Tezuka gets information from his brother that the Media Betterment Act agents will only fight at the art exhibition for a single day, which helps the Library Corps prepare for the assault. Three hours before the exhibition opens, MBA task force units comes crashing in and the defense force holds them back even after the MBA agents try to storm the barricade with full force. Their aggression forces LDF soldiers and officers to kill them as they would be killed. Shortly after MBA personnel retreat after Kasahara angrily fires at them, a single agent shoots Genda as he stands in front of the piece of art work the Library Corps was defending before unarmed LDF soldiers apprehend the renegade MBA agent. At the same time, the head of the Ibaraki library Commander Sugawara tries to destroy some implicating evidence against her. When Dojo attempts to interfere, he gets shot in the arm and caught in the resulting fire as Kasahara looks on after detaining the head librarian.
展示作品『自由』を巡り、混迷する茨城県展。闘いを前に、郁は基地の片隅に堂上を誘う。初の実戦への決意を語る郁に、堂上は意外な言葉をかける。日野・小田原をしのぐ激闘――、そのさなか、堂上が……!?
