The Apocalypse Approaches

The streets of Japan were engulfed in terror due to the rapidly breaking news. The daily life of people who had been peacefully resting in parks just a few hours ago had instantly plunged into chaos. Fighter jets were flying at high speeds toward the east coast in the sky, and tanks were moving in lines on the highways. Amidst a reality that felt like a war had broken out, the government's top officials and military leaders were holding an emergency meeting in the Ministry of Defense's underground bunker.

"In eight hours, Apocalyptor will reach the coast," the Chief of Staff of the Self-Defense Forces said in a heavy voice.

"Who doesn't know that? What is the countermeasure!" Prime Minister Kenji asked, his face contorted with rage.

The Chief of Staff closed his mouth. A B-rank monster is a disaster in itself. Therefore, when a B-rank monster appears, you either have to drop a nuke or abandon the region entirely. Fortunately, B-rank monsters usually consider the area where they first appear as their territory, so once they settle, they never move. However, that "never" could no longer be used. Apocalyptor had left Dokdo, its original territory, and was crossing over toward Japan.

Prime Minister Kenji took his eyes off the man who couldn't say anything and immediately cast his gaze toward Defense Minister Hiroshi.

"Hey. Hiroshi, what about deploying our hunters? Don't we have four A-rank hunters? Isn't there a possibility of killing it?"

Hiroshi shook his head. "Prime Minister. Apocalyptor is a B-rank monster."

Bam! Prime Minister Kenji slammed his fist onto the table.

"Do you think I'm sitting here because I don't know that?!"

"According to statistics, to kill a B-rank monster, an attack team containing at least 20 A-rank hunters must engage it. That's a minimum estimate. We cannot guarantee 100% success."

"Damn it! We don't have A-rank hunters right now."

There had been five A-rank hunters in Japan. But with one recently deceased, there were only four left.

"Or should we just wait for our necks to be cut? If we leave it like this, that crazy thing will ruin our country!?"

Everyone kept their mouths shut. There was no solution.

"What about the US side?"

The US and Japan are in an alliance. Therefore, they have the authority to conduct operations at any time if an emergency occurs within Japan. They also have an obligation to protect Japan.

The Foreign Minister shook his head. "The US side says there is no answer either. They replied that even if they dispatched A-rank hunters from the US, Apocalyptor would have already landed in Japan by then."

Prime Minister Kenji's face twisted. "Those crazy Yankee bastards!"

They take so much defense spending, and their answer is that there's no solution? What kind of nonsense is this? Prime Minister Kenji spoke urgently, as if clutching at a last hope.

"Then what about that Cheon Yooshin of South Korea? Wouldn't there be some possibility with him?"

"The Korean side also refused to help."

Bam!

"Those Joseon-jing bastards, after receiving our help, now they're pretending not to know?"

No matter how much he racked his brain, there was no answer. As he thought and thought for a long time, a sense of determination finally began to appear on Prime Minister Kenji's face.

'This is the only answer. Even if I get cursed at by the international community, if we can't stop Apocalyptor at sea, greater damage will follow.'

His gaze turned to where the Chief of Staff was.

White House Emergency Situation Room. President Kilmer of the United States turned pale at the notification that had just arrived from Japan.

"What does this mean? They're going to drop a nuclear bomb in their own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waters? Are they out of their minds!?"

National Security Advisor James shook his head and said, "They say it's to stop Apocalyptor. They claim that if they don't drop a nuclear bomb, Japan will be devastated."

Kilmer picked up the receiver of the hotline directly connected to the Japanese Prime Minister. Soon after, the other party's voice was heard over the receiver.

-I am sorry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be calling about such a matter, Sir.

"What on earth is this? You're going to fire a nuclear bomb at sea; did you use the wrong English?"

-No. We are going to fire a nuclear bomb at sea.

Kilmer's voice turned cold. "Stop what you are planning right now. This is not just a Japanese problem. The whole world could be in danger."

-Before the whole world is in danger, Japan will perish, won't it? Shouldn't you have responded actively when we requested support?

"Sigh... Prime Minister. The use of nuclear weapons is a clear violation of several international treaties. It is a direct contradiction to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The environmental impact will also be serious. Japan's marine ecosystem will be destroyed, and radioactive contamination after the nuclear drop will also be severe. It will have serious effects even on neighboring countries. Are you still going to proceed?"

There was silence on the other side of the receiver for a moment. Kilmer, thinking this was his chance, continued in a soothing voice.

"I will contact our allies to prepare a joint response to Apocalyptor. So please wait a little..."

-I am sorry, Sir. If we delay any longer, we will eventually face the monster on our mainland. As the Prime Minister who must protect Japan, I can no longer stand by and watch Apocalyptor approach our mainland.

Kilmer was gripping the receiver tightly, but all he heard was the sound of a disconnected line.

South Korea was also in an uproar over Japan's crisis. The most explosive place was, of course, online.

