Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 156 Beast Arc: "Song of Annihilation"

July 17, 16:30, Tiangong City

A silent ripple suddenly came from the top of the Sky Tower. A spatial gate on the Heavenly Palace Tower slowly opened, and a figure radiating a holy golden light floated out from it.

Surprisingly, no one noticed this. It was as if the fact was hidden behind an invisible veil, unnoticed by anyone.

"You're back. Let's do some final preparations before the performance begins."

This time, Ming no longer needed to hold the [Gnawing Void Master] in his hand. Instead, he simply raised his hand, and the space unfolded as if a door had been opened by an invisible key.

Many magical artifacts, contained in containers, were pulled out and floated beside Ming, just like the demon kings that had been transformed into weapons.

"Come, be conquered by me! Those mythical powers!"

A golden halo, like that of an angel, shimmered above his head. Countless golden chains broke through the container, taking out some of the artifacts stored inside and integrating them into his body to restore its balance.

The four artifacts, influenced by the magic within him, naturally began to transform into weapons that linked with his soul and then changed and surrounded him.

The Key to the Land of the Dead transformed into a crimson spear that brought death, appearing on the left and echoing the Spear of Longinus on the right.

The Narcissus Moon Mirror transforms into a small dagger, with a gem in the center that resembles a mirror.

When the Wings of Icarus arrived, half of them merged into the body, transforming into a pair of enormous wings that resembled those of a bird, as if they were ready to take flight at any moment.

[Durantal] remained unchanged, but was still surrounding him.

Feeling all this, Ming looked up at the sun in the sky and began to recall his past when he was in the sky.

"The sun was just completing the ritual above us, yet it is still so dazzling."

Covering his eyes with his hands, Ming slowly lowered his head. At this moment, He understood that the play was about to reach its climax, so let the final performance begin.

The invisible barrier used to conceal his whereabouts shattered, and the moisture in the air slowly condensed. Ming took a step forward, and a violin made of ice crystals appeared in his hand.

The display device given to him by Bai Muzhong flew out and unfolded into a screen in front of Ming.

Then, Ming gently plucked the violin strings. The sound was initially as soft as a breeze, but it carried a power that penetrated the soul.

At that moment, it seemed as if the entire Heavenly Palace was shrouded in a mysterious power.

As if under a spell, countless citizens of the Heavenly Palace suddenly lost their enthusiasm and focus on their work, and stood up from their busy posts, walking expressionlessly in the same direction—to the foot of the Heavenly Palace Tower.

The citizens' steps seemed somewhat mechanical.

At this moment, the screens of the five major powers and all electronic devices in the countries that have electronic device signals have been quietly changed. Only the image of Ming playing the violin is now prominently displayed on them.

This image appears on every electronic screen in the UK, Japan, China, the US, and Russia.

The city of Tiangong, located in a giant circular pit, gradually reveals a circular matrix radiating outwards from its center.

"Heaven! Gods! Unleash the ultimate free domain technique, [Heavenly Kingdom]!"

Golden light enveloped the city, and gradually, Tiangong City seemed to be lifted up by an invisible giant hand, slowly rising to a certain height, while a deeper circular pit appeared underground.

'Ding~'

The violin music gradually stopped, and the residents of Tiangong City, who had been forbidden from going to the foot of the Tiangong Tower and were like a city besieged by zombies, gradually regained their senses.

The citizens, now regaining their senses, were panicked and nervous, shouting in confusion.

"Oh no! What happened?! The file I finally managed to save, where's the company?! Where am I?!"

"Huh?! Where am I? Wasn't I playing video games at home? Did I travel to another world...? No, wait, why am I still in Tiangong City?!"

"Wait! What's that in the Heavenly Palace Tower?! An angel? It's so cool!" A young man who looked like he had graduated from university less than two years ago shouted, pointing at Ming.

Seeing this, Ming smiled and waved to the young man who was pointing at him.

The heads of state from various countries, watching the mysterious figure on the screen, turned extremely grim. They immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

"Wait, what's this?!" (Russia)

"It's terrible! Your Excellency! The entire nation's internet has been hacked in an instant!"

"How could that be!" (Japan)

"Hey, what's on this...?" (China)

"Fuck! What the hell is this?! My football match!" (Inside a citizen's home in the United States)

"Oh, look! Allen! This is really interesting. And that golden spear, does this golden angel look familiar?"

"Wait! Ike, isn't this the magical artifact we retrieved from the village?! Why does this person possess it?!"

