The earth trembled.
The air stank of decay.
The sky was choked with dark dust from countless mutated bodies tearing each other apart.
"Roar! Roar!"
"Awooo!!"
"Sizzle!!"
Gastrea—monstrous, ever-evolving, and grotesque—covered the plain outside the Tokyo Monolith. Their corpses stacked like a mountain range, forming a macabre battlefield.
And then—
A white dimensional vortex tore open reality.
A giant luminous portal descended.
From within it marched order, discipline, and technology.
Orc armies in full armor.
Garrison elites radiating killing intent.
Breathing Technique users exhaling elemental force.
The first to step out was Benimaru, who wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh! What is this polluted air? And these… Gastrea? They're nothing more than malformed lower-class monsters."
Takumi emerged next, his coat fluttering, golden Finality aura rippling faintly.
"Benimaru, do not underestimate them."
His scarlet-gold eyes assessed the monsters clinically.
"Gastrea exist in five stages. Stage Five specimens regenerate at the atomic level. While your Black Flames can erase them, treat every encounter seriously."
"Yes! Understood, Lord Takumi!"
Takumi lifted his chin slightly.
"Good. But it seems the locals don't appreciate our entrance."
Gastrea, alerted by the tremors of arrival, froze.
Then, as if receiving a collective signal, they rushed toward the newly arrived Dimensional Army.
The First Battle in the New World
Takumi gave a casual wave.
"Benimaru. The field is yours. Clear every Gastrea. Establish a forward base. All Cursed Children found in the city will be sent here. I will scout the interior first."
Benimaru knelt.
"As you command!"
He turned to the army and barked:
"Rengoku Kyoujurou! Kurut! Lead the charge!"
"Understood!!"
The ground shook.
30,000 Orc warriors stomped forward in unison.
"TRAMPLE!!"
"BOOM!!!!"
The force split the earth open into a ravine several kilometers long, sending swarms of Gastrea tumbling into the chasm.
Benimaru thrust his hand forward.
"Black Flames."
FWOOOM—
A pillar of black fire roared down the canyon, detonating into a sweeping inferno. A mushroom cloud of ash rose, engulfing everything.
Then the Garrison elites charged.
"Stone Breathing — First Form: Serpentinite Break!"
"Wind Breathing — First Form: Gale Slash!"
"Water Breathing — Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
"Flame Breathing — First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
The Breathing users carved open a clearing, their weapons tearing through Gastrea armor like wet paper.
Takumi watched the carnage from above, nodded once, then turned away.
"Good. They can handle this."
He flew toward Tokyo proper.
Tokyo Area · Slum District
Cries echoed through the broken streets.
Two convenience store employees chased a small girl of about ten. She wore rags, no shoes, and her red-tinted eyes glowed faintly.
A Cursed Child.
Clutching three dented cans of food, she stumbled.
"Stop, you filthy brat!!"
"You injured a guard, didn't you?! Trash like you deserves a bullet!"
She turned a corner—
—and ran right into Satomi Rentaro and Aihara Enju.
Rentaro blinked in shock.
A Cursed Child… outside the district?
Enju froze. The girl looked just like her.
The child opened her mouth to speak.
"That…"
But before she could explain, one of the clerks grabbed her by the hair and slammed her down.
"You damn thief!"
Enju's hand trembled as she reached toward the girl for comfort—
Slap.
Rentaro grabbed her wrist.
"Don't. If they see you help her, they'll realize you're a Cursed Child too."
Just then, two corrupt police officers jogged over.
Rentaro called to them:
"Please protect this child!"
The officers ignored him.
Instead, they shouted at the injured girl:
"Move it, you little monster!"
They dragged her away, ignoring her screams.
Enju, trembling, whispered:
"Rentaro… why didn't you save her…?"
Rentaro paled.
"Enju… If they learn what you are—"
"She was begging me for help!" Enju cried, tears falling. "Rentaro can do anything! Why didn't you help? Why?!"
Rentaro stiffened.
Then he ran.
Abandoned Building · Execution Scene
The two officers cornered the little girl.
They kicked her.
Again.
And again.
"You monsters should all die!"
Spitting blood, she curled up, trembling.
One officer pulled his gun.
"Bang!"
The bullet ripped into her shoulder.
"Still alive?"
He aimed again—toward her head.
"Die, you—"
A voice colder than ice cut through the silence:
"If you pull that trigger… I guarantee your death will be slow. And far more painful."
The officers froze.
"W-who's there?!"
They spun toward the source of the voice—
And saw a handsome young man with golden eyes filled with lethal rage.
Takumi.
Herrscher aura rippled behind him like wings forged from the end of all things.
The officers shivered.
Takumi spoke again, each word a blade:
"Step away from the girl. Now."