Alex awkwardly scratched his cheek as thirty or so women dressed as shrine maidens prostrated before him, the eldest appearing to be in her twenties, while the youngest of the group appeared as if they were around twelve.
They were about to be completely overrun by Them when he burnt Them to ash, and healed their wounds while reviving those that had just died before their souls could pass on. But, because they were all caretakers and servants of the gods, they now appeared to believe him to either be sent by them, or one of the gods themselves.
Before he could try and explain that he WASN'T a god, one of the group hesitantly raised her head as she asked, "P-pardon my rudeness, but which of the divine are you so that we may properly pay our respects?"
Again, before Alex could try and state otherwise, another of the girls declared, "Are you an idiot!?! He's obviously the God of flames, Kagutsuchi!"
Another then piped up, "when have you ever seen white fire? He's definitely Tsukuyomi, lord of the moon!"
Then began an argument between all of them as they tried to divine Alex's true identity without even giving him a chance to speak, going through the list of Japanese gods one by one with the hopes of getting it right. It was only when one of them tried saying he might be Amaterasu, a goddess instead of a god, that Alex declared irritably,
"Enough!" The shrine maidens immediately ceased their bickering and looked up at him, reverence in their eyes along with the fear that they might have offended the unknown God before them.
"Firstly, I am not any of those gods you mentioned, or even a god, PERIOD!" Alex stated firmly, though he could see that the reverence he was being looked at hadn't lessened in the slightest. Ignoring that, he continued,
"And secondly, I only saved you because a few of my wives are shrine maidens, along with one of my daughters. NOT because of divine intervention, or anything like that." As he said that, Alex canceled the white flames that were flickering atop the majority of his body, revealing his bright red fur and pitch black mane of hair.
Though he was hoping that was the end of it, the girl who had been praying when he arrived, Yua, eagerly declared with stars in her eyes,
"Truly, such a kind and humble God!"
Her words sparked a new wave of comments and praises for Alex as every one of them cooed over how strong, compassionate and humble he was, making him sigh even more in exasperation. He was even almost tempted to show off his devil wings and threaten to ràpe one of them or something just to show them how 'evil' he truly was, but then again it'd probably backfire with them calling his bluff and readily offering their bodies to the 'God' that saved their lives.
"My lord..." The girl who'd spoken before asked him suddenly, drawing Alex's attention back to her as he realized the chatter had died down once again. "Please, grace us with your name, that we might know whom to pay our respects to!"
With the rest of the girls around them echoing her pleas, Alex fought back yet another sigh as he contemplated lying to them, only they would soon learn the truth anyways since he wasn't going to just leave them here to die. So, after only a second of thought, he told them,
"I am Alexander Morningstar, the Dragon Emperor."
For a moment none of the girls said anything as they stared at their savior, before Yua eagerly exclaimed, "So you are like Ryūjin! The divine lord of dragons!"
The moment he heard that, Alex reflexively scoffed and said as if offended on reflex,
"Please. That loser has nothing on me. He may control the Japanese dragons, but I rule ALL of them, eastern, western, and everything in between, including Ryūjin."
Silence met Alex's declaration as the women all stared at him in awe, before one asked, "If you rule Ryūjin, then what about the other gods?"
Alex didn't think as he casually said, since it was common knowledge back home,
"Of course. The Japanese gods don't wield the same amount of authority in the world as the other gods, but they swore fealty to me along with the rest of the eastern gods."
"Wait, so there are other gods? And they're all loyal to you?"
"Yep! Egyptian, Celtic, Norse, Greek, I've even made several nonhuman species swear their loyalty to me aside from dragons, Yuuki-Onna, Dagons, Rabbitmen, Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, Youkai, Saiyans, and even an unusual race known as the Ronso."
"So you truly aren't a god... You're a SUPREME God!"
"Yep! That's ri-wait.....what!?!" Alex exclaimed as he looked back to the gathered women, who were once again prostrating before him in reverence. It was only then that he realized that he'd accidentally revealed TOO much about himself, and now they had the wrong idea....again.
