He might actually be able to flip the Valkyrie right onto the ground.
...
It's time to end it all.
Kigrov, leaning on his cane, hurried down the corridor leading to the tail cabin.
There were hardly any sounds left in his earpiece; the brave Empire soldiers were almost entirely dead or wounded, and the captain was no longer able to command.
"Po Suo, where are you going, Po Suo."
Kigrov muttered incessantly.
But when he turned the corner, dashed through the last passage, and reached the edge of the tail cabin, he suddenly froze.
Kigrov's red cybernetic eye flickered faintly, and his expression oscillated between stupefaction, astonishment, and disbelief. His intact eye reflected the scene below:
The disordered tail cabin, the overturned Mechas, only a few soldiers still able to move;
The formidable Valkyrie pressed to the ground by a Light Shield, while the continuously swinging Light Sword tried to add fatal injuries to the Valkyrie, yet could only leave strips of bloodstains on her smooth skin.
Oh, Emperor Star above!
"Hanton?"
Kigrov, with a trembling voice, looked at the figure suppressing the Valkyrie.
This overturned Kigrov's perception of their powers.
If that's the case, if Hanton could still follow his command, if...
Yang Ming suddenly looked up and glanced at Kigrov.
That one glance led Kigrov to a judgment so absurd it even he found it ludicrous.
This was not Hanton.
Or rather, Hanton, too, was controlled by the thoughts of the Ancient Gods!
"Hanton, answer me, Hanton!"
Kigrov shouted with a hoarse voice.
Suddenly, the Valkyrie looked up at the professor, her already scar-ridden self forcefully smacking the deck of the tail cabin.
That movement!
Yang Ming immediately withdrew, distancing himself from the Valkyrie, and grabbed two Shock Bombs from the tactical backpack strapped to his chest.
Sure enough, the Valkyrie started to tremble, red halos pulsing back and forth, and gradually, Light Wings condensed from red light appeared on her back, as her form began to ascend once more.
Two black dots flew in and exploded simultaneously on her left and right.
The Valkyrie tilted her head back and howled, her long hair fluttering, and the wounds on her body closed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
She abruptly turned, staring unyieldingly at Yang Ming.
At this moment, Kigrov no longer hesitated. He shakily pressed thrice on the tip of his cane, the sound of gears meshing from within as it disassembled itself, presenting a small hourglass to Kigrov's hand.
This hourglass was wrapped in blue arcs of light, with a floating particle at the center, and at the top and bottom, two peanut-sized pieces of pink flesh that seemed to still be writhing.
When Kigrov gripped the hourglass, the blue light gradually faded.
The Valkyrie, poised to rush at Yang Ming, and Yang Ming himself, who had both hands on the Light Sword, ready to perform a warrior's frontal roll to grapple with the Valkyrie, both stopped their movements in unison.
Red glints appeared in their eyes, fixating on the hourglass held by Kigrov.
Yang Ming, desperately craving those two clusters of cells, suddenly realized.
Were they organ-like structures cultivated from Ancient God Life Form cells?
Yang Ming maintained his restraint, but the Valkyrie threw caution to the wind and charged forth.
Kigrov held the hourglass aloft and pressed a red button with his finger.
"Po Suo, you know what this is! Stop!"
Kigrov shouted loudly, his gaunt face, half eroded by machinery, displaying a hint of madness and determination.
The Valkyrie actually indeed stopped.
She looked at Kigrov's raised left hand, the harshness on her face vanishing quickly, reverting to the pure and adorable countenance of a young girl, and then she gazed at Kigrov with her clear, bright eyes.
"Professor," she began to speak, her voice like the most beautiful music in the world, "you will grant my wish, won't you?"
Pushed aside, Yang Ming's Adam's apple quivered a few times.
It was then, out of the corner of his eye, Yang Ming caught sight of a 'green small aircraft' sign appearing on the landing craft's cabin.
Yang Ming's heart surged with joy, without a moment's hesitation, he immediately turned and dashed towards it.
Praise the Ancient Gods!
Doctor Lina had finally activated the landing craft's operating system!
The Valkyrie paid no attention to Yang Ming at all, her gaze fixated on the hourglass in Kigrov's hand.