"Yeah, I'm curious too, Allen. But I have a feeling that a drama that will shake the world is about to unfold."

(Sitting in the DEM office in London, England)

Just as high-level officials from various countries were in urgent discussions and the public was in chaos, Ming spoke up again:

"Nice to meet you all, fellow humans. I'm truly sorry to meet you all in this way for the first time. My name is [Flame Beast]... You should call me Beast. I am both an elf and a calamity..."

"What is that? A spirit? A calamity? Hey buddy, does Tengu City have any events planned lately?"

"Yeah, what's going on?!"

A large crowd rioted at the foot of the tower, shouting incessantly, while Ming could only shake his head helplessly.

"It's understandable if you don't understand... Well then, let me introduce myself in detail. I am an elf, and also a calamity for humanity, the monster that brings what you humans call spacequakes~"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a deathly silence fell over the area below the tower, followed by thunderous gasps and terrified screams.

The meeting of high-level officials from various countries was in an uproar. They realized that the being before them, who called himself an elf and a calamity, posed an unprecedented and enormous threat.

Ming looked at the panicked crowd below the tower, sighed softly, and spoke again:

"I'm sorry, but I've come here to declare war on the world."

His voice was as calm as still water, without the slightest ripple, yet it carried an irresistible sense of oppression that sent chills down one's spine.

"Humans are inferior beings, capable of deception and evil, imperfect and inferior creatures... And I am the monster who will personally destroy humanity, do you understand, everyone? Or rather, the leaders of other countries... should understand as well."

Ming, standing before the people of Tiangong City and on the screen, held his hand to his side, and the sound waves propagated through the Tiangong Tower beneath his feet.

After confirming there was no sign of life on the other side, he slowly raised his right hand, palm facing that direction. A tiny black fireball flickered faintly in his palm.

Although this fireball may seem insignificant, it contains boundless energy and destructive power.

He then hurled the fireball forward with a mighty thrust. Like an arrow released from a bow, the fireball hurtled toward its target. At the moment of impact with the ground, time seemed to freeze.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar followed as the fireball exploded, releasing astonishing heat and energy. Hundreds of high-rise buildings in the area were instantly engulfed by this powerful force, rapidly incinerating them in a horizontal line.

Smoke billowed and flames soared into the sky; the whole scene was like the end of the world, leaving everyone speechless.

"Do you understand? You inferior creatures, I am declaring war on the world!!!"

The moment Ming made his declaration and the explosion occurred, the whole world erupted in chaos.

"Aaaaaah! I just bought this house yesterday! I still have 30 years of mortgage payments to make! No!!!"

"My file! The file I spent two sleepless nights finishing! It's my entire job! No!!!"

"My manuscript, and the publishing house..."

If the word "calamity" could have been a joke, the sound of the spacequake alarm gradually turned into the tolling of a death knell.

Ming, however, frowned as he looked at the girl with round glasses crying in the crowd. Ming had no eyebrows at all.

Looking over there, I noticed it was my own publishing house. My hands trembled slightly, but I quickly calmed down.

Meanwhile, every country that witnessed this scene was abuzz with excitement!

Countries acted swiftly, military forces began to assemble, and top scientists urgently researched ways to deal with Ming.

However, Ming was not in a hurry. He hovered on the Heavenly Palace Tower and quietly watched all of this.

The people below wanted to escape, but they found that they couldn't move their bodies at all, and they couldn't even speak the moment the words were uttered.

"I apologize, my inferior beings. Thank you for keeping me company during my declaration, and I am very sorry for taking up your time. I sincerely apologize for that..."

Ming slowly floated down from the Heavenly Palace Tower, drifting step by step towards the commoners below. His expression was quite calm, but the dozen or so weapons surrounding him gave people an invisible sense of oppression.

Suddenly, a black light flashed out. This black light and the green light sword blade were like a pair of tacit partners. They rose up at an astonishing speed and rushed straight towards Ming's back.

In the blink of an eye, they appeared behind Ming like ghosts, catching him completely off guard.

At that moment, a figure followed closely behind.

This is a woman dressed in a black wire-cutting device. She is agile and nimble, and she tightly grips a sword blade that flashes green light in her hand. Her eyes are sharp as an eagle, revealing a kind of coldness and determination.

Ryoko Kusakabe, the current captain of the Tengu City branch of AST, who is fighting to protect the people of this place, has arrived!

