Dust and smoke filled the air, obscuring visibility.
Amidst the chaos and wails, Yamada Kenichi forced himself to calm down.
Decades of police work had honed his intuition, telling him this was absolutely not a gas explosion or a terrorist attack.
That soul-shaking malice could only have one source—
A Monster!
And it was a powerful Monster, with a Demon-level disaster rating far beyond imagination!
"Everyone calm down! Maintain formation!"
Yamada Kenichi's voice roared out, slightly hoarse but imbued with undeniable power.
"Team C, immediately evacuate the surrounding civilians! Team B, establish a firing line! Team A, follow me!"
Without hesitation, he grabbed a riot shield nearby, held it in front of him, his sharp gaze locked onto the smoke-filled ruins.
As a commander, he knew that fear was contagious.
And he, as the commander of this team, had to be the first and most solid barrier to stop it.
The SWAT team members displayed extremely high tactical proficiency, moving swiftly and orderly.
Some immediately set up new cordon lines, guiding panicked citizens to safety;
Others took cover behind police cars, raising their assault rifles, their dark muzzles aimed at the source.
The smoke gradually cleared, and a colossal figure slowly rose from the wreckage of the cafe.
It could no longer be called a "person."
Its height exceeded three meters, and its limbs were disproportionately thick.
Most horrifyingly, at every joint of its body, countless bone spikes of varying lengths protruded, glinting coldly in the light.
On its face, a faint human outline could still be discerned, but the entire face was twisted by resentment, and its eyes burned with two ominous red lights.
"It's... it's a Monster!"
A young police officer's voice trembled uncontrollably, his hands gripping the rifle were slick with cold sweat.
This was his first time facing such a terrifying existence; the theories from books and the targets on the training ground seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.
"Don't panic! Steady your breathing, aim for the target!"
Yamada Kenichi commanded in a low voice, his words not loud, but clearly reaching every team member's ears.
"Police... it's you annoying police again..."
The Monster spoke, its voice harsh and hoarse, filled with deep-seated hatred.
"Always appearing when I'm at my unluckiest... buzzing like flies, truly... an eyesore!"
He slowly raised a thick arm, pointing at Yamada Kenichi, and hatred flashed in his burning red eyes.
"I recognize you... Yamada... Yamada Kenichi... Five years ago, it was you who personally put the handcuffs on me!"
The Monster's voice suddenly rose, its venomous emotions erupting like a volcano.
"You ruined my life! Ruined everything I had! I could have had everything!"
Yamada Kenichi's body jolted, that face, that hateful gaze, instantly overlapped with a file deep in his memory.
His pupils suddenly constricted, almost shrinking to a pinpoint.
He remembered.
Takahashi Yuji, a once prominent financial elite, lost everything due to a bad investment. To recover, he risked everything by embezzling a huge sum of public funds, which eventually came to light.
The one responsible for his arrest was Yamada Kenichi, then head of the First Investigation Division.
He remembered clearly how Takahashi's eyes, full of resentment and unwillingness, stared fixedly at him when he was arrested.
"Takahashi Yuji?" Yamada Kenichi forcibly suppressed the shock and horror in his heart, saying coldly:
"You committed a crime, and you must face the law. This has nothing to do with me, nor with the 'life' you speak of. This was your own choice!"
"Choice? Hahaha!" Takahashi burst into wild laughter, his cackles rattling the surrounding windowpanes.
"I just wanted to live a good life! What did I do wrong? And you, you hypocritical guys, by what right do you judge me? By what right do you destroy me?"
"Now, I have gained new power, and I will make you taste... the feeling of being utterly crushed!"
Before he finished speaking, the ground beneath Takahashi's feet suddenly collapsed.
His massive body, like a cannonball, instantly covered dozens of meters, charging straight towards the police line!
"Fire suppression! Open fire! Cover civilian evacuation!"
Yamada Kenichi's command and the gunfire almost sounded simultaneously.
Dozens of assault rifles spewed fire, and a dense rain of bullets slammed into Takahashi's body.
"Clang, clang, clang—!"
However, the bullets, which were enough to tear through steel plates, merely exploded into powerless sparks upon hitting his skin, then were all deflected.
His defensive power far exceeded everyone's imagination!
"Useless! Useless! Your toys, to me... aren't even enough to scratch an itch!"
Takahashi sneered, grabbing a police car with his massive hand, swinging it like a toy model, and smashing it fiercely into the crowd!
"Disperse!"
Yamada Kenichi's eyes were bloodshot; he pushed away a young officer beside him who was frozen in fear, while he himself used the recoil to clumsily roll to the other side to dodge.
The police car crashed to the ground with a whistling sound, instantly turning into a pile of twisted scrap metal.
The shockwave of the explosion sent several officers who couldn't dodge in time flying.
The defensive line was instantly torn open by a huge gap.
"Report to headquarters! This is Yamada's team! Downtown is under Monster attack! Repeat! Under Monster attack, requesting backup!"
Yamada Kenichi grabbed his walkie-talkie while rolling, screaming with all his might, and simultaneously pulled out the large-caliber pistol from his waist, firing repeatedly at Takahashi who was rushing over.
It should be known that their team's firearms and ammunition were specially made, and ordinary Monsters could not withstand them.
Yet the Monster in front of them was completely unharmed!
Two words surfaced in Yamada's mind, making his face suddenly turn ugly—
Demon-level!
A level capable of paralyzing a city's functions and causing massive casualties!
This was completely beyond their ability to handle.
However, backup would not arrive instantly.
Before then, they had to use their own flesh and blood to buy even one more second of evacuation time for the tens of thousands of civilians behind them.
This was their duty, and their destiny.
"Heavy firepower team! Use armor-piercing rounds! Attack his joints and eyes!"
A SWAT officer carrying a grenade launcher roared, firing a high-explosive grenade at Takahashi's face.
Fire exploded on Takahashi's face, finally causing his forward momentum to halt briefly.
"Did it work?!" A faint glimmer of hope ignited in everyone's hearts.
But after the smoke cleared, he only had some charred marks on his face, and the hatred in his red eyes burned even more intensely.
"You... have completely... enraged me!"
Takahashi completely erupted in fury, opening his mouth and letting out an inhuman roar.
An invisible wave of air spread out from him.
The shop windows on both sides of the street shattered, the hard asphalt road was easily ripped up, andbrokenstone mixed with the strong wind, forming a deadly storm.
The police, in the face of this absolute power, seemed so small and fragile.
Their riot shields were easily blown away, their bodies were hit by high-speed flying debris, letting out painful grunts, and blood splattered.
The formation was completely disrupted, and the once tight defensive line was in disarray.
"Ono!"
Yamada Kenichi saw a young team member hit in the legs by a huge flying concrete slab, blood instantly soaking his pants.
He lay on the ground, struggling in pain, but unable to move.
Takahashi sneered, and his massive foot stomped down hard towards him.