North-central South America.
The Aztec Federation's capital, "Mexica" City.
"Hiss!!!"
A terrifying pillar of fire descended from the heavens.
A sea of flames stretching for several kilometers incinerated all buildings and life, turning them to ash.
"Kree!"
The beating of wings stirred up a gale.
A serpentine, winged creature of exaggerated size flaunted its power in the sky—this was the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Quetzalcoatl.
As its bird-like cry grew sharper, Quetzalcoatl's pure white wings began to burn like the sun.
It folded them, then spread them wide.
"Swoosh!!"
A sky full of fiery feathers rained down like a volley of arrows, and the roar of explosions washed over the city again and again!
"BOOM!!!"
Within the sea of flames, not a single building over five stories remained standing. Amidst the ruins plowed by the explosions, the ground was littered with charred, inhuman chunks of flesh.
"Boom!" xN
Missiles detonated against Quetzalcoatl's body.
But the air-to-air missiles designed for fighter jets were utterly useless against such a behemoth. Aside from shrouding less than half of the Emperor-class beast's body in smoke and light, they had no effect whatsoever.
"Hiss—"
Fire ignited once more within the great serpent's maw.
This time, however, it did not spew a torrential sea of fire. Instead, it insanely compressed the ultra-high temperatures within its mouth, over and over, until...
"Voom!!"
A blazing beam of light swept across the sky.
An attack wing composed of 48 fighter/bomber jets—the Aztec Federation's 2nd and 3rd Combined Air Groups—vanished from existence in Quetzalcoatl's breath.
And this...
...was already the fifth air group the Federation had lost.
"Bastard!"
"Hasn't the support arrived yet!"
In the Aztec front-line command center, the army commander slammed his fist down on the map before him.
Clatter—
Smash!
The instant coffee in his mug splattered across the table.
In the past, this army commander would never have used something as classless as a mug, let alone drink instant coffee of such poor quality. But now, as the mug rolled two and a half times across the table before crashing to the floor, he realized he might not have any coffee to drink at all for a long time.
"Support from North America will arrive in 161 minutes at the earliest!"
"How many men?"
"...Two thousand men!"
Before the commander could start cursing, the messenger, who knew his superior's temper all too well, continued shouting:
"Three cities on the west coast of North America are under simultaneous attack by Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, and another Emperor-class has also been spotted in the central part of the continent!"
"Sending us two thousand men is already a lot, sir!"
"..."
"Fuck!"
"BOOM!!"
The commander had just started to curse when an explosion directly overhead gave them all a profound appreciation for the pleasure of eating dirt.
"Pah!"
"What about the Flame-Chasers?"
"No one is coming!"
"No response!?"
"NO ONE IS COMING!! The Flame-Chasers' reply was 'insufficient manpower,' they told us to figure out a solution ourselves!"
The two men could only communicate by shouting.
As another explosion detonated close by, the entire ceiling of the underground command center was ripped off and flung into the sky!
"Sir!"
"Artillery positions 5, 7, 9, and 16 are ready and can fire at any time!"
A new message came from a room off to the side. The commander, who had just crawled out from under a table, finally heard the first piece of good news all day.
"Fire!"
"Let the 203s teach that bastard a lesson!"
The 203mm self-propelled howitzers were the main short-range fire support for the Aztec Federation's army. Despite its vast territory, the Aztec Federation was not a major power. Its land-based missiles, their primary long-range strike capability, had been exhausted in the first wave of attacks after the Emperor-class Honkai Beast appeared.
With the air force completely unable to approach, the remaining 203mm cannons were their last heavy-strike option... provided that Quetzalcoatl remained relatively stationary.
But—
"BOOM!!" x4
Amidst a violent tremor, the four artillery positions that were ready to fire were instantly leveled by giant, unexpected fireballs!
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
Its purple shell was covered in lava-like patterns.
Wielding a giant pillar-shield, its shoulders and head adorned with bird feathers and ivory, and with two massive, pure-white serpents coiling behind it spewing red flames—the appearance of this giant-type Honkai Beast instantly crushed the last bit of defiance from the Aztec army.
This was the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Huitzilopochtli.
The convergence of two Emperor-class Honkai Beasts signaled that the countdown to Mexica's destruction had begun.
Although these two were only considered mid-tier among Emperor-class beasts, they were both types that excelled at destruction (fire attribute). Compounded by the Aztec Federation's own lack of strength... within twenty minutes of Huitzilopochtli's arrival, the entire capital had been transformed into a fiery purgatory.
In truth, as the two Emperor-class beasts destroyed the city, their roars, which seemed so full of menace, were actually part of a private squabble:
"Kree! (This is my territory!)"
"Roar! (I came under the orders of Lord Sheshe! This will be the seventh city I have destroyed!)"
"Kree?! (Have you lost your mind? You're actually listening to that five-headed snake!)"
"Roar?? (You're not listening? Then how about you explain why you're here?)"
"..."
"Kree! (For the sake of the Honkai!)"
"Roar! (Dumbass!)"
This conversation repeated itself countless times during the destruction of Mexica City.
These two were not Emperor-class Honkai Beasts spawned from a rift, but beings that had been born long ago. Their forms were even worshipped as gods by the unenlightened people of the Aztec region.
The emergence of the Honkai Energy Rift had merely reawakened the two, who had fallen into a deep slumber due to a lack of energy.
Then, just as these "Ancient Species" of Honkai Beasts, possessing considerable intelligence, were preparing to continue enjoying their Honkai-life... Sheshe came knocking.
"By order of the Emperor, you are now required to submit to me unconditionally." —This was the shameless declaration the newcomer made upon its arrival... and well, that declaration was the reason for the current situation.
Communication between unfamiliar Honkai Beasts was simple: whoever had the bigger fist was the one to be obeyed. Quetzalcoatl and Huitzilopochtli had fought countless times but had never been able to determine a victor. When they prepared to team up to teach this "frail" five-headed snake a lesson... they were very easily pinned to the ground and thrashed.
After leaving the order to "attack human cities," the five-headed snake demonstrated an astonishing "space traverse" ability. Luckily for them, their new superior only used this skill for travel. If it were used against them...
The two Emperor-class beasts quickly understood their situation and, with "no complaints," led their respective legions to advance on the Aztec Federation's capital from the north and south.