༺ The Red Devil Who Embraced Stars (5) ༻
Click- Chijijik-
A thin plate of metal that barely covered the girl’s vital areas expanded to cover her entire body. Tiny needles sprung from the armor, burrowing into her body.
Click- Whirrr-
[Current Physical Damage Rate 32.68%, 1st Recovery Complete, 16 Hours 43 Minutes 14 Seconds Until 2nd Recovery Completion]
[Remaining Power 13.2%]
[Rapid Self-Recovery System Temporarily Paused, Switching to Combat Mode]
Pfzzz-
The girl realized she could move her arms and legs without any issue.
“The barrier is dissipating!”
“Hang in there a little longer!”
“Gather more strength!”
Whirrr-
Eventually, a dark red full-body armor covered even the girl’s head.
The gem embedded in her solar plexus and her eyes began to emanate a red light.
[Switching to Body Enhancement Mode]
[Strength Enhancement – MAX]
[Agility Enhancement – MAX]
[Dynamic Visual Acuity Enhancement – MAX]
[Sensory Enhancement – MAX]
[Durability Enhancement – MAX]
…
Endless texts like the above were listed in the girl’s retinas.
However, the girl no longer stared at them. After all, she could feel the majestic power emanating from her body without having to see such information.
Clink-
Eventually, the force field shattered completely. Knights and mages wore proud expressions.
Conversely, the girl could feel a pitch-black star, darker and stickier than anything else, named vengeance, burning deep within her heart.
“We did it!!”
“You saw that, right? That bitch has something!! Capture her alive!”
“The durability of the barrier was extraordinary.”
“Researching this will be far more interesting than that mere ‘monster’! Haha.”
However, the dark red girl they were looking at disappeared in an instant.
“!!”
“!!”
“What the?”
Even the imperial knights, known for their superhuman dynamic vision, failed to detect her.
The girl approached the mage who had insolently called her mother a ‘mere monster’. Despite the astonishing speed, she adapted quickly with the support of the Enhancement Suit and her exceptional talent.
As a result, no one present could see her movement. Not even by the time she reached her target.
The girl stood next to the mage who had uttered such an insult, flexing her hands.
‘An immense power.’
The girl swung her arm ever so lightly.
BOOOOOOM!!
An immense blast of air pressure swept away the area that was in the direction of her swing. Following its trajectory, buildings crumbled as if hit by a fierce typhoon and left deep scars on the ground as if a giant dragon had clawed its way through.
“KEAUAAAAAAAAAAH!”
“There she is!”
“W-When did she?”
“This is insane! What was that?”
“My goodness.”
The girl looked at her arm with a dazed expression. All she had done was extend her hand sharply and swung at the mage’s neck.
“D-Devil!”
“It must be a Devil!!”
“W-What is going on?!”
“This can’t be happening….”
“This is insane! Utterly insane! Everyone take positions for now! She is no ordinary brat!”
“The Red Devil….”
Only astonishment and terror swirled in their eyes. Virdel’s expression turned complex upon hearing them shout ‘Red Devil’.
Sorrow? Pain? Despair?
The horrific memories she endured tore through her heart. However, she soon felt a surge of ecstasy from deep within.
The gaze that once saw her as a Devil, as a monster, was still the same, but the reaction was now the complete opposite. It was not one of contempt and anger, but fear and despair.
“Hahaha.”
She shook her head slightly. In her eyes, a firm decision emerged.
“I shall become the worst, the vilest, the most terrible Devil. Just as all of you wished.”
Virdel’s next target was the imperial knight called Clay. She instantly moved next to him, grabbing and lifting him by the neck.
“Keuk!”
His position as Vice-Commander, his high realm, his profound Aura…
Not a single one of them could stop the girl.
The girl, holding Clay’s neck, looked down. The Imperial Knight Commander who had made a deal with her was barely breathing, a sword stuck in his torso. But those breaths, too, were coming to an end.
“Do you have any last words?”
“Cough!”
The Knight Commander’s eyes already seemed as if incapable of vision, the colors in them fading. He mustered the last of his strength to open his mouth with great difficulty.
“I am… sorry.”
“….”
“Please, the Empire….”
The Commander could not finish his last words. The girl had no way of knowing what he wished to say.
No, perhaps she knew but just pretended not to.
The girl closed the Commander’s eyes. After all, though he was the one who had pushed her into the pits of hell, he had undoubtedly tried to protect her tribespeople.
The girl stood up, gripping Clay’s neck even tighter. That was when he spoke with a voice full of spite and hate.
“GUAAAAAAAH! You cra…zy bitch. Do you think… you can get away with this?”
Was it bravado? Or a desperate struggle? How could he say such a thing given his current circumstance/”
“Kehehe. Some of your tribespeople are still alive.”
The profound meaning behind Clay’s words seemed to make the girl’s heart drop with a thud.
“…Tribespeople?”
“Kekek. That’s right. Some are still alive, you see? But if you keep acting this way… you will not like what happens next. Kekekek.”
