Pathway to Japanese Literature

Eerie Old Man

1 No one knew just how long the Tower King—a man with such a strange face—had been there.

It was at the very beginning of this summer that the siblings Ichihiko and Michiko first laid eyes on that Tower King. There was Kujūkuri Beach in Chiba Prefecture—a very long stretch of coastline. Ichihiko was a first-year middle school student, and Michiko was a fourth-year elementary school student. Soon after summer vacation began, the siblings came to this Kujūkuri Beach.

The siblings were very unfortunate and had lost their parents when they were young. After that, they were taken in by a young uncle named Homura Sōroku, and from there, they were allowed to attend school in Tokyo. As for Homura Sōroku—some of you may know him—he was a famous young detective. The name Detective Homura—surely you must have heard it somewhere. Uncle Sōroku was quite knowledgeable about machinery. He’s a Bachelor of Science, you see.

Uncle Sōroku had sent the siblings, who had just begun their summer vacation, to play at the villa on Kujūkuri Beach.

Kujūkuri Beach was quite a scenic place. And it was truly a vast and open place, so much so that it felt lonely. It was a few days after Ichihiko and Michiko had arrived here that they encountered the Tower King. As the siblings were playing by the water’s edge, picking up shells, there came a crunching sound of sand being stepped on behind them. “I wonder who that is.”

When they turned around to look behind them, a tall, lanky old man was walking along, hunched over and shuffling unsteadily. On his shoulders—though what was inside remained unclear—he carried a large bag. At that moment, Ichihiko glanced up briefly at the old man’s face from below and thought, "Huh?" The reason was that the old man’s face was truly a strange one.

2 Though the face of the old man crunching through the sand was indeed quite strange, it was by no means a frightening or terrifying visage. No—if anything—it was quite comical. It resembled those funny masks worn by festival performers who appear on makeshift stages to do silly acts and make people laugh—masks like the puckered-lipped *hyottoko* or tide-blowing figures—but among them, his face bore an exact likeness to that pointed-mouthed tide-blowing mask.

(Ahahaha, that's so funny,) he thought.

Ichihiko had been about to laugh, but thinking it wrong to mock the old man, he hastily stifled his laughter. The old man with the tide-blowing face passed behind the siblings as if he hadn’t noticed a thing. And off he went, trudging along the beach with the bag still slung over his shoulder—who knew how far he’d go? “Michiko, did you see that old man’s face just now?” “Yes, I saw it. His mouth was pointed like a fox’s—it was so funny! Did you see it too, Big Brother?”

“Yeah, I saw it too, sure did. I wanted to laugh so bad—it was really hard to hold it back. Ahaha!”

“Hohohoho!” “Michiko, want me to imitate that old man?” “Look, like this—” As Ichihiko puckered his mouth, hunched over, and shuffled unsteadily along the sand where the old man had passed—demonstrating his imitation—Michiko clutched her stomach and rolled with laughter, going “Hohohoho!”

Michiko had laughed so hard she could barely breathe—but then, noticing her brother Ichihiko had fallen unusually quiet, she suddenly snapped to attention. “Big Brother, what’s wrong?”

Ichihiko didn’t reply, crouching down to stare fixedly at the sand.

“Michiko, come look.” “There’s something weird—”

3

“Michiko, come look. There’s something weird—”

At Ichihiko’s voice, Michiko suddenly startled as if her chest had been seized and rushed to her brother’s side.

“Look, there’s something like this lying here.” When they looked where Ichihiko was pointing, a strangely shaped key lay on the sand. “Oh, it’s a key, isn’t it?”

It was undoubtedly a key, but it seemed about ten times larger than a normal one. It was jet-black, and the notched, fang-like parts of the key formed a shape reminiscent of a Western castle tower. Moreover, what was suspicious was the carving attached to the part of the key where one would grip it. Upon closer inspection, it took the form of a monkey’s head. The carved monkey had its large mouth open and was posed as if gazing upward at the sky with upturned eyes.

Ichihiko seemed to have taken a great liking to the key, as he continued fiddling with it in the sandy ground for what seemed like ages. But then, something came clattering over to them. When they looked, it was none other than that old man with the tide-blowing face.

While glancing around restlessly, the old man came up to Ichihiko and Michiko. “Children, might you have happened to see a monkey key around here?” he asked in a muffled voice.

“Old man, is this it?” As Ichihiko produced and showed the key that had been buried in the sand, “Oh! This is it! This is it!”

snatched the key from Ichihiko’s hand and ran back down the path he’d come from without a word of thanks. “Big Brother. That old man is such a strange person. He didn’t even say thank you.” Michiko said in a voice tinged with anger.

Ichihiko responded with just a single “Yeah,” his gaze fixed on the old man’s retreating figure. His face bore an extraordinary look of seriousness.

Strange Incident

1

It was the next morning that Ichihiko and Michiko learned of a major incident that had occurred off Kujūkuri Beach.

What exactly was this major incident? Warship Awaji—speaking of which, I’m sure you’d all immediately exclaim, “Ah, that state-of-the-art battleship!” That’s right—Warship Awaji was indeed a magnificent battleship in which the Imperial Navy took great pride before the world. Constructed at the naval yard, it had not yet been even a month since she had begun plying the seas. Unlike previous battleships, she was remarkably fast and boasted a completely different, mysterious shape unlike any that had come before. Someone remarked that she looked like a fortress floating on the sea—and they were exactly right.

Last night off Kujūkuri Beach, Warship Awaji—for some reason—mistook its course and ran aground on a shoal.

Even a large, state-of-the-art warship running aground on a shoal—isn’t that strange?

The navigation officer stated that he had absolutely no recollection of making any error. Strangely enough, Warship Awaji—which had been sailing off Kujūkuri Beach—had somehow been drawn toward land unnoticed, and by the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late; the ship had already run aground on a shoal. From that point onward, no matter how much they tried to operate the engines, the ship wouldn’t budge an inch. Eventually seawater began pouring into the warship’s hull through cracks in its bottom, and the massive vessel tilted upward with its bow raised.

Since this had occurred in the dead of night, the commotion was tremendous. The villagers were awakened by Warship Awaji’s blaring emergency siren and immediately rushed to the pitch-dark beach, it is said. At that time, the warship had turned on its searchlights and was continuously swiveling them toward the sky.

Ichihiko and Michiko were fast asleep and didn’t learn of it until morning.

2

Upon learning of last night’s strange incident, Ichihiko and Michiko were so surprised that they rushed to the beach without eating breakfast.

“Ah! That’s Warship Awaji. “That’s incredible…” “Oh my, it’s tilting so much. “Big Brother, do you think that warship won’t sink?” “Hmm, I’m not sure. “Let’s ask someone, Michiko.”

The siblings wove through the crowd gathered on the beach, searching for someone who might know details about the incident. Just then, the boat reached the shore, and sailors clambered out noisily from inside. One of them approached the policeman on guard and began to speak.

“Officer, can we gather enough straw mats?”

“We won’t be able to gather as many straw mats as your sailors requested in this village, but we should manage about half that amount. The remaining half—we’re sending people out to collect them from nearby areas now—so there’s no need to worry.” “I see. I hope you can hurry it along. They say the tide will keep receding from here on out, so the warship’s situation will only grow more dangerous.”

“Sailor, how on earth did that happen?” “Was it the navigation officer’s error?” “No, that’s not the case.” “It was nothing short of completely mysterious.” “Before anyone knew it, that massive hull had been drawn toward land.” “It’s exactly like a nail being pulled to a magnet.”

“That’s strange…”

“If you think that’s strange, there’s something even stranger.” “What? There’s something even stranger?”

The policeman turned pale in surprise and stared at the sailor’s face.

“That’s right. Furthermore, the strange thing about it is the warship’s mast—this is made of steel, you know. Part of it has melted and bent like candy.”

3

As Ichihiko and Michiko looked up at the sea upon hearing the sailor’s mystified account of how the stranded warship’s mast had inexplicably bent like candy, there it was—just as described—the rear mast warped from its midpoint like a twisted stick of candy. “It’s not like there was any wind blowing, you know…”

When the policeman spoke to the sailor, “Th-that’s no joke, Officer! That’s a steel mast—you think a little wind could bend it?!” “Ah, I suppose you’re right. This has become utterly incomprehensible.”

The policeman had finally given up. Just as they began hearing the roar of airplanes from one part of the sky, six aircraft silhouettes came swiftly closer from the south.

“Ah! Reconnaissance planes! They’re so gallant!”

And Ichihiko was now overjoyed. The reconnaissance planes had formed two groups of three each, but upon reaching directly above the tilting Warship Awaji, they began circling round and round. They must have been taking aerial photographs from their planes.

After a while, two of them turned their noses and began to withdraw steadily.

Afterwards, the remaining four reconnaissance planes scattered apart and buzzed around endlessly in the skies above Kujūkuri Beach. “Ah, I see! They’re patrolling this entire area from above.”

“Big Brother, things have gotten really serious, haven’t they?”

Michiko widened her eyes and firmly held onto Ichihiko’s arm.

However, the commotion on this beach was only just beginning.

By around noon, destroyers and oddly shaped vessels that could be warships or merchant ships—no one knew from where—had gathered in numbers of about ten, making the offshore waters quite lively.

Detective Homura

1

The commotion grew increasingly intense, and by afternoon, the landing party arrived at the beach by boat. And immediately began their vigilance.

Out at sea, the stranded battleship *Awaji* tilted at a precarious angle, encircled in a ring by warships of all sizes. Above, naval reconnaissance planes with tails painted red wheeled through the skies, while against this backdrop, the landing party stood vigilant on the beach, their bayonets glinting.

The seaside village, which had been nothing more than a quiet fishing hamlet, transformed overnight into a commotion resembling a battlefield. “Oh, Ichihiko-kun and Michiko-chan! There you are.” “I was wondering where you’d gone—Uncle was worried.”

Along with that voice came someone who gently tapped the siblings on the shoulder. “Ah! It’s Uncle Homura!” “Uncle! When did you get here?”

“Ah，Uncle，you’ve finally come.” “I somehow had a feeling you’d come，Uncle.”

“Ah, I see, I see.”

Uncle was beaming.

As for the siblings’ uncle—you all must know who I’m talking about. That famous young scientist-detective, Homura Sōroku. “Hey, Uncle. There must be some terrifying reason behind that warship running aground and its mast bending like that.” When Ichihiko posed his blunt question, Detective Homura pursed his lips tightly and—

“Yeah, there’s something I need your help with regarding that.” “Do you two know anything about that tower built on the hill over there?”

With that, Homura pointed far off into the distance.

“Uncle—where’s this tower?”

2

“Where? That tower over there. It’s pretty far from here—didn’t you notice?”

When the siblings looked closely in the direction Homura was pointing, they could indeed see something resembling a tower in the shadow of the hill. “Uncle, is that the one?” “Exactly, exactly. It’s positioned directly opposite where Warship Awaji ran aground.” “Uncle, is there something suspicious about that tower?” “Well, I can’t say anything definitive about that right now. Here, Ichihiko—there are binoculars. Use them to take a look at that tower.”

Uncle Homura took out a pair of strangely shaped binoculars from his pocket. At first they appeared ordinary, but when extended forward, they resembled a snail stretching out its horns. Peering through them revealed a view far larger and clearer than their compact size suggested. “How’s that? You can see the tower well, right?” he said. “Check carefully whether anyone’s watching us from those windows.” The binoculars’ exceptional clarity had left Ichihiko simply gazing blankly at the structure, but at his uncle’s instruction, he began meticulously inspecting each of the three-tiered windows lining the tower’s midsection.

The windows were visible as clearly as if he could reach out and touch them. And then what do you know? The purple curtain affixed to the topmost window was seen being slowly parted down the middle to either side.

“Oh, there’s someone inside the tower!”

“What? Is someone there?” “Hand me the binoculars, please.”

“Wait a second, Uncle.”

As Ichihiko kept staring at the curtain, a face soon appeared through its gap—peering out hesitantly as though wary of being noticed. That face! That strange face! “Ah! That face—”

With that, Ichihiko—startled—jerked his eyes away from the binoculars. Whose face was that?

3

“What did that face look like?” With that, Homura took the binoculars from Ichihiko’s hands and immediately pressed them to his eyes. However, to Homura’s eyes, the mysterious figure’s face that Ichihiko had seen atop the tower was no longer visible. “He must have pulled his face back already. Ichihiko, what kind of face did you see?” And, acting every bit the part of Detective Homura Sōroku, Uncle refused to let Ichihiko go.

“Uncle, that’s the strange face—a face like a tide-blowing mask.” Then Michiko joined in, adding her voice to his,

“Oh, it’s about that strange old man.” “That’s right.” “Yesterday, when Big Brother and I happened to pass by here, we saw him and laughed.” “Because it was such a strange face—hohohoho!”

As Michiko recalled that comical face with its protruding mouth, she found it so amusing she couldn’t help laughing.

“Anyway, under orders from higher-ups to investigate that tower—that’s why Uncle’s come all this way.” “Since it’s dangerous here, Michiko—you wait at home.” “I’ll go check it out with Ichihiko.”

Michiko was a bit dissatisfied, but since Detective Homura stopped her, she reluctantly went home to keep watch.

The mysterious tower was about one kilometer away from there. Behind the tower was a forest rare in this area, and in front, between it and the sea, lay a hill shaped as though lying down.

Ichihiko and Homura walked at a hurried pace, but it still took them thirty minutes to reach it. When they drew near, the tower grew even taller—a structure that now loomed overhead with an oppressive weight.

“Uncle, there’s an entrance here.” “Hmm. Let’s see if it opens.”

As he spoke, Homura carefully donned rubber gloves, gripped the door handle, and tried it—but it didn’t budge an inch.

4

Kaitō-ō (Tower King) crouched heavily in a solidly placed armchair inside the tower’s topmost room, facing away.

“Ahahaha! Whatever you do, do you think the entrance door would ever open for the likes of you? Ahahaha!” Kaitō-ō gazed at the wall and laughed raucously at the top of his voice. That’s right—somehow, this wall displayed the same scene as the tower’s entrance, with Detective Homura and Ichihiko pacing restlessly in front of it, their movements clearly projected. It looked just like a movie being shown, yet also resembled a magic mirror hanging there. After all, the scene at the tower’s lower entrance was visible in this upper room of the tower.

“Ahahaha!” “Still haven’t given up, have they?” “How about I give you a little scare then?”

As he said this, the Tower King picked up a microphone with a long tube attached from the desk and brought it near his mouth,

“Hey hey, why are you loitering around our place?” “Ah ha! You’ve been peeking into the keyhole.” “If you keep up this nonsense, I’ll drench you in poison gas from above!”

From above Homura and Ichihiko’s heads came raining down a booming voice like a cracked bell.

“This is unbearable! Hey Ichihiko—get out of here now!”

With that, Detective Homura—uncharacteristically voicing weakness—fled.

“Ahahaha! Look at you now!” Kaitō-ō continued to cackle dryly.

Who in the world was this Tower King? However, it was certain that this mysterious tower was equipped with astonishingly advanced scientific mechanisms.

Could there be some connection between this and the incident where Warship Awaji was now stranded offshore? And yet, why did that brave Detective Homura turn tail and flee?

Sand dune

1

Detective Homura and Ichihiko were shouted down by Kaitō-ō, so they fled at full speed. About five hundred meters from the mysterious tower—after running that distance—they found a spot where wind-piled sand had formed a hill, and seeing this as fortunate, the two leaped into its shadow. When they looked back at the mysterious tower from the sand dune’s sheltering shade, there appeared to be no signs of pursuers nor anything resembling poison gas. The two let out a sigh of relief.

“What’s this? Even though you’re a detective, Uncle, you’re such a coward.” “This is too much! Shouting ‘Run, run!’ and fleeing like that…” With that, Ichihiko, lying sprawled out in the shadow of the sand dune, teased Uncle Homura Sōroku. Then Detective Homura grinned slyly and, “Hmmhmhm, I must have looked like a real coward to you.” “That’s exactly the point.” “That Tower King is using some sort of television-like machine to watch us sneaking up as clearly as if he were holding us in his hand.” “But since we can’t see their commander over there, there’s no way for us to confront them properly.” “In situations like that, if we act like cowards and make it look like we’ve completely lost our nerve, they’ll think they’ve truly won and let their guard down.” “Then, when they let their guard down, we watch for that opening and strike back. What do you think? Not a bad plan, eh?”

“Huh… So Uncle Homura isn’t such a coward after all.” “I didn’t know that, so I was really disappointed earlier.” Homura grinned slyly again. “Now then, Ichihiko—it’s time we devise a method to storm the mysterious tower.” “How on earth can we manage to sneak into that tower?”

“Well…”

Even Ichihiko was stumped by this.

2 How on earth could they manage to sneak into that mysterious tower? From where could they possibly scale that towering tower?

The lock on the entrance door was engaged.

But that wasn’t the only problem. If anyone approached the tower, the Tower King would know immediately. After all, he was on the third floor of the tower and had a television machine that showed the area around the entrance in vivid detail.

Considering this, infiltrating the mysterious tower presented multiple layers of difficult problems. “What do you think, Ichihiko? Can’t you think of a good plan?” “I don’t get it at all.” “If you can’t figure anything out, that won’t do. You need to think harder.” “Uncle, are you thinking of something?” “Yeah, even Uncle’s stumped right now. But anyway, if we go during the day, the Tower King will spot us—so I get that we’d better wait till night to approach.”

“I see—you’re brilliant, Uncle. What do we do next?”

“After that—that’s where I’m stuck.” “Uncle, what if we bring a ladder or bamboo pole, attach it to the first-floor window, break the glass, and go in?”

“That won’t work.” “When I checked the window earlier, there was another iron door that closes over the glass pane.” “Once night comes, I’m certain those windows will be locked tight with iron doors—getting in would be next to impossible.”

“In that case, we’re in trouble.” “The window’s no good.”

“If only we had a spare key to open the entrance door…”

“Key?”

At that moment, Ichihiko suddenly remembered the key with the monkey’s head. It was that large, strangely shaped key that the Tower King had dropped on the sand yesterday.

3

“That’s it! If we had that key, maybe the entrance would open!”

Ichihiko muttered to himself.

“What? A key? Ichihiko, do you have that entrance key?”

Detective Homura exclaimed in surprise.

There, Ichihiko explained that he did not currently possess the key, but that he had picked up a strange key on the sand yesterday, and that shortly afterward, the Tower King had returned to take it away. “What a waste.” “If we had that key now, who knows how useful it might have been.”

Detective Homura said regretfully.

Ichihiko, too, felt just as regretful as Detective Homura, but at that moment, something suddenly occurred to him.

“Hey, Uncle. If we know the exact shape of the key, we can make another one just like it, right?” “What do you mean, you know the shape of the key?” There, Ichihiko explained that while playing with it yesterday, he had pressed it into the damp sand and made several molds of the key. And then he added that perhaps one or two of the key molds might still remain where they had played yesterday.

Upon hearing that, Detective Homura jumped up with joy.

“That’s excellent news! Well then, shall we go look for them right away?”

The two of them leaped out from the shadow of the sand dune, dashed onward, and arrived at the beach where Ichihiko and Michiko had played yesterday.

Fortunately, yesterday’s winds had been gentle enough not to scatter the sand, and as the area was damp sandy ground, the molds of the key Ichihiko had made remained scattered about.

“Ah, perfect! With this, we can make a duplicate key!”

Homura was overjoyed and gripped Ichihiko’s hand tightly.

4

Detective Homura and Ichihiko approached the entrance of the mysterious tower step by step. And it was at that very moment when they had drawn close enough—just one more step—to reach out and touch the entrance door. Suddenly, from above their heads, a voice like a cracked bell came crashing down.

“Hey! Who do you think you are?” “Back again as a pair, eh?”

The voice was so sudden and loud that the two of them instinctively froze in place like trees.

“Hey, Uncle, what do we do?” “Hmm.”

Homura could only groan. Then, once again, a voice like a cracked bell reverberated from the top of the tower.

“Still dawdling? If you keep fumbling around here, I’ll really douse you with poison gas this time!” That voice was indeed identical to the Tower King’s taunting voice from before. And as if poison gas truly were being unleashed at that very moment, a new crimson light blazed atop the tower.

“Hey, Ichihiko.” “It’s a shame, but let’s fall back.”

With that, Homura said resentfully.

“Uncle… are we really retreating after all?” “Yeah, there’s just no helping it. We went to all the trouble of preparing the key, but pushing further now would only cause problems later. Let’s start running on three: one, two, three! When you run, don’t go straight. You’ve got to keep changing direction suddenly, like the teeth of a saw. If you don’t, there’s a risk of getting shot from the tower.” And Homura’s caution was thorough to the very end.

And so, despite having gone to such lengths to approach the mysterious tower, Homura and Ichihiko were ultimately detected by the Tower King and, regrettably, had no choice but to turn back. Would their courage be crushed by this failure just like that?

Mysterious Wooden Box

1

Now, it was the night of the following day.

The area around the mysterious tower was submerged in darkness as usual, and the third-floor window still had its yellow light on, just as it had the day before.

The night had deepened further, and the hour must have been nearing midnight.

Just at that moment, from beyond the tower, the clattering sound of wagon wheels could be heard.

Before long, what appeared before the tower was a carriage loaded with large wooden boxes. The driver sat atop the platform but seemed drunk on something like sake, singing a nonsensical song in a strange voice. The emaciated horse pulling the wagon plodded begrudgingly behind this drunken driver. “Hey! You old nag! Walk faster!” “Don’t you know the strength of the whip in my hand?”

The whip cracked through the air.

The emaciated horse, seemingly unable to endure the pain, whinnied and suddenly broke into a run. At that moment, two of the wooden boxes stacked on the wagon clattered to the ground one after another. This was likely due to the carriage suddenly starting to move.

The driver seemed unaware that two wooden boxes had tumbled down onto the sand. He continued to shout incomprehensible things while cracking the whip mercilessly at the poor emaciated horse, urging it onward. And then they vanished into the darkness just like that.

Two wooden boxes left on the sand. When—or if—someone would come to retrieve them.

The place where the wooden boxes had fallen was right in front of the door of that mysterious tower. It was unclear whether the Tower King had seen these wooden boxes from inside his room.

It was then twenty minutes later. Two wooden boxes, as if forgotten by everyone, began creeping quietly across the sand at that moment—strangely enough. It was as though they had come to life. What in the world could have caused this?

2

What exactly was the Tower King doing inside the tower? The Tower King lay buried in his futon at that moment, snoring away with his peculiar face pressed into the bedding. He had made it a habit to sleep briefly once night grew late. After sleeping for about two hours, he would rise again and work from midnight until dawn. This was what they called the Tower King’s intermittent sleep.

However, at the front of the tower, when a large wooden box tumbled down from the carriage with a thunderous crash—devoid of clattering—as it struck the ground, the Tower King was abruptly jolted awake by the tremor from the impact.

“Wh-what was that? Those warship bastards… Did they fire a cannon?” With that, he got up from his futon and projected the television apparatus onto the wall.

This television apparatus had something like a car’s steering wheel attached to it, and when this was turned, the lens moved. Wherever the lens was pointed, the scenery outside the tower was projected onto the wall at will.

It wasn’t just during the day. It projected clearly even at night. The television apparatus was far more sensitive than the human eye; even things invisible to humans could be clearly projected onto the wall through its power. The Tower King directed the lens toward the warship and projected the nighttime seascape onto the wall. When a warship fires its cannons, there should be cannon smoke. Thinking this, he looked, but not a wisp of smoke was rising.

“Then what was that sound?” With that, the Tower King, puzzled, swiveled the television apparatus around in various directions, but there was nothing unusual. There were only two large wooden boxes lying fallen in front of the tower. And he could see the carriage that had dropped its cargo heading off into the distance. “What the… How absurd. “Was that just the sound of boxes falling? “Ahh, so sleepy…” And with that, the Tower King burrowed back into his futon.

3

By the time the two wooden boxes began creeping toward the tower entrance, the Tower King had already switched off the television and crawled into his futon. Had he remained awake just a little longer, he might have spotted these suspicious boxes inching into view. For the Tower King, this marked an uncharacteristically grave miscalculation.

The two wooden boxes pressed tightly against the tower’s entrance. Then the wooden boxes smoothly rose up, and two legs sprouted abruptly from beneath them. Both boxes had sprouted legs, but one box’s legs were long, while the other’s were short and slender. Before long, a round hole opened up in the side of the wooden box with long legs.

After a moment, a single hand slid out from within the hole.

The hand kept fumbling at the entrance door. A closer look revealed it was clutching a large key—an enormous one at that. Had anyone drawn near enough to inspect it, they would have spotted the monkey carving on its grip. And had I mentioned this sooner, you might already have guessed whose hand it was that sprouted from this box.

That’s right.

Inside this large box was Detective Homura Sōroku. And inside the other small box was the boy Ichihiko.

The two of them had done all this—hiding in bottomless boxes and hiring a carriage—to blind the Tower King’s eyes. Now, Detective Homura’s hand—clutching the key—reached the keyhole. The key entered the keyhole as if being sucked in.

“Now we’ve got him!”

When he turned the key, the lock clanked open with a metallic click. The two of them were overjoyed. They flung off the boxes covering them, swiftly leaped into the tower, and sealed the entrance tight.

Inside the mysterious tower they entered for the first time!

Spiral staircase

1

The inside of the mysterious tower was pitch black.

Detective Homura and the boy Ichihiko switched on the flashlights they had prepared. When they illuminated the area, it was like a storage room, with countless incomprehensible machines left broken and piled up in heaps. “Uncle, what kind of machine do you think this is?”

With that, Ichihiko gently pulled Homura’s arm and asked.

“Hmm... This machine, huh? I can’t say for certain, but this one here looks like an electricity generator, and that over there is clearly a container for compressed air, no matter how you look at it. There are various other things as well. All of them seem to be broken. Why would someone collect all this stuff?”

With that, Homura shook his head as if utterly perplexed.

What came into view next was the spiral staircase attached to the center of this room, which felt like being inside a round tin can. A spiral staircase refers to a narrow set of stairs that, unlike regular straight stairs, twists round and round in a coil.

The two of them climbed along it and went up to the second floor.

The second floor was also pitch black, but when they shone their flashlights around, they found this level to be remarkably orderly, with beautifully black-lacquered switchboards and other complex machinery lined up in rows. “What is this place used for?”

“Well, Uncle doesn’t know either,” “But it’s just like a warship’s engine room, huh?” “It’s weird to have a warship’s engine room inside a tower, huh?” “Hmm… it is strange.” “There must be some reason for this—now, the room where the Tower King resides must surely be just above us.” “Ichihiko, stay sharp!”

With that, Detective Homura encouraged Ichihiko and placed his hand on the railing of the spiral staircase leading to the third floor.

2

The Tower King’s room was finally there—all they had to do was climb this one staircase. Even Detective Homura was beginning to look flushed, his breathing growing rough. As for the boy Ichihiko, he had shrunk his body into a stalking posture like a kitten eyeing a mouse. As they muffled their footsteps and climbed the spiral staircase one step at a time, greasy beads of sweat began to ooze from their foreheads. In Homura’s right hand was his trusted Colt pistol, gripped tightly. The boy Ichihiko held a coil of rope, poised to throw it at a moment’s notice.

Homura, standing at the front, looked down and made a hand signal.

(Hey, Ichihiko—we’re finally about to reach the top of the staircase.) (The Tower King is right there.) (Are you ready?)

With that unspoken message, he finally steeled his resolve. Brave as he was, Ichihiko was still just a boy. Since he wouldn’t take no for an answer about coming along, Uncle Homura had reluctantly brought him, but when thinking of the dangers ahead, his worry was no ordinary one.

Detective Homura peered through the gap in the staircase to carefully observe the third floor. Inside the room, there was only one dim stand emitting a faintly bright light. The circular room was lined with many bookshelves. On the table lay incomprehensible machinery left half-assembled and abandoned. Also visible was a high-legged bed.

Homura signaled Ichihiko and listened intently. From somewhere, the roaring sound of snores could be heard.

(Got him! The Tower King’s sleeping on that bed.) “Alright—if that’s the case, now’s the time to rush in.” Homura smiled warmly, beckoned Ichihiko closer, and whispered in his ear.

3 Detective Homura leaped over the "final step" of the staircase and sprang onto the floor. And the flashlight he swiftly shone landed on the bed where the Tower King slept— “Ah!”

Homura instinctively stepped back a pace. Why? Because through the thin feather quilt draped over the bed, he had discovered the Tower King’s eyes glaring fixedly in their direction. That first sight of the Tower King’s face—ah, what an utterly bizarre visage it was!

Homura aimed his pistol at the Tower King’s eyes and was resolved to pull the trigger immediately if the man moved.

However, from somewhere, there came a deep, rumbling sound—undoubtedly that of snoring. (This is strange.)

Then the boy who had followed from behind pointed at the bed and— “Uncle, the Tower King is sleeping with his eyes open!” “Hmm, is that so?”

It was only a faint whisper of voices, but when it reached the ears of the human-hating Tower King, he jerked upright from the bed with a violent start.

“Ahhh, I slept well!” Just as he raised both hands, Homura—

“Don’t move. If you move, I’ll shoot. Keep your hands up. If you lower them, I’ll shoot.”

As he shouted, the Tower King finally noticed and jerked his head back in surprise. And that comical face slowly turned toward Homura, “Who art thou—? Ah, ’tis the fellow who hast been prowling about my tower! Hmm, the kid’s come along too. So you think you’ve got me cornered, do you? That’s a grave mistake! Ahahaha!”

And the Tower King’s voice resounded through the room with spiteful malice. 4

“To barge into my chambers while I slumber—you’ve got some nerve!” “Ahahaha!”

And with that, the Tower King sat cross-legged on his bed and burst into uproarious laughter. “What nonsense!” “Your evil schemes are completely exposed!” “Stay still!”

As Detective Homura brandished his pistol, “What’s this? You think to threaten me with that puny pistol?” “You’re a prize fool!” “I wield the dreadful power to strand even the Empire’s newest warships at will—effortlessly!” “What fear should I hold for some trifling pistol?”

Both Detective Homura and Ichihiko gasped as though their hearts had been seized upon hearing this. Just as they were painstakingly investigating why such a bizarre incident as the grounding of the *Awaji* had occurred, Kaitō-ō himself confessed, “That was my doing,” so their astonishment was beyond description.

“W-what are you saying? That’s a lie! That’s a lie! There’s no way you could’ve pulled off such an outrageous feat on your own!”

As Homura shouted, “Heh heh heh”

And the Tower King laughed creepily, “There’s no call for such shock at my words! I merely told you that as a parting gift for your journey to the underworld.” “What? A parting gift—? I don’t recall surrendering to trash like you!”

Then the Tower King cackled again, as if unbearably amused, "You fools don't realize that once you enter this tower, you'll never leave again, do you?" "Wahahaha!" Upon hearing this, Ichihiko could no longer bear it and clung to Homura's waist.

Perceiving danger, Homura no sooner grabbed his pistol than he took aim at the Tower King’s outstretched leg on the bed and pulled the trigger with a sharp "Hah!"

5 Aiming at Kaitō-ō, Homura pulled the pistol's trigger—with a thunderous roar, the bullet pierced clean through Kaitō-ō's leg—or so it seemed. Contrary to expectations, Kaitō-ō emerged from the smoke, grinning slyly. "Oh dear, this won't do."

And then another shot! However, the Tower King merely continued to grin slyly.

As Homura was about to fire the third shot, the Tower King raised his hand to stop him. “Don’t waste your bullets needlessly.”

“What?!” “There’s nothing there at all! Look here—the bullets from your pistol are dangling right in midair, aren’t they?”

With that, the Tower King pointed a long finger from his bed toward Homura. At first, Homura couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was about, but when he looked closely where the Tower King was pointing, sure enough, there were indeed two bullets bizarrely dangling in midair. It was precisely at the exact midpoint between Homura and the Tower King as they faced each other. The two bullets neither fell downward nor faced forward with their tips neatly aligned—were they not?

“Uncle, the Tower King is using magic!”

Ichihiko whispered rapidly to Homura.

“Ahahaha! That brat called it ‘magic’!” “It’s not some vulgar magic!” “This is none other than my specialty—the Magnetic Force Technique!”

Magnetic Force Technique? What was this Magnetic Force Technique? It seemed to refer to a magnet’s power to attract iron—but could such an overwhelmingly strong magnet truly exist?

“Look here! The bullets you fired can’t pierce through the invisible magnetic wall I’ve created, you fool! So what do you say? Won’t you surrender?”

6

At the Tower King’s overwhelmingly mysterious power, both Homura and Ichihiko found themselves utterly dumbfounded. Even if one fired a pistol, since the bullets would stop mid-flight as if embedded in a wall, pistols were utterly useless. The Tower King let slip that he had used this same power to draw in Warship Awaji—what a terrifying force that must have been! Moreover, what a creepy tower this was!

Even so, Homura and Ichihiko had no intention of surrendering to the Tower King here. They didn’t harbor a single such cowardly thought. They had firmly resolved that, with all their might, they would take down this fiend to the very end. “Hah! You both are making such serious faces, aren’t you?” “Still thinking of some way to oppose me, aren’t you?” “Ahahaha! Not so fast!” “Now it’s my turn to finish you both off!” “Brace yourselves!”

With that, the Tower King attempted to step down from the bed toward the far side, turning his back.

*Now!*

Detective Homura boldly seized the moment when the Tower King turned his back and lunged at him from behind with a sharp "Hah!"

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

The Tower King sneered. Then, turning his back and extending one hand, he shoved Homura away with a thud. “Ah—” The terrifying power of the Tower King made Homura feel as though he’d been hurled by a car. Even Homura tumbled head over heels and collided with the back wall with a heavy thud.

As if that were a signal, there was a loud clang, and something large and black came crashing down from the ceiling. Homura called out Ichihiko’s name. And the two of them, still clinging to each other, involuntarily ducked their heads.

Iron Cage

1

What on earth could the large black thing that fell from the ceiling have been? The true identity of the mysterious tower had finally been revealed—and it was a mystery compounded by mystery.

“Ah! This is an iron cage!”

Homura looked around him and was shocked. What had fallen from the ceiling was indeed an iron cage.

It was an iron cage composed of iron bars that reached from the ceiling to the floor, arranged in a circular formation with a diameter of five meters.

In this situation, even if they tried to escape, they couldn’t. It seemed that unless the iron cage was pulled back up to the ceiling, there would be no way to escape from it. Even if they fired their pistols, the bullets would no longer reach the Tower King, and on top of that, now that they were surrounded by an unexpected iron cage, Homura and Ichihiko were utterly helpless.

“Ichihiko, we should’ve investigated more thoroughly before coming in here.” “This way, it’s like we deliberately came to get captured by the Tower King.” At this, Ichihiko raised his face with an unexpectedly spirited expression. “Oh Uncle, you’re hopeless.” “Whining now won’t help anything!” “Cheer up and think!” “If you think really hard, you’ll find another brilliant idea!”

“Well said, Ichihiko. It was wrong for Uncle to complain. Come on, let’s cheer up and fight the Tower King!” Then a muffled giggling voice sounded nearby. When they looked up with a start, it was Kaitō-ō peering into the cage, laughing contentedly.

“Ahahaha! What are you talking about? You lot can’t escape this tower anymore. Just give up!”

2

“No matter what you say, I’ll get out of this tower splendidly and show you!”

Detective Homura, from inside the iron cage, stared intently at the Tower King.

“Well now, how gallant of you. Then by all means—think away to your heart’s content! I’ll dispatch you to a place perfectly suited for such contemplation!”

"A place that’s just right for thinking? What kind of place could that possibly be?"

The Tower King smirked, walked back over to the bed, and turned his back.

“Ah! I’ve got it. There’s a secret button over there!”

Ichihiko exclaimed. “Secret button—that might be it.” Homura gripped the cage bars and stared intently at the Tower King’s back. Because he had pressed the secret button, this cage must have come down from the ceiling. Was it also because he had pressed that secret button that the fired pistol bullets had stopped in midair? Now then, what kind of button did the Tower King intend to press this time?

“Ahahaha!” With that, the Tower King, perched on the bed, turned toward the two and laughed. “What the—” Homura and Ichihiko glared back.

Homura and Ichihiko glared back. At that moment, no sooner had the floor beneath their feet jolted than—oh, how strange—it began to smoothly descend. It was exactly like descending in an elevator. “Ah! What are you going to do to us?!”

He shouted, but there was nothing he could do. The floor on which the two stood steadily descended, eventually lowering them into a pitch-dark room fourteen or fifteen meters below and came to a stop. Apparently, they had descended from the third floor to the first.

“Ah! It stopped!”

“It’s pitch black; I can’t see anything.”

“Let’s try turning on the flashlight.” Homura took out a flashlight from his pocket and clicked the switch.

3

The flashlight suddenly illuminated the pitch-dark first floor.

“Uncle, this is definitely the first floor after all!”

Ichihiko, the boy, shouted. Yes, it was undoubtedly the first floor—a warehouse-like space they recognized.

Detective Homura remained silent, intently surveying his surroundings. "Uncle Homura, isn't there any way to get out of this iron cage?" "Hmm, this iron cage isn't going to work." As he spoke, the detective was shining his flashlight around where the iron cage met the floor when—for reasons unknown—he suddenly grabbed Ichihiko's arm tightly.

"Ichihiko." "Don't make loud noises!" After first giving this warning, "Look here."

When they looked where Homura was pointing, they saw that the iron cage was floating about twenty centimeters above the floor. Ichihiko, already grasping the implication, clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp.

“Ah, this log lying on the floor is in the way, so the cage isn’t lowering all the way to the ground. This is heaven-sent! Ichihiko, since you’re small, try crawling through the gap between the cage and the floor to get out.” “Yes, I’ll try!” Ichihiko immediately lay down on his back on the floor and, starting with his head, quietly began to crawl out from under the cage. It was dangerous. If at this moment the log were to slip free from the iron cage, Ichihiko’s soft body would instantly be sliced clean through at the torso by the thick circular metal base fitted to the cage’s bottom.

Such a thing happening would be disastrous, so Homura pressed down on the end of the log that was barely inside the cage with all his might.

4

The daring adventure continued. Ichihiko was crawling through the narrow gap beneath the iron cage of the mysterious tower, trying to escape with desperate determination. His head successfully made it through to the other side.

Ichihiko kept kicking at the floor with both feet as hard as he could. Then his shoulder emerged beyond the cage. Next came his hand.

“I’m okay now!”

After that, he smoothly slipped out to the other side. “Uncle! I got out!” “I wonder if you can get out too?”

With that, Ichihiko grabbed the iron bars and peered toward Homura. It was at that moment that the iron cage clanked into motion. It must have been that when Ichihiko exited the cage, in his excitement he kicked it with his foot. The vibrations reached the Tower King’s ears, and upon realizing the iron cage had a gap preventing it from fully descending, he began forcibly trying to lower it further. The log began to groan and creak. The iron cage pressed down on the log with all its might, attempting to crush it.

However, it was a log. Even pressed by an iron cage from above, it wasn’t going to break easily. The log creaked and groaned, but the gap didn’t narrow at all.

“Ichihiko, why don’t you grab the far end of that log and try lifting it with all your strength? The gap might open up a bit more if you do.” That’s Detective Homura for you. He noticed a crucial point.

Ichihiko grabbed the end of the log protruding far outside the cage and, with a strained “Uungh!”, tried to lift it with all his strength. With another high-pitched creak, the gap between the cage and the floor indeed widened by another five centimeters. “Got it!” Homura bravely inserted his head under the cage.

5

Detective Homura was working with all his might.

When he inserted his face sideways into the gap between the cage and the floor, his head successfully emerged on the other side. But suddenly, he was stopped at his chest. “Ichihiko, hold on tighter!”

