Mireya ordered to proceed at full speed, giving the Katsuragi Gang no chance to react and heading straight for the target, aiming to finish the battle within 30 minutes.
Regarding being a witch, Mireya felt only gratitude in her heart.
She had once spent an abundant amount of time acquiring men, wealth, and power, but now that she was no longer lacking in the first two, it was time to further develop her own power.
Witches can manipulate reality through the power of the mind alone, so delving into the physical laws was considered meaningless—Mireya had always believed that until she encountered major setbacks in cultivating her magic power.
In despair, she realized that she could only wait, like other witches, for her magic power to grow naturally bit by bit and hoped to be promoted to a Dominator after another 100 years of becoming a middle-aged witch.
Unwilling to drift through the trivialities of life like mortals, Mireya supplemented her other abilities while also open to trying out different opportunities, believing that capturing Farosa could break her mundane routine.
They were almost there.
In the outer plaza of the Toshiaki Megastore, a street away from Suzuki Springs, the white shuttle was parked and the motorcycle team lined up in a row.
Seeing this formidable enemy, Katsuragi Gang members immediately mobilized, taking control of all the high points, setting up machine guns at the windows, ready for the possible attack.
Mireya walked to the control panel and observed the external situation through the shuttle’s scanning and surveillance systems.
This was Katagi District in the deep night, the sky mirror had been adjusted to night mode, and the streets after 8 PM were even more bustling. The square was covered in brightly lit advertising light boxes, set to maximum brightness, reflecting the anxious faces of passersby.
There were customers everywhere, who originally came to the streets with intentions of leisure, including many children and women pushing baby strollers, now regretting that they hadn’t brought guns with them.
Mireya saw many bodies hung high on lamp posts, dripping with blood. They bore tattoos, cheap armor, and signs of extensive modifications—likely gang members and street ronins. Packs of dogs surrounded the corpses at their feet, occasionally leaping up to gnaw on the remnants of flesh on their legs, leaving many of the bodies mangled below the knees.
Here, someone was fighting violence with violence, and Mireya found it interesting.
She had seen too many chaotic cities in the Archipelago Continent. As an envoy stationed in the Archipelago Continent by the Lighthouse Core, she had visited the future jungles of the Silla Peninsula made of steel and concrete, sniffed the air of the Taiya Archipelago tainted with the smell of smoke and the sea, and the Northern Archipelago was the same, with buttstocks, laughter and spit hitting people’s faces... What she saw before her was completely different, with pale flags of "Protecting Territory, Ensuring Peace" everywhere, almost like talismans of believers, pasted on the windows or doors of their homes.
Aizu City had changed profoundly.
There was an opulent order now, where street vendors were neatly organized, patrolling eyeball robots floated in the air, reformed ronins carrying their katanas with freshly dyed black hair, and bikers parked their motorcycles obediently at the designated spots, wishing to spend money on the square.
No one wanted to cause trouble. Gangs, villains, kidney harvesters, loan sharks, and some non-cooperative business owners were now attracting flies on the lamp posts. Mireya scanned their chest-mounted QR code plates, and the pop-up pages displayed the reasons for their death sentences—robbery, attacking women, human trafficking, tampering with labor contracts, with especially egregious effects.
She had to destroy all of this; the next batch willing to do so were probably still queuing up for rebirth.
"The Katsuragi Gang brings stability to everyone?" Mireya asked Suzuki Shinji through her built-in communicator, her tone laced with sarcasm.
"She must have someone behind her," Suzuki Shinji explained succinctly, "With her own brain, she could never have managed things this well-organized."
Mireya adjusted the firing angle of the Hovering Cannons on the Shuttle. If the people inside the Toshiaki Megastore made a move, they would preemptively strike back and demolish the entire building. During the previous Rat Tide, some survivors didn’t retreat to Number 26 Highland but used the defense facilities here to hold out for a long time.
She closed her eyes and used her own Digital Mind to hack into the integrated defense systems of the Toshiaki Megastore and shut them all down.
The young recruits of the Katsuragi Gang at the windows worked frantically to adjust the smart security systems, trying to get them back online, kicking and hitting them in desperation.
"Go ahead," Mireya whispered.
The sound of engines roared, making hearts pound—an all too familiar and aggressive noise that had long been absent. The dense convoy signaled a storm of blood and violence. For the long-time locals, they knew the sound all too well— it usually marked the beginning of a mass killing or a devastating fire.
"Kill!" Suzuki Shinji shouted loudly, issuing the command.
Large motorcycles roared forward, cutting across the square, crushing stalls under their wheels. Bystanders retreated to the sides, screaming incessantly. Those who were not swift enough were knocked to the ground and in an instant, several motorcycles rolled over them. Without a chance to scream, their bodies were crushed into a muddy pulp, their flesh and blood blurred.
Mireya’s White Shuttle, "Peaceful," was like a wild beast, armed with guns on both sides, and its wings extended. The four Hovering Cannons took turns firing at the gun positions in the windows of the Toshiaki Megastore, each energy cannon shot shaking the entire building violently.
The Toshiaki Megastore, once seen as an impregnable modern Heavenly Guardian Pavilion, had withstood the fierce attacks of Giant Rats during the Rat Tide but now was being turned into a honeycomb riddled with countless holes.
"Help—" People were terrified, fleeing in all directions.
