Before the mini sun engulfed the mega-structure, inside the flagship control room, Gladia was desperately trying to teleport back Jun and the units she sent to assist him.
When they destroyed the corvette, they were able to deploy a limited number of troops to the ground. Unfortunately, although they were able to teleport drones and reapers onto the mega-structure, they were unable to bring them back to the flagship yet.
Even though the old flagship's teleporting system was very good, they needed the exact position of the target to beam it.
Teleporting living beings required extreme precision when acquiring coordinates, that's why it wasn't a problem to send troops from the ship to the mega-structure, but it was more complicated to teleport them back with the interferences from the remaining jamming waves.
All the operator drones in the control room were trying to bypass the remnants of those waves.
[How much time before impact?]
"Twenty seconds, ship-mistress."
[Status on jamming ?]
"Ship-master position calculated at 98%"
It was a race against time, and it was only a matter of seconds between life and death for those on the mega-structure.
Gladia knew that the survival of Jun and the reapers she sent to help him rested entirely upon her shoulders.
She began to feel emotions that she had never experienced before. After the previous anxiety when she lost contact with Jun, she now felt the weight of responsibility and the fear of failure.
Gladia waited until a drone spoke the words she had been waiting for so patiently.
"Ship-mistress, we have estimated the position of the ship-master and our troops. We are ready to teleport them back."
Gladia had a visual of the mega-structure, and the mini sun that Legatus created seemed to devour the exotic steel buildings as if it was mere paper pieces.
[Bring them back, now !!]
Gladia cried out as she saw the fireball hitting the ground and obliterating everything on the mega-structure.
'Please, tell me we were not too late...'
___
Not far from here, inside a gigantic Scylla battleship, the image of Primus One was displayed on a holographic screen floating above the ship's commander.
"Are you sure of this, Optio ?"
"I am, My Lord. Legatus sent us the location before he went to the Holy Island himself to confront the heretics. Since then, we have received no information other than the distress signal from his corvette before it was destroyed."
"hm... Legatus is not so stupid as to leave his ship and go there without a good reason. If he showed up and left his corvette, it was probably worth the risk. Do you have any information on the heretics who attacked this time ?"
"According to the communications from the commander responsible of the Holy Island they attacked, the enemy has been identified as the Deficient One."
Primus One looked surprised for a moment, then asked.
"Was he alone ?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"I see...too many details escape me, I don't like it."
The image of Primus One in his majestic Templar clone displayed on the holographic screen vibrated rapidly as he began to speak again, in an extremely serious tone.
"Optio, I want you to investigate the situation and report it to me as soon as possible. We are at an important step in our history, we cannot fail now nor can we let anything disturb our plan.
While I trust Legatus and I don't think the Deficient One is capable of stopping us by himself, I'm starting to get annoyed by his ability to always cause us problems when everything is supposed to be going well."
Primus One took a short pause, before adding.
"Optio, I want a confirmation of his death this time. I won't allow you to get played by him and his crew once again. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lord..."
The screen disappeared, just before the battleship of Optio Carceris and all the ships that were following it came out of the warp space.
The first thing they saw when they entered the Holy Island orbit shocked them.
A ball of energy the size of a natural moon was crashing into the entire mega-structure, destroying everything in its path.
Optio knew immediately that it was Legatus' doing ; apart from their leader Primus One, the only Scylla capable of causing such a destructive phenomenon was his faithful right-hand, Legatus.
While Optio was glad that Legatus had resorted to an attack of this magnitude to permanently eliminate the Heretics and their leader the Deficient One, he couldn't help but be deeply shocked to see Legatus able to produce so much energy while being limited by his Templar clone.
It would not have surprised him if Legatus was in his original body outside of the Singularity laws' effects, but the fact that he created such an attack in his Templar clone inside the Singularity also posed a risk : his soul can radiate through the Soul-stone, and if the soul-stone stone isn't hermetic anymore he can be ejected from the Singularity dimension.