Ichihiko’s arms felt like they were about to snap. But realizing he had to get Homura out now, he planted his feet firmly and, with a grunt, heaved the log upward.

Homura’s body shifted a bit further out, but this time Uncle Homura’s rear end became lodged. At this moment, Ichihiko’s arms were on the verge of giving out, so when he slightly loosened his grip, the iron cage dutifully descended.

“Ouch! Aaaah—!”

Uncle Homura got his buttocks pinched and let out a scream. Given that Uncle’s buttocks weighed a full sixty-two kilograms, it was only natural that getting them pinched would hurt. He wished he’d been born a scrawny weakling instead, but it was too late for that now. The one who was surprised was Ichihiko. He pressed the log against his shoulder and, with a strained “Hngh!”, pushed with all his might—when suddenly *snap!* A sharp crack rang out, and the iron cage clanged violently against the floor. When he heard that sound, Ichihiko thought Uncle’s torso had been split in two, and in his shock, his head went completely blank.

“What’s wrong, Ichihiko? You have to pull yourself together!”

At Detective Homura’s voice, Ichihiko finally regained his composure. When he looked up, there was Homura—the very man he’d been so worried about—having slipped out from under the cage unbeknownst to him, now holding Ichihiko’s body! Uncle had escaped in the nick of time, leaping out nimbly before the cage came crashing down. “Ah! You made it, Uncle… “Ah! I didn’t know what to do… “Thank goodness… “Thank goodness.”

With that, overcome with joy, Ichihiko threw his arms around Uncle’s neck and hugged him tightly.

6 Having entered the mysterious tower where the Tower King resided, they had been subjected to repeated perilous ordeals—moments where their lives seemed forfeit two or three times over—yet in the end, it was Homura and Ichihiko who had somehow managed to slip through the iron cage after all.

They were quite lucky, all things considered.

However, even though they had escaped the cage, that didn’t mean their danger had passed.

“Uncle, let’s go up these stairs again and take on the Tower King!” Just as a crow that had been crying moments ago now cawed as if laughing, Ichihiko—who had shown considerable timidity earlier—suddenly grew bold the moment Uncle Homura escaped from the cage. And he wanted to launch another attack on that infuriating Tower King and sink his teeth into that flat nose of his.

Homura, who had been listening to this, lightly patted Ichihiko’s head as he said, “But let’s regroup for now. To defeat the Tower King, we’ll need to come back with far better weapons—otherwise, there’s no way we can take him down. Considering how thoroughly the warship Awaji was defeated, it’s clear as day. We had underestimated Kaitō-ō too much. The Tower King is a scientific demon twice or three times—no, ten or twenty times—more terrifying than we had imagined. It’s regrettable, but this is far beyond what the two of us can handle.”

“...Regretfully,” he said.

“So now we’re just gonna run away from here? How lame.” “That’s so lame.”

“We can’t keep saying things like that. Come on—luckily we just opened this door moments ago. Let’s open it and jump outside!” Detective Homura swiftly opened the door he had unlocked earlier with the Monkey Key while calming the boy.

To their eyes, Kujūkuri Beach must have appeared white even in the darkness of night—but that was not the case. Outside the door—unexpectedly—an earthen wall they had never anticipated completely blocked the exit.

Inspection Team

1

In the officers’ quarters of the stranded warship *Awaji*, the headquarters of the inspection team for this incident had been established. The Inspection Team was the unit responsible for investigating both how this terrifying incident had occurred and what damage it had inflicted upon the warship and its crew members.

The Inspection Team Leader was Lieutenant Shiota, the first division leader of this warship. This appointment had been ordered by Captain Anzai in connection with this major incident. Of course, aside from this, search parties dispatched from Tokyo and prefectural police conducted their own investigations, but Lieutenant Shiota—as this was an incident that had occurred on the warship he himself had crewed—wanted by any means necessary to investigate it personally.

At that moment, Lieutenant Shiota was in the officers’ quarters, spreading out a map of the area on a large table and consulting intently with the Inspection Team’s officers and chief petty officers.

“I can’t make sense of this.”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota shook his thick neck from side to side.

“There was supposed to be a detective named Homura Sōroku in the investigation team dispatched from Tokyo, but he hasn’t shown up here since then, has he?”

“Well, Lieutenant Shiota,” said Chief Petty Officer Kohama, raising his blue-tinged, stubbled face—clean-shaven in the Daruma monk style—with a serious expression. “That’s precisely what’s strange.” “What’s strange?” “Since he’s staying at the villa ahead, we’ve sent messengers multiple times since this morning—but according to them, there’s only a young lady relative named Miss Michiko at that villa. He himself left with Ichihiko-kun—Miss Michiko’s brother—and still hasn’t returned.”

“Hmm, where could he have gone?”

“Miss Michiko said she didn’t know the details either, but according to what’s being said, he apparently went to look at the tower over there.”

“What tower?” “And where exactly is this tower located?”

“Well, it seems to be the tower that was visible right ahead from the ship’s bridge.” 2

“Ah, you mean that tower.” Since he had said this, it appeared Lieutenant Shiota had already been aware of the mysterious tower. Of course he had—it stood visible right before the stranded warship. “Hey, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—did you send someone to that tower to check on Homura?”

Then Chief Petty Officer Kohama scratched his head,

“No, we haven’t gone that far. But Lieutenant Shiota, why are you so concerned about Detective Homura?” “Well, here’s the thing. During the previous long-range mission, I once read a book called *Detective True Stories* by that Homura Sōroku. It might still be somewhere. Detective Homura is a peculiar fellow—a Bachelor of Science or something like that—who uses quite innovative detective techniques to go around vanquishing villains who misuse science. So since he’s come to this area for the Warship Awaji incident, I’m certain he’ll make considerable contributions. I had secretly been expecting that, but it’s rather odd he hasn’t returned to the villa.”

Having said that, Lieutenant Shiota tilted his head deeply in thought.

After some time had passed.

The one who came hurrying down the stairs was Chief Petty Officer Kohama. Panting heavily, he rushed into the officers’ quarters.

“L-Lieutenant Shiota, s-something terrible has happened!”

At the table, Lieutenant Shiota—who had been deep in thought about how to proceed with investigating this case—stared intently at Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s flustered face. “What is it, Kohama? What’s got you flapping around like a chicken?” “Well, there’s good reason to panic. I was born in the Year of the Rooster, you see.” “I know about the Year of the Rooster. What about this ‘terrible’ thing you mentioned?” “Th-that’s it! Lieutenant Shiota, please come up to the deck immediately. Something terrible has happened—something that would make even you turn pale, sir!”

3

Upon emerging onto the deck, there came word of some terrible occurrence. Lieutenant Shiota hurried up the companionway with Chief Petty Officer Kohama in tow. From Warship Awaji’s deck stretched Kujūkuri Beach’s eternal shoreline, its long waterline beautifully unchanged. Yet nothing particularly terrible met Lieutenant Shiota’s searching gaze. “Chief Petty Officer Kohama,” he demanded, “what exactly constitutes this ‘terrible’ situation?”

Then Chief Petty Officer Kohama stretched out his arm in front of Lieutenant Shiota and pointed toward the coast. “Lieutenant Shiota, look at that. The tower that was standing there—it’s vanished without a trace!”

“What? The tower’s vanished? Who in the world would actually do something so absurd?”

“No, that absurd thing has actually happened.” “Then Lieutenant Shiota—can you see that tower?” “There’s no way it can’t be seen—I was certain that tower was right there—” With that, Lieutenant Shiota shielded his eyes with one hand and peered restlessly around the spot he remembered from the deck, but he couldn’t see the tower at all. (This is strange. I was certain it had been built near those woods—why can’t I see it?)

Lieutenant Shiota's face gradually turned red. Then, conversely, his face suddenly turned pale.

Lieutenant Shiota clenched his fist and rapped lightly on the railing.

“This is strange. You’re right, Kohama. That tower has indeed vanished.” “Just as I said, wouldn’t you agree?” “Hmm, this is indeed a major crisis. If that tower has vanished, then what on earth has happened to Detective Homura, who went to investigate there?”

4 Given that the mysterious tower that had stood on Kujūkuri Beach had vanished without a trace in just one night, even Lieutenant Shiota was utterly astonished.

“We need to investigate this immediately.” “Chief Petty Officer, prepare the landing party immediately!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama snapped to attention with a salute and dashed off. Soon, the shrill sound of a bugle ordering assembly pierced the air.

Before long, a squad of landing party members, their white gaiters lending them a gallant air, came rushing up to the deck.

“Attention! Number off!”

Gripping their bayonets firmly, the sailors swiftly fell into formation.

Lieutenant Shiota stepped forward before them. “We will land and carry out a reconnaissance mission. Depending on the situation, we may engage in combat—proceed with that resolve.”

Combat?

Upon hearing "combat," the sailors, in their hearts,

(Perfect!)

they thought. Having combat here in the homeland was an unexpected blessing. They resolved to fight valiantly, thrusting again and again without pause. But who could the enemy be? Lieutenant Shiota had not uttered a single word about that matter.

The landing party immediately lowered the boats. And boarding them, they began rowing toward the coast.

A truly mysterious event had occurred. The scenery of the coast, now devoid of the tower, had taken on an oddly hollow and absurd appearance.

“Land!”

The landing party all jumped down from the boats to the water’s edge at once. With Lieutenant Shiota finally at the lead, Chief Petty Officer Kohama accompanying him, the landing party marched valiantly toward the forest where the tower was believed to have stood.

The forest lies in complete silence. The white sand, the green grass—all remain utterly silent. Where could the vanished tower be standing now?

One Mystery of the Mysterious Tower

1

On the first floor of the mysterious tower, Detective Homura and the boy Ichihiko tilted their heads repeatedly in puzzlement. “Uncle Homura, why was the tower’s exit blocked with an earthen wall?” “Hmm… Even I don’t quite understand it,” he replied. “But you see, Ichihiko, this isn’t so much an earthen wall as it is soil—that’s the more accurate term.” “Huh? Loach,” Ichihiko blurted out. “Loach—you mean that whiskered fish they use in Yanagawa hotpot, right? Why would this soil be called loach?” Homura chuckled softly.

Uncle Homura began to chuckle softly. “I said ‘soil,’ not the loach fish.” “What I just referred to as ‘soil’ is called ‘soil.’” “In other words, if you dig into the earth, what lies beneath is soil—that’s the idea.” “Oh, it’s just regular soil? I thought you meant the loach fish, so I got all surprised for nothing!” “Well, you do come out with amusing things sometimes.” “Thanks to you letting me laugh just now, I’ve managed to calm down quite a bit.”

With that, he continued with a sly grin, “So Ichihiko, there’s one more thing I must thank you for: while explaining to you what soil is, I was able to solve the mystery of the soil blocking this entrance.”

Detective Homura had solved the mystery of where this strange soil had come from in the first place, so the boy Ichihiko’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“You’ve solved it? Uncle solved the mystery? Then hurry up and tell me! Why did they bring this kind of soil here?” “Once you solve it, it’s really nothing special,” Homura said nonchalantly. “In other words, this soil is exactly what you’d find when digging into the earth—which means this mysterious tower has now descended underground like an elevator. Well? Quite an interesting theory, don’t you think?”

2

Homura’s theory that the mysterious tower had descended from the ground into the earth like an elevator was a bold perspective. “Uncle, are you serious? The mysterious tower descends like an elevator? Hahahaha!”

This time, Ichihiko burst into laughter.

“No, it’s not funny at all,” Uncle said with utmost seriousness. “Now listen carefully, Ichihiko. When we unlocked this entrance and entered this room, the area outside the door was naturally a road. However, now that there’s no road outside the door and only soil, we can only conclude that the tower has burrowed underground, don’t you think?” “But the tower descending? I can’t believe it!”

“Ichihiko, listen—there are elevators big enough to hold fifty, even a hundred people. Given that this Tower King—such a bizarre figure—possesses machinery monstrously powerful enough to drag a warship to this tower, raising and lowering this mysterious tower would be a piece of cake for him.” “Oh... I-I see now!” For the first time, Ichihiko felt he had come to understand why the tower was descending underground. Of course, dear readers, you must have understood this long before now. The landing party from Warship Awaji had searched the ground desperately, but there was neither shadow nor form of the tower there—all because this mysterious tower had descended beneath the earth. The tower’s rooftop had taken on the appearance of being capped with a sandy plain. Therefore, when the tower’s summit descended to ground level, it became indistinguishable from the surrounding sandy plain. When the wind blew in, scattering the sand this way and that, it became impossible to tell that the tower was buried there.

One of the Mysterious Tower’s secrets was thus unraveled through Detective Homura’s intellect.

If the Tower King were to learn of this, I wonder what he would think?

3

“So, Uncle Homura, if we dig upward through this soil, we can reach the surface, right?”

Ichihiko pointed at the soil visible outside the tower’s entrance.

“That may be so, but we can’t exactly just start digging.”

As they were discussing this, suddenly, above their heads, a voice like a cracked bell resounded.

“Wahahaha! Enough of this prattle!” That voice was unmistakably the hateful voice of the Tower King blaring from a loudspeaker. “Well, well, you’ve shown up again, Tower King! Instead of just threatening us with your voice, why not come down here yourself?”

With that, Detective Homura shot back. “Heh heh heh... What nonsense are you spouting, you young whelp?” “However, you fool—I’ll grant you this much—it’s impressive you figured out the tower has burrowed underground.” “But this tower’s power isn’t limited to mere burrowing!” “This one—you wouldn’t know about it!” “But—before I knew it—disposing of you fools has taken too long.” “Well then—I suppose it’s time I get started.”

Having said something ominous, the Tower King’s voice abruptly cut off.

“Uncle, what does the Tower King mean by ‘disposing of us’?”

Ichihiko asked worriedly.

“Ah, it’s nothing serious.” “Even your uncle is a man.” “I won’t let myself be killed so easily!”

Just as he was saying this, Kaitō-ō—having appeared at some unknown moment—stood towering behind the two of them.

“Wahahaha! Have you two steeled yourselves to die?”

“What are you—” With that, Homura spun around and deftly pulled the pistol’s trigger, firing *Bang! Bang!* at the Tower King—but as expected, his formidable bulletproof defenses seemed to be in effect—the shots didn’t land a single hit on Kaitō-ō.

4

“Heh heh heh... Didn’t I already tell you that such pistol bullets can’t pierce my body?” With a spiteful laugh, Kaitō-ō began sliding his feet step by step toward Homura and Ichihiko. Homura thought it was hopeless, but still determined to save Ichihiko at any cost, he shielded the boy behind his back. For every step Kaitō-ō took forward, he retreated one step back. As they were pressed relentlessly backward by the Tower King inch by inch, the two finally found themselves pinned tightly against the wall.

“Now, here it comes!” The Tower King suddenly bellowed and raised a football-sized sphere he’d been hiding high above his head. “This is a death ray lamp! You fools will see this light turn on now—and that moment will be your end! Understand? By then, the death ray will have burned your whole bodies to blackened cinders!” Oh, how dangerous! When he flipped the death ray lamp’s switch, its light would activate instantly. If that happened, both Homura and Ichihiko would be charred black and die—their lives now as fragile as candles in the wind.

(What should I do?)

With that, Ichihiko clung to Homura. Homura stiffened like a sculpture and glared at the Tower King. “Hold it.”

With that, Homura called out to the Tower King. “What’s this, young whelp? Clutching at your life now?” “No, you’re the one who should be careful!” “When I look at the clock now, it’s exactly the time when our navy’s massive cannons commence their bombardment toward this tower.” “It’s you who’s in danger!” “Huh?! Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true. If such preparations hadn’t been made, why would weaklings like us ever venture into such a dangerous tower?”

5 Upon being informed that the Mysterious Tower was to be shelled by Warship Awaji, the Tower King was shocked. “Ah! We’re going to be shelled! I didn’t realize that.” Those astonished words seemed to have truly emerged from the depths of the Tower King’s being.

Leaving Homura and Ichihiko behind, Kaitō-ō panicked and dashed upstairs.

Kaitō-ō had now returned to his third-floor room and was peering intently into a strange machine. It was an ingenious underground telescope. It was a machine that allowed one to see the surface clearly even while underground.

This was akin to a submarine’s periscope—its light intake positioned high atop a zelkova tree near the Mysterious Tower’s base. From there downward stretched a tubular structure threading through the tree’s trunk into subterranean depths before curving sideways toward the tower itself; at this angled junction sat a reflector.

Whether the Mysterious Tower ascended above ground or burrowed underground as it was now, those inside could still effectively observe the scenery above ground. Indeed, the Tower King was a formidable inventor. He still had any number of formidable machines at his disposal. When the Tower King peered into it, no matter where the Mysterious Tower had gone, he could see the Landing Party prowling around above ground—and so he thought it was all over.

“It can’t be helped.” “What a shame, but I suppose I’ll have to flee.”

Having said that, the Tower King proceeded to flip each of the large switches on the nearby switchboard one by one. And when he turned the large handle last of all, a sinister reverberation came rumbling up from the depths of the earth. And that reverberation gradually grew louder, until eventually it became so intense that it drowned out all hearing.

Flying Tower

1 A tremendous noise suddenly erupted in the basement of the Mysterious Tower!

Just what on earth was that? Clang-clang-clang!

Clang-clang-clang!

In any case, that was undoubtedly something the Tower King was causing.

Both Detective Homura, who was on the first floor, and the boy Ichihiko were terrified by this tremendous noise. The surrounding walls were clanging as if being struck with hammers. The floor beneath their feet was also shuddering eerily with a continuous vibration.

“Uncle, what do you think this sound is?” “Well, I’m not entirely sure, but it seems like there are frequent explosions happening underground.” “Could it be an earthquake?”

“Yeah, it’s not an earthquake. The Tower King, having heard he’ll be shelled by the warship, seems intent on fleeing. Which means he must be planning to move this Mysterious Tower somehow.”

“How is he going to move it?”

“Well, that’s—” Just as he was saying this, the floor—along with the walls—suddenly groaned and heaved upward.

Just as they thought this, it crashed back down with a thunderous boom.

The two of them could no longer stand there, so they dropped to their stomachs. With thunderous booms, the room rose and fell four or five times before emitting an even higher-pitched sound and shooting upward.

“Ah! It’s launched!” “Hmm, he did it—” Homura and Ichihiko sprang to their feet as if synchronized, seized the iron frame of a small window beside them, and strained to peer outside.

Now, what scene met their eyes at that moment?

2

Inside the Mysterious Tower, roaring with a tremendous noise and shaking violently!

Clinging to the window frame, Detective Homura and the boy Ichihiko peered outside!

“Ahh! This is—”

A sharp cry of surprise leapt from both their mouths at once. The scene outside the window—utterly unexpected— Ah, how could such a thing be possible? What they saw there was not the red earthen wall. Nor was it the scenery of the forest surrounded by the white sand beach and blue sea that the two were familiar with. It was an empty sky. No, it wasn’t that there was nothing at all. White clouds floated serenely here and there. That was all there was. Where had the land and sea gone?

They strained themselves to find the land and sea. The reason was this: only when they pressed their faces tightly against the window frame and strained to gaze far downward did they finally spot the land and sea surface appearing small beneath their feet, like a pattern or something of the sort. To their astonishment, the Mysterious Tower had already drifted far away from the earth before they knew it. And then it soared toward the heavens at a tremendous speed with a whooshing roar.

“Ichihiko, this is serious! We’re flying through the air right now!” “Huh? We’re flying through the air? So it really was true… I felt like my head had gone all foggy.” It was only natural he said that. The Mysterious Tower, with the two of them trapped inside, was now flying through the air like a bullet. What they had until now believed to be nothing but a tower was no ordinary tower. It became clear that this was that rocket plane said to travel through the sky faster than airplanes.

3

Now, Detective Homura and Ichihiko, trapped inside the Mysterious Tower Rocket, were on an unexpected aerial journey.

The one piloting the Mysterious Tower Rocket was none other than the Tower King himself. What could the Tower King’s real name possibly be? No one had yet discovered it.

This so-called rocket was generally a type of airplane shaped like an artillery shell with fins attached. The difference from an airplane was that whereas airplanes had propellers, rockets did not. Therefore, rockets also had no engines. Now, as for why this rocket traveled through the air—it was because there was a hole at the rear of the rocket, and gas was violently expelled from that hole. By that force, the rocket advanced forward.

The gas was stored inside the rocket. The gas used by the Tower King was QQ Gas, a powerful gas unknown anywhere else in the world. It was thoroughly cooled, solidified into a plaster-like state, and canned. When using it, opening the lid of the canned container caused the QQ Gas to turn into gaseous form and spray out violently with a fierce hiss from the hole. The reason for cooling and solidifying it was that in a vehicle like a rocket requiring large quantities of gas, storing it in gaseous form within the rocket would take up too much space, making substantial storage impossible. By cooling and solidifying it into a plaster-like state, the volume became significantly smaller. For example, even a roomful of gas became about as much powder as a small scoop’s worth when cooled and solidified. Therefore, even when carrying a considerable amount, it didn’t take up much space.

The Mysterious Tower Rocket had sprouted a roof-like structure before anyone noticed and transformed its shape into a streamlined form. The tail fins had also been extended from the mid-section of the fuselage before anyone noticed. The aged Mysterious Tower had now completely transformed into a state-of-the-art rocket. What a tremendous Mysterious Tower this was!

4

The vanished Mysterious Tower suddenly transformed into a rocket and shot into the sky, leaving everyone astonished.

But those who were most shocked of all were the members of the Warship Awaji’s landing party, who had been diligently investigating the sandy area near the site at that very moment.

From what had until then appeared to be nothing but flat sandy ground, a rocket—now sporting wings on the Mysterious Tower—suddenly burst forth with a thunderous roar and splash. Even for these Imperial Army soldiers renowned for their brilliant combat feats, it was impossible not to be shocked. Even Lieutenant Shiota, the commander, “Whoa, what the hell is that?!”

After shouting this, he could only stare blankly for a while at the Mysterious Tower Rocket ascending into the sky. “Open fire! Take aim!”

Lieutenant Shiota finally regained his composure and issued a command. However, upon realizing that firing from behind now would be futile, Lieutenant Shiota ultimately did not order the commencement of firing.

Instead, a signalman was selected, and semaphore signals were actively exchanged with the flagship. On the flagship as well, caught completely off guard, the sailors on deck could only watch in astonishment as the rocket’s gas trail stretched behind it—but almost as soon as they heard the resounding roar echo across the deck, two carrier-based planes shot into the air with a swift catapult launch. This was to pursue the Mysterious Tower Rocket. The pilots were Lieutenant Kanaoka and First Class Aviation Petty Officer Mikuma.

However, even these skilled pilots eventually returned to the ship in disappointment. A report was issued from the air.

“Commander. We attempted pursuit, but their speed was far too great—there was nothing we could do. We’ve finally lost sight of the Mysterious Tower Rocket in the direction of due north.” 5

After that, the Mysterious Tower Rocket’s whereabouts became impossible to trace.

Were Detective Homura and young Ichihiko safe? And what could the Tower King be planning to do next?

Lieutenant Shiota, commander of the Warship Awaji’s landing party, was extremely regretful about how things had turned out.

Just then, Michiko, Ichihiko’s younger sister, came to inquire about her brother out of concern, and Lieutenant Shiota’s heart was in a state of seething turmoil.

“Miss Michiko, oh, please have a seat. What a truly regrettable turn of events this is.”

Michiko’s eyelashes were wet with tears from worry.

“Captain… will my brother never come back?” “Uncle Homura also went with him, and now I have no family left at all.” “If I were a man, I’d chase after the Tower King and rescue Big Brother and the others, but—” Lieutenant Shiota blinked his eyes and, while gently stroking Michiko’s head, “Michiko, you don’t need to worry so much.” “We will definitely find them.” “Since it appears the Tower King you mentioned is responsible for subjecting this warship to such a terrible ordeal, I believe we must be the ones to subjugate him without fail.” “However, that Tower King possesses terrifying weapons that even we experts find utterly bewildering.” “Therefore, even to subjugate it, we must conduct thorough research.” “Therefore, after consulting with the captain and others, we have decided to invite Dr. Ōtone—renowned as Japan’s foremost scientist—to lend us his expertise.” “If Dr. Ōtone joins us, we’ll undoubtedly find an effective method to subjugate the Tower King.”

6

Dr. Ōtone was not only Japan’s foremost scientist but also its most eccentric character. The doctor was always holed up in his underground laboratory and rarely ventured outside. Even when visitors came calling, he wouldn’t show his face unless in an exceptionally good mood. Thus, those who had glimpsed Dr. Ōtone—with his thick glasses, unkempt beard, and gaunt, narrow face—were considered remarkably fortunate. Typically, people conducted business by using the telephone installed in his residence’s entrance to discuss matters with the doctor sequestered in his inner chambers. Even this telephone often proved unreliable, forcing determined visitors to camp at his doorstep for two or three days while repeatedly attempting calls.

Dr. Ōtone’s visit to Warship Awaji took place a full three days after the promised date. “My, what a dreadful situation this has become.”

Dr. Ōtone climbed the gangway with a beaming face, patting his waist as he came.

Captain Sōma, along with his staff officers and Lieutenant Shiota, the commander of the landing party, were there to welcome Dr. Ōtone. “This was done in by a secret weapon of considerable destructive power, I see.” “Fascinating.” “Let’s investigate this immediately.”

From the deck, he looked up at the bridge warped like melted candy, shaking his head repeatedly in awe.

“Dr. Ōtone, please have some tea.”

Michiko took the sailor’s place and served the tea. “Oh—” Dr. Ōtone’s eyes widened in surprise. “My, have warships started employing female attendants these days? Ahahaha!”

Michiko’s face turned red.

7 Dr. Ōtone bent his bamboo-pole-thin body this way and that as he meticulously inspected every part of Warship Awaji's hull, warped and melted like candy crafts.

Every time something impressed him, Dr. Ōtone would make his eyes gleam behind his thick glasses or give a sudden twitch to his bushy beard.

“Lieutenant Shiota, I’ve completed my preliminary inspection. “The most intriguing element is this ventilation duct.” With that declaration, Dr. Ōtone turned toward the ventilation duct standing nearby. This particular duct was a massive airflow conduit resembling the grotesque bowl of a tobacco pipe. Though constructed from iron plates, it now twisted as though battered by hurricane winds, its surface riddled with countless pockmarks ranging from pinpricks to gaping cavities.

“Lieutenant Shiota, I’ll be taking this ventilation duct with me for a bit.” “I must take it back and conduct thorough research.”

Having said that, Dr. Ōtone took out a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew circular and triangular marks around the holes in the ventilation duct. Then he took out a camera and meticulously photographed each of those sections. Once that was done, Dr. Ōtone pulled out an oddly shaped pair of shears he’d been hiding somewhere and began cutting through the iron ventilation duct as if it were cardboard, the blades grating through the metal with a crunching rhythm. “My, what sharp shears!”

Michiko watched from nearby and exclaimed in admiration. Dr. Ōtone suddenly whirled around with an angry expression. "Girls really mustn't chatter so much."

Michiko realized she had been scolded for interrupting the doctor and pouted.

Then, at that moment, a large hand reached out from behind Michiko and gently stroked her head. When she turned to look, it was Lieutenant Shiota’s hand.

Where was the mysterious tower?

Michiko thought Dr. Ōtone, who was incessantly conducting bizarre research aboard Warship Awaji, was a very frightening man.

Michiko thought Dr. Ōtone, who was incessantly conducting bizarre research aboard Warship Awaji, was a very frightening man. However, the doctor remained utterly unfazed by whatever Michiko might think, muttering something under his breath as he wandered around the ship.

Lieutenant Shiota, the commander of the landing party, stepped forward before the doctor and, “Dr. Ōtone, where do you think that mysterious tower-rocket went after committing such atrocities?”

Dr. Ōtone’s eyes gleamed intensely from behind his thick glasses, “Hmm, as for that matter, I’ve got a rough idea, I tell you. It must be somewhere uninhabited—places like the coast or mountains, those kinds of areas.”

“Dr. Ōtone, how do you propose we pinpoint its exact location?” “First, we must determine what kind of force the tower’s scientist used to melt the warship’s iron plates like this.” “Once identified, we could build a receiver-like device to detect that anomalous force, load it onto a plane, and follow the strengthening signal through the skies—that would lead us straight to the tower’s location.”

“I see, that’s an excellent method.” “In that case, we must have you investigate this mysterious force—but how many days will it take?”

“Well, I can’t say for sure yet—” Dr. Ōtone pressed his hand to his forehead for a moment, but

“Well then, I’ll take these iron plates from the ventilation duct back and work to conclude my analysis as quickly as possible.” “I’ll be going now.” “Dr. Ōtone, are you departing already?” “One can’t produce decent ideas in such an unsteady environment. Yes. Goodbye.” With that, Dr. Ōtone scurried away without even turning around.

2

At the same moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama rushed out onto the deck. “Lieutenant Shiota, we have a major crisis on our hands!”

“What’s this, Kohama? Getting flustered doesn’t suit you, now does it?” “Ahahaha! I suppose I might be panicking a bit.” “Anyway, we’ve started to trace the Kaitō Rocket’s whereabouts.”

“What? The Kaitō Rocket’s whereabouts—”

Lieutenant Shiota’s thick eyebrows twitched in surprise, “Hmm, well done. “However, Dr. Ōtone had insisted that until we understand the true nature of that mysterious force emitted from the tower, there’s no way we could possibly determine its whereabouts.” “Did Dr. Ōtone say such a thing?” “However, the wireless team has now intercepted wireless telegraphy believed to be emanating from the mysterious tower.” “It was an extremely weak wireless telegraphy signal, and initially, we could only pick it up for about twenty seconds, but it was unmistakably calling out to Warship Awaji.”

“Hmm.”

Lieutenant Shiota leaned forward.

“I struggled in hopes of deciphering some meaning from the signal,” he said. “But although they were indeed transmitting a message, the code was fragmented and hard to make out. However, since Awaji’s call sign was repeated so many times—ah! We realized they were calling us.” “Hmm… And then—” With that prompt from Lieutenant Shiota urging him onward, “So we gave up trying to figure out what they were saying and instead immediately set about determining where those wireless signals were coming from.”

“That’s excellent.” “And have you determined the direction from which the wireless telegraphy is coming?” “Yes—the initial transmission vanished immediately—but after about five minutes passed, the same signal came through again. We succeeded in capturing it.”

3

Chief Petty Officer Kohama continued his report earnestly before Lieutenant Shiota, explaining how he had measured the direction from which the mysterious radio waves had come.

“Lieutenant Shiota, that direction appeared on the direction finder’s scale.”

“Which way is that direction?”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota took out a map and spread it open. “Ah, this is Kujūkuri Beach. Let me try drawing a straight line on the map here, angled about five degrees east of true north.” With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama swiftly drew a line across the map with a red pencil.

“This direction.” The direction passed by Katori Shrine in Chiba Prefecture, entered Ibaraki Prefecture to cut between Kasumigaura and Kitaura Lakes, pierced through Ōarai Coast east of Mito, then extended from Hitachi Mine toward Nakoso Barrier.

“Hmm, that’s the northern direction. It would help if we could pinpoint the exact location—”

“Ah, we already tried that as well.”

“Did you get it?” “Yes, as Destroyer Tachikaze was sailing approximately two hundred kilometers east of Kashima-nada Sea at the time, we had them measure the direction of that mysterious radio wave.” “Unfortunately, the sea was stormy with heavy rain and wind, and the waves were quite rough, so Tachikaze’s wireless team put in considerable effort and time—but they still managed to figure it out in the end.” “The direction of the mysterious radio wave measured from Tachikaze turned out to be approximately ten degrees north of due west.”

“So, if it’s inclined ten degrees north from true west—that would place it around Hitachi Mine or between Nakoso Barrier.” “Yes, if we trace the line like this—”

With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama started drawing a line with a blue pencil from the Pacific Ocean and pulled it steadily westward. Then the point where the previously drawn red line and the newly drawn blue line intersected was none other than Nakoso Barrier!

4

The direction finder was an extremely useful machine. By measuring the direction of the weak radio waves emitted from the hidden tower’s location—from both Warship Awaji at Kujūkuri Beach and Destroyer Tachikaze sailing in the Pacific—they could accurately determine that the location was Nakoso Barrier. Truly, one had to acknowledge it was an excellent machine. That our Japan possessed such a world-class, superb direction finder was truly heartening.

Lieutenant Shiota’s face brimmed with joy as he tightly gripped Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s hand. “The direction finder has outdone even Dr. Ōtone!” “Is that so?” “After all, Dr. Ōtone himself said pinpointing the tower-rocket’s location would be no easy task.” “Shall I notify Dr. Ōtone that we’ve located the tower?” “Yes.”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota was lost in thought for a moment,

“Well… I suppose we won’t inform him for now,” said Lieutenant Shiota meaningfully. “There are certain considerations I must weigh.”

he said meaningfully.

Be that as it may, were those feeble mysterious radio waves truly emanating from the tower? In that case, who could have been sending that signal? What were Detective Homura and the boy Ichihiko—who had been confined in the mysterious tower—doing at that moment?

Be that as it may, Lieutenant Shiota reported all of Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s findings regarding the location emitting the mysterious radio waves to the fleet flagship. When the Commander-in-Chief heard this, he immediately issued orders to dispatch the reconnaissance squadron toward Nakoso Barrier. Lieutenant Shiota and Chief Petty Officer Kohama were also to join their ranks and had to bid farewell to Kujūkuri Beach. Thus, they invited Michiko aboard the warship to say their goodbyes and vowed to rescue Ichihiko and Homura.

Reconnaissance Planes Depart

1

Having estimated that the Tower King’s hiding place was likely near Nakoso Barrier, Lieutenant Shiota and Chief Petty Officer Kohama bid farewell to Michiko and boarded the reconnaissance plane. The reconnaissance squadron immediately took to the air. With their wings aligned in tight formation, they flew straight northward, ever northward. Kujūkuri Beach soon shrank until it was no longer visible. “Lieutenant Shiota, we’ve received a report that six bombers have also departed from Hiraiso Base toward Nakoso Barrier.”

With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama, who had been operating the plane’s wireless telegraph, informed Lieutenant Shiota through the voice pipe.

“Hmm, I see.” At last came the moment to subdue the Tower King. But would this fiend be vanquished so easily?

After some time had passed, Lieutenant Shiota, “Hey, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—since then, have those radio transmissions from the tower conveyed anything clear?”

Then, from inside the voice pipe came Kohama’s voice,

“Since leaving Warship Awaji, those mysterious radio waves haven’t come in at all.” “Even now, we are searching with all our might.” Kohama reported.

“I see. It’s worrying that they aren’t transmitting any wireless signals.” “If we ascend into the air, wireless signals should be heard more clearly—so if they transmit any, there’s no reason we wouldn’t hear them.”

As he was saying this, Chief Petty Officer Kohama suddenly let out a startled cry, “Ah! Lieutenant Shiota, it’s coming in! It’s coming in!” “It’s definitely that mysterious radio wave.” “It’s coming in loud and clear.” “This time, we should even be able to decipher the code.” “That’s wonderful. “Make sure you receive those wireless signals properly!” Now then, what message could the wireless signals from the tower be transmitting? Lieutenant Shiota waited with bated breath for Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s report.

2

Aboard the plane, the one intently listening to the mysterious radio waves that began to be heard again was Chief Petty Officer Kohama. Dit, dit, dit, dah. Dit, dit, dit, dah.

“Hmm, I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”

With one hand, Chief Petty Officer Kohama pressed the receiver to his ear, poised not to miss a single character.

Then, at last, the mysterious radio waves began to spell out a message.

Now then, what message would come through? “Make peace with Kaitō-ō, Homura.”

The message stated, “Make peace with Kaitō-ō, Homura.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama found the message utterly unexpected but promptly reported it directly to Lieutenant Shiota.

It was Lieutenant Shiota who was shocked. “What? It’s saying to make peace with Kaitō-ō—? Has Homura Sōroku gone mad? Or perhaps this is a forged message from Kaitō-ō.” How could they ever forgive Kaitō-ō—that brute who wrecked Warship Awaji, the Imperial Navy’s greatest battleship? The wireless message from Detective Homura ordering them to make peace with that Kaitō-ō made no sense no matter how he thought about it.

Could it be that Detective Homura had finally been captured by Kaitō-ō and was being forced to send such a message against his will?

“Hey, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—was that wireless transmission we just received sent from the same machine we heard on Warship Awaji earlier?” “Yes, I believe it’s the same one. The volume has increased, but their machine seems quite suspicious—the sound wavers unsteadily, like a drunkard’s swaying.” “Hmph—just like your footsteps on the night we came ashore.” Even amid his surprise, Lieutenant Shiota maintained the composure of a warrior as he teased.

“Oh, come on...”

The chief petty officer scratched his head. 3 Aboard the plane, Lieutenant Shiota sat with his arms crossed, pondering who on earth had sent the wireless message that said, “Make peace with Kaitō-ō.”

Then, this had to be a wireless transmission sent by Detective Homura. If Kaitō-ō were using the wireless machine installed in the tower to send messages, it wouldn’t produce such a feeble, wavering signal. The conclusion was unavoidable—Homura must have surrendered to Kaitō-ō. At that moment, a contact signal arrived from the bomber squadron that had departed Hiraiso Base. “Main force holding at 3,000 meters over Kashima-nada Sea. Standing by to commence bombing operations on your command. Captain Matsukaze, Squadron Leader.”

The bomber squadron was loitering at an altitude of 3,000 meters over the sea; the wireless message stated that they could immediately commence bombing anywhere as soon as Lieutenant Shiota issued the command. At last, the terrifying aerial bombing attack was prepared.

So, where to bomb? They had to quickly locate where the tower was. When Lieutenant Shiota reached the airspace over Mito, he informed the entire squadron of their respective reconnaissance courses, and from there, they were to scatter in all directions to search for the tower hidden on the ground. Now then, which reconnaissance plane would be the one to achieve this feat?

4:10 PM! The long-awaited message - "The tower has been sighted!" - was transmitted from one of the planes. At that signal, the plane carrying Lieutenant Shiota also hurriedly headed in that direction. When Chief Petty Officer Kohama received the report that "The tower has been sighted!", he felt deeply disappointed at having failed to spot it himself. So he directed his telescope toward the ground and strained desperately to catch a glimpse of the tower as quickly as possible.

There, slightly west of Nakoso Barrier in the mountains between Yamaguchi Coal Mine and Ibaraki Coal Mine, they could see something round—like a dropped fifty-sen silver coin.

4

“Ah! There it is!”

“That’s right—the tower is in sight!”

Both Lieutenant Shiota and Chief Petty Officer Kohama on the reconnaissance plane involuntarily leaned forward from their seats.

“Contact the bomber squadron!”

When the lieutenant shouted, the communication officer immediately switched on the wireless device and contacted the bomber squadron commander.

“Yes, this is the bomber squadron commander.” Lieutenant Shiota took the microphone and informed them of the state of the mysterious tower visible below. And then he immediately requested that they commence the bombing.

“Understood. We will proceed immediately with all aircraft.”

“We’re counting on you.” Less than ten minutes later, the wings of the bomber squadron appeared from the eastern sky. The wireless sets of both squadrons began exchanging messages frantically. Soon their coordination was fully complete. The bomber aircraft split into two squadrons, each maintaining an altitude of 4,000 meters, and advanced silently over the mysterious tower.

Both Lieutenant Shiota and Chief Petty Officer Kohama watched intently from aboard the reconnaissance plane, holding their breath as they observed the maneuvers. Soon after, the lead aircraft of the bomber squadron flying ahead sharply dipped its nose downward. The following planes likewise lowered their noses in sequence. This was a dive bombing attack.

