Tokyo, Outer Districts.
An armed helicopter, escorted by two fighter jets, arrived at the collapsed Monolith.
Now, seeing up close the massive wall that had stood here for years lying in ruins, revealing a fatal gap in humanity's defenses, the reporters on the helicopter wore panicked expressions, their fear spreading uncontrollably across their faces.
Tokyo had enjoyed years of peace, all thanks to the powerful field generated by the Monolith, which kept the Gastrea creatures at bay.
But now, with the collapse of the Monolith, the security of this area was weakening at an alarming rate.
Though it hadn't completely lost its effectiveness, small groups of Gastrea had already begun to breach the defenses and invade the area within the Monolith.
But this wasn't the most despairing part.
Compared to the dark mass of beasts outside the Monolith, resembling a black tide, the small groups of Gastrea that had invaded were nothing.
The real disaster was yet to come.
"This is a reporter from TV Tokyo. We'll bring you firsthand reports from the front lines," the female reporter said, forcing an encouraging smile despite her fear. "The collapse of the Monolith has been confirmed. A small number of Gastrea have already invaded Tokyo, and the remaining Gastrea are gathering under the command of Aldebaran, a Stage 4 Gastrea creature.
The Tokyo Defense Force and all civilian police remaining in Tokyo have been mobilized to the front lines, where they will fight to the last moment.
The shelter plan has been urgently activated. Citizens selected for evacuation are requested to gather at designated locations immediately. Those not selected are asked to stay home and await further instructions from the government.
TV Tokyo will continue to bring you the latest updates and information."
After finishing her report, the female reporter collapsed into her seat, as if all her strength had been drained.
Though her task was to calm the citizens, it was impossible to feel optimistic when faced with such a massive number of Gastrea.
The army? The police?
Even with prior arrangements and adequate defensive measures, it would be difficult for them to withstand this beast tide.
And now, they were almost entirely unprepared, with no one even reaching the front lines yet.
In a matter of minutes, nearly 100,000 Gastrea would flood Tokyo like a tidal wave.
The army and police would have to fight them in the city.
Even if they could hold out until the new Monolith was delivered, how many people in Tokyo would survive?
Perhaps only one in a hundred.
"Wait, look!"
Just as the female reporter was sinking into despair, the cameraman, who had been continuously transmitting live footage to Tokyo, suddenly shouted.
He pointed in a direction, his voice filled with disbelief.
The pale-faced female reporter, fearing the Gastrea had breached the defenses, looked at the screen with dread.
But when she saw the image, she froze.
"That's... a person?"
In the magnified image, standing atop the Monolith was a slender human figure.
Her dress fluttered in the strong wind as she stood motionless, gazing down at the Gastrea below like a statue.
Why is there a person on the Monolith?
How did she climb this massive structure, hundreds of meters tall?
Countless questions swirled in their minds, but there were no answers.
While the people on the helicopter had just discovered Nia Honjo presence on the front lines, Nia Honjo herself hadn't noticed them.
At this moment, all her attention was focused on the item card in her hand.
"This is my first reversal. I don't know what will happen," Nia Honjo muttered, looking down at the overwhelming number of Gastrea outside the Monolith. "But I don't have much of a choice."
After deciding to use the Spirit Crystal Reversal Ticket, she had come here alone.
She hadn't let Satomi Rentaro follow her.
In a beast tide of this scale, a mechanical warrior wouldn't be of much help and might even hold her back.
Not to mention, she couldn't be sure whether her personality would change after the reversal.
According to the original work's definition, Spirit Crystal Reversal occurs when a Spirit's negative emotions accumulate to a threshold, and they become utterly despairing of the world.
Like a Cursed Child whose erosion rate reaches its limit and transforms into a monster that no longer recognizes its loved ones, a Spirit who undergoes reversal becomes a completely different being a monster that knows only destruction.
Nia Honjo had never reversed before.
So, she didn't know whether she could remain sane afterward.
To minimize unnecessary casualties, she had decided not to bring Nibelcole with her, instead letting her accompany Satomi Rentaro and the others to protect the shelter's inhabitants and safely retreat to Tokyo.
"Now, the moment has come."
Nia Honjo took a deep breath, preparing herself.
Then, with a thought, the Spirit Crystal Reversal Ticket turned into points of light and disappeared from her hand.
As the item card was used, the Spirit Crystal within her trembled violently, causing her breathing to become rapid almost instantly.
She could no longer hear the continuous roars of the Gastrea.
Because a dark aura had already engulfed her.
"What is that?!"
Inside the helicopter, people widened their eyes at the sudden change.
Under their astonished gazes, a black river illusory yet tangible flowed silently, converging from all directions.
It seemed to drown the entire world.
The dark, viscous power gathered around Nia Honjo, covering her body inch by inch, completely enveloping her in an aura of despair and sorrow.
It penetrated her soul in every possible way, submerging every corner of her heart.
When the breath of despair climbed to her mouth and nose, stealing the last bit of space, the trembling girl let out a sharp scream.
"Aah...!"
Countless negative emotions flooded her mind, causing intense pain and mental torment.
She clutched her head tightly, but the pain only grew more severe.
She seemed to see departed souls, one after another, filled with resentment, collapse, and tyranny, rushing toward her, pleading for the salvation and hope they had been promised.
But where was salvation and hope in this world?
"Stay away from her! Quick! Evacuate immediately!"
Unable to comprehend the scene before her but instinctively sensing danger, the female reporter shouted urgently to the helicopter pilot.
BOOM !
The next moment, the dark aura formed a beam of light that shot into the sky.
The shockwave spread in all directions, causing the distant helicopter to shake slightly, terrifying everyone inside.
Atop the Monolith, as the river of despair dissipated, a transformed Nia Honjo stood within the dark pillar of light.
