After the return of Itami's team and the completion of the rescue operation, things seemed to have gotten slightly better or worse back in Japan. While in the Special Region, there were rumors of a giant monster roaming the land, wreaking havoc in its path. While the ERS were known to have giant war machines that fit this description, Yuki kept the JSDF in the dark about it.

In a tavern in Alnus

The usual drunkards and patrons were gossiping about the recent giant monster rumors.

It's supposed to be tall enough to reach the celestial realm

It's war cry is enough to deafen any that hear it, no matter how far away you are

Good thing I moved out of the country

The clamber of metal boots and the sight of an Archer Maiden walking in silenced everyone's conversation. She briefly looked around before approaching the counter.

"I need info."

The barkeep eyed her as he wiped a mug.

"You want info? Buy something first."

The Maiden looked around, scanning all the food and drinks with her eye piece.

"The Flame Dragon."

Now everyone within earshot stopped their conversations entirely.

"You sure? It's pretty hot, even for the most-"

"A pint of the Flame Dragon."

She placed the money on the counter. A minute later, the barkeep returned with a glass beer mug with a red, bubbling drink inside. This drink is infamous for causing even the roughest, toughest individuals to fall into a coma for several days. The reason why it hasn't been taken down as a menu item was because it was bringing popularity to the town, attracting people of all sorts to challenge the Flame Dragon cocktail. The Maiden grabbed the mug and chugged down the entire thing. She wiped away her mouth and slammed down the mug. She was unfazed, opposite of everyone's reaction. The barkeep sighed.

"Lemme get one thing straight. Are you just plain stupid?"

"It's my commander's order."

"Then you must have a pretty stupid-"

He was instantly met with a plasma arrow ready to be fired from her longbow.

"Say what you want about me, but I won't let you insult the commander."

A couple of JSDF soldiers at the bar intervened. Eventually, the Maiden stood down.

"Info. Now."

"What do you want to know?"

Meanwhile, somewhere far away overlooking a no named town that no one will notice if it was destroyed.

A giant monster of catastrophic proportions was busy tearing up a town. Its clawed feet crushed anything that stood in its way, its tail brushed past anything that was in the way, its claws on its arm helped take down any tall structures, its destructive breath vaporized anything left standing, and its piercing roar shattered several glass windows and deafened several people.

"Looks like another successful experiment."

Yuki observed from a nearby hill with a few field observers.

"Thermal load at acceptable parameters."

"No internal or external damages detected."

"AI core responding well to admin commands."

This wasn't a dummy town constructed for the sake of testing. It was a real town in the Special Region populated by real people. Or rather, was. The Empire's new creation had just destroyed anything resembling civilization in the area. Yuki activated the callback signal on her PDA. The giant walked over to the Yuki where it lowered its head until she was met face to face with it. She placed her hand on its steely exterior. The giant growled quietly.

"Who's a good boy?"

It started wagging its tail like an excited dog. She patted it, causing it to wag its tail even more. This caused the ground to rumble and form a strong burst of wind behind it. Whatever they were testing, it reacted kindly to Yuki. The engineers and scientists were boggled by how their creation acted. It used an advanced AI core based on the Gigafortress, but there was simply no reason or explanation on why it acted like a pet towards Yuki. But they accepted it as further evidence that their commander truly is destined for her position.

"Let's go home. I got your favorite…"

She took out a dark purple sphere out of her pocket and waved it. The machination got excited and shook the ground more and more until the research outpost started to become unstable.

"I'll give you this one if you behave."

That's when it calmed down and rested its head down on the ground. Yuki gently stroked it until it calmed down.

"That's a good boy. Now, open up."

It slowly opened its mouth, revealing a large turbine chamber. The innermost part opened up as Yuki climbed in. The staff feared for her life, since there was no telling how it would react once it got its nourishment. But it knew better when Yuki was around. Yuki held out the sphere in front of the opening and it floated inside. Then the machine itself started to glow a low blue and growl softly. Yuki climbed out and it felt satisfied with its treat. Hover trucks came around as everyone packed away the equipment. The giant shrunk down until its core was left. Yuki placed it in a secure metal and glass container where it was carefully packed in one of the trucks. Was anyone watching them from afar? A little impossible since a large perimeter was covered to ensure they wouldn't be watched from any distance or altitude. For an extra measure, an experimental invisibility dome was placed around the area, derived from Allied Mirage technology. The disappearance of the town would become a problem, but since no one would know what really happened, the only conclusions would come from rumors. As Yuki was about to board her transport, she stopped and looked at the overlooking ridgeline.

"Shinobi, your rifle."

A Shinobi appeared out of nowhere, kneeling before Yuki and holding out a sniper rifle. She took a shot and gave it back.

"Getting sloppy, are we?"

