Aetheral Space

"A-Man-Da, huh?" Noel Edmunds mused. "That honestly wasn't as hard as I'd expected."

The newly ascended Fourth Branch of the Tree of Might hadn't lasted long. To tell the truth, her ability had been formidable -- allowing her to 'hack' into the Aether of others with that script of hers, using it as a bridge to attack the enemy's consciousness directly. If it had been Noel here alone, it surely would have been quite the fight.

Unfortunately, A-Man-Da had chosen her first target poorly. Noel had used her drones to project a holographic disguise -- switching the appearances of her and her partner. After such prolonged, intimate exposure to Curse Hand… well…

…it was best not to describe the state of her corpse.

Aclima looked queasy as she stepped over the -- for lack of a better word -- body, looking around the room that hadn't ended up becoming a battlefield. Clearly, A-Man-Da had had a similar idea to Noel -- if you were going to hack into the enemy's systems, you'd want to position yourself in one of the security centres. Circular rows of monitoring stations surrounded them on all sides, all abandoned by the staff that would have usually manned them. The mundanes had already been evacuated to the lower levels -- the Seat of Man was reserved for monsters now.

The building trembled, the impossibly loud sounds of clashing blades audible from outside.

Case in point.

"Did you feel it, before?" Noel asked casually as she started setting up her connection. "Those pulses of Aether. Nebula One is fighting someone out there."

Aclima looked over, gripping her oversized cleaver-sword tight. "Who?" she asked.

Noel shrugged lightly. "Beats me. I didn't recognise the feeling. The Supreme, maybe? Anyway, it's just as well that they're keeping each other distracted. We can do what we need to without being interrupted."

With another shrug of her shoulders, Noel deployed some of her automatic drones -- flying white cubes, each adorned with a single round blue eye. They chirped like electronic birds as they whizzed around, scanning the room for threats… and finding none remaining. Then, three of their number reconfigured themselves into a throne for Noel to rest on. Two formed arm-rests, while the third became the seat. Noel crossed her legs as she sat down. A fourth drone projected her script-screen in front of her, and she began to tap away at the holographic display.

It was just as she'd thought before -- if you were going to hack into the enemy systems, this was the way to do it. The only difference between her and A-Man-Da had been their target. The Fourth Branch had been hoping to crack open the systems of the Seat of Man itself…

…while Noel had her eyes on the prize floating high above.

"Can I ask you something?" Aclima turned, slinging her sword over her shoulder.

"It sounds like you're going to," Noel mumbled.

"I'm doing this so I can get revenge on Muzazi," Aclima said quietly. "That's the only thing I have left. That's… the only thing I have. Why are you here? What do you get out of this?"

Noel looked up from her screen, narrowing her Cogitant-blue eyes.

"You really want to know?" she asked.

Aclima nodded.

"A couple of years ago," Noel returned to her task. "Someone told me that I wasn't cut out for this line of work -- this whole thing, you know. But she didn't know anything." She took a deep breath. "I was on this planet called Taldan, part of a group fighting against the government there… and when that all fell apart, that was when I met Smith. The goo thing. And from there I joined Darkstar."

"Okay," said Aclima. "But why?"

Noel's finger hovered over the screen, and she glanced at Aclima again. "Don't you hate it?" she asked, voice low.

"Hate what?"

The finger withdrew, and Noel tightened her hand into a fist. "I don't know… everything. The way it all works. The shape of this world. Don't you think it's… repulsive? I don't get how people open their eyes without vomiting. I can't stand it. I can't stand it at all. Do you get what I mean?"

"Uh-huh…"

Aclima didn't get it at all. Her Aether core was hatred -- she understood that, certainly… but that hatred was specific, targeted. Right now, she hated Atoy Muzazi. That was a single person she could direct her ire towards. The idea of hating everything, the whole world… no, she didn't get it at all.

"When you can see that something's wrong," Noel said. "It's only natural to want to make it right, right? So that's what I'm doing. That's why I'm doing it."

"You really think Niain can change the world?" Aclima asked, her voice full of doubt.

Noel looked back up at her one more time.

"Change it?" she said. "No."

Nebula One extended a gauntlet, the machine gun in his palm aimed directly for his enemy below. His visor was an expressionless cross, but Victory knew, oh Victory knew what sort of expression rested behind it. That level of lethal intent couldn't be hidden so easily.

Come on, come on, show me how much you hate me…

"Dragonsbreath," said Fei Long.

Victory grinned wildly to himself, ignoring the pain the exaggerated expression produced in his unpracticed face.

Here it comes!

He'd been looking forward to this. Victory had watched from behind Jamilu's vacuous eyes for years. All those precious comrades of his… Victory understood them. Their abilities, the way they fought, the lovely sounds they would make as they died. The sole exception…

…is you, Number One.

