Chương 74: Chapter : 74

"Innocent?!" Vane screamed back, pointing an angry claw at her.

"The nobles in the Inner City are not innocent! They bought their expensive clothes, their fancy food, and their big houses with the blood of my children! They enjoyed the wealth of the Soluriam project while my village rotted in the dirt!" Vane started pacing back and forth, his heavy footsteps cracking the concrete floor.

"When that curse weapon detonated, it wouldn't just blow up buildings," Vane explained, clearly incredibly proud of his horrible plan.

"The highly concentrated life force was completely infected with my darkest curse. The explosion would release a massive, invisible cloud of toxic magic over the entire Inner City. It would force all those ignorant, wealthy nobles to experience the exact same agonizing plague that wiped out my forgotten village. Their skin would rot. Their lungs would burn. I was going to make them feel my pain!" Sayma felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck.

If Vane had succeeded, the capital city would have been turned into a massive graveyard. The death toll would have been unimaginable.

"But you ruined it!" Vane yelled, glaring at the 13th Unit.

"You broke into my tower! You forced me to absorb the energy from the tank just to survive! You ruined ten years of planning!" Princess Iris took a slow, steady step forward. The sympathy in her violet eyes was still there, but it was now shielded by a fierce, undeniable resolve. She raised her silver rapier, pointing the sharp tip directly at Vane's mutated chest.

"I am sorry for what happened to your family, Captain Vane," Princess Iris said clearly. Her voice did not shake. She sounded every bit like the strong, capable leader the Empire desperately needed.

"Dr. Raven and the corrupt officials who allowed the Soluriam project to happen deserve to face justice. I promise you, if I take the throne, I will tear out the corruption in this Empire by its roots. I will make sure nobody ever suffers like your village did again." Iris's eyes hardened, shining with absolute determination.

"But I will not let you commit mass murder to balance the scales," Iris declared.

"Killing thousands of people in the capital will not bring your wife and children back. It will only create more orphans and more widows. You have let your grief turn you into the exact same kind of monster that you hate." Vane stared at the young Princess. For a brief second, the old, honorable Army Captain inside of him seemed to hear her words. But the moment passed quickly, swallowed entirely by the toxic, green madness of the Curse magic running through his veins.

"Your promises mean nothing to me, Royal trash," Vane spat. His massive muscles bulged as he lowered his stance, getting ready to strike. The dark, heavy mana in the room spiked to a suffocating level.

"My plan might be ruined, but I can still start my revenge right here. I am going to tear you and your little guards into pieces. I am going to make sure the 13th Princess never leaves this tower alive!" Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Naomi stepped up right beside Iris, her green wind magic exploding to life. Sayma stepped to the other side, her hands glowing with golden barrier magic. They formed a tight, protective wall around their Princess.

Behind the sofa, Ken peeked out one last time. He saw Vane getting ready to charge, and he saw his teammates bracing for the impact.

"Well, so much for talking it out," Ken sighed silently in his head.

"The tragic backstory is officially over. Now we have to deal with the giant, angry bat." Vane let out a deafening, demonic roar that completely shattered the remaining glass in the penthouse windows. He pushed off the ground, his leathery wings snapping open, ready to unleash the full, terrifying power of his mutated body on the tired, outnumbered girls of the 13th Unit. The talking was over. The true battle was about to begin.

Downstairs in the main lobby, the chaotic battle was finally coming to an end. The massive, mutated lieutenant known as Blight was incredibly strong, but he was completely outmatched by the perfect teamwork of the 13th Unit's Vanguard.

"Eat this, you overgrown glow stick!" Laxmi roared. Her hands erupted into roaring orange flames as she blasted a massive wave of fire directly into Blight's chest. Blight stumbled backward, roaring in pain. Before he could regain his balance, Zinia slammed her hands onto the tiled floor. Thick, heavy chains made of solid rock shot out of the ground, wrapping tightly around Blight's thick legs and pinning him firmly in place.

"Luna! Now!" Zinia shouted. Luna, who usually looked like she was ready for a nap, was completely wide awake now. Sparks of bright yellow electricity danced across her hair.

"Goodnight, big guy," she mumbled lazily. She pointed both index fingers directly at the trapped lieutenant. A blinding, deafening bolt of pure lightning crashed down from the ceiling, striking Blight right on the top of his head. The sheer voltage was too much for the cursed drug in his veins to handle. The green light in his eyes flickered and died. Blight's massive body went completely limp, and he crashed face-first onto the ruined floor, totally knocked out.

The rest of the mob, seeing their unstoppable lieutenant fall so easily, instantly lost their courage. They dropped their rusty swords and magical staffs, turned around, and ran out the front doors of the Doom Tower in absolute panic. Laxmi didn't even stop to celebrate. She pointed toward the dark stairwell.

"They need us upstairs! Come on! We have to help the Princess!" Zinia and Luna didn't waste a single second. The three elite girls sprinted toward the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as fast as their tired legs could carry them. Meanwhile, high above them in the ruined penthouse, the situation was turning incredibly desperate. The bat-monster Vane was overwhelmingly fast and insanely strong. His massive leathery wings allowed him to glide across the room in the blink of an eye.

His jagged claws tore up the concrete floor like it was made of wet paper.

"Hold the line!" Sayma yelled, her voice straining. She pushed her thick glasses up her nose. Her hands were shaking as she poured every single ounce of her mana into a large, golden Absolute Hexagon barrier. Vane slammed his giant, mutated fists into the golden shield again and again. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! With every strike, tiny cracks appeared in the light. Sayma was sweating profusely, struggling to keep the barrier from shattering into pieces.

Ira stood right beside her, swinging her highly pressurized water whips. She managed to wrap a whip around Vane's wrist, trying to pull him back. But Vane just laughed his horrible, double-layered demonic laugh. He yanked his arm back so hard that Ira was actually lifted off her feet. She had to let go of her magic just to avoid being thrown across the room.

"You cannot stop me!" Vane roared, his toxic green eyes glowing in the dusty air.

"I have the life force of thousands burning in my veins! You are just weak little girls playing with toys!"