The next morning, Hirokazu finds that his brother has been hit by a bomb, but he is still alive. He tells his father that he has barely a scratch, thanks to his brother's heroism. He asks the captain of company 2 of the special fire force if he can go investigate the "nether" and find out what's going on with the white-clad soldiers hiding there. The captain says he'll do so, as well, and he thanks the other members of the cathedral line for standing guard. He also tells the captain about the donkey, Silburro, who has been suffering from the effects of his experiments with hinawa. He's sad, he says, because he's been turned into a symbol of evil. He says that the donkey is fighting again, and that the imperial army has asked him to help them. He doesn't know what to do, since the part of the letter that says they can't help is written at the end of the chapter. He decides to go back into the army.