Battle of the Supernaturals

"UH3, evade the obstacle ahead!"

"UH3, evade the obstacle ahead—Fuck!"

After the surveillance feed suddenly flashed bright, it immediately plunged into darkness. At Yokosuka Military Base, the Black American lieutenant general directing everything couldn't help but spit out a curse. A cold sweat appeared on his dark face.

Half the monitor screens before him had already gone black. The rest were frozen on scenes of blood and flames covering the ground.

"Lieutenant General, the target area has been shrouded in dense fog."

"The drone swarm has suffered an unknown attack. Loss count: 2,425... 26!"

"The airborne squad..."

The final violently shaking image spun wildly amid abruptly cut-off screams before finally going still.

A blood-soaked curved hind leg flashed across the screen. Splattered blood struck the camera lens, forming clusters of brownish stains.

Wiped out!

Smack.

He slumped backward into his chair, powerless. Even the lieutenant general's dark face had turned pale.

It was over.

With casualties this severe,

not only would his career be ruined, but the military influence of Black people in America would also suffer a massive blow.

Although many people liked to keep "Black lives matter" on their lips, in reality, when facing the classic skin color, American police almost always emptied their magazines at the first opportunity. At the same time, white people still held an absolute advantage in positions of power across every field. For Black people to break through that ceiling, the difficulty was unimaginable.

So-called political correctness was, more often than not, just a tool white people used to disgust others.

After confirming that the Island Nation had produced "supernaturals," the Black lieutenant general immediately adopted aggressive measures in an attempt to obtain firsthand samples.

It was all because he wanted to get ahead too badly!

But reality proved that he had still underestimated the strength and intelligence of supernaturals.

They were not beasts from movies that only knew how to howl and charge. They were supernatural humans capable of using schemes, avoiding gunfire, using soldiers as shields, and even "calling for reinforcements"!

Yes, in the Black lieutenant general's eyes, the supernatural beings who had appeared this time were definitely not alone. That "Werewolf" clearly did not possess the ability to create fog.

Those dog-food-fed bastards—how had such important intelligence not been passed along?

In this matter, the Black lieutenant general had wronged the upper ranks of the Island Nation whom they had bought off.

Forget the officials hiding in safe conference rooms—even Iori Ichika, who was at the front line herself, was completely bewildered.

This fog...

I'm tired. Just destroy everything.

Hiding beside a sedan's engine and gripping her pistol, Iori Ichika cautiously poked her head out to observe the area ahead.

Within the dense fog, where visibility was less than two meters, the gunfire and roars had already stopped. That proved America's soldiers had been wiped out.

As for whether Tanimura Wataru had been killed,

while it was not impossible, as someone from the Island Nation, Ichika would rather see America suffer.

"Tch. Besides transforming himself into a monster, can he turn dogs into humanoids too?"

Her gaze landed on the Shiba Inu not far away, tangled in a metal net and pierced by over a dozen tranquilizer darts. Ichika's eyes flickered.

Under the current circumstances, Tanimura Wataru was probably impossible to capture. But if she could acquire this Shiba Inu... no, it should be called a "Dog Demon," that would still count as an achievement!

At least people couldn't criticize her for being "as still as a mountain" on the battlefield.

"Can you hear me, Director? Please respond if received—"

"Ichika, what is it?"

Her superior's weary voice came through the earpiece. Iori Ichika did not rush to report and instead quietly confirmed something first.

"Director, is it safe over there?"

Safe?

Takeya Haru, far away at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters,

was naturally in no danger personally. That meant Ichika could only be asking one thing: whether there were traitors nearby!

America's soldiers had arrived far too quickly. Anyone could guess there was an insider.

"Go ahead."

A few seconds later,

Director Takeya's voice sounded again after he cut off the other receivers and maintained a one-on-one connection.

"Director, the mission failed."

"America's soldiers are probably finished too."

