Chapter 283 Erina's Crisis-First Half
Hiding discreetly, Erina observed the passing demons without making a sound. Her protective suit's stealth function and effective scent-masking capabilities ensured that the demons remained oblivious to her presence, unless within a 5-meter radius.
Peering through a hole in the wall, Erina maintained a low profile, avoiding any actions that might draw attention from the patrolling demons. As dawn approached, she anticipated the soldiers would have established a forward base in the capital city and sent a detachment to rescue survivors, including her.
Suddenly, commotion erupted outside with screams and unintelligible shouts. Intrigued yet cautious, Erina deployed her personal spy metal scarab to investigate the situation. She monitored the scene through her wrist console in a secure location.
Erina anxiously observed the scene unfolding on the personal console on her wrist. The demons, in their relentless search for her, discovered a group of survivors hiding beneath the ruins. With cruel efficiency, they captured the defenseless people and herded them into one central location.
On the screen, the demons menacingly threatened Erina, aware that she was monitoring their actions. A demonic leader bellowed, "Come out, little mortal! Or we'll start making these pathetic humans pay for your cowardice!"
"Come out!" The tank-like demon shouted, waiting for a response. After a minute of silence, Erina didn't emerge. In response, the demon swiftly killed the man it had used to threaten her.
Bang!
The tank-like demon shot the man with one of its guns, leaving many gathered people in shock. It then ordered a lackey to bring another victim. Each time they called out for Erina, the demons carried out their threat, reveling in the anguish of the captives. The screen displayed this harrowing reality, intensifying the pressure on Erina to reveal herself.
The next victim was a woman with a child.
"Mama! Mama!" the child screamed, trying to help her mom, but the demon kicked her down. The mother pleaded for her child's safety, but the demons restrained her.
"Come out, you mortal! Come out!" The tank-like demon shouted again.
Erina hesitated briefly but decided to come out. However...
Bang!
"Mama! Mamaaaa!" The little girl rushed toward her mother, hugging her lifeless body. The gun barrel then pointed at the child. "Come out!" The tank-like demon shouted once more.
"Stop! Don't kill the child!" Erina, not hesitating, jumped out of her hiding spot, deactivated her stealth function, and raised her hands. She walked toward the group of demons.
The tank-like demon, seemingly surprised to see Erina or perhaps not expecting her to come out, grinned menacingly. It then spoke to the child with venomous intent. "Look over there. She's the pilot of the fighter that dared to attack us! Your mother and all these people died because of her!"
The child, glaring at Erina with hatred, made her shudder. Despite the child's animosity, Erina knew she had to prioritize saving her.
"I've come out! Release the child now!" Erina demanded, glaring at the demon whose face seemed strangely familiar.
Bang!
Before Erina could say anything more, the demon shot the child before her, proceeding to kill all the gathered survivors.
"Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!" Erina screamed, shocked that the tank-like demon would take such ruthless action even after she submitted and came out. Why did it need to kill innocent people?
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Scream! Scream, Erina! HAHAHAHAHA!! Scream like the bitch you are!" The tank-like demon laughed, reveling in Erina's misery. Its shark-like smile displayed utmost joy, blood tears rolling down its face as it taunted her despite the heart-wrenching screams echoing around.
The realization that the tank-like demon knew her name struck Erina like a thunderbolt.
"It's you! Homer!" The dawn of recognition illuminated her mind. Homer, her former colleague, who had once done anything for the king and royal family, was now a demon.
Erina calmed down considerably, a mocking smile playing on her beautiful face—a smile that conveyed zero respect for the demon before her, whether it was Homer before his demonic transformation or now.
"So... You've truly become a demon! The last time you sought a high position and riches, you sacrificed your wife and unborn child, following the royal family's decree to kill hundreds of thousands of people. Including your own family," Erina's mocking voice seemed to pierce through, silencing the tank-like demon's laughter.
"What have you sacrificed now? Your humanity? Oh, wait, you never had a human heart to begin with. Your soul? Your freedom this time?" Erina continued her mockery, looking down on the demon whose head was lower than her torso, resembling the posture royalists used to kneel and pay respect to their king.