Crushing, rolling forward, the members of the Suzuki Group drove their vehicles, pressing on.
Suzuki Shinji let out a satisfied laugh, opening the collar of his blood-red shirt to the oncoming wind. It had been a long time since he’d had such an enjoyable fight, even more smoothly executed than when the Suzuki Group expanded their territory in the Katagi District.
The motorcycles sprinted back and forth, Katsuragi Gang members were driven out of the building, calling their headquarters at the Suzuki Springs for help while holding their guns and firing back desperately. But faced with such overpowering firepower, their resistance was like raindrops on steel.
Among screams and moans, the citizens ran away in panic. The Suzuki Group had returned, and there was no doubt that a fierce confrontation with the Katsuragi Gang was imminent.
Many captured the events on video and uploaded them to local forums, and many still remembered Suzuki Shinji. They also identified that white Shuttle as belonging to Lighthouse Core technology and expressed their unease in comments.
"Everyone, get out of Katagi District!"
"The Suzuki Group is back!"
More than 30 nearby Katsuragi Gang members swiftly responded, setting up defenses along the inevitable route through the square to Suzuki Springs, standing off against the returning Suzuki Group members. They controlled the streets, hiding between the low buildings, setting up defenses along the windows; they knew they couldn’t compete, only delay as much as possible to buy time for the defense setup at Suzuki Springs.
"We can’t leave now!"
"Hold the line!" several core group members called out loudly.
Suzuki Shinji, seeing their high fighting spirit, instructed his subordinates to control the surrounding situation and block the escape routes of others.
"I’ve heard that people from the Katsuragi Gang are crazy!" Suzuki Shinji raised the gun in his hand, looking around, "That Asa Katsuragi, taking my territory, stealing my business, really thinks he’s something!"
His voice, full of energy, echoed down the streets for a long time.
"Katagi District is no longer your turf!" a Katsuragi Gang member shouted.
"Bring out Asa Katsuragi!" Suzuki Shinji fired a warning shot into the sky, making all the survivors around him tremble, terrified into crouching on the ground, not even daring to breathe, "Isn’t it about ’Protecting Territory, Ensuring Peace’? Where has that gone? Call out Asa Katsuragi! Otherwise, I’ll kill everyone here!"
The civilians unfortunate enough to be caught up in the street shuddered, filled with utter despair. The Suzuki Group members, one by one, drew their guns, aiming at these innocent civilians. With just one command from Suzuki Shinji, they would fire together, instantly turning the entire street into a bloody slaughterhouse. For them, killing had become a highly practiced affair; murder was the best method to reassert dominance, to ensure everyone remembered the Suzuki Group.
A man, scared out of his wits, turned and ran.
Suzuki Shinji immediately aimed at the man’s back and pulled the trigger.
After the gunshot, a hole was blown through the man’s chest, and he fell to the ground.
The Katsuragi Gang members turned pale.
"Surrender, you fools!" Suzuki Shinji roared, "I am the overlord of Katagi District! You new dogs that Asa Katsuragi recruited! You don’t have an ounce of courage!"
"Go to hell!" The Katsuragi Gang members, furious, prepared to counterattack.
Mireya couldn’t help but smile faintly. She leaned forward from the Shuttle Machine, her gaze penetrating the glass, looking at those Katsuragi Gang members on the streets who were trying to defend. Their actions with their guns came to an immediate halt and did not move any further.
Suzuki Shinji, witnessing the change in the Katsuragi Gang members, felt a thud in his heart, not knowing what the monster in the shuttle behind him was doing. He quickly waved his hand in secret, and the other Suzuki Group members also stayed put, not daring to breathe.
The street became very quiet in an instant.
"Forever Mireya," the Katsuragi Gang members said in unison.
Mireya’s gaze swept across the street, the houses, shops, and stalls. The survivors who were originally crouching to hide now all stood up in unison. Those lingering by the windows inside the buildings also unconsciously opened their windows, their poses stiff, their expressions rigid.
"Forever Mireya," they recited the same words in unison.
Even more monotone than a robot.
"Forever Mireya," everyone began repeating, as if it was an established law, a sacred decree that could not be defied or violated, words of redemption that could grant them eternal life, which they must recite aloud to gain absolution.
Suzuki Shinji held his breath, fearing he would suffer the same fate.
He didn’t know what Mireya’s abilities were, but he only knew she could easily attain victory. Whether it was the Katsuragi Gang or some Ancient Witch, none could defeat Mireya; she was invincible.
"Advance," Mireya broadcasted.
"...Alright... Come on! Destroy everything!" Suzuki Shinji yelled, "Take back what is ours!"
"Charge!" The members were still in the shock induced by Mireya’s unusual mental magic. Morale was a bit low, and it was only after Suzuki Shinji’s repeated urging that they rallied.
They brandished katanas and fired guns, tearing down the banners proclaiming ’Protecting Territory, Ensuring Peace,’ shrieking wildly as they rushed toward Suzuki Springs. Ordinary civilians controlled by Mireya also surged out like zombies, forming a tide of humanity, clearing the way for the Suzuki Group, rushing towards Suzuki Springs.
To clear the way, to take the bullets, to make those who thought they were capable realize their helplessness. A faint smile hung on Mireya’s face as she expertly drove the common people to their deaths.
Only one voice kept resonating and screaming deep in their minds—