[Ishmael]

  I stood at the top of the tower and looked down on the mass of troops that assembled themselves below me. Charles had been busy in his recruitment efforts; our numbers had swelled significantly since I had left.

  Which is why he led the proceedings.

  “Soldiers. Warriors of Hell,” Charles greeted. His voice had not risen in volume, but it had somehow managed to carry perfectly down below. “We’ve been working tirelessly since we arrived on this plane to achieve a lofty goal shared by all people; to reach the pinnacle and claim the right to shape this very place ourselves.”

  I heard a rush of shouts rise up from the ground. What fools these people are to be so fired up to be my meat shields. Their only purpose was to get nuisances out of my way.

  “Many of you are opportunists, seeking to follow the path given to you to advance higher and higher. Some of you are loners, wandering the higher rungs and realize that the world is coming to a head. Maybe, you are someone who was cast aside by or felt disillusioned towards your old organizations. Whatever your motivation is, I welcome you. But, it is not I who will be leading the charge to the top. That honor belongs to the demon standing next to me. Ishmael.”

  Charles moved to the side to allow the attention to move my way. I narrowed my eyes at Charles’ play, but he did not give me an expression in response. I stepped forward, taking my position at center stage.

  I could feel the eyes watching me expectantly. Most of these people had never met me; they likely never even heard of me. And I was supposed to be their champion? Ridiculous.

  “I don’t care why you’re here,” I said. My voice rolled down the tower like an avalanche. “I don’t care if you have reservations or alternative motives. You only have one job, to fight those that would slow me down on the way to the top. I do not know what you want, but know now that I have no interest in creating a world catered to your needs. I will only serve my own purposes. You joining me only allows you to be first in line to try to wrench control out of my hands. Do as you’re told and get out of my way.”

  A few scattered claps came out from below. Herzblatt’s group was the only ones that were invested in my words; my message had not changed since I was gifted control of them. As for the rest of them, they stood stock still like automatons waiting for their next command.

  What had Charles done to make them so obedient?

  “Move us there, Charles,” I ordered.

  Below, a pattern formed in a wide circle around the tower. Some of the newbies seemed surprised, but those that laid down the framework in the first place only readied their weapons for what came next.

  A bright orange light enveloped the entire region. Screams from some locked dimension filled my ears as the tower slipped into the void.

  One blink of the eye, and we were still in our isolated spot faraway from any action. The next blink, we were right on top of it. Shouts and spells and violence filled my ears with the beautiful sounds of war. We were dropped in the thick of the hyper-war that consumed most of the factions of this world and our entrance did not go unnoticed.

  There was a short pause as the combatants locked in endless war looked towards the sudden newcomers. Were we new allies or enemies? Was it worth ignoring or teaming up together to destroy? I didn’t care as long as there were bodies to eat.

  “Herzblatt, Mutya; achieve your purpose.”

  I saw an army of elves charge into the battlefield. In their hands were identical high-tier weapons. They carved into the flank of the enemy. Following behind was the golden arsenal of the dog pope and a swarm of white-robed followers eager to end lives for a cause that I did not understand.

  Death swarmed around me. Destroyed bodies piled up, ripe for consumption. I opened my palm and the innumerable mouths of [The Devouring] swallowed the battlefield. I could hear the shouts of surprise as the endless war suddenly found a conclusion.

  When only one group is able to rise from the grave, ground is gained quickly. There was no pivot in strategy; their minds had grown too rigid to the fact that they would always wake up again and have to continue to fight. It’s hard to be defensive when the enemy doesn’t have to care if they perish.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Strangely, I saw many fighters give up at the sight of their comrades disappearing into the ground by the thousands. Their arms were spread wide in anticipation of being stricken from the world forever. Sadly for them, they would wake up within an endless cycle of death. But, they should feel solace in the fact that my intention lied in ending their pain once and for all. Even if the motivation was purely selfish, the act would be considered a great mercy.

  “Are you enjoying the show?” I asked the viewers beside me.

  “There’s no denying the effectiveness,” Charles answered as he sipped on his drink. “I made my own contributions as well.”

  “Make them as loyal to you as you feel, it doesn’t matter to me.”

