Lord of Annihilation

The sharp sickle attached to the forelimbs of the Sickle Bug cut through the air, heading towards the necks of Reyna and Olivia. Both of their soul powers had been exhausted in the previous battle, resulting in the current situation where their bodies were paralyzed.

Dozens of corpses belonging to both man and monster laid beneath their feet. Kneeling atop this pile of corpses, they could only watch as their death impended.

Completely surrounded by twenty or so Sickle Bugs, they could not even escape. Around them human soldiers dropped life flies, without the slightest bit of resistance. Morale was completely shattered and the soldiers were being slaughtered en masse.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment, as Olivia and Reyna felt their respective lives flash before their eyes.

Streams of tears began to fall from her eyes, as Olivia recalled her hometown, her childhood, and her father.

Olivia's mother had passed away when Olivia was still a little child. Having no memories of her mother, Olivia's life centered around two people her Father and Lucius. One had brought her up, cared for her and had taught her. The other, was her joy.

'Why did he suddenly change so much? What happened to that cheery and bright boy, who was fascinated by everything and always smiled?' she wondered within herself.

Alas, Lucius was not here. Still, Olivia did not blame him. Although he was strong. Much more powerful than what she could imagine, she believed that even his strength could not change this situation.

'I wonder if he has escaped form here. As long as he's safe, then my sacrifice is not without meaning.' Olivia thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she resolved herself for death.

Reyna on the other hand also cried. Her eyes were filled with unwillingness and fear.

'I don't want to die! I want to live my life, with Father, Olivia, Alex and.... Lucius. I don't want this to end here!'

Unlike Olivia who had resolved herself, Reyna was no willing to accept it. She still held on to that tiny bit of hope. Wishing for a miracle that would save everyone and defeat these monsters.

Unfortunately wishes were called such for a reason. They never came true.

The sickle of that repulsive bug continued to head closer and closer to her neck. Nothing seemed to change. She closed her eyes tightly, praying within her heart.

'PLEASE GOD! HELP ME TIDE OVER THIS, JUST THIS ONCE! I SWEAR THIS WILL BE THE FIRST AND LAST TIME I EVER ASK FOR SOMETHING! I PROMISE TO NO LONGER BE WILFUL. I PROMISE TO TRY HARDER AND BECOME STRONGER."

'PLEASE HELP ME THIS ONCE!' Reyna prayed. She felt the cold blade touch her slender neck. The blade slowly moved forward, before coming to a stop.

Call it divine providence or fate. Maybe there really existed a God, who had heard her prayer. For when Reyna opened her eyes, she could see the back of a person. A strong back, wearing a black Academy issued uniform. Looking at this scene, Reyna felt her fears disappearing for she knew that she was saved.

'Lucius!' the name resounded within her mind.

A voice was then carried over to her ears.

"Disappointing. Absolutely disappointing." Lucius spoke twice, before shaking his head.

And disappointed he was.

Over the entire course of the battle, Lucius had never run away or hid in fear. Standing atop a watchtower he was silently observing the soldiers down below. Initially, when he had seen Alex deliver a speech and recover the lost morale, he had nodded his head in satisfaction.

But that was it.

Every single action of the trio, after this point had been disappointing.

'A general must lead, not rush to the front lines and fight. He helped the soldiers recover their morale, but never gave them instructions to fight. He was too rash and hotheaded, eager to save the people before him, yet disregarding the situation on the whole.'

'This is the person called the 'Great General'? How pathetic.' Lucius clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Moving his gaze over to Reyna and Olivia, he was further displeased.

'Reyna is not a front-line fighter. Her strengths lay in the field of machinery and technology. Instead of working on restoring the pulse cannons, she chose to fight with her hands. A foolish choice.'

'Olivia. Her performance is even more disappointing. Not trained in any fighting techniques, improper usage of her soul power, lacking strength. She is being more a hindrance than of help in the battlefield. Apart from her admirable resolve and iron will, she is completely useless.' he concluded.

