War Progress: The Range & The Organization (1/4)

Ven POV:

5 minutes.

We had joined the battle, unable to watch from above any longer as several powerful Ki practitioners overwhelmed our forces.

I made my way to the next target when the palm of my hand crashed into a nearby enemy's jaw, spinning him like a windmill before he dropped to the ground helplessly.

"...I smell a woman!~"

The target I was after spun around. His eyes popped as they locked onto me within the darkness. His movements were awkward, but he gradually closed the gap between us.

I examined him carefully when his hand abruptly lunged towards my breasts. Gunnar flickered into view, grabbing his wrist so tight that he snapped the bone in half.

His hand gripped the man by the face and smashed into the ground below. A rain of punches assaulted his face, splashing blood all over Gunnar's clothes. Each strike bounced his head off the ground and cracked the earth beneath it.

I was about to stop Gunnar when his bloodied fist halted mid-strike; the wind pressure rippling the swollen cheeks of the defeated target. He got up and wiped the blood off his cheek while making sure that I was okay.

Truthfully, I had the situation under control, but the incident in District 3 made him more overprotective of me. It wasn't just him; I felt the same way.

I dashed in front of Gunnar, catching the handle of a dagger that was aimed at his head. I spun it around my fingers before throwing it up in the air. My foot connected with the base of the dagger, launching it right back in the direction it had come from.

"Keuk!"

A pained moan rang out as I gazed at the sight of a female pinned to the wall. The dagger had pierced through her arm, pinning her to the building behind her.

"Reinforcements will be arriving soon."

Gunnar nodded his head before darting back off to the other side of the Range. We could have used our abilities here, but it was better to save it just in case things went south.

I manipulated the air around me and crashed into the stream of enemies exiting the building. My hands blurred as they fell like bowling pins while I made my way to the next target.

I kicked off the ground and splayed my hands. Blasts of wind rocked their jaws before they had a chance to defend themselves.

The woman from earlier growled while ripping out the dagger and charging back towards me. I evaded her kick by ducking under it and moving inside. I dropped to my hands as my legs wrapped around her neck tightly, and my body twisted.

"H-Heok!"

Her head piledrived into the ground, shattering the earth in the nearby vicinity. She immediately went limp while I quickly moved on, continuing to carry out my mission.

Right now, we had helped stabilize the situation. Our forces began to adjust and change their method of attack per my instructions, but we were still heavily outnumbered.

"Good work, Ven. We'll be going on ahead."

I heard Skorr's voice from above as hundreds of reinforcements dropped down into the Range. The tide of battle instantly turned in our favour, and we pushed the enemy back.

I quickly knocked out those nearby just before Gunnar wrapped his hand around my waist and jumped into the air. We landed back on the rooftop as there was no need for us to intervene for now.

'I hope the others are doing well.'

***

Brunaulf POV:

10 minutes.

My fingers wrapped around her neck tightly as I stood on a pile of debris. The madness peeled away, revealing my face while I peered deep into her dark pink eyes.

"Do it...!"

Ursula went a deep shade of red, clearly enjoying the current situation. Her body trembled from the thrill of my touch; our battle turned the surrounding area into a sea of rubble. Her assessment of her own strength was no exaggeration.

Ursula's ability was called Demon's Time. It allowed her to draw power from nightmares and also manipulate them; she was the worse matchup possible for me. The whole fight had been a constant assault of the past, and my tiredness was beginning to reach its peak.

I tightened my grip, choking the air out of her lungs while she moaned with sickening pleasure. The madness inside me wriggled with amusement as I watched the light in her eyes flicker in and out.

"M-my... L-love..."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and dashed her body into a nearby pile of debris. I crouched down, lifting her up by the hair while she locked eyes with me, panting heavily.

"Kill me... It's the only way to save yourself... I'm doing this for your sake... Continue down this path, and sooner or later, you'll break for good..."

Ursula reached for my cheek, but I slapped her hand away. I brought her face closer to mine as my lips rested against her ears.

"I'm already broken."

Her body quaked: the heat from her face warming my neck as a soft moan escaped her lips. I let go of her hair, and she flopped forward.

"...You've really annoyed me by making me remember all of that again."

I clenched my teeth, resisting the urge to smash her face into a bloody mess. The madness squirmed as my bloodshot eyes locked onto Ursula, who gazed at me bashfully. She bit her lip and batted her eyelashes. The dark shade of red across the bridge of her nose only deepened the more she looked at me.

'...'

I sighed inwardly and calmed myself down. Mask... I needed my mask. I walked over to the place I had put it down securely as the madness unravelled from around it. I picked it up and immediately placed my hand over the left side of the mask.

A wave of relief and calmness swept over me like I had just been dowsed in cold water. The corrupt thoughts in my head died down as the madness felt pleased by my action.

'...Strange.'

I made my way back to Ursula, who was bleeding profusely. I stretched out my hand towards her.