From the midsection of the aircraft, five or six pitch-black objects were suddenly hurled out. They were bombs. The bombs clustered neatly together and steadily fell downward.

The bomb group from the second bomber, chasing after them, steadily pursued the mysterious tower on the ground.

Now, what would happen? In just a few more seconds, they thought, there would finally be a massive explosion—blasting away the earth and sending black smoke billowing into the sky—but in reality, it did not happen. It was truly strange—the explosion simply would not occur.

5

Inside the mysterious tower should be Homura Sōroku, who had transmitted the wireless message urging them to "Make peace with Kaitō-ō," as well as the boy Ichihiko. Despite this, dropping bombs on the mysterious tower was truly something he was reluctant to do; however, since the tower that had become an enemy of the Imperial Navy could not be left standing even for a day or an hour, Lieutenant Shiota therefore steeled himself and ordered the bomber squadron to drop their bombs.

The bombs had plummeted straight down and then fallen completely silent, leaving the bombardiers utterly bewildered. “We dropped the bombs, but they’re not exploding!” Then, a strange message arrived at Lieutenant Shiota’s location. “So they’re saying they dropped the bombs but didn’t explode—is that it? There’s no way something this absurd could happen! Hey, Chief Petty Officer Kohama.” “Hmm, I can’t say for sure. It’s not as though the bombs have decided to take a nap.”

The bombs dropped by the six bombers all ended up as duds. What in the world had happened?

Lieutenant Shiota resolved to dive the reconnaissance plane and investigate the situation on the ground.

“Dive to 100 meters! Scout the mysterious tower in the north-south direction!” When this order was issued, the reconnaissance plane immediately began descending toward the ground like a hawk diving toward its prey.

Lieutenant Shiota took up his binoculars and was intently observing the area around the mysterious tower.

At that moment, Lieutenant Shiota tilted his head slightly, “Ah! What is that?” “Hey, Kohama! Look over there!” “Where? “On top of the tower?” What strange sight could possibly have appeared through their binoculars?

6

Aboard the reconnaissance plane that had descended to low altitude, what Lieutenant Shiota and Chief Petty Officer Kohama saw was the mysterious tower sporting a strange umbrella.

What kind of shape could this strange umbrella have had? It appeared that numerous dud bombs were arranged on the same plane about five or six meters above the tower’s summit, looking exactly like an umbrella covering it.

“This is strange,” said Lieutenant Shiota. “The bombs we dropped from above aren’t falling down—they’re just hanging suspended like that. What in the world could be causing this?” “Lieutenant Shiota, this is like magic!” exclaimed Chief Petty Officer Kohama. “This is astonishing!” Kohama stood utterly flustered. Lieutenant Shiota crossed his arms and pondered deeply before nodding firmly. “Kohama, let’s try shooting the tower with machine guns. Have all reconnaissance planes open fire on it. Issue the order!”

The lieutenant resolved to commence machine gun fire.

The order was immediately issued. The five pilots following Lieutenant Shiota’s command plane prepared their front-mounted machine gun triggers to be pulled at any moment and awaited further orders. Before long,

“Prepare to fire on the mysterious tower! Target the third-floor windows! Fire while circling the tower! Commence firing!”

No sooner had the order been given than they unleashed a furious barrage—rat-a-tat-tat, boom-boom-boom—pounding the target relentlessly for over a minute.

“Cease fire!” And the shooting came to an abrupt halt.

It was truly perplexing. Though the mysterious tower's windows clearly contained glass panes, they showed no signs of breaking whatsoever. If bullets had struck the tower's outer walls, there ought to have been some sort of smoke-like effect, yet nothing of the sort was visible.

Even the usually unflappable Lieutenant Shiota was growing impatient as he stared fixedly at the tower. Then, ——

7

Under Lieutenant Shiota’s orders, the six reconnaissance planes began fiercely firing their machine guns while circling around and around the mysterious tower. Of course, they were firing their machine guns at the mysterious tower, but for some reason, the bullets weren’t hitting it at all.

“This doesn’t make sense!” And so—unaware of the Tower King’s mysterious power—he tilted his head slightly.

Where had the bullets gone?

At this moment, had someone approached close to the tower and looked carefully, they would have seen the bullets suspended motionless in midair—one or two meters away from the tower’s walls—scattered like sesame seeds across empty space. Lieutenant Shiota had been intently adjusting the focus of his binoculars from aboard the plane, but when he discerned that a wall of bullets had formed in this manner, he smiled faintly.

“Good—that’s done it.” “Lieutenant Shiota, what do you mean by ‘good’?” asked Chief Petty Officer Kohama. “Hmm—in essence, we’ve completely encircled the mysterious tower with bombs and bullets.” “See? That’s how it stands.” “The bombs we dropped from above are arrayed like an umbrella several meters over the tower’s roof, refusing to fall down, while the bullets we just fired have formed a bullet wall around the mysterious tower.” “Thus, the tower finds itself surrounded by bombs and bullets.” “In this state, it’s as though we’ve cast a cage over the tower from above.” “Even if the tower attempts to break free, the bombs and bullets will obstruct its escape.” “Well? A perfect execution, wouldn’t you say?”

Lieutenant Shiota looked extremely pleased.

But everyone—could Lieutenant Shiota’s plan have been mistaken? Had that mysterious tower truly become like an eagle caged? After all, their adversary was none other than that uncanny tower wielding its bizarre power to repel every scrap of iron!

The Tower King’s Search

The Tower King dashed here and there across the third-floor room of the tower—opening desk drawers, flipping over futons—frantically searching for something.

The Tower King dashed about the third-floor room of his tower—opening desk drawers and flipping over futons—as he frantically searched for something. "It’s not here! It’s not here! Where could it have gone?"

When one saw the Tower King raise his face—for some reason today—he had something like a black cloth resembling a furoshiki completely draped over his head from above. In other words, his face was wrapped in a black cloth resembling a furoshiki. The suspicious Kaitō-ō had now become even more suspicious.

“It’s not here! It’s not here!” “Where on earth did it go?” With that, the Tower King glanced around restlessly. “Still not here.” “That’s strange…”

Despite the mysterious tower being completely surrounded by bombs and bullets, he showed no concern whatsoever for such matters. Instead, he kept fussing about—muttering “Not here! Not here!”—with a black cloth draped over his head from above. It seemed something grave had occurred.

At that moment, the telephone’s ringing bell began blaring shrilly. However, the Tower King paid no attention to such a thing.

Moreover, atop the control panel in the room, a red "Caution" light flashed incessantly on and off, warning the Tower King of something—but he paid no attention to this either. What on earth was the Tower King in such a frantic hurry about?

The floor one level below was, in other words, the second floor of the mysterious tower—this was the machine room. There were various unfathomable, intricate machines lined up, and among them stood three cylinders—each about the size of a postbox—spaced apart from one another. What these were had remained unclear until now, but just as this commotion was unfolding, the lids of the cylinders snapped open, and three Black people popped their heads out from within.

2

Until now, they had believed that only the Tower King resided within the mysterious tower—but on its second floor, three cylinders, each about the size of postboxes, all opened their lids, and from within emerged the unexpected faces of Black people. How astonished Detective Homura and Ichihiko would have been had they witnessed this! Who in the world could these Black people inside the cylinders be? And what could they have been doing inside them?

“Hey Jean. What do you think the Professor’s doing up there?” “Yeah Ken. That alarm bell’s been clanging nonstop to warn about danger...” As the two Black men spoke anxiously, their companion Pon interjected— “If the tower gets wrecked now, we’re done for. Let’s try moving it ourselves.”

Then Jean and Ken were startled, their large eyes darting around restlessly, “No way! No way! If the Professor doesn’t give proper instructions, the tower won’t move properly!” “Exactly! Jean’s got it right. More importantly, is there any way to quickly find out what the Professor is doing?” “There’s no way. We’ve been stuck in this cylinder since we got in, and since we’re chained up, there’s no way we can get out, right?”

There was a person who had been intently listening to this conversation from halfway up the stairs that led downstairs for some time now. He—perhaps deciding the timing was right—quietly climbed the rest of the stairs and suddenly appeared before the Black people.

The ones who were startled were the Black people. “Whoa, it’s the Professor!”

Why had the Tower King, who should have been on the third floor, come up from downstairs?

3

Jean, Ken, and Pon—the three Black people—were in a great panic. They promptly pulled their heads back into the cylinders and tried to clatter the lids shut, but in their panic, they couldn’t manage to close them properly.

“Hey, you there! Wait a second!” said the Tower King, who had come from downstairs.

“Hey!” The three Black people stuck their necks out again while keeping lids balanced atop their heads. At that moment they wondered—the Tower King wore strange clothes. An unnervingly long-tailed coat hung loosely about him like a baggy overcoat. This was an outfit they’d never seen before.

(The Professor is wearing strange clothes.) And so, all three of them thought exactly that. “Hey, you lot! You can hear that alarm bell ringing, right?” “Y-yes!” “That, as you all know, was signaling that part of this tower had been damaged.”

“Yes, yes.” “Since it’s dangerous to stay like this—you’ve gotta move the tower fast!” “Ah, that’s correct. We’ve been saying that ourselves since earlier…”

“Then move it immediately. Make sure you move it carefully!” “Professor, which direction should we move the tower?” “Hmm, that would be—” The Tower King paused to consider,

“Right! Fly this tower down to Yokosuka Naval Port.” “Whoa—Yokosuka Naval Port?!” “That’s dangerous!”

The Black people turned pale upon hearing "Yokosuka Naval Port."

4 “As for Yokosuka Naval Port... I am astonished.”

With a deep sigh, the Black person in the cylinder pleaded pitifully to Kaitō-ō.

Another Black person also uttered in a trembling voice, "If we take this tower to Yokosuka Naval Port, it’s as if we’re deliberately marching off to become prisoners." The remaining Black person, alone and energetically,

“No, that’s not true. Whether it’s Yokosuka Naval Port or anywhere else—if we fight using our tower’s pride, the magnetic cannon—that naval port’ll be smashed to pieces! I’m not worried. You all don’t need to worry either.”

He puffed out his chest and shouted，“No! I'm really worried! At the naval port，there aren't just cannons．Japanese sailors are awfully strong．They'll come into the tower．The magnetic cannon can't fully stop humans！” Another Black person countered，“Then we'll take care of those sailors with a death ray！” “That won't work! That won't work!” protested a third．“There's only one death ray．If hordes of sailors charge in，we won't kill them all in time！” Kaitō-ō roared，“Nonsense! It's perfectly possible！”

“No, no! Impossible! Impossible!” As the Black people were vigorously arguing, nearby stood Kaitō-ō—wearing a long mantle like an Arabian king’s—listening with a stern expression. “You lot, shut up!” “This is my order.” “Now hurry up and make this tower fly to Yokosuka!”

When he waved his hand, the Black people, startled by Kaitō-ō’s fierce demeanor, withdrew their heads into the cylinder.

These Black people were the drivers of this mysterious tower. They were exceptionally capable drivers whom Kaitō-ō had specially trained. The mysterious tower was finally about to take off again when the loudspeaker attached to the ceiling suddenly blared with a harsh crackle.

5 Suddenly, the loudspeaker overhead blared with a harsh crackle! The three Black people were startled again. However, the one who was even more startled was Kaitō-ō. He quickly stooped down, grabbed a wooden fragment that had fallen on the floor, and in one swift motion flung it toward the loudspeaker on the ceiling.

The wooden fragment missed the loudspeaker and fell straight down. At that moment, a hoarse voice burst forth from the loudspeaker. “Kōra, Jean, Ken, Pon. Do not fly the tower toward Yokosuka! This is my order! Those who disobey will have their souls burned to ashes later!” The voice that spoke was identical to Kaitō-ō’s. “Oh ho ho! Master’s standing right there, yet his voice comes from the third floor too!”

The Black people were utterly astonished. “Kōra, quickly send it to Yokosuka.” “Do you fools mean to say you can’t see this face of mine?!”

And Kaitō-ō in the room shouted.

“Hee hee… In that case, to Yokosuka—”

The Black people bowed their heads, but in their hearts—

Hmm... No matter how I looked at him, this Master’s face was undoubtedly his own, but his way of speaking felt slightly different. Yet it seemed impossible there could be two people with Master’s exact face. I just couldn’t make sense of it anymore.

As they were thinking this, from above their heads— “Kōra, Jean, Ken, Pon. “Don’t you recognize my voice?” “The one before you is an imposter of me!” “Do not listen to what he says!”

“Huh? Then—” With that, the three Black people rolled their eyes around, looking up at the ceiling and then staring at Kaitō-ō’s face in the room.

“I’m right here giving orders! Why are you making such a racket?”

And Kaitō-ō in the room was displeased.

6

The Kaitō-ō of Flesh and the Kaitō-ō of Voice!

Inside the tower, there were now two Kaitō-ōs. The Black people were at their wit's end. The reason was that while the Kaitō-ō before their eyes ordered them to fly to Yokosuka, the Kaitō-ō's voice commanded that they must not fly to Yokosuka. Just which one were they supposed to obey?

If Detective Homura had been there, he would have identified which was the real Kaitō-ō. Detective Homura was supposed to be inside this tower, but he still hadn't shown himself. As for young Ichihiko—who knew where he was or what he was doing?

“What are you dawdling for? Fly the tower to Yokosuka quickly—” “No! I won’t let you fly it to Yokosuka!” It was a quarrel between the two Kaitō-ōs—the one of flesh and the one of voice.

At this moment outside the mysterious tower, formation planes under Lieutenant Shiota’s command flipped their wings repeatedly as they launched fierce assaults. The machine guns aimed at the tower’s windows, thudding and clattering while pouring down relentless gunfire. This overwhelming onslaught proved more than sufficient to terrify the Black crew.

The three Black people, trembling, exchanged glances among themselves, but soon, having seemingly reached some sort of agreement, they all hid themselves inside the cylinder and shut the lid.

Then, soon, the engine began roaring. The tower rattled violently. The many meters on the switchboard all moved their needles at once.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Roar! Roar! Roar! “Fly to Yokosuka!” “No! Fly toward the Pacific!” Both Kaitō-ōs shouted at each other, but their voices only echoed uselessly within the tower. With a thunderous crash, the mysterious tower shook violently before shooting skyward faster than an arrow, hissing white gas as it went. Ah—how dangerous! Even with that canopy of bombs blocking its path— A massive explosion!

1

The mysterious tower finally broke free from its anchorage at Nakoso Barrier and leapt out toward the vast sky. Here, it once again transformed into a rocket-tower and began its flight, but above the mysterious tower, bombs dropped by our bombing squadron had formed a parasol-like shape, obstructing its path. Because the tower darted into that spot, all hell broke loose.

Boom! Clatter-clatter-clatter! Clang-clang!

It was a violent explosion. The area was blanketed in pitch-black smoke, presenting a scene as if a mass of evening storm clouds had descended. Flash flash flash, flash flash flash.

Whether it was fire from the explosion or electricity, there was no telling, but a blinding light flashed—its sheer intensity beyond description. The squadron of over a dozen planes under Lieutenant Shiota’s command circled around it, watching this terrifying spectacle unfold before them. Had even the mighty mysterious tower been reduced to smithereens?

But no—that was not the case.

At that moment, piercing through the upper part of the black smoke that resembled a mass of evening storm clouds, the monstrous giant resembling an artillery shell burst forth toward the heavens!

“Ah! The mysterious tower rocket has emerged from there!”

“Right—it’s the mysterious tower rocket! Don’t let it escape! After them at full speed!” Lieutenant Shiota issued a major command to all aircraft.

Oh, how strange! The mysterious tower rocket slipped through unscathed amidst the bombs clustered like a parasol above it and soared into the sky. A close inspection revealed no damage whatsoever to the mysterious tower rocket. And no wonder—having launched itself after fully charging its magnetic cannon beforehand, all iron bomb fragments had been scattered away.

2

The mysterious tower rocket blew away the bomb fragments and revealed its terrifying silhouette against the sunset-tinged clouds. From its rear end, gas hissed out incessantly—reflected in the evening sun—turning white at times, red at others, and yellow yet others, making the rocket-tower appear even more eerie. Lieutenant Shiota led the reconnaissance squadron through gaps between the clouds as he chased after the mysterious tower rocket.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama sidled up beside the lieutenant, waiting for an opportune moment to commence battle. “Hey Kohama, I assume our plane is already at full speed?”

“Yes, Lieutenant Shiota. We’re already at full speed.” “I see. If we don’t catch up soon, night will fall.” “Then it’ll be a hassle to track them down.” “Well, this time, I am determined to catch up by all means and shoot it down with a ramming attack.”

“Yeah, I agree.” “I’m planning to ram this plane into the mysterious tower rocket’s tail fin and wreck its rudder.” “If it loses its rudder, even the mysterious tower rocket won’t be able to fly—no matter how hard it tries!”

“That’s a brilliant plan, isn’t it? Understood! I’ll give it everything I’ve got!”

Lieutenant Shiota, as expected of a squadron leader, had an excellent plan. However, while it may sound straightforward to disable the enemy’s rudder with a direct collision, actually executing such a maneuver was no easy feat. Would it work? The mysterious tower rocket suddenly turned its head upward and rapidly ascended into the sky. No sooner had it done so than it abruptly swung its rudder and began racing southward. Then once again it tilted upward sharply, spinning its rear rapidly while climbing skyward. There was no telling where it might fly next. Its movements resembled the staggering gait of a drunkard.

3

It was no wonder that the mysterious tower was leaping this way and that like a drunkard’s gait. The reason was that inside the mysterious tower, the two black drivers—each shouting to their respective Tower Kings—were threatened by these conflicting orders, leaping about chaotically now toward the heavens, now horizontally.

Before long, before they knew it, the mysterious tower emerged over the Pacific Ocean. The remaining light of the sunset gradually faded, and now the surroundings were on the verge of plunging into deep dusk.

Lieutenant Shiota exerted every ounce of his strength to pursue the mysterious tower rocket through the air. Thanks to the tower rocket’s haphazard movements, Lieutenant Shiota’s plane finally managed to draw near it.

“Just a little more! Hang in there!” Lieutenant Shiota kept urging the pilot on.

“Aim for the rudder mechanism! Use this wheel to kick away that rudder mechanism!” The reconnaissance planes following Lieutenant Shiota’s lead—perceiving his intent just as he did—chased after the mysterious tower rocket with all their might, each determined to be the one that would ram and destroy its rudder.

Before long, the long-awaited opportunity for Lieutenant Shiota’s plane arrived. This was because the mysterious tower rocket had shut off its gas while remaining pointed upward, causing the rocket’s ascent speed to gradually decrease under its own weight. The rocket would probably soon flip around to face downward and then swiftly dart off horizontally. It was exactly like a reverse Immelmann turn. As the rocket lost its ascending speed and hovered in midair, Lieutenant Shiota did not miss his chance,

“Now! Vertical turn! Destroy the enemy’s rudder mechanism!”

he issued an extraordinarily bold command.

4

Lieutenant Shiota, as expected of an exceptional military officer, gave the order for a ramming attack at the perfect moment. The reconnaissance plane carrying the lieutenant, still in a vertical turn, collided with a magnificent "boom" against the tail fin of the mysterious tower rocket.

“Hmm, how about that?”

They collided in a desperate bid. Using the plane’s wheel, they kicked away the mysterious tower rocket’s tail fin. With a violent sound, the enemy’s tail fin was torn off, and something like sparks flashed brightly. The reconnaissance plane, as if hurled away, went tumbling through the air, and Lieutenant Shiota and all those aboard were struck with dizziness. But the steady-nerved pilot persevered and restored the tilted aircraft to level flight. Had he hesitated any longer, they might have crashed—but he managed to pull back just in time.

“Please rest assured—the aircraft is intact.”

The pilot shouted. The rubber wheel was unexpectedly sturdy, kicking away the enemy’s tail fin without sustaining damage.

By then, Lieutenant Shiota and Chief Petty Officer Kohama had finally recovered from their dizziness and were able to open their eyes. “Where has the mysterious tower gone?”

“Huh… It’s gone!”

The two of them leaned out of their seats, looking up and down,

“There it is!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama had spotted it. “There it is! Where?”

“That’s it. I can see it falling down through those evening clouds over there.” Looking where Chief Petty Officer Kohama pointed, there indeed was the mysterious tower rocket—half-illuminated by the setting sun—falling through the sky as it trailed a shadowy tail in the clouds. And the aircraft was shaking violently, swaying its nose oddly as it fell. 5

Lieutenant Shiota once again issued orders to all planes to pursue the mysterious tower rocket. All planes pursued the mysterious tower rocket as fiercely as falcons, but the opponent, shaking its head violently while swaying wildly, finally plunged into the sea with a splash.

“Ah! The mysterious tower rocket has dived into the sea!”

“No, it crashed. Hurry and go check directly above it!” The mysterious tower rocket, which had been expected to fly off somewhere, either finally lost momentum or simply sank into the waves of the Pacific, leaving Lieutenant Shiota and his men utterly bewildered.

The reconnaissance planes descended to just above the sea surface and searched to see if they could spot the mysterious tower rocket. But the black sea, having swallowed the rocket somewhere, lay unperturbed.

Reluctantly, Lieutenant Shiota ordered the entire squadron to pull back slightly and maintain a broad vigil over the sea surface. That was because he thought the mysterious tower rocket might emerge from the waves at any moment.

However, the mysterious tower rocket never showed itself again.

And the sky that had been nearing dusk grew steadily darker until it finally became a pitch-dark night. Under these conditions, they could no longer search for the mysterious tower. Lieutenant Shiota felt regretful but had no choice—he entrusted subsequent operations to the destroyer fleet that had just arrived at full speed and finally resolved to withdraw from the area.

Where had the mysterious tower rocket gone? And what had become of it now? Kaitō-ō and Detective Homura—what were they doing? Wrapped in its many mysteries, the black sea that had swallowed the mysterious tower continued to sleep quietly.

Charcoal-Burning Old Man

1 The mysterious tower rocket, which had vanished into the waves of the Pacific, showed no sign of reappearing thereafter. The destroyer fleet maintained constant vigilance over the sea day and night, always poised to blast the mysterious tower rocket with their cannons should it emerge from the waves—but their opponent remained hidden without a trace.

Here, the story shifts to the mountains near Nakoso Barrier.

The charcoal-burning old man found a boy lying unconscious in the mountains. It was strange enough that the boy had come to such a remote mountain area, but equally strange that his clothing and feet showed no signs of having traveled. When he helped him up and checked, he found that the boy had injured his right leg. The charcoal-burning old man busied himself with these unexpected tasks—tending to the boy’s wound and leading him to the hut—working in a flurry of activity.

It was a full thirty minutes later that the boy finally regained consciousness.

When the boy came to and saw the old man’s face, he was startled and tried to flee—but with his leg unresponsive, he collapsed face-first onto the straw mat. “Ouch, ouch!”

He cried out while clutching his throbbing leg. Who could this boy be? It was Ichihiko. This was none other than Ichihiko-kun, whom you all know well—but if Ichihiko should have been inside the mysterious tower, why was he lying here in these mountains? “Does it hurt that badly? “You’re a boy—endure it! Endure it!”

And the old man was tenderly caring for Ichihiko. Ichihiko, clenching his teeth, “Old man, what’s the fastest way to get word to town?” he asked.

2 The Charcoal-Burning Old Man, who had been asked by the injured boy about the fastest way to send word to town, looked intently at the boy’s face while— “Even if we talk about sending a messenger to town, there ain’t that many ways to go about it.” “There ain’t no other way ’cept me trudgin’ down the mountain myself.” After he answered, “But you—how’d you end up in a place like this?” “And just who might you be?”

he asked suspiciously.

The boy, seeming to feel pain from his wound, frowned but eventually opened his mouth, “—You mean me? My name’s Ichihiko.”

“Huh? Kazuhiko, you say?” “That’s right—Ichihiko. I ran away from inside the Mysterious Tower. That’s how I got hurt like this.”

The injured boy was, unexpectedly, Ichihiko. This was how Ichihiko, who should have been confined inside the mysterious tower alongside Homura Sōroku, found himself completely unexpectedly cast out into the mountains.

But to the charcoal-burning old man, neither the name Ichihiko nor the term Mysterious Tower could mean anything.

“What in the world is this ‘Mysterious Tower’ you’re talkin’ about?”

he posed a carefree question.

“You don’t know about the Mysterious Tower?”

Ichihiko’s eyes widened, “Look, it’s about yesterday. A bunch of planes came and were dropping bombs from the sky, right? They were doing it on the other side of this mountain, right? That was planes attacking the Mysterious Tower and bombing it from the sky.”

“Hmm, I see! So that’s what that was,” said the old man. “I’d thought they were doin’ some kinda military drill!” “You’re pretty laid-back thinkin’ it was just a drill!” Ichihiko retorted. “And then at the end, didn’t a huge tower go streak’ through the sky with a tail trailin’ behind? That’s the Mysterious Tower. I’m tellin’ you—I escaped from inside that very tower!”

3

“Ah, I see! So that’s the Mysterious Tower then? That’s the one I saw too! Now that I hear it, you say you escaped from inside there—but why in the world were you in the Mysterious Tower of all places?”

The Charcoal-Burning Old Man widened his eyes in surprise and then proceeded to bombard the boy Ichihiko with one question after another. As for Ichihiko, he had a mountain of stories he could have told the old man, but more than that, he thought he had to inform Lieutenant Shiota as quickly as possible—even a minute sooner—and report everything that had happened up until his escape from the Mysterious Tower.

“Hey, Old man. If you keep dawdling around, there’s no telling how badly the Tower King might wreck Japan’s warships! So you see, I need to meet a naval officer or a police officer as quickly as possible. If we don’t hurry, something terrible will happen! Hey, Old man. I’m sorry to ask, but could you go down the mountain and let someone know I’m here?”

Ichihiko said with an earnest expression on his face. Upon hearing that Japan’s warships would be terribly wrecked, the charcoal-burning old man leapt up in shock. For you see, this old man’s only son was a sailor currently serving on a warship. The warship was important, and his only son was important as well. “Alright, then I’ll go inform the villagers now.” “Wait a minute—there was a better way to get word out quickly than going down the mountain now.” “Of course, we’ve agreed with the villagers that this emergency alarm shouldn’t be used unless it’s a catastrophe that turns heaven and earth upside down—but if this Tower King’s out there smashing Japan’s warships to splinters, then I reckon it’s alright to sound it now.”

With that, the old man took the sickle hanging at his waist, cut down a thick bamboo growing nearby, adjusted it to a suitable length, and drilled a hole in it. What was the old man making?

4 “Old man, you’re cutting bamboo—what on earth are you making with it?”

“Old man, you’re cutting bamboo—what on earth are you making with it?” Ichihiko asked, watching with admiration as the sickle gripped in the old man’s hand moved skillfully.

“Yeah, this one.” “This here’s my pride an’ joy—the bamboo horn!” “What’s a bamboo horn?” “Don’t you know about bamboo butterflies?” He was surprised.

“Just you watch!”

With that, the old man busily worked on the bamboo tube he’d cut to about fifty centimeters in length, then soon broke into a grin, “There! The bamboo horn’s done!” “This should sound good.”

Then, pressing the bamboo horn to his lips and facing the distant village at the foot of the mountain, he blew a huge breath into it with a *puu!*

*Puuu, puuu, puuu, puuu.*

The bamboo horn began to resound sonorously with a loud and pleasant tone. The sound echoed through the mountains and resounded with a long, trailing *"Uuuu…"* that lingered on.

“Ah, what a nice sound!” The boy Ichihiko forgot the pain of his wound and became entranced by the sound of the old man’s bamboo horn.

The old man pressed the bamboo to his lips time and again, puffed out his cheeks like rubber balls, and continued blowing long signal tones, but—

“There! That should be enough for the villagers to hear this bamboo horn.”

“Old man, will the villagers hear that bamboo horn and come all the way up into these mountains?”

“That’s right. Everyone’ll come rushin’ up here all surprised-like. Blow it that way and they’ll know exactly where we are.”

“Can’t you send messages to the village below by varying how you blow the bamboo horn?” “You think you can send messages by changing how you blow it? That’s impossible—you’d run out of breath.”

5 The Charcoal-Burning Old Man shook his head and regretfully said that using a bamboo horn to send messages to the village below would be impossible—he couldn’t sustain his breath long enough. Hearing this, the boy Ichihiko was a bit disappointed. However, Ichihiko thought it would be double the effort to have the villagers huffing and puffing all the way up from the village below into these mountains and then back down again to deliver a message to Lieutenant Shiota. So he racked his brains, wondering if there wasn’t some better way to communicate.

At that moment, something caught Ichihiko’s eye.

It was the Charcoal-Burning Old Man’s charcoal kiln, built right there. “Hmm—this thing caught my eye,” Ichihiko blurted out involuntarily before calling to the Charcoal-Burning Old Man.

“I found something good! With this, communicating with Fumoto Village will be a piece of cake!”

“Huh? What’re you talkin’ about?” “It’s about that charcoal kiln. If you light a fire in that, thick smoke will come billowing out of the chimney. Then climb onto the roof with a cloth or plank and alternately block and release the smoke coming out of the chimney. If you repeat that quickly, short puffs of smoke will emerge intermittently from the chimney. And if you do that slowly, long puffs will emerge intermittently too. In other words, since you can produce short and long signals with smoke just like telegraphy, you can send Morse code. If there’s someone in Fumoto Village who understands Morse code, they’ll read the smoke signals we’re sending here and realize, ‘Ah, they’re saying such-and-such.’ Hey, since I’ll be composing the Morse code, old man, could you climb onto the roof and adjust the smoke from the charcoal kiln into short or long signals like this?”

“Well, well! For a child, you’ve got quite a sharp mind!”

The Charcoal-Burning Old Man was impressed.

6

Communication using smoke-based Morse code!

The boy Ichihiko knew something remarkable. However, this was not something Ichihiko had devised; in fact, it was a communication method used by indigenous people long ago. Though it now seemed to have been forgotten, upon closer consideration, this method was actually quite convenient for communication between such remote mountains and the village at the foot. In this way, even things no longer in practice today can hold considerable merit among the methods of old. A truly excellent person may be said to be one who does not concern themselves with fleeting trends but instead actively employs useful things from the past even today.

The boy Ichihiko had effectively put to use the smoke-based communication method he had once read about in a book and remembered.

The Charcoal-Burning Old Man climbed onto the kiln’s roof, stood by the chimney, and—while looking at the long and short symbols Ichihiko had scribbled on a scrap of paper—covered the chimney with a cloth to alternately block and release the smoke, sweat pouring down his face as he persisted through his task. The message stated that Ichihiko had escaped from the mysterious tower and was here, so they should come rescue him. As for the Charcoal-Burning Old Man, though he continued sending smoke signals under Ichihiko’s direction, deep down he doubted whether it would truly reach Fumoto Village. He felt certain that while the villagers had heard his bamboo horn’s sound, Ichihiko’s long-winded message now entrusted to him would never make it to Fumoto Village.

But lo and behold. Before long, a single column of thick billowing smoke began rising straight up into the windless sky from within Fumoto Village. “Well, well! The village is sending up something like smoke signals too.” “Are they trying to copy us?” As the old man stared wide-eyed, the village’s smoke signals below began emitting precisely timed short and long puffs—so startled was he that he started copying the code onto a scrap of paper.

What on earth were the village’s smoke signals conveying toward the mountains?

Lieutenant Shiota’s Arrival

1

Smoke signals could be seen rising from Fumoto Village. The boy Ichihiko, using the Charcoal-Burning Old Man’s assistance, had his injured body moved to where the signal could be seen.

What message had the signal from Fumoto Village brought? “Lieutenant Shiota will come to meet you.”

It meant Lieutenant Shiota was coming to retrieve Ichihiko. Ichihiko was as astonished as if dreaming at how swiftly Lieutenant Shiota had learned his whereabouts—but at that very moment, Shiota had already been inquiring via police telephone from the airbase to Fumoto Village, asking whether they had noticed anything unusual since the previous day. When the villagers reported smoke signals rising from the back mountainside with a message urging them to notify Shiota, communication fell perfectly into place.

“Ah, how wonderful! Lieutenant Shiota is coming. I’m so happy. If I can meet the Lieutenant, I’ll immediately tell him Uncle Homura’s message and have him subjugate the mysterious tower as soon as possible. How will Lieutenant Shiota come all the way into these mountains, I wonder? Is he coming by plane after all?”

And with that, Ichihiko suddenly perked up with renewed vigor. The Charcoal-Burning Old Man, who had been watching this, was also overjoyed, feeling his efforts had borne fruit.

It was exactly around eleven o’clock, just before noon. An airplane approached from the eastern sky. The airplane came right above Ichihiko and the others’ heads. Ichihiko lay on his back, waving a white cloth in hand, while the old man vigorously sent up billows of smoke from the charcoal kiln, signaling toward the airplane. Whether the signals had gotten through or not, the airplane began circling round and round while gradually descending lower. From one thousand to nine hundred, eight hundred, and eventually five hundred meters, it descended to a lower altitude.

2

From the red-tailed airplane that circled above Ichihiko and the others while gradually descending, a connected bundle of a person and luggage was soon tossed out into the air.

“Hmm? What’s that?”

With that, the Charcoal-Burning Old Man blinked his eyes rapidly as if dazzled, gazing up at the sky. “Ah—a parachute! Lieutenant Shiota’s coming down by parachute! Wow—that’s amazing!”

As he spoke these words, a large snow-white canopy resembling a flower abruptly blossomed in midair. It hovered at a low altitude of roughly three hundred meters. Beneath the human weight it carried, the parachute swayed pendulously.

The parachute steadily descended lower and lower. Seemingly having ascertained the wind’s direction, it descended with remarkable skill toward where Ichihiko and the others were, quietly lowering itself.

“Grandpa. I want to get up, I want to get up!” “Now, now—you shouldn’t push yourself like that. You mustn’t forget you’re injured.”

All the while, Lieutenant Shiota’s dangling parachute steadily descended lower and lower, passed over Ichihiko and the others’ heads, and landed with a heavy thud on the mountainside beyond. Lieutenant Shiota tumbled head over heels down the mountainside—or so it seemed—but in an instant, he unfastened the parachute’s harness and sprang upright on the ground. Watching this, Ichihiko involuntarily shouted “Banzai!” Lieutenant Shiota immediately ran over to Ichihiko’s location. While comforting the boy, he skillfully disinfected Ichihiko’s wound with the medical supplies he had brought and wrapped a temporary bandage around it in swift motions.

“Lieutenant Shiota, thank you. Thank you very much.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. But more than that, Ichihiko, you’re really full of energy. Even sailors would lose to your energy. —And how on earth did you manage to escape from the mysterious tower? What about Homura? Hurry up and tell me.”

3

Ichihiko, having received Lieutenant Shiota’s attentive care and regained even more vigor, now began to recount the full story of how he alone had managed to escape from the mysterious tower.

“I was so shocked,” “because the tower let out this terrible roar and shot up into the sky.” “Then it started zooming all over the place—I clung to the window frame, my heart pounding, wondering what would happen next—when suddenly there was this huge thud, and the tower just... stopped.” “In that moment, I thought I’d died and been buried in a grave.” “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“Hmm, I can imagine that must have been the case.”

Lieutenant Shiota nodded deeply in response.

“And that’s when Uncle Homura sprang into action. He painstakingly scouted out the second floor of the mysterious tower. Inside, besides the Tower King, he discovered there was a Black person living inside a strange cylinder. The Black person would obediently listen to any order from the Tower King with a ‘yes, yes’ and skillfully operate the machinery.” “Ah, I see. Well done—you’ve uncovered some valuable information.”

“—Then Uncle Homura said he absolutely wanted to let me escape.” “I refused at first, saying I didn’t want to escape alone,” Ichihiko continued, “but Uncle Homura insisted—he said if *I* didn’t get out and inform Lieutenant Shiota and the others about the critical details, the Tower King would keep running amok forever and harm the warships. So I finally gave in.” “And then Uncle Homura spent a long time breaking the iron window frame for me, so I jumped out through that narrow opening—but I injured my leg when I did.”

“Is that all? Were there any other messages from Homura?” “No—there’s one critical message!”

4 “What’s this critical message from Homura you’re talking about? What is it?”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota firmly grasped Ichihiko’s hand and pressed him again. “Well, you see—”

With that, Ichihiko closed his eyes for a moment and thought intently. Because this message was of such grave importance, he was taking great care to convey it to the Lieutenant exactly as instructed by Homura without any error.

“That’s right—Uncle Homura said this.”

“Hmm—”

Lieutenant Shiota listened rigidly.

“He said you absolutely must meet with Dr. Ōtone.” “And he said you must check whether there’s anything unusual about Dr. Ōtone’s body.”

“Hmm, hmm. “So he’s telling me to meet Dr. Ōtone.” “And he said to check whether there’s anything unusual about Dr. Ōtone’s body.” “Understood.” “As expected, Mr. Homura truly lives up to being an exceptional detective!”

Lieutenant Shiota kept being deeply impressed by whatever he was contemplating alone. Something must have struck the Lieutenant.

The detailed account of Ichihiko’s confinement in the mysterious tower went on and on, showing no signs of ending. It was discovered that the wireless telegraphy emitted from the mysterious tower had indeed been sent by Detective Homura. Lieutenant Shiota looked astonished at how Homura had obtained a wireless telegraph set, but according to Ichihiko’s account, Homura had found a broken radio receiver in the junk storage room on the first floor, modified its wiring into a shortwave transmitter, and—thanks to vacuum tubes and batteries that had fortunately remained intact—managed to transmit as they had witnessed.

5 “You must meet Dr. Ōtone!”

The message from Detective Homura that Ichihiko had brought back weighed heavily on Lieutenant Shiota’s heart.

If it was such an urgent matter, why hadn’t he sent a wireless telegraph from inside the mysterious tower? Lieutenant Shiota found himself puzzling over this. Though Detective Homura had sent Ichihiko out of the tower, there seemed to be some reason behind his intention to have the boy verbally convey this critical information—even though it was uncertain when Ichihiko would meet the Lieutenant.

After considering the matter, Lieutenant Shiota concluded that transmitting this information via wireless telegraphy would likely allow Dr. Ōtone to discover it, which would prove disadvantageous. In other words, he concluded that Homura’s urging to meet Dr. Ōtone meant they had to ensure the doctor remained unaware of it. Why would it be bad if he found out? That would become clear in time.

Lieutenant Shiota made a firm resolution.

He also made Ichihiko promise to keep it a secret that Detective Homura had instructed him to visit Dr. Ōtone and not to speak of it to anyone else. In return, Lieutenant Shiota made a promise that whenever he went to meet Dr. Ōtone, he would always take Ichihiko with him.

Given this situation, meeting Dr. Ōtone became a matter of grave significance.

As this was happening, the rescue team came up the mountain.

The injury on Ichihiko’s leg was examined and promptly treated by a professional doctor. There was considerable bleeding, and it was found that the bone at his ankle had become dislocated. But since he himself remained in high spirits, and the doctor said he would soon recover fully if things continued this way, everyone felt relieved. The rescue team placed Ichihiko on a stretcher and began carrying him down the mountain. Ichihiko met the charcoal-burning old man Kiguchi Kōhei who had saved his life, expressed his gratitude, and departed from the place.

Hospitalization

1

The sea where the Kaitō Rocket had sunk was still under strict surveillance by our destroyer fleet. Submarines and even divers were deployed to search the sea tirelessly, but the Kaitō Rocket’s whereabouts still remained unknown.

The search team changed their methods in every way possible and were fired up to locate the Kaitō Rocket no matter what.

This was Ichihiko, the boy.

Thanks to Lieutenant Shiota and the rescue team members, he entered the hospital immediately upon descending the mountain and received thorough treatment.

The news also promptly reached his younger sister Michiko, so Michiko, who had been worrying her little heart, rejoiced as if it were a dream. And then, boarding the car sent to pick her up, she hurried to the hospital, even though it took many hours.

