Chapter 47 : Just Crashed and Already Fighting a Scylla The sky darkened, the ground vibrated and every fiber of my being was telling me to escape as far as possible from this threat I knew too well. Facing us was a shadow from which light and darkness were intertwined, expelling a dominating aura so oppressive that any other living being than us would be incapable of moving. A Scylla in its etherical body. From all the beings we could have met, we had to face a Scylla in its original form...this is by far the worst-case scenario that could have happened. 'Gladia...engage code 1. Send the signal to the squad and bring them back as soon as possible.' [Y-yes...] 'How is the flagship armament ?' [We have only five proton warheads left. All canon batteries are either destroyed or offline. No remaining interceptors.] 'Lock all the warheads onto the Scylla, be ready.' While I gave my orders to Gladia inside my mind, only a second passed. I could feel Katarina's field getting stronger behind me, I didn't have to ask her to know that she was only waiting for me to move first to follow up. Even after all those years she spent sleeping inside a cryo pod, she didn't forget how to fight, and the profound bond we all forged with each other as squad members didn't fade with time. We fought so much on Kar'goth that we didn't even need to talk during these moments : we felt and knew what to do just by standing together, this was the synergy we developed after numerous battles as Void Rifter of the same species. "It seems that..." I didn't wait for the Scylla to finish its phrase before moving, followed by Kat. We both jumped back a few meters and prepared our best skills. I instantly activated my【Red Mist】at its maximum output and I was already gathering Void energy in my left arm, while Katarina expended her force field and released a powerful aura similar to the Scylla's. We never faced a Scylla in its etherical form before, yet we knew how dangerous they are. I was aware that the only reason why we have been able to fight toe-to-toe against them in the Singularity was because of the limitations their Templar clones put on their strength. 'Kat, on me.' 'Yes.' When the Scyllas were in this form, they had no visage nor any visible body parts so it was hard for me to decrypt their behavior. Even the dumbest beasts and monsters show different facial expressions during a life and death battle, but the Scyllas don't. I couldn't guess what they were thinking in their Templar clones, so it's near impossible when facing them in their shadow body, which makes it hard to fight them conventionally. If we want a chance to win, we must go all-in from the start. Because a code 1 threat overrules all previous orders, Douglas, Jerome, and Alice are most likely heading back to our location right now. We have to gain enough time for them to join us. "GO!" When I gave the signal, we both attacked at the same time. "【Dark Explosion】!" I concentrated the little Singularity energy I could feel to release the second strongest attack I had at my disposal, while Katarina's aura fully descended onto the area to suppress the Scylla. I was surprised to see how concentrated was her force field even though she didn't fight for years. I can't imagine how strong she could have become if she fought with us during the Singularity invasion. My【Dark Explosion】caused a huge blast of Singularity Energy to explode at the spot where the Scylla was standing. It was powerful enough to reduce everything into dust in a ten-meter radius around the Scylla, yet I doubted it would do any damage. This only served as a distraction. My goal was to gain time before the rest of the squad arrives, so I can gather enough Void energy for a full-power【Void Surge】. As if Kat understood my hidden intent, she conjured a【Dark Blade】in each hand and went to melee range with her force field still activated, pushed to its limit. Her field was so concentrated that even the air particles around her were getting suppressed and dislocated, which created a blurred layer all around her body. I was glad Kat was on our side... I don't know what would have happened if she was the one the Scyllas sent to kill us on Kar'goth, instead of the Giant Ants. "Umu... So you decide to fight, I understand." Amid the smoke, we heard the Scylla casually talking as if nothing happened. Strangely enough, its voice sounded different from the other Scyllas and I felt like I already heard this voice before. I pushed the thought away as we were in the middle of a life-and-death situation, and I focused on my next move. I also summoned a【Dark Blade】on my right hand and I followed Katarina who leaped forward, while I kept gathering Void energy in my left arm. Once we got close enough, we slashed the Scylla smoky figure with all our forces but as expected, our blades just went through the foggy etherical body of the Scylla. Still, we kept slashing to keep its focus on us as we saw a radiant light getting brighter far away through the dense vegetation. When the light was at its brightest, we both jumped to the side and a powerful purple energy beam followed by multiple orange beams pierced the Scylla body from all sides. Not even a second after the shots got fired, a shadow covered the Scylla and a massive rifter attacked it with a long two-handed energy sword from above. Douglas and Jerome came back much faster than I expected. 