Alex began massaging his temples in frustration when Yua asked him,
"Please, bestow your blessing upon us so that we may survive in this new world! We will forever devote ourselves to the teachings and path of the great Dragon Emperor forevermore!"
With the rest of the girls chiming in their pleas to be blessed by him, Alex was about to flat out refuse when Lauren suddenly said, 'Try it.'
'Excuse me?'
'Try it. You haven't truly blessed someone before, so if you can't then maybe you can convince them you're not a real God.'
'And if I manage to do it?'
'You can worry about that later.'
Though he was worried Lauren was trying to bait him into something, Alex just sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day as he stepped forward and placed his hand upon Yua's head.
The girl glanced up at him with absolute trust and faith in her eyes, making Alex debate using Spirit magic fix whatever was wrong with her head and calling that his blessing. A quick chastisement from Lauren however nipped that idea in the bud, so he instead reached for the divine power within himself.
What was once a small spark after using the power he'd drained from Ehito was now a massive inferno of divine power that Alex could tap into whenever he needed, resulting from the years of work he'd put into nurturing said spark, and the limitless prayers he received on a daily basis. And it had only grown in size after he'd eaten the Nika fruit, which also granted Alex an authority over the sun attribute.
Typically he would only use his divine power when he needed the god attribute or transformations, but this time he tapped into it as he attempted to bless the girl before him.
The second he did so though, a change overcame Alex's mind as his fur turned a brilliant and shining azure blue, while his pitch black mane of hair turned a bright ruby red. Numerous gasps sounded around him as the girls beheld divine power for the first time, though all of Alex and Yua's attention were on one another, as a profound connection formed between them through the contact.
"Do you, Watanabe Yua, swear to serve the Dragon Emperor for the rest of your life?"
"I do." Yua answered truthfully.
"Do you swear to devote yourself, mind, body, and soul to him, for however long you exist?"
"I do!"
"Do you swear to never falter in your belief, and to guide lost lambs into my embrace?"
"I DO!"
Yua cried out with unparalleled fervor, before Alex stated in his godly voice,
"Then be bathed in the power of the Dragon Emperor, and be remade in his image!"
As he declared so, Yua felt the divine power that in contact with her head flood her body, filling her veins as it spread clear to the tips of her fingers, and down to her toes as the impurities of her body were being burned away.
Then, surprising everyone else present, white flames erupted around Yua that engulfed her body, burning away every single impurity on her exterior. Blemishes were wiped clean, scars were erased, and even all of the excess hair on her body was burned away along with her clothes as she was cleansed both inside and out.
And as the flames both engulfed and flowed through her body, Yua could not feel the sting of the burn that one would usually expect. Instead, there was only a pleasurable sensation that was filling her until the point where it felt as if a dam was going to burst.
Suddenly Yua found herself falling backwards into what seemed the most natural pose to be in before her God, naked with her legs spread, and ready to receive him at a moment's notice, as the dam within her burst.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Yua cried out as she experienced her first ever orgasm while everything was bared before her God, allowing him to truly take in the changes to her body.
Her body had not only been purged of the impurities within her as a result of bad diet or illness, but also her skin had been wiped clean of any and all blemishes that didn't add to her beauty, including any hair that wasn't on her brow or the top of her head. Now she was beautiful enough to put even top models of this world to shame with her flawless skin, amazing figure, and silky smooth hair.
But the most eye catching change to Yua wasn't any of the above, but was noticeable when she opened her eyes to reveal that they had turned a brilliant blue that matched Alex's fur, and were ringed by a white flame-like pattern.
Suddenly the flame-like pattern seemed to come alive as white flames sprouted around her once more, except this time under her control as she got to her feet, before kneeling before her God once more.
***
'That went well.'
"I'm not talking to you." Alex said out loud to his internal 'angel', making her snicker in the back of his mind despite him still being peeved about what just happened.
The moment he drew upon his divine power in order to 'bless' the shrine maiden Yua, Alex had entered a trance-like state as he swore her into his service, before granting her a portion of his power while purifying her body. And while the power he'd granted her was akin to a single drop in the proverbial ocean, it had drastically transformed Yua after purifying her, even granting her access to the flames of Nika.
