Chapter 361: Chapter 361

The flames concealed Aozawa's facial features, making it impossible to distinguish the front from the back; only the direction his head turned allowed one to clearly identify the front.

Jida, in the Admiral's Office facing The White House, was so frightened he collapsed onto the ground, screaming, "Ah, he's looking this way! He knows it was us who gave the attack order!"

"Don't panic. Quickly prepare to launch the freeze bombs."

Vincent pursed his lips. Conventional weapons were useless, so they would use freeze bombs to see if they could lower the flame temperature and damage the Flame Giant.

Jida's nearly collapsing heart was slightly steadied by Vincent's calm demeanor, and he began to regret his choices. Perhaps he should have given up power and simply been a wealthy man; wouldn't that have been better? But even he knew such regrets were utterly useless. Without the interference of Superpower Users, how could he possibly have relinquished power?

"Why is he siding with the government?"

"Monsters are arrogant." Even at this moment, Vincent had the patience to answer Jida's question. "Even humans don't allow others to casually enter their yards or prune their flowers and plants, let alone these monsters who fancy themselves gods."

"So, you mean he's not actually on The White House's side? He just thinks we're not qualified to mess with his territory?"

"Mm." Vincent believed this to be true. The opponent's attitude was clear when he eliminated all those Secret Service agents and even leveled the building.

Jida stood up from the ground, his legs shaking. With a trembling voice, he asked, "Will the freeze bombs make it in time?"

"In terms of timing, they should."

A gray-white filter instantly blanketed the entire world.

The scene in the office froze at that moment. The fighter jets outside seemed like an oil painting hung upon the wall of the sky. Missiles adorned the left and right. The crowds on the ground, the speeding vehicles—all were still.

In this gray-white world, only the glory of fire remained undiminished.

Aozawa lifted his foot and began to run forward with large strides. As his flame-wreathed feet landed, they ignited the houses. He chose a path clear of civilians, so there was no worry of harming women and children.

In five seconds, he reached the bank of the Potomac River. The bridge and its exits were packed with reinforcements from the Pentagon Building. Tanks, military trucks hauling heavy artillery and ammunition, and fully armed soldiers all craned their necks, looking upwards.

Towards these men, Aozawa chose to respect their profession as American soldiers and brought his foot down.

The flames quickly ignited human flesh, clothes, tanks, and more. The ammunition didn't explode; in the stilled time, explosions could not occur.

He crossed the bridge in two strides, arriving before the Pentagon Building.

Time elapsed: eight seconds.

Aozawa deactivated his Time Suspension Ability.

The world regained its color, though these colors appeared entirely different to the people watching.

The houses he had run past moments before burst into roaringinfernos, and the ammunition he had passed exploded.

"Aah!" people screamed in terror.

Flames erupted suddenly, engulfing hundreds of soldiers, many of whom leaped directly into the river. The exploding ammunition triggered a chain reaction, causing military trucks to detonate one after another, like the first domino in a falling line. The thunderous booms sent the reinforcement troops into cries of agony.

But the shock these men felt was nothing compared to Vincent's.

From his perspective, no sooner had he finished speaking than a scorching heatwave blasted in from the window, feeling as if it would ignite his hair. Surging flames engulfed the world outside. Due to the opponent's colossal size, they could only see the raging fire through the windows.

"Aaah!" Jida screamed, completely breaking down.

The guards beside him, also terrified, began to shoot. A burst of gunfire erupted. Thousands of bullets poured outwards, only to be swallowed by the flames.

Vincent dropped the binoculars. Sweat broke out on his forehead. It wasn't from fear, but an instinctive reaction to the intense heat.

"What an irritating monster!" Vincent muttered.

He loved war. Wars of annihilation, blitzkriegs, strike warfare, defensive warfare... he loved them all. As a child, he watched all sorts of war films. Growing up, he collected war documentaries, studied history, and even conducted field research on Middle Eastern battlefields. In military exercises hosted at the Pentagon Building, the side he joined experienced both victories and defeats.

Whether victory or defeat, he could accept it calmly. Because that was war, and in war, there could never be a constant victor.

But the monster before him was clearly an existence beyond the realm of war. Such indestructible creatures should not exist in warfare.

Vincent gazed at the sea of flames, knowing in his heart that he was about to face defeat, yet he still felt somewhat unwilling to concede. There wasn't enough time. If only he could have controlled the entire military empire, he could have mobilized more weapons and resources to try and destroy this monster.

No words were spoken. Aozawa simply bent down and embraced the side of the building.

The flames melted the windows, rushing towards their targets within.

Vincent didn't give up. He kicked over his desk, using it as a shield. The fierce torrent of flames hurled the desk backward. In an instant, it was set ablaze, and the heat-brittled wood shattered into chunks of charcoal.

The flames surged towards him like a tidal wave.

