Red Sun gulped down the blood rising in his throat.
From the outside, no one could tell that he was injured badly enough to have only fifty percent of his HP at the moment.
It was also because of the combined effect of the HP Capsules that Captain Red had given him and the ones he carried on him.
But as one climbed the Primordial Tower, not only did HP Capsules become few and far between, but the few that existed — the ones which could actually make a difference — worked only once, their effects diminishing exponentially with each subsequent one.
It had less to do with a lack of resources to create such HP Capsules and more to do with the Contestants of the higher Floors themselves.
Especially when one reached the 4th Set, relying on HP Capsules repeatedly to survive became not only a matter to be frowned upon, but also a sign of weakness.
Red Sun had always frowned upon that frowning upon the usage of HP Capsules.
What did it matter how one survived, as long as survival was what mattered?!
Thankfully, in this, he and the Captain agreed, with Red not hesitating to consume HP Capsules as well.
To an extent, Red Sun blamed himself for this.
It was he who had given the Captain a taste of HP Capsules created for 9th Floor Contestants, when Red himself had only been a 2nd Set Contestant, training under King Purple Mist in an unremarkable Pokemon timeline.
Still, neither he nor Captain Red, perhaps, could deny the fact that HP Capsules were useless after a certain initial limit.
Red Sun also had strong reasons to believe that his Captain must have another Item or Artifact that could instantly regenerate any amount of lost HP.
Why Captain didn't share it with him was beyond him, though… or rather, had been beyond him.
With time, Red Sun had begun to form a guess.
He turned around to look at the planet, sensing death and annihilation.
It became obvious that Captain had foreseen an imminent attack on a level that could even threaten him, forcing him to hold back on revealing his trump cards.
With what was happening on Earth, Red Sun didn't doubt that at all.
Because the Pillars of the Harry Potter Bubble and the Warhammer 40k Bubble were strong enough to best even him, especially if they jumped him.
Then there was another threat.
Red Sun brought his gaze back and looked at the half-destroyed Death Star.
Now, Darth Kars knew that not only could Red Sun tank the planet-killing laser beam, but the Sith also knew that he was strong enough to go to Earth and take care of this Pillars vs. Mirrors situation as well.
Fortunately, the fellow 12th Floor Contestant from the Hyperspace Raiders did not know that Red Sun couldn't tank another attack even if he wanted to, unless he decided to sacrifice himself.
There was another thing that worked in Red Sun's favor.
Being a Planet Killer, Darth Kars' Death Star had heavy restrictions on its usage.
There was no way it could fire another laser beam of similar intensity back-to-back so soon.
From all the rumors Red Sun had gathered on Darth Kars, it was true that the Death Star, even the half-destroyed one, could truly destroy a timeline, particularly if it wasn't a Pillar timeline.
However, as it amounted to tampering with a Deep One's authority, all Darth Kars could do was instantly run away using Hyperspace, promising himself never to return to the said Bubble ever again.
There had been a case, Red Sun remembered, where a 13th Floor Contestant annihilated a planet for petty revenge and ran away through Hyperspace, considering himself wise. Then, for his next Main Mission, Chaos sent him to the same Bubble. What happened to that Contestant became a warning to all those who followed him in having another Planet-Killing Item.
So, Red Sun knew that Darth Kars wouldn't fire the Death Star again, even if he could.
For now, Red Sun thought, trying his best to maintain his Vash the Stampede transformation, we are in a stalemate. I am preventing him from going to Earth, and he is doing the same to me.
Red Sun could sense it, too.
There was a disturbance around him, restricting his Perception in the direction of the Death Star.
Which meant Darth Kars was actively using the Force, keeping an eye on him in a similar fashion.
Thank God Darth Kars is too much of a pussy to call my bluff, Red Sun thought, puffing out his chest and casually thrusting his hands into his pockets. Let's irritate his Force-infested, filthy ass even more…
Red Sun smirked toward the Death Star, stretching his angelic wings.
They continued to rise like two hands before, slowly, most of the feathers on their ends retracted, leaving only two giant ones.
From afar, it felt like he was… giving middle fingers.
"Hahaha…" Red Sun laughed, thoroughly enjoying making fun of Darth Kars.
Then, suddenly, his eyes popped out of his skull, his Perception — which hadn't budged an inch toward the Death Star — catching a figure.
It was a massive, black-bronze-skinned man, looking like Berserker from the Fate Bubble.
It was Darth Kars.
Oh, shit… Red Sun cursed, his heart pounding in his chest. Shit! Shit! Shit!! Captain's gonna kill me!!! SHITTTT!!!
In that moment, Red Sun knew he had fucked up.
The Pillars were already making Captain's life hell on Earth.
The last thing Captain wanted was for the strongest member of the White Serpent Pirates to engage in a life-and-death battle, instead of maintaining the status quo of being an unplayable trump card.
Worse, once Darth Kars figured out that he was injured…
Even as Red Sun was thinking all that, Captain's expressionless face flashing in his mind, he had already taken out his guns and aimed them toward the enemy.
Surprisingly, when Darth Kars moved, it wasn't to come at him.
Time stilled as the Sith blurred straight toward Earth.
With so little distance between them and the planet, it wouldn't take him more than a few seconds to reach there.
A few seconds were more than enough for Red Sun, though, making him sigh in relief.
Using his Instant Teleportation, he blinked out of existence and reappeared in Darth Kars' path.
Only…
Just as Red Sun was about to press the trigger, another Darth Kars blurred past him — going for the planet.
With a blank face, Red Sun looked toward the Darth Kars in front of him and found the man… smiling.
"… Fuck…"
*************
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