Chapter 298: The Destruction of the City and the Beginning of the Truth Unfolding"
Alex hovered above the tallest skyscraper, like a manifestation of Gojo Satoru himself—provocatively calm and supremely confident. The phrase he had spoken—
"Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am The Honored One"—wasn't uttered into the void for dramatic effect.
It was carefully chosen to strike at Davoth's ego, for beings of his caliber possessed egos as vast as entire universes. Such audacity could not go unanswered.
As if on cue, the undead and demons already crawling up the skyscraper walls howled in rage. Their eyes flared with crimson light, and their movements grew more frenzied—desperate to tear Alex apart mid-air. But he simply smirked and looked up toward the sky.
The crimson-red heavens rapidly darkened as ominous storm clouds surged in. It happened so quickly it was as if someone had snapped their fingers. The last patch of sky vanished beneath the clouds, and the first crack of thunder roared across the city. Lightning began tearing through the clouds, flashing and vanishing with threatening rhythm.
And just as the demons and undead neared the rooftop...
"Lightning Style: Divine Judgment of Thunder and Storm," Alex declared, forming hand seals.
A moment later, the first lightning bolt struck the skyscraper's peak, incinerating those who had made it to the top. The blast was deafening—bodies of the undead and demons were blown away in flames. But this was only the beginning.
Lightning began raining down across the city—one bolt after another—striking clusters of enemies with surgical precision. The light from the strikes illuminated the streets, turning them into a divine battlefield of retribution.
Those in the port watched in silence as the spectacle unfolded—hundreds, then thousands of lightning bolts slashed through the darkness each passing second.
Yet the horde didn't retreat. Like a swarm of ants, they continued surging toward Alex, heedless of the casualties, driven by one purpose—to destroy him.
"Can someone explain why the hell he's controlling the weather?!" R shouted, pointing to the sky.
"Alex is doing it using natural chakra. If you spent less time goofing off and more time listening, you'd know that by now," Brunhilde replied coldly, eyes locked on the scene.
"He mentioned it once… but I never thought the effect would be this massive," Renka added thoughtfully.
"That's just because Alex is a damn freak of nature," Toji smirked.
Everyone nodded in agreement. With Alex, nothing was ever "normal." But a question lingered in some of their minds: why hadn't he done this earlier?
Saya, having grasped the core of Alex's plan, voiced it aloud:
"He waited until all the civilians were evacuated. Only then could he use a technique this devastating without risking innocent lives."
What they were witnessing now looked more like a furious natural disaster than a human attack. The girls kept watching Alex, who continued to unleash his energy. Thunder roared louder, lightning poured endlessly from the sky, engulfing hundreds—if not thousands—of enemies.
Brunhilde refocused, reconnecting her spiritual link with Alex. It took only a moment to understand—he was waiting. Alex was letting the entire horde gather in the city… preparing for the next stage.
"But why is all this filth going after Alex and not us?" Nobuna asked, puzzled, walking up to the group.
The question made everyone pause. She was right. The wave that had chased them was completely wiped out at the port. And now… not a single enemy was heading in their direction.
The girls looked closely at Nobuna. This was the very princess Alex had told them about. But instead of a graceful aristocrat, they saw a girl holding a bloodied katana, her clothes soaked in crimson. She looked more like a street punk than a noble lady.
Nobuna felt their stares but wasn't the least bit embarrassed. Brunhilde, curious, briefly delved into Alex's memories—and her suspicions were confirmed. In another universe, Oda Nobuna had been a ruler who unified Japan. The image fit this girl perfectly.
"So, you're a princess? Wouldn't have guessed..." Beatrix said quietly, tilting her head.
"Just Nobuna is fine. And no, I never liked all those aristocratic mannerisms my parents tried to drill into me," she waved it off.
"To put it simply, the entire horde acts like an insect colony. There are commanders and executors. When a threat appears, the whole swarm moves to eliminate it," Brunhilde explained calmly, pointing toward the skyscraper.
