Chapter 273 Human Civil War. {6} Void Creatures.

Words : 1132 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

The Crusades were waiting... the Saintess's elite. They lurked in the burning trees, their military-grade cybernetic limbs glinting in the firelight. Their arms and legs, once human, were now precision-forged weapons. Their eyes? Ripped from their skulls, replaced with sensors that saw through the smoke, through the dark, through the chaos. Their armor was thick; their personal shields were unbreakable. And in the madness of the firestorm with all the screaming and the death... they descended upon the survivors. A squad of four sprinted through the inferno, their breath ragged, their uniforms slick with sweat and soot. The fire around them crackled and roared, devouring the forest in waves of blistering heat. They didn't look back. They didn't let themselves think about the horrors unfolding behind them, about the screams of dying comrades, about the crusaders cutting through their ranks as if they were nothing more than weeds to be plucked. They only cared about one thing... survival. So far, they had been lucky. Despite the lasers streaking through the smoke, despite the crusaders hunting them like vermin, they'd managed to stay ahead of death. But luck never lasts forever. A shadow loomed ahead, standing amidst the raging fire like an immovable statue. The flames coiled around his golden armor, licking at the metal as if they were alive, as if they were... welcoming him. The soldiers skidded to a halt. Their lungs burned from the hot air while their hands trembled after they saw what was in front of them... it wasn't just another crusader. That was a Paladin. The sheer weight of his presence crushed down on them, heavier than the fire, heavier than the fear in their hearts. The golden sheen of his armor shone brighter than the inferno itself, his very stance radiating an authority beyond human comprehension. A smirk tugged at his lips. "Tsk. And here I was, hoping I wouldn't have to dirty my hands with filth like you." He exhaled through his nose while shaking his head. "But I suppose it's my duty to rid this world of the pagans who dared to defile the Holy City." From the other side of the battlefield, Lilla's brother listened to what the paladin said through the communicator. He couldn't help but feel... awkward. After all, the one who actually blew up the city... was his sister. One of the soldiers snapped, raising his rifle. "Tsk! We don't give a damn who you are! Open fire!" The others followed instantly, unloading everything they had. Blue flashes of electromagnetic rounds tore through the smoke, streaking straight for the paladin only to vanish the moment they touched the fire. The bullets never reached him. They never even came close. The paladin let out a tired sigh while slowly, almost lazily, he reached for the hilt at his waist. The moment he began unsheathing his sword, the flames around him stirred, twisting, bending, and merging with the blade. By the time it was fully drawn, the weapon wasn't just metal anymore. It was fire itself. A blade of pure, burning light. The soldiers courage snapped. "May the Lady in White burn your pagan souls!" With a single sweeping arc, the paladin swung his sword. A wave of fire erupted from the blade, surging forward like a tidal wave of flame. The four men barely had time to scream before the fire engulfed them whole. Within seconds, only charred corpses remained. "Tsk! There's nothing we can do for them anymore!" His voice was sharp and urgent. "Get us back into space! We need to escape their firing range before we become the next target! Send the fighters!! Intercept them now!" Outside, the stricken destroyer began its slow descent, flames trailing behind it as gravity dragged it down. The admiral didn't watch it fall. He couldn't afford to. The air was thick with tension, the distant sounds of war a dull roar on the horizon. General Jiro stood calmly, with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression unreadable. Then, with an elegant, almost mocking motion, he gave a small bow. "Oh, Saintess, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit on this beautiful night?" Lilla did not answer immediately. Instead, she simply stared at him. Her gray eyes, sharp as silver blades, bore into him, studying, dissecting, and understanding. The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating, before she finally spoke. "I was wondering how you uncovered my spies within the Human Empire." Her voice was soft, but beneath it lay something cold. Unshaken. Absolute. She took a step forward. "But now that I see you..." Her eyes narrowed. "It makes sense." At her words, Jiro's smile slowly widened. And then... he changed. His body stretched, his limbs growing taller... thinner... unnatural. His uniform seemed to melt into something else, shifting with his form but his grin never faltered. Then he laughed. "HAHAHA! So that's why the higher-ups warned me never to show myself to you!" His voice was no longer human. It rippled, layered with something deeper, something wrong. And then his gaze locked onto her. "Those eyes of yours... they're quite something, aren't they?" The paladins moved instantly. Their swords flashed, shields raised, stepping between Lilla and the creature that had once been Jiro. They did not hesitate. They did not flinch. Lilla's expression remained unmoved, her silver eyes locked onto the grotesque abomination that had once been General Jiro. His body, now a twisted horror of the void, pulsed and writhed, shifting in unnatural ways, as if space itself struggled to contain his existence. The air around him seemed to warp, the light bending unnaturally as his form defied the laws of reality. "So, you've finally shown your true form, monster." Her voice was steady, unwavering, cutting through the tension like a blade. "It seems Cleo's warning saved my followers from sharing your fate." The thing that had been Jiro let out a low, gurgling chuckle, a sound that was wrong in every sense, a noise that seemed to crawl into the mind and fester there. "Hahaha... well, I suppose that doesn't matter now." His elongated jaw twisted into a grin, far too wide for anything human, his teeth glinting like shards of broken glass. "You see, I've already infected thousands." His void-black limbs flexed, his stance shifting into something predatory, his movements fluid and alien. The ground beneath him seemed to darken, as if the very earth recoiled from his presence. "And since you've so kindly saved me the trouble of hunting you down, I should at least thank you... before I take those beautiful eyes of yours for myself."

Chapter 273 Human Civil War. {6} Void Creatures.

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