"Ursula, do you think I wanted to become that person you fell in love with? Eventually, you'll understand... You'll realize that I wasn't being unrestrained; I was simply hiding the pain by giving in to it."

She glared at me while struggling to get to her feet.

"...You're wrong. I saw... I saw your smile, your grin and your laughter. You enjoyed living your life as you pleased! Everything you're saying now is because you're confused! T-they did something to you... They sealed who you really are!!"

She stumbled forward as I held her by the waist. The madness sprouted from my back, ready to pierce her into the ground when I stopped it.

"Ursula, your problem is that you only look at the situation from one perspective: your perspective. You're projecting onto me what you idealized in your head. Once you begin to see things from multiple perspectives, your world will change, and you'll realize just how much of a horrible person you are."

Her eyes shook while I felt her fingers dig into my arms. She trembled uncontrollably as I placed my hand on her back lightly.

"The first step is always the hardest. Facing everything you've done, all the people you've made suffer, all the lives you didn't have to end... It's a difficult process that honestly never gets easier with time. It hurts, doesn't it?"

Ursula started sobbing. She buried her head into my shoulder, and the madness squirmed in disapproval. I don't know what she went through exactly, but she didn't understand me at all.

"I'm not worth anything, so save your feelings for someone better."

We stayed like this for a while as she cried her heart out. Pain, pain and more pain—that's all this place had to offer. I shifted my gaze to the direction of the Ruler.

'Only you can break this chain, Leader.'

***

Sindel POV:

10 minutes.

I cleared out the zone and retreated to the high ground while tapping the terminal twice. I analyzed the map carefully as the sheer scope of District 1's Organization was overwhelming.

Thankfully, Skorr had arrived 3 minutes ago with reinforcements. They wasted no time in joining the battle while Skorr went on ahead. We mowed down their numbers quickly as the battle became more and more hectic.

"No time to rest, Sindel. I need you at zone 6 on the east side."

"Understood."

Cirris's true worth blossomed here. He kept his cool and gave out detailed instructions as he kept track of everything that was going on. He placed down zones in the most optimal places, giving us a chance to catch a quick breather whenever we needed one.

I reached zone 6 while keeping an eye on Orga. Once I confirmed that she was alright, I launched my attack. My fingers fanned out as the earth shattered beneath their feet.

I broke the earth down into sharp needles that rained down on the enemy, mercilessly slicing through their Ki Armour. Some used others as shields, forcing me to cancel the attack and take a different approach.

Pillars of earth shot forward, smashing them into the sides of the zone that cracked slightly. I flexed my fingers as the pillars retracted themselves before shooting forward again and again.

The Organization members were tough. They didn't go down in one or two hits—it was proof of the gruelling training they had been through to arrive here.

'!'

I observed tendrils of madness flicker forward, actively piercing through any enemy in their path. Their activity was much more intense than before, which meant that Brunaulf must have finished up with his opponent.

I tapped the terminal and got rid of the map. I reluctantly jumped down into the fray, dealing with as many enemies as possible while manipulating the earth around me. Judging from the fact that no Guards had arrived here, it meant that Lissandra and the others were taken care of their side properly.

'There's no need to use my ability for now.'

After assessing the situation, that's the conclusion I came to. Close-range combat wasn't my forte, but I had made significant improvements thanks to the Organization's training.

I slipped past a fist and spun my body, countering with a high kick that rocked their equilibrium. A column of earth crashed into their jaw, turning off their lights as they slumped to the floor.

"Nice work. I've reduced the number of zones down to 3. The reinforcements are holding their own, so it shouldn't be a problem to free up some space."

"That's not wise. Brunaulf has been fighting while keeping up Distortion and attacking the network of relay points all at the same time. I'm not sure how much longer he can keep this up for."

I jumped back onto the roof and began manipulating the earth from afar. I had noticed some parts of Distortion become lighter, which most likely meant Brunaulf had fought a very tough opponent.

"Good point. So far, there's no change in the enemies' movements, but you'll have to pick up the pace again to be on the safe side."

"That's not a problem. Completing this mission successfully is crucial to winning this war."

I pulled out a wipe from my pocket and cleaned my hands thoroughly. I fanned my fingers over the whole street packed with people from both sides.

"Wipe."

My hand mimicked a wiping motion as I slowly moved it across the street below. A surge of Ki left my body and descended down on the area. It ripped across the battlefield, over every nook and cranny.

Allies were healed of minor wounds and temporarily received a physical boost, while enemies crumpled to the ground, unable to withstand the force of the technique. The germs from the wipe I had used weakened their Ki Armour and slowed down their movements.

I took out another one and repeated the process on the other side of the street after getting my hands messy first. Since Distortion could disappear soon, now wasn't the time to micromanage my Ki usage. As a result, I was left with less than a quarter of my Ki Reserves.

'Too taxing.'

I dropped to one knee while the number of enemies fell rapidly as our momentum increased further. We had completely gained the upper hand over them.