Back at Shinjuku, only one figure was busy fighting the soldiers while the other Devotees carried out the tasks assigned to them.
Shooting energy blades toward them, Viper moved like a predator playing with its prey at the same time. Flowing like an endless river, she continuously avoided relying on predetermined actions. Instead, she watched and observed every movement of each enemy within her sight, responding with attacks tailored to whatever they attempted.
Never even having the time to pause, her breathing remained steady and her confidence never faltered. Her grin only widened with each passing minute as the JSDF and Special Forces engaged her in combat.
The energy blades she summoned rained down relentlessly, forcing everyone around her to watch their every step. Not too long ago, three of them had already been taken down, getting struck with a backshot during the process of surrounding Viper.
"Too slow!"
She mocked, parrying multiple bladed weapons with her claymore before retaliating with a spinning slash across their chests.
The deep wounds they suffered made them cry out in pain. With the amount of blood pouring from their injuries, they were in no condition to continue fighting and were struck by an energy blade before they could even register what had happened.
Running backward, she dodged the surprise attack launched by Nori from above.
Nori clicked her tongue and roared in frustration. Currently, she was in her tiger state, fully transformed through her ability. Fur covered her entire body, while golden eyes and sharp fangs dominated her face. Removing the gauntlet from both hands, she opened both of her palms as claws extended from her fingers. Dropping onto all fours, she charged toward Viper with feral speed.
"Hey, kitty, kitty~~"
Viper jeered shamelessly, sliding backward after blocking Nori's claws.
Charging at her once more, Nori flew into a rage, swiping her razor-sharp claws with inhuman speed.
"Drop fucking dead, you bitch!"
"Sorry, I don't speak meow-meow language."
"RAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Meow, meow, meow, meow."
"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"
As a result of Viper treating her like an absolute joke, Nori's anger shot up to eleven, her mind consumed by the desire to tear the blonde woman standing before her into tiny pieces.
When Nori brought both claws down in an overhead smash, Viper planted the tip of her claymore into the ground like a walking cane and leaned her body to the side, tilting herself just enough for the claws to shave past her shoulder.
Backstepping, she followed up by pivoting on her foot and letting Nori sail past her after the beastwoman committed to a full-body lunge.
Nori immediately pounced from behind.
Without even turning around, Viper adjusted her grip and struck Nori square in the forehead with the pommel of her claymore, bringing her charge to an abrupt halt with a single blow.
"You know, somebody once told me I ain't the sharpest tool on the shed."
Viper cackled and wiggled her finger as Nori slowly pushed herself back to her feet.
Having had enough fun handling Nori and toying with her to feed her own ego, Viper unsummoned her claymore.
Confused as to why she had done that, Nori failed to anticipate what came next and received a heavy kick to her side.
Contrary to her stature and weight, Viper unleashed powerful strikes using every limb at her disposal. Stepping forward effortlessly, she kicked Nori in the shin. When she lost her balance as a result, Viper spun and drove a knuckle strike brimming with built-up force into her.
As Nori staggered backward, Viper rushed forward and leaped. Grabbing her by the face, she followed up her previous strike with a crushing knee.
"Kitties need punishment for fighting back and biting their owners."
Viper licked her lips.
Lowering her center of gravity, she smoothly swept her body from side to side.
Almost as if she were being hypnotized, Nori instinctively followed Viper's movements. The next thing she felt was a vicious combination of hooks from both the left and right fists. Using the Dempsey Roll as the main course, Viper finished the meal with dessert, knocking Nori unconscious with a final left hook to the temple.
********
While Nori was busy dealing with Viper, the rain of blades only worsened, doubling in number and making it increasingly difficult for them to evade the assault and call for reinforcements.
"...Tsk, fuck this shit."
Fuji clicked her tongue, feeling her options steadily narrowing.
Her explosive dolls were not particularly useful as traps due to the fact that there was a higher chance of blowing up their own side than catching Viper off guard.
She was not even sure they would work against her. Judging by how Viper moved and the punishment her body could withstand, Fuji had little hope of landing a meaningful hit through any method, especially after failing to touch her earlier.
Bad news after bad news continued to pile up ever since the Vessels descended from the sky.