Yua had only been the first though, as every single girl present requested to be blessed as well after seeing her transformation, and the power she had gained from it. And since he couldn't come up with a genuine reason to refuse, Alex ended up blessing every single girl present, despite a few of them being young enough that it made him relatively uncomfortable to do so.
And after carrying out so many blessings in such a short time, Alex learned a few things about them for the future(though he hoped he wouldn't be blessing too many people from now on).
Firstly was that he was able to grant those he blessed a portion of his own abilities, like how Yua received the flames of Nika, but she didn't receive the rest of the abilities associated with the Devil Fruit. He rest of his new shrine maidens had also received various gifts from him through his blessings, such as inborn knowledge of his various weapon skills, or types of magics Alex possessed,
The girl who had used a broom handle to try and protect everyone for example, obtained knowledge on using a staff in combat that put her leagues ahead of other stave users, though she still lacked practical experience. A few of them had also obtained weakened versions of the Age of Gods magics, along with the knowledge of how to use them similarly to if they had conquered the Great Labyrinths.
The two youngest girls however were the most curious, a pair of twins that had just turned twelve, who each obtained a blessing that enhanced their physical abilities, similarly to if they had accepted a Rook Evil Piece. However both Alex and Ddraig could feel the power of a dragon from one of them, while the other would have a shimmering illusionary tail appear when she used the power of her blessing.
Secondly, Alex learned that the blessings he gave out relied on the strength of the faith of those who were receiving them. If they had little to no faith then the blessing wouldn't work, but the shrine maidens didn't have that problem since they all believed in Alex unconditionally after he saved their lives right when they were praying for salvation.
And finally, a sign that every single maiden possessed when they received his blessing was that their eyes would turn a radiant blue that almost seemed to glow, and matched that of his fur when he was in his God form.
After blessing each girl though, Alex then had to create entirely new uniforms for them to wear after their old ones were destroyed in the process of receiving his blessing. Naturally Alex made them new shrine maiden outfits that not only bore his insignia on them, but were also enchanted to protect them from being bitten by the undead.
After that he made weapons for all of those who needed them, as well as other types of artifacts that would help those who didn't use weapons.
When all was said and done, Alex had spent significantly more time with the group than he originally intended to, and when he finally finished blessing and arming them, he sent them through a portal that led directly to the Takagi estate. Even with his blessing none of them were experienced enough in combat to make their way there on their own, but they all swore to begin practicing as soon as possible so as not to be a burden to him.
Afterwards he had speed-ran looting Kyoto with the magic compass and skeleton key, and was now flying to check in on Rika and Shizuka.
The duo had been giving Alex regular updates as they made their way to the Takagi estate themselves. Well.... Rika was giving him updates, Shizuka was mostly playing with the camera function of the Chatroom.
She had been posting pictures of anything that had caught her eye as they traveled, the sun glittering on the ocean as it rose, Rika's ass in her lacy black thong, funny situations they found Them in as they traveled, upskirt shots of the girls when they had been available(which was apparently quite a bit), animals like birds and dogs that They weren't interested in, and finally a picture Shizuka took of her own massive titties, 'in case he forgot what they looked like'.
In all he was being kept fairly well up to date on them as they made their way to the Takagi estate, so Alex also knew where they were right now as he zeroed in on their location. And as if it had been planned, Alex also happened to receive a new photo from Shizuka that showed Rika in quite the promiscuous position.
"Well that settles that." Alex said to himself, speeding up so that he was shattering the sound barrier as he headed to their location.
Within seconds he had arrived in front of a love hotel neighboring the city where the Takagi estate was, which was also where Rika's group decided to stay for the night. It had plenty of rooms, beds, and had twelve floors for them to take shelter and fortify if They managed to get in.
It was also a place that wasn't likely to be targeted by looters and other people seeking shelter since there weren't any provisions or weapons, unless dildos and vibrators counted. And Alex seriously doubted they would unless the members of his harem were wielding them.
