Declaration of War

I collected my thoughts. Everything was in my head. This should be another one of his sick games. No. It had to be like that.

Since I started hearing him, he had been trying to drive me insane.

This was an attack on my psyche.

Thinking like this gave me some comfort.

The trembling in my body subsided significantly, and I got off the bus. However, as soon as I got off, I encountered a strange sight.

The passengers who got off the bus hadn't dispersed. They were all standing still, looking up at the sky. When I reflexively looked around, I noticed that not only the passengers who got off the bus but also the people on the street were behaving the same way. Even the people in the buildings had come to the windows and balconies, looking at the same spot in the sky.

No one was speaking. The whole world had become silent.

"Ke ke kek. You are so cautious, John. Don't be afraid. Look up."

I did as he said.

There were two black dots in the sky. They looked like dots because they were very far away, but I think they were some kind of aircraft or drones.

There were kilometers of distance between these two aircraft. Both aircraft were emitting a multi-colored beam of light that silently collided with the same spot in the sky. Where the beam hit, darkness was spreading. A big, dark hole had already formed in the sky and was growing.

What on earth was this? What was happening?

I couldn't see it because the bus was packed, but the lane that leads to the city center was congested, that is, the lane where the bus I got on was.

People were frozen and looking up at the sky in horror. Those who could still speak were muttering the same things.

"How is this possible?"

"Is this... some kind of portal?"

The best summary of the situation was, "Oh my god."

The darkness spread across miles in the sky, but it seemed to be slowing down now.

"Uwahhh!"

Suddenly, an explosive scream shattered the silence. The scream belonged to a human, but it was too loud to come from a human. It sounded like it came from a massive speaker.

"Stop... Stop! Please stop!"

Begging voices followed the scream. Now it was clear where the voice was coming from. It was coming from the darkness in the sky. Furthermore, it was now understood what the darkness actually was because there was a slowly emerging image within it.

This massive dark void was some kind of screen or hologram!

"So, this is how they're going to play. Ke ke ke. Pretty smart."

'What do you mean?' I asked the voice that I couldn't figure out what to think of about anymore, but I didn't get a response. It must have stayed silent because I would probably learn the answer soon.

The image was becoming clearer.

It was a spacious room, also, overly bright for a room. The first thing that caught my eye was the giant portrait on the opposite wall. At first glance, I couldn't tell who the person in the portrait was, but when I saw the flags hanging from the small poles on the left and right sides of the portrait, I immediately understood what that place actually was.

It was a large office belonging to the state, and the man in the portrait was the greatest leader in our country's history.

"Ah!"

"Hey. Hey. Am I seeing this right?"

"Don't look. Close your eyes."

The women around me started screaming suddenly. Parents covered their children's eyes and turned them around, holding them in their arms. All of this was understandable because the white, polished floor of the state office in the image was covered in blood. In addition, there were pieces of concrete, limbs, and bodies wearing black suits scattered around in the office.

Also, this wasn't just an image. It was a broadcast.

"Your God is dead!"

The broadcast was showing us a picture of death, a death that came after a desperate struggle, but the most incredible thing about the broadcast wasn't this scene of death.

"Your leaders have failed you!"

It was a humanoid 'thing.' It was speaking with a voice loud enough to echo throughout the entire city.

This thing was a male and had human-like external features, but it was obvious at a glance that he was not a human. He was over two and a half meters tall, and beneath his pale white, occasionally blue-toned skin, he had muscles like steel. He wore a yellow, shiny armor and helmet that resembled something out of a fantasy film.

The biggest feature that distinguished him from humans, apart from his size and stature, was the extensions resembling antennae located just below his jawline, three on each side.

The pale-skinned giant was holding a man in his right hand, gripping the man by the head. Then as soon as the image became fully clear, the pale-skinned giant effortlessly lifted him into the air and directed him towards the camera or whatever device they were capturing images with.

For the first time, the pale-skinned giant also looked towards the device.

His eyes were yellow and emanated cruelty. His eyebrows were sharp like a knife.

"You won't even be made into slaves anymore!"

