Chapter 17- The Supreme Order's Forces
The air was thick with tension, the weight of the Supreme Order's declaration hanging over the shipyard like a storm ready to break. Helios stood still, fists clenched, as the murmurs of the shipwrights reached his ears. Criminals. Pirates. The enemy of the universe.
A slow rage built within him, bubbling like magma beneath his skin. His golden eyes burned with unrestrained fury. They dared. They dared to brand him and his crew as criminals? After everything?
Bow took a cautious step forward. "Helios, we should—"
But Helios was already moving. He exploded forward in a blur, crossing the distance between him and the nearest Supreme Order soldier in an instant. The man barely had time to react before Helios' clawed hand tore through his torso, a geyser of blood painting the ground.
The silence shattered.
"Kill them!" one of the officers screamed.
The shipwrights scattered, diving behind their workstations, while dozens of Supreme Order soldiers rushed forward, rifles raised. Gunfire cracked through the air, but Helios weaved through the bullets with predatory ease. He grabbed another soldier by the skull and crushed it in his grip like a ripe fruit, his face an unreadable mask of fury.
Bow and Prometheus sprang into action beside him. Bow swung his fists like living wrecking balls, every punch sending bodies flying in a mess of shattered bones and torn flesh. Prometheus danced through the carnage, twin swords slicing through necks, torsos, and limbs with deadly precision.
Ariadne stood back, hands glowing with eldritch energy. The moment the soldiers turned their weapons on her, she unleashed a storm of dark tendrils that impaled them mid-air, ripping their bodies apart with sickening cracks.
The Supreme Order had numbers. But numbers meant nothing against monsters.
Then, the ground trembled.
A deafening metallic screech echoed through the battlefield, and from the edge of the shipyard, a towering mechanical monstrosity emerged. Its body was forged from an unbreakable alloy, its glowing red eyes locking onto Helios.
A soldier, gurgling on his own blood, coughed out a desperate laugh. "Y-you're finished… the Executioner-Class Unit… c-cannot be stopped…"
The robot raised its arm, a massive cannon forming from its forearm. In an instant, a blinding red laser shot forth, cutting cleanly through the battlefield, splitting stone, metal, and flesh alike. Anything in its path was vaporized.
Helios barely dodged, the heat searing his skin. His rage only grew.
"You want to hunt me? To kill me?" he growled, his voice guttural. "Then let me show you my wrath."
He lifted his hand, and for the first time, he fully called upon the power of the Apex Gem—Water Gem.
The air around him shifted, the moisture condensing into a violent sphere of swirling oceanic energy. The ground cracked beneath his feet as water surged up from the earth itself, forming spiraling tendrils around his arms. His veins glowed a deep blue, his entire body humming with newfound power.
The Executioner fired again.
Helios roared, thrusting his arm forward. A tidal force erupted from his palm, a concentrated jet of water meeting the laser mid-air. The impact shook the shipyard, the sheer force of their clash causing an explosion of steam and debris.
The robot recalibrated, shifting to another mode, but Helios was already on it. He moved with liquid grace, surging forward in a torrent of water. He launched himself onto the machine's shoulder, his claws crackling with high-pressure streams. With a feral snarl, he drove his hand into the robot's chest and released a spiraling burst of compressed water—one strong enough to pierce even the unbreakable alloy.
The Executioner jerked violently, sparks flying, its core exposed and vulnerable.
"Drown."
Helios clenched his fist, and in an instant, water flooded into the machine's body, filling every crevice, every mechanism. The pressure built, bending metal, bursting circuits. The Executioner shuddered violently before, with a final metallic groan, it ruptured from within, its core imploding in a deafening explosion of steam and shattered steel.
The battlefield fell silent, save for the crackling remnants of the destroyed machine. Blood and oil mixed on the ruined ground. The Supreme Order's forces had been annihilated.
Helios stood amidst the wreckage, his chest rising and falling heavily. He looked down at his hands, still humming with the lingering power of the Water Gem. He had mastered another piece of himself today.
But the war was far from over.
