Lord of Annihilation

Within the conference room of the spire-shaped Command Center situated inside a certain base on Planet Earth, an important meeting was in session. 

Participating in said meeting was four of the most important people within Mankind.

At the head of the long rectangular table, seated on her wheelchair was the 'Brilliant Strategist' Illya Roseberg, the brain of the Allied Liberation Army.

With flowing argent hair and shining silver eyes, she was the only remaining heir to the Roseberg family, after the passing of her father Edward, who was the previous and final Alliance Head. 

Towards her left, seated some distance away was a heroic-looking youth with blazing red hair and smoldering crimson eyes. 

His left hand caressed his neatly trimmed beard, as he leaned back on his chair while propping his foot on the table.

Obviously, this was Alex Hellwig a.k.a 'Fire God', the First General of the Allied Liberation Army and was also the person with the 'Strongest Human' moniker attached to him.

His entire being radiated fiery heat and incredible battle intent while his eyes glimmered with peculiar wisdom. 

Seated directly opposite to Alex, was the introverted figure of the 'Genius Mechanist' Reyna Snowden. Her eyes were fixed to the holographic screen on her watch while her hands fiddled with its keyboard.

Ever since the incident with Olivia, the already aloof and reclusive personality of Reyna became even more reclusive. She continuously locked herself within her lab refusing to come out or talk to anyone. 

The only reason for her presence in this meeting today was due to Illya demanding so.

And finally, seated at the end of the table was the sole figure of the 'Violet Witch' Olivia. Seated upright, her hands were neatly placed atop the table and her beautiful face wore a perfunctory smile. 

It had been just over a week since her arrival and Olivia had already familiarized herself with the base. She had an accurate grasp over Mankind's current situation, their forces, base locations, army deployments, etc. 

Of course, all of this information wasn't provided to her but was collected due to her own efforts. The abilities and skills of a Mid-Level Stage 2 with a Mental-type soul were terrifying when correctly used.

Apart from the secret plans and some carefully hidden trump cards, Olivia was quite confident of the wholeness of her information. 

Still, when gazing at the politely smiling woman seated at the other end of the table, Olivia felt a tremor in her heart. An inexplicable feeling of danger arose within her mind.

'Why are you dangerous? What secret are you hiding?' Olivia pondered.

"Do your men have any problems with the recent batch of weapons? You can ask us without any hesitation if any modifications are required." Illya politely asked her newfound reinforcement.

"Oh," Snapping out of her thoughts, Olivia replied without missing a beat, "The weapons were perfectly fine. As for modifications, there were only a few minor ones that were taken care of by the mechanics I brought along. Thank you for the offer though."

Mankind's technology was unique and priceless in this region of the Universe. Some of their weapons far outshone the likes of the ones which the troops under Olivia currently used (Guns>>>Bows). 

Also, thanks to the technology invented by Reyna, the weapons made by Mankind were compatible with soul power, being capable of powering and empowering them.

Such being the case, Olivia, under the guise of strengthening the troops providing reinforcement for the war, borrowed a large number of armors and weapons from the Allied Liberation Army.

Of course, she had her mechanics check the armaments for any foul play or traps. Thankfully, there was no such case. 

Although the thought of outfitting a strong group of outsiders with even stronger weapons was a dangerous one, especially to leave it unchecked, Mankind was in no place to negotiate. 

They were, quite literally, getting killed out there. Any and all help was appreciated.

And the troops from Pandemonium weren't slackers either.

"No, I must be the one thanking you." Illya bowed from her seat and continued.

"Your men are exceptional. Since their joining, the death tolls have come down by almost 60% and we are winning some battles too!" Her tone contained genuine relief and joy, having no ill intent at all.

Even [False Reveal] proved this. Illya was genuinely grateful and thankful to Olivia. But of course, this did not lessen the latter's skepticism and cautiousness at all.

Olivia's instincts had saved her multiple times in the past and she was keen on trusting her instincts. And right now, Olivia's instincts collectively said the same thing.

'She's dangerous and is hiding something.'

Of course, Olivia did not show her skepticism and humbly replied.

"Such results were possible due to your fantastic strategies." 

"If only Mankind could produce such troops." From the side, Alex wishfully sighed.

"Are you sure you can't lend me some of your guys Olivia?" Alex jokingly asked.

The past week of interaction had improved the duo's relationship by a sizeable amount. Although they weren't as friendly as they were in the past, they could now be considered as 'workplace friends'.

"Your men are welcome to train in Pandemonium. Although I'll have to warn you, the death toll will be high." Olivia casually replied.

"…heartless witch." Reyna silently muttered. Still, her words had been loud enough, where the others in the room could hear it.

Illya's smile became awkward. Alex sighed while shaking his head. And Olivia directly ignored Reyna's existence.

At this point, Olivia treated Reyna's words as the incessant hums of a mosquito. As long as the other did not take it too far, she would simply ignore the other.

Just then, the door for the conference room swung open and a profusely sweating human officer barged in.

The four simultaneously turned their heads and looked towards the new arrival.

"Leader, General, we have received new reports regarding the traitors!!" the man announced.

At his words, Illya's face turned serious and frosty. Alex sat up and straightened his posture. And even Reyna looked towards the man, an unhidden anger in the depths of her eyes.

