"[Black Hole]."
With those ominous words, Demon Lord Andromalius sent out a small orb of spatial darkness towards a military base that stood before him.
What followed was predictable for those who witnessed it.
VWUUUUUUMMM!!
The darkness expanded voraciously, swallowing everything in its path in order to feed its endless hunger.
In no time, it grew large enough to consume the entire military installation, eating away thousands of military personnel, equipment, and even the surrounding terrain. It dug itself into the earth and consumed even the underground stations until there was nothing left.
When satisfied, Andromalius dispelled the Skill, mindful of its potential to drain his own power if left unchecked.
"The purpose of [Black Hole] is fulfilled," he mused to himself.
Everything about the military base was now gone, granted as an offering to the void.
"Stepping on ants is growing bored on me," he pondered aloud, contemplating his next move. "Perhaps it's time to accelerate our plans and face a more imposing force."
As if the Devil himself granted his wish, he sensed a powerful surge of energy not far from him. It is an energy that made him feel hungry upon sensing it.
With a malevolent grin on his face, Andromalius turned around and looked at the direction of where the source of this power was coming from.
"Hm, I guess there is someone powerful in this weak country," he chuckled darkly, "And it seems putting one of my servants on the verge of death. I should summon the others to join."
——————————————————
Among the destruction and rubble that used to be Marawi city, the air vibrated and shifted uncontrollably as the golden wings of the Elf Queen danced freely in the wind.
Before her stood Conquest, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He was taking a Japanese-style battle stance, gripping his still-sheathed Odachi Sword by his side as his feet dug into the ground.
In just a trillionth of a second, he dashed off the ground and instantly appeared in front of Melian. In one fluid motion, he drew his blade and striked at the neck of the enraged Elf.
"Huh?"
The attack never connected...
What?
How?
Why?
Conquest once again looked at Melian, and noticed that she hadn't done anything except stand there and point her pale hand at him. Even her wings hadn't made any sort of movement towards him, and yet...
He looked down at his now bloodied side.
Melian hadn't done anything, only pointed her hand towards him...
And just like that...
BOOM!!!
Conquest was thrown back and his entire left side had been blown away, almost as if a huge animal had taken a huge bite off the side of his body.
Massive amounts of red blood spurted out of his open wound. Unable to comprehend what was happening, he coughed up blood as he desperately tried to reposition himself for a counter attack using his remaining arm.
However, Melian didn't even give him time to regain his composure as one of the wings on her back shot up and slammed down on the bleeding demon with tremendous speed, breaking apart the ground and burying him into it.
Still, the Elf wasn't done.
She wanted to destroy, shatter, annihilate everything about the existence in front of her.
"Aaaargh!!!"
With another roar that shook the air, even more wings shot out from her back and started viciously raining down on the defensive demon.
Conquest could do nothing more than use his one arm to shield himself as the countless wings continuously battered him.
Like a giant causing earthquakes with each walking step, the entire city shook with each strike of Melian's wings.
"How is this happening!" Conquest questioned himself while shielding himself from the devastating blows of the elf. "Inconceivable! I can't lose...!!"
But despite all he tried, he couldn't budge from his spot. Those wings possessed much more than just overwhelming strength. Not only are they strong and fast as War's mighty punches, but they also possessed more powerful space-bending magic that was keeping him from moving.
"Damn it, Im... blacking out..." Conquest quietly thinks as another wing slammed into his arm and he could feel something crack. "But even so... defeat is unthinkable!"
For his pride and glory, Conquest straightened his resolve as he decided he will not give up.
However, in face of such overwhelming power...
...all it meant was that he was going to be that elf's punching bag.
"DIE!!! DIE!!! DIE!!!"
With another sickening roar, the wings swelled up bigger than ever before, and like a sperm whale jumping out of the ocean's surface before crashing back into the water, the wings violently slammed into Conquest, destroying their footing and the shockwave obliterated everything in the area, sending debris flying.
"Agh!"
Gritted his teeth in pain as the attack just now crushed his shoulder. Even with only one arm left intact, he found it completely useless as his crushed shoulder completely cut off all feelings with his remaining limb.
"Damn it..."
With his mask shattered, it revealed his pale white skin, golden eyes, and a handsome face. He looked up again to see the numerous golden wings swelling up again, preparing for the next barrage of attacks.
With both arms rendered useless, he would have no choice but to take the full blunts of the attacks head-on.
Though he was confident in his defensive capabilities, that confidence didn't serve much in front of the opponent that was able to rip him apart and leave him in such a pathetic state.