Getting past the barricade was a cakewalk for Alex with Spatial magic, which allowed him to appeared within the lobby where a group of the men he had hired were keeping watch.
"What the- BOSS!" One of them exclaimed when they noticed his presence, and immediately every one of them stood up straighter.
"At ease. I'm just here to discuss some things with Rika." Alex said without giving any of them a backwards glance, as he stepped onto the elevator and pushed the bottom that would take him to the top floor.
It was the floor Rika designated for the women to give them privacy from the men, as 'tensions' were always heightened in apocalyptic scenarios, while the men were on the next floor down.
Alex of course didn't care as he stepped off the elevator to behold what could only be considered the penthouse of sex rooms. A wide open room that had windows on all sides to give the users a view of the city, a fully stocked bar, a massive in floor bath/hot tub, a balcony, a few sofas, and a massive bed with a canopy flowing around it.
Naturally Alex only gave the room a brief glance, before his gaze focused on the few dozen women that were either completely naked, or almost entirely naked as they walked around, bathed, or otherwise relaxed after a day of traveling and fighting.
"Did I walk into a porno or what?" Alex asked out loud, drawing every eye in the room to him as his shorts disappeared, leaving him naked as well.
"""KYAAAAAAAAA!!!!"""
Several of the girls screamed as they saw Alex standing there, or perhaps they screamed when they saw what was between his legs. Alex wasn't sure.
But the females officers that Alex had been in the shower with when he first met Rika smiled widely when they saw him there, while Rika and Shizuka themselves both appeared more elated than anyone.
"Alex!" Shizuka cried out as she rushed him, her massive and bare tits bouncing wildly with each bound until they ended up squishing into his face. Alex's hands naturally gravitated to Shizuka's ass as he held her up, making her squeal excitedly before she sensually whispered to him,
"You naughty boy~"
Alex just snorted into her breasts at the provocation as he tightened his grip on her ass, lifting Shizuka up until her ass was higher than the head of his cock, and holding her there for just a second to allow everyone present to see what he was doing. Shizuka only realized when she felt the head of Alex's cock rubbing against her slit, but by then it was too late as Alex slammed her down his entire length at once.
"...!!!..."
Shizuka couldn't even gasp or scream out a single sound as she was impaled on Alex's cock, making those who were watching think she was in genuine pain until she began to shudder somewhat, and gasped quietly,
"I came..."
Everyone gaped at Shizuka in awe at that, with numerous questions flooding their minds at the same time, even as Alex simply began to move her up and down his shaft as if it were natural.
The entire time a certain tanned sniper woman was watching the show from the giant bed in the middle of the penthouse, a hungry look in her eye as she watched her best friend being turned into a piece of meat.
Her gaze didn't go unnoticed of course, as Alex slowly made his way towards her while fucking Shizuka, who was keeping her breasts smashing into his face with her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Anyone left in here after these two get their turn is gonna be fair game. This is your only warning, and last chance to leave." As he said that Alex moved Shizuka down one last time, pressing the head of his cock against the entrance to her womb as he released a torrent of semen deep within her.
"Oh my god! It's so HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!" Shizuka cried out as her entire body seized up, with her back arching so far that Alex's face was free for the first time.
The climax of Alex and Shizuka seemed to last forever to the spectators, before the tension slowly left her body as he gently placed her on the bed. Alex then stood up straight as he turned towards Rika.
"Ready?" He asked with a smirk, prompting the tan-skinned women to turn over so that she was on her stomach as she reached back to spread her ass cheeks.
"Just make me your bitch already!" Rika demanded eagerly, making Alex's smirk widen as he decided to do just that.
Copying what he'd done to Saeko the night before, a second cock appeared just below the first as he crawled up onto the bed and approached Rika. As Alex did that an exhausted Shizuka struggled to turn herself over so she could watch was about to happen to her friend, despite the steady stream of semen oozing out of her pussy.
While everyone else watching saw the second cock appear, and were dumbfounded by it, Rika still had no idea until she felt both of them press against her cunt lips and shit-pipe.
