Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 444: The Sword of Damocles (4)

Dragon Raja 3

Breathing heavily, Caesar and Chu Zihang rushed into the Tokyo Meteorological Bureau, where the powerful voice of the Governor was booming from an office: “The Kozen family has followed the Emperor since the time of the Shogunate! There has never been a man in our family who submitted to enemies! I swear by my title as the highest-ranking official in Tokyo, those who use this disaster to commit violence will be annihilated! Whoever you are, put down your weapons now! Or I will personally lead elite forces to eliminate you and bring you to justice!”

“He’s preparing to deliver a televised speech to the citizens of Tokyo, urging them not to give up. He drank a little to stir up his emotions,” Secretary Sakurai Hideichi explained awkwardly. “But perhaps we gave him something with too high an alcohol content.”

“Is this really the time for drinking? Isn’t he the governor of Tokyo? Shouldn’t he be doing something meaningful for the disaster victims?” The Vice Principal indignantly opened another can of beer.

Sakurai Hideichi glanced at the beer can in his hand.

“I can hold my liquor!” the Vice Principal defended himself righteously.

Anjou strode briskly down the corridor. The Tokyo Meteorological Bureau had been transformed into Cassell College’s central command center. The corridor was filled with Gear Department staff, all bustling about. They all gave Caesar and Chu Zihang admiring looks as they passed.

“Wow!” Anjou exclaimed as soon as he saw Caesar and Chu Zihang’s outfits, too shocked to say anything else.

Caesar and Chu Zihang awkwardly averted their eyes. In such a situation, they had no clothes to change into and had to report in wearing the uniforms from Takamagahara. Chu Zihang’s hair even had golden highlights. They could only hope that Anjou, being an old-fashioned aristocrat, didn’t know about host clubs, or else they’d be considered merely eccentrics rather than a disgrace to the school.

“Good grief! I haven’t been to Tokyo in nearly 70 years, and host club members still wear such tasteless outfits?” Anjou frowned. “Meeting time!”

He turned and entered the large conference room. The Gear Department had already set up the 3D projection equipment, and the meeting room had become Anjou’s command center. All the functionality of the College’s central control room had been transferred here.

On the table lay an open air freight case. Inside was the dark-golden Seven Deadly Sins—the seven weapons forged to slay the Dragon Kings. The heavy metal box still held the weapons, yet they emitted a heart-shaking hum, as if seven furious dragons were sealed within.

Caesar and Chu Zihang both understood clearly why this set of weapons had been transported to Japan. So far, humanity had no means of preventing natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. The only feasible solution was to eliminate the source of the disaster. But the question remained: was it even possible to kill a god that had already awakened?

Though incomplete, that entity was once the White Empress, an existence on par with the Black Emperor.

“Let’s watch this video first. It was just sent to my email a few minutes ago,” Anjou ordered as soon as he sat down.

The lights dimmed, and the 3D projector started operating. The first image displayed was the vast expanse of the starry sky, the explosion of a dark origin point, and massive star clusters forming in fractions of a second. Primordial matter expanded at near light-speed, and the dimensions of time and space began to unfold, marking the birth of the universe.

Led by Deputy Director Carl, the researchers from the Gear Department clapped enthusiastically. As true tech enthusiasts, they were always stirred when seeing the vastness of the cosmos. During World War II, German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun created the V1 and V2 missiles, the world’s first rockets. Hitler used these to bombard London, making the British cry for mercy. But in the face of such fame, Sir von Braun nonchalantly said, “I aim for the stars, but sometimes I hit London.” What he meant was that bombing London was insignificant; true scientists were aiming to reach the stars and explore the vast universe!

Next, the video depicted the formation of Earth, volcanic eruptions, the solidifying of the land, the formation of primordial oceans, and the evolution of life. In the blink of an eye, billions of years passed, and trilobites became the rulers of Earth…

“Damn Pompeii! Does the intro really have to be this long? Fast forward!” Anjou finally couldn’t bear it anymore and yelled at the researcher operating the projector.

