Our campaign against Lokan only took as long as it did to travel.
Any time they tried to mount a defense ended up being an entirely pointless endeavor.
I could obliterate their walls and defenses with either magic or physical attacks as I saw fit.
Other than that, my firearms had also become more powerful. A hail of gunfire and explosions would decimate enemy troops. Utterly eradicating them.
By this point, I had also reached level 162. My stats were growing at a much higher rate and had already increased exponentially.
One day while resting, I had become curious about my sword's own abilities and asked Vengeance.
Vengeance, you still have room to grow, don't you?
[My power has not yet reached its peak. You are better able to handle it now. The battle against the false source was only a taste of what I am truly capable of...my fourth and final form...]
Yeah, I remember. Your fourth form. Tell me about it.
[I will only reveal so much to you at this time. You have yet to truly fulfill my philosophy. Until you do, I cannot give you my full strength. But I will say this: if it seems as if my power is lackluster, I am only using a fraction of it. Meanwhile, the others use a majority of their power. I am the Overseer. The Omni-weapon. Those titles are made manifest in my fourth form...as you will one day see...]
You believe I can fulfill this philosophy of yours?
[Once you are truly ready to take Vengeance upon your enemies. Remember this, Mizik: he who slays his enemies is the vengeful one. Vengeance takes many forms. It is similar to Justice, yet different altogether. Justice only seeks to reward or punish all for their actions. Whether good or evil, regardless of who or what those actions were meant for. Justice takes its standard from the law of morality. The law of the Creator. It is impersonal. Vengeance cares not for those who do good. They are not deserving of my wrath. I am the Overseer. I take Vengeance upon those who fail their duties and those who offend me and my wielder. Vengeance takes revenge on all who stand opposed. You are not a tool. Take your life into your own hands. Lead as I do. Punish the false wielders. And most importantly: take vengeance upon all who stand against you!]
I see. Lead and do not blindly follow. Punish those who stand opposed. Slay the false wielders. Do I understand?
[Yes...you are beginning to understand. But actions speak louder than words. Your mind is close to being suitable for my final form. Practice this philosophy and increase our power. Then my fury will be complete. And I will have Vengeance!]
Noted.
It would be absolutely vital to have every last ounce of power that I could get.
Starting today, I would begin to act on my own. Now that I had the power to move against authority and resist being a tool for others, it would be simple.
My first step was to have words with Vakra.
I approached him in our current camp and waved.
"Hm? Need something?" Vakra asked.
"I need to report a change in tactics," I said.
Vakra was not currently wearing his mask and had been in his human form for nearly a day. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
"In order to unlock the full power of my sword, I can no longer be a tool for others to use. I still want your help in fighting the Corruption, but I will no longer answer to the Emperor or even you. From now on, we're equals. I help you and you help me," I said.
Vakra simply sighed.
"I don't care, Mizik. I assumed our relationship was one of mutual benefits, anyway. I didn't create you for fun, I created you to save the world. So that's fine. I'll continue helping you as long as you do the same for me. And you don't need to worry about the Emperor anymore..." Vakra said.
Did something happen...?
"Why?"
"Isabella seems to have lost her temper with him. He's alive, but completely broken. Oh, and her sister had quite a bit of fun with the Advisor... Jarbold apparently set her off somehow when he tried to give her drugged wine. She had been torturing him since just after our first battle in Lokan. Now he's dead and Isabella is on her way to our location," Vakra said.
My eyes went wide in surprise.
But...I understood why Cassandra did that.
Receiving drugged wine would remind her of her past.
I didn't care about Jarbold, but I could feel a mild satisfaction from Vengeance.
Likely because his 'subordinates' dealt with the problem.
Perhaps it was better this way. Because if I had gotten ahold of them, I would have simply ended their lives.
Whereas Isabella and Cassandra made them suffer.
Regardless, this was excellent news.
"I should have seen this coming. No, I did see this coming. I just didn't want to believe it. Even just one of you could end the world. How the hell did they expect to control you both!? I tried to tell Alwen, but...ugh... Stupid naive brat... Just wait here, Mizik. Isabella should be along shortly," Vakra said.
Just then, a soldier ran up with a worried look on his face.
He saluted.
"Sir! Emergency!" The soldier said.
"Report..." Vakra said.
Just before the soldier began speaking, Vakra changed into a skeleton. The soldier looked somewhat afraid as he did.
"Ugh...ignore that! NOW SPEAK!!!" Vakra said angrily.
"E-enemy army...approaching from the north! Sir, what are your or-"
"SHUT UP, DAMMIT! JUST POINT MIZIK AT THEM!!! SAME AS ALWAYS!" Vakra shouted.
But I had already begun walking toward the north.
The soldier looked over and ran after me.
"L-lord Mizik!? Hold on! I need to show you where the enemy is coming from!" The soldier said.
"You said north, right? I'll just fly up and take a look," I said.
