Chapter 210: Brain-dead.
Chapter 210: Brain-dead.
"What?"
"You heard me, Godslayer, that imposter you call Ikaris, the vile little vermin you keep thinking of when I utter the word Vatui, where are they?" She asked and for a moment after her question the very space around them went dead silent before Sol released his hammer and balled his fist.
"You... You read my mind?" He asked, never before, no other creature had ever done this, even Ikaris was unable to, even the goddess of dreams and memories was unable to; but this woman numbered 120 had easily intruded his mental space without him even realising.
"Indeed." She smirked. "A few more moments and I will no longer need your words, I will simply pry the information directly from your thoughts... What the!" She snapped shocked when all of Sol's thoughts became distorted and dark, she became unable to make sense of anything in his mind, and upon looking at him closely she saw a drop of drool floating away from his mouth. "What the hell did you do?"
Sol wouldn't be able to make sense of her words, as soon as he realised his mind was his enemy he completely shut down like a machine.
"You turned yourself into an idiot...?" She stared at him in disbelief. "I've never heard of... what?
Who the hell is this guy?" She began slowly approaching again since someone with no brain function couldn't react, but by the time she was at arms length from Sol who floated stationary she felt a foreboding presence inside of him warning her that this was the closest she would ever get and keep her limbs.
"What's going on?" Dina asked, staring at Sol directly through the system's eyes. "What did he do?"
[He turned off his thoughts, he still functions, but all his senses have been locked away leaving only instinct, at least that is what it seems like, even trying to speak to him has become impossible, he simply stares back like a marionette.] Alpha answered in their heads.
"Is it that bad?" Usami who was standing by Ikaris's side queried impatiently. "He should have attacked multiple times already, I thought he was going to be more aggressive."
"He was weighing whether it was safe to fight them." Ikaris responded this time.
"You haven't been in a fight yet where your opponent holds all the cards like this; they came with enough power to destroy an entire universe in that ship I have never seen anything like it; a truly sentient being with unlimited resources is the most terrifying thing to face as an enemy, the moment he realised he was being probed he took the advantage away, it was a smart option, but I do not know if it was the best option."
[It is the only option that makes sense, ironically,] Alpha corrected her. [That woman with the serial 120 on her cheek would have found us by now had she not given away her intentions earlier, the only reason they are unaware of where we are is because he sacrificed his mind.]
"Will he be alright?" Arla spoke up.
"He is the Godslayer, I think you should remember he did something similar when he fought Sitri." Ikaris looked at her. "He is the only one capable of destroying and reconstructing his very consciousness on command, and I am sure you remember what happened the last time he lost his mind."
"Chaos."
***
"What's the hold up, Minora, just retrieve him and take him back already he is only a godslayer." The man in the ship was walking over dead bodies on his way to the screen while the ship itself quickly travelled on its way towards them, an entire galaxy away, speaking to her through an implant in the skies of their heads.
"Boss... I can't touch him." The now named Minora shook her head raising her hand and feeling a death sentence rise against her again when Sol's finger twitched. "If I get any closer I'll die.
"Don't be ridiculous-"
"N-no, I'm serious, he realised I was probing his mind and completely shut down like a doll, except he's way more dangerous than before, if I even try to touch this man, I'll definitely die!" She retracted her hand and retreated several paces away.
"That's ...new."
"What should I do?" She asked.
"Stay put and keep your eyes on him, I'll deal with him myself." The boss answered and disconnected from the conversation leaving her there staring at Sol with a small dagger in her grasp, ready to defend herself at a moment's notice."
"Ugh,No." Ikaris groaned, leaned forward and started breathing heavily, holding on to Arla's shoulder for support. "Not now...!"
"Ikaris, ow~!" Everyone turned to her when Arla hissed and yelped from her shoulder almost breaking because of the Goddess's grasp. "What's wrong?" She asked, casting [heal] on her dislocated shoulder and bending down with her.
"She is draining my mana again, but she is taking a lot this time to substitute for Sol's mana, I don't think I have enough to spare currently!"
"If we leave this space they will immediately find you again!" Dina stared at her taking a knee and waving her hand before her belly conjuring up the small reserve of divine power she possessed and sucking in a breath of shock when the entirety of it was siphoned from her within a few seconds.
"Hunn~ It hurts!" Ikaris held her belly and placed her hand over her heart breathing heavily while she began sweating. "My mana does not multiply this fast, if this continues..." She left the speculation unsaid and Alpha appeared before them.
[The only safe option is to get her to Atla so she can access the rest of her power, but I do not have the means to do that currently] Alpha placed her hand on Ikaris's forehead. [She has a fever again.]
"Fuck me..." Usami began pacing before them causing Gia to playfully do the same until Uriyu picked her up while his sister looked at them. "What's the unsafe option?"
"Master vestic will not respond to me until he gets rid of that woman, it is a game of chess and he is waiting for them to slip up, but if he senses that Ikaris is in danger he will abandon that fight and come right to her-"
"If he does that they will follow him right to us though..." Dina stared at Alpha.
"If we stay, Ikaris dies it's not even a question, get us out now!" Usami snapped at them, and they collectively looked at alpha and nodded watching her eyes light up before the world around then shattered and they appeared in the dining area again.
As soon as Arla's feet touched the ground properly she fell to her knees, finding the root of her sigils and channeling her mana into it until she seemed to glow with reminiscent crimson and then she screamed with all her power; "Master!"
"We locked on sir!" The pilot of the ship called to the man, a half of her face was burnt and bandaged and her hand was scarred, but she still did her job well enough to remain in charge
"What?"
"Two Vatui signatures appeared again stronger than before."
"I thought there was supposed to be only one." He furrowed his brow.
"These readings... they're female, sir, she's with child!" Another woman jumped from her seat and looked at him then fell back and started tapping away at her screen. "Her vitals are dropping fast she is nearly dead, if we don't hurry we will miss the opportunity to reap them both!"
"Minora, there's been a change, the Vatui showed up again with a child, stay there with the Godslayer for now and let me know if anything happens, I'll retrieve them and come back to get you as soon as it's done." He spoke through his implant, but there was no response. "Minora, are you there?"
"Minora?"
"Sir! Sir... Captain!!" A man came running towards him, tripping across someone's leg and falling epically causing a device held in his grasp to hit the ground and slide to his leader's feet. "S-sir there's a delayed signal coming from Vice Captain Minoras implant."
"Delayed, how?"
"Sir, she's dead, her vitals are all gone, but her brain hasn't shut down yet because she didn't realise, t-the cause was decapitation she still thinks she's looking at the Godslayer!"
"What, when did this happen!?" He snapped at the man grabbing him by his neck and raising him off the ground.
"The signal is delayed by a minute, it seems to have happened after your last transmission, the last message was a warning...!" The analyst flailed when he was tossed to the ground, getting up and reaching for his device again. "It said 'If I see your ship, sense your presence or even feel like you're coming after me I'll murder every last one of you' ... Sir!"
"Set a course now, make it instant, we have a Godslayer to kill!" The Captain roared in fury and the pilot summoned another orb like the first and stuck her hand in it, closing her eyes and focusing as the stars they were passing became streaks and the void before them lit up.
"Ten seconds to breach!" Someone announced over Comms and everyone rushed to strap down while 79 stood next to the Pilot with his hands smashed through the dashboard as he held on with his teeth grinding and his eyes burning crimson. "I will make you regret doing that to my subordinate, I will make you regret being born, you and that Vatui whore!"
"Godslayer filth!"