“Oh, Big Brother!”

As Michiko rushed into the hospital room and reached Ichihiko’s bedside, he lifted his unexpectedly cheerful face,

“Oh, Michiko! You came all this way, didn’t you? Big Brother’s injury isn’t serious at all; you don’t need to worry.” “Oh, is it really not that bad? I’m so relieved. But it must hurt, right?” “It doesn’t hurt. It just stings a little. The director said I’ll be able to walk in four or five days. I’m not worried about myself, but the one to worry about is Uncle Homura.”

“Oh, Uncle Homura! But why is Uncle…”

“Well… it’s a bit of a problem,” Ichihiko said hesitantly. “I told Uncle I didn’t want to be the only one to escape.” “So I kept urging him to escape together, but Uncle just wouldn’t listen.” “Uncle said he still had work to do inside the tower, so even though I hated it, I did as he said and came back alone to report.”

2 “Big Brother, you don’t have to feel so bad about leaving Uncle Homura behind.” “No one thinks you’re a bad kid.” Michiko was doing her utmost to comfort her brother Ichihiko. To listen to them was to witness the admirable closeness of their sibling bond. Who, then, was to blame for tormenting such an affectionate brother and sister so cruelly? Needless to say, it was undoubtedly the fault of Kaitō-ō—the Tower King—who had destroyed the Imperial Warship Awaji with mysterious forces and thereafter committed all manner of terrifying and hateful acts.

What sort of person could Kaitō-ō—the Tower King—possibly be? Until now, this had hardly been understood. For Ichihiko and Michiko, though it spanned only five short days thereafter, they spent their time together eating meals, singing songs, talking, and even sleeping side by side in the same room at night—their first such moments together in ages. It was a truly delightful period. Due to this and to Michiko’s devoted nursing, by the sixth day Ichihiko had become able to walk almost normally. Michiko watched Ichihiko’s retreating figure as he walked in the hospital garden and shed tears of joy.

Ichihiko was now completely healthy.

“There, I’m all right now. They said Lieutenant Shiota would come today—he should be here any minute now.” “When Lieutenant Shiota arrives, do you have business with him?”

Michiko asked worriedly. “Yeah, I made a promise with Lieutenant Shiota.” “What kind of promise?” “The promise is that he’ll take me to Dr. Ōtone’s place. But you mustn’t tell anyone else about this. Uncle Homura would get angry.”

Just as he was saying this, Lieutenant Shiota entered the hospital room in his impeccably crisp military uniform.

Departure

1 “Ah, Lieutenant Shiota!” “Oh, Ichihiko! “Oh, Miss Michiko’s here too.” “You both look happy—rejoice, Ichihiko-kun!” “I just asked the director, and he says your injury is completely healed now.”

The three of them laughed happily in unison. “Lieutenant Shiota, you haven’t forgotten the promise you made with me, have you?” “Oh? The promise. “Ah, that one. “But as for that matter—well, just leave it to me—”

“I don’t like this—you saying things like that! I’ve been waiting so long for this! Please let me accompany you! I think that’s the quickest way to save Uncle Homura.”

Lieutenant Shiota remained silent for a while, but eventually turned to Michiko and asked if it would be all right to take Ichihiko along. Michiko naturally agreed to this, so Lieutenant Shiota stood up with a nod of resolve.

“You’ll understand why I’m concerned soon enough, but going to that eccentric Dr. Ōtone’s place is quite a task as it is.”

Lieutenant Shiota expressed just a hint of his feelings while patting their heads.

After hearing Homura’s message, Lieutenant Shiota, having considered the matter thoroughly, came to regard visiting Dr. Ōtone as a task of grave significance.

What in the world could be so grave?

After parting with Michiko, Ichihiko boarded a naval car with Lieutenant Shiota and set off.

Their destination was Dr. Ōtone’s research institute on the outskirts of Tokyo.

When the car approached the doctor’s residence, Lieutenant Shiota turned to Ichihiko and,

“Ichihiko, do you know about carrier pigeons?”

“Carrier pigeons? Not only do I know about them—I’m actually quite skilled at training pigeons!” “Is that so? That’s impressive. Then I’ll entrust two carrier pigeons to you. With these, you should hang them at your waist.”

With that, he handed over the pigeons with rings on their legs.

2 “When should I release these carrier pigeons?”

Ichihiko looked up at Lieutenant Shiota’s face and said.

“When the right time to release them comes, you’ll surely recognize it.”

Lieutenant Shiota uttered these enigmatic words.

They finally alighted from the car. This was before the gate of Dr. Ōtone’s residence.

Lieutenant Shiota casually pressed the button of the bell attached to the gate. They waited for a while, but there was no response from within the gate.

“There’s no response at all.”

“Hmm, no response.” “Ah—it might be natural there’s no response.” “There was a rule that unless you rang it with a special pattern—ring-ring-riiin-ring—it wouldn’t connect to the inner quarters.” “I just remembered that now.” With that, Lieutenant Shiota pressed the bell button again. Ring-ring-riiin-ring. And then—

With a ring-riiin—, the response bell atop the gatepost rang. And then the gate door set into the high, castle-like wall creaked open inward. It was a small door about the size of a crawl-through entrance.

“Let’s get inside.” Lieutenant Shiota urged Ichihiko onward and passed through the small gate. “Dr. Ōtone is at his residence right?” “Because the bell rang.”

“Well, perhaps...” “But since we sent the special code just now and got that bell response, it must have reached the doctor’s ears!”

“Hmm, I wonder...”

The two of them walked steadily onward through the cellar-like space. Before long, the entrance came into view.

3

In the entrance of Dr. Ōtone's residence stood a famous telephone. It was notoriously difficult to meet with Dr. Ōtone, and people said there was no choice but to first handle matters through this telephone.

Lieutenant Shiota signaled to the boy Ichihiko and picked up the telephone.

“Hello, this is Lieutenant Shiota. I have urgent business that requires me to request an audience with the doctor.”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota spoke into the transmitter, regardless of whether the other party could hear him or not.

“......” There was no response at all. “Hello?”

Lieutenant Shiota raised his voice even more and said.

“Is the doctor out?”

Ichihiko looked up at Lieutenant Shiota and said.

Lieutenant Shiota shook his head.

“After all, this is urgent business—I’ll excuse myself and enter.”

Then, a voice responded through the telephone from the other end. The voice was so low that they couldn’t make out what was being said. “What is it? I can’t make out what you’re saying. I’ll discuss it properly once we’re inside.” With that, Lieutenant Shiota calmly opened the entrance door.

“Now then, Ichihiko-kun, come along with me.”

Lieutenant Shiota marched resolutely upstairs. A corridor so lengthy it seemed infinite stretched toward the rear, yet he kept advancing steadily through it. (Is entering someone's home unannounced really alright...)

Ichihiko worried about such things, but Lieutenant Shiota remained unfazed. After all, since no one inside the house showed themselves, there was no one to get angry.

“Now then, the far end here is the doctor’s living room. Everything will become clear once we get there.”

4

They arrived in front of Dr. Ōtone's room.

At the end of the dark corridor, a heavy door stood tightly shut. Lieutenant Shiota and the boy Ichihiko stood before the door.

“Is Dr. Ōtone here?”

Ichihiko quietly asked Lieutenant Shiota.

“Well, hard to say.”

While saying this, Lieutenant Shiota knocked lightly on the door.

There was no answer from inside the room.

Lieutenant Shiota continued knocking lightly on the door. However, from the other side of the door, there was still no response at all. “Is Dr. Ōtone out, I wonder?”

“Hmm, hard to say.” Lieutenant Shiota tilted his head slightly.

Considering that Dr. Ōtone was notoriously reclusive, it was unclear whether he was truly absent or not. Thereupon, Lieutenant Shiota steeled himself and bellowed loudly before the door.

“Ah, hello, Dr. Ōtone!” The room remained as silent as ever.

Lieutenant Shiota raised his voice even more, “Ah, hello, Dr. Ōtone! I am Lieutenant Shiota. This is urgent business—please open this door!”

Even still, the room remained completely silent.

“Ah, hello, Dr. Ōtone!” For the third time, Lieutenant Shiota shouted before the door. When they had called earlier, though the conversation had been hard to make out, someone—whether Dr. Ōtone or another person—had responded in a low voice, so he thought that even if it were just that individual, they might hear his shouts and come out.

It was exactly at that moment. From beyond the door came a suspicious voice. —

5

From beyond the door, a human voice was heard for the first time.

“Ah, ah, how noisy! I’m in the middle of my research. I won’t meet anyone who comes! Not today, not today! Go away.”

The doctor said in a hoarse, shouting voice.

Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko exchanged glances. “The doctor is here, isn’t he?”

Ichihiko whispered quietly to Lieutenant Shiota.

“Hmm, so Dr. Ōtone was indeed inside here after all. Hmm.”

Lieutenant Shiota looked somewhat taken aback, muttering to himself in admiration. It seemed that Lieutenant Shiota had thought Dr. Ōtone was absent.

“The fact that Lieutenant Shiota has come isn’t clearly reaching Dr. Ōtone’s ears. Why don’t you try calling him again?”

“You’re right. Well then, I’ll call out again.” Lieutenant Shiota once again raised his voice and called Dr. Ōtone’s name toward the door.

Then, a response came from inside the room. “Ah, ah, how noisy! I’m in the middle of my research! I won’t meet anyone who comes! Not today, not today! Go away!” Ichihiko heard this and thought that at this rate, the doctor probably wouldn’t agree to meet them. When they looked at Lieutenant Shiota, his face had turned bright red for some reason.

“Lieutenant, what’s wrong?”

Without even attempting to answer, Lieutenant Shiota—for reasons unclear—pulled out a notebook and pencil from his pocket. And glaring at the door, he called Dr. Ōtone’s name a third time.

Then came a response from inside the room. “Ah! Ah! What a racket! I’m conducting research! I shan’t receive any visitors! Not today! Not today! Be gone!”

When Ichihiko looked, Lieutenant Shiota was frantically writing something down.

An Unexpected Mechanism

1

“Lieutenant Shiota, what are you writing over there?”

Ichihiko inquired dubiously. “Oh, this is it. Hmm...” With that, Lieutenant Shiota glared at the door to Dr. Ōtone’s parlor and groaned. “Wh-what’s wrong, Lieutenant Shiota?” What was agitating Lieutenant Shiota?

“Oh, Ichihiko, come here for a moment.”

At this moment, Lieutenant Shiota—as if snapping back to his senses—blinked his eyes rapidly and called out to Ichihiko. “Yes, wh-what is it?” “Take a look at this.” With that, Lieutenant Shiota held out the notebook he had been writing in to Ichihiko. Ichihiko took the notebook and read Lieutenant Shiota’s hastily written notes, which said the following. “Ah, ah, how noisy! I’m in the middle of my research. I won’t meet anyone who comes! Not today, not today! Go away.”

Then, after a line break, there was another phrase written down. It was:

“Ah, ah, how noisy! I’m in the middle of my research. I won’t meet anyone who comes! Not today, not today! Go away.”

Those were the phrases. Both the earlier phrases and the later ones were written exactly the same. “Lieutenant Shiota is acting strange—you’ve written the same thing twice.” “Are you feeling unwell?”

When Ichihiko asked this, Lieutenant Shiota shook his head, "There’s nothing wrong with me—body or otherwise. What’s strange is that the doctor’s responses from behind this door are always the same phrases. It’s repeating them—‘Ah, ah, how noisy!’ and so on—as if stamped with a rubber seal." "What does that mean?" "Don’t be surprised, Ichihiko. The doctor isn’t here. The doctor isn’t in this room at all."

2

“The doctor isn’t here—” Lieutenant Shiota declared something unexpected.

"But that doesn’t make sense," Ichihiko said with a look of disbelief. "But Dr. Ōtone was just speaking behind this door moments ago—saying things like ‘Not today! Go away!’—wasn’t he?"

Ichihiko simply couldn’t bring himself to believe Lieutenant Shiota’s words. Lieutenant Shiota’s face grew increasingly red, and he seemed to be desperately suppressing the pounding of his heart.

“Ichihiko.” “I’m sure my deduction is right!” “Dr. Ōtone isn’t here.” “I’ll show you right now there’s no mistake in my words.”

Lieutenant Shiota was determined to show Ichihiko that Dr. Ōtone was not behind this door. Ichihiko found it very strange. He adamantly believed it was Lieutenant Shiota’s misunderstanding.

Lieutenant Shiota pulled out a small paper package and a long electric wire from his pocket.

“What is that?”

“This is dynamite. We’ll set this up at the entrance and blow the door open!” Being a military man, Lieutenant Shiota’s approach was a bold one. If this had been a detective, they would have used a master key or broken it down with heavy timber.

The unyielding door was finally destroyed with a single thunderous blast.

Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko were waiting in the shadows of a considerably distant underground passage, holding their breath, for the explosion.

“Now we can get in this time!”

Lieutenant Shiota signaled Ichihiko with a glance and rushed to the door.

Sure enough, around the door's lock was a gaping hole about the size of a porthole. So when they pushed the door, it slid open smoothly.

“Now, let’s go further in and verify—” “—whether the doctor is present or not—”

3 Before the smoke from the explosives had even dissipated at the entrance, Lieutenant Shiota leaped into the room. Ichihiko felt a bit sick, but thinking that retreating over something like this would disgrace Japanese boys everywhere, he resolutely followed the lieutenant and bravely leaped in. “Oh, so this is what he was up to! Hey, Ichihiko—come over here quick and take a look!” From beyond the smoke, Lieutenant Shiota shouted loudly.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Since Lieutenant Shiota had apparently found something unusual, the boy Ichihiko rushed there with his heart pounding.

Then, Lieutenant Shiota pointed at something resembling a phonograph on the table. “What is this?” “Ah, Ichihiko. “This is a phonograph. “But it’s no ordinary phonograph. “You see, if someone calls Dr. Ōtone’s name from here, the record starts spinning by itself—this device is rigged to play his voice from the phonograph.” “What? What do you mean?” “Don’t you understand? “In other words, Dr. Ōtone isn’t in this room—this phonograph has been set up in his place. “When someone calls his name three times outside the entrance, inside here the record begins to spin, and you’ll hear his voice through this phonograph—things like ‘I’m busy researching!’, ‘I won’t meet you!’, ‘Go away!’ “So anyone hearing this would assume the doctor was inside. “In truth, he’s been absent all along. “Whoever made this created an incredibly elaborate contraption. “We were almost completely taken in by it.”

Having said that, Lieutenant Shiota called out Dr. Ōtone’s name repeatedly from this side of the machine—and sure enough, on the third try, the doctor’s voice came blaring out from the phonograph: “Ugh, how annoying…” Ichihiko was so shocked he could only stare wide-eyed.—

4

In Dr. Ōtone’s laboratory, there was no sign of the doctor himself—only a phonograph from which his voice blared forth remained. What a strange contraption this was. Just what was this strange contraption built for in Dr. Ōtone’s room like this? And who could have created this contraption? “This is really strange. Lieutenant Shiota, don’t you think this contraption is surely because Dr. Ōtone dislikes talking to people, so he’s using it to drive away anyone who comes?”

“Hmm, that’s one way to look at it,” said Lieutenant Shiota. “But Ichihiko, couldn’t it also be considered this way? In other words, Dr. Ōtone deliberately set up this contraption to make it appear as though he was holed up in this laboratory, you see.” Ichihiko nodded, impressed by the lieutenant’s idea that such a scenario was possible. “But why would a man of the doctor’s stature do something so convoluted?” he pressed. “If he’s here, he should say so honestly—if not, say he isn’t. Would someone like the doctor really act so dishonestly?”

Ichihiko stated this because he persistently believed that Dr. Ōtone was a great man.

Lieutenant Shiota was silently pondering Ichihiko’s words, but then, while looking at his face, he began to speak with some reluctance—

“Hey Ichihiko, I’ve noticed several points about the doctor’s recent actions that don’t sit right with me.” “And didn’t Homura’s message specifically tell us to meet Dr. Ōtone without fail?” “Couldn’t this mean Homura intended it as a warning to be cautious of the doctor?” Ichihiko couldn’t fully comprehend why Lieutenant Shiota would say such things. Having read his expression instantly, the lieutenant tapped Ichihiko’s shoulder— “Let’s muster our spirits and confront this mystery head-on! It pains me regarding Dr. Ōtone, but first we must conduct a thorough search of this room.”

Face Tower King

1

Now shifting our story—here we are inside the Tower that everyone had been waiting for.

Oh? Are you asking whether the Tower still retained its form? That’s right. The Tower was still intact.

The Tower, chased by Lieutenant Shiota’s squadron and vanishing into Pacific waves, was never spotted again by surveillance ships at sea thereafter—but in truth, that Tower lay still at the bottom of the deep, deep sea beneath the waves.

There, at a depth said to be four hundred meters, lay a seabed of tremendous depth.

The sunlight no longer reached here, and all around, ink-black mud, as if ink had been dissolved, spread out softly and flatly like smoke across the expanse. As one would expect, no seaweed grew there either. It was exactly like a sleeping desert.

On the bed of soft mud, the Tower lay as it had fallen, perfectly still. However, on the Tower’s windows, the faint glow of electric lights from within was reflected, making it appear as though a monster had opened its eyes and was glaring menacingly at its surroundings.

Now then, what on earth was happening inside the Tower?

This was the second-floor machine room.

Because the Tower was lying on its side, all of its machinery was laid down as well.

The three thick iron cylinders containing three Black men were all lying sideways.

Where was Detective Homura?

And what was the Tower King in question doing now? “How about it? Had enough yet? You should just surrender already.”

It was a voice that sounded familiar, calling out from behind the third-floor stairs. A single figure crouched in the shadow of the stairs—when it turned its face this way, there was the unmistakable visage of the Tower King, identical to his signature tide-blowing face. To whom was he calling out with words like, "Surrender already"? 2

A strange conversation was unfolding inside the Tower.

“Hah! Who the hell would surrender? You phony Tower King!”

Well, well—that voice was indeed the Tower King’s. When they looked to see where the person who had shouted was, there he was—a single mysterious figure hiding behind the first-floor stairs, peering this way. What was wrong with him? This person had completely wrapped his own neck in something like a black cloth.

That’s right—this person was the ‘Voice Tower King’. The one peering out from the third-floor stairs was the ‘Face Tower King’. In other words, the two Tower Kings had been issuing arbitrary orders to each other, leaving the Black crew members completely perplexed. The battle between the Voice Tower King and the Face Tower King appeared to still be ongoing. Two Tower Kings... what a strange story this was. Which one was the real Tower King?

“What do you mean ‘phony’? You’re the fake Tower King! If you’re so upset about it, then take off that cloth wrapped around your face and show your real face to the Black men and me!” “Th-That’s absurd!” Having declared that, the Voice Tower King groaned, “Ugh...” He appeared to be considerably weakened.

“Come on, that’s enough already. Why don’t you just surrender?”

“No way! Would the invincible Tower King ever surrender to a phony fraud like you, or let you take this precious tower? Never!” The Voice Tower King remained stubbornly unwilling to surrender, but then he suddenly seemed to notice something. “Oh! That’s right! You can keep up your empty bluster all you want—this Tower can’t stay submerged at the bottom of the deep sea forever! Once a certain time comes, it’s set to explode naturally! You still claim you aren’t shocked?”

3

The Voice Tower King and the Face Tower King were still glaring at each other across the machinery between them. Now, neither could approach the machinery, nor could they retreat. Unless they could make their opponent surrender here and now, they couldn’t even take a meal. Both Tower Kings had not eaten for several meals, so their stomachs were completely empty.

The Black men were troubled about which side to take, but their stomachs were fine. This was because the Black men had brought in food and water in advance so they could live inside the cylinders for an extended period. They lived just like pilots during a long-distance flight.

The two Tower Kings were growing increasingly tired. The Voice Tower King threatened the Face Tower King, saying, “We can’t stay submerged at the bottom of the sea much longer. The tower will soon explode!” and urged him to surrender, but the Face Tower King absolutely refused to yield. What on earth would happen now? “Hey, quit being stubborn and do as I say. If this tower explodes and everyone dies here, what’s the point?”

And still, the Voice Tower King continued to press.

“I couldn’t care less about an explosion. I’d be perfectly happy to blow to smithereens right here with this tower!”

“That’s reckless.” “You only have one life.” “Do you cling to your life so desperately?” The Face Tower King let out a dry, mocking laugh,

“Then why don’t you make the tower leap up from the seabed?”

“It’s no use.” “With these appearances of ours, it’s no use.” “The Black men can no longer distinguish which of us is the real Tower King.” “So they don’t know whose orders to obey.” “Then what should we do?!”

“Return what you stole from my room—I beg of you!”

And the Voice Tower King seemed on the verge of tears.

4 “So…you’re telling *me*…to return what *I* stole…to *myself*?” “Ahahaha! You’ve finally shown your true colors, haven’t you?” “When you can’t even get meals, your precious killer ray lamp is useless, and the Black men won’t obey—what choice do you have but to whine?”

With that, the Face Tower King laughed cheerfully,

“Alright then—I’ll listen to your request and return that thing for you. Come here.” “Huh? You’ll really give it back?”

With that, the Voice Tower King, overjoyed, began inching closer.

“Whoa there! You can’t just come closer like that.” “Raise your hands high.” “Above your head!” “Otherwise, I’ll tell the Black men about that secret you’re so afraid of—” “Wait—” And the Voice Tower King shouted in a piteous voice.

“If you return that thing, I’ll do anything you say.”

Having said that, the Voice Tower King raised both hands high above his head and quietly approached the Face Tower King.

The Face Tower King smiled with satisfaction upon seeing this. The opponent had surrendered.

"Now, come here. Get in behind here." With that, he pointed toward the shadow of the staircase.

The Voice Tower King, his face hidden beneath a cloth, had lost all his initial vigor and was now dejectedly obeying the Face Tower King’s every command. What could have made him act this way? Of course, this was because he feared that if the tower remained submerged in the sea, it would soon explode and he too would have to perish. The Face Tower King suddenly bound the Voice Tower King’s hands behind his back.

“You’ll really give that back, right?”

And once more, the Voice Tower King pressed for confirmation.

5 With the tower submerged too long and at risk of explosion, even the Voice Tower King—now fearing for his life—effectively surrendered to the Face Tower King. His hands were moved behind his back and tightly bound. “Now that things have gone as you said, quickly—as promised—return what you stole.”

And the Voice Tower King pressed. “Hmm, I’ll definitely keep my promise. But first—I need to give you a thorough inspection. Can’t risk staying complacent.” “What? You want to inspect my body? Tch, I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

With that, the Voice Tower King panicked.

“Don’t talk nonsense! I never promised not to inspect your body! If you refuse, I’ll just wait for the tower to explode!” “No, no, no! That’s unacceptable! If the tower explodes, I’ll die! Fine—do whatever inspection you want!”

“See? Now you’re making me go through all this extra trouble.” With that, the Face Tower King moved behind the Voice Tower King and began meticulously inspecting his body from head to toe. Sure enough, hidden beneath the Voice Tower King’s clothes was a mysterious force field network that repelled bullets. Additionally, the power source that supplied magnetic power to that force field network was also discovered. He promptly removed those dangerous items.

“There—now your body’s lost its power to repel bullets! You’ll obey quietly.”

A deep sigh from the Voice Tower King could be heard. “Please return that thing quickly.” “All right, I’ll give it back.” And the Face Tower King pressed both hands against his own face. Now, what was about to begin?

Mask and Face

1

Right now, inside the mysterious tower, an unbelievably strange event was unfolding.

The Face Tower King—who had been showing his face to this side—placed both hands on his own face, gave a forceful heave, and pulled off his entire face. He took off his face.

Eyes, nose, mouth—even the hair on his head—all remained perfectly intact as the Tower King’s facial skin peeled away swiftly and smoothly, like the husk off a bean. Oh, how pitiful this was. Blood? One would have expected a torrent of blood to gush forth, but that wasn’t the case. Merely the face of Homura Sōroku, drenched in beads of sweat, appeared from beneath.

So it was a mask after all.

What an ingeniously crafted mask it was for a mere disguise!

When Homura Sōroku discovered this mask beside the Tower King’s bedroom, he thought a severed head was lying there! He felt his heart might stop from the shock. Moreover, wasn’t that severed head none other than the Tower King’s own? His astonishment doubled. But upon calmly inspecting it, what he had mistaken for a severed head turned out to be an exquisitely crafted rubber mask. Unlike ordinary masks that merely cover the front of the face, this one completely concealed the ears, neck, and entire head—even sporting realistic hair growing from the scalp. It enveloped everything from the throat upward like a glove sheathing a hand, custom-made from high-quality raw rubber molded into that signature tide-blowing visage, its surface dyed a muted persimmon hue. The seam lay hidden within hair behind the ears, fastened with an especially small snap clasp of the type recently in vogue, allowing easy attachment and removal.

2 When Homura discovered the Tower King’s ingenious mask in the third-floor bedroom, his shock was unparalleled in recent memory; but as he wondered where the living Tower King’s body could be and looked around, the sound of snores coming from the bed startled him a third time.

When he looked at the bed, the bedding was indeed swollen in the shape of a human body. However, he had completely buried his head under the blanket. "So that’s it—" With that, Homura felt a sudden tingle of realization. Summoning his courage, he approached the bed and quietly lifted the blanket, trying to peer at the face of the person lying beneath. "If what I just saw was the Tower King’s mask," he wondered, "then what does the real Tower King’s face look like?"

A jumble of eagerness to see and fear churned in Homura’s chest. —And finally, he saw it!

He saw! He let out a sigh.

The Tower King who had been lying on that bed was sleeping with his face turned downward. What met Homura’s eyes was merely the back of a middle-aged man’s head, where reddish-brown hair mingled with streaks of white. Should he wake him up and take a look at his face? Homura had thought to do so but ultimately refrained. If the Tower King were to awaken here and run amok with his terrifying weapons, it would mean catastrophe. Better to act now—to inconvenience the Tower King before he noticed anything. With this resolve, Homura kept hold of the mask and set about disabling as many mechanisms around him as possible. Then, taking the mask downstairs, he put it on before the mirror.

Homura exclaimed in renewed amazement at this ingenious mask that had completely transformed him into the Tower King.

3

What an ingeniously crafted mask! A state-of-the-art uncanny mask designed to envelop the entire neck! The face of that mask was none other than the Tower King’s—the fearsome possessor of destructive power unparalleled in this world!

And now, Detective Homura—holding that uncanny mask—stood face-to-face with the masked Tower King. Pitifully, due to Homura’s doing, the Tower King had been bound with both hands behind his back and could no longer use them. “All right, I’ll give this mask back to you for now. In return, this time you’ll listen to my orders and make the tower fly toward Yokosuka. Got that?”

As Detective Homura triumphantly boasted, the masked Tower King weakly hung his head,

“Very well.” “Now that things have come to this, I will do exactly as Your Excellency commands.” “For my part, I wish to escape this deep sea as quickly as possible.” “What I fear most is that this tower-rocket might explode before we even surface.”

“Why does staying submerged for too long cause an explosion?”

The Tower King feared that if the rocket remained submerged too long, it would explode, but Homura—not understanding why such an explosion would occur—could only find it perplexing. “That’s because when salty seawater seeps into the chemicals used as raw material for the rocket’s propellant gas,” he explained, “they gradually heat up and cause a terrifying explosion.” “Then you should’ve kept seawater from getting in to begin with!” “That won’t work. No matter what we do, it seeps through gaps in the metal walls.” The Tower King’s voice grew urgent. “Now then, Mr. Homura—return my mask at once!”

“Yeah, the mask’s right here.” With that, Homura finally held out the Tower King’s mask.

“Ah, since my hands are tied, I can’t possibly put on the mask.” “Untie the ropes, please.” “Ah, my hands hurt!”

4 Homura had returned the mask to the Tower King, but since the Tower King's hands were bound behind his back by Homura and he couldn't put it on, he was asking for the ropes to be untied.

Upon hearing that, Homura shook his head firmly. “No way. If I untie your bound hands, there’s no telling what terrible things you might do.” “Ah, it h-hurts!”

And the Tower King writhed incessantly. Was having his hands so tightly bound by the ropes really that painful? “Even though it’s not that painful, stop trying to scare me with all this ‘it hurts’ nonsense.” “No—it truly does hurt.” “Ah! It hurts!” “No matter how much you suffer from it—I’ll never untie those ropes.” “Then I’ll put this mask on your face myself.”

“Huh? Your Excellency will deign to place the mask upon my face yourself?” The Tower King let out an exaggeratedly long sigh.

“What’s with all this sighing?” “No, it’s not truly worth calling a sigh. Now then—without a moment’s delay—please put the mask on me.”

“Hmm, I’ll do it now.”

With that, Homura took the mask and approached the Tower King, who was masked with a cloth.

“Right. First, I need to remove that mask...” With that, Homura set the mask down and reached out both hands toward the Tower King’s cloth mask. Ah, now at last, the Tower King’s cloth mask was being pulled off. What kind of face could there truly be beneath that cloth mask? His heart pounded! Homura’s chest throbbed with a pounding rhythm.

Seeming to have already sensed this, the Tower King called out in a threatening tone from beneath his cloth mask.

“Now then—hurry up and remove the cloth mask. However, Detective Homura—take care not to lose your nerve when you see my true face beneath this mask!”

5 The Tower King, now on the verge of having his mask torn off, cried out in that instant—"Go ahead and remove the mask! But don’t lose your nerve when you see my true face beneath it!" —he shouted as a parting shot— “Hmm…” Homura involuntarily groaned at the terrifying words the Tower King had unleashed. What a sudden, terrifying threat! Indeed, the Tower King’s words seemed to pierce clean through Homura’s heart. What in the world was the terrifying face hidden beneath the cloth wrapped around the Tower King’s entire neck? Even someone other than Homura—wouldn’t anyone feel a sense of dread at seeing what lies beneath that mask?

Especially here, inside the Kaitō Rocket lying on its side on the deep seafloor where there were no neighboring houses. An eerie aura pressed in relentlessly, and every pore stood up like grains of millet. “Oh please, who do you think would fall for such scare tactics?”

Homura retorted dismissively. “Then hurry up with the mask—”

And the Tower King pressed. Homura, finally seized by an odd feeling yet steeling his resolve with the thought that whatever might happen, wrapped both hands around the back of the Tower King’s neck and began to undo the knot in the cloth. At that moment, even Homura must have been terrified at the prospect of seeing the face beneath the Tower King’s mask, for his hands—still wrapped around that neck—began trembling uncontrollably. The Tower King seemed to have been eagerly awaiting this very outcome all along.

“Take this!” With a fierce roar, the Tower King’s knee thrust up into Homura’s lower abdomen with tremendous force. It felt like his belly had been split open. There was no enduring it. “U-un…” With a pained groan, Homura’s body stiffened like a log and collapsed.

6 He was so completely preoccupied with removing the Tower King’s mask that he failed to guard against the kick that came flying his way. As a renowned detective, Homura deeply regretted this failure for years afterward—but given the nerve-wracking moment when the Tower King’s true face had been about to emerge from beneath that mask of such great mystery, he had committed such a blunder.

“Uh, fufufu—look at you now!” The Tower King, his earlier quavering voice now vanished, reverted to his usual detestable hoarse tone as he looked down at Homura lying collapsed on the floor. “……”

Homura lay sprawled on the floor like a corpse, not even letting out a groan. This was dire. Wouldn't his breath stop altogether? "Ugh, fufufu..." "All bark and no bite." "But he'll come to soon. Right—I'd better put on that important mask now while I can!"

With that, the Tower King hurriedly squatted down on the floor and snatched the puffed-cheeked mask from Homura’s hand. He held it up before his eyes with evident admiration. “Hmm… This mask is exquisitely crafted,” “None could rival its quality!” “It molds perfectly to one’s face.” “When I laugh—the mask laughs with me.” “When I rage—it rages alongside.” “Wear this, and none shall suspect it’s a mask at all!”

With that, he lifted the mask and pulled it snugly over his head. At that moment, the Tower King had deftly removed his own mask, so his true face of great intrigue should have been revealed from beneath it—

The Tower King deftly untied the cloth wrapped around his own face—so at that moment, his true countenance should surely have been revealed from beneath.

The Tower King deftly untied the cloth wrapped around his own face—so at that moment, his true countenance should surely have been revealed from beneath. But regrettably, at this very moment when the Tower King’s much-anticipated true face was about to be unveiled, there was no one present to witness it. Why? Because Detective Homura lay unconscious on the floor, and the three Black crew members were huddled trembling inside their iron cylinders. There was no one else there to see what transpired.

If only the Tower King had been facing me, the author—but alas, he had turned his backside this way—it was most regrettable indeed that this time we were unable to see his true face.

Now, even if I say that, there’s no need for you all to be disappointed. Because as long as brave Detective Homura, esteemed Lieutenant Shiota, and clever young Ichihiko and Michiko—small though they may be—keep fighting, the day will surely come when they tear off the mask to reveal the Tower King’s true face. When will that moment arrive? With each incident, the secrets of the rampaging Tower King steadily close in around him. Then, it will not be long before the Tower King’s true identity is revealed.

Now, having put on the mask, the Tower King fully reverted to his original self. Had Detective Homura known this, he would have lunged at him—but he still lay dazed on the floor. “Hmph, fuh-fuh-fuh,” the Tower King sneered, “I could kill you right now, but bringing this tower-rocket up from the sea is more important—I don’t have time to kill you.” “Right—I’ll tie this guy up again to keep him from moving.”

The Tower King pulled out a long rope and swiftly coiled it around and around Homura’s body.

Perilous Strange Tower

1 Due to the Tower King’s doing, Detective Homura was finally bound tightly with coarse rope, coiled around and around. The Tower King finally breathed a sigh of relief then.

“Hmph, heh-heh-heh.” “There—this should do.” “Now everything’s back as it was.” “After all, I am the Great Science King.” “In all the world beneath heaven, there’s not a soul I need fear!”

As he was saying this, there came a sharp, loud snap. A single meter needle attached to the switchboard began spinning round and round. Following that, the alarm bell began to blare loudly.

“Oh no, oh no!” “Ugh… Oh no!”

The lid of the black cylinder popped open from the inside with a snap, and three Black men's faces jutted out abruptly. All three of them, their faces devoid of any living color, trembled violently as they looked around the room.

The Tower King was so startled he nearly lost his footing, “Ah, so it’s finally begun—”

With that, he rushed to the switchboard, grabbed the large handle, and strained with all his might to turn it. This was when an opening that discharged a strong acidic chemical was opened. The sharp *ping* was indeed the sound of seawater having seeped into one of the tower’s gas raw material chambers and begun damaging the vital ingredients. If this continued unchecked, it would eventually lead to a horrific explosion, reducing the tower to splinters—a consequence that was all too clear.

Therefore, to prevent seawater from damaging the gas's raw materials, the Tower King discharged the strong acidic chemical he had prepared in advance, thereby neutralizing the seawater's effects. Fortunately, it worked effectively, and the ominous pinging sound ceased entirely. Even so, there was no telling when or from where seawater might seep in again. Danger, danger.

2 Because the tower had been submerged in seawater for so long, the moment of grave concern now arrived. Once, the Tower King himself had taken hold of the handle and used a potent chemical to suppress it—but at any moment—no—even as they spoke—a terrible explosion might occur. The Tower King realized there was not a moment longer to waste. Fortunately, having donned the mask seized back from Detective Homura and resumed posing once more as himself through its familiar visage—he thought even these disoriented crew members would now obey without question.

If that was the case, then saving the tower from explosion had to be now—now was the only chance. Thinking this, the Tower King suddenly whirled around toward the three Black crew members and bellowed.

“Hey! From what I’ve been seeing, you’ve all lost your minds! What’s with you acting so strangely today of all days—nothing like your usual selves? Why are you standing here staring blankly when I’m right here? Or do you see me as two people now?”

Hearing this, the three Black crew members were startled. After all, the Tower King had suddenly started saying such strange things. *‘Do you see me as two?’ he mocks—but in truth, there had indeed been two Tower Kings.* *Or perhaps I really was going mad, just as he said—could that be why he appeared doubled?* *Now that I thought about it, there’s no way our great master could exist as two people.* *Then had I been dreaming in broad daylight?*

The Black crew members all thought this to themselves. They seemed completely taken in by the Tower King. Rather than considering it a success, the Tower King raised his voice even more forcefully,

“Hey! What’s all this dawdling?” “You lot, get to your posts at once!” “Now we make our move!”

3

As the Tower King made his usual popping noises, the three Black crew members listening to this completely forgot that they had just moments earlier seen two Tower Kings.

None of them voiced it aloud, but each in their hearts, (This won’t do. It’s no wonder the Master is angry. I was daydreaming since earlier today after all.) And so, without even realizing they had been deceived by the Tower King, they shrank back at his command, retreated into the cylinder, and stood directly before the machinery that operated the tower.

“Listen up—next is flight preparations!” “Yes, sir! Flight preparations are complete.” The Black crew members responded via the speaking tube. “Good… Now—we depart at last!” “Yeeaah…!”

With that, the Black crew members let out a shout and began operating the familiar, complex machinery. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle. From the base of the tower lying sprawled on the seabed, large white bubbles began rising vigorously. Clunk, rumble-rumble. Whirr, whirr, whirr, whirr—screech! With a metallic scraping sound, the tower groaned and creaked into motion.

The sound of the machinery began growing louder with each passing moment. Simultaneously, the tower's neck rose smoothly upward until soon, just as it normally did, the floor leveled out and the walls stood straight. Gurgle, rumble, hiss! With an eerie noise, the tower surged straight from the deep seabed to the water's surface! The moment its unsettling head finally breached the ocean's surface, it whooshed high into the air.

4

Behold! The tower-rocket, having emerged from the seabed, soared high into the sky once more!

In the deep sea, since sunlight did not reach, it was pitch-dark not only at night but even during the day, making it impossible to tell the time from one’s surroundings.

However, now that they had burst into the open air, they realized it was still early morning, just after daybreak. The large, red morning sun—resembling a crimson basin—could be seen dimly beyond the thick morning fog that had settled deeply over the sea that morning. The fog was, for the Tower King, truly a divine blessing bestowed by heaven—or so the Tower King himself believed as he rejoiced. But really—should someone like the Tower King be allowed to receive such divine blessings?

No. The rejoicing over what the Tower King took to be divine blessings had been nothing but his own hasty assumption. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud. Vroooom, vroooom, brr-brr-brr.

Suddenly, the fierce sound of machine gun fire rang out. And the deafening roar of engines drawing near!

An airplane!

It was a reconnaissance plane from our surveillance unit!

What a bold move! Through this thick fog, it pressed onward, steadily drawing closer to the tower. “Tch, they’re here again. What an annoying airplane!”

The Tower King made a bitter, disgusted face. "If they came head-on, I could shoot down a hundred of them! But to my irritation, these enemy planes lately seem to know our rudder mechanism's a weak spot—they keep targeting it relentlessly. Damned nuisance!" With that, the Tower King clicked his tongue harshly in irritation.

The pursuit intensified!

1

Having risen from the seabed and now free from explosion concerns, the Tower Rocket had taken to the skies—only to be engulfed in thick fog, spotted by lying-in-wait surveillance planes, and subjected to an intensely urgent pursuit. “Damn it, damn it!”

The Tower King peered into the control panel, absolutely furious. “Ah, dangerous! Another plane—” The control panel had three or so square-cut window-like openings lit up, and on the screen beyond them, white fog could be seen swirling. This was the telescopic television screen that the Tower King had created to observe the scenery outside the tower.

Oh, an airplane!

Suddenly, the figure of a single airplane appeared on the telescopic television screen. Where was this airplane from?

