Unlimited Isekai 45 Devastation

The white tower in the center of town ignited, a ray of fire streaking from it across the mountains.

The distant landscape erupted with thermonuclear-like detonations wherever the tower's beam struck. The earth shook, and the sky was filled with a kaleidoscope of horrifying colors of magic setting the world alight.

The tower fired again and again, but the tide of men in skull masks seemed never-ending. Dave saw that many of them held their hands up in the air, forming dome-like magical shields over the crowd, protecting themselves and others from the onslaught.

A massive hologram of the fat emperor flashed into existence above his army, his visage a twisted display of arrogance and malice.

"City of Shandria. Lower your ward and surrender or perish," the rotund man spoke, his voice booming across the battlefield.

Another ray from the tower fired, defiant in the face of the God-Emperor's ultimatum.

"So you have chosen death," the fat Emperor said, his tone laden with menace. "Isekai!"

A grotesque, kilometre-wide sphere manifested into existence high above Shandria. It was made up of naked tiny shapes, people fused into each other, their forms twisted and distorted in a macabre display. It plummeted directly onto the central tower, punching through the clouds. The shield over the town held as the macabre sphere struck it, but at a terrible cost: the shield flickered and countless corpses rained down all around the city, a gruesome testament to the price of defiance.

Dave's ears rang as another ray of fire blasted from the city into the ever-growing force of the invaders, igniting firestorms across the mountains, the clash of powers creating a terrifying spectacle.

The trembling ex-programmer clung to the old crumbling bricks as the ground shook with earthquakes caused by the detonations all around him. More spheres made from people fell from the sky, pummeling the ward shield that protected the city.

"You are tempting my patience," The fat God-Emperor growled. "Iseeee-ee--eekai!"

He pointed one of his bloated fingers at the center of the tower. Dave squinted as a flash of countless people merged into a single point right above the shield. It wasn't a big sphere, but as the fat emperor pointed his fingers at the tower, Dave gulped as the mass of a single dot of people kept increasing. Eventually, the mass of the summoned became so great that air began to whoosh towards it. The shield wobbled and shattered as a small black hole, formed from the unknown number of summoned heroes, came into existence right above the city.

"Advance!" The Gold Dragon God Emperor ordered, and the tide of skull-wearing men moved forward. A firestorm of spells erupted from them as they got closer to the city. The tower in the center of Shandria folded as the catastrophic singularity sucked everything into itself, bending space and time.

The hexagrams stretching the city streets popped; buildings collided with buildings, and catastrophic explosions rippled across Shandria. A firestorm spell struck the smithy lighthouse tower from the advancing horde, and Dave saw that Remicra rushed to try to shield him with her body. She arrived far too late, unable to stop the spell from devouring the tower and the pair in brilliant flames. Dave screamed as his flesh boiled and his eyes popped, the world around him collapsing into chaos and destruction.

. . .

The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and burnt flesh as Dave's grip loosened on the dark, furry wrist. With a scream of pain that seemed to reverberate through the very core of his being, he fell to his knees, curling up into a ball, desperately trying to protect himself from the invisible flames that threatened to consume him. His heart raced, pounding against his ribcage like a caged animal, realizing that he was, in fact, still alive. He could feel the cold, clammy sweat on his skin, but his body wasn't on fire, his flesh wasn't melting away with magical flames.

"What, what the fuck was that?" Dave hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes filled with tears of pain and abject horror, as he stared up at the source of his torment.

Cedez looked down at him with a scowl that seemed to be etched into her very soul. Her ears twitched with barely contained annoyance. "Shandria without my meddling," she replied, her voice dripping with disdain. "Shandria without me defending it. The future, an alternative, parallel path in which I don’t fully come into being. I showed you exactly what you wanted to see, a world where I quit the game. Go on then, tell me how much I suck, how useless I am, you jerk."

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but the words were caught in his throat, strangled by the realization of just how much he had underestimated Cedez's importance in the grand scheme of things.

"Maybe I should go find a less rude hero to hang out with," the foxgirl mused aloud, getting off the bench and stretching her lithe, sinewy body. Her tail swished behind her, betraying her agitation. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, her eyes never leaving Dave's crumpled form. "Hrmmm? Someone who won't yell at me for being useless!"

The ex-programmer gulped, his adam's apple bobbing nervously as he struggled to find the right words to say. He knew he had crossed a line, but it seemed impossible to find a way back, difficult to find the words after his insane vision. Cedez stepped over his curled up form, her eyes cold and distant.

"Every slave collar, every red rune feeds the ward of Shandria power from its citizens, gives me life, helps me hold back the tide of endless monsters that wish this little domain gone,” the foxgirl uttered. “I’m as bound to this city as Remicra was to her lighthouse forge, except you can’t ever free me… because if I vanish, if I quit doing what I do… Shandria will fall.”

“Ir… errk,” Dave stuttered, unable to pull words out of himself as his teeth chattered.

“Have fun making Bakelite with your dragoness," she said with a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of regrets as she dropped a gate keystone on his curled up body. "Goodbye, Dave."

As Cedez strode away, every step echoing in the silence that enveloped him, Dave couldn't help but wonder if he had just lost not only an ally but also a chance at something more.

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