The Shinobi looked at his HUD to confirm that she shot someone watching over them from the ridge.

"My apologies, commander. I have no excuse for how they got past our defense."

She took out the sword handle on her belt and switched it on. A beam of light blue came out. She struck down the Shinobi in one stroke. The sword went through him, having no indication that he was sliced. But he writhed in pain as he felt the shock of 50,000 volts coursing through his body. It lasted only for a few seconds, but it was a few seconds of hell for him.

"Don't slip up again. You won't survive next time."

She climbed aboard her ride and took off.

Back at Alnus, more rumors were going around about disappearing towns and more sightings of the giant. This became such a cause for concern that even the JSDF were officially conducting their own investigation.

"We simply cannot have another Flame Dragon situation. That's why I'm asking for your help, commander."

Yuki was talking with General Kazama through her holo.

"Of course, this concerns us as well. But we're upsetting the power balance of this world. The Flame Dragon was already put down by way of the JSDF special forces."

Itami.

"Then there's the fall of the Prince and rise of the Princess. But this all started when you defeated the defending army of 200,000 when you first came through the Gate. We both know what happens when you upset the power balance of society by intervening too much."

"We just need to find out the root of the rumors."

"And then what? Leave it alone? You very well know you can't do that. Once you find out what's happening, you'll report to whomever your superior is until it goes all the way up to the Prime Minister. Then from there, not just you, but everyone connected to the Special Region becomes involved. Thus, creating another reason why-"

"Aren't you taking this a little too seriously for rumors?"

"All rumors are truths clouded by lies. A giant beast reigning destruction on towns and is near impossible to catch sight of? I don't know where the truth lies, but they're all terrifying conclusions."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Conduct your investigation, but know that you're outstepping your boundaries. We'll aid you the best we can."

She hung the call before saying their formalities. Yuki tilted her head back and audibly sighed as she leaned back on the sofa. Yuriko played with a stuffed teddy bear while she rested her head on Yuki's lap

"In the end, it's not about what the people want, it's what the government wants."

She gently stroked Yuriko's head as she tried to relax. Yuriko playfully nudged the teddy on Yuki's face. Yuki took out a small, white, round stuffed polar bear from her pocket and placed it on Yuriko's face. The two had a silent, but cute, battle of the stuffed bears. After a few minutes, Yuki's holo rang. She sighed and answered.

"Have they made their move yet?"

Yes. There's a mob of protestors at the Ginza Gate. Police and JSDF forces are overwhelmed.

"It seems the Chinese have succeeded. And, of course, the Japanese Prime minister is most likely calling the Chinese Ambassador, but he feigns ignorance about any involvement."

"What's going on?"

Yuriko asked as she continued to play with her teddy.

"The Chinese Premier is a little upset that he couldn't capture the Special Region guests when we went over to the other side during the Diet summons. Now he's gotten serious and either wants to destroy the Gate if he doesn't get his way, or use the Gate for his own benefit. The protest is just a distraction while a Chinese black ops team infiltrates the Ginza garrison."

"Should we do something?"

"I really don't want to, but until the special project is done testing, we have to."

She groaned as she slumped forward, poking Yuriko's cheek once before sitting back. She sported a grin.

"This might be the perfect time to begin a trial run of our latest weapon."

Shall we maintain surveillance?

"Return to the nearest outpost and equip yourselves for scouting."

Affirmative

Yuki dialed several more people after that. Yuriko thought she'd only get in the way and decided to leave Yuki alone, for now. Yuriko left the room and stood in the hallway and sighed.

"The princess has been kicked out by the queen. How unfortunate."

Besides her was Kyosuke.

"It seems we'll be mobilizing soon."

"She told me that, too."

Yuriko held out her teddy and looked at it with a frown. She then hugged it tightly.

"Even after so many missions, I'm still anxious."

"Killing shouldn't feel natural. The anxiety you feel is normal, especially for someone as young as you."

She quietly leaned against him, still holding onto her teddy.

"Are we going to live in a big house?"

"Yes."

"Can we have a pool?"

"Sure."

"A big back and front yard?"

"Yes."

"Will anyone bother us again?"

"Of course."

Yuriko took a moment before levitating off the floor, her psionic powers fluctuating around her.

"Then, I guess it can't be helped."

It feels like every chapter release is getting longer and longer. I've been scouring the internet for all sorts of ideas. From watching/reading several anime/manga about sci fi, to trying to research scientific properties of real world anomalies so that I can make certain scenes make sense. In a nutshell, I'm binging the internet right now. This chapter is certainly boring, but it's necessary as a buildup to a major plot I'm brewing up in future chapters. I've also taken to using Gate's story plot in the light novel, albeit out of chronological order. If I've lost you, then read the next line as a summary.

I'm binge reading the internet