"That man will not die a quick death." Evalyn declared coldly, unleashing a portion of her cultivation base when she heard the missile.
THUD! Thud! Thud! Thud, thud, thud.....
A thousand soldiers dropped to the ground simultaneously, suffocating.
The Ice General acted preemptively to prevent even one person from moving.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
All the soldiers and civilians immediately panicked when they heard the missile go off, but they couldn't move, groaning under the Qi pressure.
"That was your cowardly general trying to kill you and everyone outside!" Evalyn declared coldly, spreading anxiety through the room, "You're alive because we're protecting you. However, that will change if you move or flee.
You're under [fear] of death and [threat] of death; choose whether to stay still or run wisely."
--
"This is Romeo." A female said over the receiver, "Awaiting your orders."
Aaron gritted his teeth, watching the area devolve into chaos. While he didn't want to kill people needlessly, thousands of panicked soldiers with guns were trying to flee.
The only thing preventing a serious riot was the pitch-black darkness. Due to the inability to see, soldiers couldn't run in a straight line and got boxed in by walls of soldiers who had fallen.
Unfortunately, that also meant people were trampling over piled up people, creating death pits.
More importantly, the darkness created a lethal problem.
Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat!
Countless soldiers shot their guns in the air to temporarily light their way. While they were shooting up--
Ratatat!
"AGahhHHHhhHHhhH!" A soldier screamed, hit in the back by three bullets.
--people were tripping over each other while shooting, leading to friendly fire.
"Romeo, fix snipers on soldiers shooting guns." Aaron ordered.
"Understood." The female soldiers said, cutting the connection.
Ratatat! Ratata! Rata--
Boom! ... CRaaaCK! Thud.
Ratatatata--
Boom! CRACK! Thud.
Ratat! Rata--
Boom! CraaaACK! Thud.
"Snipers!" A male soldier yelled in panic, hearing bodies falling.
"AghhHHhhHHhhhHhhHH!"
A stampede of people crashed through the area.
"Oscar, Papa, Quebec, soldiers are approaching the south wall." Aaron said somberly, "Give one warning, then cull the ranks. Give a second warning and repeat; do not take chances."
"Understood."
"Order received."
"Yes, sir."
"THIS IS IMMORTAL SKYE!" A woman yelled, "STOP MOVING! PEOPLE WILL DIE UNTIL YOU COMPLY!"
Shock spread through the darkness, with many people stopping, frozen in fear. However, other people screamed in panic and ran faster.
Shihihihihihir! Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Silenced shots cut through the air, impacting the soldiers they hit heavily.
"I REPEAT, THIS IS IMMORTAL SKYE!" She yelled, "STOP MOVING! PEOPLE WILL DIE UNTIL YOU COMPLY!"
***
Riley watched the last civilians leave the warehouse with a pounding heart. Her team was almost ready to take control. "Listen up, soldiers!"
The Lainwright soldiers turned to the redhead, confused why someone would yell in the presence of the demonic blonde until the redhead's team raised their rifles.
Everyone immediately connected the recent meeting with bitter expressions, realizing the operation had been planned since her meeting at Immortal Skye.
"When Ice General Skye leaves this room, nothing will change." Riley announced, "Immortal Skye is protecting us from missiles and is leaving two people behind to protect the room."
"Two soldiers?" A female soldier cried, "You took our guns, and thousands are outside with theirs. How are two--"
Another pressure wave assaulted everyone when two soldiers walked to the room's center, stealing people's breaths.
"My name is Second Lieutenant Rom." A blonde named Alisa announced coldly.
"I'm Second Lieutenant Briggs." A black-haired man named Liam followed, gazing at everyone with sharp brown eyes.
All the soldiers were stunned that Immortal Skye's [lowest-level] soldiers had enough cultivation pressure to drop hundreds of soldiers just by walking near them!
"We are here to protect you." Liam said coldly, "If people come here to harm you, we will kill them. However, if you move, we will kill you."
Silence met his words. Everyone was shocked to hear that second lieutenants were filling the boots of the demonic blonde glaring at them coldly.
"Be warned." Evalyn said, capturing everyone's attention, "While we have a skilled cultivator stopping ballistic missiles, these soldiers are not them.
