"Ha-Hamin-nim! This cannot be!"
Bellamon's voice trembled.
"Th-this is…"
He was even stammering.
"I-I never imagined there would be this many kinds of ramyeon!!"
At a large supermarket near his home.
Ha-min had come here with Bellamon, and Bellamon kept gasping in awe at the enormous scale of the place.
"I've never seen a grocery store this big before."
"Wasn't there anything like this where you were before?"
"It doesn't even compare."
The convenience store part-time pay from last time had come in. After deducting the hospital bills, he had a little money left, so he'd gone out to do some grocery shopping for the first time in a while.
Because he wanted to treat Bellamon to something tasty, instead of feeding him only ramyeon.
"I'll make you something other than ramyeon."
As someone who'd been living alone for ten years—despite how he looked—Ha-min was fairly confident in his cooking. Not that he could make a huge variety of dishes, though.
But Bellamon's reaction was unexpected.
"Huh? For me, ramyeon is just fine?"
"Excuse me…??!!!"
Oh? This reaction was totally unexpected.
A demon who, as if it were only natural, insisted on ramyeon. Before he knew it, Bellamon had become a full-fledged ramyeon fanatic.
'Is this because I fed him nothing but ramyeon right after summoning him…?'
Was this a side effect? Of course, ramyeon was delicious. But…
"Th-there are lots of tasty things besides ramyeon!"
Flustered, Ha-min tried to change the subject.
But Bellamon didn't understand at all. It seemed his eyes could only see ramyeon.
'Hmm… what's going on here?'
The situation was taking a strange turn. The dish he had originally planned to make was 「Marbled Beef Soybean Paste Stew」.
But Bellamon was completely fixated on ramyeon—his mind was nowhere else.
"How can this be... Hamin-nim, look here. It's 「Fire Chicken Stir-Fried Ramen」. And over here, there's 「Super Spicy Squid Seafood Ramen」."
He showed zero interest in anything else. His attention was solely on ramyeon.
In the end...
They ended up buying a whole bunch of different ramyeon varieties.
'This is getting seriously weird.'
This wasn't the plan at all.
On top of that, another problem had arisen.
What was it, you ask?
"Whoa..."
"Amazing..."
And the cause was—yet again—Bellamon.
This demon... he stood out way too much.
Every time they passed by, people of all ages and genders would glance his way. Most would steal quick looks, and some even stared openly.
And honestly, even Ha-min had to admit—the guy was eye-catching.
Tall stature, lean and well-proportioned muscular build, long blonde hair... and most importantly, his face?
What you'd call a total "face gangster."
Pure super-idol material. Or model-tier, no question.
"Excuse me, are you an idol by any chance?"
He got asked that pretty often too.
'Actually, this guy's a demon, not human.'
The words rose to the tip of his tongue, but Ha-min held them back. He wasn't the type to get jealous or bitter over things like this.
He was magnanimous.
He was a big-hearted person.
If you're envious, you lose.
If you're envious, you lose...
He silently chanted his mantra to himself. What was he even doing, reciting this stuff while grocery shopping...?
Still, as time went on, the atmosphere grew more and more unusual. He could actually feel the supermarket buzzing with commotion.
Bellamon, of course, had no idea about any of this. He was so absorbed in ramyeon that he completely failed to read the room.
Murmur, murmur...
Eventually, people inside the supermarket began to crowd around.
'This is bad. We have to go.'
"Who is that? Who is that?"
"Over there—over there!!"
"Who is it?"
"I heard he's a celebrity~"
"Where's he been on?"
"I heard he's a foreign actor~"
No! He's a demon, I tell you!!
'This isn't what I wanted...'
He'd planned to quietly do his shopping and leave... but things had blown up way too much.
Click! Click!
He could even hear camera shutters going off. This was a crisis. They were not supposed to stand out this much!!
"Bellamon-nim, we need to leave. Now."
"Huh?"
They rushed through the checkout like they were escaping and bolted out of the supermarket. There were even a few crazed people who followed them all the way out.
"Wow. There are so many people."
"And whose fault do you think that is!!!"
"Ah, is it mine? Then I apologize."
Ha-min ended up taking his frustration out on Bellamon for no real reason.
'What a rotten world...'
He didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt strangely irritated.
***
Meanwhile,
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
BEEEEEEEEEEP――――――――
A shrill emergency siren pierced the air. Right in the middle of the bustling city streets, where people were hurrying about their day....
***
「Japan Demon Beast Defense Agency – Situation Room」
"The Self-Defense Forces are currently being deployed urgently."
"The police are leading the evacuation of nearby civilians—20% evacuation complete!"
"The Defense Agency's 「Breakers」 are currently scrambling to the site."
"Requests for cooperation from all guild 「Breakers」 have been sent!"
"All nearby aircraft have been instructed to make emergency returns!"
Right now, Tokyo, Japan, was far from normal.
Emergency news flash!
