I'm a magnetic field madman

Senichi Shigenori hurriedly nodded to the two of them, but now was clearly not the time for reminiscing. He approached Kikunojo Tendo, who was looking at him, and urgently delivered the bad news…

"The constellation Scorpio is currently approaching Tokyo!!"

16. Demons Run Rampant

Stage V Gastrea, named after the twelve zodiac constellations, are considered the culprits behind humanity's downfall.

Although this absurd argument sounded like a blatant insult to humanity's military capabilities, it somehow managed to gain the approval of all the survivors.

However, some creatures in the zodiac do indeed possess extremely strong destructive power.

The most absurd of all is the Sagittarius zodiac... because in public propaganda, it is portrayed as a zodiac behemoth capable of accurately bombarding all satellites in near-Earth orbit from the Earth's surface...

And it was this very thing that destroyed all of humanity's precision-guided weapons and air power.

All I can say is that, setting aside the nonsense, the sheer amount of computing power required to precisely detour and bombard all satellites from the Earth's surface after calculating complex data such as the Earth's curvature and planetary gravity... If every monster in the zodiac possessed some aspect of superiority over humans, then there might actually be a possibility of them destroying humanity.

For example, a certain zodiacal behemoth could make all neutron reactions within its range inert, thus rendering nuclear weapons ineffective...

For example, a certain zodiacal behemoth might have an EMP field that instantly destroys all precision components within its range.

But of all the zodiac behemoths that were touted as so powerful, two of them had already fallen.

Not counting Scorpio, which is about to be blasted apart by a nonsensical electromagnetic cannon, the zodiac was once known as the strongest...

Taurus, which was once surrounded by a massive army of Gastrea creatures from land, sea, and air, and Virgo, which was second only to it, are now both dead.

Moreover, those who took them down were merely "police officers".

This whole thing is utterly absurd. A behemoth capable of destroying human civilization was annihilated by two ordinary people who were at most modified. Even with military support and assistance, this is still incredibly nonsensical.

So anyone with a modicum of logic can deduce that this so-called apocalypse is most likely just a beautified version of humanity's internal strife and backstabbing... Ha, but that kind of argument is just utterly nonsensical!

Therefore, in Bai Wujie's eyes, the human civilization of this world is nothing but utter nonsense!

The dark night sky loomed down, and layers of black clouds brought immense pressure and darkness to the entire city.

On the top floor of the Blue Dream Building, Bai Wujie swirled his wine glass, looking down at the scattering crowds and the military and police who had abandoned their blockade to maintain order. He smiled and raised his glass.

Thinking they could keep the secret, the news of Scorpio's arrival was eventually leaked.

As a result, a series of riots broke out among citizens throughout the Tokyo area... but although they were suppressed, the chaos had already spread.

Most people were glued to their small screens, watching the live stream and waiting for the results...

They waved their fists to cheer on the helicopter flying overhead and the police officers carrying weapons.

After all, no matter how much they criticized the government, they could only rely on the strength of these police officers and soldiers at this moment.

"I really look forward to seeing how the clowns perform." Bai Wujie tilted his head back and finished his glass of red wine, then stood up and said to Uncle Cai behind him...

"Uncle Cai, you should go hide in the underground base and wait for orders. I want to go to the scene and see how much of a surprise that so-called Scorpio can give me."

"Yes, sir," Song Qi replied compliantly, bowing slightly.

"But please be sure to take care of your safety."

"Ha! Worried about me? If there really is something in this world that can kill me, I might be even happier." Bai Wujie grinned, revealing his stark white shark teeth.

The next moment, his figure disappeared from the spot, passing through the thick, dark clouds and quickly heading towards Area 39.

There, within the range of the towering stone monument, the enormous monster had already approached.

Zodiac Scorpio

A giant, amorphous creature over 400 meters tall. Its appearance is like wriggling slime, but when it walks, it reveals a part of a humanoid outline.

The body was covered with a thick layer of black, hard keratin, and countless scarlet, deadly eyes!

Bai Wujie whistled softly, and the demonic dragon behind his hair cautiously poked its head out. Looking at such a huge creature, it seemed a little scared and shrank back.

Just in terms of appearance, it is indeed quite intimidating.

