Chapter 148: The Beast of Prophecy, Part 1

[United Nations Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland]

"What the hell is this light?!?"

"I don't know. It just appeared out of nowhere."

As Mathew and the military personnel stood bewildered, most of the twelve rings of light suddenly vanished.

Only three rings remained—and something began crawling out from within them.

"Is that… no way!?"

"T-the Dragon! A red dragon, a black dragon… and a bird of flame, emerging from the rings! The dragons are the same ones summoned by Gojo in France!!"

"They've come!"

"Light pillars are appearing all across the globe! Something’s coming out of them!"

"So the rings in the sky have been projected down to the ground…?"

Mathew didn’t understand what that meant—but he knew one thing for certain: in this hopeless situation, this was the only glimmer of hope.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

High above, aboard the flying warship commanded by the demon god Corson, the overwhelming advantage seemed certain.

He didn’t know exactly what kind of forces existed in this world—but combining the intel from the advance troops made it clear they had less than one-tenth of their strength.

There’d been no need to bring such overwhelming force.

That’s what he’d been thinking—when suddenly, the warship above him was bathed in intense light.

"What the—enemy attack!?"

"I don’t know… doesn’t seem like an attack…"

He felt relief that it wasn’t direct assault—but then Corson witnessed something he could not believe.

From within the light, a black dragon emerged, unleashing beams of light from its three heads.

The beams stretched far into the distance, shifting direction as the dragon moved its heads. For a split second, Corson couldn’t grasp what had happened at all…

The warship and fighter jets on the beam of light exploded all at once.

What!?

My warship... over twenty thousand destroyed!!

Twenty thousand!?!

Colson is reeling—just one flash, and twenty thousand warships gone. The warships here should’ve been safe. Magic barriers, right? They weren’t supposed to go down that easy.

The black Dragon spat out light from its mouth again.

"Sh, shoot! Warship, over ten thousand destroyed! Can't stop it!!"

Stupid...

While Colson stood there, stunned, another crew member called out a report.

Report from the 13th ship—red dragon’s appeared!

What?!

Switching visuals.

On the warship’s spatial monitor, a red dragon appeared. The dragon spat a crimson fireball, and the fireball struck a warship.

The next instant—blinding light, nothing visible. When it cleared, the sky was crimson. As if a massive explosion had occurred, thousands of Warships were caught in the blast, plummeting down.

The red Dragon hurls fireballs in all directions—thousands of warships and fighter jets explode in midair. The sheer scale of the destruction makes Coulson’s hands shake uncontrollably.

Losing the convoy entrusted to me by the Demon God King? That’s a death sentence.

Concentrate your attacks on those two dragons! We have to stop them—no matter what!!

We focused our warship's artillery and fighter gunfire, but it had absolutely no effect on the black dragon. The red dragon seemed enveloped in flames—our attacks centered on fire magic barely worked against it.

...when all my attention was fixed on the Dragon—

S- Something else is coming!

Another one?!

It was a mass of flames. It struck the warship and plunged straight through without resistance, emerging out the other side as if it had pierced through.

After a moment, flames burst from within the warship, and it exploded, crashing down.

The flame mass spread its wings. It was a flaming bird. The flaming bird kept sinking warships one after another, shooting down fighter jets that tried to intercept it with endless fireballs launched from its wings.

Firing at the flaming bird did nothing—bullets passed right through it, never making contact.

When a fighter jet exploded and caught fire, the bird absorbed the flames, growing even larger, then attacked again as a monstrous flaming bird.

“What the hell… what are these things… no way… ‘Divine Omen Beasts’!?”

“Birds… flaming birds are coming this way!!”

“What!?! Evade! Get out of there!!”

“It’s too late!!”

The flaming bird crashed into the warship Colson was on, passing straight through. The interior was engulfed in scorching flames—everyone on board, including Colson, was burned to ash.

The flaming bird emerged from the warship as if nothing had happened, gracefully soaring upward. Then the warship exploded, plummeting to the ground—

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

People around the world began to notice the change. Just a few minutes ago, the enemy fleet had been overwhelmingly dominant—but now, one after another, they were bursting into flames and crashing down.

No one understood exactly what was happening, but the shift in battle was undeniable.

And when a camera caught the image of the Dragon—

【Osaka Prime Minister’s Residence】

“That’s the Dragon Gojo released before!”

The Prime Minister, Toda, collapsed under the weight of his relief.

“…We made it in time…”

"The warship was right on the edge of the Sea of Japan, but it looks like we might just make it after all."

"Yeah... really, thank god."

【Keichou Newspaper Headquarters】

"Here it comes! Here it comes! It's here!"

The reporters, previously deflated by Matsuda’s voice, rushed to the television. They were stunned—enemy forces they’d thought unstoppable were vanishing one by one.

"Wait... is this actually working?"

"Gojo’s here, right?"

"Obviously. This is where it starts. The real fight!"

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

【Leo Garcia——】

"Gh—!"

My left arm flew into the air. The man in front of me—clutching a scorching sword—was slashing at me with terrifying precision.

『What’s wrong? Your comrades are dropping like flies.』

Elias, who’d been holding the line, was dead. Luca had fallen under the enemy’s relentless assault. More than half our team was gone.

Emily had taken down over thirty enemies alone—but her magic was fading...

Just then, an arrow shot from afar and pierced Emily’s chest.

"...a..."

She dropped to her knees, her staff clattering to the ground. The enemy’s fire magic surged toward her—just as—

"...Noah..."

Noah stepped in front of her, taking the fireball full on his back.

"Why... Noah..."

"I said I’d protect you, remember? Even if I’m the one getting saved now..."