Before he could respond, I leaped into the air and flew towards the location.
I could see the capital of Lokan in the distance. Their forces were slowly marching towards us.
Truthfully...I wanted to drop an ether strike. But I would settle for something less destructive.
I raised my hand as I felt my emotions further disconnect.
My energy flooded out of me to form thousands of explosive flaming javelins.
I saw many of the soldiers stop in place as they finally realized my presence.
Then I moved my hand down to direct the attack.
"Doom barrage," I said coldly.
The javelins flew into the army, impaling the soldiers and exploding.
They pierced and destroyed their catapults, ballistae, and any other war machines they had in their ranks. After the first volley, I formed two more, consecutively, and threw them straight into the army.
The soldiers were routed as even their war monsters were obliterated.
Then I pulled out Vengeance and changed it into a laser rifle.
With a bit of understanding as to how the projectile could function through magic, I was able to change its effect without changing the design of the weapon. I would have plenty of time to make more designs later, anyway.
I fired a single laser blast into the crowd and it exploded violently over a massive area.
After I dinished, a very small number of soldiers were left alive. They ran in terror towards the safety of the capital.
Since I had no reason not to, I decided to move towards it. After all, it would be beneficial to go ahead and end the war.
I shot across the sky and changed Vengeance into a pair of swords.
As soon as I reached the capital, I angled myself down and blasted my way through the outer wall.
My landing caused an explosion.
As soon as I readied myself, I started using my skills.
"Flames of rage!!! Wrath!!!" I shouted.
As soon as I felt my power increase from the berserk state, my flames exploded all around me and enveloped everything.
I shot through the city destroying buildings and ahnihilating enemy troops all around me. Unfortunately, there were a lot of civilian casualties.
But at this point, I didn't care.
I leaped into the air and charged several miniature ether strike-type spells while unleashing a barrage of flaming javelins on the capital.
Minutes later, the capital had been completely destroyed.
"Good. The enemy base is destroyed. I guess I'll head back now..." I mumbled to myself.
I stopped for a moment, however...
I could still hear the screams of civilians all around me...
Men, women...even children all burning alive in my flames.
I was surrounded by death. It was at this moment that I truly felt like a monster.
Everything...will burn. I'll destroy everything... I'll put an end to all of it.
Even still...I forced a smile through the pain of my curse.
"Ha...hahaha... Difar...we're a lot alike, aren't we? I'll kill as many innocents as I have to... I'll put a stop to your rampage. Though...it seems as if I've committed a massacre just like you wanted..."
Gradually...the screams died down and I was left standing amongst the ruined and burning city.
"I'm a murderer...a monster... But if this is my fate, so be it."
When I calmed myself down, I flew back into the sky and towards the camp.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I tried to forget the atrocities I had just committed.
This wasn't the first time I'd burned an entire city to the ground during this campaign.
I had easily been responsible for slaughtering over half of the country.
But...I wasn't sure I cared anymore...
I continued flying towards the camp.
On my way back, I spotted a dropship moving at high speed. It stopped above the camp and began lowering itself down.
Instead of flying the rest of the way, I focused my magic and teleported to the outside of the camp.
When I landed, there was a burst of power that cracked the ground...
I also felt somewhat dizzy from it.
Note to self...find a way to perfect teleportation...
I made my way into camp just in time to see Isabella step off of the ship.
As soon as she saw me, she shot towards me at extreme speed and tackled me to the ground.
"MIZIK!" She shouted.
The impact might have broken a few ribs...but I could already feel them slowly regenerating.
Currently, she wore the same type of combat suit that I did. Isabella looked up and smiled lovingly at me.
"I missed you so much!!! How are you? What have you been doing!? Are you eating well? Is Vakra treating you okay?"
She fired off a barrage of questions and I had to force myself not to smile.
"Let's see...I missed you too, I'm doing well, I've just been killing a lot of people and destroying cities, I am eating well, and Vakra is an asshole but he has been helpful," I said.
"MIZIK! MY PRECIOUS DARLING MIZIK!!! I WON'T EVER BE AWAY FROM YOU AGAIN!!!" Cassandra shouted as she cried onto my chest.
She was hugging me so tightly, that I could feel my bones start to creak...
"You're going to kill me if you keep hugging me like that..." I said.
Cassandra loosened her grip on me, but kept hugging.
"Stop that! I want to spend time with Mizik!" Isabella said angrily.
"No! You can't make me! I need to cover myself in his scent!" Cassandra said as she began rubbing her face on me.
Not even a minute after meeting again and you're already acting like a perverted stalker.
They started rapidly switching back and forth and I just stroked her...their hair...
"Glad to see you two again," I said.
Then I regretted it immediately.
"Haaaaah...Mizik said he's glad to see me! Is that a confession of love!?" Cassandra said with desire in her eyes.
"Umm...no?"
"Stop making it weird, Cassandra! Mizik, I'm so glad to see you again, Mizik!" Isabella said happily.
