Episode 188: Scorching Tyrant
The rooftop of Midtown Tower in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. That’s where Fameel’s Seekers were gathered.
“Oh! They’re coming, they’re coming. Those are some seriously huge Dragons.”
Tennoji Akihito shielded his eyes with his hand, gazing at the distant sky.
“Just thinking about fighting those things gets me pumped up.”
He rested the “Lightning Spear Gae Bolg” on his shoulder, a cheerful smile on his face.
“Hey, Tennoji! This isn’t a game. If the Seekers here are wiped out, we’re out of options. The country’s on the brink of destruction!”
Fameel’s leader, Osaka, scolded him, and Akito raised both hands in a “yes, yes” gesture.
“I know, I know. I’m fighting with my life on the line too.”
Akito said it casually, but he understood the importance of this battle. To slay as many Ancient Dragons as possible, and if possible, land a blow on the Red King. He was prepared to give his life for that.
“The question is whether my Lightning Spear’s attack will even reach.”
The swarm of Dragons in the sky was rapidly approaching. Several Pillars of Fire were visible.
Presumably, the Dragons were flying while spewing flames.
“Doing whatever they please.”
Akito gritted his teeth. At that moment, a streak of light flashed across the sky.
For a moment, he didn’t understand what had happened, but he turned his gaze to where the light had struck. Intense brilliance enveloped the area.
A few seconds later, a deafening roar echoed.
“What the!?”
As the shockwave hit, the Seekers on the rooftop were nearly blown away.
Akito was shocked. It was the Red King’s attack. Red flames spread across the horizon, and a mushroom cloud pierced the sky.
“Damn it! Was that around Hachioji?!”
Osaka grimaced, looking into the distance.
“Such a shockwave from that far away! This is no joke.”
Akito’s face twisted. At that moment, two streaks of light flashed overhead. One struck the peak of Mount Fuji, and the other landed in the direction of Kanagawa.
Violent explosions erupted, and dust billowed into the sky.
“Did another city just get blown away?!”
The explosions were heard a little later.
“The evacuation can’t be finished yet… and Mount Fuji is an active volcano! If it’s attacked multiple times, it might erupt!!”
Osaka shouted, his voice overcoming the explosions. Mount Fuji, now smoking, appeared to have a large chunk of its peak shaved off.
“Certainly, if it’s hit by that kind of thing multiple times…”
Akito furrowed his brow, looking at the Dragon King. It slowly descended from the sky above Chuo Ward and landed heavily between the buildings.
Clouds of dust billowed around it, and the windows of the buildings shattered.
Akito’s face contorted.
“No way… I’m over two kilometers away, and my body feels like it’s being burned?!”
Not only Akito, but the Fameel Seekers were also enduring the heat, looking at the Dragon King with expressions of despair.
“How are we supposed to defeat something like that?!”
◇◇◇
Prime Minister’s Office Crisis Management Center, located in the basement of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Images were being sent via fiber optic cable from fixed-point cameras installed throughout Tokyo. The large monitors displayed the Red King in multiple split screens.
Each time a tremendous explosion occurred, screams could be heard from the conference room.
“That’s… the Red King.”
Takakura muttered, staring intently at the monitor.
Covered in crimson, gleaming scales, it spread its massive wings. It resembled an Ancient Dragon, but its appearance was even more sinister.
Multiple horns grew from its head, revealing sharp fangs.
It surveyed its surroundings as if appraising them, then opened its mouth and unleashed scorching flames. The Flames crawled across the earth for nearly a kilometer, engulfing the buildings in its path.
The burning buildings melted, and the Seekers who were unlucky enough to be on the rooftops were reduced to ash and vanished.
Countless Ancient Dragons soaring through the sky also spewed flames one after another, plunging the Tokyo cityscape into a sea of fire. It was truly a scene from hell.
The Seekers who had been casting magic from the tops of buildings were engulfed in the Ancient Dragons’ Flames and died like insects.