Reports regarding these so-called Devotees, people like Viper, fighting combatants across the various wards were the most common. Worse still, some had been spotted attempting to attack emergency shelters, a low blow even she sadly expected from people belonging to the same group as the blonde bitch they were currently fighting.
If there was any decent news to be found, it was that followers as powerful as Viper were not the norm. Even so, the remaining Devotees were still proving to be troublesome opponents to deal with.
However, others shared the same concern regarding Devotees known as Juggernaut and Hawk, along with the unidentified psycho speed demon currently occupying Tokyo Station. All of them were believed to be just as dangerous as the woman who was slowly but surely dwindling their numbers.
To sprinkle even more salt into the wound, the Shuuki were actively avoiding the Devotees, behaving as though they were not targets at all.
Getting tapped on the shoulder by her teammate, Fuji turned her attention to where the woman was pointing. From their hiding spot, they noticed that the energy blades were slowly but surely disappearing.
At the same time—
—THUD
A battered, bloodied body was thrown across the ground. Nori's body had already returned to its human form, her eyes shut and her face nearly unrecognizable beneath the bruises and blood.
"NORI!!"
Fuji rushed toward her, followed closely by the others.
Nori was one of the stronger fighters among them, so seeing her reduced to such a state was anything but a positive sign for the situation they currently faced.
The sound of ordinary footsteps echoed through the area, yet to them, it felt heavier than anything else.
"I'll admit, she was resilient."
Walking forward with a yawn, Viper commented casually, her hands completely empty.
"She put up more of a fight than all of you here."
The people behind Fuji had already reached their breaking point. No longer caring whether they were wasting the blessed weapons or not, they raised their pistols and assault rifles and opened fire.
Unfortunately, the bullets struck nothing but empty air the moment they left their firearms.
When they finally found where she had gone, Viper was already sprinting sideways at a tilted angle, literally running along the side of a building. Gathering strength in her legs, she kicked off the surface and launched herself toward one of the shooters.
As the woman hastily raised her pistol again, Viper opened both palms and locked onto the weapon. The gun was ripped from the woman's grasp and sent flying before Viper seized her by the neck and pulled her in front of herself, letting go of her and giving a massive blow to the chest that sent her flying.
The JSDF soldier carrying a shield beside Fuji, Amiya, gripped the edge of her circular shield and hurled it like a boomerang. It curved through the battlefield, weaving around allies before closing in on Viper's position.
Summoning her claymore, Viper tossed the sword from her left hand to her right and swung it in a wide arc, batting the shield away like a baseball and sending it hurtling back toward its owner.
Clicking her tongue, Amiya caught the shield with one hand as Fuji signaled for everyone else to back off.
"I am really sick of your games."
Fuji scowled and launched multiple dolls into the air. They flew toward Viper as the dolls' eyes glowed an ominous red.
Snorting in amusement, Viper deflected the bullets while spinning her claymore. Noticing a whip sword lying on the ground beside a fallen soldier, she stepped forward and flicked it upward with her foot, causing its segmented blades to reassemble.
Dual-wielding the weapons, she used the sharp, long-reaching whip sword to tear apart and slice through the explosive dolls rushing toward her, while her claymore intercepted the incoming bullets. Her movements became increasingly absurd, weaving through everything as she effortlessly devoured every attack thrown her way.
"I am really going to make all of your hands clap."
When the explosions subsided, her expression changed instantly. Her smile vanished without a trace, and her eyes sharpened as she raised her claymore to block a sniper round.
At once, her energy blades surged back into existence.
They erupted and launched forward in a deadly wave as Viper burst into a sprint toward them.
********
Leading the Devotees and Shuuki, Hawk maintained her hybrid form, a mixture of human and bird.
"Fuck, this feels so good."
She took a deep breath as her fingers slid beneath her pants, the sensation sending waves of pleasure through her body. Her arousal only intensified as she watched the suffering unfolding below. She rode atop a unique Shuuki that resembled a pterodactyl.
"I'm cumming!"
She shouted, her eyes rolling back as her tongue slipped out. Closing her eyes, she savored the climax for a few moments.
Seated atop the Shuuki, she slumped back and looked at the mess on her hand. Smiling, she reached for her mask and removed it, revealing a cute face framed by a sleek bob haircut. She licked her fingers clean, taking her time to savor every moment.
