The Approaching Threat (Part 1)
I drew my sawn-off Remington shotguns and aimed them at her.
"Have you come to save this place too? But you're too late. I've already enlightened them here."
"Is planting despair and fear in their hearts what you call enlightenment? If there's any difference from forcing submission, it's just whether it's gaslighting or not."
"Then why did you allow my existence from the start? That's the mystery. I'm the Grim Reaper. Isn't it natural for death to warn them of their inevitable future? They're just mortals who will die someday. Those who despair unconditionally in the face of death are the truly foolish ones."
"If there's death, then life must follow soon after. That's not something you can ignore."
Whoosh.
Boom.
The battle erupted immediately after our clash.
Swish.
I thrust out my right arm, aiming for her head, but she dove low, slicing my shoulder with her wing while severing my waist in one motion.
Slashhh.
Bang.
"Foolish."
"Huh?"
Thwack.
Splatterrrrr.
I sharpened my knee and struck her diving chin from below.
"Aaaargh!!!"
Then I smashed the severed shotgun stocks into the back of her neck, using the recoil to swap in a sawn-off Remington in my right hand in an instant before drawing a shortened M4 carbine and unleashing a barrage.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
"Ughhh..."
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
"Agh!!"
I followed with three blasts from the Remington shotgun, landing three solid hits. But considering her true nature, only pain and shock waves reached her—no real external or internal wounds.
Of course. Even back when I inevitably obliterated the mansion where she and her parents lived and punched her straight in the heart, she endured without a scratch. If she just had tougher durability, she'd have ignored this and pressed on relentlessly.
So I ramped up my attack speed, unleashing high, low, and mid kicks in sequence, followed by sweeping horizontal slashes, then channeling self-aware darkness into a thunderbolt barrage.
Rumble-crack.
Black lightning swirled as superheated gases liquefied in the atmosphere and rained down on her, followed by my relentless, heavy combos.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
"Grahhh!!!"
My psionics-infused strikes sparked flames, streaking like infrared lines through the devastated realm of darkness.
"Eek!!!"
Zzzzzt.
She generated high-frequency vibrations on her holy spear to form a barrier, blocking some attacks successfully before spinning it into a shockwave blast. She then assumed a javelin stance, soaring higher into the air and diving to strike. I teleported right there to stomp her head and pin her, but her wing surged up and smashed me dead-on.
"Guh!!"
Ziiing.
Whooshhh.
Her white light, also self-aware, coiled around me to bind and bisect my body.
"Kuhuhu... You think this paltry effort can stop me?"
Boom.
I triggered an internal explosion, scorching the area and shattering the light. With distance secured, I unleashed ranged attacks without hesitation while hammering her from behind with energy barrages.
Blast-blast-blast-blast-blast-blast-blast-blast-blast.
Click.
Splatterrr.
I whipped up a storm, hurling surrounding debris straight at her.
"Ugh..."
Stagger.
Whooshhh.
Seizing the opening, I activated near-lightspeed flight, vanishing from her sight in an instant before firing another M4 burst.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Ting.
Ting.
Ting.
Ting.
She blocked cleanly this time without panic, but that was it. She'd try to fend off incoming area attacks again, but I'd already accounted for dodges. The M4 rounds inside her barrier morphed and detonated internally.
Kaboommm.
Swish.
"Surprised? Or did you assume I'd have weapons beyond her control?"
"I know I'm not like him at least. And that difference is the power I have that he lacks!"
Shuuu.
A soft flow formed near her body, liquefying instantly to envelop the explosion's aftermath before blasting it at me like water cannon rounds.
Ziiiiiing.
I formed a psychokinetic barrier immediately, but that was a mistake.
Shuaaak.
Sploooosh.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.
"Krrk!"
The explosive remnants burst like liquid droplets on impact, wrapping around my barrier using liquid properties before detonating. The shockwave shattered my psychokinetic shield in one go.
I tried to evade, but fragments curved like homing missiles straight at me.
Pfshk.
"Gaaah!!!"
Psychokinetic barrier shards embedded physically across my body, crippling my mobility. They even sharpened, grinding into my surface viciously.
Damn, I should've dodged from the start instead of blocking!
Whirl.
Pain slowed me just enough for her to warp my senses, landing an illusory strike via manifested imagination.
"Urghhh!!!"
My body's flow twisted, vision inverting. In that gap, she teleported a holy spear into my heart and unleashed a telefrag blast, radiating light.
