New York, USA.
Once the capital of a superpower, this city, with a population of 8 million, now had fewer than 500,000 survivors since the apocalypse began.
The former prosperity was gone, and the entire city had turned into a hellish landscape overrun by monsters. Decay and desolation filled the streets, with countless zombies piled up, crowding, biting, and devouring each other…
Those who were still alive, hiding underground or in some corner, trembled with fear as they gazed at the Statue of Liberty, which seemed to hold up the entire sky. Their eyes were filled with endless despair…
But one day, a powerful song rang out, emanating from the Statue of Liberty and echoing across the skies of New York.
"Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?"
"Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?"
"And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."
"Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"
"…"
This was the national anthem of the former superpower, urgent and valiant, melodious and resonant, spreading and echoing to every corner of the city.
Both humans and monsters turned their gaze in its direction.
Tears welled up in people's eyes, as if the song had ignited a warm sun in their frozen hearts. The zombies let out excited roars, and waves of monsters surged toward the source of the sound.
In just one day, nearly a million zombies had gathered around the Statue of Liberty!
They were excited, roaring, and constantly trying to climb up to tear apart the source of the loud, delicious sound. From above, it looked like a vast, gray ocean of monsters!
And at that moment, above the Statue of Liberty's head.
A drop of azure water floated in the air, growing larger and larger. Finally, to the astonishment of those hiding in the shadows, it transformed into a massive water sphere, even larger than the statue's head!
It spun and flowed continuously, as if commanded by someone. At a certain moment, countless streams of water shot out from the sphere, turning into swift water arrows that rained down on the zombies below!
Though they were just streams of water, they were sharper than bullets, piercing through the heads of the monsters one by one, killing them instantly.
The water arrows continued to pierce and kill, filling the sky with their intertwined streams. In just half a day, half of the millions of zombies had been wiped out!
The monsters had no thoughts, no fear. Even as countless companions fell, they felt nothing. Instead of retreating, they surged toward the statue with even greater frenzy.
As if its power had been exhausted, the water sphere above the statue disappeared, and the streams of water fell to the ground.
But it wasn't over yet. To the disbelief of the onlookers, tens of thousands of ice spears began to form, filling the sky once more. Like a meteor shower from the heavens, they rained down again!
Almost every ice spear pierced through one or several zombies, freezing them into ice sculptures. With a single touch from the surviving monsters, the frozen zombies shattered into piles of ice…
The same scene repeated day after day, from the first day to the second, and so on.
The survivors cheered, wept, and prayed to the statue that symbolized freedom.
Finally, the goddess had heard their cries and revealed her divine power to save the world!
On the eighth day, as the last monster was struck down by an azure water arrow and a snow-white ice spear, the melodious song finally ceased. By then, the statue had disappeared, leaving only a massive mountain of monster corpses!
"Ha… ha… I'm exhausted!"
At the top of the statue, on the only spot not covered by monster corpses, two beautiful women lay panting heavily.
"Thank you, Minami Rika."
Andrea, with her golden hair, wept tears of joy. Despite her pale face from the immense exertion, her expression was filled with boundless excitement and happiness.
Finally, she had used the power granted by her master to save her people and her homeland!
"Alright, enough with the words. Survivors will come to investigate soon. Let's leave quickly."
Blushing slightly, the straightforward woman, Minami Rika, seemed a bit uncomfortable with Andrea's heartfelt gratitude and quickly changed the subject, urging them to leave.
Nodding, Andrea looked down at the world where she had once lived. She knew she might never return.
But she had no regrets. She would spend the rest of her life repaying the man who had made her wish come true…
…
Meanwhile, around the world, miracles were unfolding just like in New York.
In London, England, endless fire rained from the sky, turning the city into a sea of flames. Everything above ground was reduced to ashes, except for those hiding underground.
In Cairo, Egypt, under a clear sky, thousands of divine thunderbolts struck, reducing the land to ruins.
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, countless wind blades flew in all directions, slicing through both monsters and towering buildings.
…
The Messengers of the Gods—that's what people later called them.
Because those miracles were brought about by a group of women, a group of beautiful women.
With their miraculous powers, they swept across the world, and in just one year, they eradicated all the monsters on Earth!
People didn't know where they came from or where they went afterward.
But they knew that these women had saved the world!
What they didn't know, however, was that the women's true purpose was actually to plunder!
Under the command of Sora, over the course of a year, the women continuously swept through city after city, collecting energy orbs. Any beings that stood in their way, whether human or monster, were utterly annihilated!
Occasionally, Sora would join the women in their raids, but most of the time he spent at home, training his women.
Whether it was Komuro Aoi or Kiriko, under Sora's personal guidance, they grew rapidly. Even Nakaoka Asami, who joined last, became a formidable presence within a year!
By now, Sora's purpose in this world was essentially complete. Whether it was the women he desired or the power he sought to plunder, he had achieved it all!
However, he did not leave with the women.
Because he was still waiting, waiting for the arrival of one person.
Over the course of the year, the monsters in Tokonosu City were also completely eradicated, but not by Sora and his women. It was done by one person, a man named Komuro Takashi!
Sora was truly looking forward to it. When this original protagonist stood before him again, what kind of scene would it be when he saw the person blocking his path?