Yang Ming ran, still observing, as Kigrov's voice came through the earpiece.
"Po Suo, I can fulfill you, but you must not lose control. You have to keep your own sanity. You will become the greatest existence in this Empire, a godlike presence, but you must stay sane. Prove to me your sanity, Po Suo."
"Give it to me, Professor."
"It's impossible, Po Suo. I must figure out if you are that beast or still my Po Suo!"
"You wouldn't really destroy me, Professor," Valkyrie's voice had a hint of ethereality, as if she was using mental manipulation, "I am your proudest masterpiece, the work of your lifetime. I am irreplaceable to you."
"Do not come any closer! Listen to me! Po Suo!"
"Professor, hand it over to me, and I can make you my consort, my closest consort."
"Po Suo."
Kigrov's voice suddenly calmed down.
Having rushed to the boarding passage, Yang Ming turned his head and saw this scene:
Valkyrie, holding a Light Sword, was hovering in mid-air with her hair naturally done up in twin ponytails, seemingly to trigger Kigrov's memories.
She continued to release psychic interference.
The gaunt Kigrov held aloft an hourglass in his hand, his mechanical eye flashing red, while his other normal eye was filled with reluctance and affection, unaffected by the psychic disturbance.
No, that's not right!
Kigrov would surely destroy those two cell masses!
And that hourglass-like device must possess the power to destroy both Valkyrie and this scientific research ship!
Yang Ming did not know how he came to this conclusion.
But from Kigrov's expression, Yang Ming read this information:
Kigrov wouldn't go soft this time!
The hourglass storing the cell masses, that unique structure, it looked like...
Fuck! An Antimatter Bomb!
Yang Ming felt his soul leaving his body, tumbling and crawling into the passage, 'flying' towards the opened hatch in the microgravity environment.
Doctor Lina sat in the co-pilot's seat, anxiously watching Yang Ming rush over.
"Prepare to eject!" Yang Ming bellowed.
Suddenly.
"Hanton," the first officer's figure appeared at the end of the passage, floating over in a panic, "Wait for me! Oh, no! I beseech you, Hanton! I order you to stop! Hanton!"
Doctor Lina clearly hesitated for a moment, but there was not a trace of wavering in Yang Ming's eyes.
He swiftly took off his tactical backpack and turned to aim at the first officer.
The first officer's expression was somewhat blank: "Hanton, what are you doing! No, you can't do this! I am your superior!"
"Hello, superior."
Yang Ming prepared his muscles, forcefully pushing the backpack with both hands, his body accelerating forward as it floated.
The first officer was hit directly by the backpack, his forward-moving body immediately arching backward, temporarily unable to find leverage in zero gravity, sliding back into the rear cabin, crashing into the simulated gravity area.
"Goodbye, superior."
Yang Ming adjusted his collar, his figure already floating into the landing craft, decisively hitting the hatch closure button.
"Hanton, the first officer!" Doctor Lina cried out with a tremble in her voice.
"Personal grudge."
Yang Ming stated calmly.
As the hatch slammed shut with a heavy sound, he turned and hit the illuminated launch button.
The gate in the passage quickly closed, and a series of pale blue indicator lights appeared in front. A powerful electromagnetic field enveloped the hull.
Before Yang Ming could sit properly in his seat, the sudden thrust pinned him against the rear cabin door.
They had just burst into space when a rapidly expanding flash appeared behind them.
The Antimatter Bomb had been detonated!
Fortunately, the small landing craft had already been ejected some distance away, and given that it was designed for landing on and exploring planets, it already boasted an excellent hull structure, equipped with a miniature protective shield, and was highly robust.
Yang Ming suffered though, as he didn't have time to fasten his seatbelt, he was tossed around like a chestnut in a giant centrifuge, knocking himself out cold.
As he continued to tumble, he 'saw' a scene:
Valkyrie suddenly struck, diving fiercely at Kigrov, her Light Sword thrusting towards Kigrov's chest, her left hand reaching for the hourglass.
But Kigrov just sighed, fully pressing down the red button, allowing the Light Sword to pierce through his chest, and his right hand tightly embraced Valkyrie.
"You are perfect, Po Suo."
Kigrov muttered as if in a dream.