There was no need to ask. Since the hinomaru was emblazoned on its wings and fuselage, it was immediately recognizable to anyone as one of our naval aircraft. Just before this, when the Tower Rocket burst out from the sea surface, our surveillance squadron—which had been lying in wait with bated breath—immediately gave chase with all seventeen planes. However, due to the thick fog and the Tower Rocket’s speed, they gradually lost sight of it, and their hard-won pursuit seemed to have come to nothing.

However, a single plane had persisted until the end—and the aircraft now appearing on the Tower King’s telescopic television screen was that very persistent plane. This airplane was a reconnaissance plane piloted by Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—abbreviated as Aoe Sankusō. The accompanying reconnaissance petty officer was none other than the aforementioned Chief Petty Officer Kohama.

“Hey, are you sure pushing yourself this hard is a good idea?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama called out through the voice tube to Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, who was steering frantically.

2

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—the tenacious one whom Chief Petty Officer Kohama had asked if pushing himself so hard was wise—puffed out his round, dumpling-like face in mild irritation. “Chief Petty Officer, ever since the Second Sino-Japanese War,” he said, “once I’ve locked onto something labeled an enemy, I’ve never once let it escape without taking it down. Whether I push myself or hold back—until I destroy that Tower Rocket—I won’t spare a single thought for anything else.”

“What do you mean by ‘outside things’?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama asked. “That is—in other words—things like running out of gasoline, enemy anti-aircraft guns laying down barrages, or even me dying… those are what I call ‘outside things.’” “Hmm. So you’re not thinking about running out of gas, scary barrages, or even your own death.” “Then—you’re worried about me dying, huh?”

“No, not at all—I’m not worried about my own life, of course, nor yours either.” “To begin with, the very fact that you chose to board my plane is your misfortune.” “Or else—” “What’s this ‘or else’—” “No, I’m afraid I have this terrible habit of getting so absorbed that I end up rambling about whatever’s on my mind.” “What’s this—has your life suddenly become precious to you, Chief Petty Officer?”

“Don’t be stupid! When I was young, my life wasn’t three times as precious as yours!”

“And now?”

“Now?... “Now I don’t value my life ten times more. “So you’re pushing yourself this hard at the controls, but from where I’m standing, your efforts still aren’t cutting it.”

Upon hearing this, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s face turned as red as a lantern fruit.

3 (My efforts still aren’t enough. If it were me, I’d push harder—) Teased by Chief Petty Officer Kohama, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—angry yet not angry—felt his face, which had been as red as an overripe lantern fruit, turn pale instead. “Even though I’m pushing myself this hard, you’re saying my efforts still aren’t enough? If the Chief Petty Officer underestimates me, it’s a disgrace to the name of Third Class Aviation Petty Officer! Alright then, I’ll go all out! I’ll do it even if I die! Until I crash this plane into that Tower Rocket wobbling ahead, I won’t slow down for anything! That Tower Rocket bastard—now that it’s come to this, even if it tries to run away, who’d let it escape?!”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, trembling with fighting spirit, glared at the Tower Rocket and fiercely increased his speed. The corners of his eyes looked ready to split at any moment.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama watched this from behind and grinned.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama had not been teasing young Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe out of malice. After all, their opponent was the Tower Rocket. Ordinary methods would never have been enough to catch up. Even the efforts of Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—known as "Persistent Aoe"—still fell short in his eyes, so he resorted to provoking him into anger.

The Chief Petty Officer’s plan hit the mark perfectly. The young Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, a former youth aviation soldier, demonstrated piloting skills that defied human capability as he desperately chased after the Tower Rocket, which threatened to slip from sight at any moment. At times he was at a loss in dense clouds; at others, he made sharp turns to change direction—a pursuit of terrifying intensity. Time and again they nearly lost sight of it, yet somehow managed to cling on—inching closer as they pursued—until before they knew it, both planes climbed to an altitude of seven thousand meters.

4

Seven thousand meters in the sky! Now, the reconnaissance plane was on the verge of catching up to the Tower Rocket.

Not only the fog, but the clouds had also cleared. The sky was vast and open. The Earth had vanished somewhere. Below, dense clouds like the cotton batting of a quilt spread endlessly as far as the eye could see. “Hey, Aoe. “You finally gave it your all!” “Well done!”

With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama offered his first bit of praise. “N-not yet!”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe snapped back. “What? ‘Not yet’?” “That is so. I have not yet fully demonstrated my signature persistence for you to see, Chief Petty Officer!” “What?! You’re still going to push yourself?!” “Now I’ll truly show you what real persistence looks like!”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe sent his beloved plane speeding through the vast open sky, now free of obstructions. All the while, Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept tapping away at the telegraph key. Since he was aboard Aoe’s plane for reconnaissance duty, he used wireless telegraphy to relay every moment of the Tower Rocket pursuit observed from the aircraft to headquarters. “Current distance between our Aoe’s plane and the Tower Rocket is 1,500 meters. Area fully clear, visibility excellent.”

When he sent this, a reply would soon come from headquarters urging further reports.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama was busy. He encouraged Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, monitored the Tower Rocket, and sent wireless reports to headquarters. Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s desperate pursuit finally bore fruit, and at last his plane drew parallel to the Tower Rocket. The two planes - enemy and ally - aligned their noses and flew straight onward. The Tower Rocket’s windows stood clearly visible. Chief Petty Officer Kohama pressed the telescope to his eye.

5

The reconnaissance plane carrying Chief Petty Officer Kohama and Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—now the only one left—clung fervently to the Tower Rocket.

The Tower Rocket and the reconnaissance plane were now flying parallel to each other at an altitude already nearing 10,000 meters.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama continuously monitored the Tower Rocket’s movements and sent detailed reports via wireless telegraphy to headquarters. “At this moment, the Tower King has appeared at the window of the Tower Rocket.” “He’s glaring this way with a terrifying gaze.” “Ah! He’s pulled back his face!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s reports were remarkably detailed. It was thought that the Tower King had retracted his face to prepare another attack on the reconnaissance plane—and indeed, before long, the plane’s engine began acting abnormally. “Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, doesn’t it seem like the engine’s about to stop? You’re not pushing hard enough!” “It’s not that. I’m trying my best, but the engine isn’t responding. It’s too early for it to conk out, but this is strange.”

“So that’s it—” With that realization dawning on him, Chief Petty Officer Kohama glared at the Tower Rocket. Those mysterious force rays emanating from the Tower Rocket seemed intent on stifling their engine’s roar.

A danger signal was promptly sent by Chief Petty Officer Kohama to headquarters. “Due to the mysterious force rays emitted by the Tower Rocket, the engine is about to stop. I believe any further pursuit may prove difficult.”

Then, a prompt reply came in from headquarters.

“Hold on for thirty more minutes! We’re also arranging a rescue team.” “Hold on for thirty more minutes!” Given how erratic the engine had become, he wondered if they could last those thirty minutes.

Bold Stratagem

**1** “Hold on for thirty more minutes!” Aboard Aoe’s plane pursuing the Tower Rocket, Chief Petty Officer Kohama, the reconnaissance officer, ground his teeth. Despite Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s efforts that defied human limits, the engine’s condition deteriorated like the fading eyes of a terminal patient. (We finally caught up to the Tower Rocket—but at this rate, we’ll fall behind and get torn away.) Determined to cling to the Tower Rocket at all costs, Chief Petty Officer Kohama racked his brains and hatched a scheme.

At that moment, an idea came to Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s mind. It was the long rope loaded on their beloved plane. This was a sturdy hemp rope used during rescue operations, carried by every warship.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama tied the steel anchor to the end of the rope. The anchor was a small one, about the size of a watermelon. After completing it, Chief Petty Officer Kohama revealed his brilliant plan to Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe. Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe was utterly astonished. However, given that maintaining proximity to the Tower Rocket for even thirty minutes would be difficult unless they attempted such a method right now, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe ultimately decided to comply with this plan.

“Alright, I’m counting on you.” “At this point, we’ve got no choice but to rely on your piloting skills.” “Stay sharp!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama encouraged him. “I-I’m okay.” “I’ll fight to the death if I have to.” “Now, please lower the anchor!” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe accepted resolutely.

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe accepted the task admirably. Thereupon, Chief Petty Officer Kohama began carefully lowering the rope with the anchor attached to its end out of the aircraft.

**2**

The Tower Rocket was attempting to flee high into the sky!

Determined not to let it escape, Aoe’s plane was in hot pursuit. In the reconnaissance seat, Chief Petty Officer Kohama, mustering every ounce of his ingenuity, first lowered the hemp rope with the anchor attached.

The hemp rope extended longer and longer. Due to the weight of the anchor attached to its end, the hemp rope swayed back and forth. And then the anchor began to sway more and more violently. “Whoa, a hard right turn!” When Chief Petty Officer Kohama shouted into the voice pipe,

“Roger, right turn!” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe pulled the rudder. Then, the plane tilted its wings and swung around to the right in a perfect arc in the blink of an eye. The plane had maneuvered ahead of the Tower Rocket. The Tower Rocket reduced its speed again. Finally, it slipped past the hemp rope dangling from Aoe’s plane by a hair’s breadth. “Hah! Hah! Hah! Seems even the Tower Rocket’s struggling now.” “At this point, they must be too scared to accelerate.” “No wonder—that rocket’s rudder was only half-functional from the start!”

Earlier, Chief Petty Officer Kohama had damaged about half of the Tower Rocket’s rudder using a body-ramming tactic. From then on, the Tower Rocket could no longer fly straight as desired. When it tried to fly straight, it would spin around in circles; when it tried to descend, the rocket’s nose would tilt upwards—just like a drunkard driving a car. Even the Tower King was terribly troubled by this.

And now, right then, the hemp rope with an anchor dangling from it suddenly appeared right before its nose at the worst possible moment, making it harder and harder for the rocket to fly. If they didn’t keep their speed down, they couldn’t make sudden changes in direction.

**3** The Tower Rocket was beginning to look increasingly disoriented.

However, Chief Petty Officer Kohama, still in pursuit, had no intention of easing up just yet. “Hey, Aoe! It’s finally time for you to show off those advanced flying skills of yours.”

“Yes, I’ve been waiting for this.” “I will certainly subdue the enemy.”

And Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe responded in an eager voice. “Yeah, keep that momentum steady. I’m counting on you.” “Now pilot exactly as I command.” “Understood.”

“Now I’ll issue the commands!—First, vertical climb!”

“Roger, vertical climb!” Before the voice had even finished, Aoe’s plane shot up vertically into the air. The engine roared violently. The plane surged upward! “Ah! The Tower Rocket has fled to the right! “As if I’d let it escape! “—Loop around and dive right!” Aoe’s plane drew a beautiful circle in the air and swung around in a single turn. And no sooner had they done this than the plane immediately pointed its nose downward and descended with ferocious speed, like an eagle swooping down on a lumbering ox.

“Splendid, splendid! “Splendid skill—just like when I was young! “No, I was a bit more skilled back then, though.”

said Chief Petty Officer Kohama. Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, at the controls, rolled his eyes in confusion, unsure whether he was being praised or mocked. Before long, the anchor rope began to sway in an odd manner, writhing through the air like a giant serpent.

The one who was surprised was the Tower King. It was too dangerous; he couldn’t keep flying the rocket.

He barked orders at the three Black crew members operating the machinery—"Veer further left!" "Climb higher!"—sweat pouring down his entire body as he shouted commands. But the Tower Rocket gradually cowered in the air.

**4**

Seeing the Tower Rocket begin to drift aimlessly through the air, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—

“Now’s our chance!”

he exclaimed.

What could he mean by "now"?

At that moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama issued an unusual command to Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe. “Hey, Aoe, perform continuous loop-the-loops around the Tower Rocket!” Continuous loop-the-loops were a formidable order. Moreover, being told to circle endlessly around the Tower Rocket made this an exceptionally challenging task. This was precisely where the pilot’s skill shone. “Commencing continuous loop-the-loops around the Tower Rocket, beginning now!”

No sooner had he repeated this than Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe yanked back on the control stick. Then, no sooner had Aoe’s plane yanked up its nose than it drew a beautiful, sweeping arc through the air and closed in on the Tower Rocket. The Tower Rocket, seemingly pinned under the glare of our reconnaissance plane, trembled violently, its silver bulk quaking. Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe seized the moment to demonstrate his masterful piloting, circling round and round the Tower Rocket—now above it, now below.

The long hemp rope with the anchor attached gradually formed into a circular loop.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama extended the hemp rope as far as it would go.

The anchor gradually lagged behind and soon came to the front of the reconnaissance plane. When they extended the hemp rope, the anchor drew even closer to the reconnaissance plane.

“Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, circle tighter! And hook our hemp rope onto the tip of the anchor!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama shouted. “Huh? You want to hook our hemp rope onto the anchor?” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe listened again, as if doubting his own ears.

**5** When the hemp rope with its anchor being dragged behind Aoe’s plane encircled the Tower Rocket like a ring, Chief Petty Officer Kohama ordered them to hook their hemp rope onto the anchor’s tip. Even the unflappable Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe could not hide his look of astonishment at this peculiar command.

“Right—hook our hemp rope onto the tip of the anchor! Hurry up! But do it properly!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama spoke encouragingly.

“Yes, sir. I’ll do it.” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe answered in a reliable tone, his words few. And he pulled the control stick further toward himself.

The plane tilted sharply.

The anchor floated lightly over the plane’s nose and drifted backward. It was aerial grappling. What an incredibly difficult aerial maneuver!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama clung to the window, gazing outside with rapt intensity.

The hemp rope with the anchor attached at its tip and the hemp rope he was paying out from the aircraft could be seen lined up side by side.

“Hmm, just a bit more! Stay calm, steady, and bold!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama, unable to contain himself any longer, shouted words of encouragement through the voice tube to Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, the pilot.

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe did not respond. Gripping the control stick, he was at that moment at the peak of tension. His eyes, ears, and mind could see, hear, and feel nothing but the anchor and hemp rope reflected in the reflector.

The anchor and hemp rope gradually drew closer. “Just a bit more. Hang in there, Aoe!” Snap!

Snap! In midair, the anchor and rope collided violently. He thought he saw sparks flash distinctly. The moment he thought "Ah!", the anchor was flung away with a whoosh. “Tch!”

**6**

A daring aerial maneuver! The moment they thought their rope had successfully caught the anchor’s tip, the rope sent it flying with a ping. “Darn it!” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, the pilot, shouted.

“Hmm, what a shame.”

It was Chief Petty Officer Kohama, his copilot, who groaned.

The daring aerial maneuver failed just short of success. “Sir, I will attempt again.”

“Right—stay calm and do it.” At this moment, the flung anchor destroyed the beautiful ring that had been painstakingly formed in midair. Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, while doggedly pursuing the Tower Rocket, had to once again re-form the rope into a coiling ring shape around the tower’s midsection.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama could only groan.

Before long, the hemp rope smoothly pulled back the anchor once more, and a beautiful ring was drawn in the air.

Repeatedly attempting to slip out from beneath this rope yet ultimately unable to break free—the Tower Rocket! Seizing the moment, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe twisted the aircraft, maneuvering their rope closer to the anchor on the other side. From the relentless loop-the-loops, even these two brave men now began to feel intense headaches. If they continued these loop-the-loops much longer, they would lose consciousness and eventually risk death. However, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe was using sheer willpower to prevent that from happening.

“Ah, just a bit more!”

The moment Chief Petty Officer Kohama involuntarily blurted this out, the anchor successfully hooked onto the rope. It was Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s success.

With the rope caught on the anchor, it slipped smoothly, causing the loop of the rope to tighten. Now, what would happen next?

Finally Appears

1. The rope that had caught on the anchor slipped smoothly and skillfully tightened around the Tower Rocket’s midsection.

The rope was now pressing firmly down from above the Tower Rocket’s rudder.

Aoe’s plane was hanging from the end of that long rope.

“Cut the engine!” With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama barked the command.

He ordered them to stop the engine. What would happen if they stopped the engine here? The Tower King was utterly astonished. First overtaken by the airplane, then outmaneuvered to obstruct his rocket’s flight—just as he clicked his tongue at what a spiteful bastard they were—this rope came winding around to bind the rocket’s midsection. And since that rope had pressed down on the crucial rudder, the rocket’s flight became even more difficult. In this state, it was as if a walking person’s arms and legs had been bound—unable to run, and even walking required tremendous effort.

But what a reckless—and what an audacious—approach this was by Aoe’s plane! Now Aoe’s plane had completely shut off its engine. Thus, dragged along by the rocket, it trailed behind—exactly like a dinghy tied by rope to the stern of a great ship—following wherever the rocket flew. “Tch! They just had to pull that stunt—hanging there like leeches!” The Tower King clicked his tongue repeatedly as he viewed the scene outside through the television monitor.

“If this keeps up, no matter how long we wait, we’ll never escape to where we need to go. Isn’t there some way to smash that airplane to pieces?” The Tower King’s eyes gleamed fiercely as he glared at Aoe’s plane—dangling midair on the projection screen—with palpable irritation.

2 Because the two brave men, Kohama and Aoe, had undertaken a bold, desperate adventure by tying their beloved plane to the Tower Rocket with a hemp rope, the Tower King was absolutely furious. If things continued like this, wherever the Tower Rocket went, Aoe’s plane would endlessly follow—it would be nothing but a hindrance.

The Tower King stuck his head out the window and was glaring at Aoe’s plane with irritation when— “Hmm... Perfect.” “That’s it.” “There’s a perfect way to destroy that airplane.”

Having said that, he pulled his face back from the window. What had he thought up? In any case, the Tower King possessed all manner of formidable weapons, which made this a terrifying prospect.

On this side were the two brave men: Kohama and Aoe. Their beloved plane was connected to the rocket via a hemp rope as previously mentioned and was being pulled along accordingly. The engine had already been stopped. In the cockpit, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe was desperately steering only the rudder. “Hey, Aoe, you’re handling this flight beautifully!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama called out. “Since we don’t need to operate the engine, it proves quite beneficial for gasoline conservation.”

“Ha ha ha! Saving gasoline for the nation’s sake—as they say.” “But the Tower Rocket has become completely quiet, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s become quiet. However, if we try to accelerate with that thing, we can’t fly straight. As you know, the rocket’s rudder is broken—and on top of that, our hemp rope is pressing down on it from above. So while we can build up speed, we can’t fly in the direction we want. In other words, we have absolutely no idea where we’re headed.” “Hmm—no clue at all where we’re flying. Our altitude’s ten thousand meters now, but we’ve got no idea which prefecture we’re over. Can’t see a thing below.”

3

Onboard Aoe’s plane—connected to the Tower Rocket and gliding through the skies at 10,000 meters—the two brave men, Kohama and Aoe, continued their carefree conversation without so much as a change in their expressions.

“Sir, this feels absolutely splendid. First off, since we don’t need to run the engine, we don’t use any gasoline. Plus, there’s no engine or propeller noise—nice and quiet. The only thing noisy is the sound of gas emitted by that Tower Rocket.”

“Yeah, the gas noise is bad enough, but the stench is even worse.” “Since the propeller stopped spinning, that foul stench comes pouring down from overhead without restraint.”

“Then shall we put on our poison gas masks?” “Nah, it’s not that bad. Our bad luck was ending up near the rocket’s tail. But you get used to it after a while—makes things easier.” “I don’t find the gas’s stench all that bothersome.” “Hmm, for you to not feel it that much—color me impressed. I’m having a really hard time here.” “There’s really no need to praise me so much.” “You’re being awfully humble today.”

“You flatter me too much. Actually, I’ve had a cold since yesterday, so my nose isn’t working.” “You’re saying you have a cold and can’t smell a thing? Wahahaha! Well then, no wonder you’re unfazed even by this stench! Wahahaha!”

“Eh-hehehe.”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe laughed somewhat sheepishly.

At that moment, the Tower King’s face reappeared from the window. He glared sharply at Aoe’s plane and said, “Heh heh heh... Now then, Japanese sailors—invoke the name of your god while you still can!”

4

The Tower King stuck his head out of the rocket’s window, glared down at Aoe’s plane, and uttered an ominous threat: "Invoke the name of your god while you still can"—but what on earth was he about to start?

“Oh look, the Tower King’s sticking his face out the window again!” “Ah! He’s holding something in his hand!” As the two brave men, Kohama and Aoe, shouted back and forth, the Tower King leaned halfway out the window and, in the blink of an eye, pressed the mysterious machine he had been hiding firmly against his chest and braced himself. “Ah! He actually pulled that thing out!” “What is that?” “Well, it resembles a Bergmann gun, but it’s an intricate weapon—like three Bergmann guns combined.”

“Right—it must be a weapon. What’s he planning to do? In any case, prepare for combat! Don’t falter now!”

The Tower King braced himself, pressing the mysterious weapon against his chest, then trained his sights on the rocket’s rear. Soon after a strange sound rang out, from what appeared to be the muzzle of that mysterious weapon burst forth a thick beam of pale violet light. A pale violet light beam!

While they wondered what it was, this light beam kept caressing the rear of the rocket. When the light beam struck the rocket's outer wall, a vivid flame—somewhere between yellow and red—flared up from the point of impact.

“Oh! That must be the magnetic cannon. I’ve never seen it before!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama did not even try to take his eyes off the binoculars.

The terrifying power of the magnetic cannon!

It was now emitting a pale violet light beam, melting the metal fiercely.

5

The Tower King finally began to wield the magnetic cannon. Leaning halfway out of the window of the Kaitō Rocket soaring through the air, he kept aiming a strange machine downward. The rear of the Kaitō Rocket emitted a reddish-yellow flame and began to melt fiercely.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama and Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe stared unblinkingly at this spectacle.

“Oh! That’s it.” “That’s definitely the weapon.” “A fearsome weapon that, when applied to metal, bursts into fierce flames and melts away.” “That’s the weapon the Tower King values most.” “Ah! Just as I said—the Kaitō Rocket’s walls are melting away in a syrupy flow.” “Hey Aoe, look at that!”

“Sir, this is my first time seeing it. Is that the famed magnetic cannon I’ve heard about? However, the Tower King is melting the walls of the rocket he’s riding in—what on earth could he be trying to do?”

The Tower King was up to something utterly bizarre. The magnetic cannon kept emitting pale violet beams of immense power.

“Yeah, see that? The Tower King’s aiming for the anchor we hooked onto the hemp rope. In other words, he figures if he melts the anchor, the hemp rope’ll come loose.” “So he’s trying to melt the anchor? Why not just cut the hemp rope instead? The Tower King’s not too bright, is he? Hah! Hah!”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe laughed. However, he was mistaken.

“No, that’s not it. Aoe, the magnetic cannon can melt metal, but it doesn’t work as well on non-metals. So even if that pale violet light melts iron plates, it can’t melt hemp ropes. Now you understand why the Tower King’s aiming for the anchor instead of the rope.” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe alternated between admiration and shock, muttering, “Hah! So that’s how it is.”

6

The Tower King was vigorously wielding the magnetic cannon.

The rear of the Kaitō Rocket was melting fiercely, but the crucial anchor showed no sign of melting.

“Ah! That Tower King guy’s hands are shaking—he can’t hit the anchor properly.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama laughed with amusement. “How about it, Chief? Shall we try showering them with machine gun fire?” “Yeah, machine gun bullets probably won’t reach—the magnetic cannon will just repel them.”

“But it’s unbearable watching the Tower King twist and turn that magnetic cannon while we just stand here with folded arms!” “No, that’s not it. I’ve been communicating nonstop with the main force this whole time. If I report that we can see the Tower King operating the magnetic cannon right now, the commander will be pleased and order us to keep observing and report in detail. For now, let’s stay still and watch what the Tower King does.”

“Oh, I see. So the main force is happy hearing about the magnetic cannon? But staying still is agonizing. If only my arms were longer—I’d sock that ugly mug of the Tower King right in the jaw from below, I tell ya!” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe found it excruciating to keep watching the anchor being scorched by the magnetic cannon.

“Oh Chief, the hemp rope’s started smoldering with a sputtering hiss!” “What? The hemp rope’s finally caught fire?”

Because the Kaitō Rocket's metal walls were melting away in a syrupy flow, the temperature in that area had become intensely hot, until finally the hemp rope began smoldering with a sputtering hiss. As they watched in dismay, the hemp rope finally burst into bright flames and began burning fiercely.

7

This was serious.

The hemp rope connecting the Kaitō Rocket and Aoe’s plane burst into raging flames, and now a terrible crisis erupted.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama had been continuously tapping the telegraph key to send wireless reports to the main force commander, but upon seeing this situation,

“Hmm, it’s finally caught fire after all. “The Kaitō Rocket intends to shake off our plane and make its escape! “It’s no good now! “Hey Aoe, start the engine! “We need to hurry!” With that, he restarted the engine and gave orders for flight preparations. “Yes, starting the engine.”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe immediately repeated the command and activated the ignition. Then, once again, the engine roared to life with a booming rumble, and the aircraft jerked upward. “Hey Aoe, the hemp rope’s about to snap!” “Are you ready?”

“Y-yes. We’re all set now. We can fly.” As they said this, the Tower King—who until now had been focused solely on the hemp ropes binding the tower’s rudder and the anchor—adjusted his stance and turned toward Aoe’s plane.

“Oh, Chief! The Tower King has turned toward us.”

“Yeah, I’m watching too. Is he planning to blast us with that magnetic cannon?” As they spoke, the Tower King indeed aimed the magnetic cannon at the two men. Then, as if declaring “See what happens?”, he opened his mouth wide in a grotesque, mocking sneer.

Despite having persisted valiantly in following the Kaitō Rocket this far, it now seemed Aoe’s plane had finally reached the moment of its demise.

Of course, the two heroes had already resolved in their hearts to die honorably, so they did not lag behind. Even so, it was frustrating that their airplane would finally be destroyed here by those mysterious power lines.

Aerial Acrobatics

1 The hemp rope connecting the Kaitō Rocket and Aoe’s plane was now engulfed in crimson flames, burning fiercely. No matter how sturdy the hemp rope was, once it had come to this, it was clear it would soon burn up completely. When the hemp rope burned up completely, they would have to part ways with the Kaitō Rocket they had managed to cling onto. Once they parted ways this time, well, next time clinging to the Kaitō Rocket would not be so easily done.

“Hmm, how regrettable. Just standing by and watching the hemp rope burn up like this... It’s so disheartening.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama gnashed his teeth fiercely, seething with frustration. “Chief Petty Officer Kohama.”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe called out.

“What is it, Aoe?” “There’s something I must ask your permission to do.”

“What? What do you want me to permit?” “That is—in other words—I intend to climb along that hemp rope and jump into the Kaitō Rocket.”

“What? What did you say?” “Are you saying you’ll climb along the hemp rope and seize that Kaitō Rocket?” “You fool, you’ve come up with something grand, hmm.” Even the valiant Chief Petty Officer Kohama was astonished by the astonishing Kaitō Rocket occupation plan conceived by young Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe and groaned, “Hmm...”

“Alright then, Aoe. You may proceed with the rope crossing.” “Oh! You’ve given permission? I’m happy.” “Yeah, be bold—don’t get flustered.” “The hemp rope burst into fierce flames. Then I’ll immediately grab the rope and climb up.” The young warrior Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe removed his seat belt and leaped from his seat. And in the blink of an eye, he nimbly leaped onto the hemp rope connecting Aoe’s plane and the Kaitō Rocket.

2

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s aerial adventure began. Hanging from and traversing ropes was something he excelled at, but traversing a rope hurtling through the air at tremendous speed was no simple feat. At any moment, the fierce force of the wind threatened to blow him away. “Aoe, stay focused!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama raised his arm from the reconnaissance seat above and encouraged Aoe.

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe responded by nodding his head slightly and saluting his superior officer.

Two meters, three meters—Aoe’s body inched its way forward bit by bit. Chief Petty Officer Kohama promptly reported the brave young warrior’s efforts to headquarters via wireless telegraphy. Then, promptly in response, from headquarters—

“A new page in our Imperial Navy’s battle history has been splendidly adorned by Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s heroic feat this time.” Then arrived a wireless message brimming with glorious commendations.

Upon receiving this, Chief Petty Officer Kohama rejoiced as if it were his own, “Hey Aoe, a commendation from the Commander!”

he shouted, but Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, engrossed in crossing the rope, showed no sign of having heard—a truly regrettable turn.

Following this, headquarters notified them that a new attack squadron was currently rushing to the scene, so they were to hold on a little longer.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama had first splendidly accomplished communication with the main force.

At that moment, he suddenly realized something and looked up to check on the Tower King’s status—Oh no—disaster struck! The Tower King was leaning out halfway through the window, frantically aiming the muzzle of his magnetic cannon toward Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe! Ah! Dangerous! 3

The Tower King leaned out the window, intently aiming his magnetic cannon at Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s body. A pale purple light beam streaked through the air, and each time it did, crackling sparks scattered from the Kaitō Tower’s iron walls along the beam’s path. Perhaps due to some flaw in the Tower King’s aim, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s body remained unhit—fortunately, so far—and he could be seen vigorously traversing the rope.

“Oh, Aoe, hang in there!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama involuntarily gripped his fist and swung it. However, upon observing the situation, while Aoe had managed safely up to this point, the danger would rapidly increase as he approached the Kaitō Tower. Would Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe truly accomplish this aerial adventure—the rope crossing between the rocket and the airplane? The hemp rope blazed up even more fiercely. It seemed they could see its imminent burning-through and collapse right before their eyes.

At that moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—who had turned his gaze back toward Aoe—let out a shout. “Ah! It’s caught fire!” “Fire’s caught on Aoe’s body!” This was a crisis. White smoke was now billowing from around Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s waist—an area that had been perfectly fine until moments ago. Had he noticed it? Aoe, still hanging onto the rope, began frantically shaking his waist. His pants had caught fire, which must have made his body unbearably hot.

“This is bad!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s eyebrows drew together painfully into a figure-eight shape. It was agonizing for him to witness his subordinate’s peril before his very eyes.

“Ah! Aoe must’ve had a knife or something made of iron hanging around his waist. When that magnetic beam hit it, the iron turned bright red and melted, causing the fire to catch on his clothes. This is a problem. If we leave him be, he’ll burn to death.”

4 Watching Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s uniform begin smoldering—as he hung bravely from the single hemp rope connecting the reconnaissance plane to the Kaitō Rocket Tower, inching ever closer—Chief Petty Officer Kohama aboard the aircraft felt his heart seize as if gripped by an invisible hand. He couldn’t let Aoe burn to death here. Yet from this distant aircraft, there was no way to reach Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s burning clothes. “This is bad…”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama stared at his subordinate’s perilous state and shuddered violently. He had to save him. Given this situation, he couldn’t help but feel certain that Aoe’s life wouldn’t last another ten minutes.

“This is bad… In that case, I’ll die with Aoe!”

Having thought of something, Chief Petty Officer Kohama peered into the seat. He pulled out a leather bag containing drinking water from under the seat. After attaching this leather bag to his waist, he untied the strap and suddenly stood up from the seat. He hurriedly cut into the leather bag with his knife, making three or four small holes. Then he quickly tied the bottom of the leather bag with a string and fastened the end of the string to his left wrist. What on earth was he trying to accomplish by doing such a thing?

Of course, that was a desperate gamble to save his subordinate.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s preparations seemed complete.

And in the blink of an eye, “Hah—”

With a shout, Chief Petty Officer Kohama swung down from the aircraft and clung to the hemp rope stretched taut between the plane and the Kaitō Rocket Tower.

Ah, at last, two brave warriors hung from the hemp rope. The rope now bore the weight heavily. Could the rope truly endure such a burden? Looking closer, that hemp rope was now blazing fiercely where it bound the tower’s midsection.

5

What a perilous sight this was! The hemp rope binding the Kaitō Tower’s midsection was blazing fiercely, and moreover, with our two brave warriors now hanging from that rope, the burden had grown tremendously. The hemp rope looked ready to snap at any moment. If the hemp rope were to snap cleanly from the Kaitō Tower’s midsection, what would become of the two brave warriors’ lives? At that moment, Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe finally noticed that his clothes were on fire.

“Oh no, this is bad!” The fire clinging to his clothes seared into his body. “I wanted to smother the flames,” he thought desperately， “but both my hands were occupied. In this violent airflow， I couldn’t grip the hemp rope with one hand and support myself. If I tried that， I’d plummet instantly.” Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe finally gave up crossing the rope， wriggling his body frantically. He struggled desperately against flames devouring his uniform， but wind fanned fiercer， fire raging unchecked. Alas， Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—bravely advancing toward Kaitō Tower—seemed destined to burn alive as a human torch when—

“Hey, Aoe, hang in there!”

Suddenly, a familiar voice reached Aoe's ears.

“Oh!”

When he looked back, there—unexpectedly behind him—Chief Petty Officer Kohama hung from the rope too, approaching closer. When had he arrived? “Ah, sir!”

Hot tears spilled down from Aoe’s eyelids. They were tears of gratitude for Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s fervent heart that cared deeply for his subordinate. “Hey Aoe, don’t let go! I’ll put out the fire for you—just hang on a little longer!”

He shouted, but would the Chief Petty Officer truly be able to rescue Aoe, now engulfed in flames?

The Panicking Tower King

1

If any comrade had seen the figures of the two brave warriors, Aoe and Kohama, hanging perilously from the single hemp rope stretched across the Kaitō Rocket Tower with their lives at stake, he would have been overcome with gut-tearing anguish.

The Tower King looked down upon this scene from the tower’s window, his panic growing ever more apparent. Still clutching the magnetic cannon in his arms, he frantically twisted and turned it, but in his panic, he couldn’t manage to direct the mysterious force beam where he intended.

Just once—whether by fluke or not—the magnetic force beam struck the bracket supporting the wheel of Aoe’s plane. Then, terrifyingly, the metal fitting burst into blue flames and melted away in a dripping ooze. The wheel, having lost its support, spun round and round as it fell downward.

The magnetic cannon imparted intense heat to the metal fittings yet did not subject human bodies to such temperatures—in this case, that proved a stroke of fortune for the two brave warriors. “Just a little more! Aoe, hang in there!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama, undaunted by the fierce airflow, clung tightly to the rope and scrambled closer to Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe. “Chief Petty Officer Kohama—” “Aoe! Don’t you dare let your guard down! If you’re going to die, you can’t die until I say it’s okay!”

It was the Chief Petty Officer who issued a drastic command.

At last, he finally reached the spot where Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe was hanging down. “Hey, Aoe, I’ll put out the fire for you!” “Can you do that?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely put it out for you.”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama gripped the cord tied around the bottom of a leather bag filled with water in his teeth, bent his neck back, and yanked hard. The bag flipped upside down, and water gushed from the tear like a waterfall.

2

What a daring idea!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama skillfully maneuvered his neck and wrists, pulled the cord fastened to the bottom of the leather bag, and made the water inside gush from the bag's tear like a waterfall.

“Hey, Aoe, stay still for a bit!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama hung from the rope with both hands and twisted his body to direct the water flowing from the bag onto the uppermost part of Aoe’s blazing clothes. Though not abundant, the trickling water thoroughly drenched Aoe’s crimson-burning garments from above. As the dry fabric—quick to absorb moisture—became completely soaked in moments, the fire’s ferocity gradually diminished.

“Ah, it’s working!” As soon as the water in the leather bag ran out, Chief Petty Officer Kohama pressed down on Aoe’s pants—still smoldering with lingering embers—with both legs, beat at them, and finally stomped out every last trace of fire. The iron knife that had been the source of the engulfing flames plopped down from Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s scorched-through pocket. What they had to be most cautious of regarding the Tower King was metal fittings.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama was, to the very end, a composed and great warrior. Because he carried out this fire-extinguishing task with meticulous care and yet daring boldness, he was able to save the life of his subordinate who had already been on the verge of becoming a human torch. Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, suddenly freed from his predicament, wept with joy. What a superior officer worthy of respect! “Ah, sir, I—”

He tried to speak, but his chest constricted, cutting off his words. "Idiot! Since when do men weep like girls before the enemy?"

Suddenly, the Chief Petty Officer’s angry voice exploded.

3

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe had been on the verge of becoming a human torch, but through Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s valiant efforts, the fire clinging to his clothes was extinguished just before reaching that dire state. Had this simply been a rope dangling in midair, the task might still have been manageable—but this was a cable stretched taut between the Kaitō Rocket and Aoe’s plane, whirring and roaring through the sky as they executed this death-defying aerial maneuver. One could only marvel that such a feat had been possible at all.

The fire had been extinguished, but even Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe had indeed lost some of his vigor. The fire clinging to his clothes seared his body—how excruciating it must have been.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama quickly noticed this and grew concerned. After all, the terrifying wind buffeted the two men clinging to the rope with such force it threatened to rip them away—the agony was beyond description.

“Aoe, stay sharp! The Tower King’s watching us!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept encouraging Aoe.

However, another source of concern was now becoming increasingly worrisome. That was the part where this rope formed a loop tied around the Kaitō Rocket’s rudder. It was being buffeted by the wind and blazed fiercely, but they could not reach to extinguish the flames. Chief Petty Officer Kohama, still hanging from the rope, clenched his teeth and fumed in frustration.

“Heh-heh! Look at you now!”

The Tower King, looking thoroughly pleased, pointed from the window and laughed. What a detestable bastard he was. Creak! The rope slackened slightly, and a strange sound traveled along it. No sooner had the thought crossed their minds than the rope connecting the Kaitō Rocket and Aoe's plane finally snapped with a sharp *twang*. Agh!

4

This was bad! The rope that had been connecting the Kaitō Rocket and Aoe’s plane had finally burned through completely. “Ah! The rope’s snapped!” “Ah! Damn it!”

And Chief Petty Officer Kohama and Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe shouted.

And the end of the rope detached from the Kaitō Tower, still suspending the two soldiers, swayed wildly through the air as it descended. ——

What a terrifying situation this was. The long rope suspending the two soldiers was swung in the opposite direction with a heavy whoosh, like the pendulum of a wall clock.

Ah! That's dangerous!

No sooner had the thought crossed their minds than the plane shot upward; the rope first sagged vertically, but with the momentum, it whooshed back up.

“Ouch, it hurts! My arm’s breaking!”

Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe's heartrending scream. Realizing this wouldn't do, Chief Petty Officer Kohama hurried to rescue him—gritting his teeth, he spread his legs though immobilized midair toward Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe and tried to clamp them around the man's torso.

“Ah! No!”

By the time Aoe cried out, it was already too late—his hands were sliding off the rope. Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s legs clamped futilely at the empty void where there was nothing. By the time that voice reached Aoe’s ears, both of his hands had already slipped free from the end of the rope.

Ah! Aoe let go of the rope!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s field of vision suddenly went dark.

“Aoe! Aoe! Aoe!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama continued calling Aoe’s name with a voice raw with strain, shouting with all his might. But Aoe— ——

I no longer have the courage to write what happens next.

The end of the ever-determined Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe!

Crash.

1 Even Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, who had been so tenacious, was no demon god; with his strength and resolve utterly spent, he finally became a noble sacrifice. “What a waste… what a waste.” As he thought of his subordinate’s pitiful fate, Chief Petty Officer Kohama felt as though his chest would collapse.

However, he had no time to slowly shed tears. For he knew full well that he too, dangling from the rope, would soon meet the same fate as Aoe. His arms felt like they were being ripped from their sockets; his body felt like it would be torn away by the wind. He could almost see the Tower King’s detestable face peering out and laughing at him. “Damn you, Tower King! Are you trying to shake me off too?” “Don’t joke around! I’m Chief Petty Officer Kohama!” “Do you think I’d let myself get shaken off just to please you?” “Damn it!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama gritted his teeth in resolve—how could two Imperial soldiers let themselves be shaken off like this? For the Navy’s honor, even if he died, he’d never let go of this rope.

