Chapter 250: The Crushing Will of Dominion!
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Tessa's movements were unhurried, deliberate, as though she were conducting an unseen symphony. She raised her hand slowly, her palm facing upward as if summoning the weight of the heavens. The air thickened, oppressively heavy, and a faint golden light radiated from her figure. The fallen mercenaries quivered where they knelt, caught in the grip of a power they could neither comprehend nor resist. Gravity itself seemed to bow before her command.
Otopi stood firm, every muscle in his body tensed as though carrying the weight of a mountain. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, trickling down his face in defiance of the crushing force. The air around him crackled with unseen energy, but his resolve remained unbroken.
"You think fear will break me?" he spat, his voice hoarse but unyielding. His words cut through the tension like a blade. "I've stared into the abyss before, and I've returned. You are nothing but another challenge—a fleeting storm!"
Tessa's gaze was as calm and detached as ever, her expression betraying neither anger nor pity. Her voice was quiet, almost soothing, as she replied, "If that is the depth of your conviction, then show me. Let your will stand against mine."
Though she could have ended it all in a single moment, Tessa chose not to. A flicker of amusement danced in her eyes. She relished the anticipation, the resistance, the opportunity to measure their defiance against her overwhelming might. It was a rare indulgence, and she intended to savor it.
With a flick of her wrist, the golden light surged outward, a radiant wave of energy that swallowed the battlefield. The ground beneath Otopi cracked and splintered, jagged shards of earth erupting around him. A deafening roar thundered through the air, drowning out the cries of the mercenaries as they clutched their heads, their spirits buckling under the force of Tessa's power.
Otopi staggered but refused to fall. His stance was defiant, his pride an unyielding pillar amid the storm. He clenched his fists, his gaze locked onto Tessa's with a ferocity that bordered on madness.
Tessa's faint smile faded, replaced by a look of quiet resolve. "Impressive," she murmured, her voice cutting through the chaos like the first crack of dawn. "But defiance without strength is just another form of desperation."
Her aura flared, golden light erupting around her like a solar corona. The ground buckled and collapsed entirely, swallowing the weak in its wake. Yet Otopi stood still, the last flickers of his defiance clinging to him like a second skin.
"This stubbornness of yours," she said softly, stepping forward, her voice a blade wrapped in velvet, "will be your undoing."
In an instant, she was upon him. To the untrained eye, it was as though she had vanished, only to reappear inches away. Her hand rested lightly on his chest, her touch deceptively gentle. For a heartbeat, the world held its breath.
"You had your chance," she whispered, her words an intimate promise of destruction.
A burst of energy exploded from her hand, sending Otopi hurtling through the air. His body struck the ground with the force of a meteor, carving a massive crater into the battlefield. The shockwave rippled outward, scattering debris and silencing the cacophony of war.
The mercenaries watched in horror as their leader's body withered before their eyes. Otopi's once-proud frame shrank, his skin shriveling like a dried leaf under the sun. His features, once strong and commanding, crumbled into a lifeless husk. As his body fell to the ground, it shattered into fragments, the remnants of his existence scattered like dust on the wind.
Tessa stood amidst the devastation, her presence a beacon of terrible beauty. The golden light around her dimmed but did not fade entirely. Her gaze swept over the battlefield, taking in the broken forms of her enemies. Of the hundreds who had opposed her, only a handful remained, trembling and wide-eyed.
Those who dared beg for mercy found their voices faltering under her unyielding stare. "You have earned the privilege of survival," she said coldly, her voice like the tolling of a bell. "From this moment, you belong to me. If I find you pleasing to the eye, you may earn your freedom. But if you resist..." Her eyes narrowed, a glimmer of menace in their depths. "You will know pain unlike anything this world has shown you."
With a wave of her hand, tendrils of golden energy snaked through the air, coiling around the survivors. The restraints shimmered with an ethereal glow, binding them with an unbreakable hold.
"Now," she said, turning her back on the broken battlefield, "you will follow me. Your lives are mine to shape—or to shatter."
As she walked away, the mercenaries stumbled to their feet, dragged forward by the invisible chains of her will. Behind them, the shattered remnants of their comrades lay silent, a grim testament to the price of opposing the unstoppable force that was Tessa Caldwell.
Tessa strolled toward the clover spaceship, each step deliberate and unhurried, her aura of command undeniable.
The soft fabric of her cheongsam-like silk dress, adorned with delicate purple patterns that shimmered under the fading golden light, whispered against her skin as it clung to her form, covering her from neck to ankle. She walked with an air of regal leisure, as though the battlefield and its ruin were nothing more than a stage she had already conquered.
The clover spaceship loomed ahead, its metallic sheen reflecting the remnants of the radiant energy still lingering in the air. It stood like a monolith, stark and unyielding, yet somehow diminished in her presence.
From within the spaceship, the creak of hydraulics broke the silence as the door slowly opened. Gastro appeared, his expression frozen somewhere between awe and disbelief. His wide, gobsmacked eyes roamed the battlefield behind her, the shattered terrain, the lifeless husks of mercenaries, and the faint glow that still clung to her like a second skin.
"What… How did you… Who did you become… Where did that power come from… Are you possessed?" Gastro's voice was a torrent of confusion, the questions spilling from his lips faster than his mind could process them.
Tessa paused, tilting her head ever so slightly as she regarded him. A faint smile curved her lips, calm and enigmatic, as though his bewilderment was expected. She raised a hand, her palm outward, silencing him with a simple gesture.
"Gastro," she began, her voice soft but filled with a quiet strength, "you've endured so much. You stayed loyal, even when doubt clouded your mind and the path forward seemed impossible. For that, I owe you."
Her words hung in the air, heavy with meaning, as she stepped closer to the ship. Her gaze met his, steady and unwavering. "Today, I will fulfill the promise I made when we left the Realm of Power together. You've earned it."