Mutagen

Inside the Technical Laboratory\'s docks and hangar, the preparations of the soldiers were amidst completion.

The warship was ready to deploy as declared. But the ammunition it required for its new weapons still had to be loaded into the warship.

As for the units that the Prime Minister mentioned, since the operation time of the units was short, they had to be deployed to the frontline using heavy vehicles to conserve energy. The units were currently being loaded into said vehicles.

With all these preparations they still had to undergo through, they should be ready in another minute or two at the earliest.

However, when the preparations were over, the orders to deploy did not come.

There was no need to guess what the reason was. Everyone in the southern parts of the Reclaimed City saw the gigantic dome of flames engulf everything in the northern areas of the Reclaimed City.

Inside the laboratory, the Prime Minister and the other leading figures of the Reclaimed City stared at the large monitors in front of them, dazed. While making their preparations to help, they sent surveillance drones to Kachidoki to monitor the situation.

They all watched the terrifyingly inhuman battle happening over the Sumida River. Even though they intended to help, they could not help but question whether mortals like them should join this fight.

But now, they knew that they had no choice but to join. It did not matter whether they liked it or not.

It was because the last thing they saw before the surveillance drone got destroyed was the scene of their hopes getting swallowed by the surging wave of flames.

"Deploy new drones. Immediately," The Prime Minister kept a calm front and ordered. "We urgently need to confirm their status."

"Y-yes, Sir."

One of the nearby soldiers replied with a slight falter. Then, the soldier ran off to inform the technical division.

Everyone stared at the monitors that showed nothing but static. Complex emotions filled their heart.

But if that was not enough, Kageyama Shigeru, the Bureau\'s Chief, arrived with his entourage.

BAM!

Shigeru slammed his fist on the wall. Ignoring the pain, he leaned his back on it, clearly downhearted.

"What happened, Kageyama-san?"

The Prime Minister asked the Bureau\'s Chief.

"We lost contact with three platoons. They were amidst evacuating the people in Toyosu and Harumi," It was not Shigeru, but Ishioka Kenji, the Bureau\'s examiner, who replied. "And... around four hundred people they were supposed to evacuate."

It was more than five hundred confirmed casualties. There was nothing to doubt about what could have possibly happened to them. 

The wave of flames swallowed everything from Kachidoki to Toyosu. The heat and shockwave could even be felt past the utterly destroyed areas. There was basically no way of surviving the wave of flames.

Even if those people caught within those areas tried to jump into the water, it would not be the flames but those horrendous black creatures that would kill them.

Those five hundred people were just among the confirmed casualties. There might be more unconfirmed ones. After all, the evacuations in some areas were not thoroughly finished. However, the death of more than a hundred and fifty soldiers had caused a substantial emotional impact on the Bureau Chief\'s heart. It was because those soldiers were under his leadership just a while ago, fighting the Demons trying to invade the Reclaimed City through Kachidoki.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate would not allow them to mourn this early.

ROOOOAARRR!!!

The eight loud roars echoed across the Reclaimed City in unison.

The roar, which seemed to shake the core of their being, could not be ignored by any means.

While the Prime Minister was distracted by the Bureau Chief\'s entrance, one of the representatives asked the technical staff to switch one of the monitors to the remote-controlled surveillance cameras outside the laboratory.

The static on one of the monitors switched to a different view. As the staff controlled and caught a glimpse of something, making the camera face the sky to the north.

And there, everyone\'s hearts sank even more.

The giant eight-headed monster survived that explosion despite being there at ground zero. And now, it was wildly flying at the sky, as if it was a caged beast that gained freedom for the first time in a long while.

It seemed to be flying around, looking for something. At the estimate, the monster was currently sweeping over the ruined territory of Harumi, moving south.

While the eight-headed monster was not attacking immediately, it was just a matter of time.

Worse, the fate of the people they viewed as their hope was still uncertain.

"Deploy the units immediately. There\'s no need to use the trucks to transport them anymore." 

The Prime Minister told the Head Scientist, and the latter could only nod.

And just in time...

"The final preparations on Susanoo are complete! He\'s ready to leave the dock within command!"

The voice of the Head Staff in the docks sounded through the comms speaker.

With the confirmation received, the Prime Minister closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The Prime Minister then opened his eyes and gave his command.

"Deploy Susanoo for its battle. Let the God of Sea and Storms bless us in this final struggle."

One of the monitors switched to the scene of the enclosed docks. The gigantic gates on the water slowly opened, and the warship named after the God of Sea and Storms departed for its first battle with the salutes of everyone watching its departure.

This was the Warship Susanoo\'s battle. But it could also be the last. Everyone on board the ship deserved the salute as they might not return after their departure.

At the same time, the said units were activated in the hangar. The specially trained soldiers manned their units as they finally took their first steps into the public eye.

The units, no, the [Vanguard Armors], stepped out of the hangar. These were robotic armors standing two and a half meters tall were the newly developed technology of the Japanese Government after the apocalypse began. While still in the experimental phase, the current build could already be deployed in certain scenarios, even if keeping the current flaws in mind.

