Chapter 60
The air reeked of burning metal and scorched asphalt. Takeda's district was no longer recognizable buildings were crumbling, the sky was stained crimson from the mana leaking out of the colossal gate, and the ground trembled beneath the weight of dragons.
Seraphine stood at the center of it all, towering over her pack of dragons like a queen over her court. Her white hair fluttered in the mana-charged wind, her blood-red eyes glowing with amusement.
Takeda stood opposite her, coat whipping in the gale, his expression unreadable. Beside him, Renji's golden aura burned hot, and Hiroto spun his twin daggers in his hands, lips curled into a feral grin despite the blood running down his cheek.
Takeda (calmly): "Renji. Hiroto. Flank her. Keep her busy. I'll handle the head-on assault."
Renji's jaw tightened.
Renji: "She's faster than me. If I go in carelessly—"
Takeda: "Then don't be careless. Learn her rhythm. Hiroto, cover him."
Hiroto (grinning): "Tch, you got it, old man."
The moment Takeda took a step forward, Seraphine tilted her head, lips curving into a smile that was all fangs.
Seraphine: "Oh? The little king gives orders. How adorable."
She blurred.
One moment she was standing there, the next she was a white streak ripping through the air. Genzo barely had time to react before she appeared in front of him and slammed her fist into his face.
Genzo screamed : Again!!!
The impact sounded like a cannon blast.
Genzo's body was flung backward, smashing through a half-collapsed wall. Dust and smoke billowed around him.
Renji (shouting): Hiroto -san
Hiroto: YES
But there was no time to rush to him Seraphine had already turned her attention to Renji.
She appeared before him in less than a blink. Renji saw the attack coming, but his body refused to keep up. He raised his arm just in time to block, but the force of her kick sent him skidding back across the ground, his boots carving trenches in the dirt.
Hiroto came from the side, a dagger flashing for her neck. She caught his wrist mid-swing, her nails brushing against his throat.
Seraphine (smiling): "Pathetic
She lifted him by the throat effortlessly.
Hiroto (struggling): "Damn you—!"
Before she could drive her hand through his chest, Takeda was there.
He didn't shout. He didn't waste time. He simply moved, his fist snapping forward with enough force to warp the air around it.
Seraphine's eyes widened as the punch connected with her cheek, sending her sliding back several meters. She landed gracefully, the snow cracking under her boots, then licked the blood from her lip and smiled.
Seraphine: "Oooh… not bad."
You are stronger than the others
No-- she looked closely judging takeda mana surge
Interesting almost at my level for a human it's still impressive
Takeda's expression didn't change.
Seraphine: Among the 5 generals I'm the strongest
Takeda: so there are more of you
Seraphine: MORE!!!!!!! WE ARE A WHOLE ARMYYYYY
Suddenly she moved with blinding speed, looking to catch hiroto off guard but takeda was faster intercepting the attack before she could reach him
Then Boom !! Another kick to her torso that sent her flying back
Renji couldn't be more amazed
Takeda: "Renji. Hiroto. Stay sharp. She's playing with you."
The dragons behind her roared and surged forward, scattering into the streets, setting buildings ablaze. Genzo erupted from the rubble, his body wreathed in fire.
Genzo (snarling): "Not on my watch."
With his sorcery.....
A pillar of fire shot skyward hundreds of arrows sweeping across the street and incinerating the first wave of dragons before they could reach Choji and Lily.
Genzo roared out !!!!!!
Hundreds of giants arrows clouded with sorcery magic wiping out the dragons in one swoop
Renji couldn't be more amazed so this is the power of an SS rank mage
Renji's golden aura flared
Then I shouldn't hold back myself
Renji (gritting his teeth): "If she's playing, then I'll make her get serious!"
He launched himself forward, the ground exploding under his feet. The shockwave blew loose snow and debris in every direction. In a blur, he appeared behind one of the dragons, his blade cleaving clean through its torso.
Before the corpse hit the ground, he was already moving again, a golden streak carving through the battlefield.
Hiroto smirked.
Hiroto: "Show-off."