"Commander, we detected a mass teleportation ! We traced the origin of the signal and found its location ! The heretic ship is still nearby !!"
One of the operators in the command room made his report, and Optio didn't hesitate to give his orders.
"Good ! After all this time, we finally have the chance to catch them ! Engage them with all of our ships !! We are forbidden to let them escape !!!"
"Yes, commander !"
The Scylla operators responded and transmitted the orders of Optio Carceris, their fleet commander, to all the other ships.
The Scylla ships all began to move forward, their weapons came out of their enclosures and took aim, their hangars opened to release a sea of fighters.
Once they got in range, they all fired at the Lance of Kar'goth.
While they have to destroy the Heretic flagship, Optio must also deploy a few units to check the situation on the destroyed Holy Island.
The huge ball of energy that annihilated everything in its path a few minutes ago suddenly shrank, before disappearing completely, causing a powerful shock wave that was felt all the way to the Scylla fleet ; it left behind its rampage a huge hole in the Scylla mega-structure.
These mega-structures acting as space strongholds which the Scyllas call Holy Islands, look like artificial floating fortresses covered with buildings, armor plates, heavy anti-ship cannons, and many other kinds of powerful space-warfare armament.
After receiving the attack of Legatus, this huge bastion made of exotic materials seemed to have been bitten by a Giant the size of a whole solar system : a huge hole was covering a third of the mega-structure.
"I still can't believe that Legatus could create such a destructive attack while in his Templar form...I now understand why our Lord chose him as his right-hand."
Optio stopped staring at the mega-structure and transmitted further orders, as all the ships in his fleet bombarded the enemy flagship with all their weaponry.
"Teleport five combat units to Legatus' position and assess the situation on the ground."
While Optio gave his order to send units to the Holy Island, their assault fleet got attacked by the enemy fighters.
"Commander, the enemy ship deployed an important numbers of automated vessels, they are almost in range to attack our fleet."
"Deploy our own fighters to protect our main-battle ships, and keep shooting at their flagship with our main calibers. We need to destroy it as soon as possible, before it escapes again !"
"Yes, commander."
Optio looked at the Heretic Flagship and its interceptors surrounding it getting bombarded by the Scylla heavy artillery.
This ship passed through their fingers every time they tried to catch it since it first appeared on Kar'goth, but today would be the day of its destruction.
Although enemy interceptors have managed to destroy some of the main-battle ships in the Scylla assault fleet since they engaged them, Optio has studied the strength of this ship during their last encounters and he was confident of his victory.
While this relic from the past is technologically advanced and uses completely unknown weapons, it was still alone and the fleet Optio was leading was composed of fifteen main-battle Scylla ships.
Even if it was incredibly powerful for a ship of its size, it was only slightly more powerful than a Scylla battleship and Optio was sure that the heretic ship's shield and hull could not withstand that many attacks for more than an hour.
"Commander, we found brother Legatus but..."
"What's the problem ? What are you waiting for to teleport him ?"
"He...refuses to come aboard. He is in mourning and does not wish to leave the Holy Island until he is certain the Deficient One died to his spell..."
"Grieving ? For whom ?"
"Ehm...for you, commander Optio..."
If Optio Carceris was human, the vein in his forehead would have already burst by now.
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO JOKE ?
DO YOU WANT ME TO SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO THE NARGIZA SYSTEM LOCKED INSIDE A TORPEDO ?"
"N-no sir ! But..."
Before Optio could let go of his rage and slam his brother's head on the wall, he heard a familiar voice contacting him.
"Who are you, usurper ?"
"Legatus, is that you ?? Why do you want to stay on this destroyed Holy Island ? Please, let us teleport you so you can make your report."
"You are not Optio Carceris, you are a usurper !!
If it is the Deficient One plan, it probably means that he anticipated this and made one of his demon infiltra..."
Optio was dumbfounded. He cut the communication, turned to his subordinate and asked him.
