[Boom!]
The deafening crash instantly echoed through the entire Tower.
The air force officers and generals, moving about inside and outside the tower, all froze when they heard the commotion from above.
First came a moment of surprise, then helpless headshakes and wry smiles.
It seemed that yet again, someone—or something—had provoked General Golden Lion.
Inside the office, Budo silently watched as the newly replaced desk was smashed to pieces under Shiki's fist.
"Damn it, I'm furious!"
"All I did was kill a few useless trash, and they come after me for it!"
Shiki could no longer hold back the fire in his chest and roared in rage.
"General, just now Minister Kong seemed to mention that the operation the day after tomorrow will proceed as planned?"
Budo glanced at the seething Shiki and finally spoke.
"Hm?"
Shiki suddenly froze. His overheated head quickly cooled.
Just now, he had been so focused on Kong's insults that he hadn't paid attention to anything else.
Throughout the entire exchange, he had been struggling to suppress his anger, so he really hadn't noticed that the other party had said this.
"Uh… did that bastard actually say that?" Shiki looked at his adjutant in surprise.
"Yes, indeed. It seems the World Government has already resolved the issue of 'Opening the Gate.' The only question is—did they recapture Louise, or did they use some other method?"
Budo lowered his head, falling into a thoughtful pose—unaware that Shiki's expression had suddenly changed.
For in that moment, Shiki thought of the true ruler of the World Government.
If that person truly had the power to autonomously open one Dimensional Gate after another…
It meant their mastery over time and space was so profound as to defy imagination. Which also meant—they should be capable of opening the Gate of World.
Before, there had been no need for him to act personally, since Louise was available.
But now that something had gone wrong, it was necessary.
"Never mind how they solved it. As long as everything proceeds as planned, all the better."
Shiki waved his hand, shouting.
"Transmit my order at once: General Pershing of the auxiliar army is to conduct one final comprehensive inspection. The day after tomorrow, at 02:00 hours sharp, we march into the 'Nuclear Weapons World.' Within two hours, Yokosuka Port must be secured, and by sunrise, Tokyo must be occupied!"
"Yes, General!"
Budo rose to receive the order, then quickly turned and strode out of the room.
...
Special Region World.
Alnus Hill lay devastated, strewn with corpses.
Looking out across the land, there was nothing but craters large and small, charred severed limbs scattered across the ground.
With the annihilation of the Empire's royal armies—tens of thousands strong—the battle came to an end.
On the side of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, casualties were zero.
West edge of the Koan Forest.
Originally, the four who had been tracking Louise's group were forced to halt their pursuit.
Their expressions grew wary as they fixed their eyes on the figure blocking their path.
From the ground upward: red high-heeled shoes, black suspenders holding up silk stockings, a black-and-red short gothic dress, and a head of long, jet-black hair flowing to her waist, tied with a crimson ribbon.
It was a girl who looked like she had stepped out of a gothic-style painting, her body wreathed by a flock of crows.
Though her height was scarcely 1.6 meters, she held one-handed a halberd-axe more than 2 meters long.
The weapon clearly was no ordinary tool.
Its axe blade stretched nearly a meter, silver-white, etched with twisted violet patterns. Two crimson-purple serpentine bodies wound around the upper and lower ends of the shaft. By every measure, it exuded a sinister, ominous aura.
Captain Gekko and the others knew at once this was no friendly encounter.
The girl opened her mouth to speak—but they couldn't understand a word.
She too quickly realized that communication was impossible, and a troubled, helpless look crossed her face.
The next second—
She hefted the massive halberd-axe, far larger than her own frame, and lunged in sudden assault.
The sharp crack of air being split erupted at once.
The ground where she had just stood shattered under the force.
The enormous axe blade cleaved through the air, carrying a faint violet glow and terrifying strength, and came crashing down toward Captain Gekko and the others.
[Boom!!!]
Dust surged, the earth split, and an explosion-like roar filled the air.
"This power… it's no weaker than Tsunade-sama's monstrous strength," Captain Gekko muttered as he slipped clear just in time.
By now, they had already split into three groups, encircling the gothic girl at the center.
Though the two sides could not communicate, since she had struck first, they had no choice but to subdue her.
No orders were necessary this time.
As captain, Gekko was the first to draw the long blade from his back.
[Slash!]
With lightning-fast speed, he flashed forward, blade angling straight for her face.
But her skill was formidable. She swung her halberd sideways to block the strike, then spun the shaft, bringing the axe edge sweeping toward Captain Gekko's waist.
He evaded with agile movement, blade tracing along the weapon's shaft, ready to slice through her fingers.
The girl released her grip at once, then raised the weapon's butt end with her other hand, its gleaming tip thrusting straight for Captain Gekko's throat.
But when the point struck, there was no sensation—no impact.
Her face changed, realizing he had used some kind of phantom technique.
At that instant, Captain Gekko appeared behind her, blade slashing down at her right wrist that held the weapon.
