As Akash's story came to a close I felt nothing but sympathy for the tree-like alien, but I fought to keep any of that off of my face. He hadn't just been tortured by Lara, he'd been tortured by another group of humans… and I wasn't just going to let that stand. 

I'd had enough of the humanity of this universe. They were nothing but a bunch of pillagers, running rampant throughout the universe and doing whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted. After I dealt with Lara and her little hybrid army, they were next on my list. 

[ Secret quest activated: Destroy All Humans! ]

[ Quest Conditions: End the reign of the Human Empire through any means that you choose ]

[ Rewards: 

1,000,000 XP

???

???

???

??? ]

I almost choked on another sip of my drink. I knew that my mysterious extra system had the ability to grant me quests based on the choices that I made, but I hadn't ever expected one of those quests to grant me quite that much experience. Either it was just scaling the XP up to the point it thought I would be at the time I completed the quest to not be useless, or it was just going to be that difficult. 

Either way, yet another part of my course was set in stone. I was going to destroy the human Empire. 

"Lara… She seemed overwhelmingly strong," I said, "I'm not sure how we're meant to take her on if she shows up tomorrow." 

It wouldn't just be us there, but the silence from my companions was basically as damning as it could get. Lara was strong, stronger than all three of us put together, and there was likely no chance that we'd be able to take her down in a fight. But we could give people a chance to escape, or if she only sent her Hybrids, we could try and deal with them. 

"As loathe as I am to admit it, you may be our best shot at that," Akash said. 

That was an unexpected revelation, and I also didn't see how it could be the case. Every time BB had mentioned Lara it was with the addendum that, if she wanted to, she could kick my ass up, down, left and right if she wanted to. If that were the case, and judging from Akash's story I'm pretty sure it was, then how I was meant to be the key to defeating her was something that I couldn't put my finger on. 

"The sword that you wield, I have heard that it was made from the claw of a Null Space Invader, the very one that you fought alongside Lara at the beginning of this mess, is that correct?" Akash asked, sensing my confusion. "In that case, you should be able to nullify Lara's manna based attacks. At that point, all you'll have to deal with is her speed, something that you have a considerable ability in yourself." 

He was right, I did have a considerable amount of speed under my belt thanks to the triple whammy of my propulsion ability, anti-gravity fields and enhanced cognition when moving at higher velocities. But could that really stand up to someone who could move so fast it seemed like they had mastered instant transmission? Someone who could phase through attacks as if they were intangible? That was a daunting idea. 

<You still don't stand a chance against her, to be honest,> BB confirmed my fears with a sigh, <And there's nothing you're really going to be able to do to prepare, you're just going to need a whole load of luck on your side.>

"Yeah, I don't know if my speed is anywhere close to the speed that Lara has on her side," I said out loud, "Yr'Arl, you've fought against me, what do you think?"

Yr'Arl took another sip of his drink before responding. "Unfortunately I must concur, Jacob Lyre, as it stands you will not be able to outspeed Lara and so you would surely fall in battle against her," He eventually said.

"I do not intend for Jacob to fight Lara alone, you fools," Akash said, "He will merely be the bait, drawing her into a trap that we can spring on her. She seems to have focused her power on offence and speed, her defences should be comparatively weaker. If Jacob manages to keep her off guard, then we will be able to launch an attack that will incapacitate her."

On paper Akash's plan seemed solid, but there was an uneasy feeling settled deep down in my gut. I was sure, for some reason, that it wouldn't be as simple as he was making it out to be. For Lara to be able to move so fast, and to hit so hard, wouldn't that mean that her body would have to be incredibly powerful as well? To withstand the force of those blows and those footsteps, wouldn't her defences have to be equally high?

I tried to shake the traitorous thoughts free from my system with another gulp of alcohol. 

"Fine, I'm willing to put my life on the line to bait her into making a mistake," I said, "But I want to spar against you first, Akash. If I can manage to take you down, then I'll be more comfortable going up against Lara."

The Eldrani made a chuffing sound that I had come to associate with him laughing. 

"Very well, Jacob, we may spar with one another. But do not expect me to go easy on you just because we are now working together," He said. 

"Please, as if I would expect anything less, I want your all," I shot back, before downing the last of my drink. 

If I couldn't at least hold my own against Akash, even in my current powered down state, then there was no way that I'd be able to keep Lara off guard long enough for the others to enact our plan. 

But if I could? Then we might just have a chance.