Yamashiro Ren POV
Current location: Somewhere on a Peninsula in Southeast Asia.
From high in the sky, looking down at the island, the so-called Liberation Army appeared far too well equipped to be nothing more than a terrorist group.
The president of the United States and our own prime minister had already suspected this, but seeing it firsthand made that suspicion close to being real.
"So there really might be a nation ghost funding all this," I murmured while gazing downward, watching multiple women standing on guard around their base. "The sheer audacity of these people."
Mato has always been the gold standard of conflict. Whether the problem comes from the Shuukis or from humanity itself.
Our nation already supplies peaches to other countries, yet some ungrateful pricks still want more. A mindset that only made me genuinely want to laugh at their face.
Politicians and higher-ups desire to squeeze Mato for everything it has is old news by now, but secretly funding a group like this? That crosses into pure shamelessness.
"Well then… why don't I knock on their front door?" I muttered. "It would be rude of me not to announce my arrival."
If they were going to meet their creators today anyway, I figured I might as well play with them a little first. Blasting and nuking the island from afar with an energy blast felt boring.
It needed to be more entertaining.
At least, for me.
Like a bullet, I plunged downward through the sky at blinding speed.
It had been a while since I last fought a human. When was it again? Ah, right… Detroit. And before that, the raid on that massive trafficking ring in Chiang Mai, Thailand, run by that French woman and her Dutch accomplice.
Then again, fight was hardly the right word. Beating them down felt more accurate. They never stood a real chance against me.
As long as someone relied on Peach Blessings, they were nothing more than useless, irrelevant worms beneath my feet.
Without any regard for the damage I had caused, I landed directly in front of a massive steel gate, the impact echoing across the area and immediately alerting the people at the guard post.
Well… I was in a fairly good mood today, so I figured I might as well offer at least two of them mercy.
"Who are you?!" one of the terrorists shouted in flawless English, aiming her gun straight at me. "Answer, or else!"
Beside her stood a woman with long purple hair. The moment her eyes met mine, her confident expression cracked, and beads of cold sweat began to form on her face.
"Dahlia—that's the Demon King!" she cried out in panic.
The woman named Dahlia's eyes widened in shock, her composure slipping away. "That's… the Supreme Commander?!"
…
That actually made me pause.
"Hm? Demon King?" I tilted my head slightly, resting a hand on my chin. "What an interesting nickname. I am quite a beautiful woman, you know—"
Before I could finish my sentence, gunfire erupted.
Bullets streaked toward me in a relentless barrage.
"…Tch," I clicked my tongue.
That did it. My mood shifted instantly.
So much for giving you mercy. You brought this upon yourselves so don't blame me.
In my perception, the bullets slowed to a crawl. I raised my hand casually, swatting them aside one by one. Shells clattered to the ground like discarded toys. The final bullet reached me, and I caught it effortlessly between my index finger and thumb.
"Say hello to the devil for me, will you?" I smiled coldly, crushing the bullet into dust. "If you're going to call me the Demon King, then I'll give you a punishment worthy of that title."
The fear in their faces deepened.
Perfect. I relished that look.
Vairocana
Activating my power, eight radiant rectangular lights manifested around me, orbiting in a swift rotation. I selected the Mandala, and two characters with different script appeared in my eyes.
With the lowest output of my ability, I casually kicked forward, unleashing a concentrated energy blast at both of them. The force struck them point-blank, tearing through their bodies in a violent eruption of blood.
"…Already dead? And I barely used any power," I muttered in mild disappointment.
Behind the gate, piercing sirens suddenly blared to life.
Seems like that was meant for me.
I stepped closer and placed my palm against the reinforced steel. It was far sturdier than ordinary metal.
Clearly, they had invested heavily in this fortress.
Taking a stance, I drew my right fist back, planting my foot firmly behind me.
Without hesitation, I swung and punched it.
The reinforced gate tore free from its hinges and flew like a colossal projectile, slamming into the crowd behind it. Several people were crushed beneath the massive steel slab, some killed instantly, others left writhing in agony.
As I stepped inside without a single trace of concern, a storm of abilities surged toward me from every direction.
How adorable, they really look like terrified dogs backed into a corner right now.
Switching my Mandala, the incoming attacks either dissolved into nothing or shattered uselessly upon contact with my body. Not a single one harmed me.
The attackers froze, eyes wide with disbelief.
"…What manner of being are you…?" one of them murmured in trembling confusion.
They had been told that the Supreme Commander could fly, possessed superhuman strength, and could fire energy blasts. But no one had warned them that I could render their powers completely meaningless.
