Meanwhile.
Upon hearing the news of the "Dragon-level Monster" appearing.
Takanashi Rikka raised her head.
Her gaze met that of the colossal monster.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Her petite frame trembled violently, and her face, pale as paper, held a pair of blue crystal-like eyes that widened, reflecting the terrifying outline of the monster.
As if she wanted to permanently etch this scene into the depths of her mind.
"It... it..." Takanashi Rikka mumbled incoherently.
Although.
She was just a child back then.
The memories of that disaster had already become hazy at her age.
But!
The appearance of the "Dragon-level Monster" that had taken her parents, leaving her and her sister to fend for themselves.
Was deeply etched into the deepest part of her soul, becoming an inescapable nightmare.
"It... it's... it's it..."
The murmur, faint as a mosquito's whine, escaped from Takanashi Rikka's parched lips.
Yet, it reverberated like thunder in the ears of Guren and Kato Megumi.
They both turned to look at Takanashi Rikka.
"Takanashi-san, what... what did you say?" Kato Megumi asked, her voice filled with concern.
However, Takanashi Rikka seemed completely oblivious to her words, her gaze fixed on the monstrous figure that loomed over the horizon.
Only to see.
Her delicate shoulders shook violently, as if she were about to collapse at any moment.
The scene of her parents dying, flashing before her eyes once again, tore at her nerves, dragging her into an endless abyss.
Unconsciously, tears, like broken pearls, flowed endlessly from her eyes, streaming down her pale cheeks.
"Rikka?!"
"What's wrong?"
Guren asked softly.
"Master... I..." Takanashi Rikka opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her voice caught in her throat.
She instinctively tried to suppress the urge to speak of this matter.
However.
After witnessing the "culprit" who had killed her parents with her own eyes once again.
Takanashi Rikka's petite body trembled even more violently than before.
"Is it because of that monster?" Guren looked at her and became even more certain of his conjecture.
So, he didn't beat around the bush, but asked directly.
"!!"
With her thoughts laid bare by Guren, Takanashi Rikka's body jolted, and the panic in her eyes deepened.
She clamped her teeth down on her lower lip, almost biting the cherry-pink to the point of bleeding.
"I..."
She wanted to deny it, to say "It's nothing".
But the words wouldn't come out.
Because she knew her reaction had betrayed her heart.
"Do you want to see it die?"
Guren's voice rang out again, but he didn't pursue the cause, instead asking a question directly.
Takanashi Rikka's small body shuddered, and she slowly raised her head, looking at Guren with tear-filled eyes.
"I..."
She wanted to answer, but found she couldn't provide a response.
Reason told her she should say "no".
After all, it was a "Dragon-level Monster" after all.
Her master was only just beginning to awaken his superpowers.
But.
Deep down, the hatred she had suppressed for years erupted like a volcano, swallowing Takanashi Rikka's thoughts.
Preventing her from thinking.
"Master..."
Takanashi Rikka's voice choked, as if she were about to burst into tears.
"Look at me."
Guren gently cupped her cheeks, gazing at her with gentle and unwavering eyes.
"Tell me, what do you want to do?"
Their eyes met, and Takanashi Rikka looked into Guren's deep eyes.
As if, no matter what choice she made, he would be by her side.
At this moment.
After struggling for years, unable to tell anyone about this, Takanashi Rikka finally summoned the courage.
Her eyes, wet with tears, met Guren's, and her voice choked, each word uttered with a trembling lip: "I want!"
"I want to see it die!"
"I want to see it die with my own eyes!!!"
Every word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of Takanashi Rikka's soul.
Her voice grew louder.
By the end, she had practically roared it out with all her might.
"Okay!"
"Then it deserves to die."
Guren lowered his head and gently wiped the tears from Takanashi Rikka's cheeks, then turned his gaze to the behemoth approaching from outside, his voice flat, devoid of any emotional fluctuations.
...
Meanwhile.
Within the school grounds, the previously orderly evacuation process had devolved into utter chaos.
"Don't push! Don't push!"
"Let me go first! Let me go first!"
Screams and cries of panic echoed through the school grounds, students scrambling like headless chickens, pushing and shoving each other, desperate to be the first to squeeze into the shelter.
"All of you, be quiet! Don't mess around! Line up, one by one!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice was hoarse with exertion as she tried to maintain order.
But.
No matter how loudly she shouted.
Her voice was quickly drowned out by the chaotic sounds of the students.
The other teachers were equally anxious, but helpless.
And.
At that moment.
"Boom——!!!" Another deafening explosion!
Like a death knell, it shook the ground.
Causing everyone's hearts to jump in their chests.
Everyone raised their heads, instinctively, looking towards the source of the sound.
Only to see.
On the horizon, not far away, a colossal figure, its steps heavy, was slowly approaching!
"Monster! The monster is here!"
"Oh my god! We're dead!"
After recognizing the true face of the behemoth.
The students completely broke down, their cries of despair echoing across the sky.
...
Even though they had heard countless news reports about Dragon-level Monsters.
But when they were truly facing this terrifying existence that could destroy the world.
Hiratsuka Shizuka understood that words and pictures couldn't even begin to describe its might!
It was a gigantic rhinoceros beetle, over a hundred meters tall!
Its entire body was covered in a beetle-like, jet-black, shiny carapace, reflecting a cold metallic sheen.
The enormous, ferocious wings on its back rose high, like two mountains, casting a suffocating shadow.
Its powerful, six limbs, thick as steel, pounded the earth with every step, sending tremors through the ground like an earthquake.
And. The horn on its head, evolved into a giant, sickle-shaped blade, glittered with a chilling light, as if it could easily tear through anything in its path!
Just standing there, it exuded an overwhelming pressure that words could not describe, as if the entire world was about to be crushed by it!
And what's more.
The direction it was heading towards was... this school - Totsuki High!
This... this was sheer annihilation!!!
...