Fwaaaa.
Her eyes glowed blue as her wings began shredding my body apart.
Of course, my hyper-regeneration and superior raw power meant I felt pain but no life flashing before my eyes. As my dismembered body fell from the shock, exploiting her brief lapse, I recombined via internal energy reactions, regained stance, and dual-wielded M4s at her, firing.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Fwaaak.
But her liquid blocked every shot, reflecting it right back at me.
Huh, she's damn skilled. But I haven't gone all-out yet—just evaded with near-lightspeed without mass-weapon aggression. In other words, I can end this fight on my terms! Plus, treating my eight allies as enemies too, yet only hammering me shows she's still a step below.
Above all, no reason my countermeasures couldn't handle her attacks twice.
Shwoong.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.
I fired three massive explosive orbs, neutralizing the reflected assault instantly, then absorbed the power and slammed her dead-on.
"Aaaaagh!!!"
"Don't think I'll fall for my own attack twice!!"
I swirled darkness around her, unleashing thunder again, followed by energy beams and barrages.
Kwaaaa.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam.
The aliens watching weren't just awed by me—they recoiled from Michelle Merin too. Our English exchange was gibberish to them, but my Grim Reaper brutality was inevitable. Angels, as divine proxies, naturally terrify mortals. That's why they always say "fear not" first.
Click.
Swish.
Kugugugugugugu-boom.
I landed a clean slash past her spear with dimensional energy from parallel universes—a Kasimir force combo—then dragged her into another space entirely. The aliens gasped in horror.
"That's why even the minimally rational live in constant dread of such collapse! They believe their world is everything, so their worthless lives are included. Humanity's the same—why assume these primitive, barbaric aliens wouldn't fear your very existence?"
"Once they see you as unstoppable, they won't resist! They'll think suppressing their instincts saves their necks. Flaunting power before them is petty beyond measure!"
"No need for that. Those preaching 'put yourself in others' shoes' are fanatic about past glories as core truths—no exceptions, nor the reverse."
"Suit yourself. But that conviction always fails against me. Remember that. Those 'lesser beings' fail because they're trapped in their own systems' frames—dullards all."
With those final words, I vanished.
"We'll see... Next time, I'll catch you!!!"
But in that instant, my echo replied to her.
"Instead, reverse-engineer my strength from fighting me and apply that experience. Foolish mortals harp on experience yet 100% derive justice from berating slow results. If you truly want to protect those idiots' lives against natural order, their contradictory cravings for experience, outcomes, and results—born from narrow minds—are more vital than anything. That's why you can't sway me. Rather than breaking death-life cycles, focus on your duty first. To save everyone, start by saving those closest."
Jeracle Side -_-, Earth Time: December 31, 2045, Mephauric Camp
World War III raged on, and per my orders, raids on antimatter bomb depots proceeded smoothly, recovering them all.
But the true priority was their future purpose. I gathered the troops to realign them.
"Soldiers, security has sharply weakened since our Christmas six days ago."
The area tensed; I corrected immediately.
"This isn't about discipline now, nor banning festivities. The issue lies in secretive personal matters among you. Christmas was universal, subconscious, and just one day—we overlooked it. But if any holiday turns festive on your whim, outsiders might notice or exploit it. Even without that, skipping events risks resident backlash. Henceforth, any talk of events—real or joking—earns summary execution. It must be absolute.
The more executions, the worse our reputation, and the lower camp survival odds."
"Yes, sir!"
"You know my birthday is January 4th. But ignore it. It's personal. Spreading it to residents or collective action among you plants false hopes and exposes vulnerabilities to enemies. Handle personal matters privately. Do not spread them."
"Yes, Minister!!"
"Dismissed."
Ten minutes later.
Even in capitalist America, I imposed rationing and controls like communist states—not because protest creates self-fulfilling prophecies. Instead, I'd invoke physicist William Newcomb's 1960s thought experiment, formalized by Robert Nozick as Newcomb's Paradox.
"Anyone choosing between all or one obviously picks the sure thing. Per prior talks with the Joint Chiefs, Army Chief, Navy Chief, Air Force Chief—we'll deploy heavily outward for a gamble, implementing soon. The wise, even optimistically, will think 'add more while we're at it' or 'strike elsewhere.' Even the dim grasp social pressures leading there. With forces as mercenaries or mutual-interest alliances needing cohesion, multitasking is inevitable. They'll decide: disperse attacks everywhere or focus key points for tighter bonds?"