The nun who served God had vanished along with the dark river.
In her place was the world-destroying Demon King, who had abandoned mercy and kindness, seeking only to set the world ablaze.
Because there was no God in this world.
[Spirit Crystal successfully reversed]
[Current Spirit Status: Nia Honjo 2 (Reversed Form)]
[Identification Name: Fallen]
[Host personality fragments are being collected]
[Emotional suppression program initiated]
As the system screen appeared before her eyes, the girl's dull gaze regained a trace of clarity.
The destructive urges surging within her were brought under control.
The Spirit Crystal within her, now revealing its true form, vibrated, making her cold-blooded and cruel.
But at the same time, another force balanced her, suppressing the despair that threatened to consume her emotions, allowing her to retain a shred of sanity and preventing her from becoming a rampaging monster.
"An amazing feeling..."
Nia Honjo looked at her new Spirit Dress, resembling a fallen angel. The mobilization and fine control of her spiritual power were entirely different from before.
An overwhelming power flowed through her body.
At this moment, she truly felt she had the power to destroy the world.
"Divine Eclipse Volume."
At the call of the fallen angel, the Demon King's companion appeared, responding to her command.
The Whispering Volume had also transformed with the Spirit Crystal Reversal, shifting from a sacred, steady tome to a twisted, dark grimoire.
Its capabilities had been greatly enhanced, and its spiritual energy consumption had decreased rather than increased.
Not only that, the Divine Eclipse Volume no longer required its owner to write manually it could now read her intentions and record them automatically.
Nia Honjo mind was flooded with the knowledge of the Divine Eclipse Volume's new abilities.
Whoosh !
At that moment, ten miles away, a concentrated sulfuric acid beam shot toward Nia Honjo at incredible speed.
The attack came from another Stage 4 Gastrea in Aldebaran's legion.
Its high-concentration sulfuric acid attacks and precision targeting made it a nightmare for human pilots.
No fighter jet could survive its assault.
But Nia Honjo didn't move.
The defensive stance of her Spirit Dress activated, and with a faint flash, it intercepted the attack without sustaining any damage.
Ten miles away, Nia Honjo gaze shifted slightly.
She delivered a fatal blow to the Stage 4 Gastrea.
The next moment, the creature one of the greatest threats in Aldebaran's legion exploded, its sulfuric acid body splattering and corroding dozens of nearby Gastrea.
"Roar !"
The Gastrea roared in anger.
More ranged attacks came at her like a rain of arrows.
"Hmph..."
Nia Honjo withdrew her gaze indifferently, looking at the still-massive beast tide without a hint of emotion.
The word "powerlessness" had vanished from her vocabulary the moment her Spirit Crystal reversed.
Her physical abilities, Spirit Dress, and most importantly, her Angel had all been greatly enhanced. At this moment, she was no longer a nun who could only pray in the face of despair.
Her abilities were no longer what they used to be.
No, they couldn't even be called abilities anymore.
Now, they were power.
The Pen of Narration slid wildly across the blank pages of the Divine Eclipse Volume.
Then, the promised future became reality.
Before her, pitch-black spatial rifts opened in a manner defying the laws of this world, swallowing all the bone spurs, flying blades, and venom raining down on her.
Then, it returned them all to their senders.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh !
Using their own weapons against them.
All the attacks swallowed by the spatial rifts were returned to the Gastrea. Abilities that had once belonged to them now became deadly scythes, reaping their lives.
But Nia Honjo frowned slightly.
"Too slow," she murmured. "This speed is too slow."
The Divine Eclipse Volume understood her meaning.
In Tokyo armory.
In Osaka armory.
In Kobe armory.
Even in the arsenals of human survival sites across the ocean, spatial rifts suddenly appeared, swallowing all the custom-made weapons stored within bombs and missiles specifically designed to kill Gastrea.
The breath of destruction condensed within the rifts.
"Let's end this."
As Nia Honjo indifferent voice rang out, more spatial rifts appeared above the army of Gastrea.
Fire and iron rained from the sky.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM !
Deafening explosions echoed across Tokyo.
The flames reflected in her dark pupils. As she listened to the howls and cries of the Gastrea, Nia Honjo face showed neither joy nor sorrow.
One hundred thousand Gastrea were reduced to ashes in an instant.
"What... what is this...?"
The people in the helicopter were stunned, having witnessed a beast tide capable of flattening Tokyo being annihilated almost instantly.
But they felt no joy at having survived the disaster.
Looking at Nia Honjo atop the Monolith was like gazing at a god who had descended to earth.
Their eyes held only confusion, shock, and deep fear.
Everything that had just happened was beyond their comprehension.
[Total Gastrea: 95,762; Eliminated: 93,795; Remaining: 1,967]
After the carpet bombing that decimated Aldebaran's assembled Gastrea army in one fell swoop, the remaining numbers were no longer a threat.
On the bomb-cratered land, only a few specialized defensive Gastrea and some that had fled into Tokyo earlier remained.
"The rest is up to you."
Having lost interest in the stragglers, Nia Honjo activated another ability of the Divine Eclipse Volume.
Pages broke away from the tome, transforming into [Devil Seeds], breeding disaster and misfortune.
Girls with identical faces emerged from the pages one after another, their smiles charming yet eerie.
"Mother, we obey your orders."
Countless Nibelcoles felt the call, the seals on their essence completely disappearing, revealing their true nature as the Demon King's Daughters.
After receiving their first command, the newly born Nibelcoles quickly dispersed. Some began clearing the remaining Gastrea outside the Monolith, while others hunted down the stragglers that had fled into Tokyo.
The trial of the Gastrea had ended here.
Taking one last look at the scorched earth below, Nia Honjo turned and stepped into a spatial rift without hesitation.
The judgment of humanity had now begun.