The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

(Unknown Planet)

Sophie floated within the sea of her consciousness and watched indifferently as her body was being slowly torn to shreds.

She could not move.

She could not speak.

She could not act.

An ordinary person would have frantically tried to wrestle control back, but Sophie just continued to float around with a carefree attitude.

There was nothing she could do because fighting for control during this crucial moment of battle would only guarantee her death.

The berserker mode was making her body operate on pure fighting instincts but with only a basic measure of self protection.

The only goal was to kill the target at any cost.

Still there was a strong feeling of regret in her heart.

Cleo would freak out if she knew that her lover had become crippled.

And she didn't even dare to think about what her father would do.

Well, it would be fortunate enough to emerge from this battle alive…

Lily wrapped her arms around Sophie's back tightly and watched in horror as her big sister bled out from numerous wounds covering her body.

"Big sister we need to run away!" Lily screamed into Sophie's ear, but it was like the hybrid girl had gone deaf.

"Stop! Your injuries are only getting worse!"

"Big sister, please listen to me!"

No matter how much Lily yelled, Sophie would continue to move forward towards the core area of the strange plant.

Rsychosis!

Multiple identical copies of Sophie's image appeared at her location and each fought off the vines approaching the duo.

These greenish vines were made from a sturdy biochemical material, so the clones did not last long under their assault.

Every few seconds another one of Sophie's clones would grunt in pain as they were impaled through various parts of their body.

Sophie's remaining eye gleamed with a bloodthirsty light as she circulated her qi to summon more clones.

Rsychosis was a mental and qi technique that demanded a great deal of energy from the user, but Sophie continued to pay the cost seemingly without fear of overdraft.

Hiss!

A reddish fruit grew out from the tip of a nearby vine.

Its size was around the size of a football and it was covered with rough bumps.

The hairs on Sophie's arms stood up in fright as her danger sense exploded. Without even thinking, Sophie dived to the ground just as the fruit exploded with a thunderous bang.

Thick thorns that resembled metallic spike shot out from inside the fruit and penetrated several clones unlucky enough to be in the area.

Sophie stumbled back to her feet in a daze as the uneven balance from losing an arm was affecting her posture when trying to get up.

Chik! Chik! Chik!

Harsh clicking noises were emitted from the center of the plant and Sophie could swear that there was a mocking tone hidden in those noises.

The flower's pale white petals floated gently in the wind. The soft and delicate beauty of the flower almost masked the horrors that the plant could inflict.

Just a little bit more….

The pain from the wounds still leaking blood turned out to be a blessing in disguise as this feeling kept Sophie conscious.

She could vaguely feel her body begin to show signs of shutting down.

No…not…. not…like…this…

Sophie's left eye shone an even deeper shade of crimson as strange red markings appeared all over her body.

These markings connected to the brand in the center of her chest that suddenly glowed a mesmerizing shade of pink.

The blade-like appendages on her back extended outwards by at least three extra feet and the barbed tips were now dripping with a purplish fluid.

Sophie's figure instantly vanished from the spot and reappeared directly in the center of the flower.

The hybrid girl's appearance was now more beast than man.

Madness and insanity had fully penetrated her mind and now all Sophie could think of was an endless killing rage.

Chik! Chik! Chik!

The flower hurriedly tried to summon some vines to attack the hybrid girl inside its fleshy main body.

But it was too late.

Chomp!

Sophie's fangs sunk deep within the heart of the plant and pumped out all the venom she had stored in her glands.

Chik! Chik! Chik!

The clicking noises now had a panicked tinge to their cries but Sophie continued to wantonly rip and tear apart the fleshy center using her blade-like appendages.

The toxin did not take long to affect the gigantic flower and soon its pale white colour shifted into a more ominous shade of yellowish green.

The vines shooting towards Sophie's body slowed down as the flower lost control over their movement.

This poison was a rare kind extracted from an animal on planet Ursula known only as the 'R'renae.'

Its strength was such that a mere three drops alone were enough to kill a full-strength qi tide cultivator.

And Sophie's venom glands could enhance and strengthen any toxin that she had ingested to increase its lethality.

The pale-white flower withered away in agonising pain as its inner organs rotted out from the inside.

Sophie could sense the life force draining out from her opponent and jumped off its body to land on the ground before it fell.

Boom!

The gigantic flower the size of a two-story tall building crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

A wave of dust and sand made Lily close her eyes.

"Big sister…you… won," she stammered softly.

Sophie swayed unsteadily as her remaining eye shifted from the deep crimson red to the normal golden hue.