"What the-OHMYGOD!!!!!!!!!" Rika screamed as Alex plunged both of them into her tight holes, filling her completely as he went balls deep into her womb and bowels.
"Ng..." Alex groaned as, even after using the technique on Saeko and several of the more 'extreme' women of the group the night before, he was still getting used to feeling the stimulation coming from both holes at once.
But, unlike what he did with Saeko, Alex didn't bother letting Rika slowly get used to the sensation of having his cocks in both of her holes. Instead he quickly began to piston in and out of her with a rapidly increasing pace.
While Alex quickly brought himself to the brink of climax, only holding out through sheer willpower, Rika had practically been turned into mush as she came over and over again. And that had been before Alex started spanking her ass, making both of her already tight holes tighten as they squeezed and squirmed around him each time his hand impacted her asscheeks.
With the extra stimulation even Alex's will couldn't last, as he thrusted into Rika one last time while letting out a grunt, and filled both her bowels and womb with his burning hot seed.
"Y-YOU'RE BREEDING ME!!!!!" Rika cried out as she felt the hot fluid filling her, before her consciousness mostly faded as she passed out.
And as she did so Alex gently pulled out of her holes, making the unconscious Rika groan lightly from the sensation, before he turned to ask who was next. Before he could say anything, the recovered Shizuka suddenly clung to his side as she pressed her destructive weapons onto his arm and asked,
"I'm next for that, right?!" Pointing to his two dicks as she asked that, stars in her eyes, Alex just smirked as he said,
"Whatever you want, my naughty nurse." Pinning her to the bed under him, Alex readily gave Shizuka what she wanted as he filled both of her holes to the brim, making her more incoherent than Rika had been moments prior.
That had only been the beginning of the debauchery as Alex readily fucked all of the women present in the penthouse throughout the remainder of the night, though Rika and Shizuka demanded the majority of his attention once they recovered from their previous fucking.
By the time the sun began to rise in the morning though, they were well and truly worn out to the point that Alex had to use magic to help them recover, otherwise they wouldn't be able to continue traveling to the Takagi estate. Speaking of, it was the third day of the apocalypse, so that meant it was time for them to finally travel there themselves.
(A.N. For those who keep suggesting to use them, Alex condemned Goku and them for using the Dragon Balls as resurrection devices. Yes, he technically can bring back more or less anyone he wants with them, but he's not going to unless it's absolutely necessary.
If someone like Saeko wants to collect them herself to bring back her father, or Lucy her own parents, then Alex wouldn't mind about them doing so. But he's not going to just hand them over to every single person who lost someone.)
Comments ReportChapter 501: Resolution Among the DeadTakagi Souichiro was having a VERY annoying day.
Surprisingly enough it wasn't the actual apocalypse that was bugging him.
As one of the first people in Japan to learn of the impending apocalypse, Souichiro had begun making preparations to endure the tidal wave of infected dead instead of fleeing them. Water, power, defenses, and rescuing civilians, he had the men loyal to him jump on these different tasks immediately after determining who he still had under him.
With his wife, Yuriko, supporting him, Souichiro had quickly organized a base around their estate where hundreds of civilians and military personnel could live without fear of infection. But then he'd received something that neither he nor his wife expected, a message from their daughter, Saya.
Saya's message stated that she had known about the impending apocalypse since the date roughly a week prior, which both parents recalled the sudden shift in her demeanor as Saya became interested in using firearms. And though neither knew what caused the shift, both her mother and her father had been more than happy to ensure she had the best schooling in using firearms possible.
According to her message she had spent the week she'd known about the impending apocalypse preparing everything she could, gathering firearms, supplies, and drawing up numerous plans to defend against the infected. Plans Souichiro readily put into effect to safeguard his estate, while he'd had his men collect the supplies she had stored away for them.
And even after they'd secured water, power, and the supplies needed to maintain themselves, Souichiro had established a series of strict, but definitely necessary rules to ensure the infection didn't infiltrate them.
