The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Frontier Region)

(Unknown Spatial Zone- The Bloody Krena Warship)

Sophie frowned slightly as she silently observed the tense atmosphere inside the command room.

Captain Hessan had clearly given up and his depressive state meant that no one was taking charge of the situation.

Sophie had already been forced on several occasions to leak out a trace of her qi strength in order to deter a riot.

But it was a temporary solution at best.

Everyone still alive on the starship was completely aware that there was no hope and desperate creatures with nothing to lose were dangerous.

The warp core inside the main engine room was completely destroyed as well as the escape spacecrafts located on the upper decks.

Was this the end?

Sophie absentmindedly looked down at her wrist communicator and saw the frustratingly familiar message appear once more on the homepage.

[Connecting … Connecting … No Connection Found]

This location was clearly outside the temporary extended range of the virtual net which meant that there was no way to contact the rescue team.

It was over.

Sophie leaned against a partially collapsed wall and covered her face with her palms before letting out a sigh.

Was this how it would all end?

A slow painful death by suffocation when the life support finally cut. The worst part of this entire situation was the feeling of helplessness and inevitability.

Two days was an incredibly short time but every passing minute felt like an eternity as the inescapable shadow of death lingered on them all.

At least Perspherene was unconscious so she wouldn't have to deal with the atmosphere of anxiety and tension that was palpable in the command room.

Sophie glanced at the corner of the room and saw her clone resting with her eyes opened while Lily slept peacefully in her lap.

A bitter smile flashed across Sophie's face as she observed the slow rise and fall of the little girl's chest as she slumbered unaware of the fate to come.

She had broken her oath. Lily was never going to return home.

"My fellow warriors," a solemn voice broke the silent atmosphere as Ishasa walked forward until he reached the center of the room.

"Are you content to die like this? For my people… the only way to die is in the glorious dance of combat!"

"The halls of Voltanera are open to those who seek the most noble purpose… to burn with the flames of desire and debauchery!"

Ishasa slowly removed the bandages that covered his body as he continued his speech.

What was revealed behind those flimsy pieces of cloth was a muscular humanoid creature with pitch black skin and violet eyes.

Flames gently rose and fell along certain parts of the warrior's upper body while tribal tattoos and markings covered the entirety of his exposed flesh.

Killing intent surrounded his fiery body as the temperature inside the room gradually rose to an uncomfortable level.

Sophie reached into her storage bag and pulled out her whip. She discretely made a hand signal to her mirror copy and sent a message through the mental network.

[Cover Lily's eyes and make sure that the mask blocks out the sound]

She saw the identical version of herself nod back and press a small button located on the underside of Lily's mask.

Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then began circulating her qi in a certain pattern.

Do not lose control…

Do not lose control…

Ishasa roared thunderously with such strength that the very floor vibrated and trembled. Captain Hessan was even blown away from his chair and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Sophie had to admit that she was rather impressed with this display. Ishasa turned out to also be a cultivator in the qi tide stage which came as a bit of a surprise.

Clearly he had mastered some technique in order to hide his true qi level or perhaps it was a racial quirk.

"BEHOLD THE GLORY OF B'ALLE!" Ishasa howled as dark greenish-black flames appeared in his palms.

Screams of fear echoed through the room as the uninjured mercenaries quickly shoved and pushed their companions aside in order to flee.

Sophie didn't blame them since the vast majority should be in the qi body or spirit stage and hence would be killed instantly by a mere touch of those deadly flames.

The hybrid girl stumbled as she rose to her feet. This wasn't because Sophie was clumsy but rather it was due to her having to fight the bloodlust that was rapidly filling up her mind.

Sophie's golden eyes briefly flashed crimson-red until she forcefully shoved the addicting feeling away.

She could still vaguely feel the urge to slaughter everyone in the room but now it was faint and almost akin to someone shouting in the background rather than in the forefront of her thoughts.

Sophie firmly wrapped her fingers around the handle of her whip and began to channel her qi into her weapon.

Asura Art- Form Seven

Frost spike Hell!

Numerous shadowy snowflakes appeared around the length of Sophie's whip and the rapidly rising temperature inside the room instantly plummeted.

She swung forward with all her might and the shadowy snowflakes were transformed into pointy icicles.

Crack!

The full force of the whip slammed into Ishasa's body and sent the fiery creature flying headfirst into the closest wall.

"What?!" Ishasa groaned in pain as the flames in his palms were extinguished under the fearsome attack.

Sophie's figure blurred and then vanished from the spot. The last image that Ishasa ever saw was some kind of object heading towards the middle of his chest.

Blood quietly dripped from the tip of Sophie's bladed appendages as the hybrid girl stepped away from the corpse.

Sophie didn't feel anything as she stood in front of the body. There was no rage, no regret, or even guilt.

She was just tired.

The only reason why she had bothered to kill Ishasa was because his fiery attacks could have destroyed the last safe place to rest on the starship.

Sophie didn't want to die but there was really nothing more she could do except maintain order and hope for a miracle.

"Does anyone else want to die a warrior's death?" Sophie's hoarse voice filled the room.

She turned around saw the other mercenaries staring at her with various emotions hidden in their gazes.

Some were fearful while others gazed at her with traces of respect and reverence.

"Good. I'd hate to have to kill more tonight to serve as examples," Sophie muttered just loud enough for her voice to reach the ears of the mercenaries.

Sophie walked towards her mirror copy and took the little girl from the arms of her clone.

The sound dampening effect of the mask had done its job well and Lily was still sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

Sophie planted a soft kiss on the top of her head and then looked up to stare at the scenery outside the window.

The numerous asteroids floated lazily through the vacuum of space with some still crackling with energy from the warp core leakage.

It was a magnificent sight but unfortunately Sophie was not in the mood to appreciate it. For the only thing on her mind was what to do next.

BOOM!

The starship lurched uncomfortably to the side as a few asteroids crashed against the hull of the spacecraft.

Sophie stabbed her bladed appendages into the ground and stared in horror as another starship emerged from the distance.

The Imperial Army logo was painted on its underside and this familiar symbol was enough to send shivers down Sophie's spine and plunge her into the depths of despair.

It was the harbinger of death.