'Nova formation. Proceed!' I used【Void Step】to take some distance before I gave the whole squad the next command. The Nova formation was the only tactic we had at our disposal that could harm a Scylla in its original body. This was a battle formation I personally designed to face an over-powered foe we couldn't beat with regular attacks. It revolved around the squad members buying time for me as I prepared a full-power【Void Surge】to finish off the opponent. 'Roger.' All my squad members responded at the same time, before engaging the Scylla in close combat once again. This time, the firsts to land a hit were both Alice and Alpha Zero who were hiding their presence until now, waiting for an opportunity. I was glad they also hurried back when they got contacted by Gladia. They both emerged from their camouflage on the Scylla's sides and planted their blades into its smoky body. Surprisingly, Alpha Zero's long fingers didn't just go through the fog like our attacks, but they instead absorbed a small part of it. Is Alpha Zero using dimensional skills ? "Your pathetic attempts are meaningless, humans. I do not wish to fight, but I would not hesitate to defend myself if you push me this far." I would probably have stopped the fight to listen to what this Scylla had to say a few years ago, but I since then gained a lot of experience and one of the things I learned when fighting them on the mega-structure was that their words are not to be trusted during a fight. They are cunning, smart, and vicious. When cornered, they would use any means at their disposal to bring their enemy down. While my squad was brawling with the Scylla, I continued to gather Void energy until I was nearing my limit. My left arm was covered in glowing purple lines, and each of these lines accumulated so much Void energy that they even tainted the bloody red smoke surrounding my body into a deep purple aura. When I saw my【Red Mist】slowly turning purple, I understood that any more Void energy than that would blow me up before I could use any skill. I slowly moved the tip of my fingers to take my aim, before giving the signal. 'NOW!' In an instant, all the squad members stopped attacking and fled in all directions. I only had one chance to bring this godly being down, I do not know what a Scylla in its original body is doing on this planet but we can't let such a huge threat alive when we just arrived and our ship is so badly damaged. If we can not escape this planet yet, we can only fight to survive, like we always did. "【VOID SURGE】!!" The moment I pronounced these words my left hand emitted a flash of bright light covering the whole area, and in its center, a micro-black hole opened right on the Scylla body. I used all the energy I gathered, but I couldn't keep the black-hole stable for more than 0.1 seconds. That was how powerful the Void energy was. Yet, this was more than enough to cause a huge cataclysm that awoken the whole forest. I tried to reduce the micro black-hole radius as best as I could to limit the destruction and not harm my squad or the drones still nearby. When the black hole closed itself and disappeared, its aftermath released an extreme outburst of Void energy that blew off everything around us. The Void energy was so deathly that it pulverized everything in its path, be it vegetation, rocks, or even the dirty ground. Boulders were reduced to sand, plants withered into dust, dirt got carbonized by the extreme heat, and all the massive trees in the area have been uprooted and pushed over more than a hundred meters away from the explosion. Only a perfectly spherical crater remained at the spot my【Void Surge】landed. "pant... pant... Was it enough ?..." I couldn't feel any presence inside the dust cloud. We were all still on guard and we hoped this was enough to kill, or at least injure the Scylla, but deep inside we were all anxious about whether or not the Scylla survived. When facing non-biological enemies, the most destructive weapon in our arsenal wasn't Katarina's force field, but my【Void Surge】at its maximum power. I do not know any material capable to withstand the destructiveness of a micro black-hole paired with Void energy. Even if I still lack the power to keep the black-hole open for a longer period of time and its appearance is almost instantaneous, 0.1 seconds is more than enough to vaporize almost every kind of material existing in the universe, even the sturdiest. "Are you done ?" "..." As I should have expected, even my most powerful skill was far from enough to harm a Scylla in its original body. I knew they were strong in this form, but I never expected them to even be invulnerable to the effects of a micro black-hole at point-blank range. 