ch21-ch40 · 025-ch25

Chapter 25: Purpose

North side—

Immediately after the gate opened, Momose Ichiro summoned his third summoned beast.

Rising from the ground beside him as if emerging from below was a massive gray wolf, over three meters in length.

A distinctive pattern glowed on its forehead, and six-barreled Gatling guns were mounted on both flanks of its body.

In response, the white monkey Kiki, perched on Momose's shoulder, wrapped its arms around Momose's neck and deployed a barrier. Momose gently stroked the wolf's cheek, then lightly and gracefully swung onto its back.

"Thank you, Kiki-kun. I'm counting on you, Wol-kun."

With a light pat on its back as the signal, the wolf Wol let out a thunderous howl.

Perhaps instinctively, the surrounding goblins showed signs of fleeing, but the gunfire from both sides mercilessly annihilated them regardless.

Battered by a storm of bullets, the enemy formation crumbled, blood staining the ground.

Momose had a blade at his waist as he galloped across the battlefield.

『He finally moves!! Japan's first S-Rank and strongest summoner... the Savior, Momose Ichiro!!』

The announcer's voice grew fervent.

The comment section also erupted with passionate posts.

"Still, to have Ogres here. Brings back unpleasant memories."

Momose muttered nostalgically from atop Wol. The very first monster to emerge from Japan's first World Clock was this Ogre.

"Annihilate every last one. Understood?"

Wol roared again.

Its eyes were fixed on the goblins charging toward them.

A horde of goblins so vast it filled their vision. Riders, Archers, Knights — various individuals came storming in with war cries.

Wol leaped.

The Gatling guns spun, laying down suppressive fire left and right. The goblin formation crumbled in an instant. Continuous bullet explosions spread like waves, and pillars of fire rose in a chain reaction from each impact point. The kicked-up smoke obscured visibility, creating a massive wall.

"This is nice. Makes it easy to attack through."

Momose in the center of the explosion stood motionless. The barrier Kiki had cast deflected all the surrounding shockwaves.

Within it, he calmly began walking and drew his blade.

It was a plain, guardless, unadorned sword.

He took a stance, and then—everything shifted in a single horizontal flash.

A sharp slash tore through hundreds of goblins at once. Standing against a backdrop of blazing fire, his figure was less combat and more production.

The battlefield should have been filled with countless monsters.

But now, not a single one remained around him.

One-sided. Overwhelming. Perfect.

Momose's combat was, literally, flawless.

Mid to long range — Wol's gunfire attacks. Close range — Wol's fangs and claws, and Momose's blade.

Capturing Wol, with its high mobility and detection abilities, was difficult, and the white monkey Kiki on his shoulder maintained a barrier protecting Momose and his mount.

If Ken-kun, the giant bird not currently fighting, was added, they would secure aerial supremacy and gain a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. Truly a three-arrow formation of summoned beasts.

Three summoned beasts is totally cheating!!

If each summoned beast is equal to a Hunter, that's like the combat power of four S-Ranks on his own

Too much of a Momotarou old man

And he's strong himself too, it doesn't make sense

As long as he's here, Japan's fine

Battles occurring simultaneously at four locations — east, west, south, north.

Multiple drones flew through the sky, and Remnant Guild's figures appeared on monitors across every station. The scene of four different powers conducting one-sided annihilation campaigns in their respective battlefields was broadcast live.

『This is the southern front — the Hammer Goddess, Maeda Hunter is... turning over a dozen Ogres into scrap paper—!』

『In the east, Shiki Hunter has covered the entire sky with thunderclouds, wiping out the Rider units!!』

『In the west, Kunimori Hunter is pursuing flying units with his bow!! What is this!? Nuclear weapon level?!』

『In the north, Momose Hunter is dominating with three summoned beasts! He's even taking close combat with his blade!! He's like a god of war!!』

Whether because all four were deliberately putting on flashy combat, every channel switching feed showed Remnant Guild in action.

What are these people...

Can World Clocks really be sealed this easily!?

Even just three of them was crazy, but Remnant is seriously abnormal

No wonder the government can't talk back to them

Basically humanity's trump card

So this is what Japan's hope means...

The series of footage spread nationwide through the internet in an instant.

Breaking news flashed on TV, and tags like "#FourHeroes" "#Japan'sStrongestDefenseForce" "#TrueSRank" trended on social media.

In the government, leaders across various regions watched the footage, holding their breath.

"No joke. Combat power like that existing as independent... and there's still Descent Arts in reserve? This exceeds the national framework...!"

"Can we fully control these four?"

Truly a dimension apart.

All of Japan watched this battle with bated breath.

And many citizens thought — isn't this guild abnormally strong?

It was hope, and could be called a deterrent, but at the same time, fear was born.

"Yeah. They're seeing us as monsters. Just right."

No — that was precisely Momose's goal.

Momose, who had been checking the reactions from the announcers and comments in real time, smiled faintly at the result he'd aimed for.

A transmission came in from Shiki.

『...Was it necessary to go this flashy? Won't this cause trouble?』

Momose chuckled softly at Shiki's question.

"No, this is important. The fact that Lumiel and Hagane are strong will eventually become known to the entire nation. If that's the case, we have to choose how it's shown."

『How it's shown, you say.』

"Exactly. If we make them think this first: that Remnant's main force is these four, and Hagane-kun and the others are just a part of it. That the center is us, and they're under our protection."

Momose continued calmly, stroking Wol's back.

"People want to eliminate things they can't understand. But — if they think it's being properly managed, they'll accept it and stay quiet. We have to become symbols that make them accept it. That's what it means to protect them, I think."

Momose spoke as if seeing right through the country's inner workings.

"In the end, what's scary is when something is thought to be uncontrollable. So as long as we confidently show them a face that says 'Of course we can control it,' that's enough."

A soft laugh came through the transmission.

『Understood. If that's the case, I'll give it my all.』

"I'm counting on you."

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