Looking at the girl calmly accepting her death, Lucius shook his head and stated "A disposable pawn."

There was no point in trying to train a disposable pawn. It would only result in Lucius wasting his time. So what if her soul was different and new? There was no point in a training a useless person, even if said person had the greatest talent.

This entire battle had made Lucius to be much displeased. He could not watch quietly any longer and had to save this base from complete annihilation. His future plans hinged on the survival of this base.

Casually gripping his scythe in one hand, Lucius swung it towards the Sickle Bugs surrounding the two girls. Instantly, the Sickle Bugs were dissected into two parts, split exactly at their centers.

The entire battlefield paused at this moment. Alex, Oliva, Reyna, the remaining soldiers, the alien bugs, all of them looked at this young man who stood at the center of the field.

Apart from being very good-looking, he looked no different from the other human beings. Yet, when he spoke and the way he stood before them the bugs understood something.

All their minds had the exact same thought at this moment.

『This 'being' is very dangerous!』

Looking around with his indifferent eyes, Lucius blandly spoke.

"Playtime's over. Just die."

Immediately upon uttering that last word, an earth-shattering aura was released from Lucius' body. Reddish-black mist surrounded him, creating numerous wind blades. The ground underneath his feet started to freeze and burn at places.

[Killing Intent] was released at the entirety of what his soul could handle.

While it's effects were weaker than when he had accidently released it in the warehouse district, it was still much greater than what he usually reveals.

His dark black pupils had two crimson rings on them. The alien bugs strangely felt exposed when being stared at, by those eyes. His gaze was still indifferent, but an unmistakable look of slaughter was present in its depths.

Lucius eyes flashed crimson for a moment before disappearing. He had used used [Charm] on the Sickle Bugs.

"Come over here." he instructed in his monotonous voice.

The aliens then saw this young man take a deep breath and grip the scythe with both his hands. Their bodies and minds were already paralyzed by his killing intent, as they felt their lives fleeing from within their hands.

It was at this moment, this 'being' suddenly vanished from their sights.

"[Dance of the Death God]: First Movement-Slash." an indifferent voice sounded across the battlefield as they felt their vision rapidly turning dark.

For the first time since his return, Lucius was truly going all-out.

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The soldiers atop the walls watched the scene before their eyes in shock. The bugs which had been attacking them, strangely stopped moving and started to head towards the youth.

It was then that their fears completely disappeared, being overwritten by shock. That's not it, they felt fear too. Except it wasn't towards the alien bugs, but towards this newly arrived youngster.

With a scythe in his hand, this youngster strangely kept disappearing and appearing in their visions. Every time that he appeared in their vision, he was always in front of a group of Sickle Bugs and casually swung his large weapon. After doing so, he would disappear once again before repeating this process all over again.

The Sickle Bug groups whom he had passed, would have their bodies frozen for a few moments. Just as the soldiers wondered what was happening, the bodies of all the bugs started to vertically split and the two halves fell on either side of the ground.

The blood and guts of the Sickle Bugs spilled into the ground, as a blood mist started to form in the air. Many of the battle hardened soldiers could no longer hold their guts watching this scene. Many of them started to throw up.

Strangely however, not a single drop of blood touched that youngster's body. The reddish-black aura which was being released by him, froze or burned the blood falling in his direction.

His clothes were spotless and his face was still. No emotions could be seen present on his face. There was neither madness, joy, dullness, etc. It was simply blank.

His eyes were calm and indifferent as he slaughtered the Sickle Bugs. From the look of it, one could infer that he simply seemed to used to this.

Before long, Lucius had completely eliminated every single Sickle Bug present atop the wall. However a queer sight greeted him.

Both the sides, the soldiers atop the wall and the aliens underneath the wall. All without fail, stood in absolute silence. Their bodies quivered with fear, as they they watched this young man silently stare at them with his indifferent eyes.

At this moment, man and monster had a feeling. A feeling which originated from the very depths of their souls! A feeling of primal fear which told them.....

Upon that wall stood Death, The Ender of Lives.