As the stone monument grew grayer and grayer, the Tokyo area became increasingly restless.
After the initial confusion and shock, those who were able to escape tried various means to flee this future land of conflict.
The price of air tickets skyrocketed, and Tokyo wealthy residents left the city with their families, seeking asylum in other safe cities.
There were also police officers who, unwilling to join the war, teamed up with one another, boarded modified trucks, and headed to other cities.
Although the journey was long and dangerous, with the combat effectiveness of the police force, most of them would have no trouble reaching other cities safely.
The rich, the powerful, the police, and other important figures in the Tokyo area fled the city, which made the ordinary citizens who could not leave even more panicked.
Riots, looting, murders...
This largest post-war survivor city in Japan was now plunged into barbarism and chaos.
The police were already overwhelmed with work.
The Holy Emperor even had to send troops into the city to suppress the thugs and bandits.
If the situation continued to deteriorate, the Tokyo area would be seriously harmed.
But the good news was that erosion rate blockers and new monoliths had been created.
The time had come, and the Holy Emperor and Nia Honjo hit it off, ready to end this farce.
A week later, a live press conference was held at the Holy Residence.
"Are you sure you don't want to join me?"
In Tokyo, at the Holy Residence, the Holy Emperor, dressed in pure white attire as usual but with a much more serious expression than before, asked Nia Honjo one last time before leaving.
Her collaborator had truly helped her a great deal.
He had exposed the true identity of Kikunojou Tendo, resolved the factional disputes within the government, helped her develop her own power, and warned her of the disaster caused by the deterioration of the giant stone monument...
It was as if he were an angel sent by God to save Tokyo from disaster.
Without him, the Holy Emperor felt that she would not have been able to achieve this.
"I'll pass," Nia Honjo replied, waving her hand. "Such a formal occasion isn't something I can get used to. If I say something wrong, I'll be embarrassed in front of all the people in Tokyo, and then I'll really be done for."
Before this, the Holy Emperor had invited her many times to attend press conferences together.
But she had refused them all.
Although she had made significant contributions to both the research of erosion rate blockers and the manufacture of monoliths, and deserved to appear in the public eye alongside the Holy Emperor, Nia Honjo simply couldn't bring herself to participate in such a serious, public event.
Seeing that Nia Honjo still insisted, the Holy Emperor had no choice but to give up persuading her.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the Holy Residence.
The square outside the Holy Residence was already filled with people.
"It's His Majesty the Holy Emperor!"
"Hurry up, get your equipment ready, and don't miss any angle."
"The government can finally give an explanation to the citizens of Tokyo."
As the Holy Emperor walked out of the Holy Residence, all the reporters and other staff members immediately adjusted themselves to their best state.
This was the first time that the Holy Emperor, leader of the Tokyo region, had appeared before the public since the emergence of Aldebaran, which had eroded the Monolith.
Nearly every citizen of Tokyo sat in front of their TVs, waiting for their ruler's speech, hoping the Holy Emperor would bring good news.
The Tokyo area, which had been in turmoil for nearly a month, experienced a temporary calm that day.
"Good morning, citizens of the Tokyo area," the Holy Emperor began, her voice soft and soothing as always.
Her calm and composed demeanor in the face of danger helped many nervous viewers relax a little.
"I am holding this press conference today to share some things that the citizens of the Tokyo area have a right to know.
Perhaps many of you are wondering what I have been doing these days and why I have not issued a clear strategy something truly unbecoming of a wise ruler.
I deeply apologize for this.
But citizens, your worries will be completely eliminated today, at this moment."
The Holy Emperor gave her subordinates a look.
The maids on standby handed out documents to the reporters below.
The reporters whispered among themselves, but when they read the contents of the documents, they were all shocked.
"The ashing of Stonehenge was not an accident but was caused by the government's incompetence.
In the Tokyo government, the Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Kazumitsu Tendo, secretly embezzled funds when he was in charge of building the No. 2 Monolith at the end of the Protogastric War. He used a substandard mixture to construct a cheap Monolith, which gave Aldebaran an opportunity to take advantage of it."
The Holy Emperor revelations aroused public indignation.
Some people cursed the culprit who caused the disaster with the most vicious words, some were relieved that the Holy Emperor had uncovered the truth, and some remained silent, still waiting for a solution to the problem.
But no matter what, one thing was certain.
At that moment, in the Tendo household, Tendo Kazumitsu and his son, sitting in front of the TV, looked ashen.
He was finished.
Both his career and his life.
When the Holy Emperor chose to announce this publicly, his fate was sealed.
"When this storm is over, you can commit suicide, Kazumitsu," the head of the Tendo family, Kikunojou Tendo, said expressionlessly. "This is the last mercy the family can grant you."
"Yes, Grandfather," Tendo Kazumitsu replied in a daze.
Meanwhile, the press conference in front of the Holy Residence continued.
After exposing the corruption case of Tendo Kazumitsu to everyone, the Holy Emperor added: "Fortunately, before I learned about this, I issued an order to the city capable of manufacturing the giant stone tablet. The new giant stone tablet was completed yesterday and will be delivered in just five days."
This was good news.
Absolutely good news.
It was the news all Tokyo citizens had been waiting for.
For a moment, the entire city of Tokyo erupted in excitement, and cheers could be heard everywhere.
According to experts predictions, it would take at least a month for Aldebaran to completely erode the Stonehenge. Even if some accidents occurred during this period, a new Stonehenge would definitely be delivered before the invasion of the Gastrea creatures.
The Tokyo area was saved.
All the citizens of Tokyo rejoiced at this.
Except for one person.
"A new monolith? Why wasn't I informed of this?"
Kikunojou Tendo frowned deeply. "The Holy Emperor never mentioned this matter in any meeting, and there's no sign of government funds being allocated... Could it be that the Holy Emperor used her own private funds?"
If it were for the sake of the Tokyo area, the Holy Emperor could have simply requested the government budget to purchase the giant stone tablet.
But she hadn't done that. Instead, she had acted quietly, not wanting anyone to know.
Why?
Suddenly, a terrible guess formed in Kikunojou Tendo mind, causing him to tremble all over.
The Holy Emperor didn't want the Tendo family to make any preparations!
She was planning to take action against the Tendo family!