The announcement and lightsaber silently slashed down, but just as they were about to touch Ming's body, which shone with golden light, they were blocked by a small, pitch-black knife shaped like a pen.

"They've finally arrived, AST members. Is it because they sensed it and opened their random zones in advance? Or is it their magic resistance that allows them to move at this moment..."

Ming spoke calmly, explaining that He had deliberately limited his control over others to a mere fraction, only enough to control ordinary people.

"Enough with the nonsense! For the people of Tengu City, no matter what, we will not back down!" Kusakabe Ryoko said with unwavering determination after being knocked back.

"Captain! Are you sure it's okay? We've exposed the identity of the AST unit in front of everyone!"

"It's too late, Mikie. This isn't the time to dwell on this. For some reason, the people are all like they've lost their minds and aren't moving. Let's figure out a way to defeat him first!"

Liaozi turned around, looked at the group of about thirty team members filling the sky, and gave the order with unwavering determination.

Ming chuckled lightly, "You think you can take me? You're just overestimating yourselves." As he spoke, the weapons surrounding him began to hum, emanating a dangerous aura.

Ryoko Kusakabe's eyes sharpened, and she shouted:

"All players, attack!"

AST team members piloted their aircraft and rushed towards Ming from all directions, the light of various weapons intertwining.

Ming made no attempt to dodge, and the ranged attacks, as if guided by fate, all deliberately avoided him.

Ryoko Kusakabe gritted her teeth and used all her strength to control the aircraft, charging towards Ming once again.

Just as she was about to approach Ming, he suddenly vanished from his spot and reappeared behind her the next second, a golden spear in his hand pressed against her neck.

"Give up, you can't stop me," Ming said coldly.

"I was really underestimated, but..."

But Liaozi's lips curled up slightly at this.

"Stop dawdling! Mikie! Get to work!"

As the shouts rang out, Miki, who was behind Ming, immediately seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack from behind.

The weapon in her hand gleamed coldly as it pierced straight towards Ming's back.

Ming sensed the attack from behind, slightly turned his body, and used his spear to block and neutralize Miki's attack.

"Huh?! Captain, I'm so sorry... Aa ...

After being restrained by Ming, Mikihiko lightly struck her forehead with a chop to the forehead, and was then sent flying backwards through the crowd of people who were being held captive and unable to move.

At that moment, the other AST members also adjusted their strategies and launched attacks again from different angles.

Ming remained completely calm. The weapons beside him moved automatically, as if they were extensions of his own arms, easily deflecting the attacks of his teammates.

"Sorry, it's really hard to step on an ant without killing it."

Suddenly, Ming waved his hands, and an incredibly brittle spiritual energy wave spread out, forcibly pressing the surrounding AST team members to the ground, as if it could even shatter their bones.

Looking at the powerful Ming before her, at that terrifying presence, Kusakabe Ryoko felt a sense of powerlessness, but she gritted her teeth and gripped her sword tightly once more.

"Oh? Why did you stand up? If you had charged at me, I might have let you go."

Ming clapped his hands, half-squatted down, and looked at them. It was also the first time that Liaozi had truly met Ming's gaze directly.

"Damn! The golden light you're emitting is blinding! Get any closer, my eyes can't take it! And... what's that thing on your head that looks like a maglev train? You have absolutely no sense of aesthetics..."

Liao Zi gritted her teeth and spoke slowly and defiantly, then used her Free Domain to support herself as she struggled to stand up, her body having suffered multiple shattered bones from the previous attack.

"Flame Beast! If you want to harm these innocent people... then you'll have to step over my dead body! No one will die before I fall!"

"How much does the army pay you? Is it really necessary to work so hard..."

Ming stared at Liaozi, who was rushing towards him with her broken body, and recalled how he had once protected Shahe in the same way. He couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"I have the people behind me! If I fall, they will be killed, so I cannot fall!"

"...Yes, it's not that woman, so I will treat you with the respect due to a challenger."

"Pah! Who needs your respect? Just go die already!"

The sword pierced straight in like lightning. Ming knew her determination; he controlled all the demon kings surrounding her and plunged them into the ground.

With only the Fifth Demon King, which originally belonged to him, in his hands, he was determined to defeat Ryoko in the most just way.

"【Heavenly Calamity Flame Demon】!"

'boom! '

Liao Zi's lightsaber fell from her hand, and her body was already bound by countless chains, with a hole in her abdomen caused by the flames generated by the greatsword.

"It's time to wake up from your hero's dream, Ryoko Kusakabe. You've done a great job..."