63: Joan of Arc: You have violated the rules, and I will forcibly suppress you!

"Sakamoto-kun, I approve your request."

"I authorize you to mobilize all available forces in the capital area to stop that 'Ghost King' at all costs."

Sakamoto Masao stood at attention abruptly, his eyes bloodshot and his voice hoarse with emotion.

"Yes!"

The orders were issued rapidly.

The JGSDF Eastern Army was urgently integrated into the unified command system.

The Central Readiness Force and the 1st Airborne Brigade, as the most elite special operations forces of Sakura Country, were quickly deployed to the outskirts of Tokyo, fully armed and prepared for the worst-case scenario.

At this moment, the sky over Tokyo was completely torn apart by the piercing sound of sirens.

The 'Patriot' PAC-3 air defense missile systems deployed in the capital area initiated their launch procedures the moment their radar locked onto Shuten-dōji's position.

Dozens of missiles, trailing blazing exhaust, soared from their launchers, cutting through the night sky and heading straight for the center of Tokyo.

Their target was the red figure suspended high above Shinjuku.

Shuten-dōji's golden beast-like pupils finally lifted slightly as he watched those 'little toys' rushing toward him, his eyes showing not a hint of concern.

Shuten-dōji opened his mouth.

An inhuman roar erupted from his throat.

That sound was not a simple physical sound wave, but rather something like a mental shockwave.

The terrifying sound waves materialized in the air, forming a visible dark red barrier.

The dozens of whistling air defense missiles hit that invisible barrier a hundred meters away from Shuten-dōji.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of massive explosions followed.

All the missiles were detonated prematurely in the air; fire and thick smoke bloomed in the night sky, but they failed to even touch the hem of Shuten-dōji's clothes.

Tokyo citizens witnessed this scene through live television broadcasts and mobile screens, and a sense of despair began to spread through the city... Meanwhile, the Eagle Nation's Yokota Air Base could no longer sit still.

After receiving domestic authorization, 'Osprey' transport aircraft scrambled into the air.

Several CV-22 'Osprey' transport aircraft roared toward the center of Tokyo, attempting to transport Eagle Nation special forces into the combat zone.

Shuten-dōji dismissed them with disdain; he simply grabbed a massive piece of concrete debris from the ruins of a nearby skyscraper.

Wrapped in demonic energy, that fragment was hurled out like a cannonball.

Boom!

One of the 'Osprey' transport aircraft was struck precisely by the fragment in mid-air.

The massive fuselage disintegrated in the sky, bursting into flames and crashing in the outskirts.

The remaining 'Osprey' transport aircraft, after a brief moment of shock, quickly turned around and fled in panic.

Meanwhile, at Tokyo Bay.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's escort fleet entered its highest state of combat readiness.

Upon receiving clear instructions from their superiors, the naval guns of several warships turned in unison and opened fire on Shuten-dōji in downtown Tokyo.

Massive shells whistled as they rushed toward the city.

However, these instruments of modern warfare were like children's toys in front of Shuten-dōji.

With a casual wave of his hand, the flight trajectories of those shells veered bizarrely, turning back the way they came.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Massive explosions rang out one after another in downtown Tokyo; it wasn't Shuten-dōji who was hit, but Tokyo being bombarded by its own country's warships.

Flames reached the sky, the screams of the people rose and fell, and the number of casualties climbed rapidly... "This is simply a one-sided slaughter!"

Inside the Ninth Bureau command center, an expert watched the real-time images sent back by the satellite.

Chen Jianguo's brow was furrowed, while Jiang Ming Mirror Image No. 1 beside him watched everything on the screen with great interest.

The chaos in Tokyo had exceeded everyone's imagination... After warming up, Shuten-dōji completely lost interest in these 'toys'.

He no longer paid attention to the futile counterattacks on the ground; with a flash of his figure, he arrived at the top of the Tokyo Skytree, this city landmark hundreds of meters high now trembling beneath his feet.

Shuten-dōji reached out both hands and pressed them onto the tip of the Skytree.

A vast amount of demonic energy, carrying an ominous dark red aura, surged downward like a tide, pouring into the depths of the city's ley lines along the Skytree's structure.

Centered on the Skytree, the ground in Tokyo began to shake violently.

It started as a slight tremor, but then grew increasingly intense.

The foundations of skyscrapers groaned under the unbearable weight, their outer walls cracking and structures twisting.

The city began to tilt and collapse like building blocks.

Asphalt roads tore open, subway lines were exposed, countless vehicles were overturned, and bridges snapped.

The vast metropolis of Tokyo was being 'folded' and 'crushed' in a physical sense.

At the Chinese Ninth Bureau command center, the outline of Tokyo on the large screen was deforming at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The collapse of skyscrapers and the twisting of streets made everything seem incredibly absurd.

"Director Chen, is this good news... or bad news?" a young intelligence officer's voice trembled.

Chen Jianguo looked at the screen, his gaze deep, and spoke slowly.

"The good news is that Tokyo has become the battlefield and Sakura Country is suffering heavy losses."

He paused, his tone becoming heavy.

"The bad news is that the effect of ordinary modern weapons on top-tier transcendent beings is almost negligible."