【Breaking news. At 2:30 PM today, an emergency 「Magic Rift」 occurred on the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo. To reiterate, at 2:30 PM today…】
The urgent voice of the announcer could be heard. The cause—a 「Magic Rift」 phenomenon that had erupted in the heart of Tokyo's city center!
Last week, a 「Magic Rift」 had occurred in South Korea. And this time, it was happening right in the middle of Shinjuku, Tokyo.
What's more, the situation was similar to Korea's. Deviating from the expected timeframe, this Tokyo rift had also erupted suddenly.
At the very least, the Japanese Defense Agency had been able to prepare in advance, using the Korean incident as a reference—but even so, it was far too abrupt.
On the large screens of the central command center, the chaotic cityscape came into view, along with citizens fleeing in sheer panic.
And at the very center of it all, a massive, ominous surge of magic power swirled violently.
…Krrrrrrrrrumble!!!
The foreboding magic power consumed its surroundings, rampaging wildly as if out of control.
Crack!
Crackle, crackle!!
Eventually, the space around it began to fracture, gradually growing in scale.
"Magic power reading: 22,000…"
"23,000."
"F-fast. It's rising fast."
"24,000—the reading continues to climb."
"This—at this rate, it's going to open soon!"
Crack!!!
Kreeeeak!!!
A massive fissure split across the space.
And then...
CRASH!!!
A sharp, shattering sound rang out—the space had broken.
A gigantic rift appeared, as if the very fabric of space had been torn apart.
BEEEEEEEEEP――――――――
「Magic Rift」 has occurred!
Krrrrrrumble...
At the same time, the ground began to shake.
Krrrrrr...
And then—
SHWOOOOSH
CRASH!
From the torn space—through the gap in the rift—a colossal arm emerged.
Fwoosh...
A massive arm wreathed in ominous flames.
It was the arm of an enormous magic beast.
Ding!
【The Flame Emperor 「Balrox」 has appeared. 】
ROOOOOAR!
Another giant magic beast had appeared—
The Flame Emperor 「Balrox」
A flame-type, highest-grade... giant magic beast.
Sizzle, sizzle!!
Whoosh!!
Its entire body engulfed in flames—
FWOOM!
As the creature spread its massive wings, enormous flames burst out in all directions.
BOOM!
WHOOSH!
FWOOSH!
KABOOM!
CRASH!
CRAAASH!!
"AAAAH!!"
"RUN!!!"
"HELP!!!"
The heart of Tokyo's city center came under attack by the magic beast.
"Fire! All guns, launch!!"
The Tokyo Self-Defense Forces, the first to arrive on the scene, began their counterattack.
FWOOSH!
BOOM! BOOM!
CRAAASH!!
A concentrated barrage rained down on 「Balrox」.
But—
KUUUUUROOOOOO!!!
It had no effect whatsoever.
Magic beasts possessed strong resistance to thermal weapons... and since this was a fire-type, giant-class magic beast on top of that, the attacks were completely useless.
Their assault couldn't even buy them time.
"Damn it..."
Grrrrrrr...
If anything, it only served to enrage 「Balrox」 further.
Just then—
"Thunder Strike Sword!!!"
CRACKLE!
A massive bolt of lightning came crashing down from the sky.
KABOOOOOM!!!!
KROOOOOOAAAAAR!!!!!!
「Balrox」's body flinched.
"That's—!"
Thunder Strike Sword!!
It was the 「Unique Trait」 magic sword of Kagura Yuto, hailed as Japan's strongest.
"A-a Breaker!"
"They're here! They've arrived!!"
That was just the beginning.
"Calamity Storm!!"
"Ice Blaze!!"
"Water Spear!!"
KRAKOOM!!
SHWOOSH!!
KABOOOM!!
KABLAM!!
WHIIIIIR!!
A torrent of incredible techniques came pouring out—the ability skills of numerous 「Breakers」.
KROOOO...
SHWOOOO...
The massive 「Balrox」 staggered back slightly.
Led by Kagura Yuto, the de facto leader—
Eternal Petal Izumi Sakura,
Dark Temptation Fujimoto Ren,
Dragon's Breath Takahashi Ryoma—
A large number of top-tier 「Breakers」 had assembled.
Behind them, hundreds of Awakened were also visible. All had been urgently summoned to defend Tokyo.
"ATTACK!!!"
"RAAAAAH!!!"
Their concentrated attacks continued.
KABOOM!!
CRASH!
CRACKLE!!
SHWOOOSH!!
Dozens, hundreds of different skills were fired wildly.
There was only one target—
「Balrox」.
Since it was a giant-class magic beast, there was no chance of missing.
Most of the attacks were ordinary skills, but with this many people gathered together, they began to unleash tremendous power.
CRASH!!
KABOOM!
KABOOM!
KROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR!!!
「Balrox」 thrashed about. This time, it had taken direct hits. It continued to be pushed back.
The overwhelming concentrated fire from hundreds of 「Breakers」 was clearly having an effect.
Krrrrrrrrrrumble!
It staggered—
SHWOOOO...
THUD!