Any time a person was brought onto the estate they had to strip before a doctor to prove they didn't have any bites or scratches, before having their temperature taken since they had learned that the infected ran at impossibly high temperatures. This rule applied to newcomers, and those returning from any patrols or missions that involved an encounter with the infected.
They also had rations in place for necessities such as food and water, communal tents that their refugees had to stay in, and daily duties for every one of them to perform. On top of that Souichiro had also stated numerous times that no mercy was to be spared for the infected, even going as far as shooting a man in the head before he could turn once it was apparent that he had been bitten.
That was where the problems began.
Because of their rapid response to the epidemic there were numerous people being housed on the estate that hadn't seen the horrors of the infected firsthand. Among them were a number of people who were trying to turn the rest against him by forming committees and organizing to show their discontent, as if such things would work anymore.
In their minds the infected were simply people who had contracted a virus, and needed to be treated. His stance of executing them on site had made the majority of the people uncomfortable, and prompt them to label him as a murderer and extremist, while several even tried saying he would be arrested and possibly given the death penalty for his crimes once things were back to 'normal'.
Souichiro had actually been torn between laughing out loud and swearing up a storm when he'd heard that. How delusional could these people be?
But that paled in comparison to the biggest headache he had been dealing with today.
At some point in the middle of the night, a group of thirty women had mysteriously appeared in the middle of his estate, somehow bypassing a couple hundred trained military personnel.
The women ranged from their twenties to a pair of twins that were twelve, all of which were dressed as shrine maidens. As if that hadn't been weird enough though, every single one also possessed piercing blue eyes that almost seemed to glow, and swore up and down they'd been brought there by the supreme God Alexander Morningstar, the Dragon Emperor.
Souichiro was a traditionalist. He may not be particularly religious, but he did know of and respected the gods. And while he did know of Ryūjin, the lord of dragons, he'd never heard of someone called Alexander Morningstar.
Unfortunately though, the shrine maidens were completely devoted to him. Not only had they 'claimed' a hill on his land that granted them the most morning sunlight, but they were also in the process of building him a shrine on the hill.
And as if that weren't bad enough, those who weren't actively building were preaching the greatness of the Dragon Emperor to the rest of the refugees, singing songs of his strength and role as the supreme God who ruled over all. And worst of all, several of the people were LISTENING.
With the world they knew literally ending around them, many of those who had seen what it was coming to firsthand readily leapt into the arms of the shrine maidens, and pledged their faith in the so-called Dragon Emperor.
Souichiro didn't need religious fanatics, he needed people that could help him preserve what little existed of society that was left, even if they had to adapt to an entirely new world.
That was why when the sun began to set, Souichiro was more than ready to retire for the night in the comfort of his wife's embrace. Only, as he tried to do just that, one of his men atop the manor cried out,
"Sir! something is rapidly approaching us!"
"A vehicle?" Souichiro asked back, wondering what could be approaching that was THAT shocking. Even a fleet of tanks wouldn't be a surprise anymore.
"I-I don't know!" The man cried back, leading to Souichiro personally going to see what was causing the commotion.
The moment he got to the top of the manor though, Souichiro was stunned to see a trail of destruction following a vehicle that appeared to be a completely ordinary humvee, but was plowing THROUGH any building unfortunate enough to be in its way. And following the vehicle...
"Mobilize the men NOW! This is not a drill!" Souichiro cried out as he ran for the stairs to join the men.
For the first time he began to truly panic as a horde of thousands of infected followed the vehicle in the wake of its destruction, and it led them right to his estate.
"BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"
Souichiro cried out as he rushed to the front lines where the infected would flood in, dozens of soldiers joining him as he did so, along with his wife.
"What is it?!" She demanded as they ran.
"Some kind of vehicle is smashing its way through everything in its path. It's headed straight here, and there's the largest horde I've ever seen following the carnage." Yuriko's expression darkened when she heard that, and she felt to ensure her favorite gun was strapped securely to her leg as she prepared to meet her end alongside her husband.
Word rapidly spread throughout the estate that something was headed their way, and was bringing a horde of infected with it as men and women willing to fight gathered at the front gate of the estate. Their final true defense.
