Back inside the spaceship, the commander was walking down the hallway when a beeping sound echoed from his pocket.
He stopped, pulled out a device, and tapped the screen and a holographic image of Tim appeared.
"What is it now? Don't tell me you two numbskulls were spotted by a group Channelers," the commander said, rubbing his temples.
"No, Commander. It's worse. We… we ran into the child of the devil. Or maybe the devil himself in disguise," Tim said, fear evident in his voice.
"What do you mean?" the commander asked sharply.
Tim wasn't the type to panic and often joked around with serious situations. But the seriousness on his face said otherwise. Whoever they were facing was not ordinary. And from the way Tim phrased it, the commander knew it wasn't a group of Channelers but one.
BOOM!
A loud explosion sounded from Tim's side.
The commander frowned. "What's happening over there?"
"Commander, please approve the beasts launch on our spaceship the dashboard has been broken by him.!" Tom shouted in panic.
"What do you mean? Aren't you using the Nutrek in your suits? It keeps you on par with a Channeler. Why are you struggling an how the hell did he break the spaceship?" the commander couldn't believe what he heard.
If it were a normal Channeler, especially a rookie, they should have been able to handle it but someone who was able to break the spaceship must be a veteran Channeler right? But the commander didn't know. The person Tim and Dit were fighting was no Channeler there fighting who was more than one.
"Commander, the—"
BOOM!
Before Tim could finish, Nova appeared behind him and brought the metal rod down hard across his spine.
Tim was sent flying.
The watch flew from his wrist and landed in Nova's hand. The hologram flickered out, but the voice from the other end was still audible.
"Tim! Tim! Answer me! What's happening?"
"I am happening," Nova replied calmly, his voice ice-cold.
Before the commander could respond, Nova crushed the device in his grip. Then he turned and walked toward the seaside where he had thrown Dit earlier.
He moved slowly, then suddenly, he was there.
Nova paused. "Wait…"
He looked around, "Is this a movement skill?" Then it hit him. The places he focused on in his mind… he appeared there instantly. Before, he thought it was just speed. Now he deliberately tried it.
"Wait how did I get a Skill?!" No answer came from his thought. But suddenly an idea popped in his mind then he focus and thought about the God's Ruins. He hoped he could appear there and awaken the Mark maybe after reading the inscription for the second time, but he knew that was an impossible dream. If one failed to awaken the Mark after reading the inscription once, they would never awaken one even if the read it a thousand times.
But Nova didn't give up and focused his thoughts and the image of the massive inscription at the entrance played in his mind. Then...
Nothing happened.
Instead, memories flooded back, the mummring of the people when he failed to awaken the Channeler's Mark the conversation, the seals, the betrayal.
His rage flared violently and his eyes began to glow crimson again like a berserk animal.
In the next blink, he appeared beside the spaceship and began smashing it relentlessly. Metal crumpled. Glass shattered. Systems sparked.
Dit, who had been pretending to be unconscious, felt a wave of relief. At least Nova was taking his anger out on the ship. Better that than on him and looking at how Nova was brutally beating the spaceship he felt sorry for he poor thing.
On the other side, Tim groaned and slowly pushed himself up, only to see Nova destroying the vessel. He became furious and charged forward, firing plasma blasts wildly.
"You fool! Did he hit you so hard that common sense left you?!" Dot screamed internally at his friends utter stupidity.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Nova dodged every blast effortlessly.
Then he vanished. Tim's heart nearly stopped. Nova reappeared only three feet in front of him.
Tim froze.
Nova's fist was already pulled back. A red aura spiraled violently around it. And from the looks it he knew that was definitely an otherworldly powerful punch.
Every cell in Tim's body screamed at him to move, to dodge, to run. But it was too late. Even if it wasn't late Tim still couldn't have managed to block the strike.
BOOM!
Nova's punch connected cleanly at the base of Tim's chin. His helmet shattered instantly and his body was launched through the air like a rag doll.
From the way he flew, it was clear. He was completely unconscious.
Dit trembled at the sight of this he was truly grateful he hadn't stood up. This time, he made sure to remain absolutely still, his breathing shallow, his body limp.
Completely unconscious. Or so he hoped.
But Nova felt it. omething was off, his head tilted slightly. He turned and nd began walking toward Dit.
Slowly.
Each step deliberate as the aura around him intensified. The crimson glow in his eyes deepened.
Dit prayed silently. "Please. Commander safe me please."
But Nova kept walking straight toward him.
•••
Back in the spaceship the commander entered the grand chamber and immediately went down on one knee.
"Your Grace, those two are in a tight spot and they need the creatures. Should I go ahead?" he asked respectfully.