As if boasting of their ability to slaughter enemies, the Dragons swam leisurely through the sky.
The Red King let out a roar towards the sky. A deafening boom that pierced the ears.
That alone caused the surrounding buildings to collapse, and debris to fly. The Self-Defense Forces fired Cannon Shells and missiles from a distance, but they evaporated before reaching the Red King.
They couldn’t break through the Flame Barrier emanating from the Dragon’s body.
Takakura felt a wave of dizziness and took a step back.
That was not an existence that humans could contend with. This creature was the ruler of the Earth, the apex of the food chain. Humans were merely on the side of being preyed upon.
The Red King fired Fireballs in rapid succession. They landed in Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Yamanashi, and Shizuoka, obliterating cities one after another. Places where the evacuation of residents was not yet complete.
Plumes of smoke rose into the sky, and the ground was shaking even though they should have been quite far away.
Takakura turned around and saw Iwaki sitting at the meeting table, his head in his hands. He wasn’t even looking at the monitor, just despairing.
He was no longer giving orders, just despairing.
Takakura shook his head and turned his eyes back to the monitor.
“Is there… nothing we can do anymore?”
◇◇◇
A large transport helicopter, a CH-47 Chinook, flew into Tokyo.
Yuma and the Self-Defense Forces officers, looking out the window of the cockpit, couldn’t help but gasp. Smoke billowed in the heart of the city, and fires were raging everywhere.
Buildings had collapsed, and homes had been reduced to rubble.
Hundreds of Dragons flew through the sky above them, as if they owned the place.
“The damage is already this bad…”
Kawahara said with a groan. Yuma nodded. These Dragons were more vicious and troublesome than any Monsters they had fought before.
Moving his gaze further, he saw a giant Dragon in the center of the destroyed city.
“That’s… the Red King.”
As Yuma grimaced, the transport helicopter gained altitude, circling to find a place to land.
“We’re looking for a safe place to land now! Please wait a moment.”
As the helicopter pilot said that, Yuma shook his head.
“No, please go directly above the Dragons. I’ll jump down from there!”
“Eh!?”
Kawahara and the Self-Defense Forces officers in the area looked surprised.
“Jump down!? That’s too dangerous, Mitaka-san! We have parachutes, but they’re not something an amateur can use easily.”
Seeing Kawahara’s denial, Yuma gave a wry smile.
“I won’t use a parachute. I’ll jump down as is.”
“That’s impossible!”
“I think you all know, but my body is special. I won’t die from falling from a high place.”
“But, still…”
“Kawahara-san, please trust me.”
Kawahara, stared at by Yuma’s serious eyes, pressed his lips into a straight line and fell silent. After thinking for a while, he stood up as if he had made up his mind and spoke to the pilot in the cockpit.
The pilot nodded and pulled up the collective lever.
The aircraft’s altitude increased further, heading towards the center where the Dragons were.
“We’re going to a height where we won’t be attacked by the Dragons. It will be quite high, but are you really okay with this?”
Kawahara asked worriedly, but Yuma replied brightly, “Yes, I’m fine.”
“How’s your condition? Isn’t the poison affecting you badly…?”
“I’m much better. I think I can fight now.”
“I see… understood.”
The helicopter reached the sky above the location where the Red King was. It stopped in the air with a hover, and the side hatch opened.
The air inside the aircraft rushed out, and the wind that was stirred up caused the clothes to flutter.
Yuma took off his Helmet and removed his jacket.
“After I jump down, please evacuate to a safe place!”
Yuma shouted loudly because the sound of the wind was noisy.
Kawahara also said in a loud voice, “Understood.” Yuma grabbed the pole next to the hatch and looked at Kawahara’s face. He still had a worried frown.
“It’ll be alright, it’ll definitely work out.”
Kawahara nodded at Yuma’s bright smile and only said, “Good luck.”
Yuma replied, “Thank you,” and disappeared beyond the door.