'Gladia, prepare the proton warhea...' "Before you continue this pointless battle, you should at least listen to what I have to say." As if the Scylla was reading my thoughts, it started speaking again before I could order Gladia to nuclearize the entire forest with the few proton missiles we had left in the flagship. "Why should we listen to you ? We would rather fight until death than collude with such treacherous beings !" As soon as the Scylla talked, Katarina lost her calm and angrily yelled at her. She was looking mad, and the pressure exerted by her force field was still increasing. It seemed that she still wasn't able to manage her newly acquired emotions yet, and the hate she vowed to the Scyllas since she woke up was on par with Alice's hate of Giant Ants. "Kat, let her speak." "...Sorry Leader." Only when I called her did she realize her current emotional state was abnormal. To be honest, I couldn't blame her as I thought the same. I would rather die than listen to the bullshit this arrogant being was about to spill. Still, I was also aware of the situation we were in. If all our attacks didn't work, and even a full-power【Void Surge】could not harm this fucker...we better just listen to what she wants to say. If this fight continues and this time the Scylla decides to be on the offensive, we have little to no chance of escaping this place alive. "Who are you ? I thought you guys died in the Singularity...did you also get transported through the rift ?" "I have been in this dimension since my birth, human, and it has now been more than a thousand years that I reside on this planet." "Do you really expect us to believe you ?" "No, but I do expect you to listen to me. My kin committed unforgivable atrocities to you and your people, they truly deserve to be your worst enemy. However, your hate is misguided. I am not your enemy, as the only thing I have in common with the Scyllas from your universe is this body." "..." "It has now been a long time since I observed you and your fellow humans. From the first day you awoken in the mother-ship, I kept an eye on you." I was surprised by these words. I tried to probe the real intentions of this unknown Scylla, but surprisingly, I couldn't feel any negative emotions or ill intent toward us. What troubled me was the fact that, if this Scylla was telling the truth, then she was powerful enough to have a sight that could transcend dimensions. The Revered Mother was the only entity I knew with similar power, and I doubt even Primus One or Legatus could observe the Singularity from this world with their vision alone. "If you watched us for so long, you do understand that we would never trust any of your words. As my comrade said, we would all prefer to die fighting a hopeless battle against you rather than follow as Scylla's will. You may say that you are not our enemy as many times as you want, we know how your species is inclined to lie." "I have no will to force on you, human, as I am nothing but a mere observer of the River of Fate. Your own destiny brought you here, on this planet. It has even been prophetized by the lowly natives living there that you would arrive in this world after surviving many tribulations. I am merely following the current of Fate." While the Scyllas said this, its smoky figure slowly emerged from the dust cloud caused by my previous attack and it started floating above us. 'Here we go with the usual bullshit, when it's not about luck it's about fate... They guys should have been philosopher instead of galactic-mass-slaughterer.' I couldn't help but think of how zealous all the Scyllas I met were about these abstract concepts. The only Scylla I knew was not too interested in this fate bullshit was Optio Carceris, but he was instead a psychopath doing horrible experiments because of his obsession for genetics. Do they even realize that their own progenitor, the Revered Mother, consumed her own life to escape the influence of this River of Fate ? They worshiped her, and yet they studied and followed the same concepts that kept her trapped for so long. They are ridiculous. They looked down on us for supposedly being inferior to them, but they are the ones believing in this 'River of Fate' that, in my opinion, is nothing more but a biased shortcut to explain the consequences of their own choices. "Say what you have to say, but do not try to convert us into fate believers like all of you." "I do not expect you to believe me, nor to believe in fate. When the time comes, you will understand the meaning of my words by yourself. Until then, walk your own path and explore this new world with your own eyes." "If you want to talk this badly, you could start by explaining to us what a Scylla is doing alone on this planet ? You claimed that you were born in this universe, but aren't you all supposed to come from the Singularity ?" "I am the sole descendant of a lineage that explored new worlds during the Dark Ages, instead of taking part into the bloody wars in the Singularity. We have since then kept an eye on this universe, and more specifically this planet." This made literally no sense to me. Despite the deeply rooted hate I still have toward the Scyllas, I had to admit that this one didn't attack us even once during the battle. I couldn't trust its words, especially the bullshit about fate, but it didn't seem hostile to us...we should use this opportunity to get as much information as possible about this world. "What is so important on this planet for a whole Scylla lineage to reside here ?" "Your venues, and the consequences of your future decisions." "Uh ?" "I will not say anything