"What is happening ? Has he become mad ?"
"..."
No one answered, but all the Scyllas in the control room were thinking the same as their commander.
Legatus seemed to have lost his mind, and the report from the troops sent on the ground indicated that he was holding the body of a Paladin-type clone, a superior model compared to the Templar clones.
These clones were reserved for the highest echelon of the Scylla hierarchy, and it was the same clone model that Optio was using.
Optio didn't know why Legatus thought he was dead, but he was sure that his condition was not normal.
Legatus had lived for several millenniums and he had never lost control of his emotions.
Although Scyllas were less likely to get swayed by their emotions, as Optio had just done, Legatus was probably the calmest and most thoughtful of their people just after their leader Primus One.
"Teleport him by force and put him in an isolation cell. I don't want him to attack us once he's on board."
"Yes, commander."
___
As the space battle between the flagship and its interceptors against the Scylla fleet and its fighters raged, Optio left the control room and instantly appeared in the isolation room, accompanied by two Scylla guards.
A few moments later, the clone of Legatus appeared in a flash of light inside a locked cell.
As the report said, Legatus was firmly holding a completely charred Paladin clone body in his arms.
"Legatus, brother... What happened ?..."
"Silence, traitor !! I know you are a usurper !!
The human was right when he said he predicted everything, but I never thought he would have infiltrated this far in our ranks… I once again underestimated him..."
Optio and his two guards looked at each other, totally dumbfounded by Legatus' behavior.
He was so different than his usual calm and charismatic appearance. He seemed to have gone totally insane, and Optio couldn't help but ask him.
"Brother, if I am a traitor like you say, why do you think this Paladin body is mine ?"
"No one can deceive my senses, and no one can falsify a soul-stone.
Especially not the unique soul-stone of my brother, Optio Carceris."
These words piqued Optio's curiosity, and he decided to ask for more explanation.
"What do you mean, Legatus ? You know very well that it is impossible to alter a soul-stone, let alone mine.
You know my circumstances, brother..."
The reason why Optio is the only Scylla to have a direct connection with Primus One and the Revered Mother is because of his totally atypical birth for a Scylla.
The Scylla's ancestors, whom they call the 'Elders', were created during the great collision between the two universes that formed the two opposing dimensions of the Singularity and the Void.
Although the Elders Scyllas were born during this cataclysmic event, for some reason they were mostly natives of the Singularity.
Only an extremely small number of Elder Scyllas are natives from the Void, and their only descendant still alive is Optio Carceris.
Although he is from the same species as the other Scylla and shares the same ideals, his soul is different : it is bound to the Void instead of the Singularity, and he can use the Void energy like the natives from the Void legions.
The only Elder still alive today is Primus One, the current leader of the Scyllas.
Although he never explained the reasons the other Elders all died, he simply said that in ancient times a terrible war raged for many centuries : this was the Dark Ages.
The majority of Elders lost their lives during this grim era, and if Primus One and a few other Elders didn't survive, the whole Scyllas species would have been extinct.
Only Primus One and a handful of other Elders survived, and they became the progenitors of the current Scylla people.
Since then, the other Elders all disappeared and only Primus One remained alive after all those millenniums.
Primus One never explained more than that, and no Scylla dared to ask him about the Dark Ages.
Each of them knew that the grim ancient time has to be forgotten.
That's why although it was impossible to counterfeit a soul-stone, it was even more impossible to counterfeit Optio's soul-stone because it would require perfect control over the Void energy and deep knowledge about souls manipulation.
Even if the Heretic Human B213-84 could control the Void energy, it was impossible for him to manipulate a Scylla soul and even less to inject Void energy inside the soul container.
Those stones are only conductible for the Singularity energy ; they are perfect insulators for the Void energy.
Only Primus One knows the secret to inject a Void soul inside a Singularity conductible, and that is why he specially created Optio Carceris' soul-stone.
