Chapter 130: Escape

“Hello, Mr. John.”

Ito Mio stood in the command center of Yokosuka Naval Base, speaking softly over the general broadcast that reached the entire military harbor.

Fine threads of blood split from her body, spreading outward through the open doors of the command center.

No—not merely through the doors. Every window, every crack in the walls, every tiny hole in the room was pierced by those slender strands, which continued stretching toward every place beyond the military harbor.

The screams were brief, while panic spread throughout the base.

Soldiers in American uniforms frantically sought refuge in the harbor’s buildings, drill grounds, barracks, and armories, yet none could escape the cleansing sweep of the blood threads. Wherever those strands extended, every self-aware being was assimilated, transformed into a part of them.

Explosions and gunfire rang out almost without pause, only to fall silent in the very next instant.

The soldiers, driven mad with terror, believed they could sever the advancing strands with bullets and the roar of cannons. They never imagined that, in less than a moment, the threads would pass straight through the smoke and shock waves, drawing them into Ito Mio’s world at the same time.

“...Why are you afraid?”

Through the general broadcast system, Ito Mio’s voice carried a gentle question.

Screams rose one after another. Gunfire continued to spread, though it grew fainter and fainter.

The girl’s voice echoed across the entire military harbor.

“This world is already filled with so much filth, ugliness, and misery...

“The world we live in each day is buried beneath endless noise, sin, crime, and malice.

“Pain continues without end, and differences persist forever.

“...Human beings attack one another and slaughter their own kind because of those differences, even starting wars. And yet they insist on remaining in such a foolish world. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

The girl paused before continuing:

“Don’t you think so, Mr. John?”

...

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

John sat aboard a helicopter, rising slowly amid the tremendous currents stirred by its spinning rotors. Through the window, he stared down at the military harbor below, where countless crimson threads pierced through buildings, crossed over the waves, and enveloped the entirety of Yokosuka Naval Base.

He cursed the terrifying supernatural being with every ounce of strength he possessed.

For the first time in his life, he was facing such a horrifying humanoid entity.

For decades, John had firmly believed that America was the absolute master of the planet, and that nothing and no one could ever halt its advance.

Even when it suffered a setback, that did not mean America had failed. It merely meant that, after weighing the costs and benefits, it had made a strategic withdrawal—a matter of commercial calculation.

But this time was different.

That terrifying existence could transform into blood, manipulate blood, and assimilate other people into blood. It possessed destructive power far greater than artillery shells, speed surpassing that of the newest fighter jets, and an infectivity more horrifying than the deadliest plague.

...It was nearly impossible to counter.

In truth, the moment Ito Mio’s voice had first sounded through the general broadcast in the command center, reaching everyone in the military harbor, John had already taken action and swiftly fled the monitoring station.

After that, almost deliberately deaf to everything around him, he followed the others toward the only possible means of escape—

the helicopter concealed within Yokosuka Naval Base.

Only after he had actually boarded the helicopter did he finally feel somewhat relieved.

Looking down upon the whole of Yokosuka Naval Base and, farther away, the aircraft carriers and warships, John saw that every sailor and soldier had already been assimilated by the blood threads. Those vessels had likewise become Ito Mio’s toys, never to sail again.

His expression was grave, his eyes nearly revealing unbearable anguish.

With the destruction of Yokosuka Naval Base, decades of American efforts in the region had been almost entirely wiped out.

And all of it had happened because of a single person.

Although... perhaps that creature could no longer be called human.

As the helicopter gradually climbed away from the ground, the scene below receded from John’s sight, and his emotions slowly settled.

Yet in addition to the failure of having the military harbor seized by Ito Mio—a failure that had shattered America’s East Asian strategy—there was another worry weighing on his mind.

...The strategic nuclear warheads hidden within the base, with a combined yield of several million tons.

A weapon of such power—even a single one—would be enough to destroy a major city if it fell on the American mainland, forcing the inhabitants of an entire state to flee and evacuate.

At the thought, John felt as though his stomach were sinking endlessly.

He picked up his phone and called the President’s office.

“Mr. President...

“...Yes, yes, I said just now that ‘she’s here’...

“...The Blood Angel has taken control of the entire Yokosuka Naval Base... There’s no way to move them... Yes, I could only escape back to America by helicopter... I’m on board now...

“...There’s something else, Mr. President. Regarding the nuclear warheads still stored at Yokosuka Naval Base... All right... I understand...”

John lowered the phone, and a trace of ruthless resolve flashed through his eyes.

During that conversation, he and the President had already settled on what would happen next.

With Ito Mio’s rise, all of Yokosuka Naval Base—or rather, all of Japan—had become territory that could be abandoned for strategic purposes.

As for those strategic nuclear weapons, it was clear that there was no longer any chance of removing them. That left only one way to prevent them from becoming bombs aimed at the American mainland.

Only one way.

Detonate them where they stood.

Although setting off several nuclear bombs, each with a yield of several million tons, on Japanese soil would very likely kill more than a million nearby Japanese civilians who had not yet been assimilated by Ito Mio, provoking international condemnation—

but at a time like this, who still had the luxury to care about international condemnation?

The helicopter climbed higher and higher. Below, the sea and the military harbor gradually shrank into distant patches.

At last, John made his decision.

“...Stuart, bring me my briefcase.”

Under American law, the President was the only person in the United States authorized to order the use of strategic nuclear weapons.

And during the call just now, the President had granted him that authorization.

Now it was time to open the briefcase and, under the President’s authority, detonate the several-million-ton nuclear warheads where they stood.

Having made up his mind, John patted his secretary on the shoulder.

The other man did not respond immediately, which struck John as strange.

“Stuart?”

He patted the man’s shoulder again.

Only then did the secretary finally turn his head.

But John would have preferred that Stuart had never turned around.

The body below his neck remained completely motionless, while the head above it rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees and stared straight at John, wearing an eerie smile.

“Mr. John...”