Venus, who was within APOLLO, prepared to directly tackle the five Hex that were following her up.
Deep down, she had a feeling that she didn't stand a chance.
But yet, she did not fret. She did not waver.
She stopped running, and with her head raised, she confronted her deepest nightmares.
And it was proven worth it.
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"SHARP, activate Black Hole Shields."
APOLLO was then surrounded by a black hole big enough only to encompass the spaceship. Normally, this technology is a double-edged sword, since the pilot inside APOLLO would not be able to see anything since the event horizon does not allow light to escape. But this was not an issue to Venus, who could perceive every kind of spectrum and more.
[Hex spaceships quickly approaching. Calculated timeframe for arrival: 30 seconds]
"It's more than enough. Activate Mirrored World."
The mirrored world was a technology that created at least hundreds of duplicates of a given object or entity. A kind of hologram crafted from minor alterations of electrons across a given area of spacetime. But more than just illusions, it also tricked enemy technology the same way, and their actions were real.
Now there were millions of APOLLO spaceships, identical to one another, spread across the vastness of outer space. The illusions also mimicked the Black Hole Shields. Then, the illusions and the real APOLLO started moving, mixing positions so as to confuse the incoming Hex.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg!"
Anti-Gravity fields were then enabled, preventing any chance of the Hex from altering the gravitational pull of APOLLO. This also allowed the spaceship to fly through any structure disregarding any sort of gravitational and physical hindrance across the cosmos.
Next, Quantic-Matter Disintegration was applied in conjunction with forcefields around APOLLO (still encompassed by the Black Hole Shield). Any sort of attack or object that came in contact with it would have to deal not only with a barrier that could withstand supernovae but also an instantaneous disintegration effect down to the quantum level upon contact. At first glance, it would seem to be a single thick forcefield, but in reality, there were many. They were stacked like onion layers but multiplied by hundreds, all contained as a thin membrane. And if one happened to be destroyed, it would be reconstructed in seconds.
Furthermore, within the microscopical gaps between each forcefield, a vortex of antimatter waves ran free, destroying any target that may pass through it.
"Now, the cherry on top."
Venus systematically threw the ERM-33 crystal into a circulatory engine. This engine broke and turned the crystal into green power, which was then spread across the entirety of APOLLO. This would act as a defense against the violations of causality and spacetime.
Normally, the Hex could simply forcefully configure entities to vanish. But this greenish aura would prevent it.
[They are here]
The Hex arrived and were already preparing to shoot.
"Fire!"
APOLLO, and its clones, shot 10^236 probabilistic missiles and 10^236 lasers in conjunction. These lasers were imbued with Planck temperatures and would melt through anything.
The Hex retaliated with their own incomprehensible energy beams, and with just as many projectiles, even though there were only five of them. These projectiles were able to tear through the quantic forcefields like butter by violating causality, and they were carried with properties that were the opposite of both gravity and anti-gravity, easily ignoring the Black Hole Shield as a result.
And as if it wasn't already obvious. They could also see through the stealth mode.
The missiles and lasers that were supposed to damage them, in fact, did not. They for sure hit them and even pushed them away, but no aftereffects that could be considered damage could be detected.
Then, one of them performed an omnidirectional wave that wiped out all the APOLLO clones from existence, leaving only the real one.
"SHARP, the gravitational pull of B33 and B37, now!"
Two planets, B33 and B37, who were a light-year away from the battlefield, were pulled as if tied to an invisible rope, and fast enough so that they both collided into three Hex spaceships from both sides, sandwiching them. This event resulted in a massive explosion that pushed away the other two Hex.
But they were still intact. No damage could be seen. And now, there were five against one, the latter having no more cards.
They were cornered and surrounded.
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While all of this was happening, Venus, who could see through every spectrum, did not notice that a certain arm was reacting strangely.
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First, it came from behind. A laser fired from a Hex spaceship blasted the back of APOLLO, destroying 30% of its structure, and causing Venus to lose balance.
"Arrrgh...Activate causal closures around the ship!"
A causal closure was a sort of locally induced violation of the laws of causality. It could be used to completely stop the cause and effect of a given phenomenon, or trap it in an eternal non-linear causal recursion.
Right now, APOLLO enabled and surrounded itself with numerous warped areas imbued with this effect. Anything that passed through it would be stopped in its tracks, into a causeless and effectless state.
One of the Hex in front blasted another beam, red-colored, right at the face of APOLLO. It hit a causal-closed area, and it was warped significantly. Did it work? No. The beam immediately after just broke through it, not only destroying the causally-closed effect but also taking away another 30% of APOLLO's structure from its left side. If APOLLO didn't slightly dodge it at the last second, it could have ended right there.
"I...I have nothing left...They can't be harmed. They can't be fooled...Even their projectiles follow ectocausality...They cannot be stopped...Is doom the only thing that is left?"
Another shot, blasting through APOLLO at the left side, taking away a further 30% of itself. Now, there was only the structure that held the control room, where Venus was residing, among other gadgets.
The Hex began to charge another beam. This one would be the last.
Only a few seconds left for a journey into nonexistence.
But it was right at this interval, that Venus noticed something.
An arm, that was supposed to be inside her War Cube, was now a few meters away from her, on the ground.
And she heard it calling her.
And she approached it. Almost as if she instinctively knew this was the right thing to do.
And she took it.
And she ate it.
And she understood. She was about to give up. Death was imminent.
But she realized.
If she really had to perform revenge on the strongest beings of the multiverse, death had to be the next stepping stone she had to overcome to ascend into a more powerful state.
A more powerful and transcendent [SHAPE].
Then, it was fired. The last shot. Blasted the remaining piece of APOLLO, Venus included.
Only silence remained.