"In other words, they see Alex as the real threat. We're just background noise to them—minor interference. If it were me, I'd take Alex out first too, then deal with the rest," Koko added, tapping her chin with a finger.
"How unethical to talk like that about our husband," Rika grumbled, nudging Koko in the shoulder.
"I'm just stating the facts," Koko replied with complete calm.
While Koko and Rika bickered, those who had never faced the Horde before were finally getting some answers. Most of the information about the enemy was stored with the leaders of raid groups, who were responsible for informing their teams. But the newcomers—soldiers of this city and members of the Sun-Wu clan—were surprised at how well-informed the group that came to help them actually was.
Seeing an opportunity to learn more about Alex, Nobuna began bombarding the girls with questions, completely unbothered. Kutsuiye and Nagahide tried to stop their princess, but she brushed them off and jumped straight into interrogation with her signature bluntness. Her questions were deeply personal—what Alex liked, what he did in his free time, his habits, preferences. Some of the girls raised an eyebrow—Nobuna's curiosity wasn't just idle chatter. There was something else... a different kind of interest. It felt more like she was gathering info on a potential husband candidate.
"Looks like the storm is settling... I wonder what he's planning next?" Ada murmured, peering through binoculars.
"Haha! Why do I feel like he's about to destroy the entire city?" Rika said with a grin.
An awkward silence followed her words. Rika went quiet, her eyes shifting toward Brunhilde, whose face remained unreadable. All eyes turned to her. Out of everyone, she knew Alex best. But Brunhilde didn't flinch under the weight of those stares. The only one still smiling was Rebecca.
Meanwhile, GIR, MIMI, and Stitch had dragged out a camera and were setting up recording equipment like they were real journalists. Red and White helped with lighting and the tripod, while Wolf, much to his own surprise, had become a stand for the entire crazy bunch. While this odd "press crew" focused on their antics, the others silently watched Brunhilde and Rebecca—whose smile hinted at far more than she let on.
"Brunhilde, be honest... He's not going to wipe the city off the map, is he?" Yuriko asked carefully, sighing heavily.
"…"
"Brunhilde, don't stay silent… It's not funny anymore," Kiriko added, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Brunhilde's gaze said it all without words. Alex really intended to level the city, burying the entire Horde beneath its ruins. The soldiers who lived here watched the unfolding events with bitterness. The others couldn't help but wonder—how the hell was he planning to do that? Even the storm he had summoned hadn't caused that level of destruction.
Meanwhile, Rebecca had already joined GIR and the others, blending into their bizarre "news report" as a special guest. The scene didn't go unnoticed by the others. What the hell was going on here? Just moments ago, they were fighting to buy time for an evacuation, and now the entire city was overrun with undead and demons—yet the port was engulfed in an almost absurd silence. Not a single enemy had made it there.
The civilians taking shelter aboard the aircraft carrier watched the absurdity unfold with growing anxiety. What on earth was happening in this world?
Having finished his jutsu, Alex slowly descended to the rooftop of the skyscraper. Around him lay charred corpses of undead and demons—those who had been struck by lightning multiple times. He could still hear the howls and growls of those that kept climbing toward him. Even such a massive jutsu hadn't reduced their numbers as much as he had hoped.
He glanced toward the port—and realized that not a single demon or undead had gone in that direction. Then his eye twitched as he saw, with his own eyes, that the trio of chaos-bringers, along with Rebecca, Red, and White, were reporting the battle like it was some kind of show rather than a battlefield.
Alex let out a heavy sigh. While he was shouldering the entire Horde, the rest seemed to be having a picnic. Not wanting to take chances, he activated a localized aggression spell over the entire Horde—to ensure that no one, even by accident, would head toward the port and drag others along.