Observing the demon's miserable posture, Erina remarked, "I see... You sacrificed your dignity, freedom, soul, and everything to become a demon, even though you had the heart of a demon from the start!" She continued to mock, hiding one hand behind the arm crossed under her chest.
The demon, visibly angered, slowly approached. "Shut up, mortal! What would you know? Because of the power we gained through serving the king, I now possess power and immortality! Things you would never attain in your mortal life!" The demon retorted.
Hearing this, Erina let out a snort. 'The power of good' is the concept and motto that the royal family uses to distort the true meaning of good deeds. In essence, any action that benefits the royal family or makes them look better is considered a good deed.
Whether it's betraying their own family by reporting them to the royal family's secret police, accusing them of defiling the king or tarnishing the royal family's prestige, or donating hard-earned money to the royal family—everything falls under the umbrella of a "good deed." Even rescuing the royal family's picture from a burning house is mandated.
This concept is so absurd that there was an instance where a poor man's house was on fire. As he fled to save himself, he failed to rescue the king's picture from the flames. After the fire was extinguished, the poor man was arrested for not saving the king's picture, resulting in a 30-year jail sentence. He ultimately perished behind bars.
"Heh… the power of good?" Erina repeated in disdain before continuing. "Yes, killing your own innocent wife and unborn child is also considered a good deed for the king and this wretched royal family! They've turned this entire country into a good deed and a display of the royal family's prestige!" Erina vented her frustration as the demon drew closer, its head nearly within her reach.
"It's better that Sarah died before she could see you for what you really are—a heartless demon through and through! The only mistake she made in her life was marrying you!" Erina mockingly said, her voice turning sympathetic at the mention of Sarah, who was also her friend and a field medic who fell in love with this heartless demon.
"Don't you dare speak that name!" The demon roared. Despite being a scoundrel, Sarah was his true love, and her death continued to haunt him even after he became a demon.
Unlike the other tank-like demons, he had blood tears rolling down from his eyes—a small fragment of his broken and twisted humanity still present in this infernal form.
As the demon, Homer, tilted his head within Erina's reach, a hidden blessed dagger appeared in Erina's hand. She had concealed this dagger for a long time, waiting for the right moment to strike. In a swift motion, she plunged it into the demon's eyes!
Pierced!
"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrghghghghhh!!!" Homer, the demon, roared in agony. Erina quickly retreated and ran away. Manipulating her console, she diverted the suit's energy to her legs, increasing her speed. She needed to get out of there.
"Follow her! And kill her! No, catch her for me! Killing her outright is too merciful. I want to show her the true meaning of being better off dead than alive!" Homer commanded his demon subordinates, and they swiftly pursued Erina.
In a desperate sprint for survival, Erina raced through the demon-infested ruins with her protective suit. The suit's energy, fully redirected to her legs, enhanced her speed as she maneuvered through the debris-strewn streets.
Behind her, the lower-ranked demons, under Homer's command, pursued relentlessly. Their ghastly forms, distorted by infernal energy, moved with unnatural agility. Clawed hands reached out, and demonic roars filled the air as they closed the distance between Erina and themselves.
The crimson-tinted ruins provided an eerie backdrop to the chase, the remnants of the bombed ghetto casting long, distorted shadows. Erina darted through narrow alleyways, leaped over fallen debris, and zigzagged through the desolate landscape.
Despite her enhanced speed, the relentless pursuit of the demons kept them hot on her heels. The occasional demonic growls and snarls echoed through the empty streets, intensifying the tension of the harrowing chase. Erina knew she had to outpace them or find a clever escape route to evade the pursuing horde.
In the midst of her frantic escape, Erina's heart sank as a sudden searing pain shot through her right leg. A demonic creature, resembling a grotesque fusion of a wolf and porcupine, had lunged at her, its iron-like quills finding their mark.
The demon's quills pierced through Erina's protective suit, tearing into her flesh and causing her to stumble. She gritted her teeth against the pain, desperately trying to maintain her balance. The lower-ranked demon, relentless in its pursuit, seemed to revel in her vulnerability.
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