Fei Long didn't advertise the particulars of his ability, Dragonsbreath. The power that had elevated him to Nebula One seemed to do something different every time it was used, making simple observation insufficient for figuring it out. More than that, the specifics of Dragonsbreath were considered a state secret of the highest order. Trying to investigate too loudly would probably get an Ultraviolet or two on your ass.

Not that Victory had to worry about that. All he needed to do was get that ability within range of his spear -- within range of Conquest… and then things would become truly interesting.

Nebula One began to fire.

The bullets that surged forth from his palm weren't normal, even discounting the effects of Aether infusion. As Victory observed, the projectiles split and veered off in different directions, like cells undergoing mitosis, their paths gently veering to approach Victory from different angles.

From behind, from above, from below, in front, left, right… before Victory could so much as blink, he was surrounded by a rapidly shrinking sphere of bullets.

His grin didn't waver.

"Compass!" he cackled. "Any projectile within ten centimetres of me!"

The shape of the spear changed.

It did not spike through the air as a straight line anymore. Instead, it became flexible and pliant, swimming through the air around Victory like an eel as -- so fast it was nearly invisible -- it intercepted each and every bullet one by one. The demon himself stood unharmed in the middle of its protection, arms folded, eyes half-lidded in the ecstasy of crisis.

Conquest.

The information flowed into his mind like honey, whispering about the power that sought to kill him.

Only…

CONQUEST REPORT

The ability is nameless.

The ability consists of two aspects. First, a multiplicative effect is applied to bullets fired from the weapon. They split into randomly determined sets of 4-8, each following their own trajectory for 1.6 seconds. Second, those trajectories are recalculated -- the new assigned target is the individual in the vicinity with the most innocent blood on their hands. As this is a subjective quality, it is determined by the perception of the victim themselves following a scan of their Aetheral memories.

The ability falls just within Conquest's complexity limit. As such, development of a counter-ability is possible. Proceeding.

DEVELOPING COUNTER-ABILITY…

…COUNTER-ABILITY COMPLETE. DEPLOY WHEN READY.

Victory frowned as the full Conquest ability did its work. Well, that didn't sound right at all. He didn't doubt Conquest -- never -- but there was definitely something odd about the information it had just provided.

First, 'the ability was nameless'? No it wasn't. It was called Dragonsbreath. Fei Long had even said it out loud. Even if that was a bluff, and the ability actually had no name, Victory couldn't see what benefit Nebula One could get from it.

Besides, Victory had seen Dragonsbreath before -- and back then, indeed, it had done something entirely different from the attack just now.

No, there was more going on here.

Victory lunged forward, taking flight, making a beeline directly for his opponent. His spear followed, still deflecting the attacks that came near him, each impact sending sparks raining down on the ground below. Salivating, the demon raised his flaming claws, ready to bring them down upon Nebula One…

…but, of course, it wasn't that easy.

The flames from Fei Long's thrusters reshaped themselves into wings of fire -- and they launched him high up into the air, far out of Victory's reach. As Nebula One ascended, he fired another volley downwards, bullets already multiplying as they approached Victory.

As if that's a problem anymore.

Compass -- Cancel.

Victory plucked his spear from the air… and watched with smug satisfaction as each and every bullet sailed wide off course. They hadn't locked onto Victory this time. Of course they hadn't.

After all, according to his cleansed Aether, Victory had never spilt innocent blood in his life.

Conquest did more than just scan his opponent's abilities. When Jamilu was using it, that might have been the case, but the ability showed its true worth in Victory's hands. After analyzing an ability that came near the spear and providing Victory the data on it, Conquest went further -- automatically developing a new power to counter the scanned ability and granting Victory control of it.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

These counter-abilities weren't permanent, of course. They would fade in time, but so long as Victory kept scanning the original ability, he could refresh the counter. And besides, as far as he was concerned? These sub-abilities were extras, sprinkles on the ice cream. If it came down to it…

…he'd just rip the enemy apart with his own two hands. Chapter source: My Virtual Library Empire (M|V|L4EMPYR).

Victory slowly floated upwards, spear slung over his shoulders as he held it with both hands. He narrowed his pink gaze as he came level with Fei Long, the two of them separated by a thin stream of smoke from the sight of their first clash below.

"Bullets, huh?" Victory commented, cocking his head. "I gotta say, I'm disappointed, Number One. You're really gonna hold back like that?"

Fei Long said nothing.

"You're worried about collateral damage, right?" Victory chuckled. "Man, you're such a pussy. Come on. Just cut loose. Nobody'll say anything, and who cares if they do?"

Fei Long grit his teeth.

