Midtown Manhattan, United States.
The afternoon sun shone on the spire of the Empire State Building, gilding the forest of steel and concrete.
The streets teemed with pedestrians and traffic, and neon signs still glittered brilliantly in the sunlight.
This was a global financial center, the city watched over by the Statue of Liberty, the Big Apple that countless people dreamed of reaching.
Yet at that moment, one neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan had descended into chaos.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion rang out alongside the rumble of an entire building collapsing, sending dust billowing into the sky.
It was a twelve-story commercial office building, and it was visibly breaking apart at its center.
The upper half tilted and slammed toward the ground, throwing rubble and dust everywhere.
"Run!!"
"Is it an earthquake?!"
"It's not an earthquake! It's a monster!!"
"Hurry up and run! The monster's almost here!"
"Whoa, I actually get to witness a monster attack! Isn't this the perfect chance to livestream and rake in views?!"
"..."
People in the street screamed and scattered. Those who fell were hauled up by their companions.
Some abandoned their shopping bags to run for their lives, while others pulled out their phones and filmed frantically, livestreaming as they fled.
Atop the collapsing building, an enormous figure looked down at the crowds below.
It was a giant monster as tall as a five-story building, shaped like an enormous pangolin.
But dark-gold scales covered its entire body, each one etched with bizarre runes.
Its tail was as thick as a massive pillar, with a row of sharp bone spikes at the tip. One light sweep could slice a concrete wall in half.
[Raid Boss: Burrowing Demon Armor]
This raid boss had rampaged across the United States for months. It was immensely powerful and