Bow exhaled, shaking his head. "Well… we definitely sent a message."
Prometheus sheathed his swords. "A loud one."
Ariadne smirked. "The Supreme Order won't take this lightly."
Helios turned his burning gaze toward the horizon, his fists clenching once more. "Good."
Helios stood amidst the smoldering remains of the Executioner-class robot, steam rising around him as the battlefield settled into an eerie quiet. The Supreme Order's forces lay in ruins—blood, metal, and shattered armor littering the once-pristine shipyard. But his fury still burned. His breathing was heavy, his body still thrumming with the power of the Water Gem, his golden eyes wild with untamed rage.
Bow wiped blood from his knuckles and exhaled. "Alright… I think we made our point."
Prometheus ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. "That wasn't a point. That was a declaration of war."
Ariadne crossed her arms. "The Supreme Order won't take this lightly. This was just one unit. Next time, they'll send something worse."
Helios closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply. The cold air filled his lungs, tempering the storm within him. He knew they were right. As satisfying as it was to obliterate the Order's forces, it wouldn't be long before reinforcements arrived.
"We need to move," he finally said. "Now."
The group turned and made their way back toward the shipwright district. The workers, who had hidden during the massacre, were beginning to emerge from their shelters. Some looked at Helios and his crew with awe, others with terror. A few—perhaps the crazier ones—grinned, seemingly impressed.
As they walked through the shipyards, one of the shipwrights, a burly man with wild gray hair and a constant scowl, stepped forward, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"That was some real carnage," he muttered. "And you're still standing. Guess that means you're serious."
Helios fixed him with an intense gaze. "We need a ship. Fast."
The shipwright scoffed. "You don't just 'get' a ship in a day, kid. But… considering you just wiped out an entire squad of the Supreme Order right in front of us, maybe we can make an exception."
Another shipwright, a lanky man with a sad, perpetually exhausted expression, sighed. "I suppose we don't have much choice. If we don't help, the Order might assume we're against them anyway."
A third shipwright, wearing a ridiculous coat covered in dog prints, chuckled. "Besides, it's not every day you get to build a ship for a crew of wanted pirates."
Helios didn't bother correcting them. At this point, whether he called himself a pirate or not didn't matter—the Supreme Order had already branded him as one.
The shipwrights led them deeper into the yards, where massive unfinished hulls stood like skeletal giants. One of them, a sleek but heavily reinforced vessel with a sharp prow and massive reinforced plating, caught Helios' attention.
The scowling shipwright followed his gaze and grunted. "That one's meant for deep-sea travel. Strong hull, reinforced frame. It's not finished yet, but if we work through the night, we can get it seaworthy by morning."
Helios nodded. "Then do it."
The workers sprang into action. Sparks flew as welding torches ignited, hammers rang against steel, and planks were fastened into place. The crew stayed nearby, helping where they could, but for the most part, they let the shipwrights do their work.
Hours passed. Then a full night.
By sunrise, the ship stood complete, floating in the harbor like a beast ready to be unleashed.
It was a masterpiece—sleek yet powerful, built for both speed and durability. The bow was reinforced with a lion-shaped carving, and its sails bore no insignia, allowing them to move undetected. Hidden compartments were installed within, perfect for stashing supplies or escaping prying eyes.
Helios stood at the edge of the dock, staring at their new vessel. His vessel.
A ship meant freedom. It meant escape. It meant war.
Bow let out a low whistle. "Damn. She's a beauty."
Prometheus nodded in approval. "And she's ours now."
Ariadne smirked. "Let's set sail before the Order catches wind of this."
The crew wasted no time boarding. Helios stepped onto the deck, his hand running over the railing. This was it. A new chapter. A new battleground.
As the ship pushed off from the dock and cut through the water, they sailed toward the open ocean, leaving the chaos of the shipyard behind.
For now, they would hide, regain their strength, and prepare for the storm that was sure to come.
Helios stood at the helm, the wind whipping through his hair, eyes fixed on the endless horizon.
He wasn't running.
He was preparing.
And when the time came, the Supreme Order would regret ever crossing him.