Chapter 54

I was in the storage room of a bar or something. Since no one was around, I stretched my body real good. My wings were extended, and my arms loosened up a bit. I really needed that.

Should I remain a black figure or something else? Black is cool though! Mmm... How about red and black? Sure, let's go with that. Is that gothic style!? I don't know.

Ruby red eyes, raven black hair and pale white skin became my new appearance. Or, should it be strawberry red eyes? As for my outfit, it was a black dress with red patterns and luminescent trims. My wings had to be removed because they were too conspicuous and prone to injuries on the battlefield. As for my pointy ears, I kept them as is, because, style points.

I was quite happy with my new look! My girl friends in my previous life would be super jealous of me if they found out I could create new outfits this easily and quickly.

Normally, making a new dress would take a while but recently I was getting super proficient with [synthesis]. I felt like it would soon evolve into something even more amazing.

I'm tired of looking androgynous.

Since Smoothie calls me Mother, and not Father, let me give myself two soft but barely noticeable bumps. This way, it'll appear as if I'm growing! I'm still growing, yes, perfect explanation if Smoothie ever asks. Mm! Hehe... I'm sure she'll be super jealous!

The main reason Smoothie always called me Mother probably had to do with naming conventions in this world. That was just a guess. After all, fathers normally didn't create children by themselves. I was just a special case in this world, or perhaps my lack thereof had to do with being a semi-spiritual existence?

Now that I thought about it, wasn't I both then? Is it unique to progenitors? Maybe there's more to [transformation]? Ughhh... I have so many questions now. I hate thinking.

Deep or not, rabbit holes are no good. Let's return to reality.

I probably missed the main army somewhere. There are still four other branch tunnels but I don't want to go back. I can't be bothered. Guuuhhhh... I want a pay raise!

Anyway, did they already march towards the other cities after collapsing portions of the city's main tunnels? That's very possible. If they did, that would be bad. I already cut their supply route for now but they could still loot supplies. Meh, nothing I can do about it. I did my best. Time to go home, take a shower, and sleep.

On the streets, there were small scale battles as light tanks made their way towards one of the main entrances to the inner city.

The heavy tanks seemed to be inoperative, and just parked on the street. There were no traces of damages on them as far as I could see. I snuck next to one and found that even the mana core was still in there so I gladly stole those mana.

One could never have too much mana. As expected, all the extra mana were stored in either [subspace] or |hoarder|. I didn't know which one.

While sneaking around the city while avoiding detection, I continued to neutralize enemy soldiers here and there. Just for fun, I even picked up a rifle.

It's an upgrade! It's a weapon upgrade! I think.

I had never held a weapon in my previous life before, not once. I was both excited and nervous to try this new gadget. That didn't mean I had no knowledge of how it was used. There were plenty of instructional videos on the internet that taught the basics. It couldn't be that difficult to use, right?

Aim, and shoot!?

There was a little hum sound before a light bullet left the barrel.

Aww... I missed. Darn it!

I was aiming for a headshot but it penetrated his neck instead. Still, a kill was a kill.

Indeed, so it's something like a pulse of weak particle beam... As expected!

I always wanted to say that like a bigwig scientist. If I was an intellectual in my previous life, I could have gotten a good job. But, I had no regrets!

After that shot, I was noticed. My conspicuousness was making itself known. There was no other being dressed as strangely as I was in a warzone. I made sure to smile. To the humans, they surely saw a devilish grin.

If playing the role of a devil means making the enemy of the humans, then I shall play a devil's role. I'll make all of you tremble in fear before this great me. Mwuahahaha...!

I accidentally got into the mood. Well, to be honest, I just wanted the war to stop so I could relax and play around. And if there were nothing to entertain me, the next option would be to create entertainments, no matter how long it took.

Up in the sky, it was no longer apparent which side was winning. The cloud cover was simply too thick. However, there were hints of the battle everywhere around us. On one hand, wreckages of a magitech flagship burned at the foot of an adjacent mountain. Various other wreckages were clearly visible as well, some within the city and on the mountains. On the other hand, there were a few dead winged beasts lying around. Well, that was likely because they weren't as visible to me.

Psst.

"Oww... Who shot me?"

I turned around to find a soldier charging at me with a long sword in hand.

"Yaaahhhh!!! Die you fiend!"

What? A fiend now? I thought I'm supposed to look like an elf right now? It didn't work? Is it because I'm attractive that you're coming at me at full speed? I'm so smart and you're so dead.

"Buzz off!" I rebuffed before shooting him in the chest. But for some reason, one shot wasn't enough to stop him. He was super reluctant to fall and die.

How persistent!  I thought with exasperation while throwing away my useless rifle.

"Are you so desperate for a hug? Well, too bad, you're bleeding and I don't want to get my new dress soiled. So, bye."

I flicked my left hand, and a poisonous dart anchored itself into his chest. Within seconds, he was no more.

Psst.

"Ow! Again?"

I was super irritated. I managed to keep my dress clean but now it had a hole in it. The first one was burnt my left cheek which I had already healed up. That was fine, but I hated pain.

Grrr... I hate hidden snipers. Did they get smart? Or do they usually play dirty?

From the old documentaries, I remembered seeing that snipers in war used to hide behind things. They were the definition of cowardice, no offense. They had no chivalry but that was just how wars were fought back then. I never lived through any of that. Nonetheless, if wars in this world was moving in such a direction, I wanted to stop it. I wasn't a fan of ugly things.

Everyone should just get along and eat my strawberries, especially now that I had flavorless and non-lethal poisons at my disposal. It was no longer a dream!

I hate this. I can't even freely use poison here.

The easiest way to eliminate everyone was to use poisonous gases on the entire city. But, that would also kill off the beastfolks. There was no easy method.

Gah, I'll just rid of the tanks and go back. I've helped out enough already.

Ignoring the hidden sniper, I swiftly zipped around the city using narrow paths between buildings. A sniper was just a sniper. They normally shouldn't pursue their targets.

It was quite an exhilarating experience to move so quickly in a warzone. I had plenty of mana so with or without wings made little difference right now.

One by one, I laid waste to light tanks and heavy tanks within the city. Draining their mana was quite easy now that I was quite good at it. I didn't even need to be inside the tanks' operating space. With my currently ability, I just had to be near it and touch the metal parts surrounding it which could be done outside. As for the operators, I left them there. I wasn't about to crack open the lids to get to the meat. It was just a waste of my time.

I doubted anyone other than me could accomplish this feat aside from that rabbit demon. [Devourer] was probably something that could also drain mana aside from simply eating souls. Those magitech stuff was just poorly compatible with someone like me. They were just unlucky that I happened to be here!

Anyway, collecting mana was fine and dandy but I didn't see anyone with black mobile suits while cleaning up. I had seen a few underground in the big tunnels and never in the smaller tunnels. If anything, I expected them to show up to give me a good fight out in the open.

While I was stopping in between each tank, I took another few hits from that annoying sniper; or perhaps these were different snipers. Every single time, as if they were trying to agitate me, I had to repair my damaged dress.

Gurrr... I'm merciful! The devil is merciful and benevolent! That is, your life is being spared as long as I don't see you.

Because I was super merciful, I left their surface army mostly intact. As much as I didn't want to become a devil, I wanted to be a devil. My head was such a mess.