  “How? How are you breaking the endless cycle of death?” Capitaine asked, their eyes wide with awe and horror. “What have you done?”

  “Nothing special,” I answered nonchalantly. “I have made a death loop and I plan to fill it with as many as can fit.”

  “There’s no limit?”

  Capitaine’s question caused Charles to offer a subtle look of curiosity. It made me wonder whether or not they were truly not working together. Both of them were sly enough to make such an illusion.

  “You can break out if you’re strong enough. I just make sure not to eat anyone capable of that,” I explained. “I reserve it for the minnows of the world to slowly melt down and be completely hopeless to escape. Too gluttonous and my stomach will be ripped open from the inside. For now, let’s just watch the progress.”

  To those that were on the receiving end of this onslaught, it was clear that old enemies would no longer be worth fighting. At the very least, those wise enough to see that were able to band together. Those that blindly rushed their hated foe ended in the same perpetual pain side by side.

  Once they formed a larger alliance, their remaining strength dwarfed ours. This would be a more sustainable position as they called to their main fortresses to brief them on this dire situation.

  Just as their ranks began to stabilize, a raging fire consumed the right flank of the enemy. Vendetta chose her time to appear wisely as her boiling inferno immediately brought the tentative alliance into abrupt chaos.

  As for the rest, I could deal with them from up here. A sphere of black mana formed above the battle lines. Fire burned in my hands and I sent all of my force to the far reaches of the battlefield.

  [ICMB]

  The shockwaves from the explosion could be felt from miles away. The fur on Capitaine’s face was swept in the wind of death. Any fliers in the path of the explosion were incinerated as the ground battle was completely thrown into chaos. Like kicking over an anthill, all of the living specks were thrown into complete chaos. Even my own troops stopped for a second before they continued to throw themselves into the enemy.

  My forces rapidly spread out as we kept our push towards the mountain. Soon, moving fortresses from other battlefields rushed in. Plumes of orange from teleportation created an entire colony of castles to appear in the blink of an eye.

  My explosive fists rocked the incoming castles, killing scores of reinforcements in an instant. Demons poured out of the open gates to try to slay everything in sight.

  “Things are heating up quite nicely,” Charles commented. “Soon, the entire war may be here for you to consume.”

  “Millions may be too many to eat,” I conceded.

  I was already started to feel strange from the sheer quantities that I had already sentenced to death. Too many more and I would rip at the seams. Besides, there was one group that I wanted to make my entrance through.

  And there they were.

  Through one of the many screaming portals that brought the war together, a hideous structure appeared. Walls made of spikes impaled with trapped demons dropped directly on top of the battle. The demons that spilled out of the gates gleefully cheered at the sheer amount of lives they would be able to reap.

  “Wrath’s followers,” Charles announced. “How many powerful groups have come to knock us down now, ten? Twenty?”

  “That’s my cue,” I announced.

  I unfurled my wings and blasted down towards Wrath’s fortress. All that stood in my way were hopeless obstacles. My barrage of [Bomber] ripped through anything and everything that was so unfortunate to be in my path. Those braying demons of war disappeared into vapor as I smashed into their gates.

  I threw my attacks in every direction. No matter where I swung, I was going to connect with a body. Death rained down upon me in a glorious bath of red.

  With the endless death that surrounded me, I finally decided that I would reach my perfect height here. I expended the rest of my XP into levels as I piled up stats from my victims with my joyous attacks.

  My level hit the limiter; Level 99. There was nowhere else to grow. As soon as I wrapped up these few scraps, I would move on to the top.

  “Stop!”

  A shout made my enemies retreat from me. I turned my head around to see who had interfered with my fun. It was a walking shark. Beady black eyes watched me and rows upon rows of teeth gnashed in an oversized mouth, ready to take a bite of flesh from the intruder.

  “Ishmael,” the shark greeted. “I have seen much of your exploits, though I doubt you know me. I’m Dakuwaqa and I’ve been looking forward to the chance to get rid of you.”

  I stomped the ground and created a shockwave that threatened to knock them all off their feet. My body burned hot and a grin crossed my face. This would be the finale to my time on this plane, the final middle finger to Wrath before I arrived at his doorstep.

  “Then get rid of me.”