The rope that Chief Petty Officer Kohama was hanging from whipped back and forth violently with a sharp whirring sound. The airplane was now above the rope, but with no one at the controls, it began spiraling downward, taking the rope along with it. “Hmph! Do you think I’d let myself be shaken off?” Gradually, the rope’s violent whipping began to subside. Because both the rope and airplane had begun falling together, the violent whipping subsided. Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s arms felt a bit lighter.

However, if this continued, both the airplane and Chief Petty Officer Kohama would gradually gain speed as they fell downward, and before long, they would collide violently with the ground.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama had also noticed this beforehand. Seizing the opportunity of the rope’s slackening, Chief Petty Officer Kohama gathered every ounce of strength into his arms as if now was the moment, and began climbing hand over hand up the rope.

2 Enduring both the grief of losing his subordinate and the fierce wind force, our valiant Chief Petty Officer Kohama mustered all his strength and climbed the rope with a heave-ho. Fortunately, this was a Chief Petty Officer who had trained extensively on the ship for this kind of rope climbing. He swiftly climbed upward. The belly of the airplane was now almost within sight.

The airplane, which had maintained level flight until then, suddenly tilted its wings. It seemed certain that it would soon plummet straight down. If that happened, the crash's speed would become extremely violent.

(I’ve got to climb up faster!) Chief Petty Officer Kohama, resolved that it was now or never, exerted every ounce of his strength and climbed the rope with labored grunts. To his relief, his head thudded against the belly of the airplane. (Got it! One more push!)

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s courage surged a hundredfold.

He reached the airplane seat.

(Alright, I’ve finally made it back!) Now it was all on the Chief Petty Officer. Using his trusted apparatus gymnastics technique, “Hyah!”

With that, he leaped into the pilot’s seat. That was the seat where Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe had been sitting.

Of course, there was no sign of Aoe. A hot surge of emotion welled up in Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s chest, but now was a matter of life and death. Shaking it off, he quickly fastened his waist with the strap Aoe had left behind. (Alright, this should do it.) (Now for the controls.)

Chief Petty Officer Kohama noticed at that moment that the aircraft was falling nose-down in a spiral. If this continued, they would violently collide with the ground. When he hurriedly pulled the elevator with all his strength, to his delight, the nose of the plane jerked up. He was safe now! Chief Petty Officer Kohama had survived.

3

Back alone in the aircraft, Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s heart felt ready to burst over Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe, now gone forever.

Until just moments ago, they had been riding together on this aircraft. And so, encouraging each other all the while, they had been chasing the Tower Rocket and fighting against the Tower King. The figure of that brave comrade was no longer to be seen on the aircraft. “That Tower King—even cutting him into eight pieces wouldn’t be enough!” When Chief Petty Officer Kohama finally managed to level out his beloved plane that had been plummeting down, he looked up and scanned the skies for the Tower Rocket. However, overhead was nothing but clouds—the silhouette of the sought-after Tower Rocket was nowhere to be seen.

“Tch, you managed to get away.” “No—I won’t let you escape no matter what until I’ve avenged Aoe!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama coiled up the hemp rope that was hindering the flight and pulled it into the cabin. Then, gripping the up rudder with fierce resolve, he opened the engine to full throttle and began a steep, furious climb. To his relief, the engine hummed smoothly—Chief Petty Officer Kohama let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

While piercing through the clouds, Chief Petty Officer Kohama's eyes darted about. The clouds obstructed his view, but he wondered if he might glimpse the Tower Rocket through a break in them. Yet there was no sign of the enemy anywhere. Moreover, the clouds grew denser and swirled into thick vortices until he could no longer tell where they were flying. He could even sense a storm approaching.

“What a disappointment.” “If I stay like this,I’ll just waste gasoline being dragged around by these clouds.It can’t be helped—I’ve got to get out of here!”

Even if he tried to escape the clouds, before he knew it, the dense clouds like old cotton batting had completely enveloped Kohama’s plane, leaving no clue where a break in the clouds might be. Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s heart was only growing more impatient.

With desperate effort,

1

Despite having steeply climbed，Kohama's plane—now forced to descend again after being hindered by dense clouds—plunged down through the clouds． “Ah，five thousand meters． Four thousand eight hundred meters． I have to get down faster！” Chief Petty Officer Kohama pulled the elevator even further，causing the plane to plummet downward like a bullet． Three thousand nine hundred，three thousand seven hundred meters．—The clouds still hadn't cleared．—Tenacious clouds．They were like the Tower King's own kin．

Even so, the clouds stubbornly refused to part.

Three thousand meters, two thousand eight hundred— “This is strange... Could there really be clouds this thick?” While complaining about the excessively thick clouds, Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept piloting his beloved plane downward at full speed.

The surroundings grew increasingly darker, as if they had been sealed within walls. Before he knew it, rain was cascading like a waterfall over his flight suit. Even Chief Petty Officer Kohama, who had become accustomed to life in the air, was experiencing such an ordeal for the first time. An ordinary person might have burst into tears.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept a firm grip on the control stick as he continued to plummet rapidly. Nine hundred meters, seven hundred meters—

The clouds were still drifting everywhere around.

Before long, through the clouds, he spotted something dark far below.

"Ah! There!" Was that land below—or open sea?

In front of the plane plummeting with a roar rose something swelling upward from below—the vast ocean raging and scattering white-crested waves. Rain like glass rods battered the sea surface into chaos. This was bad. This was a full-blown tempest!

The plane looked as though it were flying underwater. Visibility was terribly limited. He was in no position to pursue the Tower Rocket.

2

“I’ve had my fair share of life at sea, but this is the first time I’ve encountered such a violent storm.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama piloted his beloved plane through the driving rain, flying just above the waves. Hmm, I wonder what part of the ocean this is. He knew they were over the Pacific Ocean, but the Pacific was vast indeed—even if he checked the compass, he could determine their direction, but pinpointing their current location proved impossible. In such situations, receiving a radio beacon allows one to accurately determine their current location. A radio beacon wirelessly transmits the name of the lighthouse from a place called a wireless beacon station.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama switched on the receiver’s switch located in the rear seat. And he put the receiver to his ear.

However, no matter how long he waited, no sound came from the receiver. “This is strange,” he said. “The switch is properly on—why can’t I hear anything?” he wondered. He tried everything he could think of but still couldn’t hear anything. Unfortunately, he realized the receiver had malfunctioned. “Well, this is bad,” he muttered. “I have no idea where we’re flying now.”

Wondering if the transmitter might work, he tried switching this one on, but it still didn’t function. The wireless equipment had completely stopped working for both transmitting and receiving.

Meanwhile, the surroundings grew as dark as night, and visibility dropped to where even fifty meters ahead was no longer visible. Dangerous, dangerous. It was perilously close to disaster. He was no longer in any position to chase the Tower Rocket; merely continuing to fly had become dangerous. Chief Petty Officer Kohama, grappling with the raging storm, gripped the control stick as if his arms might snap, braced both legs, and made desperate efforts to escape this crisis. But battered by rain and wind, the wheels were now skimming just above the sea surface in a low-altitude flight. Ah!

3 The wireless he relied on was dead, his beloved plane battered by rain and wind, its wheels frantically swishing through the raging waves. Though he had once narrowly escaped death in the air, it now seemed Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s fate was finally coming to an end here. “If I were to self-destruct in enemy territory, that would fulfill an Imperial soldier’s true purpose—but what does diving into that maddened sea and dying accomplish?” “Alright! I’ll conquer this storm and sea no matter what!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama shouted these words aboard the plane.

His flight goggles were completely fogged up; it was hopeless. The wings were on the verge of being swallowed whole by the waves time and again. It was the fury of natural forces beyond human control.

Despite this, Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept flying. It came after two and a half long hours. Where and how he had flown—after two and a half hours of unrelenting flight, even this brave warrior found both his spirit and physical strength utterly drained. The moment had finally come—the moment when the wings would be swallowed whole by the waves, he thought. “What a shame,” “To die before avenging Aoe… What a true shame.”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama clenched his teeth, blinked his eyes rapidly, and glared down at the pure white waves below. Just then. He suddenly noticed something jet-black like a whale sprawled out ahead of him.

“Ah! What’s that?” “A whale?”

Blinking repeatedly as he stared at the dark shape, a flush of color suddenly rose to Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s cheeks. “Ah! That’s an island!” “An island!” An island was discovered. At death’s doorstep, to see the shadow of an island—what divine aid this was! Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s vigor increased a hundredfold. “I must reach that island no matter what—”

What followed was a frantic blur. Where and how he had flown—by the time he came to his senses, the plane’s engine had stopped completely.

4

Chief Petty Officer Kohama looked around as if in a dream.

The storm was still roaring violently, but beneath the airplane lay not the usual towering waves and raging sea, but a pure white sandy beach. The airplane had come to a stop with one wheel deeply embedded in the sand, tilted at an angle. Where on earth was this place? In any case, he had narrowly avoided being swallowed along with his plane by the raging waves—at least that much had been saved.

Probably, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—amidst the storm, his entire body drained as if made of cotton, eyes dimmed, ears ringing—had pressed on by sheer military spirit, (What? I can’t just collapse from something this trivial!) It is thought that he must have roused his own spirits and landed in a desperate frenzy. Even though it was a sandy beach, it was still solid ground. The moment the plane crashed into the shadow of a dune with a thud, Chief Petty Officer Kohama seemed to snap back to his senses from the violent impact.

Yet, that the brave warrior’s life was saved from danger was a tremendous stroke of luck.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, battered by the rain, unfastened his seat belt and stood up. Where on earth am I?

A high-pitched sound rang in his head like birds chirping. Forcing his stiff neck to move as he scanned the area, a strangely shaped tree came into Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s field of vision.

“Ah! That looks like a palm tree—but why would palm trees grow here?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama could no longer make sense of anything. “Hmm…” With that one cry, he collapsed into his seat as if crumbling. Where was this seaside with palm trees?

Dr. Ōtone's Residence

1

Here, the story goes back a little in time.

The location was inside Dr. Ōtone’s residence. Lieutenant Shiota—whom everyone would recognize—and the energetic boy Ichihiko were busily combing through every corner of the suspicious doctor’s chambers.

Both of them, following the words Detective Homura had specifically cautioned them about, were thinking they had to solve the mystery of the doctor’s residence quickly.

What kind of relationship could there be between Dr. Ōtone and the Tower King? And why does that Tower Rocket—soaring through the skies like Pegasus—possess such terrifying new scientific weapons? And what are they planning to do next? When will this crucial secret be unraveled?

For now, let us continue observing the activities of Lieutenant Shiota, the boy Ichihiko, Detective Homura—currently confined within the mysterious tower—and the valiant Chief Petty Officer Kohama, who remains unconscious on that strange seaside.

“I’m truly no good at searching through people’s belongings. This is Detective Homura’s specialty after all.”

Even Lieutenant Shiota—renowned as the fleet’s master strategist—seemed slightly overwhelmed by this unfamiliar room search. “Um, Lieutenant Shiota, do you think Dr. Ōtone is a villain?”

The boy Ichihiko called out from behind the lieutenant, who was sticking his head into the cupboard.

At this question, Lieutenant Shiota, startled, pulled his face out of the cupboard. “A villain? Well, I’m afraid I can no longer say for certain. Originally, I thought Dr. Ōtone was a truly respectable scholar, but as we’ve been searching his house like this, I’ve started feeling more and more uneasy. Now that you mention it, even when Dr. Ōtone came aboard the warship that time, his speech and behavior were rather strange. Though he may be an eccentric doctor, he wasn’t that fidgety in the past.”

2

The conversation between Lieutenant Shiota and the boy Ichihiko ended up casting a dark shadow over the master of this house, Dr. Ōtone. They searched the house thoroughly, but no matter where they turned things over, there were only mountains of the doctor's earnest research materials piled up, with no suspicious letters to be found.

Also lining up were numerous machines of unclear purpose, though none approached the grand scale of those installed in the Tower Rocket. From this viewpoint, Dr. Ōtone could still only be regarded as a venerable and dedicated scientist. Lieutenant Shiota finally settled onto the circular stool at the room's center, removing his service cap to let air circulate across his closely-cropped scalp. "Regrettably, we've found nothing suspicious." "Ichihiko, take that seat there." "Oh right—I've got something special." "This is premium caramel sold exclusively aboard warships." "Eating this will restore your energy—and ought to spark brilliant ideas too." "Go on—help yourself generously."

With that, Lieutenant Shiota offered Ichihiko the caramel in a blue box.

“Oh, thank you.” “These caramels are really useful!” Ichihiko sat down on a matching stool next to the lieutenant and tried the green caramel. It was indeed delicious, leaving his mouth feeling refreshingly cool. “How about it, Ichihiko? The navy caramels are quite tasty, aren’t they?” “Yes, I love them!”

While the two were happily sucking on their caramels, something strange had already begun to occur in the room. When they sat down on the round stools, it had begun—but the first to notice was Ichihiko. “Ah, Lieutenant Shiota, this is strange. This room is moving.”

3

“This room is moving.—Ah! This thing really *is* moving!” Lieutenant Shiota, startled, rose from his chair and looked at the boy Ichihiko’s face. Ichihiko’s eyes darted around rapidly. “Ah, this room is steadily descending—” “Hmm, it really is going down.” The boy Ichihiko now vividly recalled the shock he had felt before, when sneaking into the Tower King’s lair with Homura, as the room he was in—floor and all—had begun descending. When Ichihiko told this to the lieutenant, Lieutenant Shiota—keeping his sword drawn close—nodded emphatically.

Just how far would this room descend? That was all the two could think about. Thud. The floor shook faintly, and the moving room came to a complete stop. “Ah, it stopped.” “Hmm, it’s stopped.” The two exchanged glances and let out sighs of relief. What an unexpected contraption had been set up! “Is this elevator-like contraption all the rage these days?”

The boy could hardly contain his wonder. “Well, I’m not sure about that—” The flustered lieutenant, for some reason, held his breath at that moment, “Oh! That thing over there started moving.” “Ichihiko, the mechanical cabinet behind you is moving!” “Huh?!”

When Ichihiko turned to look, he was startled. The cabinet containing various physics and chemistry equipment such as microscopes and barometers was quietly sliding sideways, disappearing into the wall. The two held their breath and stared at the automatically moving cabinet.

After the cabinet had moved away, there unexpectedly appeared a single door.

The Basement Mystery!

4 The fact that Dr. Ōtone’s laboratory, carrying Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko, had smoothly descended like an elevator was already strange enough—but then, once it had fully descended, the cabinet containing the experimental machinery slid sideways into the wall, another marvel altogether. And behind the cabinet appeared a door leading who-knows-where—a truly bewildering sight indeed.

“Oh! It’s a door. “This must be the entrance to Dr. Ōtone’s secret room. “Ichihiko, I don’t know what’s inside here, but we’ve got nothing to worry about. “Let’s press on and go as far as we can!” Lieutenant Shiota turned back to Ichihiko and encouraged him. “Yes, I’ll charge in too! “What could possibly come out now that would surprise me?” “That’s the spirit! That’s the spirit!”

Lieutenant Shiota found the boy—whose vigor belied his stature—to be a reliable presence.

“By the way – this door – how does it open?” With that, Lieutenant Shiota approached the door. “Oh my, there’s no keyhole or anything here, you see.” With that, Ichihiko too brought his face close to the door and said.

Strangely enough, the door had neither a keyhole nor anything of the sort. "Hmm, I wonder if there's a push button or something here." "Well, shall we try pushing it with our hands?" When Ichihiko lightly touched the door with his hand to push it, the door shot upward smoothly as if repelled. "Oh! It opened just from me touching it. Aha! So it's set up so you can jump right in here."

Now, what lay beyond the opened door?

5

The inside of the mysterious door that had gaped open was pitch black, leaving what lay within unknown. “What on earth could be inside here?”

Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko stared into the darkness for a while, but it was pitch black, and they could see nothing. Thinking there might be someone inside, they strained their ears and listened intently, but no sound could be heard. “Lieutenant Shiota, shall we jump in?”

Ichihiko said cheerfully. “Hmm, wait a moment. “I’ll test it first—”

Lieutenant Shiota took out his pistol and fired a thunderous shot at the ceiling of the room. A loud clang—the sound of something hard being struck—was heard amidst the gunfire. However, despite the gunshot’s startling noise, not a single mouse came scurrying out.

“It’s safe now.” “Advance!”

Lieutenant Shiota was the first to leap into the room. Next was Ichihiko.—

Then, something strange happened. The moment the two of them leaped into the room—by some sort of mechanism—the lights inside turned on brightly.

“Hmm, every last detail here has been built with cutting-edge technology.”

Lieutenant Shiota was impressed.

“Why would someone build such a secret room?” “Hmm, I wonder what the reason could be. If Detective Homura were here, he’d figure it out right away.”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota looked around the room. This was a bare room with nothing in it. “It’s weird that there’s absolutely nothing here.” “It’s strange. Going out of one’s way to leave a secret room empty like this—it’s strange.” “It’s strange to deliberately leave a secret room completely empty like this.” Ichihiko said in his best boy detective manner.

The Trail of the Bloodstain

1 “Lieutenant Shiota. This... Could there actually be some even more elaborate mechanism here?”

As he spoke these words*, Ichihiko scanned* his gaze across* **the bare secret room**. He seemed to be imitating Homura’s detective techniques—though when he had picked them up was anyone’s guess. “Hmm, I see. “Alright then, Ichihiko-kun, you search that side, and I’ll search over here.” Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko split to the left and right and began searching the room.

Ichihiko, bent at the waist, was walking while examining the floor so closely he could almost lick it. Then he discovered blackened dots splotched here and there on the floor. “Ah, there’s something strange—”

When Ichihiko shouted, Lieutenant Shiota immediately came running.

“What is it, Ichihiko-kun? Did you find something strange?”

“It’s here. The blackened dots continue all the way to the other end.” “Hmm, so this is it?” With that, Lieutenant Shiota squatted on the floor and used his fingertip to crush one of the blackened dots. It squished apart messily. And a dark red liquid oozed out slightly. “Hmm, this is suspicious.”

Lieutenant Shiota brought his fingertip to his nose. A pungent, raw stench struck Lieutenant Shiota’s nostrils. “Ah! This is blood— “It’s the smell of blood!” “Huh? Blood?” Well, they had found something major. What on earth could the old pool of spilled blood in the secret room of Dr. Ōtone’s residence be telling?

Where had Dr. Ōtone gone? Is he aware of this pool of blood?

Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko exchanged silent glances for a moment.

2

In Dr. Ōtone’s secret room, traces of blood stained the floor in scattered spots!

Ichihiko was startled, but as he followed the trail of scattered bloodstains to see where they led, eventually they came to a stop in the corner of a recessed room.

“Lieutenant Shiota, the blood stops here.” “Hmm, I wonder where it goes from here.” The two of them searched every nook and cranny of the room’s corner. Then, on the very corner of that wall, there was a monkey mask stuck to it—about the size of five one-sen copper coins lined up. “Oh, there’s something here.”

“Let me see. “Hmm—looks like a monkey face carving, but it’s an odd decoration for this bare room.” The monkey mask was made of iron or something. “What on earth could this be?” Ichihiko fiddled with the monkey mask. He tried pulling it, but it wouldn’t come off. However, when he tried pulling it sideways, the monkey mask moved. And then, unexpectedly, a keyhole appeared from below. It was an extremely large keyhole.

“Oh my, there’s a keyhole here!”

Lieutenant Shiota also squatted there and leaned his face forward. “Indeed, this is a major discovery. It’s definitely a keyhole, but having one in such a place—I wonder what kind of mechanism this is. But look here, Ichihiko-kun—this keyhole is quite large. It must require an exceptionally large, specially made key. I wonder if that key has fallen somewhere around here...”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota began restlessly glancing around the room again.

Ichihiko did not answer that, instead fixing his gaze intently on the large keyhole.

3

The large keyhole beneath the monkey mask! The boy Ichihiko was deep in thought. (He felt sure he’d seen this keyhole somewhere before—)

Behind him, the clack, clack, clack of Lieutenant Shiota’s footsteps could be heard approaching.

“What a disappointment. There’s no such large key anywhere, Ichihiko-kun.” “Ah! That’s it!”

At that moment, Ichihiko leapt up and shouted.

“I have this key.” Lieutenant Shiota was startled. “What? You’re telling me… “…you’re telling me you have this key?”

“Yes. “I just remembered. “This must be where that monkey key fits in.” “What? A monkey key?” “Yes, that’s right. “That’s the key that the Tower King dropped at the seaside. “I used that key as a model to make another one I have with me. The tower’s entrance also opened with that key.” “I see. “Hmm, that’s quite a key. “Ichihiko-kun, do you have it with you now?”

Lieutenant Shiota asked again breathlessly. “I do have it! I’ve always kept it in my pocket like a charm.” With that declaration, the boy rummaged through his pocket and produced the key—a large copper-bronze object whose grip unmistakably took the form of a monkey’s face.

“Oh indeed, this is a splendid key. “Well then, let’s try fitting it right away to see if it works.”

Lieutenant Shiota took the key from the boy and tried fitting it into the corner keyhole. Then, the key smoothly slid into the hole. 4 The monkey key smoothly slid into the keyhole. Now then, what was about to begin in Dr. Ōtone’s underground secret laboratory? Lieutenant Shiota and the boy Ichihiko squatted before the keyhole and paused to catch their breath.

“The key went in smoothly—shall we try turning it?” “Yeah, it went in smoothly. I don’t know what kind of key this is, but let’s just try turning it anyway.” Truly, with the keyhole located in such an odd corner, neither of them had any idea what would happen when they turned the key.

“Then, I’ll turn the key. Is that okay?” The boy Ichihiko twisted the monkey key to the right. With a clank, the lock released smoothly. “The lock’s released!” “Hmm, it’s released.” It happened the very moment they exchanged glances. Just as they began hearing a rumbling motor sound deep underground, a metallic screech echoed out, and the entire wall before them started rising upward without a sound.

“Oh.” “The wall is rising upward.” “Hmm… I see.” “There’s another room beyond this wall.” “Ichihiko, come over here.” “You never know what might jump out from inside—”

Lieutenant Shiota shielded the boy behind him. And he kept his eyes fixed on the wall, which continued to rise upward with eerie creaks. Creak, creak, creak.

The heavy door continued to rise upward. From below the wall, the floor of the room beyond became visible. However, they had no idea what lay within that room. The only thing they knew was that the bloodstains trailed all the way inside.

Suspicious Machine

1

The heavy wall door of Dr. Ōtone’s underground secret laboratory continued creaking and grinding as it rose upward.

Where could Dr. Ōtone—renowned as a researcher of new scientific weapons—be now? Since he last appeared on Warship Awaji, no one had seen Dr. Ōtone. Dr. Ōtone, who had taken back many steel plates from Warship Awaji—damaged by magnetic cannons—to study them, was supposed to be analyzing them, but was he truly conducting any investigation?

The boy Ichihiko considered Dr. Ōtone to be a highly suspicious scientist. Lieutenant Shiota, on the contrary, seemed to trust him quite a bit. Which of them was right would surely become clear in time, but from Ichihiko’s perspective, no matter how much of a secretive researcher Dr. Ōtone might be, the fact that he had installed such suspicious mechanisms throughout his mansion was nothing short of deeply unsettling.

Considering how Dr. Ōtone’s laboratory was equipped with mechanisms like an elevator that lowered the entire room, and how the monkey key that the Tower King had possessed fit perfectly into the corner keyhole they had discovered earlier, it seemed Dr. Ōtone and the Tower King must have shared some deep connection. What exactly was the nature of this connection?

The heavy wall door rose upward with a creaking grind. And finally, the area that had been a wall was fully opened. Now at last, the interior could be seen clearly.

“Oh! This room was spacious—about the size of a small warehouse. It seemed it hadn’t been opened for quite some time; a pungent musty odor wafted out from within. ‘Hey! Come out!’ Lieutenant Shiota shouted toward the dark room. Yet inside remained utterly silent.”

2

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone here.”

Lieutenant Shiota turned back to Ichihiko and said. "But it's too dark inside—I can't see anything clearly."

“Wait.” “There’s a light switch there.” “I’ll turn it on now—”

When he pressed the switch on the inner wall, the room instantly brightened. “Hmm, what is that?” Lieutenant Shiota approached the strange machine lying on its side in the center of the room. “What could this be?”

Ichihiko also approached it and scrutinized the machine closely. It was a machine that defied description as anything other than utterly bizarre. First, if we try to recall something similar to it, imagine a large king cobra—the kind that inhabits tropical regions—coiled up with its hood raised. However, this serpent had not one head, but seven heads. When one looked closely at its head, it opened out at the tip like a trumpet. That part resembled a sound detector. It lay on its side, its long neck dangling limply. The entire structure—though its components varied in size—consisted entirely of pipes, making it resemble some monstrous earthworm. It was truly a mysterious machine.

Lieutenant Shiota, who had been staring intently at this, gradually began breathing heavily. His face first flushed red, then paled. “Lieutenant Shiota. What kind of machine is this?” Ichihiko also felt a chill run down his back and moved closer to the lieutenant. “Hmm, this… is probably a type of reverse cannon that Dr. Ōtone mentioned he was researching.” “What is this ‘reverse cannon’?”

The term “reverse cannon” was an unfamiliar name. Just what kind of machine was this seven-headed monstrosity supposed to be?

3

“You see, the reverse cannon...”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota shuddered violently. "Is it really such a terrifying machine?" "Yes—if this were completed, it's a terrifying machine that would make every weapon we've ever had useless." "However, they said it was extremely difficult and likely wouldn't be completed for another ten or twenty years." "In other words, take the reverse cannon—for example, suppose you fire a pistol at an enemy." "In that case, normally the bullet should pierce the enemy's chest. But if the enemy had a reverse cannon at that moment, instead of hitting them, the bullet would strike your own chest—and you would be forced to die."

“I see—so this is the reverse cannon.” “But is such a thing even possible?”

“Well, they said it probably couldn’t be done, but looking at this machine lying here now, it closely resembles the one Dr. Ōtone had mentioned some time ago.” “Wait.” “Let’s examine it more closely.”

With that, Lieutenant Shiota was meticulously examining the machine when he suddenly exclaimed loudly, “Ah, I’ve got it!” “Oh? You figured it out?” “Anti-magnetic reverse cannon—it’s written here. Ichihiko, look here. On the back of the machine, in the Doctor’s handwriting—it’s carved on the pipe.” When Ichihiko peered in, sure enough, carved on the back of the thickest pipe was “Anti-magnetic reverse cannon.”

“Then we can rest easy now. Since with this, we can defeat the Tower King’s magnetic cannons, right?”

“But it’s not that simple, Ichihiko.” “Why is that?” “Because look—this reverse cannon is badly broken. What’s more, we can’t even see where Dr. Ōtone has disappeared to!”

4

The reverse cannon—which seemed capable of defeating the magnetic cannons wielded by the Tower King—lay within Dr. Ōtone’s secret chamber. But regrettably, not only was the reverse cannon broken, but Dr. Ōtone himself, its inventor, was nowhere to be found.

Lieutenant Shiota and Ichihiko exchanged glances and sighed.

“We have no choice but to find Dr. Ōtone as quickly as possible.”

“You’re right. Dr. Ōtone left such an important machine here—where could he have gone?”

Just then, Ichihiko suddenly remembered something. That was about the eerie blood trail that had continued from outside.

*(That’s right.* *That blood trail!* *That blood trail continued into this room—I wonder what happened to it.)* Ichihiko, acting like a boy detective, began investigating the blood trail.

The blood had spilled in great quantities across the floor upon entering this room. It had formed into streaks on the floor, as if something had been dragged along. When he followed that trail, it continued onto a table in the far corner. Blood had spilled in large amounts both on top of and beneath the table. Moreover, beneath the table lay a single pair of trousers stained with blood.

“Ah—something like this—” When Ichihiko picked them up to examine, the trousers were heavily soiled with blood and appeared to have been slashed to shreds as if by a knife or something. “What’s wrong, Ichihiko? What? You found bloodstained trousers?”

Lieutenant Shiota rushed over, immediately picked up the trousers, and scrutinized them under the electric light when his complexion suddenly changed,

“Ah! These striped trousers look familiar. “Dr. Ōtone always wore these striped trousers!” “Then Dr. Ōtone…”

Ichihiko's Detective Eye

1

Due to the mysterious figure known as the Tower King having destroyed the Warship Awaji and shot down airplanes, our navy—deeming this a crisis—determined to formally subjugate the Tower King. After all, since they were dealing with the Tower King who wielded unprecedented new weapons, the operation was no easy task.

First and foremost, it must be announced that a secret fleet had been organized. Admiral Ikegami was appointed as its commander, but this secret fleet had been created in absolute secrecy, so even within the navy, many remained unaware of its existence.

The fact that a fleet had been formed to subjugate the Tower King was utterly unprecedented. From this alone, one could see just how fearsome an enemy our navy considered the Tower King to be.

In the command room of the flagship Rokko floating in XX Naval Port, Admiral Ikegami was holding a secret meeting with his staff. There, the faces of Lieutenant Shiota and the boy Ichihiko could also be seen. No, far from merely being visible—the two were in the midst of reporting about Dr. Ōtone’s residence to the commander. The admiral and his staff, finding Lieutenant Shiota’s report far too bizarre, widened their eyes, shook their heads, clenched their fists, and were utterly astonished.

“Those striped trousers undoubtedly belong to Dr. Ōtone, don’t they?” The commander pressed the point. “Yes, Shiota firmly believes so.” “So, what happened to Dr. Ōtone after that?”

“Dr. Ōtone seems to have gone somewhere, leaving these bloodstained striped trousers behind. We investigated the secret chamber in considerable detail, but ultimately could not locate Dr. Ōtone.” 2 “As long as we don’t know Dr. Ōtone’s whereabouts, we can’t say anything definitive—but it seems he was attacked by the Tower King’s gang. What do you think?”

Commander Admiral Ikegami asked Lieutenant Shiota.

“Lieutenant Shiota also shares the same view as Your Excellency the Commander Admiral. Dr. Ōtone is a national treasure-class scholar conducting groundbreaking research. To the Tower King, that must have been a significant hindrance. Therefore, he attacked and killed the doctor—don’t you think?”

“That would seem to be the case, more or less.”

“However, the boy Ichihiko here holds a different view from me.” “I would very much like to hear it from the boy’s own mouth.”

Lieutenant Shiota turned to look at Ichihiko, who was sitting beside him. “What? Are you saying this boy has a different theory? I would very much like to hear that.”

The commander also knew well that Ichihiko was Detective Homura’s nephew. Wondering what this boy would say, he suddenly broke into a smile and gazed at Ichihiko.

“I believe Dr. Ōtone is an extremely suspicious individual. “Because Dr. Ōtone’s residence is full of suspicious things.” “Full of suspicious things—”

“First of all, Dr. Ōtone’s laboratory moves up and down like an elevator.” “A similar mechanism existed in the Tower King’s tower too.” “Because of that mechanism, Uncle Homura and I were put into a cage and dropped down one floor.” “If you’ve noticed anything suspicious, speak freely.”

Admiral Ikegami said with an eager expression, as if urging Ichihiko on. “Second is this monkey key.” Ichihiko made a clinking sound and placed a large key on the table.

3

“What? A monkey key?”

The commander took the large key in hand and gazed at it curiously, “Second—you find this key suspicious?” “Yes, the secret chamber at the very back of Dr. Ōtone’s residence was opened with this key. However, this monkey key is the very one the Tower King treasures. To open the entrance to that Tower King’s tower, you still need this key.” With that, Ichihiko fluently laid out his convictions.

“And what exactly are you implying by that?” “Yes, Your Excellency the Commander Admiral. As I have just presented, the Tower King’s tower and Dr. Ōtone’s residence have many similarities.” He paused briefly. “Therefore, the Tower King and Dr. Ōtone—I think they might be allies.”

“What? You’re saying the Tower King and Dr. Ōtone are allies? That’s quite an outlandish conclusion.” “Ah ha ha!”

The commander inadvertently laughed. "But that's the only way I can think of it." "However, Ichihiko, Dr. Ōtone is a national treasure-class scholar whom we respect, whereas the Tower King is a despicable enemy who opposes our navy. Isn't it a bit much to think those two are allies?" "But that's the only way I can think of it."

The boy Ichihiko, contrary to his usual self, was persevering with all his might. “But now, Ichihiko,”

Then, this time, Lieutenant Shiota opened his mouth, “If, as you say, the Tower King and Dr. Ōtone are comrades, then isn’t it strange that the doctor’s trousers are bloodstained?” “Why? Because it would be strange for comrades to kill each other.” “I think the Tower King did that to deceive us.” “The Tower King pretended to kill Dr. Ōtone, but in reality—in reality...”

And the boy Ichihiko panted, hesitating whether to say what came next or not.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s Revival

1

What had happened to Chief Petty Officer Kohama?

Breaking through the great storm and finally finding land to make an emergency landing on the coast—you must all recall how Chief Petty Officer Kohama then remained unconscious in his aircraft. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but when he suddenly came to his senses, night had completely given way to dawn, the once-fierce storm had vanished without a trace, and the sky was perfectly clear, as if the tempest had never existed.

“Ahh, it’s hot!”

The scorching sun’s rays beat directly against Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s body. It was due to that intense heat that he seemed to regain consciousness. “Ahh，I can’t bear this heat．How unbearably hot it is! My throat’s dry—bone-dry．”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama took out a canteen from under the seat, closed his eyes, and gulped down its contents with gusto. When he suddenly realized it, this was a canteen bearing Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe's name. The memory of Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—who had battled the Tower King and met a heroic end—came rushing back, and Chief Petty Officer Kohama spilled tears that fell like steady rain.

“Hey! Aoe! Can you hear my voice from somewhere up there? I swear I’ll make that bastard pay for what he did to you! Just watch me—I’ll show him what we’re made of!”

Muttering to himself, he noisily gulped down more water from the canteen—

“Hey Aoe, I’m drinking from your canteen right now. Thanks for the treat. Aren’t you hot? What, now that you’ve become a god, you’re not hot at all, huh? Alright, alright, got it. Well then, I’ll help myself to another sip from your canteen. Sorry about that.”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, putting on his one-man show, noisily gulped down more water from the canteen until he finally emptied it. He must have been terribly thirsty. No wonder. What with his relentless efforts since yesterday and now this heat.

2

“It’s just so hot… Where is this place?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama got down from his seat and entered the shade of the airplane. “Ah, it’s wrecked.” “The wings are completely wrecked.” “It was a beloved plane that served me well, but now it’s beyond saving.”

The beloved plane had been struck by the Tower King’s magnetic cannons, battered by the storm, had its wings broken in the forced landing, and endured a terrible ordeal. Having gulped down plenty of water, the Chief Petty Officer became thoroughly invigorated. Furthermore, after taking out flight rations from under the seat and eating them, he became fully energized. “Alright, I’m all fired up now. Now then, I’ll look for a house with a telephone.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama stood up and emerged from under the broken airplane.

Shielding his eyes with a hand, Chief Petty Officer Kohama stared intently at the surroundings,

“Where on earth am I?” "What a desolate coast this is."

Since there was a sand dune behind him, Chief Petty Officer Kohama climbed up it. He had thought that climbing to a high place would provide a better view. "Huh? I-I can't see a single house anywhere!"

Not only was there not a single house along the coast, but the area beyond was an unbroken stretch of sandy plain, with neither houses visible nor utility poles standing.

“This is astonishing! It’s just like a deserted island!”

“A deserted island?” As he surveyed this desolate landscape, it truly began to seem like a deserted island. “If I’ve crash-landed on a deserted island, this has turned into quite a pickle!” Yet Chief Petty Officer Kohama didn’t appear nearly as troubled as his words suggested. He kept scanning the area intently until his eyes caught something beyond the sandy plain—a mountain that, though not very tall, had a peculiar sawtooth-shaped formation.

3

A sawtooth mountain discovered on the deserted island!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama decided to go to that sawtooth-shaped mountain and try climbing it.

He had thought there might be a fisherman’s house or something on the other side of the mountain.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama began walking through the grassy plain toward the mountain.

The sunlight was intensely strong, and his head felt as if it were turning into smoke and burning up. But he pressed on vigorously through the sandy grassland.

When the grassy plain ended, there stood at last the sawtooth-shaped mountain piled with rocks. Chief Petty Officer Kohama was greatly intrigued, wanting to quickly climb over the mountain and see what kind of scenery lay beyond.

"In this situation, I'm just like Robinson Crusoe," he thought. "Please let there be at least one house with people living in it beyond this mountain."

Robinson Crusoe is the protagonist of a famous castaway story, you know.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama now had the summit of the sawtooth-shaped mountain right before his eyes.

“Here we go—I can finally see the other side! Let me climb up quickly!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s footsteps suddenly quickened. Finally managing to climb over, he peered through the rocks at the summit of the sawtooth-shaped mountain. The look of shock on Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s face was beyond description. “Yikes, this is terrible! I can’t possibly be dreaming, can I?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama slumped limply onto the rock. Faced with such an utterly unexpected sight, even the fierce Chief Petty Officer seemed to lose his nerve.

What on earth could the scenery beyond the mountain have been?

Do not be surprised. Beyond the mountain lay a completely flat area where seven or eight tower-rockets stood lined up on the ground like bamboo shoots.

4 Chief Petty Officer Kohama had imagined that beyond the mountain lay a sprawling coastline where azure waves crashed against a white sandy beach, but his expectations were completely off the mark.

Beyond the sawtooth-shaped mountain, the ground had been properly leveled, forming what looked like a full-fledged airfield. The surprise didn’t end there—the tower-rocket he had believed to be the only one in existence wasn’t just one or two; all together, seven or eight of them were lined up.

“This is astonishing! What kind of person could possibly own that airfield over there?”

It wasn’t an airbase—it would be more accurate to call it a tower-rocket base.

Who on earth could own those countless tower-rockets? And what’s more—what could they possibly intend by gathering them in such a place? The more he thought about it, the more formidable this secret base became. Chief Petty Officer Kohama had never once imagined that there could possibly be so many tower-rockets on this Earth. "I could go down and investigate," he thought, "but if they find me, they probably wouldn’t let me return alive again." "I don’t value my life—but until I inform our navy about this secret base’s existence, I mustn’t die or be taken prisoner."

At this moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama recalled that the wireless telegraphy device inside his beloved plane—which had crashed into the coast and broken its wings—remained intact; resolved to use it to urgently notify the fleet, he turned on his heel and ran down the sawtooth-shaped mountain.

He ran vigorously, jumped onto the broken plane, and tinkered with the wireless telegraphy device—whether by divine aid or not, it began functioning properly.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama repeatedly called out to the fleet’s wireless telegraphy unit. Then，suddenly，a response came through. “Ah! A wireless signal from Chief Petty Officer Kohama!” “We thought Kohama had crashed into the sea and died，but he’s properly calling out to us now!” The wireless telegraphy unit were surprised and delighted.

5 The wireless telegraph sent by Chief Petty Officer Kohama from the deserted island greatly surprised the fleet’s wireless telegraphy unit.

After that, both sides vigorously exchanged wireless signals back and forth for some time.

“Where are you now, and what are you doing?” When they asked Chief Petty Officer Kohama this,

“I lost sight of the tower-rocket, flew around wildly in the storm, and finally crash-landed on what seemed to be a deserted island, breaking its wings.” “It can no longer fly.” “However, there’s nothing wrong with my body, so rest assured—what happened to our squadron that was reportedly dispatched as reinforcements?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama answered and asked again. “Our dispatched squadron was blocked by the storm and ultimately encountered neither the tower-rocket nor your plane—do you know where that deserted island is?”

“I don’t know. However, I’ve discovered something extraordinary. On this island, there’s a mountain shaped like a sawtooth. On the western side of this mountain, there’s a large airfield with seven or eight tower-rockets assembled there. Therefore, I believe this island serves as the tower-rockets’ headquarters. Please notify Lieutenant Shiota of this immediately.”