But honestly, wouldn't such a colossal creature, over 400 meters tall, collapse under its own weight? Or, how does it manage to stay upright in soft soil with such weight?

Could it be that it's just an inflatable doll, or simply a mass of liquid that looks like a doll?

Bai Wujie was unaware of this, but he leisurely and happily enjoyed the scene.

"Om..."

Scorpio's voice sounds like a drawn-out steam whistle, or like the drawn-out wail of a whale before it dies.

Its route was very clear, which lay in the relics of the Seven Stars, the child's bicycle that belonged to her.

Bai Wujie narrowed his eyes, because even though the Scorpio before him had essentially lost its self-awareness...

However, fragments of memories still managed to penetrate Bai Wujie's mind through his scattered and overflowing thoughts.

Without exception, none of them were good memories. They were all the result of human beings reaping what they sowed, the consequence of their foolishness, arrogance, and ignorance.

Before Scorpio even advanced, the arriving police and Ministry of Defense troops had already begun exchanging fire.

However, the sparks from their fragile weapons could only create tiny, indistinct fireworks within that dark, ocean-like structure. In reality, their main adversaries were the Gastrea creatures beneath Scorpio's feet.

Clustered around Scorpio, these Gastrea creatures broke through the suppression of the monolith and surged towards Tokyo. Their appearance, a fusion of various creatures, resembled an abstract Picasso painting, as they swarmed towards Tokyo, their flesh and slime rubbing together.

"Damn it, Yumizuki, do you have any more bizarre bullets?!"

Having emptied all the magazines in his weapon, leaving only a short sword for self-defense, Katagiri Tamaki looked at the Gastrea army that was pressing in like an ocean and said to his sister beside him...

"It's gone! You idiot, we should retreat!"

A golden twin-tailed figure, the originator who emitted invisible spider silk from her fingertips, responded loudly.

This battle undoubtedly brought together all the civilian security companies that were still operational in Tokyo... and the Katagiri siblings, who were only ranked 1000th in IP, were also among those recruited as Rentaro's friends.

The main force in this battle was not these police officers. To be honest, apart from special personnel with IP rankings above 100, the combat power of these police officers was not much stronger than that of regular soldiers.

Thinking it was time to retreat and resupply, Katagiri Tamaki used his knife to cut open the head of a Stage 1 monster that pounced on him, and prepared to retreat with his sister.

however……

"Ah!! What is that thing? Don't come any closer!"

"Monster, why isn't it working?!"

Screams and wails came from the flanks. Katagiri Yuki stroked his rain- and blood-stained golden hair, and his eyes behind his brown sunglasses witnessed an unbelievable scene.

A Gastrea is wreaking havoc in the Ministry of Defense's military.

It was a serpentine monster with an alien-like head, a jet-black carapace, and scarlet lines.

It appears to be only a few meters in size, no larger than stage two, but—

It was like a wolf that had fallen into a flock of sheep, endlessly slaughtering the soldiers of the Ministry of Defense.

The soldiers screamed as the chromatic bullets they fired from their guns struck the black armor, producing only a few sparks. Some bullets even bounced back out of nowhere.

Even if it were lucky enough to hit, the birch metal, which should have killed the Gastrea instantly, had no effect on this monster!

This is absolutely nightmarish news.

Humans' current ability to fight off anti-gut organisms almost entirely relies on the presence of chromium...

This is because the Gastrea's incredible regenerative abilities are so great that almost no non-super-heavy weapon can destroy them.

In Phase One, one can recover from most injuries except for severed limbs, just like a typical Cursed Child. In Phase Two, one can gain the ability to regenerate severed limbs at will... However, the recovery time in both phases is relatively long, and one can be killed with light weapons.

However, once they reach stage three, the Gastrea's regenerative abilities have already exceeded the scope of "science".

Severed limbs can easily regenerate in a very short time with just a touch, and there are virtually no weaknesses in the real sense.

The physical appearance of the Gastrea in Stage 3 has almost completely broken away from its original imitation of a certain animal, and is more like a Frankenstein's monster, a mixture of multiple organisms.

The Gastrea, in its fourth stage, possesses regenerative abilities comparable to those found in fantasy novels.