"However, Tanimura Wataru's dog was left at the scene. I suspect this Shiba Inu has also been corrupted—or rather, assimilated—by supernatural power. Look..."

"You did very well!"

The voice in the earpiece abruptly rose by more than ten decibels. Just by hearing it, Iori Ichika could imagine her superior's delighted expression.

"Quick, get that Shiba Inu—no, that supernatural creature—out of there!"

"Director, with fog this thick..."

"I believe in you, Ichika!"

The director, far away at the Metropolitan Police Department, threw a heavy punch.

This was a huge victory!

"Tch, he really knows how to order people around."

After hanging up, Iori Ichika crouched low and moved over to the Shiba Inu wrapped layer upon layer in metal netting. She grabbed the net and dragged it away.

As a frontline officer who often "worked cases" in Adachi Ward, she was intimately familiar with this area. Even shrouded in thick fog, she could easily retreat silently with this "supernatural Shiba Inu."

As for Tanimura Wataru and this inexplicable fog?

Heh, whoever was capable could deal with them!

She was only a "frail woman." She would not involve herself in a battle between these supernatural beings.

"Pant, pant, pant..."

Dozens of meters away from the ground littered with severed limbs and corpses, outside a clothing store.

Still in his Werewolf form, Tanimura Wataru panted heavily while looting the bodies.

"AN/PVS-14 night vision goggles,"

"Laser Rangefinder, Stun Grenades, M16A4, Interceptor Level IV Body Armor..."

It had to be said that America's soldiers were very well equipped. This whole set cost well over a hundred thousand dollars, nearly twenty million yen. If they had been given another chance and fought from a distance, Tanimura Wataru could never have wiped them out so easily.

No matter what, he was the victor now!

I need to leave quickly...

Whoosh—

Splat!

Amid a faint sound,

a line of blood suddenly sprayed from his arm.

Are there still enemies?

Instinctively rolling away, a succession of splats struck the spot where Tanimura Wataru had just been leaning, punching finger-sized holes through the glass!

A gun?

No...

While rolling away,

Tanimura Wataru could clearly feel that the wound in his arm was only about half a finger deep.

There was no bullet!

As the intense battle continued, Tanimura Wataru's control over the Demon power in his body had become increasingly skilled. He could clearly sense the bullets lodged inside his body, so he could naturally tell that the attack just now had not involved physical ammunition.

"Who's there?!"

He wrinkled his nose and turned toward the fog.

"I'm very sorry,"

a distorted voice came from within the fog, as though it had passed through something before reaching his ears.

"I need to take the Sessho-seki from you."

?!

Could someone sent by that lord be here?

No, only two days had passed. Since that lord had granted him power, there was no reason to take it back so soon!

"Whose man are you?"

Although his vision was blocked by the dense fog, Tanimura Wataru could still pinpoint the other person with his exceptional sense of smell. They were at eleven o'clock, roughly twenty meters away!

"Me?"

The person in the fog seemed to be considering how to answer, but Tanimura Wataru had already kicked off with both legs!

Whoosh!

Landing on all fours, he launched himself forward with the full force of a beast.

The little Demon power remaining in his body was squeezed out, and as though he were burning his life away, he launched a desperate attack!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The fog was disturbed, leaving long trails behind. Finger-thick "bullets" constantly shot toward Tanimura Wataru. If not for the fog, these "bullets" would have been both fast and concealed, making them difficult to detect.

Whoosh!

He darted left and right while charging in a standard Z-shaped pattern.

One "bullet" grazed Tanimura Wataru's face, leaving a wound and making his pupils contract.

Water!

The other party was using water as bullets to attack him.

So the fog had indeed been their doing. Though Tanimura Wataru was grateful to them from the bottom of his heart—without this fog, he might have already been turned into mincemeat by the helicopters overhead.

But if they wanted to kill him, then they could only rely on their own abilities!

Whoosh—

With Tanimura Wataru's speed, he quickly closed to within several meters of the other person and could barely make out a figure holding an umbrella.