At last, they toppled 「Balrox」.
KABOOOOOM!
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Buildings collapsed, dust filled the air, and 「Balrox」 was buried beneath the rubble.
"We did it!!"
"We did it!!"
"He's down!!!"
Cheers of triumph erupted from the scene.
└ Oh! They got him?
└ Amazing!! Did you just see that? What the…
└ That's incredible. Focused fire!!!
└ lol nothing beats a gang-up.
└ Wow! First time seeing Thunder Strike Sword. So badass….
└ Wait, they're all gathered there? Lucky.
└ lol so different from Korea. We took down our magic beast the hard way.
The scene was being broadcast live via TV news helicopter.
It was truly a spectacle.
"Cease fire!!"
At the signal from 「Thunder Strike Sword」 Yuto, the attacks stopped.
SHWOOOO...
Thick dust obscured their view.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Huff, huff!"
"Hah… hah…"
The 「Breakers」, having expended all their strength, caught their breath.
And then came the silence—
....
...
But just then—
KUUUUUUU!!!!!
KEEEEEENG!!
From within the dust, 「Balrox」's roar spread in all directions.
KRRRREAK!!!
A violent shockwave!
It slammed straight into the people.
"GAAAH!"
"UGH…."
"URK!!"
"KYAAAH~"
And then—
Krrrrrumble
CRUNCH!
「Balrox」… planted its hand on a building and began to rise.
Drip, drip, drip!
It was wounded all over—blood flowing from its entire body. One wing was torn, and its chest and legs were badly damaged…
The full-scale assault by Japan's Awakened ones had clearly been effective.
And yet, the creature was still standing.
"Th-this can't be!"
"It's still moving?!"
"I-its magic power…."
「Balrox」 had risen again. People were stunned by its abnormal resilience.
FWOOSH!!
SIZZLE, SIZZLE!!
「Balrox」's flames grew even fiercer.
The creature raised both arms.
And then—
KEEEEEEEEEEENG!!!!!
Above 「Balrox」's head—
SHWOOOOOSH!!
In an instant, a massive sphere of flame was formed.
FWOOSH!!!
FWOOSH, FWOOSH!!!
The fireball rapidly grew in size—
It was like another sun.
"Inferno of Hellfire!"
Someone recognized what that skill was.
!!!!!
....
"That's it! It's Hellfire!!"
└ Is that its ultimate move?
└ That bastard got hit and now it's pissed. It's pissed!
└ Isn't that cheating? Wasn't that a top-tier exclusive skill?!
└ Wait, Balrox is actually that strong??
└ That crazy bomber bastard!!
└ Everyone run! That thing pierces barriers!!
「Balrox」's ultimate move—
"Inferno of Hellfire" — the creature's ultimate technique that turns everything around it into a sea of flames.
They needed to counterattack.
But—
SHHRRRRIIIIIP!
Balrox's body began to grow hazy.
!!!!!
└ That bastard!!! Isn't that Dimensional Shadow?!
└ Wow, that's completely broken!
└ It uses cloaking while casting Inferno?!
└ Everyone run!!!
Balrox had concealed itself. Not merely hiding—it had slipped its body between dimensions. This left the Breakers with no way to strike back.
FWOOSH!!
SHWOOOO!!
All the while, it kept its technique active.
"Damn it!! GRRGH!"
"Barrier!!! Deploy!!"
"Ice Field!"
"Magic Guardian!"
The Breakers switched to defensive mode. At the same time, the fiery energy radiating from Hellfire began to ravage the surroundings.
The immense heat engulfed the entire area. Approaching was nearly impossible…
Even the Awakened, with barriers raised, could barely hold on.
"D-damn it…"
Kagura Yuto—
He was in the same boat. There was no way forward. The overwhelming heat made it impossible to even get close.
THUD!!
FWOOSH, FWOOSH, FWOOSH!!!
The miniature sun created by 「Balrox」 had reached completion.
It then reached out and grasped the completed flame of the Inferno.
KUUUUUOOOOO!!
The creature prepared to slam the Inferno's flame down onto the ground.
But just then—
KEEEEEENG!
KABOOOOOM!!!
「Balrox」's chest—its magic power core—exploded.
KYAAAAAAAH!!!
「Balrox」 screamed!
The creature writhed in agony.
"What the—suddenly—"
SHWOOOOO
THUD!!
KRRRRRUMBLE!!!
And then—
「Balrox」 toppled backward…
"What?"
KABOOOOOM!
SHWOOOOO….
Everyone was stunned by the sudden abnormality.
'What in the world….'
KEEEEEEEEENG….
The flames of the Inferno, born from its magic power, lost their power and vanished in an instant.
Along with them, the searing heat faded away…
....
SHIIIIIIIIIZ….
「Balrox」 stopped moving altogether.
The creature fell silent.
And the whole world watched….
Everyone fell silent together.
And then—
A system message broke the silence.
Ding!
【You have eliminated the Flame Emperor 「Balrox」. 】
It was dead.
Just like that.