The World Is Mine For The Taking

I tightened my grip on the sword Veronica had given me, my palms slick with sweat and trembling slightly as if the weight of the blade itself was testing me. My heart pounded so hard in my chest that it almost drowned out the sound of my own breath with every beat hammering like war drums as I stared down Elise.

Then—suddenly—light flickered at my side. My instincts screamed at me louder than words ever could. I ducked, just in time, as a silver thread sliced through the air, cutting exactly where my head had been a mere heartbeat earlier. The sharpness of the wire left a hiss in the wind, like death whispering past my ear.

Another string followed, this one faster, sharper and merciless. It came straight for me, aiming to carve me down without hesitation.

I twisted, using the momentum from my desperate duck, raising my blade with every ounce of strength I had left. Sparks burst into the air as steel clashed against that shimmering thread, the shrill metallic scrape ringing in my ears.

"Oh?" Elise's smile stretched wider, her eyes shining with a predator's gleam. "So you can dodge that, huh? Interesting."

Her long fingers twitched again, delicate yet terrifying, as threads glinted faintly in the dim light. It looked like she was weaving a deadly web, strands catching the glow and shimmering with lethal beauty.

"Well then…" she tilted her head, voice curling with amusement, "…how about you dance for me some more?"

Her hands moved, and then the storm came. A wave of strings exploded forward, slicing through the air with impossible precision, each one aimed with surgical accuracy to cut me down.

The speed—the sheer crushing weight of their power—was beyond anything I thought I could endure. The wires screamed as they cut through the air, and the force behind them was strong enough to split steel. It was almost unthinkable that I was still standing, still managing to deflect, still alive.

Maybe it was only because of the blade in my hand—Veronica's blade—that I hadn't already been reduced to ribbons.

"You've got some great moves," Elise said smoothly, watching me weave between her threads, her grin never fading. "But tell me—can you keep up?"

The wires blurred. Faster, sharper.

My eyes were darting everywhere, straining to follow every steel thread that came at me from all angles, every flick of her fingers birthing another slash of death.

But no matter how I twisted, no matter how I moved—

—I couldn't keep up.

She was just too fast.

"Ngh…!"

Pain flared. One thread slashed across my side, tearing deep. My teeth clenched so hard it felt like they would crack. The agony seared through me, hot and violent, like a bullet had just punched through my stomach.

"Fufufu…" Elise chuckled, her voice soft but sharp. "That was close. But… oh, look at you. That must hurt. Your guts are practically spilling out."

I stumbled, clutching my side, warm blood seeping through my fingers. My vision swayed from the pain, but then… strangely, it began to fade. The sharp sting slowly dulled, almost as if my body was fighting it back on its own.

"Hm?" Elise narrowed her eyes, her expression shifting with curiosity. "You're regenerating too fast."

I didn't think I was healing quickly. It didn't feel that way to me. But… was I?

Memories flickered—images from Earth, from the brutal campaigns I'd been part of. Fighting Infected. Cutting down enemies from opposing factions. Reclaiming islands so survivors could live again.

And through all of it—I healed. Faster than the others.

Faster than any human should have been able to.

I knew back then something was different. My wounds closed faster. My body mended quicker. Maybe it was the modifications they had done to me… or maybe something else I never fully understood.

They told me I was special. But no one ever explained what exactly that meant.

Still—fast or not, my healing wasn't perfect. It wasn't instant. A fatal strike could still end me in seconds.

I had to be careful.

"Oh well," Elise said, her grin returning, sharp and cruel. "I'll just have to slice you faster than you can regenerate."

Her hands blurred again—faster, smoother, like she was plucking invisible strings in a frantic symphony.

"Nghhh!"

The threads whipped out. Not just from the front anymore—no, this time they surrounded me. A crushing storm of wires from every direction, faster and faster, impossible to predict.

Panic clawed at me. This was getting worse. I couldn't keep track—

And then—

"Ah…!"

A sudden, blinding flash of pain exploded. My whole arm was gone.

Blood sprayed in the air in a violent arc, trailing behind the severed limb like a rocket tail. The arm landed on the ground with a sickening, wet thud. My hand was still gripping the sword tightly, even though it was no longer part of me.

"Nghhh…!"

Blood poured out of the stump, a fountain spraying across the floor, hot and sticky. My body trembled from the shock, my breaths coming in ragged gasps.

It was too much—I was losing too much. Too fast.

"Looks like that finally did you in, huh?" Elise said, though her voice now carried a note of disappointment. "So that's how fast you could go…"

But I barely heard her.

My mind was splitting apart.

It felt like someone had taken a massive hammer and slammed it into my skull, over and over, shattering bone and thought alike. The pain was so severe it blurred the edges of my vision, pounding in waves that made me want to scream.

I had never felt anything like this.

And then—suddenly—veins began to bulge beneath my skin, glowing, throbbing with a strange purplish light.

"Grr…"

My vision tinted purple, the world twisting, shifting. My thoughts felt like they were being smothered, taken over by something else entirely.

The agony was so intense I wanted to vomit, but my body wouldn't let me. Something inside was holding it back, forcing me to endure it.

And then… I lost control.

***

Elise's POV

I froze, watching the woman in front of me as she suddenly let out a low, guttural growl.

Her skin was glowing faintly with that eerie purplish hue. Veins bulged under the surface, throbbing and spreading like cracks in glass.

She looked like she had snapped.

Her aura shifted—no, it transformed. It wasn't just different, it was overwhelming. I felt it press against me, heavy and suffocating, making my instincts scream.

This wasn't the same woman I had been toying with seconds ago. This was something else. Something dangerous.

Then—her stump moved.

The severed arm, the one lying on the floor, twitched unnaturally. And then—it lifted, dragging itself back toward her body.

I blinked in disbelief as the flesh reconnected with the stump, knitting itself together seamlessly, muscle and skin reforming as if nothing had happened.

She didn't just heal.

She reattached it like it was nothing.

In seconds—she was whole again.

And then… her eyes.

Her eyes glowed purple, completely consumed, no trace of humanity left in them.

Then—

She lunged.

The speed—god, the speed—was insane. Even I barely registered it. For the first time, I felt a chill of danger crawl up my spine. If I hadn't sensed her movement at the very last instant, if my instincts hadn't screamed—I wouldn't have blocked in time.

I steadied myself, staring at her again.

Those eyes—cold, empty, rabid.

There was no emotion and no hesitation.

Just pure frenzy.

Just pure rage.