"Hm? What is it?" Victory smirked at the reaction. "Did I say something you didn't like? Come on, what did I say? Share your feelings, man. We've gotta communicate if we're gonna make it in this world, right?"

Fei Long clenched his fists.

"You're gonna have to speak up there, pal."

"What do you get out of this?" Fei Long asked, his voice as cold and hard as steel.

"What do I get out of this…?" Victory wondered, putting a finger to his chin. "What, you mean from talking to you?"

"You know what I mean," Fei Long growled. "This carnage. This bloodshed. Your goal is to free the other Old Demons at this point, isn't it? So why are you still here?! How does any of this even benefit you?!"

Victory smiled.

"Because it's fun," he said.

Fei Long tightened his fists. "How is any of this fun?" he hissed.

"You just don't get it," Victory half-closed his eyes, his smile spreading wider and wider in fond reminiscence. "You're living in uninteresting times, bucko, believe me. You've never seen a real war. You've never seen real blood. Real blood… it oozes into your dreams, opens you up, and replaces you with itself."

Victory lifted the bloody spear to his mouth and took a long lick of the blood from the blade. His eyes rolled up into their sockets, and a moan of bliss spilled from his lips.

"... ah… there's nothing like it in the world."

His eyes rolled back down, and his pink pupils flared into life.

"Compass -- Fei Long's heart!"

The spear shot forth -- and Fei Long zoomed off to avoid it, heading towards the outer shell off the Seat of Man. Victory himself kicked off of thin air and flew to intercept him. The speed of the three combatants -- Fei Long, Victory, and the spear -- was such that this clash was reserved for the eyes of the absolute.

Pink and green, green and pink, flashing past each other again -- forming a web of light around the Seat of Man as the scope of their clash increased. The spear bit at the world, again and again and again, deflected each time by a hail of bullets or a well-placed rocket. The sound of Victory's laughter devoured the air.

This was still playtime: the spear wasn't moving at its full speed, and it wasn't eating with its full voracity. Time to step things up a bit. The spear became a blur, became motion itself, its hunger driving it beyond mere movement.

Snapping off a transmission needle from the Seat of Man's outer wall, Fei Long swung it with one hand like a sword, deflecting the spear --

"Compass -- Fei Long's spleen!"

-- and deflecting it again --

"Compass -- Fei Long's right eye!"

-- and again --

"Compass -- Fei Long's third vertebrae!"

-- and again.

Despite its monstrous speed, the spear found itself repelled before it could get anywhere close to Fei Long's body. Even with his strength and speed, Fei Long should have been pushed to his limits fighting off one of the fastest weapons in the galaxy. There was more to it. Each swing grew less desperate and more mechanical, as though the makeshift weapon itself was pulling Nebula One's hand wherever it needed to go.

Of course, that was because that's what it was doing.

CONQUEST REPORT

The ability is nameless.

The ability responds to an attack from a weapon. Each time the transmission needle and the enemy weapon make contact, the needle's automatic response to its approach becomes faster and stronger. The ability recognises the enemy weapon by its shape. After five impacts, bypassing the ability is effectively impossible for the weapon in question.

The ability is well within Conquest's complexity limit. As such, development of a counter-ability is possible. Proceeding.

DEVELOPING COUNTER-ABILITY…

…COUNTER-ABILITY COMPLETE. DEPLOY WHEN READY.

Victory gave Fei Long no chance to take a breath. The instant Conquest finished processing, he summoned his spear back to his hands -- and in that same instant, the spear ceased to be a spear. The handle engorged and reformed itself, becoming thick and rectangular. The blade grew into a perfect sphere, as if it were a balloon being filled with air.

If that ability Fei Long was now using recognised weapons by their shape, then all Victory had to do was change the shape of his weapon.

"You see?!" Victory cackled, swinging his mace towards Fei Long's head. "If you just stand there defending like a dumbass, you're gonna die, man!"

Fei Long flew up, and Fei Long said nothing.

"Where's the Supreme without Supremacy?!" Victory roared, stabbing his trident towards Fei Long's chest. "Come on! Who gives a shit about collateral?! Show me what you can do, asshole!"

Fei Long swooped down, and Fei Long said nothing.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" Victory snarled, hurling his chakram towards Fei Long's stomach. "Argh! You're ruining it, damnit! Do something! Say something!"

Fei Long circled around… and Fei Long said nothing.

Victory extended a hand, and the chakram pulled itself free of the wall and returned to his grip. With a twitch of his finger, the weapon returned to its original form. The blade of the spear shone majestically in the sunlight.

"Fine…" Victory seethed. "If you're so afraid of collateral damage… then let's have you face your fears, huh…?"

The spear spun in his hand.

Behind his visor, Fei Long's eyes widened.

Nebula One charged forward on wings of heavensfire.