"What is this?" Souichiro asked irritably when he saw not only the people protesting his way of doing things, but also the fanatic shrine maidens as they fell to their knees in reverence.
"He approaches!"
"Our lord!"
"The Dragon Emperor!"
Souichiro became confused when he heard their comments, as why would they consider their impending doom to be the god they worshipped?
Deciding not to worry about how a lunatic's mind worked, he turned his attention towards protecting the state.
"MEN! OPEN THE GATES AND BRING THE HEAVY WEAPONRY SO WE CAN DESTROY WHATEVER IT IS THATS LEADING THE INFECTED HERE, ALONG WITH AS MANY OF THE INFECTED AS POSSIBLE!"
While the men who had been awaiting his orders jumped to follow them, the group that had been organizing the dissenters snapped back at him,
"Hold it right there! We're not going to just stand by and watch as you murder any more innocent people! Just because they have a condition, doesn't give you the right to kill them as you please!"
Souichiro glowered at the woman who spoke, making her shrink back instinctively, before the man beside her stated,
"Stop it! We will not cower before your intimidation tactics! It is those who need to hide behind such tactics, instead of relying on logic and reasoning, that are the real cowards!"
"Do you actually believe the shit you're spewing?" Souichiro growled at the man as he fought the urge to use his katana to cut him down then and there.
Whatever the man was about to say in response was lost though, as Souichiro's men returned with the artillery cannons, pushing him and the others out of the way as they prepared it for firing.
"AIM ALL CANNONS ON THE VEHICLE!" Souichiro ordered as everything was put into placed and prepped for firing.
"Cannons ready!"
"FIRE!"
*BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!*
As one, the four artillery cannons boomed as they fired directly at the vehicle itself.
*KABOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!*
"DIRECT HIT!" One of the men cried out as the vehicle was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and dust.
"RELOAD!" Souichiro cried, intending to fire the next round at the crowd of infected, only for the vehicle to exit the smoke cloud completely unscathed.
"How...?" One of the men uttered in disbelief.
"FIRE AGAIN!" Souichiro cried out, as if unfazed by the lack of damage the vehicle had taken.
The artillery cannons roared once more as they all fired upon the vehicle bearing down on them, all getting a second direct hit, but doing no visible damage.
"AGAIN!"
"AGAIN!"
"AGAIN!"
Over and over again they fired upon the approaching vehicle as it inched ever closer, and again and again they did no notable damage to it right up until it was nearly upon them.
"MEN, READY YOURSELVES!" Souichiro declared as he drew his katana to prepare for battle. Around him others prepared as well as they drew their own weapons, and even Yuriko flared her dress to reveal the weapons strapped to her thighs, which she readily drew and handled with experience.
"Yuriko, you are a fine woman!" Souichiro exclaimed as he prepared to meet his presumed end, while his wife replied,
"You too Souichiro. I couldn't have asked for a better husband..."
The couple looked to each other for a brief second, their eyes filled with love and the years they'd spent together, before they both turned back to thing they believed would end them. And as they did so the vehicle, which Souichiro had noticed so far back to start with, was nearly onto them as they prepared to face it.
The couple were right in the path of the vehicle as it charged towards them, but neither made to move. Being flattened by the vehicle? Eaten alive by the thousands of infected following it? It made no difference.
They were all going to die.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Souichiro cried out as he prepared to face the thing that had destroyed their defenses, was understory able, and ensured their annihilation.
*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!*
The vehicle suddenly cried out as it started skidding across the asphalt, tearing it up as it slowly slid to a stop right in front of Souichiro and Yuriko.
"..."
No one said anything as they tried to register what happened.
The thing they believed was their harbinger of doom had stopped right before them, allowing them to truly get a good look at it for the first time. It's windows were so dark they were impossible to see through, and there wasn't even a scratch along the pristine surface of its body from the numerous rounds of cannon fire it had taken.
Just as the confusion regarding the vehicle had reached an all-time high, a door opened on the side that was facing the couple, making them blink in surprise, and wariness.
