Chapter 169
Arabis, the 12th Legion Commander.
Among the 40 great legions of Amon, he held the 12th rank, making him a high-ranking demon.
Needless to say, his power and abilities were immense, and his loyalty to Amon was absolute.
"We are the elite 12th Legion, personally dispatched as the vanguard by the great Lord Amon. Our every move is directly tied to Lord Amon's honor. And yet... you advisors failed to predict this situation and allowed our advance to be halted by mere humans."
At Arabis's cold fury, Berit and Asmonea pressed their foreheads to the ground and raised their voices.
"We, we're so sorry!"
"Please, just one act of mercy...!"
The killing intent flowing from his entire body was so strong that it wouldn't have been strange if Berit and Asmonea's heads flew off at any moment.
No, in normal circumstances, their heads would have long since been severed.
In reality, the 12th Legion Commander Arabis had the power and authority to do just that.
However, this was Earth.
A world where demon forces were absolutely lacking.
If he killed Berit and Asmonea right now, there would be no demons left who could command the demon beasts.
"I will not tolerate a second mistake... Be extremely cautious in your actions until the moment we complete the ritual to summon Lord Amon."
Just as Arabis, barely suppressing his surging anger, turned his back to leave, Berit and Asmonea, who had been kowtowing, spoke up urgently.
"Co-Commander, I, Advisor Berit, humbly request. Please give Asmonea and me a chance to lead the vanguard!"
"We will wash away our sins by offering the blood of humans to Lord Amon!"
"Hmm..."
At their earnest request, Arabis furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, but his deliberation didn't last long.
Both Berit and Asmonea were mid-level demons.
There was no way they could be defeated by mere humans.
If Berit and Asmonea had been at the forefront during the recent battle, they would have dealt with the humans without Arabis needing to intervene directly.
He wouldn't have needed to interrupt the ritual for Lord Amon and come out himself.
Trapped in the framework of wars fought in the demon realm and constrained by their roles as advisors, keeping Berit and Asmonea in the rear could be seen as a significant loss.
"I grant you permission. Offer the humans as sacrifices and demonstrate your loyalty to Lord Amon."
"Thank you!"
"We will surely prove our loyalty!"
The moment Arabis's permission was given, Berit and Asmonea immediately spread their wings and flew towards the mainland, the heart of Japan.
* * *
It was devastating.
There was no other way to describe the situation in Japan.
Collapsed buildings, cars crumpled and discarded like pieces of paper, fallen streetlights and utility poles, fires raging from towering flames, structures reduced to ashes.
After Berit and Asmonea took the lead, the mobility of the demon beast army increased rapidly, moving too fast for ordinary citizens to cope with.
In the end, the demon beast army reached cities where unprepared citizens had gathered, tearing apart and destroying everything in sight, turning the cities into wastelands.
Dozens of cities were completely destroyed, and millions of citizens became cold corpses.
The continuous news struck Japan with enormous shock and sorrow.
But the demon beast army didn't even allow time to mourn those who had passed.
Even at that moment, the demon beast army continued to move, reaching Kobe City, right in front of Osaka, one of Japan's major cities.
Facing the black wave of the demon beast army spread out before his eyes, Mizunohara's expression hardened.
'We must stop them here in Kobe City.'
The roads were completely blocked due to the continuous stream of evacuees, with the number of citizens growing like a snowball.
If they allowed the demon beast army to invade, Osaka would become ruins. Tens of millions of people would meet their deaths.
The government and the Association, seemingly aware of this situation, hastily mobilized as many as a thousand hunters.
The number alone seemed tremendous.
However, since they had mobilized all available hunters regardless of rank, the actual combat power was lower than that of the hunters at Kanmon Bridge earlier.
The only real fighting force was the elite ninjas of the Aqua Guild, who were organized as the rear guard and reserve forces of the main force that had been annihilated at Kanmon Bridge earlier, and Mizunohara, who was a ranker.
Because of this, the fight itself could be said to be unwinnable.
Not only Mizunohara, who was at the forefront, but all the hunters knew this fact.
However, no one was thinking of defeat.
No, they couldn't afford to be defeated.
If they retreated here, tens of millions of citizens would meet their deaths.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Japan would be finished.
In this situation, the word 'sense of duty' couldn't help but burn in the hearts of the hunters.
'At the very least... we need to buy time for the citizens to complete their evacuation.'
With desperate and earnest hearts, they fought with all their might.
Perhaps thanks to this mindset?
All the hunters, including Mizunohara, showed movements a level higher than their usual abilities.
But the demon beast army and the two demons leading them, Berit and Asmonea, were too strong.
"Look at these insects struggling."
"Know your place, trash."
Initially, it seemed they were holding their ground well, led by the elite ninjas of the Aqua Guild and Mizunohara.
However, in less than 30 minutes, with casualties reaching 100, the balance of the battlefield began to crumble.
