The World Is Mine For The Taking

Chapter 282 : 43 - Fourth Campaign (3)

The woman introduced herself as Satania. I knew her from the reports—one of the Princesses of Hell who had laid waste to this world a century ago. She was said to be the most formidable of all the Princesses, with magical power and strength that surpassed any normal human's capacity.

The sheer ease with which she obliterated the carrier with what looked like a simple spell was a testament to her might. Even the usually brash captain was visibly shaken, her bravado melting away as she trembled in fear.

Satania descended to the ground, her smirk radiating a chilling confidence. To my surprise, she was smaller than I had expected. Her fangs gleamed wickedly, and her tail, moving with a sinuous grace, flicked back and forth.

"So these are the warriors who've been slaying our soldiers, hmm?" she purred, her voice laced with contempt. "None of you seem formidable at all. Yet, considering our soldiers have not yet reached their zenith of power, this is to be expected. None of them have achieved the strength of my Bruno here, which is quite evident.

I must concede, I am somewhat impressed that the remaining of your insignificant kind still dares to defy us. But then again, it is only natural. Insects, after all, do not relinquish their fight so easily, do they?"

The power she radiated was leagues beyond the monstrous pressure of the tentacled beast. It was a crushing, ten-fold force, and far more terrifying. We could almost taste the suffocating demonic essence that coiled through the air, wrapping around us with an oppressive grip.

"The Hell is struggling to prepare for war against the humans in my world," she said. "They cannot do aught but send me here to discern why the lands we have conquered are being reclaimed and why our soldiers are being slaughtered. I loathe that I am the one chosen for this task, but it seems I am the only one deemed fit for this duty." She sighed, as if debating her fate.

"It appears it is time for you all to meet your end here, so I may return to Hell."

With a languid motion, she raised her hand and pointed a finger at us. A sinister light gathered at its tip, a dark, crackling energy that pulsed ominously. I acted swiftly, my gun blazing with a fierce resolve, but a shimmering, almost ethereal barrier deflected the bullets effortlessly, like they were nothing more than insignificant pests.

"That pathetic weapon of yours is utterly useless against me," she taunted, her voice dripping with disdain. "Humans from my realm ventured into this world, bringing their knowledge with them, and began crafting weapons such as these. They sought to use such contraptions to vanquish us. But, alas, their efforts were in vain. These weapons are mere trinkets, powerless against beings of our caliber."

With a swift, almost casual flick, she unleashed a searing, white light.

"Tank!"

"R-Roger!"

The captain's voice cut through the chaos as the woman with us sprang into action. She positioned herself in front of us, her metallic shield expanding outward with a dramatic shimmer. She drove the end of the shield firmly into the ground, bracing against the overwhelming force.

The white light collided with the shield in a blinding explosion, its radiant energy flaring fiercely but failing to breach the defense. We were shielded from the intense light, but the woman bore the full force of the attack. In a heartbeat, she vanished, leaving behind only half of her shield and her feet, smoldering on the ground.

Smoke hissed from the stumps where her feet had been, the air thick with the acrid stench of seared flesh and the eerie glow of her disappearance.

"Wow, I'm truly astonished she managed to block that," Satania said, her voice laced with a dark, amused sympathy. "I would have relished the chance to have her among our ranks, but alas, such is the cruel dance of fate."

"It's impossible..." the captain whispered, her voice choked with despair. "We can't defeat her."

Her face turned a ghostly white, and her knees buckled beneath her, collapsing as though she were facing the finality of her fate. For me, however, there was no flutter of fear or shiver of anxiety. My heart remained as unmoved as a frozen lake, untouched by the sight of our fallen comrades. The deaths of the two others failed to stir any emotional response within me.

They were not comrades but mere colleagues, mere bodies I had worked alongside in battle. Their demise was met with a cold indifference, even though I had shared meals and moments with them. I couldn't grasp why, but throughout my life, it felt as if I were missing something vital—something that should have ignited a deeper emotional connection.

There was one thing I could feel, though—a burning, primal urge to kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Kill. Kill.

It consumed my thoughts entirely. I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching into a fierce grin.

"Oh? It appears someone's true nature is emerging," Satania said with a sly, amused smile. "Well then, why don't you unleash yourself and give it a try?"

I charged at her, yanking the battle knife from its sheath strapped to my leg, and aimed to slice through her throat. But as my blade cut through empty air, she vanished. In an instant, she reappeared behind me.

"You're too slow," she murmured with a sly, cruel grin, her voice dripping with malice. "But you're not entirely worthless."

I swung the knife behind me, but it was in vain. She was too fast. The relentless command to "Kill" echoed in my mind, pushing me further. My movements grew quicker and more forceful, my blade slicing through the air with increasing intensity. My muscles burned and strained under the pressure, every fiber of my being alight with the drive to destroy.

"Fufufu… You truly are skilled," she purred with a sly, mocking smile, her eyes glittering with dark amusement. "But even with all your effort, it remains utterly futile."

In a single, fluid motion, she sent my blade sailing away, the weapon clattering and skidding across the ground. The metallic clang echoed in the charged air, but I wasn't deterred. I spotted a sliver of vulnerability in her stance. Driven by the relentless urge to kill, I launched a sweeping kick aimed directly at her head.

She looked stunned for a brief moment, her hand flying to her cheek. Her eyes narrowed with fierce anger. "You…!" she seethed. "How dare you desecrate my beautiful face with your filthy kick?!"

In an explosive reaction, a colossal gust of wind blasted me backward, nearly toppling me. The air around her crackled with a surge of demonic essence, dark and swirling like a storm summoned from the depths of Hell itself. The power emanating from her was palpable, a suffocating force that seemed to bend reality. Clearly, my actions had ignited her wrath.

I stood my ground, undeterred and ready for the next clash.

I lunged toward her again. As I closed in, Satania's fingers began to glow ominously with the same dark magic she'd used before. Just as she was about to unleash another devastating blast, she suddenly froze

"What?! Why now?!"

I abruptly stopped, my senses screaming that something was horribly wrong. The world twisted around me; gravity seemed to invert, and I felt an unnerving sensation of weightlessness. For a brief, disorienting moment, I floated helplessly, as if the very laws of nature had been upended. Then, a violent gust of air blasted up from the ground, whipping around me like a storm.

"Fine!" she snarled, her voice dripping with fury. Her eyes blazed with a menacing fire as she fixed me with a glare that could pierce through steel. "Mark my words, I will hunt you down and tear you apart myself! You will live to regret daring to touch my beautiful face!"

Suddenly, a blinding light burst forth, engulfing her in a searing brilliance. It wasn't just her— the blinding radiance swallowed me up, too, along with the captain. The light was overwhelming, filling the space with a dazzling brilliance that obscured everything else.

I felt like a tiny blip, like a bug racing through an endless expanse at breakneck speed. But instead of a familiar field, I was hurtling through a cosmic void, where the only sights were shimmering stars and distant planets. My vision swirled uncontrollably, each shift more disorienting than the last.

Then, out of nowhere, a swirling purple portal materialized before me. Without hesitation, I hurtled toward it, and the next thing I knew, I was plummeting from the sky. The ground rushed up to meet me with a bone-jarring impact.