Chapter 1362: The Void Stepper
Author's Note: Unedited Chapter
"Thank you, Grand Commander Light. That being said... when this person appeared, I felt like I was in the presence of someone almost as powerful as Jack and Mack," Grand Commander Shion revealed.
"WHAT?!" The three other grand commanders simultaneously voiced out in disbelief.
"Grand Commander Shion, are you certain of this?" Grand Commander Light questioned. He looked completely baffled.
"I would not have called for this meeting if I wasn't. This could become a great threat if countermeasures are not put in place," Grand Commander Shion answered.
"You said almost as powerful as Jack and Mack but almost still means their strength is not up to par. We shouldn't be too worried since Jack and Mack would be able to take care of them if needed," Grand Commander Soriah's feminine voice resonated unperturbed.
"Anyone on that level of power, which is beyond the strength of all four of us, is not to be underestimated. It seemed like they came for the Death Angel and I can guarantee you, they would have gotten the creature if they didn't suddenly vanish. Its impromptu appearance is one that was most certainly unexpected. Considering how easily they broke into the underwater lab, under the nose of over a hundred MBO officers and easily overpowered me, there is no stopping them from doing that again despite the change in location of where the creature is held," Grand Commander Shion voiced lengthily.
"This assailant you speak of... Any idea on who they are?" Grand Commander Kim inquired. He sounded troubled.
"I don't know... But I don't believe that being of earth. They didn't emit bloodline energy. There seemed to be a sort of chaotic energy mixed within what I sensed... some sort of instability," Grand Commander Shion added to this analysis.
-"What does that even mean?" Grand Commander Soriah questioned.
"I don't know... there is a lot that I don't understand," Grand Commander Shion rested his elbows on the floating transparent table in their midst and merged his fingers with a disturbed look.
'I can't tell them about the research progress on the other dimension just yet. They are prone to making decisions that I may not be suited to. It would be very unwise for us to finally succeed in cracking that dimension open, only to send MBO officers to their deaths...' Grand Commander Shion recalled everything Dr Markle told him.
He figured that with the pride of the MBO, they wouldn't be willing to accept such claims about the pyramid of power within the other dimension and how they would not survive up to a minute in there.
With the Death Angels considered to not be the highest on the hierarchy yet being a thousand times more powerful than him who was supposed to be an Alpha, everyone would surely find it ridiculous.
Not even Jack was that powerful and yet he was considered the top five strongest beings in the universe based on the new age rankings of powerful beings under the alliance that have been active for the last couple of centuries.
Grand Commander Shion decided that he would not be informing them of the progress of this research yet till more information was discovered.
"From what you have mentioned, Grand Commander Shion, this being was after the Amir Death Angel?" Grand Commander Light tried to confirm the current information he was passing.
"That is the best possible deduction for now... the timing, their pattern, and behavior were all pointing toward that," Grand Commander Shion responded.
"Hmm... if there is a possibility that it may appear the second time, we should expect it to come for the Death Angel again. I suggest we call Jack back to earth and have him guard the current research center where the creature is being kept," Grand Commander Light suggested logically.
"I agree with Grand Commander Light. If Jack returns, it would be like killing two birds with one stone. We'll have him protect the research center so the scientists can keep making progress and if that being was to ever appear again, he could capture them," Grand Commandeer Kim chimed in.
"What do you think, Grand Commander Soriah?" Grand Commander Shion questioned.
"Why does it matter what I think, when you three already agreed with this course of action?" Grand Commander Soriah sounded a little disgruntled.
"Then it is decided. Jack will be called to return to earth with utmost urgency. Until his arrival, I will keep watch over the new research center where the Death Angel is kept," Grand Commander Shion stated.
"Agreed"
"Agreed"
"Do inform us of any progress, Grand Commander Shion"
"Understood. This meeting is adjourned," Grand Commander Shion announced.
Thrriiihh~ Thrriihhh~ Thrriihhh~
The projection of the three other Grand Commanders vanished in the next instant, leaving only Grand Commander Shion sitting in place.
He sat in silence within the dimly lit environment for a bit before standing to his feet.
"Why do I feel uneasy about asking Jack to return to earth?" He muttered with a disturbed look.
"We are really dealing with something that is beyond us here but for the sake of our future generations, we need to handle it," Upon saying this, the image of a blonde-haired person appeared in his mind.
~sigh~
"I hope the kid is okay,"
....
....
....
~The Trackiowar Star~
"So we are going back to earth?" Endric questioned with a slightly disturbed look.
"Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice here," Gustav said while reaching out to grab the Sacred Jewel which had just finished showing a long playback that lasted for nearly twelve hours.
Fortunately, the twelve hours of playback was sped up so it packed up to two months of footage within and now the problem had been revealed to Gustav... it was something he never expected to see.
He saw himself appear in the footage and tamper with the device.
Same hair...
Same face...
Same height...
Same skin color...
A literal copy of himself. At first, Gustav suspected it could be a shapeshifter. While shapeshifters were extremely rare, he knew he couldn't be the only shapeshifter in the universe.
However, he realized something...
Which shapeshifter will be aware of the exact location in space where he kept the warp demolator reading machine?
Which shapeshifter would display his exact facial expressions and demeanor to such perfection?
And more importantly, which shapeshifter would be capable of using his atomic manipulation abilities to dismantle the device and take the chip?
"There is only one person I suspect could be capable of this... Scientist Zil," Gustav said with a tone of certainty.
"The scientist who helped you with the Planetary Placement Dimensional Theory?" Endric asked.
"Yes," Gustav answered.
"How?" Endric looked confounded as he further questioned Gustav.
"Well... I let him stick his needle in me for the betterment of humanity. I guess I shouldn't have done that," Gustav shook his head in disappointment.
He really trusted Scientist Zil during the period they worked together which prompted him to help in creating the Arhkum Serum using his cells. Gustav didn't expect something like this to happen and secretly hoped his speculations were wrong.
Because if they weren't... he would have to deal with Scientist Zil.
Endric could half understand what Gustav was hinting at, so he stopped asking about scientist Zil, but still, he worried.
"Then... what do we do about the information we were supposed to exchange for eight Tartan hearts? The location of the Xelios Tower is literally in the opposite direction of Earth," Endric said, feeling conflicted.
"Hmm... Let us head to the Xelios Tower first. It shouldn't take us a lot of time to conclude our business there. We could double back to earth with my dimensional bracelet... two stop spatial points should get us to earth very quickly but it will run out of energy when we arrive back there so, we will need to be careful and try as much as possible not to get ourselves into a situation where we need the dimensional bracelet to escape," Gustav explained lengthily.
"It will take us approximately a month of travel to get to Xelios Tower. Which means in a month and a few days we should be back on earth?" Endric calculated.
"Yes. With the dimensional bracelet, our journey back should only take a couple of moments. So long as we conclude our business in the Xelios Tower quickly, we can get back to earth almost immediately." Gustav answered with a tone of certainty.
"To Xelios Tower it is then," Endric voiced while his body levitated above the ground.
Gustav nodded and levitated as well.
"I almost forgot," Endric landed on his feet and snapped his finger.
Zing~
A pair of green and gold glowing battle boots appeared in Endric's grasp.
"The VOID STEPPER," He said while handing the boots over to Gustav.
The boots emitted such an ancient aura of energy that the entirety of the Trackiowar Star began quaking. It felt like space was contracting around the boots, causing orbital bodies to draw closer.