Time was stretched into a spider silk on the verge of snapping.
That giant hand, encased in profane purple armor, was slowly descending at a speed so steady it was maddening.
Each inch of its approach felt like slow torture upon Leticia's nerves.
The air was viscous, so heavy she could not breathe.
Her muscles were completely paralyzed, her brain frozen by pure terror, unable to send any commands.
Run? Where could she run?
Behind her was the cold bulkhead and the girl she needed to protect.
She watched helplessly as those fingertips, flickering with ominous arcs of electricity, were about to touch Terrania's fragile neck, which seemed as though it would shatter at the slightest touch.
She watched as that beautiful face, currently in slumber, was about to be tainted by filth and profanity in the next second.
No. No. Absolutely not!
"...Don't you dare touch her!!!"
A hoarse scream, sounding nothing like a young girl's voice, tore through Leticia's own eardrums.
It was not a rational decision, but the most primal roar from the depths of her soul, unleashed after an overbearing instinct to protect had overwhelmed everything else.
Fear was incinerated at this moment by a more intense emotion called "anger."
She moved.
Her body, like a cannonball fired from its chamber, lunged forward in a posture bordering on self-destruction.
Just at the moment before that giant hand could succeed.
Leticia used her own frail body to block in front of Terrania, firmly and without leaving a single gap.
She spread her arms, like a mother eagle protecting its fledgling, completely shielding the girl behind her.
She raised her head; those black eyes that had once reflected panic and helplessness now held only burning, resolute flames.
With all her might, she stared defiantly and intensely at the god-like, demonic giant before her.
The Chaos Space Marine' movement finally stopped.
His massive helmet tilted slightly downward, and in his scarlet lenses was reflected Leticia's face, stained with dust yet still breathtakingly beautiful, filled with rage.
From his loudspeaker came a low, hissing sound, as if he were amused.
It was like mocking a mantis that dared to wave its ridiculous arms at a carriage wheel.
"Interesting... ant."
That profane intent wormed its way into Leticia's mind again, this time with a hint of playful condescension.
"Willing to sacrifice your insignificant life for a stranger of a sacrifice? This foolish bravery... is actually a rather unique 'pleasure'."
Before the words had even faded, he didn't even raise his hand. He simply waved his arm toward Leticia, casually and contemptuously.
An invisible, irresistible force was born out of thin air and slammed hard into Leticia's chest.
Bang!!!
Leticia's body, like a broken doll, was easily sent flying by that force.
Her back slammed heavily against the hard metal bulkhead, emitting a sickening, dull thud that set one's teeth on edge.
The entire world shattered into countless black spots before her eyes.
She slid down the wall to the floor, her throat turning sweet, and a mouthful of scalding blood uncontrollably gushed out, splashing onto the cold deck like a striking red lotus.
Excruciating pain. An indescribable, agonizing pain erupted simultaneously from her chest and back, instantly sweeping through her entire body.
Her internal organs felt as if they were being roughly kneaded and displaced by an invisible giant hand; every bone was groaning, as if they were about to fall apart in the next second.
Her vision was blurred, her ears rang sharply, and even breathing had become a torture; every inhalation pulled at her lungs, bringing a tearing pain.
She was done for.
This thought surfaced clearly in her consciousness, which was chaotic from the extreme pain.
She couldn't even manage to delay him for a single second.
Through her hazy, blood-red vision, she saw the purple giant take another step, bypassing her fallen body and heading back toward the Blonde Girl curled up in the corner.
That hand reached out once more toward Terrania.
No... don't...
Leticia's fingernails dug deeply into the gaps of the metal deck as she tried to prop up her broken body, but it only earned her a more intense, black-out-inducing pain.
A sense of powerlessness, like the deepest icy sea, completely submerged her.
She could do nothing. She could only watch helplessly as the tragedy unfolded.
"...I said."
A weak voice, stained with blood foam but incredibly clear, squeezed out from her lips.