Noah’s back was burned raw—beyond any healing. He collapsed forward, falling over Emily.

Wang, too, had no defense against the man with the god-speed sword. He knelt, leaning on a blood-soaked staff. That kind of bleeding—no way he’d survive...

Freyja was locked in combat with a woman in silver armor, swords clashing—

Cut open from chest to abdomen by the opponent’s slash.

“Ugh….”

Blood gushed out, sword slipping from my hand as I collapsed to the ground.

‘Pathetic… you really think you can beat Chronos with this kind of trash?’

‘Already worn out, but not bad for a human.’

There’s no way out now. But I won’t die without striking back. I grit my teeth, forcing strength into my sword hand, and lunged at the man before me.

He blocked my blade effortlessly.

‘Damn… not even a nick on my scorching blade? You’ve got a fine sword. I’ll use it after you’re dead.’

Just a flick— I’m sent sprawling face-first into the dirt, unable to rise.

No strength left… no will to push through… I was drowning in self-pity when the sky flared bright. Looking up, a beam of intense light pierced through gaps in a massive black warship.

I didn’t know what it was. But one thing was certain.

Gojo— no proof… but it’s him.

‘What the hell is this light?’

‘I’m not listening.’

A man and woman in silver armor were talking. Behind them, a magic circle appeared. Not one— another circle had already been drawn a little farther away.

Both circles flared to life. A pillar of light shot through the clouds.

‘This… is summoning!?’

Before the silver-armored man, a single “ape” materialized.

It was a crimson ape, clad in simple armor, wearing gauntlets.

‘What the hell is this ape? Who the hell summoned—’

The man’s words cut off as the ape’s fist drove straight into his stomach.

‘Huh—?!’

The man’s body bent into a “U” shape, then blasted backward for dozens of meters. Didn’t even see when the ape moved—but the speed was undeniable.

The man writhed, blood spurting from his mouth.

‘What the hell is this thing?! A pathetic little monster like this?!’

The woman lunged at the ape with a slash—but the ape was already gone from where she struck. The ape had dodged to her side, then brought a knife-hand down on her arm.

Her arm came off clean. The ape slammed an elbow into the woman’s side—*crack*—like her insides had shattered.

She collapsed to the ground, trying to rise, but her legs twitched uncontrollably.

‘…M-me… like this… by some beast…?’

The armored men surged forward together, attacking the ape. Arrows flew, spells flared—but the ape dodged every single one.

They charged in, axes and swords slashing—

The ape leapt high, stretched out, then snapped two necks with a kick and a backfist. The speed was insane—but it wasn’t done. In a blink, three more men dropped, dead.

Right as the avalanche of enemies came at it, the “ape” fired a straight punch.

A blast of explosive wind erupted from the fist—dozens in front of it exploded into the air like popcorn.

The armored man who’d staggered up swung his sword sideways—only for the ape to leap up, dodge, spin in midair, and slam down on him with a lightning-fast punch.

‘Ah—! M-my face…!’

The man yelped, stumbling back, legs buckling—no chance the ape would let him escape. A furious barrage: roundhouse kick, upward axe kick, heel drop, then a straight punch—too fast to follow.

The man in silver armor couldn’t do anything but get beaten relentlessly—his armor and body were a mess. It was obvious he’d already died mid-strike.

The woman in silver armor, missing an arm, tried to flee—but the ape gathered its ki into a hand. That ki “hand” stretched long, grabbing her foot.

Yanking it sharply, she flew through the air like a fish pulled from water.

‘Kyaaaahhh!!?’

The ape kicked off the ground and leapt upward. The woman’s stomach took a direct punch from the ape’s fist, and she spewed blood, flying upward.

She fell from above, slammed into the ground, and didn’t move again.

This was the summoned beast summoned by Gojo...

【Wang Xinyi —】

I’m bleeding too much—can’t move like I should.

This terrifyingly fast man… my power won’t work on him… just like before. Back in China, when I fought the Leader with Gojo...

Memories flooded in. Is this a death spiral?

Just as I was thinking such nonsense, a magic circle appeared before me. A pillar of light rose, and something emerged from within.

I stared, stunned at the creature’s form.

Silver, mechanical body. Lion-like appearance. Fangs and claws glowing gold. No mistake… the Leader we fought in China.

‘What the hell is this thing, popping out like that?’

The man foolishly stepped toward the Leader. In the next instant—

The man’s right arm was gone.

‘Huh?’

Even someone that fast couldn’t keep up with the Leader’s speed. It’s real… so Gojo really summoned it?

The armored man drew his sword with his left hand, gritted his teeth, and turned back toward the Leader.

‘Ugh… gah… my arm… you bastard, I’ll never forgive you!’

The man and the Leader clash at blinding speed. Hard to follow with the eyes, but the man’s sword can’t even scratch the Leader. Yet—

‘Gwah!!’

The Leader’s claw rips open the man’s right eye. Clearly, the Leader’s stronger. The silver lion slices through the man’s body bit by bit, cornering him.

After another round of combat, the Leader’s mouth is filled with the man’s leg.

‘Gyaaaaaah!!’

The Leader spits out the leg and vanishes from sight. The man’s scream cuts off. Where he stood—nothing remains but a pool of blood and scattered body parts.

The Leader charges the enemy group that had been attacking us from afar. In an instant, over ten enemy upper bodies vanish.

Then, only the enemies’ screams echo.

I feel my strength leaving me. So this enemy—so terrifying just moments ago—now stands as our ally… and yet, it feels this strong…

Relieved, I collapse to the ground, surrendering consciousness.

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