Those toys in their hands represent their lack of experience. If you try to overrun them with numbers, they will drop those toys and kill you with cultivation techniques. I assure you...."
The Ice General turned to the ice wall, reflecting orange light from the ice blades above like a disco ball, with an ominous smile. "Soldiers will die whether they're guilty or not.
So I suggest you keep the rowdy soldiers in check if you don't want to die."
Icy chills crawled down everyone's spines after they heard her statement, watching the soldiers looking at them coldly.
"With that, I will take my leave." Evalyn smiled, walking to the hole in the wall calmly.
"Do you have an ETA on returning?" Riley asked soberly.
"I do not." The Ice General replied, stopping in place, "I will return after I find General Peyton."
-
"This is Sierra; there is movement in the west communication tower." A male voice said through her earpiece, "I repeat, this is Sierra; there is movement in the west communication tower."
-
Evalyn touched her ear and turned to the redhead with a relaxed smile that chilled everyone to the bone. "It seems that I'll be back sooner than anticipated."
***
General Peyton took deep breaths, staring at a metal door leading into the military base with a rapidly beating heart.
He opened it a moment prior but immediately closed it when black smoke entered the room, eating the light.
"W-What the fuck is this witchcraft!?" The brown-haired man slurred, stumbling backward. He reeked of whiskey, wearing his day's activities like cologne. "This is that cat bitch's doing, I know it!"
Once the pitch-black miasma reached an area, it remained black afterward as if it were erasing the world itself. However, it faded thirty seconds after shutting the door, restoring the world around him and proving it was an illusion.
"That s-selfish fucking brat." General Peyton scoffed, letting his back crash against the wall, "With his techniques, he could have saved everyone! EVERYONE!
All my men! Their families! The goddamn country, maybe!
But he let them die! He let them all die because he's selfish! Now he's turned my men against me and will kill me? Hah!
What a joke.
They'll probably praise him, won't they? They'll praise the selfish brat that could've saved everyone but let their general, family, friends, comrades, and fucking pets die!
Hah! Haha hahaha!"
The general laughed with madness in his eyes, closing them after to deal with the spins.
"Well, you win, you... you... MURDERER!" He yelled, laughing after, "But you won't g-get... get everything you want, YA HEAR!?"
General Peyton unholstered his pistol and snaked it in his hand, spinning it aimlessly, barrel angled toward him. "I won't give you ev~erything you want, you narcissistic FREAK!
I'll kill myself before I g-give you such... an honor. You HEAR ME, Kaze Lexicon!?"
CrrreeeeeaACkKkkccckkccccckkkckkkckkkc!
The man stopped his drunken soliloquy when he heard a horrifying crackling sound beside him. He turned to the door but realized it came from the opposite side. "What, how is that...."
He stopped talking when he saw dry-ice fog descending the four-flight staircase to the top control room.
Crunch!... Crunch!...
"That's true." A hypnotic voice said, echoing off the ice spreading across the wall, "Kaze Lexicon will not be killing you tonight."
...Crunch! ...Crunch!
"However, you're wrong about killing yourself." She clarified smilingly, "I'm the fortunate person with that role, but that'll have to wait until your victims can see your face.
But don't worry, we can still enjoy ourselves, General Peyton."
Crunch!... Crunch!...
"W-Who the fuck are you!?" General Peyton demanded angrily, pointing his gun at the staircase, waiting for her to hit the bottom flight of stairs. "Tell me!"
...Crunch! ...Crunch!
"My name is Evalyn Meadow Skye." Evalyn announced magnetically, "I'm sure you know who I am, yes?"
Crunch!... Crunch!...
"I-I don't have any problem with you!" He yelled back in shock, "This is between m-me and Lexicon!"
...Crunch!
The Ice General stopped for a moment, making his heart stop with her movements, hoping she wouldn't walk further. However--
"Oh, but I have a problem with you, General." Evalyn smiled.
...Crunch!
--She continued walking almost immediately after, stopping only to give him slight hope.
Crunch!... Crunch!...
"W-What did I do to you!?" He asked arrogantly, hearing her voice reverberate the second flight of stairs.
...Crunch! ...Crunch!
