Chapter 17: Journey to Paradise: Enemy on the Frontline!

The ground trembled.

A suffocating wave of mana—thick, heavy, and pitch-black—rolled through the dead city as Sonobe Kirigaya lifted her violin, bow resting gently on the strings.

Her calm smile twisted.

“<Conductor>.”

The first note resonated like a command from the abyss.

The shadows around them pulsed.

From beneath the cracked streets, from collapsed buildings, from the very darkness clinging to the ruins—monsters rose.

Their bodies warped, twisted, and reshaped as they absorbed the wandering souls trapped on the island.

Dirge Goblins crawled out first, their once small bodies now hulking masses of ash-gray muscle, glowing with abyssal veins.

Obsidian Ogre Lords crashed onto the streets, their skin jagged like black glass, reflecting the moonlight in eerie shards.

Abyss-Touched Trolls lumbered forward, their grotesque arms dragging across the asphalt.

And towering above them all—a massive Abyssal Minotaur Behemoth whose pupil-less eyes stared blankly, like a corpse forced to walk again.

Sonobe played her instrument lightly.

Every chord summoned another nightmare.

“Rise, my orchestra of the abyss.”

Kamito gritted his teeth and readied Ark.

Amanai drew her katana with a sharp ring.

“Amanai, ready?”

“Always.”

Then she smirked.
“Whoever kills fewer monsters tonight goes on a date with the winner.”

Kamito’s eyes widened.

“H-hey, wait—”

“Too late. The battle has begun.”

And the monsters charged.

—

Dirge Goblins rushed forward, shrieking distorted cries.

Kamito stepped in first—Ark glowing.

“Abyss essence detected. Targeting weak points… now!”
Ark’s voice guided him as Kamito dashed through the goblins with fluid precision.

SLASH! SLASH!

Each cut cleaved through several at once, dispersing them into collapsing shadows.

Amanai sprinted beside him, fast as a bullet. She slid beneath an Ogre Lord’s legs, shoved a grenade into its jaw, and kicked off the ground.

“Eat this!”

BOOOOM!

Shards of obsidian flesh scattered across the ruins.

Another troll charged. Amanai vaulted over its head and slapped a Semtex charge onto its back.

“Good boy. Now sit.”

The troll exploded.

Kamito scowled.

“Stop using explosives! You’re padding your kill count!”

“All’s fair in war and wagers!”

Sonobe watched with amusement, her fingers moving faster on the strings.

“Beautiful~ Yes, dance for me, Ark’s successor… struggle until your last breath.”

More monsters emerged.

The battlefield darkened.

—

Far from Kamito’s position, Airi and Mikoto faced the horrors rising from the ground.

The sand trembled—then split open.

An Ironmaw Behemocroc burst out, its armored body longer than a bus. Its steel-black scales collided like metal plates.

Beside it waddled Stoneback Tanuki Mutants, their bodies covered in cracked stone-like shell, and behind them…

A chilling howl tore through the air.

A Bloodmark Howler.

An evolved successor to the Crimson-Eyed Riftwolf. Its eyes glowed like molten cracks, its body larger than a tiger, and its roar distorted the air.

Mikoto readied her Lance Spear.
Airi spun her dual pistols.

“Alright, Mikoto. Whoever kills fewer monsters treats the other to ice cream.”

“Deal!”

The Howler lunged.

Airi fired a barrage of mana-infused bullets.

“<Bullet>—Scatter Burst!”

The Behemocroc snapped its iron jaws, barely missing Mikoto, who drove her spear into its snout.

“<Lance Spear>—Piercing Nova!”

A shockwave erupted, cracking its armored hide.

The battle spiraled into chaos—claws, bullets, steel, and magic clashing beneath the dead moon.

Airi flipped backward as the Bloodmark Howler’s roar nearly ruptured their eardrums.

“Its howl disrupts mana flow! Mikoto, brace yourself!”

“I can handle it!”

Their breaths synchronized.

The monsters kept coming.

—

Screens flashed red.

Warning sirens echoed through the command center.

“Mass resurrection detected across the island! Unknown abyssal surge!”

Admiral Amana Kouji slammed his fist on the console.

“Impossible… this degree of awakening—this is the nightmare they predicted ten years ago!”

A strategist turned pale.

“Sir! According to intelligence, the orchestrator behind this is—”

“The Grand Resonance Order.”

The room fell silent.

Admiral Kouji’s voice shook with fury.

“They’re the ones who attacked Southeast Asia last month… and now they’re here. And my daughter is on that island…”

He pressed the National Emergency Trigger.

“All forces mobilize. Deploy every available unit!”

He turned to Masahiro Yuki, who stood ready with her staff.

“Masahiro! I’m assigning you as field commander. Get in there. Bring them all back alive.”

Masahiro nodded sharply.

“I won’t let any of them die.”

VTOL engines roared across the base.

Japan’s military began to move.

—

Kamito and Amanai carved through wave after wave of abyss-born monsters.

Sweat soaked their clothes.

Blood—mostly monster blood—splattered their skin.

Still, they fought.

Still, they stood.

Still, they pushed forward.

Kamito sliced down another troll.

Amanai detonated another ogre.

Their voices echoed together:

“How many was that?!”

“Seven!”

“I got nine!”

“What?! That’s cheating!”

Sonobe laughed, delighted.

Her bow danced across the strings.

“Magnificent. But your performance ends now.”

Abyssal energy exploded around her.

The ground split open.

Something enormous began to rise behind her—

Something worse than everything before it.

—

Masahiro raised her staff toward the unnatural storm blocking their entry.

“<Windbane Cataclysm>!”

The sky shattered like glass.

The storm dispersed.

And dozens of VTOLs surged toward the cursed land below.

Behind them, Japan’s naval warships advanced in formation, cannons aligned toward the island.

Masahiro inhaled sharply.

“Hold on, everyone… We’re coming.”

The first VTOL crossed into Kuronami-jima airspace.

The island quaked.

The monsters roared.

Sonobe smiled.

And Kamito felt something enormous awaken beneath his feet—

A presence older, darker, and far more dangerous than Gouma Gyuryū.

A cliffhanger carved itself into the night.