Caesar had an indifferent look on his face. From the tone of the intro, he already knew who had made the video—it was his father, Pompeii Gattuso. In a way, it was unfortunate that Pompeii wasn’t heading Valhalla, as in many ways, his mindset matched perfectly with the madmen from the Gear Department. He would bring home beautiful women dressed in fur skirts, and the two of them would watch short films that he produced himself in his private cinema. His grand openings would always start from the birth of the universe and show the painstaking evolution of life on Earth over billions of years. At that moment, Pompeii would gaze deeply into the eyes of the woman beside him and say, “Our ancestors went through countless hardships to evolve to this point. What excuse do we have not to continue this great legacy of reproduction?”

The scene suddenly shifted, and the cosmos, the evolution of life, and DNA progression all disappeared. In their place was a water bungalow on a South Pacific island. Pompeii Gattuso, dressed in a white suit, adjusted his selfie camera, fixed his hair, and flashed a dazzling smile.

“We should’ve skipped that boring intro ages ago!” Anjou took a deep breath.

“We didn’t even have time to fast forward; the video just jumped here on its own,” the researcher operating the projector shrugged.

“Alright, alright. By now, I imagine your temper is boiling, Anjou, and you’re probably about to smash the projector, right?” Pompeii rubbed his hands together. “So, let’s get to the point.”

This lunatic even calculated Anjou’s tolerance… Anjou could feel a rush of blood gathering in his chest, the kind you just had to release or else it hurt.

“If you’re watching this video, the situation must be pretty dire, right? I sincerely regret that because, at this moment, I’m thousands of kilometers away in the South Pacific. Even if Japan sinks, it won’t affect me here. Meanwhile, the land beneath your feet is crumbling and subsiding.”

Deputy Director Carl’s eyes widened in shock as Pompeii demonstrated the process of Japan’s land breaking and disintegrating. Carl didn’t know this board member’s academic background, but as a top-tier expert himself, he could tell at a glance that Pompeii’s model was highly accurate—a master’s calculation.

In other words, it wasn’t just Tokyo; the entire nation of Japan was at risk of collapsing, while the Gear Department had thought they were merely here to help with disaster relief.

“From a scientific perspective, accurately predicting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions is impossible, let alone controlling these natural disasters. But for a god, controlling the flow of oceans and lava is as natural as a human controlling their own hands. Once the god fully awakens, the first thing to be destroyed will inevitably be Tokyo. The volcanic groups within and near Japan will erupt simultaneously, and tsunamis and land collapses are inevitable. The worst-case scenario is that the entirety of Japan will sink into the ocean because this land is far too unstable.”

Pompeii shrugged. “I imagine you’ve already thought of the simplest solution—to kill the god. You’ve always been that straightforward.

“Of course, the god must die. After all, we are the Secret Party, right? If we’re not slaying dragons, what are we, a professional chef’s union? But this time, you’re not facing an ordinary Dragon King—you’re facing the White Empress, even if she’s incomplete. I know you carry the Seven Deadly Sins, but this time, those little blades won’t help. They were indeed forged to slay Dragon Kings, but in their creator, Norton’s, mind, the White Empress had long since perished. He never considered the possibility of these alchemical weapons being used against the White Empress. So, what is the weapon that can completely destroy a god? Allow me to introduce to you, with great fanfare, the ultimate weapon co-developed by the Gattuso Research Institute and the Russian Federal Space Agency. We’ve codenamed it—Divine Punishment!”

The screen shifted once again, showing a blue planet floating in the vast darkness of space. It was Earth, viewed from orbit.

“Don’t be in a hurry to throw your shoes. I guarantee that after watching this starry sky, you won’t be fuming with rage.” Pompeii’s voiceover was deep and profound. It was hard to believe this guy could sound so serious, as if he were standing outside the vast cosmos, speaking like a prophet who saw everything clearly, saying in a low voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, at this very moment, Divine Punishment is orbiting 1,020 kilometers above your heads in low Earth orbit, carrying the Damocles’ Sword, which can save all of humanity. When that sword descends from the heavens, it will cleave the Earth. What chance does a god have? No matter how ultimate a being it is, in the face of retribution from the vast cosmos, every one of its cells will be incinerated into nothingness!”

A satellite skimmed across the corner of the screen, trembling slightly as something detached from it, plummeting straight toward the ground. The slender object entered the atmosphere, turning into a fiery trail hundreds of meters long, lighting up the night sky as if the sun had risen early.

That beam of light piercing the darkness was so serene and beautiful, yet it carried a terrifying power. Everyone was reminded of the scene from the Old Testament, Genesis, where Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah: “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus, He overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”