more, you will figure out the rest by yourselves in due times. I only came here today to meet you in person, fallen humans from Terra. Your future is already written, but not the path you will take from now on. May luck stay on your side, you will need it." After the ridiculous speech about fate, I was waiting for the Scylla to say something about luck. As expected, both boxes have been checked. All these beings calling us lucky were starting to seriously get on my nerves. I swear the next one who calls me lucky will end up with my blade stuck in his head. Before I could ask anything else, the Scylla raised itself higher above us, before disappearing within a multitude of blue light rays. "We will meet again..." Its last words resonated inside my mind, and only then did I remember why this voice felt so familiar. "So she was the one I heard at that time..." After the Scylla disappeared, I was lost in thoughts for a moment, thinking about the time I faced Legatus on the mega-structure. If the voice I heard at that time when I was on the verge of death was this Scylla talking to me, it would mean that what she said was true and she really observed us for a long time. [Jun, are you alright ?...] Gladia interrupted my thoughts, worrying for me as I didn't say anything since the Scylla left. "Ah, yes, it's nothing. I just recalled something that bothered me for a long time, and I just found an answer to it. This Scylla might be much more powerful than the ones from our universe, Gladia..." [Even more than Primus One and Legatus ?] "Most likely." [If you say so... but more importantly, did you not notice yet ?] "I did, don't worry. Alice is already taking care of it." After the Scylla left, I didn't cancel code 1 so we were still on maximum alert. I didn't know if this Scylla was the sole supernatural being living in this forest, so until we explored the forest, I planned to at least keep a code 2 level threat. We better be ready than sorry, and it paid off as while we were catching our breath, we all detected a weak presence we ignored earlier when we were fighting. Without having to say anything, the squad understood what to do and we all acted as if we didn't know someone was spying on us while Alice was sneakily approaching the target. Once Alice was ready, I looked in her direction and nodded at her. The moment she received my signal, she emerged from her【Dark Veil】camouflage and put her【Dark Blade】under the throat of this unknown being who was observing us from afar. "Do not move." "!!..." I couldn't see it clearly as they were hidden behind thick bushes and I was too exhausted to use X-ray vision. I just trusted Alice to take care of it while we prepared to go back to the ship. "Jerome, Douglas, you guys go back first. Before the Scylla appeared and I initiated code 1, numerous local beings have been detected coming to the ship. They might just be here to investigate what fell from the sky, but they could also be hostile. Be sure to protect the area and do not let any of them get close to the Lance of Kar'goth. You have permission to use lethal means if needed." "Roger." They both answered at the same time and immediately departed. "Kat, go with them and try to rest a bit. We have at least an hour before the closest one to the ship arrive, so be sure to catch your breath until then. If another fight breaks out, I'll need you at your best form." "Yes, Leader. Be careful." "I will." After Douglas, Jerome and Katarina departed, I finally instructed Alpha Zero who was patiently waiting for orders inside my shadow. "Alpha Zero, resume the reconnaissance on the approaching forces. Gauge their numbers, combat capabilities, and intentions. Stay hidden and act cautiously, we do not know what the local species of this planet are capable of." 'As. You. Wish. Master.' Once they all left, I turned to look at Alice and the person she brought back from the bush. I knew some humanoid beings lived in this forest, but I wasn't expecting them to be so similar to humans. This humanoid looked like a male, as he clearly had the same features as male humans. Large shoulders, high muscle density, short hair, rough jaw line. There were still major differences though, such as his pointy ears, piercing eyes with pupils glowing in green, or the length of his limbs that seemed better proportioned compared to humans. Is it a kind of evolved species similar to humans ? We'll have to find out eventually. While they were approaching, I asked Gladia to scan him from head to toe and give me a report once she was done. Alice brought him back while holding his arms behind his back with one hand and keeping her【Dark Blade】under his throat with the other hand. When they arrived close enough to me, Alice kicked him in the legs to bend his knees and he dropped to the ground. I was about to ask who this fellow was and why he was spying on us while we battled the Scylla, but he suddenly raised both hands in the air and talked first in a hurry. "$ù€é$ù !! §%(#; é£ù%€ !" He was seemingly afraid of us, especially Alice who was still keeping an eye on him behind his back, yet he didn't stop talking in his strange native language. "$ù€#é£ §%#é$ùù€ ù§%#%€ !" "What the hell is he saying ?..." [Even I have no idea...]