No wonder… it was the apocalypse.
After blasting an entire city into ruins, Zeroy piloted H.A.M.P before the survivors.
In her eyes, about seventy percent of them were wreathed in black mist—and only black mist, without doubt {evil}.
The ratio didn't quite compare to the world of Black Bullet, but the density of this black fog was far heavier here, more common across the board.
With law utterly gone and survival conditions dire, these people had abandoned all pretense of morality.
In short, they had stopped being human.
H.A.M.P's steel body loomed like a moving fortress, its shadow blotting out the sun, smothering the trembling crowd below.
They stared up at the jet-black war machine, cold metal gleaming under sunlight, crimson energy coiling across its frame. Its thrusters roared with power, radiating terrifying force and technological majesty.
"Wh-what is that..."
"My God... is that a Gundam? That has to be a Gundam!"
Gasps spread through the crowd.
Abruptly, before their awe faded, Zeroy activated teleportation magic.
A spectral blue magic circle whirled open among them, enveloping all. A small portion were transported aside.
Those were the ones judged innocent, free of {evil}. Fear and confusion lingered on their faces.
The rest—
"Guilty..."
Her voice rang cold and merciless. As her words fell, H.A.M.P's mechanical eyes flared blood-red.
Massive arms rose skyward, cannon-like launchers spewing molten fire into the heavens.
"...Receive the punishment of heavenly fire."
Blinding white flames rained down.
Each beam struck its mark. The condemned had no time to react before becoming human torches.
The hellfire seared both body and soul. Their spirits boiled beneath their flesh, their bones carbonized within.
"AAAAHHHHHH!!"
"Hel... help..."
Screams erupted like waves, bloodcurdling cries swallowed by the inferno.
The stench of charred flesh filled the air. The ground blackened to scorched earth, silhouettes of sinners writhing in the blaze like shadows of hell.
Moisture vaporized in the heat, birthing waves of searing wind.
The innocents teleported aside screamed as well, horror-struck.
Before their eyes: burning human torches, choking black smoke, the acrid stench of cooked flesh.
Some collapsed to the ground. Others clutched their heads and shrieked. Still more tried to flee.
But a violet barrier rose around them, an unseen cage that locked them in place.
Patchouli descended through the air, amethyst eyes sweeping over them coldly. Her grimoire turned slowly at her side, radiating mystic force.
Her finger flicked. The barrier tightened, silencing the crowd. No more terrified screams or pleas escaped.
Then H.A.M.P's bulk shifted, its red eyes glaring upon them like a reaper weighing prey.
Despair hollowed their hearts. Their chests thundered with dread. They begged in silence.
But no fire came.
From the machine's steel hull, the girl's voice sounded, cold as frost, yet faintly soft: "Do not fear. You have not lost your conscience, nor taken joy in the suffering of others. You are not on the list of judgment."
Judgment—Zeroy herself denied that label. She was only doing what she wished.
She spoke of judgment, called the pests sinners, only to help survivors understand. To assure them: they were not pests.
"This world's zombies will soon be purged. Along with them, those who abandoned their conscience, those who became pests. You innocents need only wait for the new world to come."
"Rest easy—it won't be long."
With that, Zeroy teleported supplies salvaged from the bombed city beside them.
They would survive on these until she had cleared the world entirely.
It wouldn't take long. Before the stockpile ran dry, all would be cleansed.
One city after another fell, devoured by her hellfire.
Zeroy's flames burned like divine judgment, merciless and precise, consuming all corruption.
The strange fire was scorching, yet spiritual. It avoided the shivering survivors, spared the ruins, left every blade of grass untouched.
Its only prey: zombies and their virus.
Their roars faded to whimpers as the fire erased them. No matter their toughness, all decayed to ash along with the virus inside.
With their bodies gone, even the foul blood splattered on streets, the scattered limbs, all were purged by Hellfire LV4.
Survivors watched from the ruins' shadows, breathless at the miracle, eyes filled with awe.
Hellfire was useful indeed.
Yet it was no true purification tool. It could not touch viruses seeped into soil and water, nor dead corpses already stilled.
She still needed a true method to cleanse the world.
...
"What is this..."
After clearing her path, Zeroy returned to Tokonosu City.
But as she neared, her radar detected massive life signals.
Not strong—just huge.
Like the Stage V creatures in Black Bullet.
Through H.A.M.P's eyes, she glimpsed several enormous black masses writhing among the buildings.
They were too far, the high-rises blocking the view, so she couldn't see clearly.
...
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