At the wireless telegraphy unit, they seemed utterly astonished. For a while, there was no response, and Chief Petty Officer Kohama began to wonder if his wireless had malfunctioned. Before long, the wireless signal from the fleet could be heard again. “Your report was of critical importance. We want to determine the location of the deserted island where you are, so please transmit radio waves continuously for five minutes starting now. On our end, we’ll measure those radio waves with a direction finder and pinpoint your location. In any case, you are a valuable scout, so I want you to persevere there with all your might. Then, I request you to immediately begin transmitting radio waves continuously for five minutes.”

6 Chief Petty Officer Kohama operated the wireless telegraphy device of his beloved plane and transmitted radio waves continuously for five minutes.

The main force intended to measure these radio waves with direction finders and precisely determine Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s current location.

Meanwhile, the news that Chief Petty Officer Kohama was alive—both joyous and astonishing—spread rapidly from one person to the next.

The main force’s wireless telegraphy unit was repeatedly hailing Submarine Ho-19. At that time, Submarine Ho-19 had been cruising near the South Sea Islands but responded via wireless immediately upon receiving the summons. “Your vessel is to immediately measure the direction of the distress aircraft.” “Aye aye!” The direction finders of both the main force and Submarine Ho-19 pinpointed the bearing from which the radio waves emitted by Kohama’s aircraft originated.

When they combined both results and tried to pinpoint the location of Kohama’s aircraft on the map, they finally succeeded.

36 degrees north latitude, 144 degrees east longitude!

That was the location of the distress aircraft. That location lay in the sea roughly three hundred kilometers almost due east from Inubōsaki.

No, it was not in the sea. Although it does not appear on ordinary maps, in reality, there was a single small island there. The island's name was the world-dreaded Bone Island!

This island was officially regarded as uninhabited. However, since ancient times, there had been several occasions when indigenous people lived on this island. Yet in every case, none of those indigenous people ever returned to their original villages from this island. When other indigenous people later went to investigate, they found their predecessors had turned into white bones. That was what happened every time. Bone Island

1

This was Bone Island—a place shrouded in such strange and mysterious legends. No one lived there out of fear. It was Bone Island—now truly an uninhabited island, and one that everyone had come to believe as such.

It was on that Bone Island that Kohama’s plane had crash-landed. It was said that its wings had broken and it could no longer fly, and that Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe had met a valiant death. Even that was tremendous news, yet it was said that in the mountain shadows of Bone Island, eight tower-rockets stood shoulder-to-shoulder, towering ominously. This was nothing short of a major crisis. However, the fact that its location had been identified was the best possible outcome.

“Your position was identified: 36 degrees north latitude, 144 degrees east longitude—believed to be Bone Island.”

The main force immediately notified Chief Petty Officer Kohama of the results.

And issued an order for him to provide more details about the island. “Very well. “First, I’ll describe the terrain.” “In the center of the island, there’s a hill shaped like saw teeth, and to the east…”

The wireless had continued transmitting text up to that point but abruptly cut off. After that, no matter how much they pressed, it was no use.

What had happened to Chief Petty Officer Kohama?

No, this was no mere mishap.

On Bone Island, a fierce battle was now beginning.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama was desperately communicating with the main force via wireless when suddenly someone seized his neck from behind. It was a complete ambush. He had barely transmitted the distress signal before being forced to release the telegraph key. “Wh-Who are you?!” he managed through gritted teeth. Grabbing the arm of the ruffian choking him, Kohama finally executed a shoulder throw. The struggle exploded into a full-blown melee. Who were these mysterious attackers who had materialized out of nowhere?

2 Chief Petty Officer Kohama, without a moment to catch his breath, slammed the mysterious assailants swarming from all directions face-up onto the aircraft's surface with shoulder throws, hurled others away with his signature hip throws, and raged about like a frenzied lion. The mysterious assailants who had attacked Chief Petty Officer Kohama now appeared to falter slightly in the face of his intense struggle. And then, on the sand, keeping their distance, they stood glaring at Chief Petty Officer Kohama.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama surveyed the entire group of ambushing enemies for the first time. There were fourteen or fifteen enemies. For Chief Petty Officer alone to be facing them, it was an overwhelming number.

“Wh-Who are you?! What do you want with me?” Chief Petty Officer Kohama barked at the enemy without showing the slightest sign of faltering. “U-ugh…” The groaning members of the enemy group included some who appeared to be Black men, while others wore strange Russian-style shirts called rubashkas. Those wearing these rubashkas appeared to be white people.

One of the white men began speaking in fluent Japanese. “You climbed that mountain over there and saw everything below, didn’t you? Confess.”

His words were exceedingly polite, but the enemy’s stance was utterly fearsome. He probably could speak polite Japanese like this but was unable to speak rough Japanese. “What’s this? ‘Confess’?” “Ah hahaha! Don’t make me laugh.” “Isn’t this Japanese territory?” “You bastards are the ones who should explain what you’re doing here!” “Go on—start by telling me that.”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama planted himself like a wrathful temple guardian and glared intensely at the white man who appeared to be their leader.

The enemy began to panic slightly.

3 “Go on, talk! What the hell are you bastards doing on Japanese territory? You’re the ones who should explain what you’re doing here!” At Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s solemn words, the enemies who had attacked him began to squirm uneasily.

“Well? If you know what’s good for you, surrender.” “If you behave yourselves, I’ll find a way to spare you.”

Contrary to expectations, Chief Petty Officer Kohama had the enemy completely at his mercy. Then, the white man who seemed to be the enemy leader shouted something in a strange language. “Yeah, here they come.”

The enemies, their eyes gleaming like a monkey’s, once again began inching closer to Chief Petty Officer Kohama. “You! Move and it’s dangerous. Can’t you see this?”

The white man who seemed to be their leader abruptly thrust his pistol toward the Chief Petty Officer.

The pistols were also gripped in the hands of the other enemies. “Gonna shoot? If you manage to hit me, that’d be entertaining.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama seemed completely unaware of how terrifying pistols were.

Because he had already discerned that they wanted to take him prisoner rather than kill him, sure enough, about ten enemies without pistols came swarming in at the signal.

“Oh! You came. “You really want me to toss you around that badly?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama did not wait for the enemies to come to him; instead, he proactively lunged at one of them,

“Hah!” With a brilliant spinning throw, he hurled his opponent’s body like a waterwheel. The remaining enemies, caught off guard, piled on top of each other and braced their hands against the ground. Upon seeing this, Chief Petty Officer Kohama clenched his fist like a turban shell and began smacking the cheeks of the nearest enemies, crack after crack. Oh, what a splendid sound it made! ——

4

Chief Petty Officer Kohama continued grappling with over a dozen enemies by the seaside.

“Well? Ready to surrender?”

He would shout and hurl them, yell and hurl them, knocking down the burly enemy men.

The Rupashika man and the black man were crawling on the ground, groaning "unh, unh". Boom. Boom-boom-boom!

At that moment.

The gunshot resounded loudly.— “Ugh...”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama collapsed onto the sandy ground. The enemy had fired a pistol. When they saw Chief Petty Officer Kohama collapse, the enemies regained their vigor and swarmed around him. Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept pushing his arms against the sand, trying to get up, but he could not manage to rise. And no wonder—he had been shot through the thigh by a pistol bullet. Fresh blood dyed his trousers crimson and continued to spread.

When the enemies saw this, they swarmed over Chief Petty Officer Kohama in a heap. They were determined to take him prisoner by any means necessary.

“D-damn you! You think I’ll let myself be caught by you bastards?!” “You bastard! Hah!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama used only his arms to hurl the enemies away once more. He was quite the valiant chief petty officer.

At that moment, the enemy leader cowardly sneaked up behind Chief Petty Officer Kohama from the rear. When he saw Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s moment of carelessness, he raised his leg and—with the tip of his hard shoe—delivered a powerful kick to the back of the chief petty officer’s head with all his might. “Agh!” No matter how valiant one might be, being kicked in the head was unbearable. Chief Petty Officer Kohama groaned in pain, limply stretched out his limbs on the sand, and fell still. A heavy sigh escaped the enemies.

Secret Fleet Conference

1

Aboard the warship Rokko anchored at Port XX, the secret fleet commander Admiral Ikegami and his entire staff were seen alongside Lieutenant Shiota and the boy Ichihiko as the conference continued.

Admiral Ikegami stared intently at the boy Ichihiko’s face, “Now, Ichihiko—don’t hold back. Speak your thoughts freely.” “The Tower King made it look like he killed Dr. Ōtone—and what does that accomplish?”

Ichihiko was still mumbling, torn between speaking up and holding back. “Hey, Ichihiko—just as the Commander said—go ahead and state your thoughts boldly.” Lieutenant Shiota also added his encouragement from beside him. “Yes.” “Then I’ll say it boldly.” With that, Ichihiko promptly rose from his seat.

“From what I’ve observed so far—whether it’s the elevator-equipped laboratory in Dr. Ōtone’s residence or the secret room that opens with the ‘monkey key’—they’re exactly the same as what the Tower King has installed inside his tower. Therefore, it seems Dr. Ōtone and the Tower King are somehow... part of the same group. However, in the secret room of that residence, Dr. Ōtone’s bloodstained trousers were discovered. It seems there has been some misfortune in Dr. Ōtone’s circumstances. At first glance, it would seem that the Tower King sneaked into the residence and killed Dr. Ōtone. However, I find it strange that the Tower King would kill his own important comrades just as he’s about to embark on major activities. I—I think this. I think the Tower King and Dr. Ōtone are not separate people—they’re the same person.”

“What? You’re saying the Tower King and Dr. Ōtone are the same person? Hmm—that’s a bold theory.” The commander was astonished.

"To put it more precisely, I believe the Tower King is actually Dr. Ōtone in disguise." "What? Dr. Ōtone is the Tower King—"

2 “Are you saying Dr. Ōtone is the Tower King?”

What a bold idea this was.

At the boy Ichihiko’s bold words, the commander and his staff could only exchange glances for a time, none able to find words to speak.

After a while, it was Lieutenant Shiota who finally broke the silence.

“Ichihiko. “No matter how you look at it, that conclusion is far too bold.” “It’s unthinkable that such a respected national treasure of a scholar would become a great traitor.”

“But there were various suspicious things discovered at Dr. Ōtone’s residence, weren’t there? How should we interpret those strange circumstances? If we suppose that Dr. Ōtone has disguised himself as the Tower King right now, wouldn’t all these suspicious details neatly fall into place? The fact that Dr. Ōtone’s residence and the tower have completely identical mechanisms—that they open with the same key—doesn’t it all make perfect sense? No matter how you consider it, I believe the Tower King is Dr. Ōtone in disguise.”

“What Ichihiko says has its valid points. However, I simply cannot bring myself to believe that Dr. Ōtone has become such a despicable traitor.” Lieutenant Shiota still could not bring himself to fully believe everything Ichihiko had said.

At that very moment, a welcome report reached Admiral Ikegami from the main force—a wireless message had been received from Chief Petty Officer Kohama, who had gone missing while pursuing the Tower Rocket. “Ah! We’ve received a wireless message from Chief Petty Officer Kohama!” “What? Kohama’s alive?”

It was Lieutenant Shiota who leapt to his feet.

"Hmm, he seems to be alive." "He apparently made an emergency landing at the headquarters of Tower Rockets built on a deserted island." 3

“What? Are you saying there’s a Tower Rocket base on a deserted island?” “What exactly do you mean by ‘base’—?”

The staff officers and Lieutenant Shiota were startled by this abrupt report about a base.

The commander was looking at the front of the telegram while,

“The location is Bone Island at 36 degrees north latitude and 144 degrees east longitude. There are reportedly seven or eight Tower Rockets lined up there.” “Hmm, I thought there was only one Tower Rocket, but there are seven or eight? This is truly an enemy our navy cannot afford to underestimate.” “Indeed, even a single Tower Rocket reduced the state-of-the-art warship Awaji to scrap as we saw. If they were to come at us with seven or eight of those Tower Rockets at once, even our Combined Fleet would stand no chance of putting up a fight.”

“Unfortunately, it is exactly as you say, Commander. If they were to attack us with shelling, bombing, or torpedoes, our fleet would have full confidence in delivering a crushing counterattack. But against those magnetic cannons—rare even in the world—our steel warships would be no different from cardboard before bullets.” “Hmm... Unfortunately, this poses a serious problem.”

Even these officers, renowned for their valor, found it far from amusing when they considered the destructive power of the magnetic cannons mounted on the Tower Rockets.

At this moment, Lieutenant Shiota stood up from his seat,

“In that case, I believe the path we can choose is only one.” “In other words, we will manufacture the reverse-magnetic cannons discovered in Dr. Ōtone’s secret chamber and install them on our warships and airplanes.” “Hmm, we have no choice but to proceed with that, but isn’t that reverse-magnetic cannon broken?” 4 Even a single Tower Rocket already posed a considerable challenge, yet according to Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s wireless report stating that Bone Island harbored seven or eight such Tower Rockets, they were utterly astonished.

The reverse-magnetic cannon invented by Dr. Ōtone, which they had pinned their hopes on, was located in the doctor’s secret chamber—yet it lay broken and unusable. Lieutenant Shiota had been deep in thought before the commander when, at last, a look of resolve surfaced on his face, “Commander, would you leave the matter of the reverse-magnetic cannon to Shiota?” “What? You’re saying to leave it to you?” “Lieutenant Shiota, what do you intend to do?”

“Yes, sir. I will thoroughly re-examine the reverse-magnetic cannon once more. And I want to try repairing it so we can somehow make it functional.” “Lieutenant Shiota, do you believe there’s any possibility of fixing that reverse-magnetic cannon?” “Yes, sir. I’ve previously engaged in numerous discussions about new weaponry with Dr. Ōtone. Drawing from those conversations, I’d like to physically manipulate the reverse-magnetic cannon myself. Rather than deliberating at a desk, I’m convinced acting even a single day sooner will prove decisive. Whether the cannon is ultimately repairable or not, I believe we’ll obtain answers faster by commencing work immediately. While I’m intensely eager to assault Bone Island at once and deeply concerned about Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s silence since landing there, currently there’s no alternative path to truly defeating the Tower King—this nation’s betrayer—except through researching this reverse-magnetic cannon. Therefore, I intend to persevere—closing my eyes, blocking out distractions—and engage in a battle of wits with this damaged cannon. I humbly request your authorization.”

“Very well, I’ll allow it. You won’t need to report to the secret fleet for the time being.”

Blue Prison

1

This was Bone Island.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, the brave warrior, was unfortunately kicked in the head by the gang of villains and fell unconscious.

As for what had happened around him after that—he knew nothing of it. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed since then, but at any rate, he had regained consciousness alone. When he came to, the crown of his head throbbed with pain as though it might split open at any moment. Ah, it hurts!

Even the Chief Petty Officer couldn’t help but let out a scream. When he gingerly brought his hand to the spot, he found it horribly swollen, as if a red bean bun had been placed on it. “D-damn you! How dare you do this to me!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama opened his eyes wide and looked around restlessly. Where was he?

The area was a pitch-black place without a single electric light. And it was bitterly cold， his body trembling violently. When he groped around and felt the area，the floor was hard and damp. “Ah，from the looks of this，I’ve finally been captured by the Tower King’s gang and thrown into a cellar or someplace—no doubt about it.” Tch... H-how... disappointing. This was an unforgivable disgrace. For an imperial soldier to become a prisoner—this was the utmost disgrace. And to end up like this before avenging Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe—it’s utterly infuriating．No matter what，I’ll break out of here and get my freedom back!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama gnashed his teeth and pledged to fight valiantly.

At that moment, for some reason, a blue light suddenly illuminated from above Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s head.

2

A blue light suddenly illuminated from above his head!

“Huh?!” With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama looked up. Then he realized a single blue lamp had lit up on the high ceiling—seemingly twenty meters above him.

At the same time, the state of the room where Chief Petty Officer Kohama now found himself became much clearer under the blue light.

It was a truly long and narrow room. It felt exactly as if he were inside a chimney. The spot where the Chief Petty Officer lay was circular, with a floor just large enough for a person to stretch out their limbs and lie down. Above that point rose straight cylindrical walls of black steel. "Hmph, this prison reeks of the Tower King’s taste in architecture."

Thinking there might be a ladder or something similar on the black wall that he could use to climb up, he carefully scrutinized it. However, there was not a single foothold to be found—the walls were utterly smooth.

At that moment, a fleeting question flashed through Chief Petty Officer Kohama's mind.

“Why did the blue ceiling light turn on now?” It seemed someone might be preparing to shoot at Chief Petty Officer Kohama with a pistol or something from above. Therefore, he remained completely still, keeping a vigilant watch on the ceiling without letting his guard down.

At that moment. “Ha ha ha ha!” Suddenly, laughter like a cracked bell echoed down from above.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama sharply caught his breath.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

“Hmph—so it was you after all.” “You’re the airplane pilot who tenaciously chased my rocket to the ends of the earth, aren’t you?” “What’s this? Don’t pull such a strange face.” “Ah ha! You’re startled because you can’t tell where I’m watching from, aren’t you?” “Ah ha ha ha! From here, those darting eyes of yours are in plain sight!”

The voice was unmistakably that of the Tower King!

3

The Tower King's hoarse voice echoed down from above the ceiling with a faint eeriness. The voice was audible, but strangely, the Tower King's figure remained nowhere to be seen.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, forgetting even the pain of his wounds, glared fixedly in the direction of the Tower King’s voice. What was the Tower King going to do next? “Ah ha ha ha! Even if you make such a terrifying face, it’s already useless,” came the voice. “Once you enter this prison, you’ll never get out again. You’d better start chanting your Buddhist prayers a bit early while you still can.” The Tower King’s words were, as always, nothing but spiteful. At that moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama sharply raised his eyebrows—

“Hey! Tower King! You fool—why did you throw me into a place like this?!” “What did I do?!” “You already know why.”

“You fool—you attacked my Tower Rocket in midair.” “I took out one of them then, but I failed to kill you.” “I was regretting that very thing when you came barging into Bone Island of your own accord!” “And you probably didn’t even realize it yourself, but from that hilltop, you saw the entire Tower Rocket base!” “The existence of a Tower Rocket base in a place like this is an absolute secret.” “Now that you’ve learned this, I have no choice but to eliminate you for good!”

“Hmph, is that all? What a load of nonsense!” “What’s stupid? This guy dares to speak so rudely!”

“But that’s exactly how it is. The fact that the Tower Rocket’s base was here—I’ve already fully informed headquarters about it via wireless telegraphy. So now, it isn’t even a secret anymore. What a pity for you, isn’t it?” “What?! You informed them via wireless?” The Tower King’s voice abruptly changed due to shock. Seizing the moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama— “The main force said they’ll storm this place with a full-scale attack any moment now!”

4 “What?! “They’re coming here in full force?!”

The Tower King involuntarily retorted.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama raised his voice and startled him by announcing that our naval air force would attack this Bone Island, making even the Tower King appear genuinely shocked. "How about that? Surprised?"

The Tower King did not respond to that, and for a time, no voice was heard from above the ceiling. “Hey, Tower King! How about surrendering at this point? I won’t do you any harm.”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, from inside the prison, shouted at the Tower King in a loud voice. “What are you saying? You’re just a prisoner, yet you’ve got the nerve to never shut that insolent mouth of yours!”

And the Tower King finally seemed to lose his temper.

“Well, just stay there and keep strutting your stuff alone.” “Soon I’ll make you shut that mouth yourself—no choice about it.” “Right—before that, I’ll give you something proper to look at.”

“What?!” “Hmph, do you even realize what kind of place you’re in right now?” “Fine, I’ll open the door now and show you the outside.” “When you see this, you’ll quiet down a bit—well, I’ll open it now!”

Before the Tower King’s voice had even faded, strangely, a creaking sound rang out above his head, and a square hole opened in the wall. And a blue light slid smoothly in.

Hmm? What was that?

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, using his arms to lift his aching body, peered into the square hole that had opened in the wall above his head. "Ah! This is—!"

Chief Petty Officer Kohama involuntarily let out a loud voice. Outside the square hole in the wall, thick glass had been affixed, and beyond it lay a terrifying underwater seascape.

5 “Well? Can you see outside the window?” “Take your time and enjoy the view.” Having spat those words, the Tower King’s voice vanished from above the ceiling.

Outside the window lay a deep seabed. Large fish swam visible in the blue light’s glow. Seaweed clusters swayed gently like a windblown forest. The view was undeniably ominous. Before long, the light from Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s prison cell appeared to stab into the seabed, drawing fish that drifted languidly toward the glass pane. Staring fixedly at this sight, Chief Petty Officer Kohama jolted in sudden alarm.

As he saw fish thudding against the window from outside and took a closer look, these were no ordinary fish—they were fearsome creatures. They were sharks and sea snakes, each measuring four to five meters in length. Those fearsome fish all appeared to be starving, baring their teeth as they approached the window where Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s face was visible—one after another. It was a dreadful underwater sight.

(Is the Tower King planning to have me eaten by these fish?) Chief Petty Officer Kohama felt a chill run down his back. But it would be a shame to end up eaten by these fish. Wondering if there was any way to escape from here, he tried touching the wall with the intention of climbing it, but the surface was slimy and utterly impossible to scale. Even the brave warrior was dejected when, at that moment,

“Mr. Kohama, I’ll save you now!” Then, suddenly, an unexpected voice came from above his head. Chief Petty Officer Kohama, startled to his feet, looked up. At that moment, a single rope smoothly descended from above.

Homura Was Alive

1

A single rope was suddenly lowered into the terrifying underwater prison!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama was so startled he could hardly believe it wasn’t a dream. Anyway, he didn’t know what lay ahead, but seizing this chance he thought it best to first escape this underwater prison—so he grabbed the rope and climbed up vigorously.

As he climbed vigorously upward through the chimney-like narrow underwater prison relying on the rope, a single horizontal tunnel had opened just before he was about to hit the ceiling.

The rope had been lowered down from there.

“Oh! There was an escape hole here!”

When Chief Petty Officer Kohama glanced into the horizontal tunnel, there—illuminated by the electric light—he saw the figure of Homura Sōroku desperately pulling on the lifeline rope. “Oh! Homura! You’re safe?” Overflowing with joy, Chief Petty Officer Kohama unintentionally exclaimed—but Homura, “Shh! Stay quiet!” signaled with his eyes and gestures.

Apparently, Homura seemed to greatly fear being detected by the Tower King while in the midst of rescuing Chief Petty Officer Kohama.

Since Chief Petty Officer Kohama also immediately understood this, he then silently hauled the rope and crawled into the horizontal tunnel where Homura was.

“Thank you for saving me, Homura.” As the Chief Petty Officer instinctively reached his hand toward Homura, Homura firmly grasped it back,

“No, it was nothing worth mentioning. More than that, I’m truly overjoyed I could unexpectedly welcome you here, Mr. Kohama.” “You’re the one who’s persevered so tenaciously on this island. This island appears to be the Tower King’s stronghold, but what in the world is he scheming?”

“I’ll explain that later. “However, right now, I don’t have time to talk about that. “Rather than that, get out of here immediately!”

2 “Are you telling me to escape right now?” Chief Petty Officer Kohama stared at Homura’s face.

“No! I’m not running away. “I’ll take on the Tower King in a one-on-one duel and capture him alive! “He’s a vile bastard. “Not only has he betrayed our navy, but he killed my precious subordinate Aoe! “Now that I’ve come this far, I’ll risk my life to take down the Tower King!”

How bitter Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe’s death must have been for Chief Petty Officer Kohama. “No, wait! There’s a proper time to take down the Tower King,” Homura urged. “Let’s regroup tonight instead. Every moment we linger here risks him spotting us through his television monitors. If he sees us, we’re dead men. Hurry—we must leave this instant!”

Homura earnestly urged Chief Petty Officer Kohama to escape.

“Oh, I see. If that’s how it is, then regrettably, let’s escape this place for now. Which way are we escaping?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama finally managed to calm his restless heart.

“You’ve come around, then. Come on, follow me this way.” Homura coiled up the rope he had brought, bundled it into a coil, slung it over his shoulder, and took the lead. The horizontal tunnel continued onward for a considerable length.

Homura and Kohama crawled with desperate determination, their kneecaps aching and swelling from the effort.

The horizontal tunnel twisted and turned many times but finally came to an end, opening up instead into a gaping cavern. Chief Petty Officer Kohama finally stretched his back and, with a sigh of relief, stretched upward. It was a quite spacious cavern. The dampness served as a testament to how close they were to the sea. Homura took the lead and was busily pushing against a rock.

3

Homura had been busily pushing against the rock when, before long, a gaping hole opened up. The moment it did, a yellow light streamed in. “Mr. Kohama. This is the secret entrance to the undersea prison. Come on, let’s get out of here.” “Oh, this feels just like reading an adventure novel. Alright, if it’s where you’re going, I’ll follow you anywhere.”

“Yes, please don’t speak too loudly and follow me.”

The two men exited the secret entrance. Outside was a bright moonlit night. In the clear, deep navy night sky hung a perfectly round moon shining like a silver tray.

“Ah, what a beautiful moon. I wonder if such a beautiful moon casts its light on Bone Island as well.”

Until now, Chief Petty Officer Kohama had been thought of as nothing but unyieldingly strong, yet upon seeing the moon, he said something so gentle. A true warrior is not only strong but also possesses such a gentle heart.

Homura, however, could not afford such a leisurely mood. If the Tower King or his lookouts discovered them doing this, that would be the end of them. Therefore, he urged Chief Petty Officer Kohama to hurry up, hurry up, and dashed ahead along the trench-like sunken path running right before them. “Where are we going?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, not wanting to fall behind, chased after Homura and followed along swiftly.

The sunken path wound quite tortuously toward a low hill, and at the top of that climb stood a small brick structure resembling a watchhouse. “Come on, please go inside here.”

Urged on by Homura, when Chief Petty Officer Kohama entered inside, the room was about four and a half tatami mats in size, with straw piled up like a mountain within.

The Watchhouse Morning

1

A small brick watchhouse—inside it, straw piled like a mountain!

“Ah, this is quite a good bed here.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama scrambled up the straw pile with the innocent enthusiasm of a child.

At this moment, Homura,

“Now then, Mr. Kohama. “A considerable amount of time has passed, so I will return to the tower-rocket for now. “Tonight, once it’s late, I’ll come again properly. “Until then, please stay hidden here.”

“There are things I want to ask right away, but I’ll save them for later.” “Well then, make sure you come back later—got it?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama did not want to send Homura back, but he had no choice and did so. After that, he lay spread-eagle on the straw and stretched out comfortably to sleep. He must have been thoroughly exhausted. Soon he fell sound asleep.

By the time Chief Petty Officer Kohama awoke, dawn had fully broken, and bright sunlight was streaming in through the window.

Ah—it was finally morning. Hmm, Detective Homura, who had said he’d come last night, never showed his face. What on earth had happened to him?

The fact that Homura, who had so firmly promised to return, had ultimately not come last night filled Chief Petty Officer Kohama with unease. He worried that perhaps Homura had been discovered by the Tower King for rescuing him from the undersea prison last night and was suffering terribly because of it.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama climbed down from the straw pile and began his usual calisthenics. From days of relentless struggle, every joint in his body ached unbearably. However, as he repeated the exercises several times, his body gradually seemed to recover. After finishing that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama, while taking great care, quietly approached the window. At that moment, his eyes glistened strangely with an “Oh!”

2 This watchhouse stood on a low hill, sheltered by a rocky outcrop. From there, the base of this island’s tower-rockets could be seen in a single glance.

Though it was the terrifying Bone Island, the morning scenery was quite beautiful. The tower-rockets standing like a forest in the plaza below, their entire bodies bathed in the morning sun and shining silver, seemed ready to shoot into the sky at any moment as they glared upward.

In that plaza stood a lone figure wandering aimlessly. They appeared to have dropped something—their back bent into a curve as they intently scanned the ground. As he kept watching from concealment, that person continued searching while gradually drawing nearer.

“What could that man be searching for?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama, feeling intensely interested, continued to watch the man’s movements intently from the shadow of the window.

The man was gradually approaching the hill.

Then, the man suddenly looked up. Chief Petty Officer Kohama was able to see the man’s face head-on for the first time at that moment.

At that moment, Chief Petty Officer Kohama involuntarily— “Ah! That’s the Tower King!” he shouted and clenched his fist.

“That’s definitely the Tower King. There’s no one else with such a bizarre face.” From that moment onward, Chief Petty Officer Kohama stared fixedly at the man approaching even more intently than before. Soon his lips tightened into a thin line,

"That's it," he thought. "Alright—I'll head out now and capture the Tower King himself! He doesn't seem to have noticed I'm here yet." "Hmm," he grinned tightly. "This could get interesting."

With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama struck his own arm and grinned broadly.

3

The figure approaching the watchhouse on the hill where Chief Petty Officer Kohama had been hiding turned out, unexpectedly, to be the Tower King, and Chief Petty Officer Kohama leapt out of the hut.

If I could get behind the Tower King undetected, I should be able to capture him after a brief struggle. Once I had him in custody, it wouldn't matter how many tower-rockets they had or whether this Bone Island served as their base - his forces would have no choice but to surrender to me. Yes - this was truly a brilliant plan. Now to seize the Tower King!

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s heart pounded with excitement at the joy of having captured the Tower King alive.

He left the watchhouse behind, picked his way between the rocks, and gradually descended the mountain. From time to time, he peered at the Tower King’s movements from behind rocky corners, but it seemed the Tower King still hadn’t noticed him, continuing to search the ground intently. Good, good. If I keep this up, he definitely won’t notice me for a while longer. Alright, I need to hurry and get behind the Tower King. Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s pursuit grew increasingly heated. This task was far easier than descending from a warship’s yardarm.

But wasn’t Chief Petty Officer Kohama overdoing it a bit? Detective Homura had greatly feared Chief Petty Officer Kohama being spotted by the Tower King’s allies, yet given how boldly Kohama had left the hut to pursue him, it did seem a bit reckless. Before long, Chief Petty Officer Kohama finally managed to get behind the Tower King. The Tower King, unaware of anything, was still searching the ground. In this situation, the Tower King was as good as in Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s grasp.

“Hah!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama leapt at the Tower King from behind, along with his battle cry.

Fierce Struggle

1 “You bastard!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama leapt at the Tower King from behind and pinned him down on the sandy ground.

“Ughh!”

The Tower King exerted his immense strength, trying to throw him off from below. Determined not to let that happen, Chief Petty Officer Kohama swiftly wrapped his right arm around the Tower King’s throat intending to strangle him—but in that instant, the Tower King sank his teeth into him. “Oww!” Because he had been bitten like a dog, Chief Petty Officer Kohama involuntarily released his strength. Then, the Tower King’s waist rebounded as strongly as a steel plate, and in the blink of an eye, Chief Petty Officer Kohama was sent somersaulting through the air and slammed down onto the sandy plain with a thunderous crash.

“Damn it!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama was no ordinary man. No sooner had he been slammed onto the sandy ground than he sprang upright. Then, pivoting on his heel, he lunged like a bullet straight for the Tower King’s chest. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ugh.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama and the Tower King grappled head-on with each other, their struggle resembling a sumo match between a yokozuna and an ōzeki. Though Chief Petty Officer Kohama prided himself on his strength, the Tower King too was immensely powerful, leaving no room for carelessness. As they grunted and wrestled, Chief Petty Officer Kohama found an opening to deploy his signature throw technique. Seizing the moment, “Hah!”

With a fierce shout, he hurled the Tower King’s massive body onto the sandy ground with a thunderous crash.

The Tower King had been rolling heavily like a straw sack, but when he finally managed to rise back up on the sandy ground, he now held a strangely shaped pistol-like object in his right hand. Chief Petty Officer Kohama gasped and froze in place.

2

“Go ahead, try coming closer. I’ll shoot!”

The Tower King, on the sandy plain, held a strangely shaped pistol and aimed at Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s chest. At this, even the brave Chief Petty Officer flinched slightly. The strangely shaped pistol in the Tower King’s hand seemed certain to pierce Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s chest if things continued like this.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama stood fixedly, glaring at the Tower King.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s breathing gradually grew rougher. Thick sweat streamed down from his forehead to his cheeks. “Damn you!”

Suddenly, Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s body rolled across the sandy ground. He rolled heavily and attacked the Tower King’s feet. In that instant, the Tower King couldn’t figure out where to aim his pistol. Bang! Bang! A fierce gunshot blared out. The sand whirled up in a white cloud. “You bastard!”

Before anyone realized, Chief Petty Officer Kohama had gotten to his feet on the sandy plain. As soon as he seized the Tower King’s pistol-clutching right hand, he hurled the Tower King’s body like a waterwheel with a one-arm shoulder throw. “Ugh...” Chief Petty Officer Kohama mounted the groaning Tower King like a horse. The strange-shaped pistol was sent flying with a kick from the Chief Petty Officer’s boot, soaring far away into the shadow of a distant rock.

“How’s that? If you can move, try moving!”

The Tower King was bound behind his back with a belt. The Tower King, completely drained of energy, plopped down onto the sand. “I’ve finally captured you alive! So you’re weak after all.” Chief Petty Officer Kohama raised both hands and cheered “Banzai” in a loud voice.

3

The Tower King was captured. Chief Petty Officer Kohama achieved a great success. It was a joy that soared to the heavens. Once bound, the Tower King was surprisingly weak. Chief Petty Officer Kohama thought to seize the Tower King at this moment, enter the tower, and occupy the rocket. Capturing both the Tower King and occupying the Tower Rocket would be an extraordinary, monumental achievement. Pumped up and raring to go, Chief Petty Officer Kohama—

“Come on, move!”

With that, he seized the Tower King.

The Tower King, wearing a fearsome expression, did nothing but glare at Chief Petty Officer Kohama and fell completely silent. The Tower Rocket visible nearby—judging from its apparently repaired rudder mechanism and repainted sections of the fuselage—was thought to be none other than the accursed Tower Rocket that had claimed the life of Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe. Therefore, this must have been the command aircraft of the numerous rocket squadrons. Chief Petty Officer Kohama thought that occupying it first would be the best course of action, so he seized the Tower King and approached the entrance.

The rocket’s entrance was open. At that moment, four or five Black men and men who appeared to be Asian wearing rubashkas came out from inside. However, upon seeing Chief Petty Officer Kohama, they looked startled and began to draw their pistols from their waists. “Halt!”

With that, Chief Petty Officer Kohama called out. "You can shoot if you want, but if you do, I'll take the Tower King's life before your bullets hit me."

With that, he went ahead and pointed the pistol he had seized from the Tower King. At this sight, the enemies were twice as shocked. The Tower King’s life was firmly in the Chief Petty Officer’s grasp. They couldn’t risk firing.

4

“How’s that? Even if you want to shoot, you can’t pull the trigger like this. At this point, you lot had better surrender quietly!”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama bellowed at the top of his voice. The Chief Petty Officer believed this loud shout would reach Detective Homura. If it did reach him—he’d come flying here at once, and how overjoyed he’d be—that was what he thought. But for some reason，Detective Homura’s figure never materialized.

(What on earth happened to Detective Homura?) Chief Petty Officer Kohama couldn’t make sense of it at all. However, he couldn’t afford to dawdle, so he urged the bound Tower King and his surrendered underlings forward and finally entered the Tower Rocket. It was a split-second occurrence.

Suddenly, the entrance door of the Tower Rocket slammed shut with a bang. “Ah—!”

By the time Chief Petty Officer Kohama shouted, the door had already closed. The Tower King and his henchmen had been stripped of their freedom by Chief Petty Officer Kohama, left unable to move freely, so he felt completely reassured—but what had happened? No—at that very moment, someone unidentifiable had been hiding in the shadow of the rocket's door and, before Chief Petty Officer Kohama could even enter, slammed it shut with a bang.

“Hey! Who’s there? Don’t try any funny business or I won’t let you off easy! You bastards! Don’t you realize I’ve got the Tower King’s life in my hands? Whether I let him live or kill him—it’s all up to me!” he shouted.

Just then,

“Ha ha ha ha!” someone laughed boisterously in a loud, unrestrained voice. 5

“Who’s there? You dare laugh so loudly? You bastards! The Tower King you rely on has been captured alive right here beside me!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama admonishingly directed a warning toward the source of the loud laughter.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

And then, the voice laughed again as if unbearably amused,

“What grand claims are you making? You fool! You think you’ve captured the Tower King there, so pleased with yourself—is that it?” “What nonsense are you spouting?” Chief Petty Officer Kohama shouted back. “You’re the one spouting nonsense here! You fool! Whether the one you’ve captured is the Tower King or not—just tear off that mask and you’ll know for sure. Ha ha ha ha!” “What?!” When told to remove the mask, Chief Petty Officer Kohama was shocked. And finally, he realized something.

Now that matters had reached this point, he needed to learn the truth quickly. Chief Petty Officer Kohama stared at the face of the Tower King he had captured alive. As he examined it, there seemed to be no mask worn at first glance, but just to be certain, he placed his hands on the Tower King's face and gave a firm tug—whereupon the facial skin slid off smoothly without any resistance.

“Ah! It was a mask!” As the layer peeled off, what appeared beneath was the face of a Black man with peculiar eyes. A Black Tower King?

Chief Petty Officer Kohama was utterly perplexed about how to process this when, once again, a loud voice boomed from the ceiling, “Ha ha ha ha! How’s that? Finally figured it out? The fake Tower King’s mask has finally peeled off. If that’s the kind of Tower King you want, I can show you as many more as you like!”

The unrestrained laughter echoing mockingly from the ceiling was undoubtedly the Tower King’s.

6 “How about it, Chief Petty Officer Kohama? Why don’t you surrender here and now? By now, you must have figured everything out. Since we found out about your escape, we cleverly lured you into the tower with a scheme—that’s how it went. Ha ha ha ha!” The Tower King laughed even more heartily. Chief Petty Officer Kohama finally understood that he had been cleverly tricked by the Tower King. When he raised his eyes and looked around, fourteen or fifteen Black men in fearsome combat gear had appeared out of nowhere, their gun barrels trained on Chief Petty Officer Kohama as they encircled him.

(It’s over!) Chief Petty Officer Kohama felt as if his guts were being torn apart, filled with unbearable frustration. However, now that things had come to this, there was nothing he could do. Therefore, he threw down the pistol and everything else he had on the spot and crossed his arms.

“Exactly.” “That’s how you’ll behave properly for me.” “A fine resolve indeed.” “Hey everyone! Bind this soldier upside down and toss him into the usual cell for now!”

Under the Tower King’s orders, Chief Petty Officer Kohama was bitterly bound with thick ropes around his midsection and taken back outside the rocket.

Blindfolded, hoisted up by the crowd, and once again dumped unceremoniously into that familiar underwater prison. This time, with his torso and both hands still tightly bound in coils of rope, he couldn’t move his body freely like before.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama spent day after day in this underwater prison. He had waited with bated breath, hoping that Homura might come to his rescue again, but no matter how much time passed, neither his figure nor his voice appeared before him. Was this despair? Chief Petty Officer Kohama’s heart had grown somewhat clouded, but then one day――

Command Room

1

This was the Tower's command room. This command room was located in a corner of the third floor of the Tower. The Tower King was in the command room, alone, staring intently at a map. What map was this? It was none other than It was a large map of the Pacific centered on Japan. The Tower King wore an extremely delighted expression.

On the map, tracing circles around Japan with his fingertip, “Hmmph. “At last, this region will become mine.” “Then all that’s left are countries that aren’t frightening at all.” The Tower King shrugged his shoulders and let out an eerie, muffled chuckle. This command room was structured exactly like a telephone exchange, with all machinery within the Tower Rocket converging here at its terminals—so that simply sitting there allowed one to freely control the Tower. No, not just this Tower, but the other rockets too could be controlled in the same way. In other words, the Tower King now sat before that command switchboard, studying the map. It was an exceptionally well-made command switchboard. And this machine was as vital to him as his own heart.

Bzzzt.

Suddenly, the alarm rang out, and the red warning light came on. It was signaling that a wireless message had come in for the Tower King.

The Tower King picked up the receiver.

“Oh, you’re Surveillance Plane 109? What’s your business?” “Yes, this is Surveillance Plane 109. We’re currently flying over the Ogasawara area and have spotted a large air force formation heading far northeast.”

“What do you mean—a large air force formation heading northeast at this hour—?”

2 The Tower King in the command room was shocked by the wireless report of a large air force formation flying northeast. The Tower King faced the surveillance plane that had sent the wireless report,

“Hey! Give me more details!” “Whose planes are they?” “And how many planes?”

Then came a reply:

“Well, I’m not sure whose planes they are.” “To be honest, I’ve been concerned about that from the start—even when looking through the electron telescope, none of the planes bear any country’s markings.” “They’re truly suspicious planes.” “Planes without any markings? “Hmm, that’s suspicious.”

The Tower King, suspicious himself, was declaring something else suspicious. The absurdity of it—which one was truly dubious? “Hey! From their design alone, you can tell whose planes those are!” “Well... no, I don’t know. I’ve never seen planes like that before.” “Aren’t they Japanese?” “No, I don’t think Japan has ever had planes like that.” “How many planes are there exactly?”

“As for the number of planes, we can’t count them all, but at a glance, there seem to be around one hundred fifty.”

“I see.” “A mysterious squadron of one hundred fifty planes—that’s right.” “Hey, you—fly straight into that formation!” “Then observe how they react.” “If they fire first, we may return fire.” “Meanwhile, identify the enemy’s true nature and wire me immediately.”

“Yes, understood.” “We’ll start pursuing that formation immediately.” “If we push to full speed, I believe we can catch up within another hour.”

3

Just which country’s air squadron could this unmarked flight formation heading north possibly belong to? The Tower King was deeply concerned about what that large flight formation was targeting. Somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they might soon launch an attack on Bone Island, where he and his men were stationed. Meanwhile, another warning light lit up before the Tower King, followed by the alarm beginning to ring. There was an urgent wireless message from another location.

The Tower King jolted in surprise. When he picked up the receiver, this was indeed an alarm issued by one of the Tower King’s surveillance ships.

“Report.” “Currently, a large number of vessels are heading northeast at full speed over Kashimanada.” Hearing this, the Tower King leapt up in shock.

“What in the world? Are you telling me that this time, a multitude of vessels are racing northeast at full speed? That direction troubles me deeply.” If one drew a line northeast from Kashimanada and rapidly extended it, it would eventually reach near Bone Island. Those moving along that line were said to be a multitude of vessels.

Earlier than that, the surveillance plane had discovered an unmarked large flight formation flying north over the Ogasawara Islands and reported it, but according to subsequent reports, their course had veered slightly eastward, and it gradually became clear they were targeting Bone Island. And for good reason—at long last, our secret fleet had sortied to launch a valiant battle against the Tower King’s forces.

The secret fleet consisted of an air force unit and a naval fleet, but the two had arranged to join up slightly short of Bone Island.

Lieutenant Shiota and the boy Ichihiko were aboard the fleet’s flagship. And they were always paying attention to the ship’s lookout’s alerts.

4

The Tower King had finally realized the secret fleet’s attack. “Hmm, you impudent Japanese Navy—planning to attack this Bone Island from both sea and air, are you? It seems they’ve forgotten my colossal power. Very well! If that’s how it is, I’ll crush them first as a bloody offering to Japan’s annihilation!”

The Tower King became completely enraged. And he immediately ordered the Tower Rocket Unit to prepare for deployment.

“Hey, everyone. Those impudent Japanese air force and fleet are coming to attack us here. We’ll wipe them out en route before they even reach Bone Island! Prepare all units for immediate deployment!” Now came the deployment preparations!

Starting with the tower-rocket that the Tower King was aboard, suspicious people rushed into its companion crafts.

The ladders were rolled up, and the entrance doors and windows were all shut tight. Next, the engine roared to life with a thunderous rumble.

At that moment, a telephone call came through to the Tower King from inside.

“Hey, what is it?” “Ah, Leader?” “Something terrible has happened!”

That voice belonged to the first black man. “What?! What’s happened? What’s gone wrong?” “We repaired the rudder recently, didn’t we?” “Yeah, fixed it.”

“That rudder just broke.” “I only tried moving it a little, but when I did, fire suddenly burst out from the motor controlling it, and then it stopped working completely.” “What should we do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what should we do’? That’s a real problem. “Then we can’t depart!” “Why on earth did the motor burn out?!” “It’s your fault for not keeping proper watch!” “As punishment for that, I’ll kill you!”

5 Just as they were about to deploy, with the command aircraft of the Tower Rocket malfunctioning, the Tower King flew into a rage and berated the black man. However, the broken motor wouldn’t be fixed so easily.

“This is troublesome,” he muttered. “Hey—if that motor gets fixed quickly, I’ll spare your life instead of killing you!” The Tower King, equally troubled, threw a conciliatory remark to the black man overseeing the motor. “Y-you mean… if we fix it fast… you’ll let me live?” The black man leaped with joy at this unexpected mercy. But the motor refused to cooperate. They discovered the faulty component required a full motor replacement. After scavenging a spare from the underground warehouse and installing it, prospects for repair finally emerged—but the laborious process defied haste.

Meanwhile, from the sentry team came reports that the secret fleet was rapidly approaching and the danger had become imminent. If we dawdled any longer, it became clear that Bone Island would be attacked.

The Tower King, restless beyond measure, paced around the command room like a caged lion until he could endure it no longer, “Ah, there’s no help for it. “Then, I’ll have this one depart later and use the remaining rockets to intercept the Japanese forces.” The Tower King decided to remain in this command aircraft, while all the other rockets headed toward the Japanese military’s secret fleet.

“Then I’ll leave it to you all.” “There’s no need to hold back.” “Whether they’re Japanese warships or planes, incinerate them with magnetic cannons the moment you spot them!”

The time for battle approached.

1 At a point one hundred kilometers southwest of Bone Island, the Tower King’s rocket squadron finally met our secret fleet’s warship fleet and air squadron.

The situation at that moment was truly a terrifying spectacle to behold. The rocket squadron formed a horizontal line and relentlessly advanced. Their altitude was just 1,000 meters. In response, our air unit divided into three squadrons arranged in a trapezoid formation, all maintaining an altitude of 3,000 meters. One squadron advanced toward the center of the enemy rocket squadron while the other two attacked from both left and right. The warship fleet lagged ten kilometers behind, forming a five-column vertical formation with the flagship at its center encircled by all other vessels, advancing at full speed.

At this moment, the sky was perfectly clear, offering an unobstructed view in every direction. The sea was as smooth as if oil had been poured over it, with only several long trails of waves stretching out behind the warships. The fleet had dispatched over a dozen reconnaissance planes, constantly observing the approaching rocket squadron’s course and formation while having them report back. At this moment, looking up at the main warship, one could see four or five unfamiliar machines—each about the size of a cannon with strange shapes—lined up on its deck, all appearing to glare in unison at a single point in the sky. These were none other than the reverse-magnetic cannons that Dr. Ōtone was said to have been researching.

What role would the reverse-magnetic cannons play from here on out?

At this moment, Lieutenant Shiota stood on the bridge alongside the boy Ichihiko, keeping watch on the scene ahead.

The moment when battle would commence was drawing ever closer.

At that moment, a report that the vanguard air unit finally commenced battle reached the wireless communications team. 2

“Is the motor still not repaired?” The Tower King was deeply agitated. “Yes... just a bit more remains.” The black man answered timidly.

“Just a bit more? Then we should be able to depart in about thirty minutes, right?” “Yes, well… about that…” “Won’t it be fixed in thirty minutes?” “However… there’s a bit of a problem…”

“What’s this ‘troublesome matter’? Is there still something wrong?”

“Yes,” the black man replied hesitantly, “we’ve just checked the external motor and found that it’s also malfunctioning.” “Huh? What’s this? “The external motor is broken too? “You didn’t report this earlier!” “Yes, well… about that…” “Well…? “What’s wrong with it now?” “At that time, it was not malfunctioning. “However, when we inspected it now, we found that it had malfunctioned.”

“Hmm, that’s strange.”

The Tower King tilted his head and sank into thought.

“Wait. The motor that was fine earlier is now broken when we check it—ah, I see. The motor malfunction isn’t natural—someone must’ve deliberately smashed it to interfere with us! And that someone must be hiding somewhere around here!” “Heh heh... Is that so?” “That must be it. Call everyone and search every corner here. You’ll surely find that villain.”

The Tower King declared that whoever had broken the motor was lurking nearby. Who could have possibly sabotaged the Tower Rocket’s motor?

3 Before long, black men and crew members wearing Rupashika shirts gathered in large numbers. And so they began searching for the culprit who had burned out the motor.

“Well? Still not found?”

The Tower King was growing increasingly impatient. “Ah! The alarm bell is ringing.” “It seems to be a wireless report from the advance party.”

Another black man came running to where the Tower King was.

“Tch! To have this commotion break out just as we’re about to engage the Japanese military—what disastrous timing. Hey! I’m monitoring the battle developments here—make haste and root out the culprit!”

Amidst all this chaos, how inconvenient the Tower King must have found it to possess only one body. “Hello?” “It’s me.” “How goes the battle?”

Then, a reply came from the other side,

“Ah, Commander!” “The Japanese military has completely surrounded our rocket unit.” “If we ascend, there’s the enemy’s air squadron above us; if we descend, there’s their fleet below.” “And now thirty large planes are racing toward us from ahead at terrifying speed.”

This was the report from the crew member he had appointed as deputy commander. “What? If we’re being pressed this hard by the Japanese military, we’re done for! Use our invincible magnetic cannons to blast their planes and warships out of the sky one after another! If we dawdle and let them invade Bone Island, we’ll be in real trouble! Fire those magnetic cannons now!” “Well... about those magnetic cannons... they’re... uh...”

“What? What nonsense are you spouting? What’s wrong with the magnetic cannons? Hurry up and tell me!” The Tower King’s face instantly turned pale again.

“Yes, the magnetic cannons are… behaving somewhat oddly…” 4

“You say the magnetic cannons are acting a bit strange?” “Hey, is that true?” “Hurry up and tell me the details!”

The Tower King involuntarily clung to the microphone. First the motor had broken down, and now the magnetic cannons were malfunctioning—it was one disaster after another, like a bee stinging a tear-streaked face. “No, actually, we’ve been firing the magnetic cannons vigorously since earlier. But contrary to our expectations that the airplanes and warships would melt away upon being hit—for some reason—the enemy remains completely unfazed.”

“That’s absurd! You must be using the magnetic cannons wrong. After all that training I gave you, you’re still useless!” “No, we are definitely firing the magnetic cannons.” “If you’re firing without error, there’s no way the enemy’s planes and warships wouldn’t be affected—they should be melting away with red flames or, ideally, exploding all at once.” “Ah, this is bad! The enemy planes are right on top of us! We’re beginning our life-or-death battle now. We’ll file the full report later. Signing off!”

“Good! Stay strong.” “I’ll offer rewards.” “Two thousand yen per plane shot down.” “Ten thousand yen per warship sunk.”

There was no response. The deputy commander had likely begun combat with the Japanese military. What would happen? Whether the battle would be won or lost, the Tower King could not rest easy. “I urgently request your presence.”

Suddenly, Rupashika Man’s voice sounded by his ear.

“What? Have you captured the villain who damaged the motor?”

“No, that’s not the case. Um... Chief Petty Officer Kohama, whom we had tied up, is missing.”

“What? That Japanese military man is gone?” “And there is one more astonishing matter to report.”

5

“And this other astonishing matter—what on earth is it?”

The Tower King asked the black man with a snarling expression. “Well, that is—Detective Homura, who was tied up inside the third mechanical cylinder, has gone missing.” “What? Homura’s not in the third mechanical cylinder? Then there’s no one to operate the third mechanical cylinder!” “Yes, that is correct.” “That’s a problem! Everything’s in chaos! This rocket is as good as dead! To have battle right before us and be unable to launch—could anything be more infuriating than this?”

The Tower King stamped his feet with heavy thuds, seething with frustration. This account reveals that Detective Homura had been bound to the third mechanical cylinder of the Tower Rocket and assigned to operate its machinery. This occurred during combat with Japanese naval aircraft over Nasuseki Barrier, where one of the black crew members had died. Thus, replacing that black man, Homura Sōroku—who had been captured earlier—was forcibly placed into the third mechanical cylinder and drilled in the methods of operating its machinery.

The clever Homura had pretended to be bound inside the cylinder but had in fact secretly gained the ability to come and go freely from it. It was also he who had rescued Chief Petty Officer Kohama from the underwater prison; after hiding Kohama atop the mountain and planning to return that night, he was detected by the Tower King and ultimately could not go.

However, this time he had finally managed to rescue **the** Chief Petty Officer. And he had burned through the motors inside **the** tower-rocket, thoroughly confounding **the** Tower King.

Now, where could Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama be hiding at this very moment?

Just at that moment, while the Tower King and the black man were exchanging looks of utter bewilderment, a soft *click* sounded behind them.

Two Heroes

1

Behind where the Tower King and the black man stood came a sharp *click*! The Tower King didn’t miss that sound. “Who’s there?” And what do you suppose appeared before the Tower King’s eyes when he whirled around?

It was none other than Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama, the two in heroic form.

“Don’t move, Tower King!” “Surrender! If you move, you’ll lose your life!” “What?!” The Tower King, with a terrifyingly angry expression, shouted back at the two heroes who had suddenly appeared—but upon seeing something, “Ah! That’s no good! “Danger! “Wait a second!”

At this, the Tower King suddenly panicked and burst into trembling.

“Hahaha! Is this thing really so terrifying to you? But didn’t you make it yourself?” Chief Petty Officer Kohama sneered. What he now held under his arm and aimed at the Tower King was none other than the Tower King’s own treasured death ray light. This death ray light was something Homura had been searching for the location of for some time. This time, they had appropriated it and instead thrust it at the Tower King’s chest. The Tower King, who had never feared pistols or rifles in the slightest, began trembling violently as if he had become a different person upon seeing this death ray light. And no wonder—after all, he who had created it knew better than anyone just how terrifying it was.

The Tower King ground his teeth—This is bad... They've stolen something critical!—but it was already too late.

Chief Petty Officer Kohama steadily aimed the death ray light at the Tower King’s chest, his expression making clear he’d pull the trigger the instant he moved. “Now then, Lord Tower King.”

Homura took a step closer to the Tower King from the side.

2 “Now then, Lord Tower King.”

Called out to by Homura, the Tower King rolled his terrifying eyes from beneath his brow, "What? Homura. "You all are the cowardly ones! "You stole my treasured death ray light and threaten me with it? You’re despicable scoundrels not even fit to stand upwind!" "Hey! What are you saying?"

Chief Petty Officer Kohama said angrily. “Who’s the real coward here? You’re the one who’s done countless cowardly and wicked things! Do you remember your crime of killing that brave Third Class Aviation Petty Officer Aoe? That man was a loyal warrior who should never have been allowed to be killed by a coward like you! In contrast, you dying by your own death ray light would be nothing but poetic justice!” “W-wait! Hold your fire! In return, I’ll do anything you say.”

The Tower King, perhaps having concluded he was no longer a match for them, suddenly yielded. "What? You're saying you'll obey our orders? Then—"

And, Chief Petty Officer Kohama kept his eyes locked on the Tower King,

“Will you hand over command of this Tower Rocket Corps to us as per our orders?”

Upon hearing this, the Tower King was startled and rolled his eyes wildly, but— “Well… that’s—”

At this, he hesitated to respond. “You refuse? If you refuse, then I’ll just hit you with this death ray light!”

As Chief Petty Officer Kohama braced himself,

“Ah! Dangerous! W-wait! Wait!” “For someone called the Tower King, you’re making quite an undignified exit.”

Detective Homura also said with a look of exasperation from the side. "Fine. I'll hand over command of the Rocket Corps to you."

The Tower King spat out his words. However, even during this time, he seemed to be waiting intently for something, straining his ears. 3 The Tower King finally surrendered to Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama. There was nothing more satisfying than this. “With this, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my chest.”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama rejoiced as if he had caught the devil himself.

Detective Homura took another step forward and poked the Tower King's side, "Now then, Tower King, now that it's come to this, I'll be taking back what I lent you long ago." "'Borrowed thing'? What exactly did I borrow?"

The Tower King glared back at Homura with a puzzled look.

“Ahahahaha, have you already forgotten? It’s exactly that mask you’re wearing on your face right now.” “Wh-what—?”

“You remember, don’t you? Last time when I tried to remove that strange mask you’re wearing now, you defeated me. Now I’ll take that mask off. Let’s see what true face appears from beneath it…” “Ah, spare me that! If the mask’s secret gets out, I’m finished—but I want to keep wearing it until the end. I won’t let anyone see my true face.” “What nonsense are you spouting now? We’ve already taken full command here. Whatever you attempt, you’ll simply obey our orders.”

“H-hold on!” “Don’t make me lose face in a place like this.” “When the time comes, I’ll definitely remove the mask, so wait a little longer.”

“Hmm, very well.” Homura nodded deeply at this moment.

“Homura, what’s wrong? Did you figure something out?”

Chief Petty Officer Kohama asked.

“No, Mr. Kohama, I’m saying I’ve discovered whose true face lies beneath this mask.” “Huh? What do you mean?” “In other words, beneath the Tower King’s mask hides a face we know all too well.”

4

Detective Homura stated that beneath the Tower King’s mask lay the face of someone they knew. Chief Petty Officer Kohama was surprised, “Whose face is it?” “That is—” Homura involuntarily flushed red with excitement and pointed at the Tower King, “It is none other than Dr. Ōtone’s face that lies beneath this mask.” “When you say ‘Dr. Ōtone,’ are you referring to that national treasure-class scientist Lieutenant Shiota often spoke about?” “Are you saying Dr. Ōtone has disguised himself as the Tower King?” “No, I just don’t get it at all.”

“No, precisely because it’s Dr. Ōtone, he doesn’t want his mask removed in front of us. How about that? Right on target, Tower King!”

Homura pointed at the Tower King’s face. “No, I am not Dr. Ōtone.” The Tower King said. “Are you saying you’re not Dr. Ōtone? No, you must be him! Just take off the mask! It’s an order—take off the mask!”

“Very well. “Then I shall remove the mask.”

For some reason, the Tower King unexpectedly complied obediently with Homura's orders. Then he placed both hands to his face. At that moment, the alarm bell began blaring piercingly. "Ah, Tower King! What's that?"

“It’s a battle report from the rocket team,” said the Tower King. “Take me to the transmitter for a moment.” “No, you can’t!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama shouted. “If you move, I’ll activate the death ray!” “Hey, hurry up and take off the mask!” Homura demanded.

This was Homura’s voice.

At that moment, as the alarm bell ceased ringing, a voice from the rocket team leader engaged in combat came through the loudspeaker. The Tower King's eyes glowed strangely.

5

From the loudspeaker resounded a battle report from the rocket team leader in combat, addressed to the Tower King. “Leader, our Kaitō Rocket Team has suffered an unexpected defeat, and our morale hasn’t been lifted in the slightest.” “What? Defeat? There’s no way such a thing could happen! You should just keep blasting them away with the magnetic cannons!”

And the Tower King involuntarily shouted. “However, Leader, those magnetic cannons aren’t effective in the slightest.” “When we fire them at the Japanese fleet and planes, they remain completely unfazed.” “Then it’s as if we’re being pressed against a red-hot iron bar in reverse—our aircraft suddenly heats up and starts smoldering and burning. It’s chaos.” “Something’s wrong.” “Are you saying that when we fire the magnetic cannons, our own side ends up burning instead?” “Hmm, that’s strange.”

The Tower King breathed roughly, filled with bitter frustration. Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama had been intently watching this scene unfold from the start. According to the enemy rocket team leader’s battle report, our secret fleet had been overwhelmingly dominant lately. For the two men fighting the Tower King, there was nothing as joyful and empowering as this. “Ah! That’s it!” The Tower King slapped his hand hard, having recalled something at this moment. “Commander! It seems they’ve brought out those reverse cannons I kept secret!” “The fleet and planes have all been equipped with reverse cannons before we knew it.” “Therefore, immediately cease firing the magnetic cannons from our side.” “Firing them only brings loss.” “It’s not just losses.” “The very things we fire will rebound on us, burning our own rockets and crew members.” “Dangerous! Dangerous!” “You—order the entire rocket team to retreat immediately!”

The Tower King frantically shouted commands into the microphone. “Leader, even if you order us to retreat now, it’s already too late.” The leader’s voice was half-sobbing.

6 “You say it’s too late—why is it too late?” The Tower King, as if scolding the defeated rocket team leader, demanded to know why it was too late. “Ah... The reason is that our rocket’s damage is too severe—Leader, I’m truly sorry.”

“Hey! Speak clearly! How much damage have our rockets sustained?” “Yes. It’s truly difficult to report this, but... having surveyed the area just now, the rockets still flying in the sky are ours alone—only one remains.” “What?! Only your one rocket remains? And where are the other rockets?” “Well, you see—during this ongoing battle, they were struck by the reverse cannons. Every last one became engulfed in flames, fell into the sea, and hasn’t resurfaced since.”

“Wh-what…?!” “So… does that mean all the rest were destroyed by the Japanese military?” “Th-that’s too harsh!” How much effort it had taken to build such a rocket team! Far from aiding in my long-sought goal of annihilating Japan’s military might, after merely damaging the warship Awaji and a dozen planes, we’d now been utterly crushed instead. Ah, how regrettable! What feeble comrades! What a fearsome reverse cannon! I had failed. My mistake was not properly disposing of those reverse cannons—leaving them unattended. But never did I imagine…the Japanese military would infiltrate even that secret chamber.”

The Tower King turned red and blue, stamping his feet in frustration. However, with only one rocket remaining, he couldn’t do anything.

“Hey, Tower King! It’s about time you surrendered like a man!” Chief Petty Officer Kohama berated the Tower King in a voice like a cracked bell.

The Tower King resolutely raised his face but then silently lowered his head without a word.

True Face

1

“It’s over.”

The Tower King’s sigh reached both Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama with excessive clarity. The Tower King appeared utterly dejected—pitifully so. “Take off the mask.” Detective Homura pressed.

“Alright, I’ll take it off now. Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to obey your orders.” With that, the Tower King said something uncharacteristically meek for him and placed both hands on his face. Ah, now at last, the Tower King’s mask was about to be removed. As they wondered what face could lie beneath that mocking, comical tide-spouting mask, Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama felt their hearts pound violently while simultaneously experiencing an intense sense of dread.

The Tower King casually removed his mask. Just like removing a gas mask, his entire face and hair came off cleanly.

And now, what face lay beneath that mask? It was a breathless moment. The Tower King hung his head for a moment, then quietly raised his face.

Was it the face of a demon? Or was it the face of Dr. Ōtone, the scientist once hailed as a national treasure?

No, it was neither of those. It was the smooth, featureless face of a young Westerner. It was the face of a Westerner they had never seen before.

(Oh! So this was the Tower King’s true face!)

Both Homura and Kohama couldn’t help but feel it was somewhat anticlimactic.

“Well, this is my true face.” “Take a good look.”

That voice was the familiar, detestable voice of the Tower King they had always known. So this young Westerner had been wearing the tide-blowing mask and committing all those bold misdeeds. “What the hell are you, anyway?” Chief Petty Officer Kohama asked the Tower King in a manner that suggested he couldn’t hold back.

2 “My background? That’s irrelevant,” the Tower King retorted roughly, breathing heavily, “I intended to destroy the Japanese Navy and throw the Orient into chaos, but I failed.” “Now that I’ve failed, I have nothing more to say.”

With that, he firmly pressed his lips together and fell silent. Could this young Westerner be some kind of invention-obsessed maniac? His origins were so intriguing that one couldn’t help but want to investigate them. Homura, who had been staring blankly at the Tower King’s true face with his mouth shut all this time, now took a resolute step forward and— “Hey, Tower King! To tell you the truth, I thought the Tower King was Dr. Ōtone in disguise.” “However, when I saw the mask removed, I clearly realized my assumption was wrong.”

With that, Homura bit his lip slightly, “Now then—there’s one matter I must demand an answer from the Tower King.” “Huh? What’s that?” “Dr. Ōtone’s whereabouts. Where is he now? Tell me immediately!” “I don’t know anything about that.” “I won’t accept ‘I don’t know’! We know you broke into Dr. Ōtone’s residence! We found his jacket left behind, soaked in blood! Where did you take him? Is he still alive, or did you kill him? You won’t get away with feigning ignorance!”

Homura pressed forward with a fierce demeanor, as if to grab the Tower King by the chest.

The Tower King worked his mouth soundlessly for a moment before seeming to reach a decision. "Do you want Dr. Ōtone's whereabouts that desperately? Then I have no choice. I'll guide you now and hand him over to you."

“Huh? You’ll hand over the Doctor?” “So the Doctor’s on this island?” “Yeah, that’s right. “He’s locked up in the cave above us.”

3

When they heard that Dr. Ōtone was imprisoned on this island, both Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama were surprised and overjoyed.

“Then hurry up and lead the way.”

By the Tower King’s side, Detective Homura accompanied him, while Chief Petty Officer Kohama followed from behind, holding the murder ray light. If, by any chance, the Tower King tried to escape, he intended to immediately hit him with the murder ray light.

The Tower King climbed the slope and entered the familiar cave. The interior was dimly lit, and below it lay that fearsome underwater prison. “Tower King! You threw Dr. Ōtone into the underwater prison.” “You monster!”

“No, not the underwater prison.” “There’s another large room inside this cave.” “Now enter through this crevice in the rock.” “The ceiling’s low—mind your head.” “What? Now you’re telling us to watch our heads?”

Homura and Kohama, inadvertently lured by those words, suddenly looked up. At that moment, their eyes detached from the Tower King’s body and shifted to the jet-black rock ceiling. They had fallen right into the Tower King’s trap. Using the Doctor as bait, the two of them had been lured this far. “Hah!” As soon as the Tower King let out a loud shout, his figure vanished into the crevice in the rock. “Ah! He’s gone!”

Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama immediately tried to pursue him, but at that moment, they noticed that beyond the crevice in the rock lay a deep valley and drew back in shock.

*Gyaaah!*

At that moment, a blood-curdling scream rose from the valley floor. The two knew it was the final cry of the Tower King, who had apparently fallen into the valley and struck his head against a rocky edge.

“Oh! That’s—” “Yeah, the Tower King’s self-destruction.” Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama involuntarily approached each other from both sides and firmly clasped hands.

4

The Tower King had finally self-destructed, it seemed.

Detective Homura and Chief Petty Officer Kohama wanted to inform the secret fleet of this good news as quickly as possible.

To inform them of that, at present there was only one method. That was to use the wireless device of Tower Rocket No. 1—presently out of order and stranded on Bone Island’s sand. It was quite a hectic task.

Leaving the rock cavern where the Tower King had perished just as it was felt deeply unsatisfactory. Somehow, they couldn't shake the feeling that the Tower King might come crawling up from somewhere nearby, covered in blood. "What should we do, Mr. Kohama?"

Detective Homura consulted him worriedly, and the Chief Petty Officer laughed,

“Ah, even if the Tower King was as strong as they say, there’s nothing to fear from a dead man.” “But if you’re that worried, Homura, stay put here awhile.” “I’ll contact the fleet using the rocket’s wireless in the meantime.”

“Will you be all right on your own?” “Of course I’ll be fine. First of all, with this murderous ray lamp, even if thousands of the Tower King’s subordinates remain behind, there’s nothing to fear.” Because the Chief Petty Officer had declared this firmly in his military manner, Homura too finally became resolved. Here, the two of them split up momentarily to go their separate ways left and right. “Well then, Mr. Kohama. I’m counting on you to contact the fleet. And once you’ve finished your task, please return to this cavern immediately. I am determined to find Dr. Ōtone no matter what. If what the Tower King said wasn’t a lie, Dr. Ōtone must be hidden somewhere in this cavern.”

“Very well. I also agree with tracking down Dr. Ōtone’s whereabouts.”

With those words, Chief Petty Officer Kohama set off.

New Bizarre Event

As Chief Petty Officer Kohama left the rocky mountain and descended toward the plains of Bone Island where the rocket was visible, within the lonely cavern, only Detective Homura remained.

As Chief Petty Officer Kohama left the rocky mountain and descended toward Bone Island's plains where the rocket was visible, only Detective Homura remained within the desolate cavern. The dim interior of the cavern was anything but pleasant. Though nothing but rocks met the eye, an unsettling sense persisted that some fiend might dwell there too. It felt as though such a fiend lurked behind the rocks, yellow eyes glinting while secretly observing Homura's movements.

(Why do I feel so uneasy? Have I suddenly become a coward?)

Homura sat down at the base of a rock, looked around his surroundings, and posed such questions to his own mind.

When he listened carefully, a booming sound could be heard. It seemed there was a cave somewhere where seawater was surging in. Homura did not yet know the location of such a cave.

Flap flap flap flap.

Suddenly, a violent flapping sound could be heard overhead, and a mysterious bird flew in.

“Oh?”

Homura stood up in surprise. This time, the mysterious bird was startled and, flapping its wings with a flap flap flap, fled to the other side.

The mysterious bird flew into the crevice in the rocks where the Tower King had thrown himself, but after a while, it let out a spine-chilling cackle and came flapping back toward where Homura stood.

(Something’s definitely off here. Can’t let my guard down.)

With that, Homura suddenly rose to his feet and hid himself in the shadow of the rocks.

Then—what do you know? The crevice in the rocks began to brighten dimly. Somehow, it seemed like a fire was burning over there. What in the world?

2

Why had the other side of the rock crevice brightened?

Detective Homura had hidden himself in the shadow of the rocks and was staring unblinkingly in that direction.

Then, before long, a single hand lantern emerged from the crevice in the rocks. It was an old-fashioned fish oil lantern of the kind often carried by Western fishermen—one that burned fish oil to produce light. The fish oil lantern was supported by a single arm. Who could it be?

Then, this time, a head appeared beyond the crevice. Detective Homura held his breath and continued to watch intently.

The mysterious figure was holding the fish oil lantern high and shining it around the inside of the cavern. It was a remarkably cautious approach.

At that moment, Homura could clearly see the face of the mysterious figure illuminated by the fish oil lantern. “Ah—”

For some reason, Homura was startled. His arm clinging to the rock trembled so violently that even he himself could perceive it—such was the extent of his shock. It appeared to be someone Homura knew. Moreover, it appeared to be an extremely unexpected individual. Who on earth could it have been?

The mysterious figure, having confirmed that no one was inside the cavern, finally crawled up through the crevice in the rock. And still cautious of his surroundings, he seemed to be deep in thought about something. At that moment. Homura leapt out from the shadow of the rocks. And suddenly leapt out before the mysterious figure. “Oh, Dr. Ōtone!”

“What?!”

3

“Dr. Ōtone!” When addressed, the man was utterly flabbergasted. He involuntarily staggered backward—but oh no! That was dangerous! There lay the crevice where the Tower King had previously fallen. “Wh-who are you?” Dr. Ōtone mumbled in a hoarse voice. He kept reaching behind his back, frantically feeling around the rocks. If there was an escape route, he seemed intent on fleeing. “Ahahaha! You may not know me, Dr. Ōtone, but I am a detective named Homura Sōroku. I came all this way because I was worried about your whereabouts. From what I can see, despite our concerns, you appear unharmed for now—that’s truly the best news.”

In his joy at having found the doctor, Homura’s heart had already begun racing. Grasping Dr. Ōtone’s hand, he wanted to pour out every word of joy he could muster. After all, he had finally found Dr. Ōtone—a scholar considered a national treasure to our nation and a man ninety percent believed to be dead—so it was hardly unreasonable for Homura to be excited. However, fearing he might startle Dr. Ōtone too much, he did his utmost to restrain his own heart, which felt ready to leap from his chest.

“Ah, Detective Homura.” “I believe I’ve heard that name somewhere before.” “How kind of you to come rescue me.” “But I was startled when you suddenly jumped out in front of me!” “Heh heh heh.”

Dr. Ōtone seemed to have finally composed himself.

“Dr., what on earth brought you to Bone Island?”

Homura asked about something that had been weighing on his mind until now. “Wh-why would you ask why I came to Bone Island?” “Th-that… That is—it was all that detestable Tower King’s doing!”

4

A rare encounter inside the cavern! Facing Dr. Ōtone, Detective Homura’s heart still raced. According to the doctor’s explanation, he had been brought here by the Tower King. “That must have been quite an ordeal for you. Since we’ve found you, we’ll protect you with our very lives. Please rest assured.” Homura couldn’t help saying this to comfort Dr. Ōtone.

“Oh, thank you very much. To think I’d be rescued by you all—what incredible luck!”

Dr. Ōtone answered tersely. “Dr. Ōtone, I was nearly about to pounce on you." “Because you emerged from the very crevice where the Tower King had fallen earlier, I mistakenly thought he’d regained consciousness and begun crawling out.” “It truly was a dangerous moment.” “Yeah, I was startled too.” “You called out to me so suddenly.”

At that, Detective Homura rephrased his words, “Dr., where have you been concealing yourself all this time?” he asked.

“Well, that’s… uh… how should I put it? You probably know this already, but beneath where we now stand lies an underwater prison. They say there are five or six of them in total, and I was locked up in one of them. After devising all sorts of schemes to somehow escape that place, I was finally able to break free today. I couldn’t be happier.”

“Of course you would be.” “I can imagine.” “When word spreads across the mainland that you’re safe, everyone will be astonished.” “And there’s no telling how overjoyed they’ll be.”

When he heard this, the doctor let out a relieved sigh and nodded.

5

“So, Dr., when you were climbing up that rock over here, did you not hear the Tower King’s scream?”

Detective Homura questioned Dr. Ōtone about what he had been wanting to ask for some time.

Then Dr. Ōtone nodded deeply,

“Ah, I certainly heard it. A tremendous voice rang out overhead. No sooner had I thought that than a human came falling down from above and plunged into the valley bottom. Was that the Tower King?” Homura’s eyes sparkled upon hearing that,

“Ah, Dr., did you witness that as well? That was fortunate. So what final fate befell the Tower King?”

“Well, that’s—” Dr. Ōtone rolled his eyes, “—I don’t remember it clearly, but apparently the Tower King’s body was slammed onto the rocks at the valley bottom. At that moment, he let out a pained voice. There, while I was clinging to the rock, I timidly peered downward—but at that moment, the Tower King’s figure was no longer on the rock.”

“Ah! So does that mean the Tower King escaped?” “No, that’s not it,” Dr. Ōtone shook his head firmly. “The Tower King’s body struck a rock once, then rebounded with such force that it plunged into the water with a heavy splash. That’s no place anyone could escape from.” Cold pitch-black seawater threaded through jagged rocks below them, swirling and surging back and forth in endless vortices. “It’s a cave like hell on earth,” he concluded grimly. “Even the Tower King couldn’t survive there.”

Dr. Ōtone firmly believed in the Tower King’s death.

Detective Homura nodded deeply,

“I see. So beyond that visible crevice in the rock lies such a terrifying place? However, given that it’s the Tower King with his tenacious bad luck, it wouldn’t be strange if he’s somehow survived against all odds. From now on, I’ll head down to the valley bottom and investigate whether the Tower King’s body is floating there.”

Slippery Cliff

1 Detective Homura remained unshakably resolved to verify the Tower King's demise. According to Dr. Ōtone's recent account—that the Tower King had fallen onto rocks, sustained grave injuries, then plunged into a churning abyss of pitch-black seawater—Homura insisted on personally investigating the matter.

“Dr. Ōtone, would you guide me, then?” “Well… I am terribly tired, but—” The doctor hesitated, but soon, as if he had reconsidered,

“Very well.” “Since it’s none other than a rare guest from afar, I’ll guide you.” “Come this way.” “We’ll descend from here.”

Dr. Ōtone took the lead with a fish oil lamp and briskly yet cautiously proceeded to descend along the base of the rocks. Detective Homura, feeling dizzy at the terrifying cliff he saw for the first time, cautiously descended after the doctor. Dr. Ōtone was quite energetic, taking the lead and descending smoothly. Homura was in danger of falling behind at any moment.

(The doctor's so energetic... And he seems to know this cave inside out.) Homura marveled inwardly. Dr. Ōtone's fish oil lamp had already reached the bottom of the cliff, casting a faint haze of light on a rock at the cave's base. At that moment, the doctor's eyes glinted sharply. His gaze remained fixed on Homura, who clung to the rockface while absorbed in his descent. Homura didn't notice Dr. Ōtone glaring at him with such terrifying intensity.

“Oh no!”

A shout—Homura cried out.

He lost his footing on the wet rock base in an instant, sliding and thudding all the way down to where Dr. Ōtone stood.

2

What didn’t sit right was Dr. Ōtone’s demeanor. Just now, when Homura lost his footing and slid down the rock base to land at Dr. Ōtone’s feet in an instant, the doctor was so startled that he froze—but had Homura not slipped down then and instead clung to the cliff while lingering hesitantly, who knows what suspicious move Dr. Ōtone might have made next. Come to think of it, at that moment, the doctor’s right hand had already reached toward his waist and seemed to be reaching for something—perhaps a pistol.

We must acknowledge Detective Homura’s good fortune in sliding down clumsily to Dr. Ōtone’s feet. That’s right—he was none other than the man who called himself Dr. Ōtone, someone not to be let out of one’s sight. Had even that clever Detective Homura still not realized it? They stood in a terrifying cave devoid of allies.

Having once escaped danger, what calamity would now come raining down upon Homura? The thought of it made him unable to remain calm.

“Dr. Ōtone, I was moments away from breaking my hip bone.” “Ah! I’m shocked!”

Dr. Ōtone suddenly put on a forced smile,

“That was a truly dangerous spot, so always watch your step.”

“Ah, thank you very much. Oh, I’m fine now,” said Homura as he stood up beside the doctor, “So, I’d like to ask—exactly which rock was it that the Tower King collided with?”

“Ah, that rock—” Dr. Ōtone mumbled while glancing around shiftily, “Well, that rock—yes, I believe it was that one over there.”

When they looked where Dr. Ōtone pointed, right before where the two stood there was a flat, island-like rock surrounded by swirling seawater. 3

When Dr. Ōtone pointed out that the rock where the Tower King had collided was that one, Homura looked and saw that it was a small island-like reef surrounded by a fearsome tidal current.

“Ah, that one? “That’s a terrifying rock.” “After the Tower King’s body struck that rock, whereabouts did it bounce off to?” Detective Homura asked nonchalantly.

“Hmm, no—it’s over this way. It’s to the left of that reef.”

Detective Homura felt something was off upon hearing this. If the Tower King’s body had fallen from a crevice in the rock and struck the reef visible before them, then rebounded and been swept into the tidal current, it should have inevitably landed beyond the reef. That it had fallen to the left was truly a strange thing indeed.

Next, Homura asked Dr. Ōtone to lend him the fish oil lamp. Then he shone it on the reef. In Homura's reasoning, when the Tower King had struck his body against the reef, he must have bled—he thought. He hoped that blood would be found.

However, strangely enough, nothing resembling blood could be seen on the reef. Nor did it appear the tide had washed it away. Homura tilted his head slightly. (Hmm... This is strange!) He considered posing his myriad questions to Dr. Ōtone. —But wait!