[Zzzzzzzzzzzz—]
But just then, the halberd's whirling blade began to flare with streaks of violet lightning.
The violet lightning struck the ground, blasting the rocks apart, forcing Captain Gekko to leap back, narrowly avoiding the bolts.
At that very instant, a fireball came hurtling in from the other side, striking the gothic girl surrounded by countless arcs of lightning.
[Boom!!]
An explosion erupted, searing flames and crackling violet lightning entwining together, forming a violent shockwave that swept across the field.
"Why would you use a Great Fireball? We need her alive for information!"
The heat washed over Captain Gekko's face, and his expression darkened.
"Captain, look at her—there's no way this woman can be taken down so easily."
The Uchiha shinobi, his three-tomoe Sharingan fixed on the dense smoke in the center, answered Captain Gekko's rebuke in a low, steady voice.
"She can use magic!"
Captain Gekko frowned at that.
"What powerful flame magic!
"If I hadn't already released my lightning, the defensive spell on my body would've drained at least half my mana."
Rory Mercury casually swung her halberd, conjuring a gust that blew the surrounding smoke away.
At the same time, she curiously studied the Sharingan spinning in the Uchiha shinobi's eyes.
This time, she had come under the oracle of her patron deity—Emroy, the God of Darkness, Death, Judgment, Frenzy, and War—sent to investigate the otherworldly intruders.
She had originally intended to head straight for Alnus Hill, where the "Gate" stood, but on the way she had spotted these four strangely dressed outsiders.
Especially when they ran—the speed they displayed was in no way inferior to that of a demigod like herself.
"Captain, her body is covered in a layer of energy—like spiritual force. It must be mana. The level is extremely high; my ocular power can't break through it."
The tomoe in the Uchiha shinobi's eyes slowly spun as he quietly reported to Captain Gekko.
"Mana defense?"
Captain Gekko raised a brow. The mages of the Zero-Magic World had nothing like that.
"Looks like we'll have to break through that barrier first before we can restrain her."
"Natsuo, you're with me. Yōsuke, find an opening on your own!"
"Yes!"
The next moment—
Uchiha Natsuo, twin kunai in hand, and Captain Gekko, long blade drawn, charged Rory Mercury together.
"Heh… good. Come, show me what else you've got!"
Rory Mercury licked her crimson lips with a playful tongue, eyes brimming with battle lust and excitement.
Her halberd suddenly trembled, and she rushed forward to meet Uchiha Natsuo head-on.
In an instant, the three were locked in furious melee.
The ringing clash of steel resounded without pause, sparks flashing with every strike.
And each time magic or ninjutsu was unleashed, the battlefield was filled with sweeping gales, roaring flames, crackling lightning, and the thunderous blasts of their collisions.
From the very beginning, the battle was fierce beyond measure.
"So strong… both of them are so strong!"
Even Rory Mercury, with centuries of battle experience and the immense power of a demigod, at this moment felt an unprecedented pressure.
She was supposed to be the strongest among all the demigods.
Yet no matter how she swung the halberd-scythe in her hands, shimmering with violet light, no matter how she unleashed magic lightning strong enough to obliterate anything, she could not take down these two strange men.
Their abilities resembled magic, yet clearly were not.
What's more, their close-combat skills were formidable—especially the one with the sword.
"No… I don't think I can beat them."
Rory Mercury had always believed she loved battle, loved slaughter.
It brought her joy—ecstasy in offering up the souls of the dead through her body as sacrifices to her god.
That sensation was like a potent narcotic, sending her body into a frenzy of ecstatic release.
But now, she was far from pleased.
Not because she feared death—for a demigod could not truly die.
What she hated was this predicament: unable to overpower her foes, and with the very real chance of being captured alive.
For an apostle of the Dark God to be defeated and taken prisoner by mere humans—such disgrace was unbearable.
And so, Rory Mercury was already thinking of retreat.
There were still two others nearby.
If they joined the fight, she surely wouldn't last long.
But the problem was—how to escape?
Perhaps by divine providence, just as the defensive spell around her body began to flicker red, showing it was about to break…
A vast shadow suddenly fell over them, along with a violent gale of wind.
"Roooaaar!!"
Rory Mercury, Captain Gekko, Uchiha Natsuo, Hyūga Takeshi, and Yamanaka Yōsuke instinctively looked upward.
And there they saw it—in the sky, a colossal dragon, its body covered in crimson scales, its head crowned with several sharp horns, and its wings outstretched wide.
Its sheer size rivaled that of an adult Giant on the Starfish World, standing easily 20 to 30 meters tall.
"A dragon this huge?!"
Captain Gekko, Uchiha Natsuo, and the others stared in shock.
They had thought the dragons of this world were no more than the winged beasts used by the Empire's armies.
Even the dragons of the Zero-Magic World weren't that large—most could barely carry two people at best.
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