She carefully lifted Lily off her back with one arm and placed her in a nearby pile of sand without saying a word.

"Big sister… Are you okay?" Lily asked worriedly.

Sophie really did want to reply but the heavy cost of bleeding nonstop for ten minutes straight finally caused her to lose consciousness.

The last thing she could remember was Lily frantically running to her side and calling out her name.

(Two hours later)

Whirr!

A squad of heavily armed soldiers rushed through the endless desert in search of a mysterious plant.

The mechanical hoverbikes they operated were the newest models with radar capabilities, weapon systems and invisibility fields.

Expensive to be sure but the cost was nothing compared to the armour that each solider wore.

State of the art metalloid armour that could resist ten rounds of plasma fire without even a single scratch.

The metalloid armour was created and modified into the standard uniform for the organization these men represented.

Each warrior was armed to the teeth with a variety of class one weaponry suitable for taking down cultivators in the qi body and spirit stages.

The riders travelled in a v- shaped formation with their leader in the forefront in order to guide them in the search.

Suddenly one of the riders on the left side notice something unusual in the distance. He pressed a button on his helmet to capture the image and what he saw was shocking.

The man instantly activated his wrist communicator and sent out a voice message to the squad leader,

"Captain we have two bodies about eight hundred meters to the side. Should we investigate?"

The captain stared in the direction of the two bodies and even without using the image enhancement feature on his helmet, he could easily see the tragic scene.

There was what looked to be a humanoid corpse surrounded by a pool of blood while a smaller figure knelt down by the body.

This was pretty unusual.

There were supposed to be no mercenary teams in this sector.

Curiosity was roused in the captain's heart, so he decided to take a closer look.

"Let me go over there and investigate while the rest of the team focuses on the mission," the captain ordered firmly.

"I will leave Lieutenant Johnson in charge."

There were no complaints from the team and soon a lone hoverbike separated from the formation and headed towards the two bodies.

As the captain came closer, he could make out some more details about the kneeling figure and the corpse.

Well... it may not actually be a corpse.

There were some faint movements of the chest which showed that the injured person was still barely alive.

Sobbing noises could be heard coming from the figure frantically observing her fallen companion.

The roar of the hoverbike made the smaller figure raise her head.

(Lily's POV)

Lily was truly getting desperate.

It had been around two hours since Sophie had fallen unconscious, and her big sister showed no signs of waking up.

Lily had never done first aid before, but Sophie's storage bag contained healing serums, so she injected two of them into the most damaged areas on her body.

Too much healing solution injected into a patient could cause adverse reactions, so Lily had to prioritise the parts that appeared to be in most need of urgent treatment.

There was some effect as the bleeding had stopped but the wounds still refused to close.

Whatever was on those green vines was preventing Sophie's natural regenerative ability from activating.

Lily was struck by a deep sense of powerlessness and fear as her only pillar of support during this terrible time had been Sophie.

What was she going to do?

Huh? What was that sound?

Lily turned around slowly and saw a strange sight.

A fairy tale knight?

That was Lily's first thought as a strange person parked his hoverbike by a nearby sand dune and walked over.

You could forgive Lily's momentary confusion as the man wore an outfit almost identical to the medieval culture of ancient Earth.

His metallic armour resembled a knight's outfit with thick shoulder pads and a breastplate that enhanced his masculine aura.

The armour was completely white except for a beautifully painted red sun that was drawn in the center of the set.

A flowing golden cape fluttered in the wind with every step he took.

"Xerat tu… eetsf?" the mysterious man spoke softly in the common language of the Unova Syndicate.

Lily shook her head and watched the man with a nervous gaze.

She knew that it was important not to reveal her identity but….

Sophie was dying and she didn't know what to do. If this stranger could help Sophie get proper treatment, then it would be worth the risk.

Lily nervously crossed her hands behind her back and managed to stammer out a plead for assistance,

"Help… help me….my big sister is badly hurt!"

She didn't have much hope that this stranger would be able to understand the language of the Earth Federation but at this point she was willing to take a chance.

The captain froze for a moment in shock after hearing Lily talk and then carefully removed his helmet to reveal the face of a familiar race.

He was a human!

The captain's face belonged to an androgynous beauty who could easily be either a male or a female and yet there was no sense of disharmony.

He had dirty blonde hair and soft feminine features that only enhanced his image of a hero of justice and grace.

His nose was slender and delicate with deep chocolate brown eyes that held an endless abyss that could entrance all who stared into the depths.

The handsome man softly held Lily's hand and then knelt down to whisper in her ear, "Have no fear my child."

"The Hyperion Order will always help those in need of salvation."