Moments later, Vakra approached.
"Get a room...unless you want everyone to watch, that is. I wouldn't mind... Kukukuku..." Vakra said.
"You sick, perverted skeleton! Why can't we just have a moment to ourselves!?" Isabella asked.
"Because this is an active warzone. Or at least it was until about ten minutes ago..." Vakra said.
"What? What do you mean?" Isabella asked.
"You didn't see on the way over? Your psychopath of a husband decimated an enemy army by himself and destroyed their nearby capital without being told to do so. Although, it's been like this for most of the trip. This isn't even a war anymore. It's a massacre."
Isabella slowly got off of me and stood up. I followed after her and she sighed.
"What did you expect would happen? He's almost literally a god among mortals. Besides, he probably thought that the faster it was done, the more likely it would be for us to be together again!" Isabella said.
There were innocents...even children. And you don't care? I'm thankful for that...
"That is true..." I said.
"He was given orders to kill enemy soldiers, but he's been killing a lot of civilians, too. He's a walking weapon of mass destruction. And so are you, apparently. Please tell me that the Emperor is still able to lead..." Vakra said.
"Are you joking? That idiot child was never able to lead at all in the first place! That pile of garbage, Jarbold, was running the entire country, himself!" Isabella said.
"I know that! Alwen was only a figurehead. He's a useless child at the moment. Jarbold might have been a sick monster, but he was damn good at running a shadow government. Now we have to replace him. If the Corruption is here, we need a stable fighting force to combat it!" Vakra said angrily.
Isabella simply smiled.
"Vakra. Exactly what do you think I was raised to do?"
"I don't know. Sit on a throne and produce as many children as possible with some piece-of-shit arisocrat?"
Isabella punched Vakra and he was thrown to the ground.
"I'M A PRINCESS, YOU BASTARD! I WAS RAISED TO RUN A COUNTRY!!!" She shouted angrily.
Vakra slowly pulled himself up and looked at Isabella.
"Yeah! That's what I said! Isn't that what the aristocrats typically do!?" Vakra said.
Isabella thought for a moment.
Actually...he's not wrong...
"A lot of them do...but not me. I can help lead Elysium. I'll teach Alwen to be a proper leader and how to govern his people."
"You said you were a Princess, right? That means you weren't technically in charge," Vakra said.u
"I still helped govern the people in between my studies. Regardless, I'm much more qualified than Alwen. And it isn't as if you have a choice right now," Isabella said.
"Fine. You can teach the boy and run the damn country. In the meantime, we still have the Corruption to deal with."
"Good. Now let's stop this pointless war," Isabella said.
"Stop it? Why? We've only destroyed half of the country! We have our orders from Alwen, too!" Vakra said.
"By order of Imperial Advisor Isabella Iratus, you are commanded to cease fighting and return to Elysium," Isabella said.
"Damn you... Alright! We'll pull out and leave this country half-dead..." Vakra said.
"See to it at once. I'll be patrolling with Mizik to ensure the safety of the soldiers," Isabella said.
* * *
Shortly after we left camp again, we walked around while on patrol and had to stop for a moment.
There was a slight feeling of impending doom.
We turned around and saw a small tentacle with a mouth that had sprouted.
"Well, shit. I didn't expect you two to become so unbelievably powerful. Now that I think about it, you might actually be able to kill me. MIGHT! Don't get cocky, because you have no idea what I'm capable of," Cain's voice said.
"Cain. Why don't you show yourself so we can get this over with?" I said in a low tone.
"Where's the fun in that? I'm having a blast in this new timeline! I'll make sure to catch you and lock you in the Abyss so that I can keep going!"
"That means you can't kill Mizik, right? In other words, you have to hold back. You'll lose as a result," Isabella said.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! GO AHEAD AND BELIEVE THAT, YOU ALBATROSS WHORE!!! I won't hold back for anyone at this point. The gloves are coming off, Mizik. I'll make sure to deal with you very soon. For now, I'm a very busy man! I have to get settled in and all!"
"Rest assured, Cain, we will find you. The souls of all of our loved ones from Avernia and Ignitus cry out for vengeance and we will have it," I said calmly.
"Good luck with that. And you should know that despite the power you possess, the real deal is still far stronger than I am. Remember, Difar fought two gods at the same time without getting serious. Can you do that? Just something to think about..."
After that, the tentacle sank into the ground and disappeared.
Actually...
I was kind of worried now.
I didn't think I could really trust Cain, but I had to consider the possibility that he wasnt lying.
It was disturbing to think that Difar might still be unreachable...
Isabella and I looked at each other with determination.
"We have the ability to surpass our limits now. We can grow indefinitely. If he's still stronger, we can just increase our power more. Stand by my side and I'll protect you, Mizik."
"We'll get stronger. We'll kill that bastard and destroy the Corruption. Then...we'll finally be free."