Chapter 295: Chapter 295: I Am War!
Japan, Ministry of Defense.
Right now, alarms were blaring throughout the Ministry of Defense. Inside, the staff were in total chaos, running around like headless chickens, completely panicked.
It was because the air defense system had detected multiple missiles flying in from above Japanese airspace—headed straight for Tokyo.
"Why are we suddenly under missile attack!?" the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense shouted furiously, his old face flushed red. "Where are they coming from!?"
"R-report..."
The reporting officer's voice trembled. He was sweating heavily as he looked at the intel in his hand, clearly unsure if he should tell his superior the shocking news.
"Spit it out already! What the hell are you stalling for!?" Seeing his subordinate look like he'd seen a ghost, the already-frustrated Chief of Staff slammed the table and shot up from his chair, furious enough to want to slap him.
"They... they were launched from the U.S. military base in Yokosuka," the officer stammered.
"What did you say!?" The Chief of Staff froze for a moment, his brain refusing to process what he'd just heard.
"From the U.S. base in Yokosuka," the officer repeated.
The Chief of Staff collapsed into his chair like the strength had drained out of his body. He muttered weakly, "Is Japan doomed...?"
He couldn't understand why the American military—whom Japan had always treated like honored guests—would suddenly launch missiles at them. And not just anywhere, but directly at Tokyo, the most crowded city in the country.
Was history about to repeat itself? Another Hiroshima? Another Nagasaki?
After a few seconds of despair, the Chief of Staff suddenly sat up straight again and asked urgently, "Were the missiles intercepted!?"
"We already tried to intercept them, but..." the officer trailed off.
"But what!?"
"But... the interceptor warheads all suddenly changed direction on their own..."
...
At the same time, chaos had broken out at the U.S. military base in Yokosuka.
"Which drunk idiot fired those missiles!?" the base's top commander roared. His beard trembled with every word.
"You trying to start a damn war!?"
The soldiers being yelled at looked completely confused. "Sir, there wasn't anyone in the ground control room. If you're going to yell, yell at the fleet, not us."
Just as one of the soldiers finished speaking, a message came in from the Seventh Fleet out at sea. That's when they realized something terrifying: the missiles had actually been launched by their own fleet.
"You're telling me... our fleet suddenly grew a mind of its own, didn't like the look of the Japanese, and decided to launch a whole missile barrage at Tokyo by itself?"
The commander was so angry, he actually laughed. A moment later, the soldiers around him also started laughing.
"What the hell are you laughing at!?"
The commander smashed his whiskey bottle on the ground in front of them. He already knew his life was over.
He was going to be court-martialed for war crimes and dragged in front of a military tribunal. So much for his peaceful and easy life.
Thinking that, he suddenly took a box of expensive cigars from his uniform pocket, lit one, and laughed again—this time, more calmly.
If even the fleet has grown a damn soul of its own, what more is there to say?
...
Tokyo, Ginza.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked up at the first flickering light in the sky.
Then, more lights broke through the clouds, filling her vision like a meteor shower streaking across the night sky.
The two black-haired girls' eyes widened in shock.
That was a barrage of missiles, each one trailing blazing flames behind it!
And standing atop the leading missile was a massive figure. The missile's fiery exhaust lit up its bronze-colored skin, making it shine like metal.
This special-grade cursed spirit of war wasn't like Jogo or the other "Four Calamities." It didn't need a name—something so fragile and human. Like its source Izumi, it only had one goal: to bring war to every corner of this planet.
Its target now was the glittering, thriving city below.
Yukinoshita Yukino also saw the figure standing on the missile. Its enormous cursed energy was as obvious as a lighthouse shining on Doukai's surface.
The crowd evacuating the city saw the lights in the sky too, and many stopped in their tracks.
"Huh? What are those glowing things in the sky?"
"Are they shooting stars?"
"They're so pretty!"
But when someone zoomed in with their camera, they were shocked to discover those fast-falling lights were actually missiles!
And on the missiles' engines, the American flag was clearly visible.
"They're missiles! Run!"
As soon as someone shouted "missiles," it was like a giant rock had been thrown into a calm lake—panic exploded through the crowd.
People who had been staying calm just moments ago completely lost it. They shoved and ran in all directions like ants fleeing a collapsing nest, wishing they had more legs to run faster.
Those who fell were trampled in an instant. Their screams were drowned out by the terrified shouts of the crowd.
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't have time to care about the evacuating people anymore.
If those missiles exploded in the city, Ginza would be completely wiped out.
She floated into the air, her black hair dancing behind her. Below her was the neon-lit city and the panicking crowd; ahead of her was a sky full of glowing missiles.
Her pale, slender fingers formed a sword gesture. Yukinoshita Yukino swung it toward the incoming missiles.
She no longer held back her power. Wide, invisible slashes burst from her fingers. In an instant, every missile was sliced cleanly in half. Warheads exploded in the night sky with a thunderous roar.
The explosions lit up the dark sky like bright, blooming fireworks.
Through the burning light, a bronze figure dropped from the sky and crashed onto the roof of a tall building. The ground cracked and shattered beneath it, spiderweb-like cracks spreading in every direction.
Yukinoshita Yukino gently floated down and lightly touched the ground, standing face-to-face with the cursed spirit of war.
She looked at the massive, muscular figure with its sharp bone spikes at each joint and its fierce white bone mask. Her heart sank just a little.
Special-grade… and a very strong one. Stronger even than Dagon, who she had fought before.
"A woman, huh? So you're the one Kenjaku mentioned… Japan's strongest?"
