Chapter 376: Racial War; A Cold Helping Hand
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"Oh, your son's dead. Damn, that was quick! I thought he'd last longer. Hmm, I guess I overestimated him."
The Demon God's face couldn't turn any darker than it is already, even after hearing Cedric's words.
Of course he knew that already. He might be isolated here, but his senses could still spread outside, allowing him to see what's going on. He witnessed the death of his only son, the child that he had so many hopes for, his only successor. His son died in a strange land without reaching his full potential; how could he, as his father, not feel grief about this?
And it's not like he just watched as his son was dying. He did his best to save him. He used all means he knew to, at the very least, send even a tiny wave of his aura out of the prison he was in to rescue his son. But it was clear that he underestimated the means Cedric had to deal with him, because not even a sliver of his aura leaked outside.
No amount of physical or magical power could escape this isolated prison he was in. And the worst part is that Cedric didn't bother stopping his attempts either, signifying that he had full confidence that nothing he does will matter in the end.
Additionally, without the Flesh Incubator and the Soul Network, reviving his son was almost impossible. The only way he could think of working was making a deal with a notorious 'rogue race' since they have the means to revive his son, but this will sure cost him an arm and leg. He couldn't possibly expect the alliance to help him; they were Space Pirates after all.
But all of this was under the assumption that he gets out of this place alive, of course. By now, it was painfully clear that humanity was determined to not give any of them that chance.
And now, without the strongest deterrance to their mission, the jets and mechas continued working on disabling the barriers that kept them away from the power source of the ship. It certainly wouldn't take long before they blow all of this up, and he could only watch here as everything happens.
It was heartbreaking, of course, seeing his enemies destroy all of his hard work, his blood, sweat, and tears. Nobody aside from him knew just how much effort, resources, and sacrifices it took to get his people this far.
Everything here was built by his own hands, and to see everything he worked so hard for being destroyed just like that, just because of a singular mistake of giving his enemies a little too much time, was incredibly vexing.
The Demon God didn't even bother hiding his animosity this time. At this point, he didn't care whether this human was connected to the alliance or not. Whatever he and his people did went beyond his tolerance. A battle to death is a certainty at this point.
"I will enjoy torturing you and this world to the point that you beg me for release when I'm done with you," the Demon God uttered, gnashing his teeth in anger.
"I'm pretty sure you lost all chances of that happening when you decided to throw a slumber party on your own, but yeah, sure, whatever makes you feel better, I guess," Cedric casually replied, acting as if he couldn't feel the sheer animosity the other party was sending his way.
"We both know you don't have much time left anyway. Take it as a form of mercy from me since despite all the bad things you did to me and my people, you did give us a chance, after all. It's just too bad that we can't do the same to you. Because, you know, that's not really our style."
Crack!
The armrest of his throne broke due to how tightly he gripped it. The Demon God was fuming in anger and helplessness, too. He knew that no amount of force he could exert would ever be enough to break him out of this prison. He had tried to earlier. And that only ended up in failure.
So, as much as he wanted nothing more than to start this fight right here and now, he could only simmer in his rage because the other party clearly won't allow him to.
**
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"God damn it! What's this barrier made of? How is it so fucking hard?"
One of the mech pilots complained at his communications; the sentiment was shared by the rest of his fellow pilots.
They've been doing their best to disable the barrier that's keeping them away from the power source of the Demon Race's main ship. Sadly, their attempts brought nothing but failure so far.
They tried hacking the formation network and failed; they tried sending people inside in more ways than one, but that also failed. Even with them resorting to direct bombardment, the barrier remained solid. Their efforts only left some scars on its surface.
It's obvious that they can't continue this way. Both the fighter jets and the mechas were running out of energy. They're going to have to return to the main ship for repair and reload, but they feel reluctant to leave, especially since they're this close to their goal.
It was at that moment when they saw someone manifesting nearby.
In their alarm, they all pointed their weapons at the figure, thinking that it was an enemy. However, Ulfric, the pilot of the Bullet Angel Mecha, yelled:
"Wait! Lower your weapons, everyone! She's not an enemy! Look closely!"
The one who manifested before them was of unparalleled grace and beauty. She was wearing a long and silky silver dress that hugged her curves. Her platinum blonde hair fell like a silver waterfall behind her, and her pair of crystal clear sky blue eyes regarded everybody with cold indifference. Experience more content on mvl
Her presence was accompanied by a soul-penetrating chill, making everyone unconsciously shudder before her.
As soon as she manifested into form, she only gave everybody a cursory glance before narrowing her eyes at the sturdy and stubborn barrier that's preventing them from accomplishing their goal.
Wordlessly, she walked past everybody and paused right in front of the barrier. She then raised her right hand slowly and pressed her index finger on the surface of the barrier.
And to everybody's surprise, the barrier network was instantly frozen solid with that single touch of hers.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Mere seconds later, they heard the sound of shattering glass, and under their complex and dumbfounded gazes, the entire barrier network collapsed.
"Holy shit!" One of the pilots exclaimed subconsciously over the comms.
He couldn't be blamed. After all, whoever this woman was, achieved something that all of them have been struggling to do with a single touch. Hell, she's not even in a jet or a mecha. She was wearing a dress, for fuck's sake!
It's like she was in the middle of a dinner date with her lover and somehow sensed that some people needed her help, so she excused herself, saying that she's just going to go to the comfort room real quick but went here instead!
Aside from freezing the entire barrier network and shattering it like a thin piece of ice, she also froze the entrance to the power source itself as if sensing that the people behind her will also have troubles with it. And just like the barrier network, those doors shatter like glass too.
Done with her job here, she couldn't even be bothered to spare them any more attention than necessary. She just directly dissipated into a cloud of silver mist, leaving everybody silent and feeling complicated.
"Everybody, please don't misunderstand. Isabella's just really anti-social. It's not her intention to slight or offend us; she's just really mission-oriented," Ulfric explained, hoping to quell any dissatisfaction his mates might feel about her attitude.
"It's all good, Kid. We get it. She's a different breed than us. It's obvious, anyway."
"Yeah, strong people like that have their own eccentricities. We don't mind, really."
"True."
"Well, what are we standing 'here for, boys? The lady opened the way for us! Let's finish this job so that we can go home soon."
Ulfric breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that everybody wasn't offended at least. They instead turned their attention to the mission, which was the proper response for this occasion.
Still, deep down, Ulfric felt a little complicated and envious. Like Cedric, Isabella was also his batchmate, yet a couple of years later, she's already standing at a place he could've never hoped to reach in his entire life.
The disparity was truly enlightening and harsh at the same time. But he doesn't have time for this. Not now when the way towards the power source of this ship was finally open and they could now finish what they came here for.
"Alright, boys! Time to nut up or shut up!"
"Although it is technically our first time being here, we've seen that huge ball of energy core before in our simulations. We just need to do everything as we practiced back then! It's not that hard! Let's go and make this quick; we've already overstayed our welcome here."
"Sir, yes, sir!"
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