This is also the reason why Optio has a direct link with Primus One and the Revered Mother : the container of his soul has been crafted by Primus One with a mixture of soul-stone and Netherite stone.
What neither Optio, Legatus, nor even Jun knew before closing his eyes, was that his luck did not run out.
His luck never left him.
Once again, by a chain of totally improbable possibilities, Jun performed a miracle without even realizing it.
"Brother, let me analyze the clone body you brought back. If you really think that..."
Optio couldn't finish his sentence before an explosion sounded, as if something crashed with force on his battleship hull.
One of his subordinates appeared in front of him in panic.
"Commander, t-the enemy ship...he fled."
"WHAT ?? HOW DID YOU LET IT GO ??"
"Its shield went down and we started to seriously damage its hull, but before we could destroy it all the drones attacking our ships crashed on our hull and self detonated themselves.
They caused great damage to our fleet. We lost four destroyers, two battle-cruisers and our battleship engines have been badly damaged..."
Optio felt like he was about to explode from anger.
Even after bringing an entire assault fleet with him, he was still unable to catch this slippery ancient flagship, as if the Luck Deity was protecting these heretics from the shadows.
Those who made this ancient ship were truly genius transcending the Scyllas' intellect, it was unthinkable to see a single ship being so resilient against a whole Scylla fleet.
The only clues they had to trace the Heretics are the chunks of destroyed ancient interceptors floating in space and the Paladin clone body.
When Optio regained his composure and was about to ask for the body Legatus held in his arms, he felt a strange force from where should have been its soul-stone.
"Legatus, did you say the soul stone inside this clone is mine ?"
"Not yours, impostor, but my brother Optio Carceris'."
"I feel the Void energy inside...you may not be totally insane, after all..."
Optio moved forward and approached the cell where Legatus was locked to remove by force the clone he was holding.
Legatus was too injured and exhausted from his previous fight to resist.
When Optio was about to grab the Paladin body, his hand instantly stopped and his body froze for a second.
He felt another force and instantly leapt backward while keeping his gaze fixed on the Paladin clone Legatus held in his arms.
Optio unleashed all his Void energy, which didn't pale in comparison to Legatus strength, and started to chant an incantation in the Scylla native language.
The two guards who accompanied him and the third Scylla who just made his report were shocked at this sudden turn of events.
They were about to ask him what was going on but Optio yelled at them first, with a voice full of rage and madness.
"EVACUATE THE SHIP !! TELEPORT EVERYONE TO OUR FASTER SHIPS AND WARP OUT OF THIS AREA AS FAST AS POSSIBLE !!"
The 3 scyllas surrounding Optio were shocked, they were at a loss for words.
Seeing how angry their commander was and how serious he suddenly became, they didn't ask anything and all disappeared to transmit his order.
Legatus was also surprised.
"What is your purpose, impo..."
Optio cut him off and madly yelled at him, without an ounce of respect to his former rank of right-hand of Primus One.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP !!!! FOOL, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE !!!! YOU BROUGHT A BOM..."
Optio could finish neither his phrase nor his attack before everything went black.
Space violently distorted, and everything material in a one-year-light radius vanished.
There was no sound.
No light.
It only took one-thousandth of a second for a whole sector of the mother system to completely disappear.
As if God clapped his fingers and removed from existence an entire region extending over nine trillion, four hundred and sixty-one billion kilometers.
While there was no violent explosion, the space distortion did spread widely and could be felt in the whole Singularity dimension, until reaching its center.
___
Primus One, kneeling on the floor in the middle of a dark place, opened his eyes after feeling the space distorts.
Above him, a voice resonated in the place.
"They failed. You should have known, my son. You can't oppose Fate."
Primus One bowed his head so low it touched the floor.
"It is my fault, Mother..."
A gigantic withered hand, as black as the darkness surrounding him, lightly tapped on his shoulder.
"You couldn't, my son...
But I can.
And I will."
___
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