Only Olivia's expression remained casual, while her eyes were curious. Her information included much about these 'traitors', allowing her to have a general idea about the cult and its followers.

"What is it?" Illya asked.

The man ran up to her and placed a digital tablet on the table in front of her. In response, the rectangular table lit up and information appeared on the holographic screen projected above it.

Scanning the information displayed on the holographic screen, Alex immediately shot up and declared.

"Impossible!!!" His two hands slammed onto the table, causing the entire construct to shake.

Reyna's reaction was similarly intense, only that she restricted it to herself. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times and disbelief was apparent on her face.

Illya, on the other hand, was not overly emotional and pragmatically asked.

"Is this true?" 

The officer hurriedly nodded his head and replied.

"We checked multiple times, even activating the hidden assets near those planets to personally verify it. It's completely true."

"All dead?" Unable to hide her surprise, Illya continued.

"Not a single living soul remains on those planets. We couldn't get an accurate number on the deaths due to all the destruction, but it's definitely in the tens of millions."

"But how?" This time it was Alex who voiced his doubts. "How and who would do such a thing? These planets were on the other side of the Formician territories, with those damnable Queens protecting it. Which organization has enough power to eliminate them?"

"Could it be the pirate group?" Reyna asked.

The officer shook his head and replied.

"Negative. Our forces have been keeping a close watch on the pirate group. It wasn't them."

"Is there another party joining the war? Do we have an estimate of their strength?" Illya asked.

"That's the strangest thing, Leader. We found no traces of any largescale movement at all. Plus, the destruction of those cities was too sudden. It was done in a matter of hours! Here are the results of our computer models. If you see here--"

While the others were deeply engrossed in the discussion on whom or what caused the death and destruction of millions of traitor cultists, Olivia arrived at a conclusion of her own.

'It couldn't have been him, right?' She asked herself.

Olivia mind compared Lucius' last known direction with the location shown on the map. If Lucius were to take the shortest distance to Mankind, his path would intersect with the locations shown on the map.

Just as Olivia's mind ran possibilities of her own, the voice of the officer thundered once more.

"That's not all, Leader."

The eyes of all those who were present inside the conference room gathered on him once more.

"The Formicians on all fronts have suddenly retreated! Their movements were sudden and hurried, and they did not even bother to properly evacuate their territories." 

Disbelief and shock assaulted the room once more. Silence prevailed.

The officer calmed his tumultuous mind, took a deep breath, and voiced a startling guess.

"We believe, and the computers also confirm this guess, that their sudden, hurried retreat might be a result of death amongst their leaders."

"Either one, or in the best case, all of their Greater Queens have been killed by this mysterious party!"

This time, all of the people within the room rose from their seats and stared at the officer with incredulous expressions. 

Illya looked lost and confused. Alex had an ecstatic expression on his face. Reyna had tears falling from her eyes.

On the other hand, Olivia had a 'holy sh*t!' expression on her face. Hearing this piece of news cemented that possibility within her mind.

'Yep, it's definitely him!' Olivia felt both happy and sad.

Happy, because she finally had actual news of Lucius' safety and the fact that he managed to kill Stage 3 existences.

Sad, because she felt him move farther and farther away from her, as he improved at a ridiculous speed.

'I'll definitely catch up to him! One day, I'll fight by your sides!' Olivia clenched her fists and determination fiercely burned within her.

It was then, that a deafening explosion and an incredible amount of force struck them.

The full-length glass windows of the building immediately shattered, the floor beneath their feet cracked, and the tables and chairs were thrown about.

The immense force struck the bodies of the five figures within the room, flinging them to the side and slamming them on the wall. 

The officer, who was the weakest amongst the five, instantly died, while the other four had varying levels of injuries.

Illya fell to the ground unconscious and Reyna threw up mouthfuls of blood while feeling tremendous pain from her body.

Alex had multiple dislocations and fractures, with his head dizzy and bleeding from the wall slam. 

Being the strongest one within the room and the one to react first, Olivia had the least amount of visible injuries. However, she felt piercing pain coming from her inner organs, and her head was dizzy from the explosion.

Few seconds passed and Alex and Olivia were the first to recover. Forcibly biting her lips they pushed themselves to remain conscious and investigate the sudden attack.

However, investigations were pointless as the entity behind the sudden attack loudly announced itself.

『BWHAHAHA!!! Such weak-bodied insects. I only used a tiny amount of force and they exploded!!』

His roar, which carried an inordinate amount of energy, was broadcasted hundreds of kilometers into the surrounding radius. 

The weaker Stage 1 beings closer to the entity had their heads explode from the sheer power while the ones farther away had their eardrums explode!

Even Alex and Olivia had their eardrums explode, although they had soul power protecting their bodies.

Recognizing the power behind the roar, Alex unconsciously mumbled.

"Stage 3…"

Olivia, however, had a look of dread on her face, as she continued his sentence.

"…a Scrofanian."

The almost 5m tall, pi-faced being that proudly stood dozens of kilometers away, suddenly raised its head and sniffed the air.

『…virgins! This is the scent of thousands of virgin maidens!!』

Lust appeared within its eyes, as its bodily instincts took control of its brain. With thick, viscous drool leaking out of its massive maw, the creature announced.

『I'm going to turn all of you creatures into my personal breeding wh*res!!』