"Compass," Victory said, his voice frozen with false calm. "The nearest infant."

The spear surged off with all its speed -- and Fei Long, moving with speed beyond his limits, moved to intercept it. Halfway through the valley of skyscrapers that surrounded the Seat of Man, Nebula One caught up with the spear, catching it in his hand and holding it still. It struggled and fought against his hold, but the grip of the planet's strongest man was tight.

There was now quite the distance between the two opponents -- several kilometers -- but as Victory spoke, Fei Long could surely hear him perfectly.

"Ah…" Victory blushed. "You finally touched it."

CONQUEST REPORT

The ability is named 'Dragonsbreath'. The ability was developed subconsciously. The ability was originally nameless, and the name applied later for ease of use.

Dragonsbreath is constantly active. Any object that Fei Long infuses with his Aether is instantly altered into a high-level Aether Armament. These Armaments possess unique abilities based upon the situation Fei Long finds himself in at the time of infusion. They are exclusively for his use, and do not work for others. Once infusion ceases, the object quickly returns to its prior state.

At present, nine objects are under the effects of Dragonsbreath. One of these is the transmission needle he was using earlier, while the rest are the various parts of his Armoured Chassis. Proceed with caution.

Dragonsbreath can be countered, easily.

DEVELOPING COUNTER-ABILITY…

…COUNTER-ABILITY COMPLETE. DEPLOY WHEN READY.

"I've been matching your pace so far, buddy boy," Victory said, raising his flesh hand. "But you're starting to get boring, man. So… I'm gonna run on ahead, yeah?"

His fingernails ignited one by one, becoming shining pink stars on the edges of his fingers. His grin stopped belonging to a human. His gaze stopped containing a soul.

This was the moment Victory existed for.

This was the moment of true massacre.

"Let's see if you can catch up."

Calamity.

Victory swept his hand through the air -- and as he did, his burning nails erupted into beams of pure pink heat. The exchange rate put Jamilu's to shame: the beams stretched long enough to more than cover the distance between Victory and his opponent -- and that was good, for Fei Long was not Victory's target. The lines of fire rushed through the air like a set of demonic claws…

…and with nearly automatic precision, they sliced the skyscraper behind Nebula One into four equal pieces. Fei Long watched in horror as the tower crumbled. Fei Long listened in horror as screams poured from each and every floor.

Tiny black dots poured out like ants. It was quite the fall.

"Go ahead," Victory smiled. "You didn't want any collateral damage, right? Those poor people are in trouble."

The spear rushed back into his waiting hand.

"Go save them, hero."

Morgan Nacht stared at Ash del Duran, and Ash del Duran stared at Morgan Nacht. Neither of them wanted to make the first careless move. Morgan knew painfully well what Ash was capable of, even in this withered state. Ash knew just as well what Morgan was capable of, even with the blade of death hanging over his head.

Ash sniffed, long and hard, feeding his ailing body oxygen.

Morgan exhaled, thin and focused, ready to move at any moment.

Not that he could afford to move carelessly. Right now, he had four steps left to take before he dropped dead. The effects of Black Timer weren't permanent -- if he gave it time, a good length of time, his body would naturally restore its equilibrium. The problem was that he didn't have time. If Ash del Duran moved to attack, Morgan couldn't just stand still… and at the same time, he couldn't dodge.

This was just about as bad as it got.

"Morgan," Ash said quietly, not unkindly. "I still think there's --"

A harsh voice cut him off.

"Wait."

Ash glanced over his shoulder as Gretchen Hail strolled into the room through the hole he'd created. In one hand, she held a new crossbow of bone and gold. In the other, she held a charred script. Half the lights on the ceiling had been destroyed by Ash's spectacular entrance, so her face was cast in shadows, but Morgan could feel the resentment in her gaze all the same.

Shit!

Instinctively, Morgan took a step forward -- ready to slash that script and the woman holding it right then and there.

"Three."

Idiot!

Morgan stiffened up, and Gretchen -- as if she'd heard his thoughts -- smirked smugly as she waved the script in her hand.

"Second script," she explained. "This is what you were trying to destroy back there, isn't it?" She looked over to Ash. "They've been using this to plan their secret meetings with the UAP higher-ups." She smiled. "I was right. Muzazi's over at the Seat of Man right now. I've sent Mereloco ahead -- you go and join him."

Slowly, Ash lowered his fists. He nodded. "What about you?"

Gretchen raised her crossbow in Morgan's direction. "We'll finish things up here and then come join you. After all…"

We?

Morgan furrowed his brow -- and then widened his eyes as Gretchen stepped into the light. Her face had changed since the confrontation upstairs. She glared daggers at him -- one of those daggers gold, the other green… just like the leaf of a tree.

"...we have unfinished business with this one."