"Unless... we use nuclear weapons."

This conclusion plunged the entire command center into silence.

No one dared to mention that word lightly; nuclear weapons represented the self-destruction of human civilization... On the other side, the underground headquarters where Sakamoto Masao was located also began to collapse due to the violent tremors.

Concrete blocks from the ceiling kept falling, the walls were cracking, and the alarm sirens were shrill.

"Director! We must evacuate!" the adjutant shouted loudly.

Sakamoto Masao's face was ashen.

He looked at the screen in front of him showing the image of Tokyo being completely destroyed, his eyes filled with despair and resentment.

He then picked up the red telephone on the desk once more.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I request the immediate activation of the Abandon Tokyo contingency plan."

"Transfer His Majesty the Emperor to a safe location."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by only a heavy sigh.

"I understand."

...In that narrow rental room in Toshima Ward.

Takahashi Shota was curled up in front of his computer, his eyes fixed on the screen.

On the screen was the scene of Tokyo's heaven and earth rending asunder.

Through visual sharing with Shuten-dōji, he could clearly feel that world-destroying power and the wailing of the city as it trembled.

"Haha... Hahahahahaha!"

Takahashi Shota let out a laugh of wild joy, his body shaking violently from excessive excitement.

It was so wonderful.

This was exactly the scene he wanted; this boring, rotten world that made him feel disgusted should be completely destroyed like this.

Just as Tokyo was about to be completely reduced to ruins.

A pillar of pure golden light suddenly descended from the heavens.

It precisely pierced through the dark red demonic energy shrouding Tokyo's sky, which melted away like ice and snow under the purification of the golden pillar.

Then, a silver-armored girl holding a flag stepped slowly out of the light pillar, descending opposite the Tokyo Skytree and standing steadily atop a swaying skyscraper.

Saint Jeanne d'Arc.

The moment she descended, a holy and pure aura spread outward with her as the center.

Everywhere this aura passed, the demonic energy Shuten-dōji had poured into the ley lines was rapidly suppressed, and the collapsing city structures miraculously stabilized.

At this moment, all live broadcast signals worldwide following the event were forcibly switched.

On countless televisions, mobile phones, and computer screens, only the image of Jeanne d'Arc and Shuten-dōji facing off remained.

In the Vatican, the Pope stood up abruptly from his seat, his eyes fixed on the screen.

On Longhu Mountain in China, the 65th generation Celestial Master, Zhang Ruoxu, and the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, Li Bai, also looked at their tablet computer; in the image, Jeanne d'Arc's figure was clearly visible.

Shuten-dōji stopped his destruction of the city.

He turned around slowly, his golden beast-like pupils looking at the silver-armored girl opposite him.

In those eyes, there was no anger, only bloodthirsty excitement.

"Ruler?" Shuten-dōji grinned, revealing his fangs.

"Finally, a decent opponent has arrived."

Jeanne d'Arc was expressionless as she raised the flag in her hand, its tip pointing directly at Shuten-dōji.

Her voice, carrying an unquestionable authority, spread across the globe through the live broadcast signal.

"Berserker."

"Your atrocities have seriously disrupted the order of the Holy Grail War."

"According to Ruler authority."

"I will subject you to forced suppression."

Hearing this, Shuten-dōji threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahahaha! Suppression? With just you!"

Shuten-dōji's figure vanished instantly.

In the next second, he appeared behind Jeanne d'Arc, his ghost claws condensed with massive demonic energy and carrying a whistle that tore the air as they clawed at her head.

However, Jeanne d'Arc did not look back.

A layer of golden light wall automatically emerged around her body; though it looked thin, it easily blocked Shuten-dōji's ghost claws.

The moment the ghost claws contacted the light wall, they made a piercing friction sound but could not advance an inch.

The 'Magic Resistance' class skill on Jeanne d'Arc's body had an extremely strong restraining effect on Shuten-dōji's demonic arts, and his physical attacks could not break through this holy defense.

Failing in his strike, Shuten-dōji quickly retreated to put distance between them.

He pressed his hands together, letting out a low growl from his throat.

Behind him, a massive surge of evil aura rose into the sky, condensing into a giant phantom of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

That phantom bared its fangs and brandished its claws, carrying the terror of hell and shrouding the entire ruins of Tokyo in an aura of evil.

Jeanne d'Arc's gaze swept over the phantom of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons without a hint of fear.

She then thrust the flag in her hand into the building ruins beneath her feet.

Hum—

A sun-like light erupted from the flag, spreading rapidly to form a massive holy barrier.

The edge of the barrier collided with the evil energy of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons in a silent confrontation, blocking that wicked power outside.

Shuten-dōji's eyes turned frenzied as he launched continuous attacks.

Hellfire gushed from his palms, turning into fire dragons that rushed toward the barrier.

Shockwaves of demonic energy pounded the light wall like a tsunami, and he even charged directly to the edge of the barrier, using his physical strength to strike at Jeanne d'Arc repeatedly.

However, all attacks were neutralized by Jeanne d'Arc with minimal movement or by the defensive barrier.

She maintained that solemn posture throughout, appearing as if she were completely unaffected.