As more people noticed the anomaly, the mystery quickly resolved itself.
The two glowing crescents in the pitch-black sky slowly took on spherical shapes, revealing their true nature.
"!!!"
Countless citizens stood aghast.
"That isn't the sun! Then what in the world is it?"
A moment of horror was born.
Within the infinite darkness, what brightened the sky wasn't the sun – but two orbs, slowly opening, like colossal eyes as radiant as twin suns gazing coldly down at the earth, devoid of any sign of compassion.
"What do you mean, 'two eyes' in the sky?!"
Rentarou Satomi felt his brain shudder, suspecting he might be hallucinating from sheer exhaustion.
"I see two giant eyes in the sky – do you see them too?"
"I see them!" came the cries of the chattering crowd, proving he was not hallucinating.
Some people fled home in terror; some thought it must be a god's advent and knelt in worship. In no time, those monstrous eyes replacing the sun's glow threw the entire world into chaos.
Strangely, these eyes hovered silently overhead, making no move. Even so, just by looking at them, one felt an indescribable, body-and-soul-shaking sense of pressure.
As time passed, their presence frayed people's nerves. Some, unable to bear it, fell into madness.
"This isn't right…" Rentarou Satomi thought darkly. Gritting his teeth, he abandoned his search for Kisara, thinking first to find his foster father, Kikunojou Tendou, to see if they could figure out the bizarre crisis. But as he lifted a foot to leave—
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The grand clock tower in the heart of the Tokyo Area struck midday. Rentarou paused mid-step, a strange sense prickling in him. He turned his head.
"!!!"
Then he witnessed a scene he would never forget for as long as he lived.
The chime of the bell seemed to awaken the owner of those giant eyes in the sky.
Boom!
The light magnified. It wasn't that the sun emerged – it was flames. Darkness overhead now framed the massive unknown eyes, ringed by flames brighter than the sun.
From the ground, it looked as though the sky had caught fire. Blazing fire spread across the heavens.
Soon, everyone beheld a shape illuminated by the flame – truly the being behind those eyes: a colossal red dragon, overshadowing the entire sky, so vast it dwarfed Earth, peering down from infinite space like a god.
The blazing flame enveloped its figure, shining like a second sun. From Earth, one beheld a fiery cloud scorching the atmosphere. People gaped in terror, not knowing what the dragon's arrival portended. Its colossal head radiated utter majesty and fear.
[Humans, your extinction has come!]
A booming voice like a divine proclamation echoed worldwide. In the next instant, the true apocalypse arrived.
The dragon's head opened its mighty jaws. Scarlet flames burst forth from its maw.
Spreading its enormous wings, it glided closer to Earth. Flames engulfed the planet's atmosphere in an instant.
Viewed from space, Earth shrank beneath the dragon's claws, turning into a tiny fiery sphere. Seen from the surface, the sky was consumed by fire.
"Aaahh!!!"
Humanity screamed in terror. At that moment, no one had any thoughts but "the end of the world!" Temperatures soared rapidly.
The oceans evaporated, leaving only dry seabeds. Mountains and landmasses were devoured by flame, burnt to cinders.
Humanity was annihilated, their wails echoing in vain as they tried desperately to flee, but there was no escape.
Meteors of fire rained down from above, cities turned into hot pots cooking people alive, humans no more than ants on a burning skillet.
"Aaahh!!!"
Rentarou Satomi felt his body dehydrating, half his mechanical form melting in the flames. Straining to look up, he wanted to challenge the monstrous dragon in the blazing heavens.
Why must humanity be destroyed?! But his mouth, now charred together, could no longer form words.
From his final vantage, he found no trace of pity in those colossal draconic eyes. Cities destroyed, civilization ended, the searing heat devoured all life. In that moment, humanity was wiped away.
The Red Dragon observed the planet swathed in flames as each human experienced a personal hell: to burn alive from living to well-done.
Then it closed its claws around the flaming orb of Earth. Barely one breath later, it opened them again.
Where once a planet had been, there was nothing – only tiny drifting shards left behind on purpose, floating through space.
…
In Akame's world (and that of several others), Rei Ao used the new "World Migration" function to relocate everyone there.
[Ding! Trade complete!]
[Ding! You have obtained the ability "Gastrea Gene: Rabbit"!!
[Ding! Detected your "Void Genome." Upgrading ability…]
[Ding! You have acquired "Gene Cipher"!!]
"Chat group, well done," Rei Ao murmured, quite satisfied. Indeed, he'd had no wish for his spoils after all that work to be simply a "debuff" of the Gastrea virus.
The system's upgrading was considerate. The new ability was intriguing. Now, in effect, he could manipulate genetic codes however he pleased.
He turned to Yukinoshita Yukino, who was among those left in mild shock.
"Yukino, you should head back. Your sister still needs your attention."
"…"
Yukino gazed blankly at him, and so did Seitenshi and the others.
~~~
800 Powerstone Bonus Chapter!