Then he leapt into the fray, daggers spinning, carving through the neck of another dragon with surgical precision.
Seraphine watched them with interest, her crimson eyes glowing.
Seraphine (amused): "So the little cub has claws after all. Interesting…"
Then she disappeared again — this time reappearing right in front of Renji mid-strike.
He barely had time to register her presence before she drove her knee into his gut. The impact forced blood from his mouth and sent him flying through the air.
Hiroto (shouting): "Renji!"
Hiroto charged her again, daggers flashing, but she caught both blades between her fingers and yanked him forward, driving her forehead into his skull with a sickening crack.
Takeda was there again, this time unleashing a flurry of blows so fast they blurred into streaks of motion. Each punch carried enough force to crater the ground and Seraphine matched him, step for step, strike for strike.
The clash between them was apocalyptic. Shockwaves rolled out with every collision, windows shattering for blocks around.
Seraphine grinned wider, eyes alight with excitement.
Seraphine: "Yes! This is what I wanted!"
Takeda (coldly): "Then you're about to get more than you asked for."
He drove his fist forward, his mana exploding outward in a wave of raw force. The very air seemed to warp as the punch connected with Seraphine's guard, sending her flying backward into the side of a building.
The building collapsed around her in a cloud of dust and concrete but when the smoke cleared, she was still standing, brushing debris from her shoulders, smiling as though this was just foreplay.
Seraphine (softly): "Finally… a worthy dance partner."
Takeda's eyes narrowed.
Renji staggered back to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth, his aura blazing even hotter now.
Renji (breathing hard): "Takeda-san… she's strong
Why hasn't the bearu sent back up
Takeda didn't answer and that silence told Renji everything.
She's not the only one here ....
Seraphine smiled you are holding back aren't you
Hiroto and renji looking at takeda
Holding back!!!! They said internally
"Hmph... I wanted to take you alive ask you some questions
But you leave me no choice I guess I have to kill you now " Takeda said with a peircing stare
Seraphine: You talk as if you can kill me anytime you want don't make me laugh
Takeda : oh yes
STOMP!!
STOMP!!
STOMP!!
Hiroto suddenly felt it the surge in power
Seraphine glined her eyes closely what is this he's mana is increasing
Takeda released all his mana which made the remaining dragons to grimm in fear
Genzo could feel it
Sweat dripping down seraphine face.....
Seraphine: What I'm sweating.. !!
I've always wondered if magic beast could feel fear
Takeda said
Raising his face one eyes glowing with power
Now I think I've found my answer ....
FLASHBACK – MARCUS' DECISION
Manhattan, 3 hours earlier.
Marcus Hayes sat in a darkened conference room, eight monitors glowing before him.
Every single screen displayed live drone footage of Tokyo five massive gates, monsters pouring out in the thousands, panic filling the streets.
He didn't move, didn't blink, didn't even touch the whiskey glass on the table.
Marcus (quietly): "This isn't a dungeon break. This is a war."
A still frame froze on one image Gate 3, where Kobayashi Ren, one of Japan's top SS-rank hunters, fought like a man possessed, his Thunderclaw Guild support team dying one after another just to buy him seconds.
Marcus: "…Damn. If he's on the ropes, this is worse than I thought."
Takeda ... Takeda Takeda and you are the strongest of all ...
Well guess I have no choice
He stood, slinging on his coat, his silhouette framed against the New York skyline.
Marcus (to comms): "Inform the Council. Pillar Two is mobilizing."
Operator: "Sir, you're crossing international—"
Marcus: "This isn't politics. This is survival."
A swirling dimensional rift tore open behind him. Marcus stepped through without another word.
PRESENT – THE EDGE OF DEFEAT
Kobayashi Ren stood in the middle of what had once been a shopping district, his spear crackling with lightning.
Sweat and blood ran down his temple, stinging his eyes, but he didn't dare blink.
The general stood across from him a towering figure clad in black, jagged armor that seemed to pulse with a heartbeat of its own. Its weapon, a glaive of dark steel, hummed with deathly mana.
Around them, the battlefield was a massacre.
