The Giant

For now, although the strength Ito displayed made William feel he was a bit intense, his weaknesses were equally obvious. As long as one could keep up with his speed, firearms could inflict significant damage on him. Viewed in that light, Ito's threat level wasn't actually that high; at the very least, he could still be described as a humanoid creature.

Yet, only seconds after this thought emerged, it was thoroughly crushed into dust.

In the small open space outside the apartment, a terrifying vortex of air suddenly erupted, carrying flames to form a spectacular fire tornado. Ito stood right in the eye of this storm, his hands gripping Toyokawa Jousei's twin blades.

"No, I can't hold him!"

Feeling the rapidly rising temperature and the scarcity of oxygen, Toyokawa shouted in a panic. He decisively shifted into his ethereal state, revealing a wisp of mist before slipping away.

William, who had just been slammed against a wall by the air current, struggled to stand with the help of his subordinates. He looked up at the fire tornado with a bitter expression; his entire body was smoking, and while his hair remained, a burnt scent already wafted from it.

"Major, Team Leader Noguchi is here!" one of the subordinates reported happily after hearing the news over the radio.

"Toyokawa! Hold him off! I know you're still hiding your true skills!" William immediately shouted toward the front.

Hiding in the void, Toyokawa rolled his eyes. How much was he getting paid a month? He wasn't about to risk his life. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't live without the various entertainments of human society, he would have found a way to take his mother and retire to the mountains long ago.

"Noguchi is coming. Hold him until he arrives, and I'll have Hoshino Nanako perform a show just for you!"

"It's a deal!"

Toyokawa's voice emerged from nowhere.

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

Who told you I only had these two blades on me?

Dual pistols activated!

Bang! Bang!

Before Ito could attack, Toyokawa vanished and reappeared in another direction in the blink of an eye.

It was just like the common "flash" combat seen in anime.

Utilizing his Void Walk ability, Toyokawa constantly reappeared in various directions around Ito to fire his guns, leaving the latter struggling to keep up.

For a moment, it actually looked like he was suppressing Ito.

But in less than a minute, the speed of Toyokawa's "flashes" slowed significantly. It was clear that this was his burst technique and could not be sustained.

Ito blocked the bullets once more. Watching Toyokawa, who didn't immediately retreat, he spoke slowly: "Do you know? My favorite game genre is JRPG turn-based."

Toyokawa, breathing greedily in the thin air, didn't back down: "Oh, so are you going to say, 'It's my turn now'?"

Ito shook his head.

"Actually, I don't know the limits of this body either. Next, I will release all of my negative emotions. Perhaps even I won't be able to control myself, so... this is your last chance to run."

Before Toyokawa could speak again, Ito's body gradually became ethereal, appearing as if he were about to merge with the flames.

From William's position, he couldn't see the situation inside the increasingly violent fire tornado. He was busy arranging the evacuation of local residents, sealing off the streets, and stopping news media or independent journalists who were foolishly trying to get closer.

However, before Noguchi Yuji's reinforcements arrived, Toyokawa appeared before William, looking disheveled and terrified.

"I can't beat him! There's no way to beat him! Call the Self-Defense Force, call the American military!"

"What happened?" Before William could finish his question, a blast of hot wind swept over them.

The flames scattered like dust into the surroundings before extinguishing.

But this also revealed the previously unseen Ito to everyone once again.

No, at this point, he could hardly be called human.

His terrifying, nearly thirty-meter-tall frame made the nearby small apartment look like a prop from a tokusatsu film. Much like the water elementals in various artistic imaginings, what stood before everyone now was a magnificent, towering fire elemental monster.

He had no legs, his base still maintained by a fire tornado. His torso and arms were otherwise normal, and his head lacked facial features, yet William could feel the entity's gaze upon him.

The morale of the investigation team was shattered in an instant.

In the face of a monster like Godzilla, shouldn't Ultraman be the one to come out and deal with it?

Some looked at William, as if asking: Boss, if you don't transform soon, we're done for.

"Protect what you can."

In the sky, an object suspected to be a missile, trailing exhaust, flew straight toward the Flame Giant from a distance.

The giant waved a hand, and the missile exploded, scattering a large amount of white powder that suppressed the raging fire.

The next second, from every direction, dozens of missiles trailing exhaust streaks descended!

"Major, it's Team Leader Noguchi. He says the 'Water Bomb Unit' has finished assembling. He wants us to protect the civilians in the area and find cover wherever possible."

William finally let out a sigh of relief.

The so-called Water Bomb Unit was something he had requested when he asked for Toyokawa's assistance. He had reasoned that since Ito's abilities were fire-related, they should urgently organize a joint force with the fire department and the Self-Defense Force to provide support.

He hadn't held much hope because the time was too tight, but he hadn't expected to underestimate Noguchi Yuji. This guy was actually quite reliable when it counted.

Rat-tat-tat—

The sound of numerous helicopters arrived, launching a second wave of attacks against the Flame Giant, whose fire had seemingly diminished after the barrage of missiles.

"Execute orders! Move in squads, find the nearest cover, and protect the civilians!"

William gave the order. He was far too close to the battlefield; he could be wiped out by a single outburst from Ito at any moment.

"Understood!"

The investigation team scattered, leaving the scene of the gods' battle to the main force.

The Flame Giant finally retaliated. Aiming its right hand at a helicopter, it exhaled a jet of flames in the next breath, instantly engulfing the firefighting aircraft.

The pilot perished without feeling a shred of pain. The entire helicopter melted and twisted into a fireball, blasted over a thousand meters away by the force of the blast. Like a falling meteor, it slammed into the park, crushing a company executive who had been droning on from a stage during a team-building event into a pulp of flesh.

Screams and flames erupted everywhere as the crowd shoved and scattered in a panic.

"Switch all tactics to long-range strikes. Helicopters, retreat. Call the Self-Defense Force to conduct bombing tests. Reduce the firing frequency of the firefighting missiles; focus on harassment and stalling."

Noguchi Yuji issued orders from the makeshift command post based on the situation on the ground.

Only five short minutes had passed since all of this began. The Flame Giant seemed to have finally adapted to its body, drifting toward the apartment complex ahead.