My gaze fell upon a wounded woman crawling across the floor. I approached her slowly, then seized her by the hair. She cried out in pain, struggling as I lifted her head.
With a casual flick of my foot, I kicked an energy blast toward the fighters who tried to intervene, tearing their body apart like broken dolls.
"I'm just a passerby from Mato," I said to her face with an innocent smile. "Make sure you remember that in your next life."
Then I grabbed her by the face and hurled her into the air like a football.
I continued walking forward without looking back. Her body slammed into the ground behind me — silent, lifeless.
Reactivating my Mandala, I rose into the air, hovering effortlessly above the battlefield. I began to fly between buildings, unleashing destruction wherever I passed.
Structures crumbled. Flames erupted. Corpses piled higher and higher.
I saw some of them trying to flee, but it was pointless. No one was escaping this place while I was still amused.
My eyes locked onto an obvious command center — a heavily fortified building at the heart of the compound. I shot toward it like a streak of light.
Inside, an elderly chinese woman stood before me, glaring with pure contempt.
So… this must be their leader. Perfect.
"You may have destroyed us here, but you will never—"
I tuned her out immediately. Endless empty threats and meaningless words — how tedious.
"You are just a frog in the well!"
She raised her hands, attempting to unleash her magnetic ability.
"You are a mere mortal playing god! You are courting death!!!" the old woman snapped, pouting in fury as she launched multiple conjured swords straight at me.
Of course, it was pointless.
I nullified her power without effort. The swords lost their momentum instantly, clattering to the ground like discarded toys.
"…"
The old woman fell silent, her earlier bravado gone.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don't care what you want," I said flatly before delivering a sharp kick that sent her crashing into a wall. She groaned in pain, slumping against the rubble.
I grabbed her by the head and looked at her right in the face.
"You terrorists have no right to speak to me — especially after plotting to trespass on and loot Mato."
In the blink of an eye, I teleported her far away from here.
Consider yourself lucky. I've sent you to prison for interrogation instead of killing you on the spot. Suicide won't save you either; we already have ways to deal with that.
Just enjoy the lovely 'treatment' and torture awaiting you while we extract every detail about the nation backing you.
Honestly, I would have loved to torture you myself… but you're old, and people your age don't interest me in that way.
"Now to clean up the remaining bugs," I muttered, casting my gaze toward the gaping breach in the building. "Playtime is over."
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Unknown POV
I ran.
My legs burned as I sprinted for my life, fleeing the nightmare that had swallowed our base whole.
"Damn it…" I cursed under my breath, hating my own weakness. "How were we ever supposed to fight back against that abomination?"
We knew the Supreme Commander of the Defense Force was powerful, everyone did. But no one had told us her strength bordered on the ridiculous and on the impossible.
I had already lost so many of my comrades. I hadn't seen the carnage firsthand, but I didn't need to.
I could practically feel the death hanging in the air behind me. Bodies everywhere, crushed, burned, torn apart.
I felt a pang of guilt… but I shoved it down hard.
Right now, my survival came first.
Maybe joining this group really was a terrible mistake after all.
They say regret comes at the end, not the beginning.
Now I understood exactly what that meant the hard way.
Then, in the distance —
"Found it!" I shouted, a surge of hope flooding my chest as I bolted toward the shoreline.
A speedboat.
My escape.
My heart began pounding harder, not with fear this time, but with desperation and anticipation.
If I could just reach it… if I could just start the engine…
Maybe I still had a chance to escape.
Even if it was a slim one.
I leapt onto the speedboat and fumbled desperately with the ignition, my hands trembling with pure desire to get the hell out of here.
The engine coughed — then roared to life.
"Where am I even supposed to go now…?" I muttered to myself as the boat lurched forward, slicing through the dark water. I clicked my tongue. "Tsk — that doesn't matter. Surviving does."
The motor screamed as I pushed it to full throttle, the island shrinking behind me until it became nothing more than a distant silhouette.
As the distance grew, my chest slowly loosened. My frantic heartbeat steadied. The suffocating terror that had gripped me began to fade.
"…I'm never joining anything related to Mato again," I gritted through clenched teeth.
That place.
That woman.
That massacre.
It had been a brush with death I never wanted to experience again.
I was alive. Somehow.
I should have felt relief.
But instead…
A chill crept up my spine.
My instincts screamed.
Even though the island was far behind me, my body refused to relax. Every muscle tensed again, every nerve on edge.
"Stop overthinking… I'm—"
I never finished the thought.
In the next instant, before I could even comprehend what was happening, a blinding beam of energy tore through the sky at a speed far beyond sound and struck me dead-on.
Light swallowed my vision.
Heat.
Pain.
Nothing.