Third Person POV
Victor, Samuel, and Emma hid in the guest barracks, observing the unfolding conflict through the window.
All the soldiers had been ordered by Agatha to the farthest part of the military camp, leaving Evelina, Nemesis, Spica, and Thanatos alone here.
Nemesis decided to use her magical power to whisper a few words to Spica that no one else would hear, — Oh, little sister, you'll be surprised when you realize the power your cousin possesses!
It was an extremely simple and easy trick that Thanatos or anyone else was unaware of. Nemesis restricted the propagation of sound waves using an air barrier flow.
Nemesis knew that Spica was currently the only one who didn't know that Thanatos controlled a fraction of primal Chaos. And it was all because Spica had arrived on Earth slightly before the Monstro-Apocalypse, so she couldn't directly monitor the lives of the two cousins. And until the apocalypse happened, none of Pendragons knew for sure which type of energy the only male in the family was possessed by.
Spica glanced at Nemesis peripherally, then focused all her attention on Thanatos, smirking self-assuredly, — Hmph, show me what you're capable of! Evelina spouted so much nonsense about you. Maybe I won't consider you such a talentless fool.
Frowning, Thanatos contemplated to himself, «If she's my relative, I won't be able to kill Spica. So I'm going to put my whole nature and being, the power of the Vial Soul, the might of Chaos, into a single strike!»
Thanatos understood that he would lose to her in any scenario, but he wanted to show Spica that he was someone whose opinion had to be taken into account.
The opponents were 150 feet (45 meters) apart from each other. Looking at Spica, he realized that she wasn't quite human due to her elven ears. They were long and pointed at the ends.
The moment of truth had come. The blue-eyed and tall guy assumed an attacking stance, gathering a large sphere of chaotic energy in his hands.
Thanatos concentrated the energy of primal Chaos so strongly in his palm that a black singularity formed at its center, distorting space itself.
— Shit, this is difficult! — he exclaimed.
Thanatos didn't think about anything else. He imagined the energy flowing out of his body and soul, gathering into a compact sphere under immense pressure.
— It's taking too long. I could have killed you a thousand times already. On the other hand, I did say I wanted to see your maximum power, — Spica reasoned, assuming a defensive stance.
Around the girl in her elegant light attire, a wall of crystal spikes and thorns formed, with a strength far surpassing the toughest materials in the Galaxy. Spica's defensive line extended about 20 feet, which was enough to withstand Thanatos' targeted strike.
At some point, the sphere of Chaos began to emit cracking sounds, indicating the rupture of existence at its core.
— Catch my little gift! — Thanatos yelled, swinging his compressed sphere towards Spica's defensive wall. He aimed for her torso, hoping that the Chaos energy would reach her body and seriously injure his opponent.
The sphere of Chaos accelerated to supersonic speed and sliced through the air with a loud crack. A trail of crimson energy remained behind the sphere.
The primal Chaos reached Spica's crystal spikes within seconds.
*Explosion*
Loud thunder-like sounds spread across the military camp. A cloud of smoke rose in the collision area, reducing visibility to zero.
— Oh my God! Who is this guy? — Victor whispered in awe, observing the battle with Emma and Samuel from the barracks.
Thanatos fell to one knee, his clothes soaked in sweat. His face showed signs of exhaustion after depleting almost all of his energy reserves.
«Did it work?» Thanatos mentally questioned himself, trying to make out anything in the dense smoke.
Nemesis was also curious to know if her brother managed to break even a single sturdy branch of her cousin. Or was Thanatos not strong enough at this moment? She created a strong gust of wind and directed it towards Spica.
The gust of wind blew away the dust and smoke from the collision site, revealing the result of the single strike.
— Ssaahhhh, that burns like hell! Phew, I'm all pumped up! Unbelievable, you made a hole in my defense the size of a head! — Spica excitedly talked to herself, clutching her right hand in intense pain.
— Holy shit, that's impressive, — Nemesis said, applauding Thanatos' power.
The defensive wall of crystal spikes and thorns had lost its structural integrity: the Chaos sphere managed to penetrate a small opening, allowing the main singularity to pass through.
Spica's forearm crumbled into dust, causing her to contort her face and experience a range of different emotions.
— Oh God, she's invulnerable! — Thanatos exclaimed in desperation.
Despite his efforts, he couldn't inflict significant damage on Spica. While she felt pain, it didn't cause her suffering.
Nemesis approached Thanatos and patted him on the shoulder, expressing praise.
— You're right, brother. But you did manage to injure her! That's very impressive.
— Why are you praising me, sister? Isn't she just an ordinary cultivator? Or are you familiar with her? — Thanatos decided to play the fool, pretending to know nothing about Spica.
Nemesis quickly dispelled any suspicions, coming up with an excuse, — Oh, well... I mean, she has a unique type of natural energy that is one of the best in terms of defense. Breaking through such a barricade is not an easy task!
— That's mind-blowing, — Spica interjected, drawing attention to herself. She drank an expensive regeneration potion, after which her hand quickly healed. Spica leaped over the twenty-foot wall and began to approach Thanatos slowly, saying, — Your strike was praiseworthy! It was the energy of primal Chaos, damn it! Ha, I admit you're not talentless. Now, allow me to demonstrate the extent of my powers!
Spica's eyes gleamed with combat fervor, and two knuckledusters made of sharp spikes appeared on her hands.
— Hey, wait a minute! I have a pathetic and terrible defense, miss whoever you are, I already forgot... — Thanatos decided to pretend to be naive, so that Nemesis or Spica wouldn't suspect that he recognized his relative.
