The World Is Mine For The Taking

Scarlet’s POV

When I got to the place Gabrielle wanted me to reach, it was chaos incarnate. Violent gusts of wind tore through the air, strong enough to knock me off. The entire area looked like it had been through hell—scorched, cracked, and torn as if some massive battle had raged here. The destruction was so widespread that it felt like a war had erupted, one with giants in the fray.

In the middle of this catastrophe, I spotted a towering figure with scaly skin, standing over another figure lying on the ground. I zoomed in, activating my eye scanner to check for any signs of life. To my relief, the one on the ground was alive, still breathing. That was Leon—the person Gabrielle had wanted me to rescue.

The hulking figure loomed over him, a deep, reverberating voice rumbling from his chest like thunder from the depths of a chasm. "Is this all thou art capable of? Mortals are ever thus—fragile, pathetic. And yet thou wouldst dare to aspire to rule this world?"

His words were as mocking as they were chilling, his tone vibrating with disdain. He looked down at Leon with a sadistic grin. "I shall keep thee breathing, if only so thine eyes may witness as I lay waste to this world, and its women… broken beneath my heel." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

I landed just behind him, narrowing my gaze. "Hey, you. Are you the one responsible for all this destruction?"

He turned, his reptilian eyes fixing on me with something between amusement and disgust. "Who art thou, that dares to address me thus? Have ye no reverence for those far above thine ilk?"

"I don’t know what you’re babbling about, and frankly, I don’t care," I shot back, leveling my glare. "But from the way you’re talking, it sure sounds like you’re the one behind this mess."

He sighed, as if bored, a condescending smirk spreading across his scaly face. "Verily, a fool stands before me. Thy form holdeth not a spark of mana, nor a wisp of Qi. Truly, thou art but an empty vessel—nothing of strength or skill. What could one such as thee hope to accomplish?"

The way he sneered made my blood boil. It was rare for someone to underestimate me to my face like this. In my world, only one person had ever looked down on me this way. She didn’t say it out loud, but the way Shredica’s eyes always held that dismissive glint—it infuriated me. As her supposed captain, she’d always neglected me. When I saw her again, I’d make sure to land a solid hit on her. But first, I had to deal with this smug bastard.

"Don’t waste your breath," I snarled. "I’m going to fucking show you what I can do!"

Without another thought, I activated the launch cannons installed in my back. These things were a last resort, the kind of firepower I wouldn’t normally unleash unless I wanted to wipe out everything in sight. But now, in this empty wasteland, it felt like the perfect time to let loose. I’d been itching to use these since getting thrown into this world, and now, with no innocent lives around, I’d turn this smug bastard into target practice.

The cannons roared to life, and a barrage of homing missiles erupted from my back, each one streaking through the air with a burning trail. They locked onto him, honing in like predators on prey. But the man simply swatted them aside with a lazy swipe of his clawed hand, as if he were brushing off flies. Each missile veered off course, exploding far from him in fiery bursts that lit up the ruined landscape.

"What are these contraptions? Thy arsenal holds wonders indeed. Were I of mortal ilk, I might well have been pulverized." The man’s tone was dripping with mockery. "But against me, they are but pitiful sparks."

"Could you speak, you know, normally?" I scoffed, launching another barrage of missiles, these ones far faster and more powerful. "I can barely understand you."

The creature raised his hand to swat them aside again, but this time, I willed the missiles to dodge, weaving around his defenses. I spotted an opening and seized the chance, commanding the missiles to strike him squarely in the chest.

"Ha! Not so tough now, are you? Think they’re just homing in on you? Wrong! I can control them, and they’ll hit you every damn time!" I sneered, watching the smoke swirl in chaotic patterns.

But then—movement within the smoke. I strained my eyes, but saw no sign of him slipping out. Still, an eerie sensation of danger crept up my spine, and I whipped around in time to realize he was behind me. I hadn’t even seen him leave the cloud. How the hell was he so fast?

I only just managed to escape, engaging my jetpack to shoot forward just as his fist struck the ground where I’d stood. The earth shattered beneath the force, rumbling as cracks splintered out in all directions. If he’d hit me, I’d have been crushed to dust in an instant.

