Ida Iryu's sword attacks concentrated their force on a single point, giving them a small area of impact but tremendous power. Missiles, on the other hand, spread their force over a wider area.
Under normal circumstances, they might not even break through Sona Ghost's skin, let alone damage the flesh beneath.
But now Sona Ghost had exposed its head and heart, and Ida Iryu was holding it down. It couldn't fight back at all, and its muscles couldn't tense up to defend itself.
Even with its enormous energy, it was nothing more than a huge target that was slightly tougher than most.
The missiles might not have been very powerful, but at least there were plenty of them.
After all, every time Director Yoshioka looked at weapons that had been built and then left to gather dust in storage, he quietly wept.
"Daigo, when it comes to running into monsters, I feel like the Rookie Squad are even better at it than we are." Shinjoh asked Daigo as he flew the first TPC fighter toward the scene.
"We always wait for a monster to show up before we head out."
It was a matter of timing. By the time they spotted a monster and arrived, its enormous size meant that even the fastest evacuation would still leave people dead.
"The Rookie Squad go out looking for monsters themselves, which gives us plenty of time to prepare."
"I don't know if they're lucky or unlucky. Somehow, they always manage to discover—or even predict—a monster's arrival in advance."
Daigo spoke softly, and the two men in the aircraft gradually fell silent.
There was just something off about Zhou Hong. He was absurdly strong, and everything about him seemed suspicious.
The thought crossed both their minds, but they kept it to themselves.
Then they looked at the monster's body beneath their fighter and were at a loss for words.
"The Rookie Squad have evacuated the Mount Sona area," Hibiki Gousuke reported. "They've reached the designated safe zone."
"Understood. First TPC fighter acknowledging."
The report over the communicator immediately roused them. Shinjoh's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Great. Let's try one missile and see how it goes."
The first TPC fighter, circling overhead, dropped lower. Missiles emerged from its underside, and Shinjoh aimed at Sona Ghost's eyelid before pressing the button.
The missile streaked toward its target, trailing a long plume of fire, then exploded. Flames and a shock wave burst outward at once, and the fighter immediately climbed higher without hesitation.
Below, the flames caught Sona Ghost's head. Its hair blazed, its single eyelid vanished, and a small piece of its eyeball went with it.
Just looking at it hurt.
"It works. The missiles can hurt it."
In the GUTS command room, Director Yoshioka exchanged a glance with Commander Sawai, then tapped his beloved folding fan against his palm.
"Sawai, give the order," Director Yoshioka said.
Although Hibiki Gousuke had reported to his direct superior, the GUTS team was still responsible for carrying out operations against monsters.
Besides, using the missiles that had been left in storage required Commander Sawai's signature and approval.
Even if they were outdated, those weapons could still cause massive casualties among fragile human beings.
After a thorough fifteen-minute investigation, they confirmed that the information was accurate.
They had learned about Sona Ghost and confirmed that it had been an evil demon even in ancient times. The flesh exposed on the mountainside was further proof.
Sona Ghost would revive, and with those sharp fangs and claws, it was clearly a mythical monster that needed to be defeated.
Commander Sawai decided that blowing it up with missiles was a good idea.
The old missiles were just sitting in storage, waiting to be retired someday, and disposing of them was a hassle.
With monsters appearing, the TPC had already begun rapidly developing new weapons to ensure the safety of its personnel.
This operation would not only save a great deal on storage costs, but also eliminate future worries and potential hazards.
"Fire!" Commander Sawai picked up the communicator beside him and gave the order.
At an unmodified military base somewhere in the mountains, the order came through at once. The operators immediately launched the missiles, one after another without pause. Flames and smoke nearly swallowed the base.
At the same time, the old missile launchers, hauled out from the bottom of the warehouse, fired as well.
As for the TPC Far East Headquarters, it had been built for peace and did not have many weapons installed.
The pitch-black night was instantly lit by the blasts. Cannon fire engulfed Sona Ghost's body, and the flying flesh caught fire. Every missile tore away at it like an ancient torture, reducing its body bit by bit.
Sona Ghost felt the pain in a state like sleep and struggled desperately. It was a torment so unbearable that it would have been better to die at once. It frantically tried to regain control of its body.
But no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't break free of Ida Iryu's restraints. It couldn't even cry out in rage. And even if it could control its body, it was still being torn limb from limb, so all it could do was endure the pain in silence.
The unrelenting blasts dried the damp leaves around them and set the area ablaze.
In the warmth, the shattered body kept changing shape. The wind swept across the burning flesh, carrying the faint aroma of roasted chicken.
Missiles had pried open the top of its skull. Its body had become charred lumps or a grotesque burst of flesh, and the soul that had nursed its hatred for a thousand years was gradually losing consciousness.
No matter how unwilling it was, no matter how fiercely it resisted death, death seemed eager to embrace it.
Another vast barrage sent sparks flying, and Sona Ghost finally lost consciousness.
But amid the flames that had turned the sky red, no one could tell whether Sona Ghost was dead.
All they knew was that today they could let loose. Commander Sawai had rarely given them permission to blow things up to their hearts' content.
The cloud cover prevented the satellites from detecting anything, while the crimson flames disrupted the first TPC fighter's transmissions. Commander Sawai sat quietly, too.
He waited in silence for the missile stockpile to run out.
The bombardment continued for a full two hours before finally stopping.
They had calculated the missiles' launch points and power to avoid the shrine where Ida Iryu was. But the stockpile they had piled up was far too enormous.
The surrounding hills had long since been blasted into cratered wastelands.
Tiny sparks rose on the hot air currents, swirling through the heat toward Ida Iryu's mostly intact shrine. The roaring flames spread, dragging the shrine into the sea of fire.
The wooden shrine gradually collapsed in the flames, but the sword still stood amid the roaring blaze. Fire flowed over it and clung to a figure, where the faint outline of a swordsman could be seen.
He was laughing.
"So the brave are no longer alone in this era. Hahahahaha!"
Before you continue