"Give me more fun. Give me more!"
Hawk, formerly known as Ichinose Sora during her time as a soldier of the Mato Defense Force.
Throughout her life, she had been a person deeply obsessed with the suffering of others.
During puberty, she always carried her favorite dagger, one she had secretly bought behind her parents' backs.
Whether it was frogs, hamsters, chickens, goldfish, or even stuffed toys bearing the faces of people she hated most, she found enjoyment in stabbing them all.
Gifted at acting like a perfect goody-two-shoes, not a single person ever saw through her deranged mindset, even after she was accepted into the Mato Defense Force and served under the previous Third Squad leader before Bell eventually took over.
Along with that obsession, she became increasingly aroused by suffering and would even pleasure herself while watching videos of animals being slaughtered.
Eventually, she reached her limit. The stimulation was no longer enough.
Humans.
She began craving the sight of real people being hurt—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
That was the reason she was currently a wanted criminal.
She remembered the time a pair of lovers became victims of a Mato incident. After saving them from being chased by Shuuki, she watched as they embraced each other, smiling lovingly despite the traumatic ordeal they had just endured.
"Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened to us."
As the man expressed his gratitude, something inside her snapped.
"I want to ruin that face."
She could not stop the smile forming on her lips. Both the man and woman were completely defenseless, and the woman had not eaten a Peach.
Her breathing deepened as the last restraints on her sanity gave way. After rendering the pair unconscious, she grabbed them both and took to the skies, carrying them somewhere even the Defense Force would struggle to find.
The man.
He could do nothing but cry as his body refused to move.
All the while, Hawk continued stabbing his girlfriend.
Knowledgeable about human anatomy and how to prolong suffering, she carefully avoided any major blood vessels. Each stab was deliberate, inflicting continuous bleeding that gradually pushed the woman into hemorrhagic shock.
The girlfriend remained trapped in a state of terror and weakness, her body slowly failing while Hawk expertly avoided causing immediate death, determined to savor every moment.
When the girlfriend finally lost her life, Hawk pressed a finger to her lips and shushed the mentally shattered boyfriend with a smile. Gripping her dagger, she slowly approached him.
"Your lovely girl would be sad to see that frown on your face, baby~~"
Biting her lip, she slowly dragged the blade across the man's face, carving a grotesque imitation of a smile.
Using her fingers, she pulled at the corners of her own mouth, baring her teeth as she exaggerated the expression. Then she grabbed her cheeks and stretched them wider, demonstrating the smile she wanted him to wear.
When the Defense Force finally located the missing civilians whom Hawk had supposedly been sent to rescue after an extensive search, they were greeted by a gruesome sight. The corpses had been grotesquely mutilated, their remains arranged in a manner that left even hardened soldiers horrified. Those who witnessed the scene could hardly believe that one of their own was responsible. Their stomachs churned at the memory, and some were unable to eat properly for days afterward.
Unfortunately, Hawk managed to escape through a closing gate connected to a secluded area near Okinawa.
When she eventually returned to Mato, the moment she met Shikoku was the moment she felt herself ascend. Gazing upon such a beautiful goddess, one who promised greater strength and would never restrict the kind of enjoyment she desired, she knew where her loyalties belonged.
"Shikoku-sama is the best~~"
Pulled from her memories, Hawk realized too late that her momentary distraction had cost her. Lost in her delusions, she failed to notice a massive hand rushing toward her position. The pterodactyl-like Shuuki she was riding was suddenly restrained by an invisible force before being violently slammed into the ground.
Pissed off, Hawk immediately took to the skies, distancing herself from the crash site and remaining suspended in midair.
"WHO DARES DISTURB ME?!!"
she angrily shouted.
The answer revealed itself when she looked down.
Multiple Shuuki lay dead across the ground, while several Devotees were being lifted by their necks and choked by an unseen force, much like the one that had restrained the unique Shuuki she had been riding earlier.
Adjusting her glasses, Maia calmly raised her gaze toward the sky and met Hawk's furious stare.
A mocking smile spread across her face as she spoke.
"Just a passing by adult trying to clean up your mess."