He snapped his fingers—and a magical wave rippled across the city. The eyes of the undead and demons turned blood-red, their rage amplifying tenfold. Now the entire horde of monsters was singularly focused on him.
"Darling, I think you might've overdone it a little. You've burned through too much mana," came the calm voice of Göndul from behind, hovering in her spiritual form.
Alex stepped to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. A grim sight greeted him: a thick, blood-red aura of wrath surged in waves through the crowd of demons and undead—all of it directed solely at him. Even from a distance, he could feel the hatred slicing through the air.
"Heh… well, maybe I did go a little overboard. Happens to the best of us," Alex said with a smirk, as if the chaos unfolding around him was merely amusing.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Göndul asked, barely suppressing a chuckle.
"Have fun, obviously. And… summon a couple of helpers," he replied, narrowing his eyes.
Still hovering behind him, Göndul couldn't resist—she wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and rested her chin on top of his head. Almost immediately, Zhang Ya materialized beside them, clearly unwilling to let the Valkyrie claim that spot uncontested. She tried to push Göndul away, and a silent battle for the place next to Alex broke out between the two. Despite their odd friendship, the rivalry between the spirit and the Valkyrie never truly died down.
Alex, ignoring them both, raised his hand—and to his left, a golden spear began to shimmer. Chastiefol. In its true form, it glowed brilliantly, radiating magical power. A second later, the spear transformed into its "Guardian with Spear" form—and beside Alex appeared a massive, muscular, plush teddy bear wielding a fearsome weapon in its paws. It leapt down into the swarm of enemies below, smashing through the undead and demons climbing the building.
Grinning, Alex followed, crashing into the ground like a meteor.
"Wood Style: Wooden Golem! Fivefold version!" he commanded, forming a hand seal.
The ground trembled, and five wooden giants began to emerge from beneath it. Each one was armed with unique weapons—maces, axes, chains. Alex formed another seal, and the golems charged into battle with a crash, tossing enemies around like ragdolls.
One of them, lifting its mace high, flattened Arachnotron against the ground. The others followed suit, sparing no one, demolishing and destroying everything in their path.
But there were too many enemies. The center of the city was literally packed with demons and undead. They pressed against each other, crawling over the bodies of the fallen, all fighting to reach the one person.
Surrounded by his summoned golems, Alex had no intention of stopping.
"Wood Style: Heavenly Wood Dragon!" he said, and the ground beneath him cracked open.
A gigantic wooden dragon burst out from beneath the shattered concrete. Alex found himself right on its head, took control of the creature, and surged forward. The massive body of the dragon crushed everything in its path, leaving nothing but debris and a bloody mess of enemies.
Large demons tried to stop him, but Alex, pulling random items from his inventory, threw them at his opponents. A smile never left his face.
He quickly changed tactics—an enormous, heavy sword appeared from his inventory. Laughing, Alex swung it wildly, standing on the dragon's head, cutting down enemies left and right.
Meanwhile, at the port, there was confusion. After Alex jumped off the roof, his connection was lost. Some suggested using drones to check the situation in the city. When the first drones reached the center, the sight they transmitted stunned everyone.
On the screens, gigantic wooden golems were rampaging, among them was something that looked like a muscle-bound teddy bear wielding a spear. And above it all—Alex, standing on the dragon's head and swinging a sword like a steroidal fairytale hero.
"What the hell is this?" one of the girls couldn't hold back.
Brunhilde, frowning, sighed and began to explain where the wooden golems and the dragon had come from. She decided to... remain silent about the teddy bear with a spear.
While wreaking havoc in the city, Alex suddenly felt the ground beneath him begin to tremble. He didn't immediately understand what caused the vibration… until a giant demon—Titan, at least thirty meters tall—burst through the buildings and charged toward him, smashing everything in its way.
Without wasting a second, Alex directed his wooden dragon straight toward the enemy. The dragon, twisting like a snake, coiled around the Titan's body, squeezing with immense force. Alex seized the moment—his sword drove into the creature's face, and with a sharp, almost insane upward motion, he cleaved the Titan's head in two.