As well as the other hand they raised, its index finger making a gun gesture.

D-Class Water Release: Water Gun Technique

Whoosh!

A bullet made of water shot toward Tanimura Wataru.

He sharply tilted his head and dodged the strike.

The other party did not remain idle either. With a kick off the ground, they drifted backward, their blurry figure instantly vanishing into the thick fog.

"Don't think you can run!"

The other party could create fog and use water as bullets. They were probably some kind of water-type Demon.

And as a Wolf Demon, Tanimura Wataru naturally needed to close in for hand-to-hand combat.

Otherwise, he would be shot to death!

One fled while the other pursued, both racing through the thick fog.

You can't escape!

The figure holding the umbrella continued attacking with droplets of water as bullets.

But against the thick-skinned Tanimura Wataru, those attacks were not fatal. And his speed was clearly faster than the other party's. He would catch up soon enough.

The distance between them continuously narrowed. He could already make out the school uniform beneath their umbrella.

I've almost got—

Splash!

The sound of water surging beneath his feet made Tanimura Wataru's wolfish face abruptly change.

Could it be?!

"You fell for it,"

"Water Snake Bind."

The water beneath his feet seemed to come alive, winding upward like a python and firmly binding Tanimura Wataru in place.

?

Looking down, Tanimura Wataru finally realized that he had actually chased his target into a river.

Meanwhile, the mysterious person holding the umbrella was standing on the surface of the water!

I was careless.

The water climbed and coiled around him.

No matter how Tanimura Wataru struggled, he could not exert any strength against it.

In the blink of an eye, it had spread to his chest and was about to pour into his mouth and nose—

"Hehehe..."

Just as the victor was about to be decided, a string of silver-bell-like laughter rang out nearby, making the umbrella-holding figure pause with their raised finger.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several Paper Cranes flew past. Their wings were like sharp blades, slicing apart the water binding Tanimura Wataru out of thin air.

?!

Taking the opportunity,

Tanimura Wataru suddenly exerted himself and leaped backward.

Covered in mud and water, he rolled awkwardly out of the other party's primary battlefield.

"Who are you?"

Kishida Jun used the umbrella to cover his face, then turned with an ugly expression. In the air nearby floated a... girl?

No,

No matter how you looked at it, she was not human.

This "girl" had seductive features and wore a Heian-era kosode, her two bare legs exposed beneath it, yet she gave off no suggestive impression whatsoever.

Because her entire body was made of paper!

A face drawn on paper, clothes cut from paper, and legs folded from paper.

"You may call me Paper Dancer."

Floating in the air, dancing lightly in the breeze, the girl-like demon smiled sweetly.

Paper Dancer?

As a top student, Kishida Jun's eyes flashed beneath his umbrella.

"I see."

Without a sound, his entire body sank downward and vanished into the river.

Paper Dancer.

Thin paper held no feelings, but once its edge was revealed, it was like a blade; folded into a heart, it had once been painted into all things in the world. Well-read in ancient texts, Kishida Jun knew that this kind of demon hated two things most.

Heartless flames and passionate tears.

And he—

was precisely the sort of being Paper Dancer despised.

Since the hunt had failed, there was no point in saying more. He would find another chance to strike.

Kishida Jun sank into the river and left without hesitation.

"Whew, I'm saved."

Still shaken from nearly drowning, Tanimura Wataru glanced fearfully at the river before him. Without realizing it, he had been lured to the side of the Arakawa River.

"Thank you very much, Miss Paper Dancer?"

"Heehee~~ Don't get it wrong, Dog Demon."

"I just hate water demons. I wasn't helping you."

With those words, a gust of wind swept through, and the being known as Paper Dancer drifted away.

"I should still thank you."

Facing the empty fog, Tanimura Wataru thanked her once more.

And—

I'm a Dog Demon, not a Wolf Demon?

PS: Two Robins in fifty pulls. Wonderful~~