The Chaos Space Marine' movement paused slightly again.
He turned back somewhat surprised, looking at the "ant" on the ground that should have lost all ability to resist.
Leticia coughed up another mouthful of blood and struggled to prop up her upper body with her elbows.
She raised her head; her long, dark hair was soaked with blood and sweat, clinging messily to her pale cheeks, making her look utterly disheveled.
But her eyes were terrifyingly bright.
There was no more fear or pain in them, only a will so pure and extreme it seemed capable of burning away her very soul.
"If you want to touch her..."
She said, word by word, her voice hoarse but carrying a determination like metal striking stone.
"...you'll have to step over my dead body!"
The moment the words fell, a burst of true, joyful, and cruel laughter erupted from the Chaos Space Marine' loudspeaker.
"As you wish!"
He abandoned Terrania, who was within reach, and instead strode toward Leticia.
A massive shadow enveloped her once more. This time, it carried undisguised, pure killing intent.
He raised that giant boot, encased in purple metal, high, preparing to crush this death-defying bug beneath his feet, along with her ridiculous determination, into a pulp of flesh.
Death was so close. So close that Leticia could even see the dark red, dried bloodstains on the sole of his boot.
But this time, her heart was surprisingly calm.
All fear, pain, and unwillingness seemed to have been completely hollowed out and burned away by that declaration just now.
Her spirit was focused as never before. Her consciousness was compressed and purified, condensing into an incredibly clear, incredibly firm thought.
—Protect her. Even if the price is death.
Just as this thought was branded deeply into the core of her soul, something... changed.
An indescribable, strange power, from the deepest and most core part of her soul, awakened, surged, and burst forth without warning!
It was not an illusion. Leticia could clearly "feel" a scalding, warm current with a hint of sweet fragrance being born from a source she could not understand, madly surging into her limbs and bones.
Wherever this power passed, the agonizing, heart-wrenching pain rapidly faded, like ice and snow melted by the warm spring sun.
Her body, her soul, seemed to have been injected with a brand-new, completely different vitality.
The Chaos Space Marine' giant boot, which was about to stomp down, suddenly froze in mid-air.
His scarlet lenses locked onto Leticia, for the first time revealing an emotion mixed with extreme confusion and disbelief.
"What... what is this?"
His profane intent carried a trembling note of shock for the first time.
"This aura..."
Just a moment ago, the very instant he was about to crush this ant, a brand-new aura, one he had never felt before, burst forth from her broken body.
That aura was pure, fragrant, and filled with the most primal allure of life.
It was like a drop of the finest perfume dripped into a cup of murky sewage; not only was it not polluted, but it suppressed and purified all the filth around it in an overbearing manner.
That feeling... was a thousand, ten thousand times more alluring than the pure soul he was about to capture!
It was an ultimate "pleasure" that struck directly at the source of the soul, making every one of his cells tremble and crave it!
The Chaos Space Marine' breathing became heavy and rapid in an instant. The killing intent in his eyes was replaced within a single second by a more insane, possessive greed.
He saw it. Deep within Leticia's black eyes, a faint, pinkish-purple light, like a newborn nebula, was slowly brightening.
The light was not blinding, but it carried an indescribable magic, as if it could suck a person's soul in.
An invisible yet incredibly powerful mental wave burst outward from Leticia as the center!
This wave had no aggression, yet it was like a warm wind carrying a sweet fragrance, brushing over the Chaos Space Marine' soul.
The giant's body froze. The expression on his face solidified in an extremely bizarre state—half a cruel, savage grin, and the other half an obsessed, trance-like intoxication, as if on a pilgrimage.
His movements stalled. His thinking also experienced a momentary blankness.
His mind, filled with chaos and slaughter, now had only one thought echoing madly.
"Obtain her... must... obtain her!!!"
The crisis was not resolved. But in this despairing dead end, a glimmer of light had already bloomed.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.