At the same time, the wooden dragon squeezed the body of the enemy with such force that a crack of breaking bones rang out. Flesh exploded, blood sprayed in all directions, and the limp body collapsed onto a building, crushing structures and burying the undead and demons beneath it.
But as soon as one Titan fell, others emerged from the ruined streets—just as huge, furious, and far more malevolent. They charged toward Alex, crushing buildings like cardboard boxes.
"Ah, you want a game?" Alex whispered with a dangerous smile. "Then… you shall have a game. Wood Style: Thousand-Armed Truth!"
The ground beneath him shook again. From beneath the shattered asphalt and cracking concrete, a gigantic wooden statue of Buddha with a thousand arms rose, each one ready to bring destruction upon the enemies. The wooden dragon carefully slid off its body and, obeying the command, rushed toward one of the Titans, trying to restrain its movements.
At the port, people stared in awe at the grand figure towering above the horizon. Yes, they knew that Alex could control wood… but at such a scale? Their shock deepened even further when other Titans surged into the city, smashing everything in their path like monsters from old legends.
"Wood Style: Buddha's Relic!" Alex shouted, and his voice echoed through the ruined city.
Thousands of arms came to life. Like a storm, these wooden limbs struck the Titans and the horde, cutting down everything within a radius of dozens of meters. The blows came from all sides—fierce, relentless. The sounds of explosions, cracking wood, and the roar of destruction blended into something primal. Even at the port, people felt the ground tremble beneath their feet.
It looked like a scene from an epic fantasy movie, where the hero is waging the final battle against the forces of evil. Two Titans, trapped in the heart of the storm, were already reduced to a bloody pulp under the relentless barrage of strikes. A broad, even insane grin shone on Alex's face. He was enjoying the spectacle.
But the enemies did not retreat. The horde, fearless and unfeeling, began climbing the massive body of the Thousand-Armed Truth. Like a swarm of ants, the undead and demons scrambled up, driven by the magic of fury. Their goal was singular—reaching Alex.
Realizing that his next technique would be too destructive, Alex ordered his creations to retreat to the port. The wooden golems and dragon immediately obeyed, forming a living shield between the people and the battlefield.
"Everyone, get ready!" Brunhilde shouted, keeping a sharp eye on every move Alex made.
This wasn't the first time she had given such a warning. And everyone knew: if Brunhilde shouted like that, something truly catastrophic was coming.
Alex extended his arms to the sides, and his voice became as if from the mouth of a god:
"They all seek the chance to start a war… endless, desperate, bloody battles, like a loud wail. But I do not think they truly want this. Rather, they are begging for an end… for peace… for death. So let my wrath be their salvation. This… is the end. Divine wrath." he declared, and his words echoed through the city.
A powerful shockwave spread from Alex's body, sweeping everything in its path. The undead and demons, thrown back, were torn apart by the debris of buildings destroyed by the force of the wave. Fragments and stones flew all the way to the port, but there, like an impenetrable shield, stood the wooden golems and the dragon—preventing any shard from reaching the people. The wind howled, spreading across the area, as if warning: this battle was far from over.
When everything calmed down, those who had taken shelter behind the wooden defenders cautiously peeked out to see what was left of the city. What they saw was unimaginable: ruins stretched to the horizon. The center of the city was completely destroyed, and where streets and buildings had once stood, now gaped a giant crater. In the very center of it, like a monument to the apocalypse, stood the wooden statue of the Thousand-Armed Buddha. Everything around it had been erased from the face of the earth.
"Holy mother... He really destroyed an entire city," Revy whispered, her face a mix of horror and admiration.
"Well... if you look at it from the positive side, he destroyed an entire horde of undead," Kiriko cautiously remarked, trying to add a touch of optimism.
