BOOM!
Seven massive serpent heads erupted from the battlefield's perimeter. Jaws gaped wide—abyssal, hungry. Light gathered in their throats. The bone dragon was trapped. Three humans stood exposed.
The beams were about to fire.
A figure launched skyward. Hundred meters up. Sword gripped tight.
Gravity? Irrelevant. He stood in midair like it was solid ground. His gaze swept across all seven heads. Locked on.
"You still don't get it, do you?" His voice cut through the chaos. "I'm the real threat here."
SLASH! SLASH!
Specium energy crawled up the blade. Pale blue. Hungry. He swung twice—front, back. The energy roared outward, twin crescents of light screaming toward those seven serpent skulls.
"ROOOAR!"
The serpent felt it. Danger. Real danger. The heads pivoted. Light beams redirected. Collided with the energy blades mid-air.
KRAAKOOOM!
Explosion. Shockwave. The sky lit up.
"This human..."
"The plan... it's falling apart."
Seven pairs of vertical pupils fixed on the man hovering in midair, sword in hand. The original plan was simple: capture Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro. Easy targets.
Logic dictated the Kaiju faction held overwhelming power. Even if the Defense Force had Travelers who pushed their suits beyond normal limits, they'd cap out at Isao Shinomiya's level.
This man shattered that ceiling.
The serpent wasn't even sure he was human anymore.
"But this mission..." The pupils contracted. "Failure is not an option."
The massive coils visible above ground began retracting. Sinking back into the earth.
Natsuki thought it was retreating. He moved to pursue.
Then the ground erupted.
Eight serpent bodies converged underground. Merged. The earth at the battlefield's center exploded upward.
"SKREEEEOOOOAAAAR!"
The damaged heads regenerated. Eight grotesque skulls rose together, connected to a body the size of a mountain. Yamata-no-Orochi. Coils writhed. Pressure radiated outward like a physical force. A creature ripped straight from myth.
The entire battlefield trembled. Every Defense Force member who saw it felt their scalp crawl.
"What... what the hell is that thing!?"
"Damn it! Never thought I'd face a Kaiju like this..."
"A monster from actual mythology. If I die fighting it... at least it'll mean something."
Every soldier felt the weight crushing down on them. But they stood ready. Ready to die here if that's what it took.
The thing had to be hundreds of meters tall. Those twisted, nightmarish heads. That serpentine body coiling in impossible ways. This was the most hopeless enemy any of them would ever face.
Defeating something like this? It'd take what the Defense Force did to Kaiju No. 6—throw bodies at it until it drowned in corpses.
"Kaiju threat level 9.9... 10... exceeding measurement limits!"
"This is officially the strongest Kaiju the Defense Force has ever encountered!" The technician's voice cracked with despair.
A Kaiju of this magnitude appearing here? The base was already lost.
Kaiju No. 6—the so-called King of Kaiju—had killed multiple captain-level officers. Hundreds of regular soldiers died in that battle.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"A monster like that? Here!?" Kikoru Shinomiya stared at the creature—eerily similar to the mythological Yamata-no-Orochi. Her eyes went wide.
Her mother, Hikari Shinomiya. Once the strongest woman in the Defense Force. Died fighting Kaiju No. 6.
Now something stronger stood before her. The fear of losing her mother came flooding back.
"Move... move!"
"MOVE, damn it!"
First time facing a threat of this magnitude. Kikoru couldn't adapt to the crushing pressure. Hatred burned in her chest—she wanted to kill it. But her legs felt like lead. Every step took everything she had.
"Natsuki-san, look out!"
Kafka—having just located the bone dragon's core—turned back. Saw the serpent's true form burst from the ground. As a Kaiju himself, he felt it clearly. This thing was on a completely different level from those eight separate heads.
Instinct kicked in. He wanted to help Natsuki.
This was a super-Kaiju capable of leveling an entire city with ease.
Energy gathered in each of the serpent's eight heads. Different colors—representing different natural elements. It was preparing to cleanse everything.
"All Third Unit personnel, evacuate the battlefield immediately."
A calm voice cut through the comms. Ordering full retreat.
"Soshiro, confirm everyone's clear."
The moment those words finished, soldiers nearest the serpent felt their bodies lift off the ground. Uncontrollably.
"Wh—what's happening!?"
"What is this?"
"Wait, I can still fight!"
Even Kikoru found herself pulled away by an invisible force.
In the sky.
Natsuki hovered, sword in hand. Golden light flickered in his eyes. He was evacuating everyone near the Kaiju.
CRACK!
His Defense Force Suit finally hit its limit. Fractures spread everywhere. The upper half disintegrated completely. Bare-chested now.
"Suit's done."
"Looks like you're done too!" The serpent's pupils locked onto Natsuki. Without the suit, a human was just a fragile creature.
"SKREEEEOOOOAAAAR!"
Eight heads attacked simultaneously. Energy condensed into lethal forms. Eight beams erupted—so powerful the air itself screamed.
"HEY!"
"GET OUT OF THERE!"
Soshiro Hoshina spun around. Saw the attack coming. Shouted desperately.
You can't tank an attack like that!
Then—in full view of everyone, defying all comprehension—the man in the sky ripped off the shattered remains of his suit. Raised his right arm high.
The world-ending beams swallowed him whole.
KRAKOOOOOM!
Thunder split the battlefield. Blinding light erupted from the center. Circular. Cross-shaped. Both.
Against this creature from myth, another god appeared.
A giant. Born from light itself.
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