The man, holding onto the hand that gripped him by the head, struggled with all his strength, but his efforts were not enough.

The screams and pleas we heard earlier were probably coming from him. Now, he couldn't even scream. The pressure on his skull was causing him to grit his teeth.

"Is that man... Isn't he the president?" A man standing a few meters away from me blurted out in a trembling voice.

Yes. This man in a difficult situation was the current leader of our country.

Immediately after, the news spread like wildfire among the still-unaware people.

Panic was growing, but people's attention was still on the sky. No one was trying to escape. Their curiosity still outweighed their fears as there was nothing that posed a threat to their lives yet.

"Teton's planet is truly incredible, just as the rumors say." The pale-skinned giant began to speak calmly. "It has a pristine air to breathe, an abundance of water that can never be depleted no matter how much you consume, and a variety of species. I can also say it is the most beautiful planet I have ever seen. I wouldn't expect anything less from Teton, one of the most powerful gods."

However, the pale-skinned giant couldn't maintain his calmness for too long. He fixed his yellow eyes on the president. There was anger and intense disgust on his face. "So why is Teton's planet under the control of such weak creatures? Even your leaders are nothing more than feeble insects. You are a complete disappointment!"

The poor man had gone mad with fear. He couldn't control the wetness spreading in his pants.

"You are so weak. You are not even aware of the god who created you. Instead, you worship false gods. Among all the creatures I have encountered, you are the most pathetic. You don't deserve this planet!"

The pale-skinned giant lifted the president even higher and raised his voice louder. "This is a declaration of war! Our Lord wants a piece of this ownerless planet for himself, and I have been given the task of clearing this magnificent land of you... insects!"

At this very moment, the president, who was unable to speak until now, cried out with a momentary burst of strength caused by intense fear, "Stop... Don't kill me! Hiii... Okay, we will... be your slaves. From today onward... we will worship your god. Please... Don't kill me! Please..."

The president seemed to sense what was about to happen to him. However, to the pale-skinned giant, he was no different from an insect. An insect that could be squashed at any given moment...

Boom!

Brain matter and skull fragments were scattered all over the office. The pale-skinned giant and the portrait on the wall were also stained with the remains of the president's head.

"Hmph! Qhoorr doesn't need you."

The pale-skinned giant brought his hand, covered in the blood that had just taken the president's life, to chest height and swung it towards the ground in a sudden movement. As a result of this action, not only the blood on his hand but also the blood and pieces of flesh that had splattered onto him, were scattered on the ground. His armor and face were now spotless.

The pale-skinned giant fixed his yellow gaze on those who were watching him, to us. His gaze seemed to pierce through time and space. Like everyone else, I felt that this cruel warrior was looking directly at me.

"My name is Draak! Death Chaser Draak, bearer of the Mark of the Apostle Hasra! I have come to shed your blood in the name of our great Lord, Qhoorr, the god of the Planet Agrion. Do not hold back and do your best, Terrans!"

After Draak said this, the camera began to move away from the office. Then I found out why the office was brighter than it should have been.

The reason was daylight.

The upper part of the building where the office was located was missing. It had been destroyed somehow. The alien broadcast was conducted from the president's office, but at the same time, it was an open-air broadcast.

As the office moved away, it became clear that the president and Draak were not alone in the room. Many other aliens were standing next to the wall, just out of frame. They were smaller compared to Draak, but each one looked very dangerous.

As the office moved further away, I couldn't believe my eyes. The capital was under attack!

Aliens riding machines resembling surfboards were raining death upon the civilians in the streets. They were taking lives with their weapons without discriminating between women, children, or the elderly. High-tech aircraft were demolishing buildings with weapons of unprecedented power.

Our own armed forces were trying to stop them, but helicopters, tanks, and armored vehicles were turning into fireballs with a single shot from the alien weapons as if they were made of paper.

There was an army of them.

The center of the capital had been completely destroyed. Chaos reigned everywhere.

The war Draak had mentioned had already begun. No. This seemed more like a genocide than a war. The aliens had not come here to defeat us. As their leader had said, they had come to uproot us from the face of the Earth.