Chapter 248: End of Reluctance

Once past the violent energies, Alistair clashed with the strongest presence he could sense. Their weapons met with a resounding impact, and Alistair was only briefly surprised to see an evolved human variant blocking his attack with a flamberge-like blade. But he didn’t care. Without hesitation, he relentlessly drove his opponent into the metal walls, effortlessly crushing through them. The collision tore another hole into the station, and the atmosphere was sucked out through the breach, the sound of the hanger bay’s pressure fading into the vacuum of space.

Alistair’s Akashic Link flared to life, its Bounty system identifying the human he was clashing with as [Erwin Valier - lvl 138 - The Cold Grave - 30 Million USC].

Erwin's body and weapon were immediately coated in shimmering icy armor, jagged ice spikes extending from it, each one threatening to pierce him. The space around them dropped to absolute zero, the frigid cold cracking the walls and freezing the bodies of Syndicate members who had been hurled alongside them.

Alistair swiftly covered himself in white flames, the heat radiating outward. Though he knew his Kinetic Skinguard could effortlessly handle the spikes and the cold, it was more efficient to counter with his Flames of Purity, reducing the burden on Viv. As the flames enveloped him, Viv absorbed the cold energy, her power feeding into Alistair, boosting his strength and his boosting skills even further. The heat of the flames and the intensity of the energy exchange created a vibrant, protective aura around him, his body burning brighter in contrast to the frozen void.

They exchanged three vicious clashes that tore through the surrounding area, the impact sending shockwaves through the space. In the midst of their battle, one of Viv's void claws tore through Erwin's lower body, causing him to lose focus just long enough for Alistair to seize the moment. He robbed the momentum of his opponent's blade, shoving it aside as it flashed forward. The spike of his poleaxe pierced Erwin's skull with such force that it ripped through the man’s head and part of his spine, tearing it from his shoulder. The difference in power was too much for the Cold Grave to overcome. Alistair plunged his Purity Flame-covered left hand through the icy armor and chest, crushing his opponent’s heart in a bright white flash. He quickly stored the body, turning to face the next strongest aura he sensed.

Just as he moved, an ocean of water surged into him, forcing him back and overwhelming his ability to push back with Telekinesis, his Freedom of Movement skill being the only thing keeping him mobile. The sheer volume of water was crushing, extinguishing his Flames of Purity and trying to invade both his and Viv's bodies.

For a moment, panic gripped him as he realized the threat the attack posed to Viv. But before he could fully react, the water surrounding them was violently absorbed by Viv, who focused all her attention on drawing the liquid in. She transformed it into a beam of plasma, firing at the gorgon, evaporating the water between them, his gaze fixed on her as he identified her as [Antheia - lvl 160 - Midnight Sea-serpent - 130 million USC].

Using his Telekinesis, Alistair dashed forward, unwilling to give the gorgon any chance to recover as her barrier cracked under Viv's plasma beam. Crushing through the barrier with sheer force and burning her body before being dispersed, Alistair grabbed her arm, locking her in place as he channeled his magic through it. But before he could land a decisive blow, the gorgon severed her own arm to avoid his and Viv's swipes. However, she was too slow to escape Riseth, who appeared out of nowhere and, with a swift strike, beheaded the gorgon.

Alistair heard Jack's psychic screech of exhilaration. "Yeah, give me that head, ya snake-headed bitch!"

He watched as Riseth punched the other blade into the gorgon's heart, the blood and life force flowing into her weapon, which moaned in delight.

"Snake juice rules!" Jack shouted, his voice manic. "Find me another one to tear apart, I’m starving!"

Alistair felt himself level up as the body of the gorgon went limp and was stored by Riseth, though she didn’t offer more than a smile and a wink before dashing toward her next target.

Alistair turned toward another opponent, quickly assessing the situation. He watched as Kujo cut down another strong fighter, while Fluffy’s massive form crashed through the compound walls. An ogre was caught in her fangs, his body being torn apart by metal plates. Her poison visibly darkened his flesh, making his reactions sluggish, and before he could recover, he was slammed into the metal walls once more.

Alistair didn’t have the luxury of staying focused on the chaos for long. He sensed more Syndicate fighters fleeing deeper into the compound, likely trying to escape through one of the other docking yards where their other forces were attacking.

He was confident they could handle it, but then paused, feeling a mix of frustration and confusion. He looked up, the question on his mind surfacing aloud.

"What the hell, Simon? What did you bring her for?!" He called through the Akashic Link, crashing through the asteroid walls by sheer force, heading toward his friend, who had thought it was a good idea to bring the young silver dragon Zephi along. As he crashed through, he only stopped briefly to kill those with a bounty trying to escape, a measure of callousness as he didn’t even bother to check their crimes anymore.

“She insisted, and I’m protecting her. It’s fiiiine, don't worry about it,” Simon replied through the link.

Alistair was forced to crash through molten rock and metal, as Simon had transformed the battlefield into something only he, the dragon, and some of the more powerful and specialized fighters could handle. Alistair made it just in time as a group of three Syndicate fighters reached Simon and the others.

He emerged from below them, his aura suppression and speed giving him enough time to catch his target off guard. He crushed the blue alien’s throat, snapping the spine and severing the head before punching through his chest. Alistair growled; he was angry, as he had sensed these higher-level individuals specifically targeting Simon and the others.

To his surprise, Simon fired a stream of massive bladed stars of molten rock hurled toward the vampire of the group, tearing it apart. Its defenses and ethereal body were unable to cope. The flames burned so intensely that they couldn’t reform before the stars exploded, tearing it apart completely before Alistair could even identify the target.

The third Syndicate fighter didn’t fare much better. Zephi, now in her human form, lunged forward with incredible speed, blades of wind crashing into the barrier of her opponent before she crashed through the defenses with her body. Taking a page from Alistair’s book, Zephi spun sharply, her tail whipping out in a brutal arc and decapitating her opponent in a single, fluid motion. As she slipped past the incoming counterattack, her clawed hand plunged into its chest, tearing free its heart with effortless precision. Green blood splattered across her white face and pristine silver hair.

"I am a dragon. I don't need you to baby me," she said, tilting her head toward Alistair, her draconic eyes locking with his as she crushed the heart in her hand.

Alistair's rage eased a bit as he smiled at her. "Message received, violent stranger, but try not to die—your parents would never forgive me."

Zephi grimaced at the mention of her parents but nodded. "I promised to stick with Simon."

Satisfied, Alistair turned, ignoring the sensation and notifications informing him of another level-up. He had some cleaning up to do, and he’d rather not have any of the scum on this station escaping. Extending his senses, he searched for any prisoners or slaves. It didn’t take long before he found them, and he grimaced—there were a few who thought they could take hostages.

He shot Riseth a message, then once again headed directly toward his target, not caring to take the winding paths of the station. With little effort, he tore through the mundane metal and rock, charging forward with single-minded focus.

When Alistair crashed into the prison block, some of the Syndicate roughians nearly jumped out of their skin. Fortunately, none of them shot or slit the throats of their hostages, though they looked at him with fearful eyes. Their head honcho was the first to gather himself, which was impressive bravado for someone facing him at a 20-level disadvantage.

"Easy there, Forcebreaker, or the hostages get it," the demon said, his sharp, shark-like teeth flashing in the light. The whimpering of the women and men they held, alongside the nervous shuffling of the Syndicate members, was almost deafening to Alistair's senses.

Alistair couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as Riseth appeared next to him, her spectral form having passed through the rock. She looked down at the gathered Syndicate members.

"I’ll tell you how this goes," the head honcho, whom Alistair had identified as [Notker - lvl 121 - Weeping Blade - 18 Million], bellowed. "You will let us go, and we won’t harm the hostages."

Alistair was confident together they could subdue the under-leveled goons at the drop of a hat, and he exchanged a disbelieving look with Riseth, but it was Jack’s psychic screech that rang out first.

"Fuck those guys, let's just go kill them all!"

This put the Syndicate members even more on edge, and the hostages whimpered in fear.

"I think Jack has a point this time," Riseth quipped, giving Alistair a crooked smile.

Alistair shook his head. "Sure, but we gotta think of the hostages."

"Yeah, think of the hostages," one of the Syndicate members yelled.

"Shut up, this doesn’t involve you!" Alistair shot back.

"I feel pretty involved!" the satyr yelled back.

Alistair had to stifle a laugh as he turned to Riseth. "Keep your murder boners in your pants for now."

"You can't tell my murder boner what to do, Mr. Legendary," Riseth replied bittersweetly as Jack enlarged himself and began to almost vibrate in anticipation. "Yeah, we are erect with RAAAGE!"

"Alright, here's the deal," Alistair said, turning to the Syndicate members. "Throw your weapons away and lie on the floor, or get torn apart by my wife and her unhinged weapon. The choice is yours."

"Do you think we are stupid?" Notker barked back.

"Honestly, yeah. You have three seconds to comply," Alistair replied, no more mirth in his voice.

Alistair waited exactly three seconds, coordinating with Riseth through the Akashic Link on how to restrain the Syndicate members. To his surprise, one of the roughians—the big-mouthed Satyr—actually complied, lying flat on his stomach, irritating the other Syndicate members.

Though it didn't matter. Alistair’s Telekinesis reached out, restraining roughly half of them, lifting them off the ground, while the other half began killing each other under the influence of Riseth’s Puppetmaster skill. Panicked screams filled the room, accompanied by flashes of magic and gunfire before the room fell silent again. All the Syndicate members were dead—except for one.

They didn't have to wait long before the form of their power-armored forces led by Desily. The fairy actually wore a deep black power armor herself, covering her entire body other than her black wings. Alistair wondered just how difficult it had been for his brother to build a miniaturized power armor like that.

The sharp helmet turned in his direction, the visor reflecting the flickering lights of the room.

"We got it handled here; you can buzz off now," Desily said. Despite not seeing her face, he could tell she was grinning under her helmet as she made a shooing motion with her small hand.

"You got it," Alistair replied with a small smile, which got an enthusiastic whoop from Jack, who had been siphoning more blood and life force from the fallen Syndicate members.

He once again let his senses permeate the area, the mundane rock and metal barely an obstacle as he scanned for any remaining priority targets. There weren’t many enemies left—this station had no true elites left. Still, they had taken out quite a few up-and-coming individuals, making the universe just a little safer. Those who fell here would never again raid peaceful worlds or build ships for the pirate fleets that plagued the stars.

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