He considered putting an ice shield over him, but once again, if those wings were capable of ripping through his armor like butter which was already more durable than any ice he could put up, then doing so would amount to nothing.
Even if he used his space magic to control gravity to shield him, he felt it seemed pointless and didn't make any difference.
And so... he accepted his fate.
"Listen well, Agamemnon. There is nothing shameful about a warrior being defeated by a stronger foe. One should always battle with the state of mind that there is someone out there better than them. That is how to grow stronger!"
Remembering the wise words of a middle-aged man known as his father, who had spoken these lines after he had defeated an entire army besieging their kingdom, he internally questioned if this is what he meant.
Indeed, there was nothing more he could do at this point. And based on his assumptions, two more hits from those wings would be his limit.
"Welp... Pa, guess I'm seeing you again in the Eternal Darkness," Conquest, or Agamemnon, his real name, muttered.
Looking up at the wings about to crush him to pieces, he welcomed it as this meant nothing to him. He closed his eyes and was ready to meet true death.
Indeed, he was a true warrior, unfazed by the concept of death, and as such, he shall go out like a warrior.
"[Wave of Pain]"
A giant wave of black-crimson flames washed over Melian and Conquest. The sheer force of it would crush anyone under its weight, but it didn't seem to even faze the Elf Queen as the divine properties from the wings smacked into the ground, sending the giant wave scattering over the area and clearing the space where she stood.
The multiple wings on her back were gone and was back to only her original two wings, although that didn't make them any less deadly.
Conquest was also gone from where he had laid.
Turning her head to search for who interfered in her battle, Melian spots someone standing a few meters away.
It was Lord War, one of the Archdemons.
"Well, you look like shit," War said, eyeing his companion's pathetic state.
"Thank you... War." Conquest uttered.
Shifting his gaze to the bloodthirsty elf, War gripped his mighty sword with a solemn look.
"I'll be taking care of this vermin."
VWUUUUUMMMM!!!
With a ferocious roar, the massive wings began to surge forward towards War, the two wings mixed in and collided with each other as they danced forward.
War stood his ground, his gaze lighting up as the rush of flames approached him.
One would expect him to try using his god-like speed to flee, but it seemed he was rooted in place.
He took a battle stance and brandished his blade by turning it once.
And then the flames arrived.
VWUUUU—!
Right as the flames were about to consume War, he swung his blade in one swift motion.
WHISH!
The result caused Melian to lower her jaw in absolute shock.
War had not only protected himself with his blade, but he parted the massive wings, the same ones that beat the shit out of an Archdemon, with his blade's swings.
In just one moment, the raging sea of golden flames was divided into two, and extinguished not long after.
However, that didn't stop Melian right there as she immediately activated another powerful skill she had given.
In a loud echo of desperation, she invoked the name of her next Skill.
"[Indomitable Power]!"
VWUUUUUMMMM!!!
The burst of golden energy around her caused winds to gather around her, like a massive whirlwind forming.
The ground itself trembled in response to this power.
"Haaaa..." She let out a misty breath.
The smoke that emanated from her lips and nostrils swiftly dispersed as the golden energy that swarmed her burned brightly.
In this moment, she felt no fear... no pain.
All she had was an endless stream of determination and an immense rush of power to back it up.
[Indomitable Power] served only one purpose.
It increased the overall power of a warrior, unlocking their potential for a brief period.
The Mana Level and overall combat ability would skyrocket to an unbelievable degree, and the warrior's blade would know only destruction.
This aura was hotter than the surface of the sun, and tougher than even the strongest material.
It was condensed energy that represented the raging flames within a warrior's soul.
And now, the aura was swelling around Melian.
"Impressive battle aura for your level."
BOOM!
The ground broke apart beneath Melian's legs as she lunged at War.
The winds parted around her, none of them disturbing her coordination thanks to the red energy that fueled her.
WHOOOSH!
Melian's raised blade began to descend the moment he neared War.
WHIIIIISSSSSHHHH!!!
The winds parted, and the air around seemed to be igniting in flames as the powerful sword was about to land on its target.
However...
CLANG!
...The blazing blade was met with War's greatsword.
FSHIIIIII!
More steam emanated from their point of contact, and despite Melian crashing all of her power into the straight vertical slash, the blade of her opponent did not budge.
War was only using one hand to hold up his blade, and yet it did not move an inch under the powerful pressure Melian emitted.
