The flames subsided. Behind Skyler Quinn coiled a dragon formed entirely of fire, its body a vast crimson blaze.
"Go."
His calm command reverberated like law itself. The battlefield was instantly engulfed in flames. The scarlet dragon wove through the inferno, devouring mutant beasts by the hundreds. Their screams echoed briefly—then were drowned in fire.
At that moment, Skyler was no longer a mere man. He was a god of flame.
"Next," his golden pupils, hidden beneath the armor, gleamed coldly, "we purge every mutant beast in the Imperial Capital."
…
Meanwhile, in Tianhai City—
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Sharp, piercing cries rang through the city's alleys. Out of nowhere, hordes of mutant rats swarmed forth, a black tide flooding the streets, spreading devastation as they poured through the city.
Wherever they passed, nothing remained but ruin.
The ground lay littered with bones.
Not only humans, but mutant beasts as well—mutant ants, livestock escaped from slaughterhouses, feral cats, stray dogs—all were reduced to heaps of gnawed remains, swallowed whole by the rat tide.
"Damn it!"
The arriving Bureau of Spiritual Energy officers were enraged at the sight. One of them thrust his hands down. The earth buckled, and jagged spears of stone erupted upward, skewering swathes of rodents. Yet compared to the overwhelming sea of mutant rats, it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
"Kill them!"
A bespectacled man with a scholarly air gave the order coldly, without turning back.
Behind him, flocks of mutant birds rose into the air, his summons awaiting only his word. With his command, they dove like arrows into the rodent tide, tearing into the masses.
These were only a fraction of the Bureau's members. Everywhere, ability users threw themselves into the fray, each employing their power in a desperate attempt to hold back the swarm.
Yes, almost everyone had awakened an ability when the world transformed—but most were far too weak to matter here. And many lacked courage, their minds overcome by panic, their instincts screaming only to flee, not to resist.
That was normal. Not everyone was born a warrior. Without training or tempering, how could ordinary people face a battle where life and death hung by a thread?
Yet, in every era, there were always a few. Just ordinary men and women, until crisis came—and then they picked up weapons, standing against the tide.
Watching the Bureau's ability users fight desperately, countless bystanders wavered, then clenched their fists, stepping forward. Even weak powers could still add their sparks to the fire.
But the truth was brutal. Even with their efforts, the battle's course barely shifted.
Cities were not wilderness. They could not unleash bombardments freely. Firearms themselves were restricted by the close quarters and sheer density of civilians.
If they could disregard casualties and unleash high-tech weaponry, then yes—this rat tide could be annihilated with ease.
But could they?
Could anyone really condemn millions of innocents just to kill a swarm?
No. Impossible.
Thus, they could only cling to the hope of the strongest. Ability users so powerful they could change the tide alone.
"Ice Seal!"
The voice was cold as steel.
At once, the temperature plummeted. Snowflakes drifted from the skies.
Terrifying waves of ice surged across the ground, racing outward. Within seconds, the black tide of mutant rats was frozen in place, transformed into grotesque ice sculptures.
From the heart of the battlefield stepped a figure. A young woman clad in naval garb, black cap shading her face, long hair of ice-blue cascading behind her. Her aura was frigid, commanding.
Chris Frost.
Her eyes swept the sea of corpses strewn across the streets. They grew colder still.
Had her second awakening not consumed so much time, she would never have allowed this slaughter to go so far.
But now, it was finished. She had emerged, bearing new power. The farce would end here.
"Extreme Ice—Phoenix!"
Shriek!
A crystalline phoenix cry split the heavens. From Chris's body, frost erupted like a tidal wave, rolling across Tianhai City. It bypassed humans with precision, but every beast caught in its reach froze solid in an instant.
In mere seconds, nearly half the city was locked beneath a prison of ice.
Even for Chris—reborn through her second awakening—such a feat left her pale.
But the heavens themselves rushed to fill her. Spiritual energy poured into her body like a river, replenishing what she had spent.
Before, even with her awakening, she could never have unleashed such cataclysm.
But now—
"Demon God Manifestation: Essence of the Demon."
She remembered.
During her awakening, a strange vial had appeared before her, containing a blood-like essence that radiated unbearable allure. Her powers had craved it. Hungered for it.
Instinct guided her hand. She had touched the container, and knowledge filled her mind. Its name: Demon God Manifestation: Essence of the Demon. A terrifying ice-bound Teigu, forged from the blood of a legendary super-dangerous species said to dwell in the far north.
But Chris knew—such creatures did not exist in this world.
More importantly, she recognized this weapon.
Firewing had once teased her about it. In one of Brandon White's anime creations, there was a character eerily similar to her—appearance, power, even temperament. He had joked that Brandon must have used her as a model. That woman was the Ice Queen—Esdeath.
And this Teigu, the Essence of the Demon, was hers.
Just as Skyler Quinn had guessed that the Flame Dragon Armor must have been created by Brandon, Chris understood. This weapon—too—was his gift to her.
She hadn't hesitated. She couldn't. The blood's call was irresistible. She had consumed it all.
Agony.
Agony beyond description.
Her body screamed as if being devoured by frost. Even her soul was gnawed upon, consciousness slipping, on the verge of eternal slumber.
Had her powers not transformed under the blood's baptism, she would have perished.
She knew it. Her will was weaker than Esdeath's.
Once, she had thought of Esdeath as nothing more than a fictional character.
But now? With the Essence of the Demon in her hands, how could she dismiss Esdeath as mere fiction?
If the Teigu could appear in this world, why not the Ice Queen herself?
She clenched her fists.
So what if she was weaker now? That didn't mean she would always be weaker.
Esdeath had her power. But Chris had more—things Esdeath never had.
If she couldn't surpass Esdeath even with that, then she might as well die.
Her gaze swept the frozen battlefield, her voice a blade of ice:
"In Tianhai City, not one mutant beast shall remain."
(End of Chapter)