The Swordsman's Finale

Ida Iryu's sword strikes focus on a single point, minimizing the area of impact while maximizing destructive power, whereas the power of a missile is diffusive.

Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to even pierce the skin of Sona Ghost, let alone inflict damage upon its flesh.

However, with Sona Ghost exposing its head and heart, and being suppressed by Ida Iryu without the slightest resistance, its muscles cannot tense up to provide defense.

Even with its immense energy, it is nothing more than a giant, slightly sturdier target.

The power of the missiles might be somewhat lacking, but the sheer quantity is more than enough to compensate.

After all, every time Director Yoshioka looks at those weapons built only to gather dust in the warehouse, he silently sheds tears.

"Daigo, I can't help but feel that the Rookie Squad is better than us when it comes to bumping into monsters," Shinjoh asked Daigo from the cockpit of GUTS Wing 1.

"We always wait for the monsters to appear before we sortie."

It is a matter of timing; by the time a monster is discovered and they rush over, even with the fastest evacuation, people still lose their lives due to the monster's massive size.

"The Rookie Squad goes out to find the monsters themselves, which gives us plenty of time to prepare."

"I don't know if it's luck or misfortune, but they always seem to discover or sense the monster's appearance in advance."

Daigo said softly, and the two men in the aircraft gradually fell silent.

They both had a nagging feeling that there was something off about that impossibly strong Zhou Hong.

This thought was hidden deep in the hearts of both men.

Then, the two looked at the monster's body beneath their fighter jet, momentarily speechless.

"The Rookie Squad has evacuated the Mount Sona area," Hibiki Gousuke's voice came through. "And they have arrived at the designated safe zone."

"Understood, GUTS Wing 1 receiving."

The information from the communicator instantly restored their spirits, and the corners of Shinjoh's mouth curled up.

"Very well, let's fire a missile to test the waters."

GUTS Wing 1, circling in mid-air, immediately lowered its altitude. Missiles extended from its belly, and Shinjoh aimed at Sona Ghost's eyelid before pressing the button.

The missile, trailing a long plume of fire, streaked across the sky and detonated on target. Rolling flames and shockwaves expanded simultaneously, and GUTS Wing 1 pulled up without hesitation.

Beneath them, Sona Ghost's head was ignited by the flames; its hair was already boiling and burning, the eyelid of its single eye had vanished, and a chunk of flesh had been torn from the eyeball itself.

Just looking at it was painful.

"It works, the missile attack works."

Standing in the GUTS command room, Director Yoshioka and Superintendent Sawai exchanged a look before the former tapped his beloved folding fan against his palm.

"Sawai, issue the order," Director Yoshioka said.

Although Hibiki Gousuke reported to his direct superior, operations against monsters were still executed by GUTS.

Moreover, using the missiles from the bottom of the warehouse required the signature and approval of Superintendent Sawai.

After all, even if they were products of an older era, they could still cause massive casualties to fragile humans.

After fifteen minutes of detailed investigation, the accuracy of the report was confirmed.

With the intelligence on Sona Ghost confirming it was an evil spirit in ancient times, and the flesh exposed on the mountainside serving as evidence, it was clear.

Sona Ghost would revive, and with those fangs and claws, it was clearly a demon that needed to be purged according to mythology.

Superintendent Sawai felt that using missiles to blow it to bits was a fine solution.

The old-style missiles were useless sitting in the warehouse anyway; they would be phased out eventually, and they were a nuisance to dispose of.

With the appearance of monsters, TPC had already begun rapidly developing new types of weapons to ensure the safety of combat personnel.

This operation would not only save a large sum in maintenance fees but also reduce future worries and hidden risks.

"Fire!" Superintendent Sawai grabbed the nearby communicator and issued the order.

A military base deep in the mountains that had not yet been retrofitted immediately received the notification. The operators launched the missiles one after another, continuously, until the flames and thick smoke nearly covered the base.

The old missile trucks pulled out from the bottom of the warehouse also pressed their buttons at the same time.

As for the TPC Far East Headquarters, it had been built for peace and did not actually have many weapon systems installed.

The pitch-black night was instantly illuminated by the fire and shockwaves. Sona Ghost's body was completely engulfed in artillery fire, and the splashing flesh ignited within the flames. Each missile acted like an ancient torture, whittling away at Sona Ghost's body.

In a state akin to a nightmare, Sona Ghost felt the pain and struggled desperately; it was a torment more agonizing than immediate death. It tried frantically to control its body.

But no matter how it struggled, it could not break free from Ida Iryu's bindings. It couldn't even let out a roar of rage. Besides, being in an unconscious state, even if it could control its body, it was already being torn limb from limb, forced to silently endure the agony of its flesh.

The continuous impacts dried out the damp branches and leaves, setting the surroundings ablaze.

In the sweltering heat, the dismembered body constantly deformed, and the burning flesh carried the scent of roasted chicken on the wind.

The skull was pried open by the missiles, and the body was reduced to charred chunks or blurred fireworks of flesh. Sona Ghost's soul, filled with a millennium of resentment, gradually lost consciousness.

No matter how unwilling it was to resist death, death insisted on getting intimate.

As another massive explosion sent sparks flying, Sona Ghost completely lost consciousness.

But amidst the flames that dyed the sky crimson, no one noticed whether Sona Ghost was dead or alive.

They only knew that today was meant for a good time, and it was rare for Superintendent Sawai to say they could blow things up to their heart's content.

Because of the cloud cover, satellites were unable to conduct surveillance, and the crimson flames also blocked the GUTS Wing 1's communications, leaving Director Sawai to sit in silence.

He waited quietly for the missile stockpile to run dry.

The bombardment lasted for two full hours before the attacks finally ceased.

The positioning and power of the missile launches had been calculated to avoid the shrine where Ida Iryu resided, but the sheer volume of missiles deployed was truly excessive.

The surrounding hills had long since been blasted into pockmarked, cratered earth.

Specks of embers were carried upward by thermal currents, swirling through the heat waves toward the relatively intact shrine of Ida Iryu, where surging flames spread to drag the shrine into a sea of fire.

The wooden shrine gradually collapsed amidst the blaze, yet the sword remained standing within the boiling inferno; the roaring flames flowed and clung to a certain form, and faintly, the silhouette of a swordsman could be seen.

He was laughing loudly.

"The brave are not alone after all, in this era, hahahahaha."