"AAAHHHHHHHH—!"
Around the area covered by the Military Police's domain, large numbers of Quincies let out agonized screams.
These ordinary Sacred Soldiers looked as if someone were skinning them alive and ripping out their tendons. They collapsed to their knees, thrashing and shrieking in madness.
It was an extremely bizarre, horrifying sight—like a scene straight out of hell.
The Quincies inside the Military Police domain watched with their hair standing on end, but no matter how they looked, they couldn't find the cause.
"Is it an enemy? Or something else?"
"So scary…"
"Hurry and notify Liltotto Lamperd-sama…"
"Should we try to save them first?"
One Sacred Soldier couldn't hold back. Blue spirit bow in hand, he cautiously approached the Quincies who were screaming in agony.
"Hang on! I'll save you right now…"
But after only a few steps, his expression changed and he let out a heart-rending howl.
The scream shot straight into the sky.
He too fell to the ground as if skinned and tendon-stripped, rolling wildly—so desperate to ease the pain that he even harmed himself.
Seeing that, the other Sacred Soldiers inside the Military Police domain felt their scalps explode. None of them dared go over to rescue their companions.
Just as everyone was panicking in terror at this sudden nightmare—
The screams gradually weakened.
It was as if all the strength in their bodies had been drained in a short instant. They lay limp on the ground, utterly powerless.
Only their despairing eyes remained, staring up at the sky.
Not long after, the Sacred Soldiers who had been screaming from the start—and the one who tried to rescue them—stopped breathing.
When the expressionless girl, Liltotto Lamperd, arrived, what she saw was a hellscape.
Dozens of Quincy Sacred Soldier corpses lay strewn everywhere, and without exception their faces were twisted in agony.
And the strangest part was—
They had no external wounds at all.
It was as if they'd suffered a mental torment worthy of hell, until they died from pain alone.
The Sacred Soldiers who'd been here all along were pale as paper, huddling behind Liltotto and reporting in fear.
"Lamperd-sama, we don't know what happened. Those Sacred Soldiers suddenly started screaming and wailing, and then died in an extremely short time."
"And one of ours tried to go save them, but after just a few steps he also started wailing for no reason… and died."
"Is it an enemy? Or some kind of disease? It was too terrifying… We don't know what they went through, they just died like that… We're really worried—"
Hearing their frightened words, Liltotto stared at the corpses on the ground, a heavy look appearing in her eyes.
"It's Auswählen…"
She could sense it—these dead Sacred Soldiers had lost all their power and vitality.
Like dried corpses that had been hollowed out—reishi, organs, blood, bones—everything gone, leaving only skin.
Squeezed clean.
She'd seen many abilities that devoured life.
But something that could "eat" a Quincy this thoroughly—she could only think of Yhwach's Auswählen.
With that thought, fear rose in her eyes. Then she suddenly remembered something and looked sharply at the Sacred Soldier beside her.
"You said one Sacred Soldier walked forward a few steps… and then his life was taken too?"
The Sacred Soldier jumped, nodding quickly, then pointed at a corpse nearby.
"He's right there. It's not that I didn't want to save him— I just didn't dare go over. I was afraid I'd end up the same…"
Liltotto didn't care about his excuse. She just turned back, gaze heavy as she stared at that body.
That's right.
Drained that clean.
That was Auswählen.
But why would it be like this?
Liltotto frowned, her expression grim as she examined the scene.
There weren't that many Sacred Soldiers dead nearby—almost like this Auswählen had only been activated within a range of a few meters.
But in the past, Yhwach's Auswählen had never been so narrow.
Like the last Auswählen—its range had covered the entire Human World, killing tens of thousands of mixed-blood Quincies.
This time, only a few dozen died.
An Auswählen at this level—forget restoring His Majesty's strength. It probably couldn't even pay back the cost of using Auswählen in the first place.
Before Liltotto could think further, more reports arrived.
This wasn't the only place.
All around the territory controlled by the Military Police, similar Auswählen incidents were occurring.
A guess began to form in Liltotto's mind, but she didn't dare confirm it—because it was too shocking.
So she called the other girls—excluding Bambietta—and also brought Bazz-B and Cang Du.
Together, they rushed to the incident sites.
After traveling from place to place, they saw countless Quincy Sacred Soldiers whose bodies had been "eaten dry," and their expressions grew heavier and heavier.
Yet beneath that heaviness…
There was also a faint excitement.
Their skin crawled, as if they'd been injected with adrenaline.
"Don't tell me… no way…" Bazz-B spoke, both terrified and thrilled.
Liltotto swallowed, her voice dry.
"There's no mistake. This Auswählen His Majesty activated… was entirely centered around the territory held by the Military Police…"
"No," Bazz-B inhaled deeply, teeth clenched. "It's not centered around the Military Police. It's aimed at the Military Police. The entire Military Police is under His Majesty's Auswählen."
The moment he said that—
Silence fell.
After a long while, Meninas McAllon finally spoke.
"But we… don't feel anything at all."
The others were shaken, yet didn't know what to say.