Even if it's beaten into a pulp or dismembered into hundreds of pieces, it won't die. It no longer has any weaknesses; its nervous system is spread throughout its body like a diffuse neural network found in a coelenterate…

The fact that it can continue to operate without any signal processing center in the conventional sense is beyond the scope of conventional biological understanding.

Phase four Gastrea have reached a point where they can be killed by no conventional means other than sustained attacks from high-yield weapons...

This may explain why humans were repeatedly defeated by Gastrea before they could fully discover the metal bisulfite.

It is worth mentioning that the stage level and the regeneration level are relatively independent; not every stage four has the regeneration ability of the fourth level.

Similarly, lower-level gastrulators may also possess extraordinary regenerative abilities due to their genes.

The fifth stage, the zodiac, is completely beyond human comprehension. This is because, regardless of the circumstances, each of them possesses a fifth-level regenerative ability that surpasses understanding.

It doesn't require high-purity chromium metal to be injected into the body to create a disruptive magnetic field; only a minimal amount is needed for rapid regeneration.

Their recovery speed is so fast that you might question whether the law of conservation of mass has completely devoured them.

In conclusion, once Gastrea acquires the ability to no longer fear birch,

Without a doubt, humanity will be heading towards an uncontrollable "extinction".

The bizarre "Gastrea" slaughtered through the Ministry of Defense's army like a wolf devouring a flock of sheep... and the collapse of this defense line brought about a terrifying chain reaction.

More and more Gastrea began to break through the defenses, while more police officers faced a predicament of being attacked from all sides. As for Katagiri Yushu—

They are facing the worst-case scenario.

"Roar!"

The black monster that had nearly wiped out all the Ministry of Defense soldiers howled as it lunged at the remaining police officers...

Regardless of their IP ranking, they couldn't unleash any power in front of this monster!

Burning rockets, precious laser weapons, and miniaturized electromagnetic weapons—these things had almost no effect on this monster.

Most attacks couldn't even touch the monster's body; they shattered and destroyed directly on the invisible magnetic field surrounding it.

The only person who managed to harm this monster was a police officer who had purchased the Thunder Evil Sword, now sold by the infamous Blue Dream Company, through prior channels.

However, that damage was merely a drop in the ocean.

The beam of light shot from the Thunder Demon Sword tore through the monster's magnetic field, but only left a single scar on its sturdy body.

This attack only angered it.

The black monster opened its gaping maw, and a dazzling beam of light converged within it. Like something out of an old-fashioned monster movie, an unscientific energy attack gathered in its mouth—

boom!

A dazzling beam of light swept across the battlefield, followed by violent shockwaves and explosions.

Katagiri Tamaki immediately grabbed his sister and rolled to the side. After a violent, dizzying earthquake, he struggled to open his eyes.

What came into view was a dark trench, about a hundred meters long, that swept across the battlefield, with the scorching heat of the burning molten light still rolling on the surrounding soil.

Within its range, police officers, soldiers, armored vehicles, and even transport planes in the sky were all directly destroyed by this terrifying blast.

This thing might not be a Gastrea at all; it might be some kind of "monster" beyond comprehension and cognition!

Katagiri Yuki's teeth chattered, and the terrifying black monster seemed to notice him.

With its gaping maw split open, the alien-like head revealed a sinister grin.

Despair gripped him; he felt no chance of survival. He released his sister from his arms, took a deep breath, pushed her away, picked up the knife, and walked forward…

"Gongyue, run as fast as you can and get out of here! Listen to me, don't look back!!"

With a firm and unwavering statement, Katagiri Tamaki overcame all his fears.

Because he wanted to buy his sister even a second's chance to escape this hell.

He himself cannot escape, but his sister, who is stronger than him, will certainly be able to get out of this dangerous place.

He probably only deserved to eat for a second, a self-deprecating laugh echoing in his eyes. Katagiri Tamaki turned his back on his tearful sister and charged towards the black monster—

In an instant, before he could even see his opponent make a move, his weapon was knocked from his hand. Then, all he saw was a desperate black shadow.

And in that very instant...

Amidst flashing arcs of electricity and a tearing roar, a figure delivered a heavy kick, slamming it down on the monster's head.

17. Non-human

White light, waking me from the anesthesia-induced coma and weakness.

Rentaro had a near-PTSD-like fear of such things. The flood of unpleasant memories in his mind made him break out in a cold sweat, and then he immediately woke up.