"Can't argue with that. Now I understand why Brunhilde wasn't joking when she said he could destroy a city," Rei added, stunned by the scale of the destruction.
"This is even... a little impressive," Ada added with a heavy sigh.
The girls exchanged looks and involuntarily nodded. Only Rory and Rebecca were urging GIR, MIMI, Stitch, and Wolf to capture the whole scene in detail. Even the two gremlins went unnoticed—the scene was just too overwhelming. Some were about to ask the obvious question: if Alex was so strong, why hadn't he done this earlier? But they quickly held back. Alex owed no one anything. Not only was he not obligated to help this city, but he had paid for his victory with the destruction of an entire megacity.
And then, in the distance, heavy footsteps were heard. Turning around, everyone saw Alex calmly walking toward them, a cigarette in his mouth and an utterly unperturbed expression on his face.
"What's with the faces?" he asked, blowing out a puff of smoke.
"You destroyed an entire city! And you're asking what's wrong with our faces?! Don't you care about what you did?!" Revy exclaimed, pointing at him.
"What's the big deal? I did South Korea a huge favor by wiping out about a quarter of the Chinese horde. And, mind you, I did it alone. I actually deserve thanks, not reproaches," Alex countered, smirking and tapping Revy on the nose.
Revy slapped his hand away and was ready to jump on him, but he, grinning, stepped toward the other girls, spreading his arms for a hug. They only smirked and hugged him one by one, not forgetting to tease:
"Alright, it looked cool, but you really did wipe the city off the map," Rebecca, Rory, Riki, Koko, and Saeko all remarked in unison.
"And you? Where are you heading now, Major Li?" Alex asked, turning to the officer.
"We were planning to move closer to the center of the country. There's a city still under the protection of one of my old comrades. We're hoping he'll help us find shelter," Li answered, his voice weary.
"In that case, we'll escort you to a safe place. Then we'll continue on our route," Alex said, scratching his chin.
"We'd be very grateful," Li thanked him with a strained smile.
Alex nodded. It wasn't difficult—after all, they were going to move anyway, and in exchange for the squid meat, they might get resources for a future settlement. He wasn't planning to build houses for everyone—if people wanted to survive this apocalypse, they would have to learn to act.
"Ah, almost forgot... A parting gift from this glorious city," Alex suddenly said, stopping and turning back.
"What are you planning now? The city is already dust, it can't be destroyed any further," Renka said with concern in her voice, grabbing his hand.
"You'll see now. Wood Style: Yggdrasil," Alex said, making seals and striking the ground forcefully with his palm.
Everyone watched in surprise as Alex acted, bewildered at what he was about to do and why the technique had such a strange and abstract name. But within a second, they got their answer.
The wooden statue of the Thousand-Armed Buddha began to slowly sprout, as if coming to life, and soon transformed into a giant tree, soaring into the sky above the ruins of the city. The trunk was massive, and the crown spread so widely that it seemed as though the very sky was being shaded. The sight took their breath away. They stood there, unable to tear their eyes away from the majestic tree—it looked unreal, like a painting that had come to life from the pages of a surreal novel.
Alex, citing fatigue, simply took the girls with him and left. No one asked him any questions—after everything he had done, it was obvious that he was completely exhausted. Though, in reality, Alex felt great. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
Upon reaching the captain's bridge of the ship, Alex let out a loud sigh and collapsed onto the couch, closing his eyes. The girls followed him in and saw him sprawled out like a king on his throne.
"Maybe now you'll tell us how you managed to use that technique from the manga? And don't you dare hide behind your tiredness," Koko said, poking him in the side with her foot.
Alex opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his neck slightly. He looked at Brunhilde, Rebecca, and Rory—as if asking whether he should tell the truth. Rebecca and Rory shrugged—they didn't care if the truth came out. Brunhilde, however, made it clear with just one look: it was pointless to keep hiding it any longer. He would have to be ready for the consequences.