Of course, the Japanese Government did not risk deploying these high-tech armors while still in the experimental phase.

Unfortunately, they did not have much choice now.

The [Vanguard Soldiers] marched out of the hangar, heading to the northern areas of Ariake. With Toyosu and the northern areas of the Reclaimed City, the northern banks of Ariake would be the next frontline.

Forced cheers enveloped the surroundings of the soldiers. There was not enough shelter in Ariake for all of the evacuees to hide. Thus, women and children were prioritized in the shelters while the men stayed outside. Of course, not all women and children. The shelters were limited in space. A lot of people were left outside, no matter their age or gender.

Those evacuees forced themselves to see hope in the current situation. They knew it might be impossible for the soldiers to fight the monstrosity in the sky. However, they gave their cheers, nonetheless.

The [Vanguard Armors] might give people hope if it was an invasion of [Mechids] or the [Infected]. But against a mythological being known to be a Godly creature? Definitely not.

ROOOOOARRR!!!

The terrifying roar echoed once again. The monster swept across the ruins of Harumi and Toyosu. It would only be a matter of time before it reached Ariake.

Even if that roar made everyone shiver, even the soldiers, they kept moving. The rest of the Defense Forces also moved, deploying the last of their tanks and artillery on the field.

Then, the [Freelancers] moved behind them. These people were all [Ability Holders]. Although they did not know whether they could be of help in this situation, it was way better than cowering behind, leaving their fate in the hands of others.

ROOOOARRR!!!

The roars were getting louder. But the defense line was also established soon enough.

Everyone\'s hearts were beating hard. Were they nervous? Scared? 

Were they scared of dying? Or were they scared that if they failed, the people counting on them would follow their steps to the afterlife?

They did not even know.

And now, the question arose.

The monster would come soon. Should the Defense Forces wait for it to come, or should they strike first?

However, the answer was clear.

BOOOM! BOOOM!

A pair of booming sounds came from the background. It was followed by the sounds of a barrage of multitudes of cannons firing at the same time.

The Prime Minister and the representatives decided to strike first.

And the Warship Susanoo\'s full-blown attack was the opening of the final defense.

BOOOM! CRACKLE!

The eight-headed serpent was hit first by two powerful attacks. One would think that the main naval cannons of the Warship Susanoo would be fed with anti-aircraft shells. However, it was different this time, as the explosions were followed by a bright flash of light and the sound of crackling thunder.

Warship Susanoo\'s main cannons were modified to fight mutated enemies in the sea. Its newly developed ammunition was created to spread high-voltage electricity on impact. This was developed due to a lot of mutated creatures having high resistance to explosions. The electric discharge was developed with the intention to fry the brains of mutated creatures, even if they had strong mutated bodies.

Who would have thought that the first battle which used these newly developed [Anti-Mutant Shells] would be not against a mutated creature but a godly being?

And following the sparks of electricity, smaller anti-air shells flew into the air and shot toward the monster.

ROOOOARRR!!!

A painful roar came out of the monster\'s eight mouths. It flew out of the smoke from the explosion, showing its unscathed body. However, it clearly felt the high-voltage discharge from the new shells.

And, without a doubt, that feeling made the monster angrier.

The monster\'s eight heads faced the direction the barrage of attacks was coming from, ready to spew a number of attacks at the warship.

But then...

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

Each of the monster\'s heads was met with heavy impacts, causing it to stagger mid-air.

"It\'s hurting! Continue the bombardment!"

A field commander roared at his radio, ignoring the loud sounds of tank cannons and artillery echoing around him.

And then, the loud sounds of propellers echoed in everyone\'s ears.

The remaining airforce units, composed of nothing but attack helicopters, were also deployed.

It was a risky participation. The monster was clearly much faster than these attack helicopters. Furthermore, the Defense Forces only had six remaining attack helicopters, and it would be bad to lose even one. But as it was the last light of defense, there was no need to worry about such.

With the warship and artillery barrage creating a distraction, the helicopters maneuvered around the monster in the sky.

Comparing the size of the monster and the helicopters was like comparing a fully grown boa and an over-bloated tick. Even so, these ticks carried deadly missiles.

With several whooshing sounds, the helicopters released their first barrage of missiles.

As the monster moved around in the air, some of the missiles from the helicopters missed. However, those that hit caused explosions that caused some pain.

Unfortunately, the missiles could only do such against the eight-headed serpent. The missiles barely left a scratch on the serpent\'s scales. There was no need to think about being able to take it down.

And worse...

ROOOOAR!!!

The eight-headed serpent began to get used to the attacks it was receiving. Each of its heads began to move differently from each other. It became harder to continuously hit its heads with the barrage of attacks. Attacking its eight heads was the only way to prevent it from counterattacking.

But as some of the heads were freed from the barrage of attacks, it began to make its own attack.

WOOOM!

One of the heads spewed flames. The target was a maneuvering helicopter.

The helicopter was immediately covered in flames before ending in an explosion. With that, the first casualty of the final defense occurred.