"Todd, what do we do now?" Todd's subordinates were bleeding out, and a massive beast was on the rampage.
Todd slammed the control panel in frustration. "I'll handle this myself!"
As a Level 6 Peculiar, his survival odds were decent, even if he couldn't secure the item.
While suiting up, he bumped into Liliana and the deputy leader of the Caesars, a Mercenary Group.
Clearly, they all wanted to uncover the identity of the mysterious figure in the flames.
"Damn it, Todd, if I knew it was a Level 9 plant, I wouldn't have told our leader to stay back. You're leading us to our deaths!" The deputy leader's anger was palpable. "Our boss has no intention of facing the admiral."
Voidstar No.2 was crawling with wanted criminals, many of them S-class fugitives. No way were they risking an encounter with the admiral.
"Let's hope those high-level beasts are fierce enough to stop her. Otherwise, we're all in deep trouble."
Amid explosions, the group moved swiftly toward the volcano's crater. The battle there was at its peak.
The beasts, though injured, attacked the small human with a united front, outraged by her audacity.
The figure, however, jumped from rock to rock like a flash of lightning. She dodged Pyrodrake's fireball, which instead struck Dark Wolf.
A chaotic storm of beams and rays rained down, but she edged closer to the volcano's base. There, a twenty-meter-high stone pillar rose amid the glowing lava.
Crimson flame crystals, like blood vessels, absorbed the volcano's energy to nurture a small scarlet fruit at the top.
A Lavaberry!
The silver-clad figure landed on the stone pillar.
"Roar—"
Pyrodrake, realizing the intruder was about to succeed, roared and swung its massive tail. The force shattered the cliffside, creating lava waves that even Stellarcrab had to avoid.
But the figure ignored all this. In a bizarre twist, her armor morphed into a straw and sucked up the fruit. Then, Pyrodrake's tail sent her flying into the lava.
Everyone, beasts included, stood in shock.
"Can that armor withstand this heat?"
Only Pyrodrake dared to investigate further.
As it dove in, the silver figure suddenly erupted from the lava. She had outwitted Pyrodrake!
With metallic wings unfolding, she soared into the sky.
Todd and his team tried to intercept her, but a massive wave of psychokinesis pinned them down, making them feel like they were wading through mud.
Pyrodrake's final desperate act was to use its psychokinesis to crush the thief who stole the fruit. The pressure from an eighth-level beast was unbearable, even for a Peculiar of the same level.
Todd and the crew were frustrated. As they prepared to retreat, they noticed the figure below charging against Pyrodrake's psychokinesis.
"How is that possible?" The deputy leader hit the ground in despair. "Who on earth is that?!"
Todd and Liliana exchanged glances and then they locked eyes with the armored figure. The figure made a hand gesture, and they turned and ran without looking back.
She dodged beams and claws, flapping her wings and soaring higher. At ten thousand meters, she accelerated, then dove down like a meteor.
The volcano erupted, collapsing as the ground cracked and scorching lava burst forth.
Beasts roared and fled, humans ran in panic, and chaos ensued.
Among the fleeing were Ned and his team.
"Damn it! What's with that woman? This is insane!"
"With this eruption, at least one-fifth of Bionysus's surface will change."
"It's an uninhabited planet anyway, don't worry about that. I wonder how Cuss and the others are doing?"
They piloted their mechas to the main ship and spotted the heavily armored Lev nearby.
"Cuss, it's a relief you're still alive!" The team leader was delighted as he boarded Lev, glad there were no casualties.
Cuss rubbed his sore neck with a sheepish grin. "I got knocked out by the tremors. Thank goodness Sis Marv knew how to operate Lev, or we'd be done for."
Everyone turned to Lyra, and the sight shocked them.
"Sis Marv, are you okay?"
Their concern was justified. The young woman looked incredibly weak. She leaned against her seat, trembled and gasped for breath.
Her hair and collar were soaked with sweat, and she clutched her mouth tightly to prevent a severe coughing fit.
Her face was flushed red, eyes bulging.
"Honestly, you look a bit scary," Ned muttered.
Cuss quickly added, "Sis Marv said this happens when she has an illness attack. She'll be fine once her breathing stabilizes."
When Lyra calmed down, she lay in the rest room's bed, her body aching as if it had shattered. Despite the battle lasting less than seven minutes, she felt utterly drained.
"You're awake?"
Sorren, who was keeping watch, joyfully helped her sit up. But the next second, Lyra grabbed his neck.
"Boss, what are you doing?" He stared at her in terror, completely baffled.
A murderous look appeared on Lyra's pale face. "My psychokinesis tells me you touched my Space Button."
The blue diamond pendant on her neck glinted coldly.
"It's a misunderstanding... I just wiped your sweat," Sorren pleaded, eyes full of desperation.
After scanning his trembling body, Lyra slowly released her grip. "Is that so? My apologies then."
Sorren wiped the sweat from his brow. "I'll get you something to eat, boss."
As he reached the door, Lyra suddenly called out, "Sorren, have I given you enough benefits over the years?"
She didn't ask if she'd been good to him, but if the benefits were enough.
Sorren swallowed hard. "In the past few years, I've earned more than I did in the previous twenty combined."
"That's good." She leaned against the bed, placing her feet on the floor. "I want some plain bread. Bring it to me in an hour. Tell the guards I'm too weak right now. I'll treat Cohen tonight."
Sorren hurried out, only to be intercepted by Todd and Liliana around the corner.
"Did you find out? Did Sis Marv take the Lavaberry?"
At this moment, the admiral's main forces were still battling the raging Pyrodrake. Todd and Liliana couldn't wait any longer and used the excuse of checking on Lyra to investigate.
Sorren, still shaken, stomped his foot in frustration. "I don't know! Please, give me a break!"
But knowing he couldn't afford to offend them either, he reluctantly added, "I'd love to help you find out, but even when Lyra is unconscious, her psychokinesis doesn't let up!"
He suspected the Lavaberry was indeed with Lyra, but he didn't dare say anything.
After dodging the inquiries from the Voidstar crowd, Sorren still had to face Cohen's guards. He was nearly pulling his hair out in frustration.