Alex sighed heavily and covered his face with his hands. He didn't know how the girls would react when they found out the truth. That's why he had been so cautious in revealing his abilities, giving them time to adapt and not panic.
"I think... it's time to tell everything," he finally said.
"And now? Are you going to admit you're the Demon King, and we're just supporting characters in your anime?" Saya said, crossing her arms as she sat on a chair.
"Honestly, I'm almost ready to believe that too. Everything's too strange: you're like someone taken out of a manga, and Brunhilde and Rebecca seem like they walked right off the pages. As they say... Once—coincidence, twice—chance, three times—pattern," Ada remarked, staring intently at Alex.
Alex was about to start explaining, but the girls got carried away with their discussion. Someone suggested that he had escaped from a secret laboratory where superhumans were being created. Shizuka came up with the theory that he had fallen from space, like an alien savior. It got absurd: he was accused of being an immortal old man who was hiding his true face. The theory even had "evidence"—he knew and could do too much for an ordinary eighteen-year-old.
Alex silently shifted his gaze from one girl to another, secretly hoping they would tire out and stop talking. His eye started twitching from the absurd theories until he finally looked at Brunhilde. She was calmly sitting to the side with a cup of tea in her hands, while Rory and Rebecca cheerfully fueled the fire.
Unable to take it anymore, Alex cleared his throat slightly to get their attention.
"Honestly, I wanted to tell you all this after that night in Okinawa… but somehow it just didn't work out," he said, scratching his cheek and feeling a bit embarrassed.
"So you really are the Demon King?" Chun-Li asked with obvious interest.
"Yes, that's true," Alex nodded, no longer hiding anything.
"So... Brunhilde is a real Valkyrie, and Rebecca is a gremlin?" Saya clarified, pointing at the girls.
"Who did you call a gremlin, Pinky!?" Rebecca immediately flared up, threatening to move toward Saya.
Alex managed to intercept Rebecca just in time before she could leap at Saya. The girl was growling furiously, like a little animal, but Saya just smirked smugly—this time, she had clearly won the argument.
Alex sat Rebecca on his lap and began gently stroking her head, trying to calm the furious gremlin. He knew she only allowed him to call her "gremlin"—and no one else.
"Yes, that's right," Alex said calmly. "I'm the Demon King. Brunhilde is a Valkyrie. Rebecca gained her power through the blessing of a god, and Rory is an apostle from another world."
"Well, I can kind of understand the three of you," Valmet said, pointing at Rory, who had just settled next to Alex. "But Rory? Didn't you say she escaped from the lab?"
"That's right," Alex nodded. "She did escape. But before that, she came to this world from another, and the Evil Corporation tried to capture her to create obedient clones of Rory. They wanted an army that couldn't disobey orders."
"Alright," Koko crossed her arms and squinted. "Let's say that's true. But if you really are the Demon King, prove it. Because taking your word for it... well, you get the idea."
Alex thoughtfully scratched his chin. The question, of course, was logical. To avoid unnecessary consequences, he snapped his fingers—and immediately a barrier activated around them, concealing everything from the outside world. Then he snapped his fingers again—and in an instant, the entire group found themselves in the Mirror Dimension.
The girls froze, not understanding what had just happened. Alex silently pointed at the window.
When they turned and saw what lay on the other side of the glass, their minds literally short-circuited. Before them was a surreal world, reflecting itself in infinity, like a living kaleidoscope. The transformed space was so unimaginable that words simply failed.
Alex, Brunhilde, Rebecca, and Rory waited calmly while the girls collected themselves. Fortunately, no one lost consciousness, and that could already be considered a success.
Meanwhile, G.I.R., MIMI, and Stitch were not wasting any time—they were taking selfies and photographing the landscapes of the Mirror World. Red and White, contrary to expectations, instead of being interested in the nature of this place, blank-faced, willingly played along with the trio of hooligans in their scheme.
To be continued...
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