That's right.
They felt nothing.
If they were purebloods—and Sternritter—maybe they could barely resist Auswählen… but that didn't make sense either.
Because ordinary Sacred Soldiers inside the Military Police territory were also fine.
As long as you were on the Military Police's turf—forget being drained dry by Auswählen. You wouldn't even feel the slightest thing.
They looked at each other unconsciously, and then, as if by agreement, turned their gaze toward the Military Police headquarters.
Calling it a headquarters was almost wrong.
It looked more like a pure white palace.
They all believed their strength had improved, but not to the point where they could resist His Majesty suddenly activating Auswählen.
And those Sacred Soldiers were weaker than them—there was no way they could resist Auswählen either.
Under Auswählen, the only variable—
Was the Military Police Commander: Cole.
Did he do something!?
With excited hearts, they hurried into the white palace.
There, they saw a black-haired boy sitting on the throne, propping his head up, wearing a careless smile.
And he didn't seem surprised by their arrival at all.
At the same time, they also saw Bambietta sitting in his lap, obedient like a pet puppy.
But none of them dared keep looking.
Ever since the last time Cole displayed that god-devil level strength, their reverence for him had only deepened.
Just seeing his figure made pressure crash down on them.
It felt like standing before Yhwach.
"Commander-sama…" Liltotto took a deep breath, half-kneeling as she lowered her head respectfully.
"Just now, several vicious incidents occurred around the Military Police. Nearly four hundred Quincies died. I suspect His Majesty activated Auswählen…"
"Mhm. No need to suspect," Cole replied calmly, confirming the answer in their hearts—and making them feel even colder.
"It was Auswählen."
Then how was it being stopped?
Under their nervous, hopeful gazes, Cole smiled faintly, tapping the throne with his index finger.
"You don't need to worry too much about Auswählen. As long as you're my subordinates, even Yhwach's Auswählen won't do a thing."
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Bazz-B exploded with joy, shouting, "Did you hear that!? Commander-sama can resist His Majesty's Auswählen! I told you Commander-sama is the strongest!"
The others were also overjoyed.
Before, they'd thought Cole might be able to resist Yhwach's Auswählen—but it was only speculation.
Now it was happening for real.
Under whatever ability Cole had, Yhwach's Auswählen became completely ineffective—unable to steal even a single Sacred Soldier's life within the Military Police territory.
Their hearts burned hotter—fanatical, ecstatic—and at the same time, even more awed by this young-looking black-haired boy.
If he could resist Yhwach's Auswählen, plus that terrifying power…
Then the current Commander might be able to wrestle with an awakened Yhwach.
Maybe when Yhwach awakened, the "King of the Quincy" seat would change hands.
Maybe Commander-sama would murder the king and seize the throne.
Seeing them like this, Cole stroked Bambietta's hair lightly and smiled.
"Judging by how excited you are… it seems you aren't as loyal to Yhwach as I thought."
Their faces immediately turned awkward.
After all, for now, they were still technically Yhwach's subjects.
But Cang Du reacted quickly, speaking in a deep voice.
"Compared to His Majesty, the one I'm loyal to is you, Commander-sama. Even if His Majesty awakens, my decision won't change."
Bazz-B cursed Cang Du as "sly" in his heart, then hurriedly declared his own loyalty as well.
The other girls did the same.
Because the only reason they'd ever been loyal to Yhwach was Auswählen.
Otherwise, who would willingly submit to a murderous madman?
And now, the abilities and power Cole had displayed could already stand against Yhwach.
So why wouldn't they choose a kinder ruler?
What's more, maybe they could even learn how to resist Auswählen here.
If they could do that, then they'd truly be free.
The moment the word "free" crossed their minds, their hearts grew even more restless.
From the instant they'd accepted Quincy power, it was like they'd been cut off from that word.
They'd never felt what freedom was like.
But now…
They finally had hope.
Hope of freedom.
Hope of deciding their own lives—and the security of their own survival.
Seeing that, the corners of Cole's mouth lifted slightly. He looked again toward the Ice Palace.
"Yhwach… will you keep going!?"
Even though he hadn't seen Yhwach yet, he was certain Yhwach still hadn't reached the point of awakening.
If he wanted to force awakening, he'd have to devour massive amounts of Quincy power and life.
But now, ninety percent of the Invisible Empire's bottom-tier soldiers had already become Cole's subordinates, living within the Military Police domain.
Under these conditions, if Yhwach wanted to force awakening, he'd have to swallow the Quincies who remained—
And not only ordinary Sacred Soldiers.
Even the Sternritter would be included.
At the same time, the Sternritter who had their living space severely compressed, forced to remain near the Ice Palace, also realized this.
Beyond shock and fear—
They also felt excitement and anticipation.
Someone really could resist Yhwach now.
So… what would they choose?
Inside the Ice Palace, As Nödt stared fearfully at Yhwach, sleeping on the throne.
Then he bit down hard and looked at Jugram Haschwalth.
"Haschwalth… we, we…"
"Are we… going to die?"
(End of Chapter)
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