The cursed spirit spoke in a deep, booming voice like an ancient bell. It carried a heavy, murderous pressure, as if the air itself had turned into a battlefield full of sand and smoke.
It knows who I am?
Looks like the enemy really did get their hands on some intel.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
Faced with the intense pressure from the curse spirit, Yukinoshita Yukino stayed calm and fired back with a question of her own. Her face, cold and beautiful as always, looked like a snow lotus blooming on a snowy mountain.
"I am war. I came here to bring war to this country."
Thick breaths poured out from under the curse spirit's skull-like mask. It let out a twisted laugh.
"The strongest one, huh? Let's start this war with you."
The black-haired girl met the curse spirit's blood-red eyes, filled with killing intent. Without another word, she swung her arm, slashing forward.
"Is that so? Then you're bound to fail."
She aimed for the curse spirit's thick neck—almost as wide as its head—and the moment her words ended, a spray of blood burst out.
The curse spirit's neck was almost cut halfway through, exposing thick, knotted muscles beneath its bronze skin. But in the very next second, the nearly severed neck healed completely.
Yukinoshita Yukino's pupils narrowed slightly.
Curses are different from humans, and using cursed energy to heal wounds doesn't require mastering advanced techniques like reverse cursed energy—but this level of healing was insane.
Almost as fast as Hayashizaki's reversal... maybe even faster than hers.
"Hahaha, that didn't even hurt."
The war curse twisted its neck and charged at the stunned black-haired girl, laughing loudly.
It took one step forward, and the ground beneath it instantly caved in. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared from Yukino's view—it moved at blinding speed.
A huge bronze fist dropped down from above her head—but stopped just short of hitting her.
"Oh?"
War let out a curious sound.
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed lightly.
Still not quite used to this auto-defense technique... For enemies who didn't have a way to deal with it, it really was a bit too unfair.
She reached out to the side, forming her fingers into a gun shape. A crimson light instantly flared up.
"Reversed technique: *Red*."
The red light shot out like a bullet, slamming into War's stomach. He was blown back like a kite with its string cut.
Now thrown high into the sky by *Red*, War looked up to see the black-haired girl suddenly appear above him. Grinning, he reached out and grabbed the dancing red light. Then, gripping *Red* with his fist, he threw a punch at the dazzling blue sphere crashing down toward him.
His entire arm was shredded to pieces by the full-power *Blue*, and right after, the remaining *Aka* slammed into *Blue*. A blinding flash of purple lightning exploded on contact.
The sudden burst of cursed energy sent both of them flying.
War plummeted toward the ground, while the black-haired girl was blasted higher into the sky.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked down at the scorched wounds on her body, the sharp pain making her frown slightly.
So the blast broke through her Limitless technique defense after all. Must be because it came from her own cursed energy—the barrier didn't fully block it.
Still, the fact that the curse spirit managed to grab *Red* with his bare hands… his body was ridiculously tough.
She looked down—and her eyes suddenly widened. Her clear, dark blue pupils reflected a high-rise building that was getting bigger by the second.
The building slammed into the untouchable barrier created by Limitless.
Chunks of concrete and shards of glass exploded everywhere in front of her eyes.
The tower was smashed through layer by layer—until the whole view opened up.
She reached out and stopped the building that was flying into the sky from falling straight down.
But then, that bronze-colored figure appeared again, speeding straight toward her.
The war curse spirit shot up like a rocket, heading right for Yukinoshita Yukino in the air. Its massive, fist-sized like a cooking pot, swung at her again.
This time, though, when the fist got close, blue sparks flashed from the barrier around the girl.
"Can't get near the sorcerer, huh? This technique of yours… it's the Limitless, isn't it?" The war curse spirit grinned. "I just have to use Domain Amplification to break through. That guy Kenjaku's intel really came in handy."
The punch was only stopped for a moment before it forced its way through the neutral Limitless barrier and slammed toward the girl's face.
She tilted her head back just in time to dodge, then pressed her soft, pale palm against the curse spirit's chest and activated her technique.
Blood burst out in all directions, but the curse spirit acted like nothing happened. Grinning, it swung its fist down again.
Yukinoshita Yukino quickly flew downward. The floating building lost control and began to fall with her.
The war spirit raised its hand. Countless glowing dots, like grains of sand, flew out and formed into several missiles. Their tails lit up with fire as they began to move erratically.
With a sharp wave of its hand, the missiles launched toward the falling girl.
"That's not nearly enough," it muttered while glancing off to the side, curling its finger as if calling for something.
Then, not only the U.S. military base in Yokosuka but also other American bases across Japan began launching missiles. This time, they weren't just targeting Ginza—they were firing at random cities all over Japan.
The top commander at the Yokosuka U.S. base saw the missiles launch on their own, without any human control. His eyes widened, and the bottle of whiskey he had half-finished slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
"It really awakened a machine soul???"
He quickly sent the surveillance footage to the U.S. Department of Defense. After a short pause, he opened another bottle of whiskey and poured it over the control panel.
Sparks flew everywhere.
"I guess this means the machine soul is happy," the commander mumbled to himself, dazed.
Back on the battlefield in Ginza.
The missiles hit Yukinoshita Yukino as she crashed to the ground. The warheads exploded with thunderous blasts. Fire surged into the sky, and one building after another collapsed, sending clouds of smoke and dust everywhere.
The sound of screaming was drowned out by the explosions and the crashing of falling buildings.
At that moment, the high-rise building also came down, slamming into the ground and smashing through the street.
In just a few dozen seconds, all the buildings around the shopping plaza were flattened. It looked like a war zone—ruins and fire everywhere.
Just like the war spirit said—it had brought war to Japan.
...
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