The Lion King of the Golden Lightning, a Beast Vassal that commanded raging thunder, manifested with a roar that split the air. Its presence alone erected a towering electromagnetic barrier along the road leading toward the outer perimeter.
One after another, more Beast Vassals materialized behind Avrora Florestina.
The Mercury Serpent.
The Rainbow Flame of the Nether Princess.
Yama's Black Blade.
The Twin-Horned Crimson.
Each one appeared like a calamity given form—an overwhelming force that could not possibly belong to any "normal" world.
The helicopters and fighter jets approaching at high speed were erased before they even entered attack range. Avrora's familiars tore through them mercilessly, their explosions blooming across the sky like grotesque fireworks.
Anyone who managed to eject stood no chance either—Avrora had already marked every life within her domain. Before their parachutes even deployed, a flash of flame or a streak of lightning vaporized them.
On the ground, the mobilized police units never even made it close. Before they could organize proper formation, the Rainbow Flame swept across the road, reducing every armed officer to charred ash.
Missiles, bullets, rockets—none of them mattered.
Avrora might be whimsical and ditzy on the surface, but she was still the Fourth Primogenitor.
An S+-class existence—a being comparable to a natural disaster in the world of "Black Bullet."
Here, she was an invincible one-woman army.
She let out a little huff, her golden eyes glinting as she pushed back wave after wave of armed forces.
At the same time, she noticed the scattered Cursed Children peeking out from alleys and ruins. With a soft exhale, her body dissolved into shimmering silver mist—the power of the Carapace's Silver Fog.
Before the children could even understand what was happening, they found themselves carried gently by that mist and deposited right before Izumi.
Izumi silently gave her a thumbs-up.
Without hesitation, he transported each of the children into his personal world—a lush paradise compared to the gray ruins they came from.
The girls who were originally terrified and struggling stopped instantly the moment they glimpsed the inside.
Artificial attendants were waiting there for them, bowing politely and offering soft words and warm blankets. Earlier arrivals—already in cute clean outfits—rushed over to help the newcomers with surprising enthusiasm.
Some of them had even been dressed up as little princesses already.
Seeing girls their age smiling, cleaned up, and adored like royalty left the new arrivals completely stunned.
That voice from earlier… it wasn't a lie?
We… can wear beautiful clothes too?
There's a place where we won't be treated like monsters…?
Hope—something they had long abandoned—quietly rekindled.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Izumi, watching the situation unfold through his connection to his inner world, allowed himself a faint smile.
Looks like the plan worked perfectly.
His eyes shifted back toward the battlefield.
Not a single armed unit had been allowed to reach him. Avrora had wiped out the helicopters, fighter jets, and every vehicle that tried approaching.
The surviving police and civil officers were frozen in place, staring blankly at the girl standing before them.
Multiple Beast Vassals guarded her from every angle—some crouched on the ground like divine beasts, others swirling high in the sky like heavenly dragons.
Between them lay a landscape of burning wreckage and collapsed terrain—smoke, flames, and the stench of metal.
They could no longer comprehend what they were seeing.
Is she really human?
Is this truly a power any living being should possess?
Weapons were useless. Strategies were meaningless. Resistance was suicide.
Izumi stepped off the boulder he had been sitting on and took Senju Kayo's hand, leading her upward into the air as though invisible steps supported each footfall.
Kayo watched with wide, sparkling eyes.
"So this is Izumi-sama's power… No matter how many times I see it, it's amazing…"
Her gratitude and admiration overflowed from her gaze.
When they reached a height overlooking the battlefield, a geometric array of Masaka-style runic plates unfolded behind Izumi, assembling into a crystalline violet throne.
Sitting upon it like a sovereign, Izumi looked down at the trembling forces below.
Then he spoke.
"Do you intend to continue?"
His voice echoed across the burning plain.
"If you still want to fight, I don't mind playing with you a bit more."
At his signal, countless black voids—Subspace Gates—blossomed behind him, spreading outward until they filled the sky above the entire city.
From within each black hole protruded the gleaming tips of Subspace Spears, poised in every direction.
The sight resembled Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, except far deadlier, as each weapon connected to dimensional rifts capable of leveling city blocks.
Everyone watching swallowed hard, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.
They had already seen what those black holes were capable of—shattering the massive Monoliths that protected the city from Gastrea was no trivial feat.
A Monolith was supposed to be indestructible.
But Izumi had erased several in seconds.
"Avrora," Izumi said calmly.
"Recall your familiars. After that, use your mist. Bring me every Cursed Child in the city."
His tone sharpened.
"I've already run out of patience."
Avrora nodded, dissolving once more into silver fog.
In mere moments, that fog spread across the entire city like a glowing silver tide, phasing through buildings to track down and rescue the hidden Cursed Children.
Given her full Primogenitor power, shrouding the entire city was trivial.
Izumi surveyed the cityscape below and continued speaking:
"Don't try anything stupid."
"I'm not a saint."
"If you irritate me, I won't hesitate to send every last one of you to meet God."
He smirked.
"Not that any of you would actually get to meet Him."
The Subspace Spears extended threateningly, ready to fire at the slightest resistance.
Panic froze every officer on the ground. They had no idea what to do—move and die, or freeze and possibly still die.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, at Seitenshi's headquarters—
The politicians—those who truly held the power despite Seitenshi's title—stared at the screens showing the city wrapped in silver fog and the sky filled with black holes.
The hands hidden beneath their desks trembled violently.
A single man.
One outsider.
Had annihilated almost all fighting forces sent against him.
Could they really hope to oppose such a being?
Even Tendō Kikunojo, normally calm and calculating, was visibly shaking.
Seitenshi sat silently on the main seat, pale and hollow-eyed.
After a long, suffocating silence, Kikunojo finally spoke.
"…We should negotiate."
"He claims to be from another world, and his target is the Cursed Children."
"Then let us hand over every Cursed Child."
Seitenshi gave a weak, bitter laugh.
"Negotiate? At this point?"
"He has already begun."
Outside the windows, silver mist continued enveloping the city, extracting each Cursed Child and transporting them to Izumi.
Seitenshi's face twisted with despair.
"Is this world… truly finished…?"
Kikunojo's expression darkened. After a moment of thought, he turned to her.
"In that case, Seitenshi-sama…"
"Please take responsibility and commit suicide."
"Everything up until now—was arranged by you, was it not?"
The room fell deathly silent again.
And disturbingly…
Several seemed to think this was a reasonable proposal.
'This old man plays dirty till the end....'