Giant

For now, Ito's abilities seemed formidable to William, but their weaknesses were just as obvious. As long as they could keep up with his speed, firearms could still inflict significant damage. By that measure, Ito wasn't all that dangerous—at least, he could still be described as a humanoid creature.

But just seconds after that thought crossed his mind, it was crushed to pieces.

A terrifying vortex erupted in the small open area outside the apartment building, flames swirling into a spectacular fire tornado. Ito stood in its eye, gripping Toyokawa Jousei's twin blades with both hands.

"I can't hold on!"

Feeling the temperature around him climbing and the oxygen growing scarce, Toyokawa shouted in dismay. He promptly entered his intangible state, turned into a mass of mist, and slipped away.

William had just been thrown against a wall by the vortex. With his subordinates' help, he struggled to his feet and looked up at the fire tornado with a bitter expression. Smoke rose from his entire body. His hair was still intact, but the smell of singed hair hung in the air.

"Major, Team Leader Noguchi is here!" A subordinate heard the news over the radio and reported it to William, delighted.

"Toyokawa! Hold him off! I know you've still got something up your sleeve!" William immediately shouted toward the front.

Hidden in the space between realities, Toyokawa rolled his eyes. How much are they paying me a month? I'm not risking my life for this. If he weren't so attached to all the entertainment human society had to offer, he would've found a way to retire to the mountains with his mother long ago.

"Once Noguchi gets here, hold him off until then, and I'll have Hoshino Nanako put on a private show just for you!"

"Deal!"

Toyokawa's voice came from somewhere nearby.

The next instant, he appeared behind Ito, who stood in the eye of the storm.

Who told you these are the only two blades I have?

Dual pistols, activate!

Bang! Bang!

Before Ito could attack, Toyokawa had already appeared in another direction in the blink of an eye.

It was just like the flashy, teleporting fights you often saw in anime.

Using his Void Walk ability, Toyokawa kept appearing in different spots around Ito and firing at him. Ito struggled to fend him off.

For a moment, it even looked as though Toyokawa had Ito on the back foot.

But in less than a minute, Toyokawa's "teleporting" had noticeably slowed. It was clear that his previous assault had been a burst of power he couldn't sustain.

Ito blocked the bullets again. Watching Toyokawa linger instead of immediately disappearing, he spoke slowly. "You know, my favorite kind of game is turn-based JRPGs."

Toyokawa greedily sucked in the thin air around him. He wasn't about to let that comment go unanswered. "Oh? Are you going to say, 'Now it's my turn'?"

Ito shook his head.

"Actually, I don't know where this body's limits are either. Next, I'm going to release all my negative emotions. I might not even be able to control myself, so... this is your last chance to run."

Before Toyokawa could reply, Ito's body began to turn hazy, as if he were about to merge with the flames.

From where William stood, he couldn't see what was happening inside the increasingly violent fire tornado. He was busy arranging the evacuation of residents, closing off the streets, and keeping reckless news crews and independent media from getting too close.

Before Noguchi Yuji could arrive with reinforcements, Toyokawa appeared in front of William, looking disheveled and terrified.

"I can't beat him! There's no way! Call the Self-Defense Force! Call the U.S. military!"

"What happened?" William had barely started to ask when a wave of hot air swept over them.

The flames scattered in all directions like dust, then went out.

But their disappearance revealed Ito to everyone once more.

No—in his current state, he could hardly be called human.

His terrifying body stood nearly thirty meters tall, making the small apartment building beside him look like a prop from a tokusatsu show. Like the water elementals of countless artistic imaginings, a magnificent, imposing fire elemental monster now stood before them all.

He had no legs; a fire tornado still formed his lower half. His torso and arms were otherwise human-shaped, while his head had no features. Yet William could feel that he was being watched.

The investigation team's morale collapsed in an instant.

When facing a monster like Godzilla, weren't they supposed to send Ultraman to deal with it?

Some of them looked at William as if asking, Boss, if you don't transform now, we're all toast.

"Do everything you can to protect them."

A moment later, a missile-like object trailing flames streaked straight toward the Flame Giant from the horizon.

The giant waved a hand. The missile exploded, scattering a large cloud of white powder that smothered the raging fire.

The next second, dozens of missiles from every direction, each trailing flames, came hurtling toward him!

"Major, Team Leader Noguchi is here. He says the Water Bomb Unit has assembled. He wants us to protect the civilians in the area and find cover wherever we can."

William finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The so-called Water Bomb Unit was William's idea. When he asked Toyokawa for help, he'd reasoned that since Ito's abilities were fire-related, he should request an emergency joint unit with the fire department and the Self-Defense Force—a "Water Bomb Unit"—to provide support.

He hadn't expected much, since there'd been so little time. He hadn't realized he'd underestimated Noguchi Yuji. The guy was pretty reliable when it mattered.

Thud-thud-thud—

The sound of numerous helicopters approached. They launched a second attack against the Flame Giant, whose fires seemed to have diminished after the barrage of missiles.

"Carry out the orders! Split into squads, find nearby cover, and protect the civilians!"

William issued the order. They were simply too close to the battlefield; Ito could take them out in a sudden burst at any moment.

"Yes, sir!"

The investigation team dispersed, leaving the clash of titans to the main force.

The Flame Giant finally retaliated. He aimed his right hand at a helicopter, then, with his next breath, unleashed a torrent of flames that instantly engulfed the firefighting helicopter.

The pilot died without even feeling any pain. The helicopter twisted and melted into a fireball. Propelled more than a thousand meters by the blast, it fell like a meteor and crushed into a pulp a company executive who had been speaking onstage for ages at a team-building event in the park.

Screams and flames filled the area as the crowd shoved past one another and scattered.

"Switch to long-range attacks. Helicopters, fall back. Request the Self-Defense Force conduct a bombing test. Reduce the firing rate of the fire department's missiles; focus on harassing him and buying time."

Noguchi Yuji issued orders from the temporary command center, taking the situation on the ground into account.

By the time all this happened, only five short minutes had passed. The Flame Giant seemed to have finally grown accustomed to his body. He floated toward the apartment building ahead.