The community was filled with voices wishing for Japan's destruction. There were some rational voices, but those comments were instantly buried. Meanwhile, an emergency meeting was also taking place at the Blue House. Tension was evident on the faces of the President and his cabinet members.

"What is the current situation?" President Cha asked.

The National Security Advisor stood up. "It is expected to reach the Japanese mainland in 6 hours. The Japanese government is doing its best to prepare, but honestly, the outlook is not very good."

Wealthy and powerful Japanese people were already leaving Japan quickly by plane. All of this was the ripple effect of one monster, Apocalyptor.

"I hate to say this in the current situation, but is there no possibility of it coming back to us?"

It's a shame for Japan. But President Cha was inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. That Apocalyptor, which had been on Dokdo, was not heading toward Korea.

"As of now, that possibility is very low. Looking at the current movement path, it seems it will pass through the Japanese archipelago."

There was a moment of silence. The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke cautiously. "I heard that the Japanese side requested our help."

The President nodded. "Yes. They requested the dispatch of Hunter Cheon Yooshin. And we refused it."

Someone asked cautiously, "Was it the right decision?"

President Cha let out a deep sigh. "Humanely speaking, it wouldn't be the right choice. Because we ignored the request of someone in a corner anyway. But we had no other choice. Hunter Cheon Yooshin is our last bastion in the Republic of Korea. If Yooshin-gun is defeated by Apocalyptor..."

President Cha didn't finish his sentence, but no one sitting here could fail to understand the meaning.

"But if Japan collapses, it could be our turn next. Mr. President."

President Cha stood up. "For now, let's watch the situation a little more. At the same time, to prepare for the worst-case scenario, let's raise our defense posture to the highest level..."

Before President Cha could finish his sentence, the door burst open and the Chief of Staff entered.

"Mr. President! We have a big problem!"

"What is it?"

What bigger problem could there be? But President Cha couldn't help but curse at the Chief of Staff's following words.

"Japan has launched a nuclear weapon toward Apocalyptor's path! As a result, information has come in that Apocalyptor's path has changed from Japan to our country!"

Bam!

"Those Jjokbari bastards!"

Press conference room at the Japanese Prime Minister's residence. Dozens of reporters looked at Prime Minister Kenji, who stood on the podium with a tense expression.

"Citizens." Prime Minister Kenji's voice trembled for a moment. "Today, as Prime Minister, I had to make an extreme choice in the unprecedented worst-case situation where the B-rank monster, Apocalyptor, is coming to our country."

It became so quiet that even the breathing of the reporters could be heard.

"A nuclear bomb was dropped in our waters just a moment ago."

The room became noisy instantly at the mention of a nuclear bomb. Especially as a country that experienced the Hiroshima atomic bombing, Japan still had trauma regarding nuclear bombs.

"A, a nuclear bomb? Who fired a nuclear bomb?"

"Is it true? What are our countermeasures?"

Reporters raised their voices toward Prime Minister Kenji from here and there. Prime Minister Kenji looked at them for a moment before opening his mouth.

"The place that fired the nuclear bomb is, unfortunately, our country, Japan."

"What does that mean? Are you saying we fired a nuclear bomb at our own country?"

Prime Minister Kenji swallowed hard. This is where it really begins. Anyway, a nuclear bomb fell on Japanese waters according to his orders. If he slips up here, it wouldn't be strange if he were impeached. Prime Minister Kenji began to speak the lines he had practiced several times before entering the press conference room.

"This was entirely my judgment. It was an inevitable choice to protect our country and our people from Apocalyptor, which was rushing to destroy our country."

Prime Minister Kenji caught his breath for a moment. "Of course, the contamination of our waters and radioactive damage caused by the nuclear bomb cannot be avoided. But we plan to cooperate with the US to introduce the latest radiation removal technology to purify the contaminated waters as soon as possible."

Prime Minister ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kenji looked for a moment at the reporters who were so shocked that they even forgot to ask questions with their mouths ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠open.

"And... unfortunately, we couldn't kill Apocalyptor even with our nuclear bomb."

As soon as the Prime Minister's words fell, the conference room froze. They fired a nuke, but couldn't kill it? Even so, isn't a monster also a living creature made of flesh and blood? They fired humanity's worst weapon at such a thing, but it's still alive? Then, on earth, how are they supposed to kill it?

Someone asked in a trembling voice, "Then where is Apocalyptor's location now?"

"Unfortunately, due to the nuclear bomb we fired, Apocalyptor's movement path has changed and it is heading to Korea."

As soon as the Prime Minister's words ended, the reporters' mouths dropped open.

"Ah..."

Prime Minister Kenji, who came out to the side of the podium, opened his mouth with a heavy expression. "I clearly state that this was not our intention. However, we promise to contact the Korean government and provide all possible support."

Prime Minister Kenji bowed deeply. For a moment, the press conference room was engulfed in silence. How many seconds had passed? Clap clap clap clap! The sound of the reporters' applause began to cover the press conference room. A quiet smile was hanging on the lips of Kenji, who was still bowing.