"Your soldiers killed my mother." Evalyn said chillingly, making his fight-or-flight response trigger into overdrive.
He immediately ran to the door and opened it but stared into the abyss outside and felt greater terror than from inside.
Crunch!... Crunch!...
The black miasma ate away at his clothing, painting every part of him it touched pitch-black. He panicked and grabbed the door.
SLAM!
...Crunch! ...Crunch!
"Then you ordered your soldiers to kill my people's mothers." Evalyn smiled, listening to him panic as she walked slowly.
Crunch!... Crunch!...
"And just shot a missile to kill their mothers again." She added amusedly, "That was just a few minutes ago."
...Crunch! ...Crunch!
General Peyton panicked and pointed his gun at the staircase as a black figure entered his blurry field of vision. "S-Stop walking, or I'll shoot!"
Crunch!... Crunch!...
"I was there all those times." Evalyn smiled ominously, walking into focus, "So you tried to kill me three times, too."
Bang!
The general shot his revolver at the blonde, watching her in blurry slow motion.
"Four times." The Ice General chuckled in amusement, casually dodging the bullet.
...Crunch!
General Peyton panicked and aimed again, pulling the trigger rapidly.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!
"Five, six-seven-eight...." Evalyn said in amusement, moving her body an inch at a time to dodge the bullets, "Nine."
Bang!
His eyes widened in shock when she called his last shot before he fired. The psychological impact sent his brain burning in overdrive.
...Crunch!
Crunch!... Crunch!...
...Crunch!
General Peyton looked at the smiling blonde, freezing the world everywhere her foot touched in horror. Her ominous smile told him she wasn't planning to hold him on trial until his execution.
Terrorized, he put the revolver to his head, closed his eyes quickly, and pulled the trigger.
Click.
His eyes opened in horror.
Click! Click! Click!
"I counted the number of times you tried to kill me, General." Evalyn smiled sinisterly, watching him panic, "You added six a moment ago."
An icy chill crawled down his spine when he remembered he was using a revolver.
"Go ahead." She said amusedly, "Reload your pistol; I'll wait."
General Peyton swallowed nervously, trembling in fear. He reached into his pocket under her burrowing gaze and fished out a handful of bullets.
Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
Evalyn smiled mockingly, watching the drunk man drop to the tile floor to pick up golden shells, shaking. "Don't worry, General; I'm patient."
He nodded and opened the chamber, loading the bullets. "I-I just--"
"ShhhHHhhhHhhHhhHhh~" She shushed hypnotically, her index over her lips.
General Peyton felt greater fear, hearing her voice reverberate off the glass-like ice behind her. It created an eerie atmosphere. "R-Right...."
He swallowed again, nearly out of saliva from the repeated reflex.
Chink!
After he put the chamber back into the gun, he considered aiming the gun at her but knew better. So he put the gun back to his head.
General Peyton considered saying last words but could see her encouraging him playfully like he was a child leaving for their first day at school.
After a deep breath, he put the gun to his temple and took a deep breath.
BOOOOOM!
"AGahhHHHhhHHhhHh!" General Peyton screamed in pain, dropping to his knees and looking at his hand, bleeding profusely. It was missing its index, middle finger, and thumb.
"Too drunk to even feel the ice in the barrel." Evalyn chuckled ominously, looking at the twisted gun on the ground, "I feel like this scene perfectly captures you in life and death."
"Y-You're just as...." General Peyton stuttered, holding his trembling wrist in shock, "You're just... you're just as bad as HE IS! YOU'RE A MONSTER!"
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." The Ice General laughed as she slowly approached, "I'm worse, General Peyton. So much worse."
Hearing her words, the man felt waves of anxiety crash through him. "W-Worse...? W-Worse... worse...."
"Oh, yes, General." She smiled, looking at him with piercing blue eyes, "See, Kaze Lexicon is a skilled man who would know exactly what to do right now to maximize the social, emotional, and political impact of your death. He'd know whether torture was acceptable or whether a trial was best."
General Peyton shuddered, hearing her words and implicit statement as she dropped to her haunches to face him. "W-What...."
"I'm not skilled in political matters." Evalyn smiled sinisterly, "So you can look forward to me giving you what you deserve."
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