“….”
Hope flickered across Clay’s face. This brat had gone through hell and back to save her tribe. There was no way she could ignore the hostages.
“If you beg for forgiveness immediately, I will consider accepting it. Kekek. If you cooperate well, I will ensure the safety of the remaining tribespeople.”
“….”
“I will also treat you well. I shall make sure the Magic Tower cannot lay a hand on you.”
Clay was certain she couldn’t act against him as long as he had hostages. As evidence of that, the girl’s body was trembling.
“Kekekek. Think carefully and…? KEUAAAAAAAAH!”
Suddenly, Virdel grabbed Clay’s right arm and ripped it off. Blood spurted like a fountain as the agony made Clay’s eyes roll back, showing only its whites.
“KKEUAAAAAAAAH! AGHHHHHHH! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!!”
Clay writhed in pain from the sudden loss of his arm.
“Who do you think you’re fooling? Do I look like an idiot to you?”
Her eyes gleamed sharply towards him. There was not even a hint of hesitation in her gaze.
Maybe, just maybe, there might truly be someone who was still alive. And perhaps her actions now could indeed harm them.
But she no longer wanted to be swayed by such vague possibilities. She had sacrificed herself for them for over a decade. And she no longer wished to be bound by such a notion.
No, rather, if they dared to touch her tribespeople, she would instill in them one eternal truth; they would directly face her wrath.
Virdel pressed her finger against Clay’s left eye.
“I shall leave you one eye. It will be fun for you to watch how the Empire changes with that very eye.”
“KEUAAAAAAAH!”
Virdel grabbed the writhing Clay’s left ear.
“I shall so kindly leave you with one ear, so you may hear the screams of the Empire’s people.”
Crunch-
“KEUAAAAAAAH!”
Clay’s agonized scream caused the watching mages and knights’ pupils to shake with fear.
Her cruel actions made them quake like a leaf. However, they were still trained combatants. They soon gathered their courage, stepped forward, and brandished their weapons.
“We can’t just stand idly by and watch! Attack!”
“Mages, give it your all! Do not hold back just because we are in the capital!”
They hadn’t just been watching this entire time. The mages had already been chanting their spells.
Boooom-
Crash-
Screech-
As if they had just been waiting for the signal, a barrage of magic rained down on her position, causing a massive explosion. Buildings crumbled, shattering apart, and a vast crater was formed from the immense offensive.
Such an onslaught would be difficult for even a god to withstand!
Soon, knights dove through the dust. It was to wrap up this situation.
However…
“There is no corpse!”
“Could it be that she dodged it?!”
“Did she escape?”
“Search everywhere! She could not have gone far!”
“Do not let your guard down! That was no ordinary movement! Knights, concentrate Aura into your vision!”
Not far from where they stood…
After throwing the unconscious Clay aside, she bent her two legs into a ready stance.
“Hooo….”
‘For some reason, it feels like it’ll work.’
The posture and breathing taught to her by a kind martial artist in the community. Of course, even that martial artist couldn’t have possibly imagined she would be able to replicate it just from his explanations.
Virdel closed her eyes and gathered strength from the tips of her toes that were tightly gripping the ground. Then, she shouted out while twisting her fist.
Her fist, cutting through the atmosphere with its ideal rotational angle, caused the air to whirl around like a vortex, even before it was fully unleashed.
She extended her middle knuckle, feeling an immense power flowing through her entire body.
Heavenly Ruin Fist.
The air screamed and ripped apart. Following the path of her strike, a vacuum was created and a surge of overlapping air currents rushed forward.
BOOOOOOOM-
The knight who had injected her mother with an unidentifiable syringe, the Knight Order who had attacked her, and the mages from the Magic Tower were all swept away in one blow.
The raging torrent of power dug through the earth as if a giant snake was slithering past, before creating a huge crater, reminiscent of the Grand Canal1The Grand Canal is the longest canal or artificial river in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its main artery, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang or Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, is reckoned to extend for 1,776 km and is divided into 6 main sections..
Her fist demolished a portion of the northwest square, erasing everything in its path.
Truly a strike that was the very definition of bringing down the sky.
“….”
The girl was speechless at the outcome she had created.
It was just a vague thought that it might perhaps just be possible.
The girl felt a thrill. It was as if she had turned imagination into reality, thus making her feel a sense of omnipotence.
The ground beneath her feet formed cracks reminiscent of a spider web. The colossal power pulsed through the suit; even the mere aftershocks caused the ground to split and fierce wind pressure to rise.
It was unbelievable that a girl, who didn’t even possess a healthy body, could bring about such a miracle.
The girl could not hide her astonishment at this suit that made the impossible a reality. Who in the world was the Administrator that sent such a wondrous object? Could that being really be human? Didn’t it make more sense for him to be God?
The girl shuddered with excitement as she thought of the Administrator, whom she had not even met.
It might just be worth it… to become that Bluadge mentioned by the Administrator….
