"From this moment on."
"Whoever has persecuted, loathed, or ignored the children under my care—"
"Are all sinners."
"Sinners shall die by the mouths of monsters."
"Only the light of purity may find a place in the coming judgment."
Regardless of race.
Regardless of status.
Regardless of distance.
This divine oracle resounded simultaneously in the ears of every sentient being on this planet.
The divine oracle fell.
The dark red giant eye above the firmament slowly closed, but it did not disappear; it merely hid within the churning blood-colored clouds, becoming a Damocles sword hanging over the world.
The sky remained that twisted dark red.
On a commercial street in the Tokyo Area.
The Seitenshi slowly opened her eyes.
Everything around her had fallen into dead silence.
The Fat Patrol Officer who had just been waving his baton at her was now collapsed on the ground, staring up at the sky in terror, his mouth emitting incoherent whimpers.
The onlookers were either kneeling on the ground, weeping while clutching their heads, or trembling all over while muttering something unknown.
The Seitenshi suddenly raised her head and looked to her side.
There was no one there.
The man with hair as black as ink and majesty like a god had disappeared without a trace, just as he had arrived.
Leaving behind only this judgment that echoed between heaven and earth.
"The truly pure light..."
The Seitenshi murmured to herself, looking down at the Girl in the Baseball Cap who was still tightly clutching half a can of Spam in her arms.
Then she looked at the surrounding people who were utterly terrified and exposed their pathetic states due to the appearance of the Divine Eye.
These people...
When facing the weak, they were thugs; when facing the strong, they were slaves.
Their souls had long been riddled with holes, corroded by greed, arrogance, and cowardice.
As for those they viewed as monsters—the Cursed Children...
They were struggling to merely survive in the cracks.
Who is the filth?
And who is the light?
The answer was self-evident.
This was—an opportunity.
The last chance.
The final sliver of life that the Divine Being had left for this rotten world.
"Cursed Child..."
The Seitenshi lowered her head, looking at the two girls still trembling in her embrace.
The blind girl whose eyes were destroyed by her mother using molten metal but had just been healed, and the Girl in the Baseball Cap who was nearly beaten to death for stealing a can of Spam.
Their red eyes.
Once seen by this world as a mark of a curse.
Were now—
"Pure light."
The Seitenshi gently held the two frail girls close to her.
She finally understood the true meaning behind the Divine Being's words.
Those children who were discriminated against, persecuted, and stripped of all human rights from birth.
They were the purest beings in this world.
Because they never intended to harm anyone; they only wanted to live.
...Meanwhile.
In the Tokyo Area, the Defense Ministry's Underground Command Center.
This sturdy fortress, located dozens of meters underground, was once the nerve center for humanity's fight against the Gastrea threat. Its concrete walls were five meters thick, capable of withstanding a direct assault from a Stage IV Gastrea.
It was equipped with the most advanced monitoring systems, capable of instantly connecting to the status data of the Monolith defense lines across the globe.
But at this moment...
The fortress was unusually uneasy.
Because the series of drastic changes outside had already left them scrambling.
"Re-report!"
The one who first broke the silence was a young communications officer.
He turned his head, his voice laced with uncontrollable sobbing, not even noticing that the headset hanging around his neck had slipped halfway down.
His trembling finger pointed to a corner of the main screen.
Where the "Tokyo Area Line 32 Monolith Defense Line" was originally marked.
A green light band, symbolizing a secure status, was the spiritual pillar everyone relied on for peace of mind.
But at this moment—
That green light band had been completely swallowed by a sea of red.
The Minister of Defense abruptly sprang up from his seat.
He practically lunged toward the operation console, slamming the keyboard with force.
"Pull up the real-time monitoring for Defense Line 32!"
"Quickly!"
The screen switched.
Then, the entire command center descended into an even deeper, dead silence.
What was displayed on the screen was a scene completely beyond everyone's comprehension.
Countless Gastrea.
Some as large as small mountains, others only the size of cats and dogs.
Some had compound eyes, some dragged tentacles, some were covered entirely in sharp carapaces, and some oozed corrosive mucus.
They densely surrounded the exterior of the Monolith defense line, a black mass stretching as far as the eye could see.
This should have been a terrifying vision of the apocalypse descending.
But what truly sent chills down the spines of everyone present was not the number of these monsters.
It was—
Their posture.
All the Gastrea, regardless of size or species, maintained the exact same posture.
They had lowered their heads.
Their scarlet eyes, usually filled with a lust for slaughter, were terrifyingly calm. Their mouths, which normally only dripped greedy saliva, were tightly shut.
They simultaneously raised their heads, gazing toward the Giant Eye that had already vanished into the churning bloody clouds, becoming a Sword of Damocles hanging over the world.
Then—
They knelt.
Yes.
They knelt.
These Gastrea, born from the Gastrea Virus and only knowing how to devour living creatures, were actually bowing in submission to the Divine Eye in the sky.
"This is impossible..."
"These Gastrea are... making a pilgrimage?!?!"
The Minister of Defense stared dumbfounded.
This sentence squeezed out of his throat with a tremor of extreme absurdity.
Ten years!
Ten full years!
Since the outbreak of the Gastrea War, humanity's research on these Gastrea had never stopped!
They had no social structure, no organizational capability, only preying on everything alive based on instinct!
This was the conclusion universally agreed upon by all biologists, and it was also the crucial basis on which humanity had managed to survive precariously under the protection of the Monoliths until now!
But!
Now!
This scene, which completely defied biological common sense and decades of their understanding of Gastrea, was far more chilling to him than if the monsters had charged in and started eating people!
The essence of fear comes from the unknown.
When those beasts known only for slaughter suddenly change—
When the Gastrea, once deemed "incapable of possessing intelligence," begin to have organization and purpose—
Then what is left for humanity?
"Quick!"
The Minister of Defense hastily roared.
"Contact Lord Tendou Kikunojo immediately! And Lord Seitenshi!"
However.
No one answered him.
Because everyone present had heard that voice.
The voice that resonated directly in the depths of their souls.
"All those who have persecuted, detested, or ignored my favored children—are all sinners."
"Sinners shall die by the mouths of monsters."
The Minister of Defense's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
He recalled the documents he had signed.
The disposal plans for the Cursed Children.
The cleansing plan for the outer districts.
The so-called "necessary sacrifices for the survival of humanity."
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
And.
Just then.
A technician responsible for satellite data analysis suddenly let out a sharp scream.
"Minis-Minister!"
"You must see this..."
The technician used his trembling fingers to bring up a set of satellite images.
It was a real-time view of Earth taken from space.
In the image.
It wasn't just the Tokyo Area!
All the green areas inhabited by humans!
Were surrounded by countless red dots formed by innumerable Gastrea!
These Gastrea were using their own bodies!
To draw gigantic symbols on the surface of this blue planet!
—Ancient characters.
—Sacred Emblems.
Both a tribute to the Chaos at the dawn of creation.
And the final declaration of war against this corrupt and arrogant old human civilization—the world.
Severed limbs and broken arms hung from the meticulously trimmed pine branches. In the carefully laid dry landscape garden, the soil was already soaked through with warm blood, turning into shocking patches of red mud.
Corpses.
Corpses were everywhere.
Tendou Hinata.
Tendou Genchaku.
Tendou Kimin.
As well as countless servants, guards of the Tendou Family, and those clansmen who had tried to flee but failed.
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