The Thunderclaw Guild's A-rank supports were gone. Their bodies lay scattered, burnt, or crushed by the general's army of elite monsters.
Ren's chest heaved. His aura flared again, lightning dancing across his arms.
Ren (to himself): "I can't let this bastard through. Not here. Not while the others are still fighting their gates."
The general tilted its head, almost amused.
General: "You've killed a hundred of my vanguard… and still, you shake."
Ren (spitting blood): "Shut up and fight."
They clashed again, the force of the impact splitting the ground. Ren's lightning spear slammed against the general's glaive, thunder echoing through the ruins but Ren was driven back, his boots carving trenches in the earth.
The general twirled its glaive, spinning it in a blur before thrusting forward. The strike grazed Ren's ribs, tearing through his armor and drawing a spray of blood.
Ren staggered, his spear dropping for just a second.
General (mocking): "Is that all? Your people call you one of their strongest. I call you… disappointing."
It raised its glaive for the final strike
A shockwave of wind tore through the battlefield, hurling corpses and rubble into the air.
Then came the impact.
Marcus' fist connected with the general's jaw, sending the massive creature flying back a full fifty meters before it smashed through the remains of the containers
Dust swirled. Marcus stood where the general had been, his black coat rippling, his presence suffocating.
Marcus (grinning): "Hope you don't mind if I crash the party."
Ren blinked, stunned. His vision was swimming, but he knew that voice he knew that man.
Ren (hoarse): "…Marcus Hayes… The Second Pillar…"
Marcus turned his head slightly, smirking.
Marcus: "That's me. You look like hell, Ren. Don't worry — I've got this."
EVENT HORIZON
Marcus raised his hand. Mana condensed above his palm, forming a perfect sphere of pitch-black energy that seemed to swallow all light.
Marcus (calmly): "Event Horizon."
Gravity warped.
Every surviving monster the armored vanguard, the flying wyverns, the hulking beasts screamed as they were yanked from the ground, their bodies twisting in midair as they were dragged toward the singularity.
Ren braced himself, planting his spear like an anchor, his boots cracking the pavement beneath him as he fought against the pull.
Then, with a sharp gesture, Marcus clenched his fist and the black hole collapsed in on itself, erasing every trace of the army.
He took them out in one swoop
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Marcus (cracking his neck): "There. Just you, me, and your boss now."
The general roared, ripping itself free of the rubble.
General (furious): "You dare erase my legion?!"
Marcus (grinning): "Legion? More like cannon fodder."
The general charged, glaive spinning. Marcus met him head-on, fist slamming into steel with a sound like thunder.
The shockwave flattened everything within twenty meters.
Ren watched, slack-jawed, as the two titans clashed Marcus dodging, countering, driving the general back step by step. His fighting style was brutal and efficient, like a street brawler with godlike power.
Ren (to himself): "So this… this is what a Pillar is capable of…"
The general unleashed a wave of dark energy, turning the ground molten. Marcus absorbed it into a second singularity and hurled it back, detonating it against the general's chest and blowing chunks of armor away.
But the general wasn't done. It roared, its aura doubling, striking faster than before. One hit caught Marcus across the ribs, sending him crashing through a wall.
Ren's heart stopped.
Ren: "Marcus!"
But Marcus stepped out of the rubble, grinning like a madman.
Marcus: "Finally. You're taking me seriously."
Then I guess I should do the same
Marcus feinted left, then appeared behind the general in a blur. His fist shot forward, wrapped in compressed gravity.
Marcus (coldly): "Game over."
The punch hit the general square in the chest, collapsing its torso inward as a miniature black hole formed inside its body. The creature screamed and then was ripped apart from the inside out, erased into nothing.
Marcus exhaled slowly as the void dissipated.
Ren: He erased him in less than a minute
So this is the strength of the second strongest pillar
Marcus (to Ren): "You fought well. You kept this gate from spilling over. Not bad, Thunderclaw."
Ren let out a ragged laugh, falling to one knee.
Ren: " Yes sir
Next time… don't keep me waiting so long."
Marcus smirked.
Marcus: "No promises."
Ren:He just arrived and he took out an entire army and the boss in less than a minute