"Thou hast some skill, for one bereft of mana," he growled. "But this shall end here. Thy efforts are naught but futility."

He blurred, vanishing from sight, only to reappear in front of me in an instant. His speed was beyond anything I’d ever seen—it was like fighting the air itself, my reflexes barely able to register his movements.

But just as he raised his hand to strike, vines sprang up from nowhere, wrapping around me and yanking me out of his reach. Explore more stories at empire

"Close one," murmured a woman’s voice. I looked up, seeing a woman dressed in leaves that barely concealed her body, like someone straight out of a red-light district. She looked like she’d walked out of a fever dream.

"We’ve finished evacuating the civilians," another woman announced, appearing beside her, cloaked in black, her eyes fierce with determination. "Now it’s time we aid Master."

"We’ll assist as well," said another, stepping forward with an army of people at her back, all braced and ready for battle. Her golden hair glinted, her face regal and beautiful—she looked like she belonged in a royal court.

The enemy threw his head back, laughing. "Ha! And what wouldst a mere gathering of women accomplish against me? Futile, just as yon mortal lying defeated! Hahaha!" His laughter slowed, and his gaze darkened, a twisted smirk curling on his face. "Ah, but now I see… such beauty among thee. So this is why the mortal dared defy me—to defend such fair creatures. But no matter. Before I reduce this world to ashes, I shall delight in tasting all of you first."

I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but his sinister grin and cold gaze made it clear his intentions were far from good. The others who had appeared readied themselves. With so many of us standing together now, I wasn’t alone anymore. This monster would face us all.

Together, we unleashed everything in our arsenal. Vines erupted from the ground, twisting around his limbs, only for him to burst free with a casual flick of his wrist. Women clad in black flanked him, lunging with their weapons—but not only did their attacks fail to even scratch him, their blades and weapons shattered on impact.

The warriors following the golden-haired woman charged in, striking with everything they had, but he didn’t flinch. He just stood there, unbothered, as if our combined efforts were little more than an irritating breeze.

Then, he laughed. A dark, booming sound.

"What did I say?" he sneered. "All efforts are futile!"

And in an instant, everyone near him was blasted backward as if by an invisible wave of pure power. Those unlucky enough to be caught close were thrown lifelessly, bodies limp, the fight already snuffed out of them. This was no simple skirmish—this was war, and it was clear now it wouldn’t be easily won.

I shot into the air, hoping for a better vantage point, both hands holding submachine guns as I targeted him from above. With so many people below, missiles were out of the question. I needed precision. But the bullets pinged off him, bouncing harmlessly with no impact.

"There is naught ye can do," he roared, eyes sweeping over us with cruel disdain. "Lowly creatures, all of thee, fit only to grovel at mine feet. Behold, for I am as a god of this realm—a being higher than ye could ever comprehend. Bow down!" His voice thundered, and with a single leap, he created a shockwave that splintered the ground, leaving a smoking crater beneath him as he shot toward me.

I kicked my jetpack to full power, trying to ascend, to stay just out of reach. But—

"It’s useless!" he sneered, reaching me effortlessly. His hand wrapped around my ankle, yanking me downward with a sickening force. Before I could even react, he slammed me into the earth, the impact jarring through me like shattering glass. Something deep inside, gears or circuitry, felt like it snapped. I coughed, struggling to see through the haze as his shadow loomed above me.

"Since thou art the first to challenge me, it is thee who shall be defiled first," he sneered, crouching over me.

He pinned me down, his weight pressing on me as he loomed closer, eyes gleaming with a disturbing lust. I still couldn’t comprehend his words, but I was too weak, too broken to fight back. Around me, those I’d fought beside struggled to even lift their heads against him. He was like an unstoppable force, invincible.

Then—

"Thank you for holding him up," a voice cut through the chaos, steady and clear. "I’m good to go now."

That voice. I turned my head to see him—someone I’d watched lying defeated just moments ago. But now, he was back on his feet, and he looked… different.

"I’m going to kick this motherfucker off our planet."