Chapter 302: Ragnarok (7) (1)

Pick Me Up!

Step.

The sound of leather boots hitting the asphalt road rang out clearly.

Hundreds of people had gathered in the streets and alleys lined with various shops, murmuring among themselves. The weight of their stares prickled against my skin.

Of course.

In this city ruled by cutting-edge civilization, a man wearing leather armor and a tattered cloak had suddenly appeared–it was only natural that it seemed strange. I didn’t fit in with this place at all.

“Looks like they’ve been living well on their own.”

Mobius employees enjoyed the full benefits of modern civilization, while forcing monsters and heroes to live subhuman lives. That’s how it was, huh?

“Who is that guy?”

“Is it a photoshoot?”

“Come to think of it, I heard a hero escaped from the waiting room just now…”

Still, I didn’t feel like blaming them.

They were only following orders from above. The ones I needed to crush were the 32 executives reigning at the very top of the company. As for the rest–unless they got in my way, I had no reason to bother with them.

BEEEEEEEP!

Suddenly, a red light flashed from a steel streetlamp.

A warning siren blared from the large speakers lining the streets.

[Level 1 Alert! Attention, all Mobius employees in Eden Sector 14!]

[The high-risk wanted criminal ‘Loki’ has been spotted in this area. The city defense forces have been dispatched for containment, so all employees must evacuate immediately. I repeat! This area contains a Level 1 wanted criminal…]

Despite the evacuation warning, most of the citizens didn’t seem inclined to leave.

Instead, they watched from a distance, as if they were at a zoo. Some were even recording me with their phones.

Well, I suppose that made sense.

Not once had a hero ever invaded this place before.

“That’s… the one from the rumors… the one who turned against the CEO…”

“How did he break through the first server’s passage? What the hell was the defense force doing?”

“Not that it matters–he’s probably just another one of the CEO’s playthings.”

I drew the Dragon Scale Sword from my forearm.

With a flick of my wrist, I swung it lightly.

Swish!

The whip-like blade, which extended up to three meters in length, swept across the road ahead.

The flexible dragon-scale whip coiled around the cars tightly packed into the four-lane road and sent them flying into the air.

Boom!

An SUV spun through the air and crashed straight into a shop window.

The Dragon Scale Sword twisted again. The cars blocking my path bounced away like pebbles.

Splat.

A citizen, too preoccupied filming me with his phone for social media, was crushed beneath a falling car. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and only after a series of explosions and flames swallowed the street… RANOEs

“AAAHHHHHH!”

“R-Run for your lives!”

…Did the crowd finally start scattering like ants.

“Idiots.”

I had no intention of committing a massacre.

But I also had no intention of holding back.

If they got in my way, I’d kill them all.

This wasn’t a battle between evil and justice.

I had no desire to play the role of a righteous hero.

After all, what I was about to do was overturn the very laws of the universe–to force the dead to rise from their graves.

“I can’t be an angle.”

If anything, I’d be a demon.

I let out a chuckle and twisted the Dragon Scale Sword.

The blade, made of interlocking dragon scales, stretched and twisted in an eerie manner, sweeping across the entire road.

BOOM! BOOM!

A series of explosions erupted.

The support pillars of the overpass collapsed.

Parked cars went up in flames.

The asphalt roads cracked and caved in.

Screeeech!

Dozens of cars racing toward me screeched to a halt.

I didn’t stop.

Vehicles, impaled like fish on a skewer, were flung into the air.

“AAAGGHHH!”

“Where’s the defense force?! Take out the terrorist!”

The city instantly plunged into chaos.

Fires raged across the destroyed roads.

“A-A monster has appeared!”

“GYAAAH!”

Citizens fled en masse from the buildings lining the streets.

They scattered in the opposite direction from me.

‘They’re coming soon.’

In the sky above the road, several helicopters armed with missiles and machine guns approached.

Behind them, a fleet of floating warships lined up.

[Master Loki! This is your final warning! Cease all terrorist activity and disarm immediately…]

I simply lowered my index finger.

CRACK!

The steel helicopters crumpled like paper planes, erupting in flames before exploding.

[…Huh?]

With each flick of my finger, the helicopters twisted and deformed on their own.

As if someone was crumpling a sheet of paper.

Crunch! Snap! Crack!

The helicopter squadron was destroyed before they could even fire a single shot.

“Tell me–did you really think you could stop me with this trash?”

Pathetic.

This wasn’t even worthy of being called a welcome party.

With a mere glance, the state-of-the-art airships crashed down.

[Mobius Inc.]

[City Defense Forces Lv.99] x569

A full-fledged army armed with modern weaponry appeared.

“That won’t be enough.”

I flicked my cloak.

WHIRR!

A series of large and small violet magic circles materialized within the swirling fabric.

“Fire.”

BOOM!

A superheated beam blanketed the frontlines.

The defense forces, who had been standing in formation preparing to fire, were vaporized in an instant.

“You’re watching, aren’t you, Tel? I told you–you can’t stop me.”

BOOM!

A second volley of energy blasts.

Seventeen beams shot out in different directions, curving as they flew.

The light cannons wiped out an entire battalion in an instant and pierced through the high-rise buildings behind them.

Three skyscrapers caught in the blast began to collapse.

A few dozen buildings toppling over didn’t concern me in the slightest.

Swish!

I swung the Dragon Scale Sword once more.

The whip-like blade, extending over 100 meters, coiled and cut through everything in its path.

Buildings, shopping districts, overpasses, vehicles, tanks, helicopters, airships–everything was sliced apart.

[Mobius Inc.]

[City Defense Forces Lv.99] x357

[Delta Rangers Lv.99] x89

More forces poured in from all directions, but it was meaningless.

Rifles, machine guns, missiles, even tank shells–all were deployed, yet…

I flicked my cloak once more.

The three guided missiles approaching me were caught in the swirling barrier, twisted around, and launched back in the opposite direction.

BOOOOOM!

It didn’t matter if they sent a hundred, a thousand, or even a hundred thousand soldiers.

The result would be the same.

“They’ll all become my prey.”