She continued to approach him. When Spica swung her knuckleduster, Thanatos extended his hands forward and enveloped them in a veil of Chaos energy.
— My name is Spica, S-P-I-C-A! Remember me and this pain, you scoundrel!
*Crunch*
Spica struck Thanatos' hands with her knuckleduster, causing them to crunch and burst. As a result, the blue-eyed boy's body flew about a decent 100 feet (30 meters) until it collided with a parked military vehicle.
The car turned into a pile of scrap metal but served as a good safety cushion for Thanatos' butt and back.
«Fucking hell! My hands are gone! Both limbs just exploded from a light strike...»
Thanatos shouted to himself, gritting his teeth.
He tried to free himself from the wreckage but realized he was trapped in metal. Without hands, he couldn't escape, wriggling his feet like a limbless blob.
— Oops! You really have weak defense... So, Thanatos is a one-hit wonder? They call such people 'quickshot,' ah-ha-ha-ha! — Spica delighted in her made-up joke, paying no attention to cousin's suffering.
Spica wanted to approach Thanatos, but Nemesis grabbed her by the collar and spat out, — Make one more move, and I'll tear off all your limbs!
Spica looked around and saw Agatha and Evelina nearby. She wriggled free from Nemesis' grip and said, — Nemesis, calm down. I just showed him what I'm capable of. Thanatos needs to feel my power firsthand, otherwise, how can I attract the right attention?
Spica waved her hand dismissively and walked seductively towards the trapped Thanatos. Agatha and Evelina rushed to him, deeply concerned for his well-being.
— Oh my God, your hands, Thanatos! What's going to happen now... — tears gradually welled up in Evelina's eyes. She couldn't watch the injured Thanatos calmly; her heart shattered into a thousand fragments.
— Beloved! This creature will pay for what it has done! Let me try to heal you, — Agatha said without thinking about her words. She began forming spheres of healing energy that eased Thanatos' pain.
His hands didn't grow back, but the bleeding in the shoulder area had stopped.
— Agatha, w-what does 'beloved' mean? — Evelina asked with a trembling voice. She looked into Agatha's bewildered gaze as she was currently healing her beloved man.
«Could it be that Agatha stole Thanatos from me? I can't believe she betrayed me! Although... wait. She couldn't take Thanatos away from Nemesis, since they are engaged in incest. Nemesis would never give up her brother! Maybe she just shared him, which means I can have a slice of the cake for myself,» Evelina reassured herself mentally, helping Thanatos to get out of the wrecked car.
At that moment, Spika approached and extended a potion of regeneration towards her wounded cousin, — Thanatos, drink this. It will heal all your wounds.
Agatha stomped her foot and threatened Spika, — Don't talk garbage, you stupid cunt! Once I am convinced of Thanatos' safety, the entire battalion of the military base will destroy you!
— Agatha, calm down. Everything is fine, — Thanatos muttered in a commanding tone.
Agatha turned to him and, unable to withstand his stern gaze, lowered her head, — I'm just worried about you, Thanatos...
Feeling jealous because of her older sister's words, Evelina took the potion from Spika's hands and took a sip, — I'll take the risk first!
Thanatos smiled as he watched Evelina boldly take a drink of the unknown liquid before him, without any doubt.
«Oh, Evelina... she's such a naive girl» Thanatos chuckled mentally, biting his lips to suppress a wicked grin.
Evelina understood that everything was fine and gave the potion to Thanatos. His hands regenerated within thirty seconds.
He started flexing his enlarged hands, saying, — I will remember your name, Miss Spica. Just please remember that I have terrible defense, and I am not your opponent. Not yet, at least.
A satisfied Spiсa nodded, — I will remember.
— Thanatos, look around! You're surrounded by beautiful maidens, your own sister is jealous, oooh, — the scorned Nemesis spread her arms to her sides and began to shake her large bust, waiting for her brother to snuggle into her embrace.
— Don't become spoiled, older sister, — he said as he tightly embraced his beloved sister's breasts and kissed Nemesis on the forehead.
Tanatos was big enough to completely encompass Nemesis' body.
In those embraces, he thought about the short but meaningful clash with Spica.
Sometimes, victory can be achieved with a single strike, while other times a battle can last for hours. Tanatos understood this, but he wasn't prepared for deadly serious battles. Internally, he was relieved that he didn't encounter super-strong sworn enemies like Nemesis, Spica, or Delaria Zauron.
— So, what are you all planning to do? — Agata asked, addressing all the participants of the skirmish, — I don't mind accepting you, as you can be useful for protecting the base or going on excursions beyond the military facility.
Everyone fell silent for ten seconds, pondering their immediate plans. In fact, the girls came to the conclusion that they had no plans at all.
Agata, Spica, Nemesis, and Evelina looked at the lone man standing beside them.
— Why are you all looking at me? — Tanatos asked in confusion, not understanding what he himself wanted at that moment.
«And where should I go? Growing a second penis can wait. There's no need to rush into the field of genetics and go to one of Nemesis' laboratories. I need to become strong, which means using the nearest spatial teleport as an infinite undead spawn point! Brilliant!»
In the process of contemplation, Tanatos determined his immediate tasks: to kill undead, gain experience, collect cores, and cultivate effectively.
Unfortunately, he didn't possess any tools to manipulate his family members in any way. He couldn't create intrigue against Nemesis and Spica because he had no points of influence or compromising information. And yet, he desired to unravel all the family secrets and shove them into the anus of his deceitful older sister, reveling in his dominance over her.
In principle, he wanted to start doing exactly what he had learned from Nemesis: the art of cunning and intrigue. However, the world didn't give a damn about what the blond boy wanted at seventeen years old.