"Wow! Do you greet all your guests with such hostility? It'd make someone think you didn't want anyone to visit!" Exclaimed the man that stepped out from the open door, a hulking beast of a man that appeared to be covered in bright red fur, matching rings around his eyes, and a flowing mane of pitch black hair.
Naturally no one knew how to react to the man's presence, with a silence stretching that was broken only by the groaning of the oncoming infected.
"Mom! Dad!" A high pitched voice suddenly cried out, drawing everyone's attention to the next figure to exit the vehicle, one that the majority of those who were gathered were familiar with.
""Saya!!!"" Both Yuriko and Souichiro exclaimed when they saw their daughter, alive and well.
"How...?"
"Why...?"
They asked her while checking over her for any injuries or other signs of potential infection.
"I think we can save the questions for the time being. We're about to have company." The hulking man said as he turned towards the advancing hordes.
"Right! Men, FIRE!" Souichiro declared as he recalled the thousands of infected bearing down on them, now that the vehicle was apparently no longer a threat. But before anyone could pull a single trigger, the man declared,
"That won't be necessary. I can clean up my own mess, thank you very much!" As he said that the man did something that stunned those who were watching, as he slowly rose up into the air above them.
"Impossible..." The woman who had been criticizing Souichiro earlier exclaimed, before the man extended his hand forward, and produced a small ball of flames seemingly out of nothing.
Then, before anyone could say anything, the small fireball turned into a raging inferno that shot out to envelope all of the infected that were bearing down on them, all while radiating such heat that the surrounding buildings that hadn't been knocked down even began to melt.
The group watched in amazement as the infected that spelt their doom was instantly dealt with, being reduced to a state where not even ashes were left within seconds. But the man didn't stop there.
After there were no more infected bearing down on them, the man produced several more fireballs around him, before they were suddenly shooting at the buildings and districts surrounding the Takagi estate.
The sound of numerous deafening explosions rang out as the man destroyed everything surrounding the estate, reducing it to a raging sea of fire.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" Souichiro demanded angrily, as ALL of their defenses were destroyed in the infernos as well, leaving them essentially naked when the flames died down....if they didn't consume THEM as well.
"Father! Trust Alex, he knows what he's doing!" Saya exclaimed as she grabbed onto his arm, shocking Souichiro as he looked down at her.
"Alex?" He uttered quietly, before turning his attention to the shrine maidens who had also gathered there earlier, all of whom were on their knees as they stared up at the figure floating above them, reverence in their eyes.
A feeling of foreboding welled up within Souichiro, but before he could say or do anything regarding it, he realized the infernos around them were rapidly dying down, leaving a charred and barren landscape in their wake. But the mysterious man, Alex, didn't stop there.
The moment the land was cleared he started doing something else, projecting glowing circles from his hands that made Souichiro even more confused, before the land itself began to move seemingly to his whim.
Materials appeared of thin air to accompany the twisting and churning landscape as it all joined together to create what appeared to be numerous buildings, all of which appeared to be something straight out of a movie about medieval Europe. Surrounding all of them was an impossibly tall and thick wall that seemed to be made of stone, which would be more than sufficient to keep the infected from infiltrating the perimeter.
And finally to top it all off, from the wall a massive done of light that shimmered with the same glowing circles that Alex was producing came to life, enveloping all of them before slowly fading, though Souichiro could swear he still saw the air shimmering slightly.
When all of this was done, Alex finally began to slowly drift back down to earth, looking no worse for the wear after the impossible feats he had just performed. And while Souichiro wanted to demand some answers from him, he was cut off as Alex suddenly stated in a voice everyone could hear,
"Greetings! I am Alexander Morningstar, the Dragon Emperor!" His introduction sent waves of muttering through the group, as everyone had heard that name by now from the fanatic shrine maidens that were with them even now, praying to the one they considered a god.
Ignoring the commotion he was causing though, Alex walked straight up to Yuriko and Souichiro, and continued while holding out his hand to shake,
"Alternatively, I'm also the man who's fucking your daughter."