"Die-! You devils!"
Suddenly, Mizunohara leaped out from the shadows and rapidly stuck talismans inscribed with seals onto Berit's back, then clasped his hands together and unleashed a ninja technique.
Boom-!
A pillar of fire shot up into the sky, causing more than ten explosions in an instant.
For a moment, Berit's body, engulfed in the massive flames, staggered.
But there was virtually no substantial damage.
'Are my attacks... completely ineffective?'
Despite using every attack at his disposal, he couldn't inflict even a single wound.
"How dare you... attempt to wound the noble body of a demon! I'll tear you to shreds and feed you to the demon beasts!"
As Berit roared, black energy rapidly spread from his feet.
'I must dodge!'
Sensing an instinctive threat, Mizunohara hurriedly tried to launch his body away.
However, the black energy spreading across the ground rose up even faster.
Shhriek-!
With a sound that split the wind, black thorns shot up in an area with a radius of 100 meters, piercing through all living beings.
Mizunohara, who was within that area, couldn't escape unscathed.
"Kuhek-!"
At the moment of impact, he desperately twisted his body to protect vital organs like his heart and lungs, but he couldn't protect his entire body.
And the price for that was considerable.
In mid-air, pierced by the black thorns, red blood gushed from Mizunohara's mouth like an open faucet.
"Now you look fitting."
"I saw earlier that you seem to care quite a bit about the humans around you, so I'll specially kill you last."
With sinister smiles, Berit and Asmonea's gazes turned to the hunters before them, and then to the city beyond.
"You'll watch with your own eyes as everything you tried to protect dies horribly."
Tears began to flow from Mizunohara's eyes at his own powerlessness and the catastrophe it had caused.
'Damn it... Damn it!'
In the midst of despair without a shred of hope, Mizunohara could only think of one person.
'If only we could have received support from Hunter Lee Seongjun...'
The situation would surely have been different.
It wasn't that he was clinging to false hope while sinking into the depths of despair.
Hunter Lee Seongjun, the majesty and power he had shown was enough to surpass even Berit and Asmonea before him.
'It wouldn't have been easy, but... if he had joined forces with Japan's hunters, we could certainly have claimed victory against these two demons.'
But for now, it was all just futile thoughts.
In his sight, Berit and Asmonea were stretching out their hands, emitting black energy.
The thorn attack he had suffered was about to unfold once again.
'It's all over.'
The Japanese hunters, and even the citizens in the city, would all die.
No, the nation of Japan would face destruction.
As Mizunohara's eyes dimmed, sinking into despair, it happened.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-!
A clamorous noise and the sound of propellers enveloped the area.
'A helicopter?'
Surely, the government had said that everyone had refused to provide support.
It meant there were no hunters who could come to their aid.
"Who could it be...?"
Just as a voice filled with question flowed from Mizunohara's lips, it happened.
"I offered my goodwill first... but I arrived too late, I'm sorry."
It was a small voice, as if muttering.
However, that voice penetrated not the ear but the mind, conveying its intent precisely.
Because of this, Mizunohara could immediately identify the man's identity.
'Hunter Lee Seongjun!'
At the final moment, the one person he had thought of as the only hope had arrived in Japan.
But he couldn't just be happy about it.
"It's dangerous alone! These guys are...!"
Mizunohara urgently shouted, trying to convey information about Berit and Asmonea.
However, the moment he shifted his gaze to the sky, he could immediately understand how futile his actions were.
Boom-!
As the blood of the hunters that had surged up from the ground rose into the sky, the red energy filling the air emitted truly overwhelming power.
"The sin of toying with my comrades must be repaid in blood."
Lee Seongjun's expression was cold, and Berit and Asmonea, who were staring at him, couldn't hide their astonished emotions.
"Wh-What...!"
"A human? Is this really a human?!"
They couldn't accept the reality even though they were seeing it with their own eyes.
But reality doesn't become false just because one denies it.
"Perish."
The moment the cold judgment fell from Lee Seongjun's lips.
The red energy that had filled the area became a sword and was swung.
Slash-!
With a cutting sound, the red sword swung in a straight line, bisecting the bodies of Berit and Asmonea.
Berit and Asmonea, who had not fallen to any attack, met their deaths with a single strike.
At this sight, Mizunohara couldn't close his gaping mouth.
'Im-Impossible...!'
He had been completely mistaken.
The power of Hunter Lee Seongjun was beyond overwhelming.
'An absolute being.'
He possessed the power to accomplish anything at will.
An absolute existence that could sweep away the demon beast army before them had arrived in Japan.
Hope had dawned on Japan, which had been filled with nothing but despair.
"Ah..."
Lee Seongjun, who flashed a bright smile towards Mizunohara, who had let out a voice mixed with admiration, softly opened his mouth.
"You've worked hard. Leave it to me from now on."