A man sat lazily on an elevated throne, draped in luxury. Multiple women surrounded him, draping themselves over his body as they tried to please him.
He waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Go ahead," he said calmly. "And play the live feed of what's happening down there. I want to see who these hooligans are that dare disrupt our operation."
"Right away, Your Grace," the commander replied.
He rose and moved to the control center at the front of the chamber. With a few taps, a holographic projection flickered to life.
The commander's face stiffened.
On the screen, Nova was destroying their spaceship. The feed showed his unnatural speed — how he vanished and reappeared — and how he knocked Tim unconscious with a single punch.
"Where are the rest?" the man on the throne asked he thought they were more than one person. He then signalled for the women to leave.
They bowed and exited silently.
"Well… Your Grace," the commander said carefully, "it's only one person."
"What?!" the man snapped, sitting upright. "You mean to tell me only one Channeler is this powerful? Is he a veteran?"
"No, Your Grace. I don't believe he's even a Channeler. There is no mark on his arm. No Channeler aura."
"What do you mean by that?" the man demanded. "Then how is he moving that fast? That is definitely a movement skill."
"You are right, Your Grace. And that is what baffles me."
The man's eyes narrowed.
"Send the creatures immediately. He's heading toward Dit."
"Yes, Your Grace."
•••
Back on the battlefield...
Just as Nova reached down with his left hand to grab Dit's head, he suddenly leapt backward.
A glob of slimy liquid struck the ground where he had been standing.
It sizzled violently.
The rocky surface began corroding instantly. "Acid?" Nova thought but from the looks of it it was something far stronger than anything ordinary.
"It seems you guys like giving me surprises. How thoughtful," Nova said calmly.
Dit felt his skin crawl. He wanted nothing more than to strangle Nova right then and there. But that was an impossible dream.
Nova lifted his gaze. Standing before him was a grotesque creature.
It was a twisted fusion of a wasp and a monkey. Six limbs. Jagged mandibles. Veiny wings buzzing violently. Its eyes were pitch black and full of hunger.
Disgust flashed across Nova's face.
"These creatures aren't ordinary… and there's nothing in the MPU records about something like this."
He knew that for a fact. As a child, he had been trained to memorize every known species in the MPU. All children were.
More creatures began emerging from the damaged spaceship. One. Five. Ten. Dozens. They kept pouring out until the number reached seventy-two.
Then it stopped.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Dit scrambled to his feet and rushed toward Tim. Nova pressed a mechanism on the metal rod.
Click!
The rod split apart, revealing a sleek, reinforced high-carbon steel blade beneath. Platinum-shined and razor sharp. The supposed metal rod had been a sword all along.
Before Dit could react Nova hurled the empty sheath.
THUD!
It struck Dit squarely in the helmet. His head snapped back and he collapsed mid-run.
Nova tightened his grip on the blade, took his stance and faced the creatures.bHe knew they weren't here to talk. It was killed or be killed.
Zzzzzzz!
Zzzzzzz!
Zzzzzzz!
The wasp-monkey creatures rushed at him in a swarm. Nova didn't flinch. He pulled out another compact metal rod and tapped it. It extended instantly to full length. The sheath popped off and clattered to the ground. Then something strange happened. Both blades shortened.
Compressing an condensing.
Until each was roughly fifteen inches long, dagger length, minus the traditional hilt. All happening within seconds.
The creatures didn't hesitate and kept on coming.
Then Nova vanished.
SCHK! SCHK! SCHK!
The sound of sword meeting flesh could be heard as Nova reappeared and struck three times in one fluid motion. Lower abdomen, chest, head.
He didn't slash. He stabbed. It was clean and pecise. The creature collapsed, blood spraying across his hoodie. Nova disappeared again. Then he reappeared. He landed another three strikes. One dead.
Again
And again.
By the eleventh kill, something shifted. He became faster. Sharper. His movements were no longer just trained precision, they were instinctual and by the twentieth kill, the difference was clear. When he stabbed their chest, they exploded. When he pierced their abdomen, they burst apart and when he drove the blade into their head, they detonated violently.
A dark, unsettling smile couldn't help but play at Nova's lips. He was enjoying it. Each explosion. Each spray of blood. Each kill. It seemed to calm something inside him and releasing something primal.
The truth was simple.
He had held back against the two invaders. Killing them would make him a murderer and he wasn't ready to cross that line.
But these creatures? They weren't human. They were monsters. And destroying them felt right.
Within half a minute, thirty of them were dead.
•••
Up in the throne chamber, both the commander and the man on the throne watched in silence.
Nova's speed, strength, precision and the devilish smile spreading across his face, formed one word in both their minds.
"Dangerous."