The World Is Mine For The Taking

Eris's POV

I don't know how I did it, but somehow, I escaped.

Now, the world around me had been swallowed by the night, the sky smothered in thick clouds, casting shadows that bled into every crack of the ruined city.

Soldiers in pitch-black military gear stalked the streets, their rifles clutched tightly, their eyes scanning every corner like wolves sniffing out prey.

Anyone who ran was shot.

No warnings. No mercy. Not even for women. Not even for children.

But for the women, things were far worse.

Before they got shot... they were subjected to horrors that were far more cruel and far more violating.

I couldn't do anything. I was just one person. And there were too many of the, too many of them armed, ready to kill at the drop of a hat.

I moved silently through the tight alleys, sticking close to shadows. The city—no, what used to be the Principality of Cohona—was unrecognizable now.

Cohona was dead.

In its place stood the Republic of Andras, a new name dripping in blood and tyranny. They said a general was the new leader now.

The entire country fell in a single fucking day.

Yes, the place had already been decaying—eaten from within by corruption. But what came next... what followed...

This was hell.

The streets were covered in corpses. Blood soaked the ground, pooling in the cracks. The stench of rot was thick enough to taste. I had to force myself to keep moving, swallowing the bile rising in my throat.

Gunfire cracked in the distance.

Eventually, I reached a remote village buried deep in the forest. Isolated and quiet. Far from the carnage, but not far enough to be safe. They could find us. Anytime.

I stood at the door of a small wooden eatery. A building Arianne and I had built with our own hands.

I knocked quickly. "It's me. Open the door."

The door creaked open, and Arianne appeared, her expression grave.

"How's the situation?"

"Not good," I said with a sharp breath. "The prince is dead. Him and all of his guards. And now they're rounding up the women and kids too."

"We have to save them."

Her voice cracked with desperation.

"I know," I said. "But we can't."

She looked at me, confused.

"The army they've deployed…" I shook my head. "It's massive. I'm talking close to a million units. There's no way—no fucking way—we can fight through that wall of death just to reach the captives."

And that's what made it worse.

Knowing they were still alive and still suffering.

And we couldn't do anything.

Not a damn thing.

Arianne lowered her gaze.

I turned my head and looked past her. A wave of people stood there—men, women, and children—faces pale, clothes torn, eyes wide with fear. These were the ones who had survived… the ones who somehow managed to escape and stumble their way here.

"I called Rose," I said. "Rescue's coming tomorrow."

Arianne's voice trembled. "Are we… really going to leave them here?"

I clenched my jaw. "We don't have a fucking choice. There's no way in hell we can get around that many soldiers. And whatever the fuck they're using out there, it's way beyond our understanding. This isn't a fight we can win head-on."

But even as the words left my mouth—

"Get down!" Arianne shouted.

Suddenly, a deafening burst of gunfire tore through the air. The sharp tat-tat-tat-tat of bullets rang out, punctuated by the shouts of frightened survivors as they dove for cover. A split second later, I hit the ground with Arianne beside me.

Sparks rained down as bullets chewed through the walls above our heads. I snapped my gaze behind me, and there it was. A floating machine, sleek and metallic, hovered ominously. Its guns were still hot, barrels rotating for another round.

"Fuck!" I hissed.

Without thinking, I ripped a dagger from my belt and flung it with everything I had. The blade cut through the air, striking the machine dead-center. It sparked violently, jerking in mid-air, then spiraled out of control. But just before crashing, it unleashed another wild volley of bullets, spraying indiscriminately as it lost altitude.

Then—BOOM!

It exploded against the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth beneath us, dust and smoke billowing up in its wake.

And then we heard it.

"They're here!"

Voices. Dozens of them. Drawing closer.

"Tsk…" I clicked my tongue in irritation. "Get to the back! Now!" I barked.

Arianne scrambled to her feet and dashed to the group of survivors, shouting at them to move. They began to flee toward the backdoor in a chaotic mess of hurried footsteps and panicked breathing. But then—

"We… we're surrounded, Eris…" Arianne's voice cracked.

I clicked my tongue again, louder this time. My blood was boiling.

This was getting beyond irritating.

What the hell is this bullshit…?

I stalked over to the ruined wreck of the machine, yanked my blade from the twisted metal, and exhaled slowly through my nose. My fingers curled tightly around the handle.

"Arianne," I said without looking back, "call Rose."

I shoved the phone into her hand. "Tell her we're boxed in. We need extraction—now."

"A-Alright…" she stammered, her hands trembling as she brought the phone to her ear.

I turned toward the treeline, toward the deep shadows between the trees where the enemy was closing in.

"I'm going to protect this place… for as long as I fucking can."

And with that, I faced the oncoming threat.

The first soldier burst through the undergrowth, rifle raised.

I didn't hesitate.

I charged straight at them, blade gleaming with lethal intent, and with one sweeping motion, I slashed through flesh and bone.

Blood splattered across my face, but I didn't stop.

More of them came rushing out of the forest.

And I rushed in to meet them.

I slashed through every last one of them, cutting down each bastard without an ounce of hesitation.

They'd murdered innocent people—men, women, and even children—slaughtered them like it was some kind of fucking game. Just for fun. Just for sport. So I didn't show them an ounce of mercy.

I made damn sure to kill them where it hurt the most.

So they'd feel it.

So they'd scream and writhe.

So they'd fucking suffer.

I didn't pause. Didn't think. I just kept swinging.

One after another, I cut them down.

My hands moved on their own, slicing, dicing—glazed with blood and burning with rage.

I didn't care.

I didn't stop.

By the time I noticed anything around me, I was drenched in blood—my clothes soaked, my face streaked, and my blade dripping.

Still, I didn't stop.

But eventually… my body couldn't keep up.

I wasn't fast enough. A bullet grazed me.

"Urgh…!"

And then—another one hit me, straight in the leg.

"Mmmghhh!?"

I tried to block it, threw up some magic, but it just melted like fucking butter against the bullets.

Still—I pushed forward.

I didn't back down.

I couldn't.

I couldn't stop.

"RAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I roared at the top of my lungs, as if screaming would force my body to keep going. As if I could convince myself that I could still fucking win this.

But before I realized it—there were too many of them.

Soldiers had surrounded me, closing in from every direction.

"Hehehe! Come on! Come on! You can do it! Punch some more! Show us what you got!"

To them, I wasn't a threat anymore.

I was just entertainment—something to laugh at while they kicked me through the mud.

But I still tried to rise.

I pushed my hands against the ground, legs shaking, arms trembling.

But my body felt so fucking heavy.

So damn heavy.

I threw a punch, but my balance gave out and I fell forward, my face hitting the dirt.

One of them yanked me up by the hair.

"Ughh... Ghh..."

"Is that all you've got? Tch. That's fucking boring," the man sneered, staring right into my face. "You killed a lot of my unit. Thought you'd at least put up a real fight."

His voice was full of disappointment.

"And damn… you're pretty," he grinned, licking his lips. "Haven't fucked anyone from this world yet. Why don't you be my first, huh?"

I spat straight into his fucking face.

The man didn't even flinch.

He just wiped the spit off with a smug look, then used that same hand to slap me across the cheek—hard.

"What a rude little garbage…" he muttered, then spat down at me. "Hey, you guys—hold down her le—"

THUD.

He didn't finish his sentence.

I heard something hit the ground—and when I looked down, I saw it.

His head.

Right there on the dirt, eyes blank, mouth still twisted in a half-smile.

My vision cleared for a moment—and I saw someone standing over his body.

Red hair.

Just like mine.

Blazing like fire.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister?!"

It was her.

My big sister, Ignis.