Vincent threw punches forward; his combat skills were among the best in the Pentagon Building. He had once dodged tank shells and subdued the soldiers inside a tank barehanded. He had also ventured deep into the mountains to fight bears and tigers.

But now, his enemy was neither a tank nor a bear nor a tiger, but merely a colossal mass of fire. His punches only served to burn himself.

Intense pain made Vincent roar. Then, his body and hair caught fire. Even with his eyes closed, the searing pain felt as if it landed directly on his eyeballs. He could no longer scream.

In the end, he could no longer swing his fists. He was buffeted by the flames out of the office, reeking of charred meat.

Aozawa stood up. The flames did not retreat with him but continued to cling to one corner of the building. From the ground floor to the top, it was all burning, and the fire was gradually spreading.

He turned, looking towards Washington D.C. in the distance, guessing no one would dare make any reckless moves now. Everything should be fine now.

Aozawa quickly transformed from the Flame Giant into a gust of wind, then used his Global Travel Ability to leap back.

He still had school to go to.

The series of deafening explosions finally ended.

Morimoto Chiyoda stood alone on the rooftop of a four-story building. Using her agile skills, she had climbed from the first floor to the rooftop. The high vantage point allowed her to see clearly what had just transpired.

Was that Flame Giant Dio? Or someone else? A trace of confusion appeared on Morimoto Chiyoda's delicate face. The Flame Giant had not spoken a single word from beginning to end, nor had it revealed any distinct facial features.

Judged by the Ability, it could be Dio. Based on the timing, however, it didn't match the pattern of Dio's appearances. Besides, Griffith had said that each Ability was unique. But if Dio was an exception, couldn't there be a second, or even a third?

Morimoto Chiyoda furrowed her brows. The scant information she possessed left her unable to determine the specifics.

A bold assumption... All Morimoto Chiyoda could surmise was that either Dio's true destination for ascending to Paradise was Washington D.C., and thus he wouldn't allow chaos there, or another Superpower User was causing trouble. What other possibilities were there?

Morimoto Chiyoda's brow remained furrowed as she pondered. After some thought, she decided to jump down from the rooftop, level by level, and head towards The White House.

People on the streets hadn't stopped praying. Regardless of skin color, they were all devoutly muttering to their respective gods.

As minutes passed without further explosions, some of the faithful began to react to the prayers of others.

"What nonsense are you spouting? That's clearly God!"

"No, it's Celestial Fire! You heretics!"

The believers quickly went from verbal confrontations to physical brawls. The faithful began to fight in the streets. Even those who didn't believe in any gods started to brawl. They weren't fighting out of faith, but as a reaction to extreme terror, venting their inner fear and confusion with their fists and feet.

The streets were once again chaotic. People of different skin colors were now, in a brutally literal sense, mixed together in the fighting. Some sought to fish in troubled waters, starting fires and looting, unleashing the darker aspects of human nature.

In response to a white man's lewd catcall, Morimoto Chiyoda answered with a gunshot. She wasn't using her M500, but an M17 pistol Bruno had given her.

BANG. The gunshot, to some extent, curbed the physical violence. It also prompted armed residents to finally remember the guns hidden in their homes. They rushed home, preparing to grab their guns and 'reason' with the heretics.

God is the one true God!

Sporadic gunfire erupted in the streets again as Morimoto Chiyoda ran towards a relatively empty area. There, she saw rooftops littered with rubble mixed with flesh and blood. The arm of an unknown victim dangled from a wall. Someone's lung slid slowly down a wall, leaving a trail of blood.

These hellish scenes unfolding before Morimoto Chiyoda's eyes convinced her that the Flame Giant who had appeared was indeed Dio.

However, the range of that colorful light Ability seemed different from what she had seen in the videos. Was it because he didn't want to threaten civilians...? Morimoto Chiyoda could only arrive at such an explanation. She glanced at the open space before her once more.

She turned to leave. She thought it best to quickly get to a place with internet access to let Aozawa know she was safe, especially since the connection had suddenly dropped and she couldn't reach him.

He must be very worried, she mused. Hearing more gunshots, she halted her steps. I can't rush, she thought. I need to ensure my safety while moving out.

Washington D.C. wasn't safe right now. The most update n0vels are published on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝔫𝔢𝔱

The flames still burned; the gunshots had not faded. However, the ones causing trouble now were not the military, but the local residents. Some fought for their faith. Some simply wanted to cause trouble amidst the chaos. Others wielded guns to protect their families.

Most human nature couldn't withstand such a test, let alone in the United States, which had always revered freedom. The freedom in the aftermath of the disaster brought a perverse sort of vitality to Washington D.C.

If stability were to return, it would only be when the forces of order re-established control here.

It's so chaotic out here, she thought. I hope I can get back to Tokyo soon and just slack off.