"What?! Everything in this world has a weakness!!" Sunny retorted, his voice filled with incredulity.
"That's the truth," Patrick insisted. "If even a High Grand-class weapon can only leave a mark on them, what will?"
The group stood there, staring at Patrick in disbelief, a minute of stunned silence passing between them.
Finally, Sunny broke the quiet again. "Okay, what about their numbers?"
"I don't know. I didn't have the privilege of staying to count," Patrick said dryly.
"They don't move together. One, two, three at times... any more than that, and you can be sure a leader is following a short distance behind."
"A leader?" Sunny's ears perked up. "That means they're different, right?"
"Of course. They are leaders for a reason," Patrick explained.
"You see, all these titans are in rags, like cavemen, if you know what I mean... But the leader I saw was in armor."
"In armor?" Sunny's lips curled into a smirk.
"If it's in armor, it means it's protecting itself." He turned and began to walk away.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Patrick yelled after him.
"I'm going to bring back my sister," Sunny replied without looking back.
"Love! Wait!" Josephine shouted, chasing after him with Jinx and Ellen hot on her heels.
Patrick watched the door close, then turned to Brittney. "Should I have told him?"
"There must be a reason why the master didn't bring it up," Brittney said, her gaze shifting from the closed door to Patrick.
"Why did you choose him for this task? He's a king, after all. What if something happens?"
"Nothing will happen," Patrick said, a strange confidence in his voice.
"I have a unique ability that helps me know everyone's bloodline potential, but I can't see his... His potential is beyond my skill."
"Really? Is he that powerful?" Brittney asked in shock.
"I have a feeling we haven't seen his full potential, even when he isn't at his peak," Patrick said with a small smile.
_______
"Wait!"
"No one is stopping me," Sunny said, still walking.
"I said, stop!!" Josephine yelled coldly. The command, sharp and powerful, made Jinx and Ellen freeze in their tracks.
Sunny halted and turned to face her.
"I know you care about her, but think about your own life!" she shouted, stopping directly in front of him, her eyes locking onto his red ones.
"Look! We're all worried! But rushing in like this isn't a good idea! We should make a plan before we go."
"A plan? Plans are for the weak."
"....?!" Josephine was stunned speechless.
"You heard Patrick. These things have no weakness, so making a plan is just a waste of time. Besides, only the weak make plans." He leaned forward, kissing her lightly on the lips before pulling back.
"I won't die. Just look after Ellen and the others." His smile was soft, reassuring.
His words struck an unexpected chord in Ellen's mind, a memory rising unbidden.
[A man stood before her, trying his best to smile, his voice shaky as he said, "I won't die.".]
"Ah!" Ellen gasped, clutching her head.
"What's wrong?" Jinx asked, turning to face her little friend.
After a few heavy breaths, Ellen exhaled and nodded. "I'm okay."
Jinx stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and turning back to Josephine and Sunny.
"So I can't convince you?" Josephine asked, her gaze falling to the ground.
"You can punish me any way you see fit. I will accept it," Sunny said with a gentle smile.
"I have to do this."
Josephine sighed. "Okay then... Come back alive! Don't you dare die there!" She looked up, her expression determined.
"You have today and tomorrow. If you haven't returned, I will go and search for you."
Sunny nodded. "Agreed."
He gave a final nod to the two girls behind Josephine, then turned and walked into the second starship. Josephine stood, watching as the ship ascended and then shot out from the planet's atmosphere.
"Okay, let's go back. We have things to do." Josephine turned to Jinx and Ellen, but froze.
"Where is Ellen?!" she yelled.
Jinx turned, seeing only an empty space where Ellen had been standing.
"What the hell?!!!" she exclaimed, dumbfounded.
_____
[Starship - At the Coordinates.]
Sunny sat in the command seat, staring at the planet before him.
"In thirty seconds, we will get in range," he muttered to himself.
{Master, you have not opened your reward for completing the Hell difficulty Quest: spend 100 Trillion in 30 minutes.}
'Oh! I forgot about that!' Sunny thought, then frowned as a familiar scent filled the air.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. He spun around to see Ellen standing by the command room door.
"I... I want to come along," she whispered.
"...?!" Sunny was stunned.
"You know this is dangerous. Why would you... Ah! Forget it!"
DING!
{Master, you have a call.}
"Answer."
A holographic screen appeared, and Josephine's worried face materialized. "Love!! Ellen is missing!!" she screamed.
"Calm down. She's here," Sunny said, moving the screen to show Ellen, who stood still, not moving an inch.
"She? She? What are you doing in there, Ellen?!!!" Josephine's voice was a mix of horror and disbelief.
"I want to join Dad," Ellen said, looking at her feet.
"....?!" Josephine was dumbfounded.
'She isn't even his daughter by blood, and she's risking her life just to be with him?' she thought in shock, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Love... can you still turn around?" she asked.
Sunny glanced at the command screen. The countdown was at five seconds.
"Five more seconds!"
He stretched his hand toward Ellen, and a force pulled her to him. He scooped her into his arms and crouched down.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive black lightning bolt slammed into the starship.
{Warning! An unknown attack has collided with the starship, activating protection proto---}
'No!! Let it!!' Sunny yelled at the system.
{".....?!"}
The system was confused.
BOOOOOOM!!
A second black lightning bolt struck, instantly shutting down all the starship's controls. The holographic screen shattered as Sunny held Ellen tightly, a powerful force pulling the entire starship toward the planet.
'Shit!! System, I have to ask... How many bloodlines are there?'
Silence.
'System?' Sunny was stunned.
More silence.
'Did... did the system also shut down???' He was speechless.