Star Citizen Online: Isekai Edition

Chapter 49: First Encouter with Mind Flayers

"Mind Flayers, also known as Illithids and sometimes referred to as Ghaik by the Githyanki, were sadistic aberrations feared by sentient creatures on many worlds across the known universe due to their powerful Psionic abilities. Illithids are innately attuned to the Psionic Energy to the highest degree, and they are born as Psionics; many of them are powerful Psykers.

According to the estimations done by the Imperial Scholars, it is said that almost half of their species are Psykers.

From their twisted lairs deep in the mythical Underdark, these alien entities sought to expand their dominion over all other lifeforms, controlling their minds to use them as obedient thralls. They consumed their victim's very personality by extracting and devouring their brains while they were still alive.

The Mind Flayers are considered one of the most powerful species in the known universe. Modus operandi of their species is traveling from one galaxy to another, as they plunder resources and people, behaving like a locusts that is jumping from one field to another while devouring everything in their path."

- Records of the Scourges, Eternal Imperium of Asurya, Imperial Ministry of the Xenobiology

***

Walking through the streets of the Nautiloid was not a really nice experience; that was something that Arcturus had to admit truthfully. The Nautiloid seemed to be alive, or at least partially alive; it was very similar to the Bioship of some kind.

He didn't really like traversing through the halls of the Nautiloid, though it was rather empty due to the preemptive strike of the Obscurus. Usually, most people on the spaceships of the Illithids, were just slaves that were enslaved by the Mind Flayers.

The moment he teleported to the spaceship of the Mind Flayers, Arcturus appeared in some place that seemed to be a warehouse. Based on the footsteps that were being heard on the way, he could see that the slaves and the Mind Flayers had already found out about his position.

It wasn't that surprising because the Mind Flayers were using their Psionic Powers to cover the entire spaceship all the time, so they could monitor everything that was happening within the starship.

Even though their slaves were obedient as much as possible, there were always unforeseeable circumstances. The Mind Flayers were species that, while arrogant, were rather cautious about their slaves.

The experiences that they had with the Githyanki, who rebelled from time to time, so their precautions against their enslaved people were high. There were always people who could rebel against enslavement and get rid of the indoctrination commands that were instilled in them by the Illithids.

Some more remarkable individuals could even get rid of the enslavement by the Elder Brains of the Illithid species. Though such cases were very rare, like, very, very rare, when such thing happened, then usually large-scale rebellions happened among the slave population of the Mind Fleets or the planets they controlled.

'All of them are armed with just cold weapons, not really good quality, almost non-existent armor, and it seems that their Warrior Grades are not really high. Quality of their power is low, so they are holding them low.'

Arcturus could see that the room where he was teleported was surrounded by ten slaves, under the leadership of three Mind Flayers at the peak of the Epsilon-Grade. This was rather problematic if not handled correctly because the Mind Flayers were powerful.

As species that were innately attuned to the Psionic Energy, they could overpower those at the same Grade relatively easily. There were not many species in the known universe that could boast about such powers.

The slaves could be disposed of rather easily, but the three Mind Flayers that were present represented rather a problem. All of them were rather powerful, though he could handle that with the Dimension Empyrean.

The ABD-Spectre MK Battle Droids were already lined up behind him and holding the energy rifles at the entrance to the warehouse. Fortunately enough, there was just a single entrance to the warehouse, so they would need to cross through it.

'They would send the slaves first and let them bear the firepower of the Battle Droids, while they would use them as the meatshield. Let them enter, while I use the time to exit the warehouse and ambush the Mind Flayers that are waiting outside.'

Arcturus ordered the Red Queen, who was controlling the Battle Droids, as he knew the strategy that the Illithuds would employ. Immediately, the Battle Droids got into the formation, and the moment the metal doors to the warehouse burst into the room, the Battle Droids started indiscriminate shooting.

For the poor slaves, they were torn apart by the ferocious energy projectiles that absolutely destroyed the slaves of the Mind Flayers. Meanwhile, Arcturus used the Dimension Empyrean, the 2nd Ability, and the Empyrean Manifestation to cover his body in the Empyrean Power to exit the warehouse.

Due to the Empyrean Power covering his body, he could withstand the firepower of the Battle Droids for some time, as the energy projectiles couldn't break through the thin layer of the Empyrean Power that was protecting his body.

When he exited the warehouse under the heavy firepower and thick smoke, he saw there three Mind Flayers that were mildly levitating above the ground.

In terms of height, weight, and build, Mind Flayers were roughly comparable to thin humans or humanoids, but it was at this point that any external comparison to humanoids ended. A Mind Flayer's body was, in fact, a gruesome mockery of the humanoid form.

Due to that, many speculated that the Mind Flayers were not a natural race but some sort of experiment of some powerful and ancient entity from the primeval times when the universe was still very young.

An Illithid's flesh, was soft, supple, moist, and rubbery, resulting in an unmistakable texture easily distinguishable from any other creature by anyone familiar with it. Their skin ranged from mauve to greenish-violet in color.

An Illithid's bulging, ridged, elongated head was reminiscent of an octopus, with a cluster of four flexible, unsegmented, extendable, purplish-black tentacles surrounding their mouths. The tentacles could range in length from 0.61? to ?1.2?meters, appearing shorter when an Illithid was at rest.

They writhed and undulated almost constantly and absent-mindedly while the Illithid pondered or otherwise was not using them, and flexed in anticipation when sentient beings drew close. They were also incredibly dexterous, powerful, and could be fully controlled by the mind flayer to perform both fine and strength-based tasks.

Illithid hands were long, slender, and lacked an index finger, but were otherwise similar to those of normal humanoid creatures. The remaining fingers and opposable thumb were red to mauve in coloration, and their nails were thick and black.

Though Illithid nails seemed dangerous, they were actually blunt and composed of soft cartilage, and so had little hope of being effective weapons. Illithid feet were webbed and had only two toes, which were also nailed and could flex widely apart, as if to assist in swimming.

Illithids were known to dress in dramatic flowing robes and cloaks. They were rarely seen without distinctively two-lobed boots, which concealed their webbed feet. They often wore high, flaring collars, dark hats, and various other pieces of ornamentation.

They were a pretty dramatic species who loved the attention and worship of the people who saw them; one could say that they were very vain and arrogant. Even right now, they were paying more attention to their own image than to the battle that was taking place not far from them.

Still, they managed to notice Arcturus, as they instantly sent several powerful blasts of pure Psionic Energy his way. Unfortunately for the Mind Flayers, Arctrurus dodged almost immediately to the right side and rushed to the Illithid, who had purple-colored skin.

With one precise swing of his Power Weapon, he severed the tentacles on his head and slit his throat while the other two Mind Flayers let out a high-pitch stretching sound when one of their compatriots was killed.

Because the Illithids didn't have mouths, it was Psionicically created, something that the Mind Flayers were using to cripple the senses of the people around them.

Though he had to admit that the Mind Flayers were powerful, judging on the strength of the Psionic Blasts that they were sending his way, they would be able to kill Epsilon-Grade warrior in one hit and even kill Delta-Grade Warrior in three to five hits.

'They are powerful... indeed they are and their mastery over the Psionics are top-noch, but their combat abilities...'

Those ones were absolutely terrible.

He could now recognize it relatively easily, primarily due to the fact that he was trained by someone as experienced as the Grandmaster Byrmellir, so he could clearly see that the Mind Flayers, while powerful entities, they were absolutely terrible at the combat.

Their movements were crappy, reaction times were slow, and they were making a lot of unnecessary moves. Not to mention, they were wasting time every time they attacked, which was another great weakness.