Chapter 33: A Land Filled with Hostility
Washington D.C., 3:00 PM.
Looking at the group of people before him, who represented the highest authority in the United States, Professor Best was giving his final piece of advice with a heavy expression.
"Must you really do this, Mr. President?"
"I apologize, Professor. We highly respect your opinion, but there are far too few Mages who abide by the line as strictly as you do. Even the one you call John Pluto Smith is, in our eyes, an unstable element," the newly appointed President responded.
Next to him was the Director of the SSI, a gloomy-faced middle-aged man who harbored an extraordinary hostility towards Mages.
It could not be denied that benevolent Mages were a rarity in North America.
This stemmed from the British colonial period. Although the barbaric witch hunts had ceased in Europe, they continued in the colonies. Coupled with the conflict between Protestant clergymen and the spiritual beliefs of the local indigenous spirits, magic on this land was filled with hostility from the very beginning.
This dark history and twisted faith had led North American Mages to be notoriously anarchic and mostly devoid of reason. As long as they could obtain extraordinary magical power, selling their souls to Satan was deemed acceptable.
This is how the term "Warlock" came about.
But the person currently staying in San Francisco was no mere Warlock.
That was an existence on the same level as John Pluto Smith, a great warrior who slew gods—a peerless Demon King.
Yet, the SSI Director proposed including John Pluto Smith in the scope of the attack.
They must be insane.
Due to the previous incident in Los Angeles, where SSI executives were largely bribed by Warlocks and nearly caused a great disaster, the current SSI had become dangerous and extreme.
But Best knew the true reason was that this land had never formed its own continuous magical society, instead becoming a stage for various factions to tangle. Because they were not native, these foreign Mages were not very cautious in their actions. Consequently, in Washington's eyes, they were not much different from Warlocks.
This chaotic atmosphere meant that the nation's government could not have a normal understanding of the magical society. Not only could they not, but they held intense hostility towards it.
They would not hesitate to mobilize an army armed by modern civilization to attack any Mages they considered a severe threat to social order.
But these were Mages.
If the opponent was a God Slayer, it would be a tragedy. Best understood Anne Charlton; she had been active as John Pluto Smith and protecting the people for ten years. She would not casually show her Demon King side. However, she could not stop another God Slayer from going on a killing spree.
And that God Slayer, since entering North America, had already directly caused tens of thousands of deaths.
It was deaths, not casualties—not a single survivor.
Best had seen the site photos. That was not something magic could achieve. Although Anne had not yet replied to him, he was certain it was a God Slayer. Unless Washington planned to use nuclear weapons on its home soil, no matter how many people were sent, they would likely not return.
Such a sacrifice would be worthless and would only further infuriate these beings called Demon Kings.
Anne's magical bullets could easily destroy an entire state. Her peer must certainly possess similar means.
"Regardless, please wait for John Pluto Smith's reply before taking action," emphasized Best, unwilling to see a tragedy unfold. "That is a Demon King who has slain gods. Even all the Mages in the world combined would not be a match for any one of them, Mr. President. Please, do not send our young men to their deaths."
"Heh heh, Professor Best, I admire your caution, but..." This time, it was the SSI Director who spoke, wearing a cruel smile. "Warlocks always claim to have obtained the power of a Demon King and shamelessly offer the most exaggerated descriptions of the strong, but they will eventually die by the power of civilization. The operation has already begun. We will consult with you afterwards."
With that, without waiting for Best to speak again, he stiffly instructed the security personnel at the door: "The professor is very tired. Take the professor to the rest room. Also, Professor, if you wish, there is live footage in the room for you to watch."
Best knew that the situation was irreversible. He sighed and was escorted out by the security personnel.
He could only pray that Anne would be able to save more lives.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the army had already entered the urban area.
Thousands of soldiers, equipped with light and heavy weaponry, were advancing through the streets towards their destination, under the cover of armed helicopters and armored vehicles.
The order they received was—to kill everyone inside the building at the destination.
Therefore, they would first attack that building.
Just before their arrival, Hikigaya Hachiman and Anne had stopped talking in the bar.
Right after Hikigaya finished speaking to Anne about the darkness, both of them heard a roar coming from outside.
The sound of a large crowd walking, the sound of heavy objects moving on the ground, and the sound of propellers.
"What's going on?" Anne frowned. Then, she seemed to recall something, pulled out her phone, and checked it. When she saw the message from Professor Best, her long-time collaborator, her expression changed slightly.
"What is it?" Hikigaya asked curiously.
He did not sense any divine power, so he was not concerned about the noises.
"It seems Washington has taken drastic action," Anne said while picking up her helmet. "I apologize, Hachiman. It seems that because of my earlier actions, the people in Washington have become very sensitive."
"The sounds outside are from this country's military, aren't they?" Hikigaya also stood up. "This is the first time I've been surrounded by the military. Let's go outside and take a look."
Anne saw the golden glow in Hikigaya's right eye, and seemed about to say something, but ultimately held back, nodded, and put on her helmet.
Then the two walked out.
As they stepped outside, they happened to see something that clearly looked like a missile trailing a plume of fire, flying towards the building.
"Is this country insane?" Hikigaya watched the scene curiously, then stretched out a finger and made a slicing motion. The next moment, the missile exploded in mid-air.
"Hachiman."
"What is it?"
"Could you try not to harm these people? After all, they are not the ones who should pay the price," Anne's voice, now wearing her helmet, had reverted to a tenor.
Hikigaya found this amusing, so he said, "No problem. That is what I was thinking too."
The silhouettes of the first wave of soldiers appeared on the street. Hikigaya saw them raise their guns, fingers already on the triggers.
The next moment, screams erupted.
Flashes of fire came from everyone's gun barrels, but the true flames flared up and incinerated the weapons themselves.
And it was not just the people Hikigaya saw.
The soldiers who had entered San Francisco all lost possession of their weapons. Guns, armored vehicles, and even the helicopters in the sky were engulfed by flames.
But the people themselves were unharmed.
Perhaps that is not entirely accurate. They were all enveloped in flames and then fell down in the fire, but their bodies were indeed unscathed. However, except for their hearts still beating, their lives seemed to be frozen, and they lay there unconscious and unaware.
The soldiers on the streets collapsed right where they had just been walking. The personnel in the helicopters were carried back to the ground by the wind, landing wherever they might.
But in the eyes of the people outside the city, columns of fire shot up from San Francisco, and explosions rang out one after another.
In Washington, Best, watching the scene on a screen, closed his eyes in pain.
In just one second, the army that entered the city was completely annihilated.
The forces outside the city were likely about to follow suit.
It truly was a God Slayer.
Hello everyone! I'm VarieTL
Thank you as always for your support!
I wanted to announce that I posted a new Fanfiction!
Saving the World with Crossovers, starting with replacing Natsuki subaru with Hikigaya Hachiman
Kawata Osamu transmigrated and became a God.
Wonderful start, right? Unfortunately, this world is destined to be destroyed by the Abyss...
The only thing he can do is try to merge many worlds together thanks to the "Children of the World."
If he can show everyone their adventures and evoke enough emotion, the worlds will merge! Kawata Osamu decided to start by replacing Natsuki Subaru with Hikigaya Hachiman!
2nd Arc: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in Redo of Healer
3rd Arc: Shirogane Miyuki in Inuyasha
4th Arc: Kousaka Kyousuke in Overlord
I have already posted 264 Chapters of this Fanfiction!
Mostly because it's really really good, so I wanted to continue working on it XD
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting