Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"If Rex had lost, we'd know it," Nyra continued, her tone confident and unwavering.

"We'd feel it somehow. But since there's nothing, no strange sensations, no emptiness, it's safe to say the beast was killed. And knowing Rex, he's probably just... chilling down there somewhere, taking his sweet time."

Lyra nodded in agreement, her expression soft but resolute. "My sister is right. There's no need to waste energy worrying about him. If he's not back yet, it just means he's fine."

Without another word, Nyra and Lyra turned and left the command bridge, leaving behind a room full of baffled officers and an increasingly frustrated Lilla.

The saintess sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Those two are impossible," she muttered under her breath, turning her attention back to the screen.

Behind her, a young officer hesitated before speaking up. "Saintess... do they really think he's just relaxing after that? I mean, he did summon a weapon that caused a literal supernova."

Lilla gave him a side glance, her voice curt. "If you've seen before the angel, you'd know that's exactly the kind of thing he'd do."

The officer blinked, unsure whether she was joking or serious. Lilla turned back to the screen, her focus once again on the steam cloud.

"Keep searching," she said firmly. "I want answers soon."

The bridge crew nodded and returned to their work, but the lingering questions hung in the air like the thick steam outside. What had happened to the angel? And, more importantly, what kind of man could cause such chaos and then simply "chill" afterward?

For now, all they could do was wait.

"So? Are you going to tell me why you fought that Tier 4 beast, risking not only your life but also the lives of everyone who came to help you, instead of doing the smart thing and running away?"

Cleo's tone was sharp, accusatory, as her holographic form floated beside Rex. Her golden eyes glared at him, her wings glowing faintly, a sure sign that she was far from pleased. "It's not like that thing could fly."

Rex let out a small sigh, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "Well, I didn't do it just out of anger or some reckless sense of pride," he said, lifting his arm. He extended two fingers, and a golden glow erupted from the depths of the ocean below.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Two glowing objects shot up from the water, moving at incredible speed before coming to a halt in the air next to Rex. One was a destroyed, metallic spider-like machine, its legs bent and its central body cracked. The other was a shimmering, glowing orb, the beast's core, pulsating faintly with residual energy.

"I couldn't just let these two items go," Rex said, gesturing toward them. "Originally, I was only after this one." He pointed at the mangled metallic spider and held it up for Cleo to see.

Cleo's holographic eyes narrowed as she scanned the damaged machine. "This is...?" she asked, her tone curious but cautious.

"I'm not entirely sure," Rex admitted while shaking his head. "But it's the thing I saw right before the engines on the cruiser exploded, and I almost ended up as a very crispy BBQ. It's definitely connected to whatever happened here." He let the spider hover in front of Cleo so she could continue her analysis.

Cleo's wings shifted slightly as she processed the information. "I see," she murmured.

Rex turned to the glowing orb, holding it up. "And this," he said, his tone softening slightly, "is the beast's core. It's for Ys. After what she's been through, she'll need it to recover. She absorbed the core of that giant worm back then, so I figure this one will work too. It should help her regenerate and heal those injuries."

Cleo's gaze lingered on the orb for a moment before she spoke again. "I see. Can I take the metallic spider for further inspection?" She asked, her tone professional once more.

"Sure," Rex said with a shrug. "Let's hope it has some information that can shed light on everything that happened here." With a casual motion, he tossed both items into the golden halo storage space, the shimmering portal swallowing them with a faint hum.

"Well then," Rex said, stretching his arms as he prepared to take off. "Let's get the hell out of here. I've had enough salty water to last a lifetime, and I don't want to see or eat fish for at least a year."

"Understood," Cleo replied, though her tone shifted slightly, becoming colder, more serious. "But Rex, there's something we need to talk about: what's going to happen once your energy runs out."

Rex paused for a moment, his expression tightening. He gave her a small, knowing smirk but didn't meet her eyes. "Yeah, I know," he said, his voice quieter now. "Don't worry. Let's just get back to the carrier ASAP before I shut down."

Without waiting for her reply, Rex flapped his wings with a surge of energy, launching himself out of the water. The ocean erupted behind him in a massive splash, the force of his takeoff breaking the sound barrier.

The shockwave rippled through the water below as he shot into the air, a streak of silver and gold heading straight for the human carrier.

Cleo's holographic form hovered beside him, her expression neutral, though there was a flicker of concern in her glowing eyes.

Rex pushed forward at full speed, his silver aura flickering slightly as his energy reserves dwindled. His thoughts were focused on one thing only: getting to safety before his body gave out.

"Don't let me down, Cleo," he muttered under his breath, the carrier looming closer with each beat of his wings.

"I won't," Cleo replied, her voice soft but resolute, echoing quietly in his mind.

For now, the immediate threat was over, but the weight of the battle and the unknown consequences of Rex's actions hung heavily in the air. The fight may have been won, but the real challenges were only beginning.

After several minutes of flying, Rex finally reached the human carrier. His wings flared briefly as he descended onto the landing zone, his movements slower and more labored than usual. When his feet touched the metal deck, he took a deep breath, his silver aura flickering faintly before dimming.

"Mmm? What are the twins doing here?" Rex asked, raising an eyebrow as he spotted Nyra and Lyra standing near the edge of the landing zone, their silver hair glinting faintly in the carrier's lights.

"I called them," Cleo replied, her voice quieter now, tinged with exhaustion. "They'll take care of the items. I've already left them instructions on what to do after we enter hypersleep mode."

Rex tilted his head slightly. "Mmm, I see. Then..." He slowly knelt down, his movements deliberate as if every step required effort. The golden halo behind him shimmered briefly before releasing the two items he had recovered, the mangled metallic spider and the glowing core of the slain beast.

He held them out to the twins. "Take these," he said, his voice calm but strained. "Cleo already told you what to do, so I'll leave them in your care. Make sure everything goes smoothly from here on."

The twins exchanged a brief glance before stepping forward to take the items. As Rex handed them over, his mecha-like armor began to crack and fall away. The metallic plates dissolved into streams of silver light, vanishing into the air as his wings began to disintegrate into glowing fragments.

Rex let out a bitter laugh, his body visibly weakening as he sank further onto one knee. "Heh... I guess there's not much time left. Looks like I'm running on fumes here." He lowered himself fully onto the ground, lying flat on the airstrip with his hands resting on his chest.

"I'll just stay here. You two go on and do what Cleo told you to do." He waved lazily at the twins, gesturing for them to leave.

Lyra opened her mouth to say something, concern etched into her expression, but Nyra placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and shook her head. Lyra hesitated, glancing back at Rex, before reluctantly swallowing her words and turning to leave with her sister.

As their footsteps faded, Rex let out a tired sigh and stared up at the unfamiliar sky, the stars above obscured by faint clouds of smoke and steam from the recent battle. "So," he began, his voice quieter now, "what's going to happen to us, Cleo?"

Cleo's holographic form appeared beside him, smaller now and dimmer, as if reflecting her own energy depletion. Her voice, too, carried a weariness Rex wasn't used to hearing. "Based on past experiences, we'll shut down entirely," she said.

"Your systems will remain inactive until someone connects you to a power source and starts the recharging process. Once that happens, it'll take at least a few months, possibly up to a year, to reach even 1% of your energy."

"A year?" Rex said, his tone incredulous, though sleep was quickly creeping into his voice. "Why so long? I thought we just needed to plug in and be good to go."

Cleo sighed softly, her tone carrying the patience of someone explaining something for the hundredth time.

There are several reasons," she said, "but the two most important are, first, that you pushed your body to operate at 500% of its designed capacity. Your systems weren't optimized for that level of strain, so there's substantial internal damage that needs time to repair. And second..."