FSHIIIIIII
"I suppose I should use a Skill too..."
The elf's eyes widened in shock. However, before she could properly wrap her head around it, War opened his lips to speak.
"[Greater Rejection]."
VWUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM!!!
The amount of pressure that instantly shrouded the entire city the moment those words were uttered was beyond description.
Every demon present shuddered as a wave of red energy began to rise from him.
What started off as flickering energy soon expanded beyond the feeble display that Melian was displaying.
"There's something you should know, little elf," War's words reached Melian, who was also shivering at this point.
Her tight grip on her blade was loosening, and her feet were shaking violently.
Without being grounded properly, the force behind her strike weakened exponentially, causing her blade to tremble.
"When two warriors fight a battle of aura, the weaker one is consumed."
WHOOOOSSSHHH!!!
Melian's golden flames instantly died out, like a candlelight snuffed by a violent wind.
All of her rage and determination sizzled out at that single point.
"A-ahhh..."
All the energy and power she had displayed drained from her the moment War's aura emerged.
As a warrior, Melian instantly knew... the vast difference in their levels.
This demon was not an opponent she could defeat.
"And I ain't weak like that fool, Conquest," War added, gripping Melian by the neck, "You defeat him, how wonderful. Congrats. But compared him to me... he is more like a toddler," he declared as his wings, enveloped in black-crimson hell flames, erupted from his back.
Before Melian could react, War threw her into a nearby building at an even greater strength, causing the building to crumble down upon her.
Spreading his massive flaming wings, the Archdemon of War leaped onto the rubble when he saw Melian stirring, reaching his hand into the moving rubble and pulling the elf out by her throat before ramming through countless buildings across the city, using her as a battering ram.
Soldiers of the 19th Black Armored Division, who had survived the demon onslaught, spotted War and immediately fired their guns at him. Their bullets were futile, however, as War incinerated them to ashes with his mere presence as he passed by, unbothered by the rounds impacting his body from all sides.
After being rammed through dozens of buildings, Melian could only grunt in pain as the hellfire burned her neck where the archdemon held her. She kicked at his stomach and slashed at his arm to no avail.
She was completely overpowered.
"WEAK!"
With a roar, he slammed Melian's face into the devastated earth, forcing her to eat dirt. The impact caused even more layers of devastation, and Melian found her body helplessly bouncing off the surface of the earth once she landed.
War didn't wait for her to recover before grabbing her hair after it landed on the ground in a ferocious manner.
"GRRRRRIIIAAAA!"
He raced across the city, scraping Melian's bloody face on the ground. This continued for a long period, with her body only spasming once it reached a particularly bumpy path.
Once War was finished, he thrust Melian forward, sending her crashing into the City Hall.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Melian lay in a bloody mess, and felt many gazes on her as she was surrounded by a few dozen Black Armor soldiers and the remaining Commanding Officers of the 19th Black Armored Division all huddled together in the Mayor Office as the last line of defense, that is until they saw her barely breathing body.
"Is that...?"
"What the hell happened to her!?"
"Where is the Major General?!"
"Did the Archangels unit have been wiped out already!?"
"Oh Lord have mercy! Please give us hope! Nuke the city, I don't care!"
"All of you, shut the hell up! The Alien Witch is down, and there is an enemy coming!"
Faint and muffled voices echoed in Melian's ears as she felt her life slowly fading.
'Am I... going to die... again?'
The next moment, she noticed the human soldiers still standing there, watching her dying. With what little remained of her mana, she weakly raised her hand and snapped her finger, forming a golden barrier before the humans.
'I know it's no use, but... at least let me save a life. Just... for... onc-'
"[Vermillion Nova]"
Before Melian could continue her thoughts, the brilliant blast of flames from War washed upon her like an uncontrollable wave.
It destroyed her body in an instant.
Nothing but yellow vestiges of ash was left once the destructive echoes of the Archdemon were sent forth. All of Melian's body was disintegrated, reduced beyond even dust.
The eyes of the soldiers went wide the moment they witnessed the demise of their strongest ally.
The Elf Queen, or the Alien Witch as they called her, fell that very day under the moonlight.
Not even bones or ashes were left of her.
All of the soldiers, still aiming their rifles, watched as their last hope perished before their very eyes.
Her death was brutal, and the aftermath was equally as horrific.
Once War was done with her, he cast his gaze ahead and stared at the clustered humans behind the golden barrier. Despite wielding deadly weapons, they were still powerless and weak to do anything against him.
And they were next.