entire civilizations.
Colonial expansion on a cosmic scale.
Instigating massive interstellar wars purely for profit.
And many more.
Each new record made the silence around Kouga even more oppressive.
Then came the conclusion.
Despite everything...
The IPC remained indispensable to countless worlds because of the infrastructure, commerce, and logistics it controlled.
A necessary evil.
That answer only made Kouga angrier.
Several seconds later, the armor vanished as he returned to his human form.
Silently, he summoned the Future Note, open it as he calmly wrote several lines.
The words glowed with an otherworldly light before fading into the paper.
The notebook disappeared.
Caelus cautiously walked over.
Caelus: "Mr. Hayata... what's going on?"
Kouga answered without looking up.
Kouga: "I ust adjusted their fate."
Everyone stopped walking.
Kouga: "From now on, whenever the IPC attempts to do something malicious, fate itself will work against them."
He closed his eyes briefly.
Kouga: "Every scheme they make will become far more likely to fail."
After a short pause, he added,
Kouga: "And circumstances will continually push them toward doing good... even if it's completely by accident."
Silence.
March's jaw hung open.
Dan Heng's eyes widened slightly.
Caelus simply stared.
None of them dared ask exactly how Kouga had accomplished something like that.
At the moment...
He was honestly a little frightening.
Seele and Bronya exchanged confused glances, having absolutely no idea what any of that meant.
As they ventured farther into the mine, raised voices echoed through the tunnels.
March 7th: "Hey, what's that commotion? It sounds like there's a big argument happening..."
She looked toward the source.
March 7th: "Let's get closer and take a look."
The group hurried forward.
Soon, they arrived at an open section of the mine.
Two opposing groups stood facing one another.
Miners on one side.
Vagrants on the other.
The confrontation was moments away from exploding.
Miner Leader: "...Cowards and bullies. I don't remember you guys acting this tough around Svarog's minions. Did your parents never teach you what a backbone was?"
Vagrant: "Pff! We ain't stupid! Why would we risk our lives against the robots? And get off the high road—you can't just find a huge chunk of Geomarrow and hog it all to yourselves!"
Miner Leader: "This mine is our territory—the mining team is laboring here day in and day out. You guys don't even pretend like you're here to lend a hand!"
Miner Leader: "You're lazy. All you want is to profit off of our sweat and tears. And you don't even try hiding it!... Disgraceful."
Vagrant: "Where does disgrace come into it when we can't even fill our stomachs, huh!? I know your game—you're just waiting for us to starve to death, so there's more food for your mining team."
Miner Leader: "...It's a waste of time trying to reason with you. While you've been kicking up this fuss, the whole vein's been seized by robots. Now we're all in the same boat."
Vagrant: "Hehe, right, right... we can't rely on the vein anymore... But don't forget which side brought loaded guns to the party."
Miner Leader: "Whoa, easy, wh-what are you trying to pull off? I-I'm warning you, Wildfire are in the area...."
Vagrant: "Haha, empty threat! Wildfire are stuck dealing with Svarog's minions—how are they gonna help you now? Unless you're planning on taking a bullet, hand over the supplies and equipment!"
Bronya immediately recognized what was about to happen.
Bronya: "They're getting ready to attack! Those miners are unarmed."
Seele gripped her scythe.
Seele: "You shameless scoundrels..."
Caelus stepped forward.
Caelus: "Leave it to me."
Seele: "No need to play the hero, I'm going with you!"
Bronya: "I'm going too. We can't let these thugs get away with whatever they like!"
Before the three could even take a single step—
CRACK!
"AAAAAGH!!"
CRACK!!
The sound of breaking bones echoed through the cavern.
Everyone whipped their heads toward the commotion and saw that the fight was already over.
The vagrants lay scattered across the ground, groaning in agony.
Several had arms bent at impossible angles.
Others had legs twisted in ways legs absolutely should not twist.
The miners stood frozen in horror.
At the center of it all—
Kouga calmly held the vagrant leader off the ground by his collar.
It seemed that while everyone else had been talking...
Kouga had already walked ahead.
The rage he'd built up after learning about the IPC had found an unfortunate outlet.
The terrified vagrant leader struggled weakly.
Kouga slowly raised his free fist.
Seeing what was about to happen—
Caelus' eyes widened.
He immediately sprinted forward and threw himself onto Kouga's raised arm with all his weight.
Caelus: "STOP! STOP! STOP, MR. HAYATA! YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH!"
Kouga remained silent for several long seconds.
Then...
He slowly exhaled.
The anger in his eyes faded.
Without another word, he released his grip.
The vagrant leader dropped face-first onto the rocky ground with an undignified thud, too terrified to even think about getting back up.