Garia recounted the story.
The Marveller cut through the void, a silent hunter. Garia felt the ship's hum, a familiar comfort after four centuries of solitude. Then, the hum faltered.
A cold wave washed over him, a psychic shriek across the vastness of space.
What is this bad feeling?
He tried to contact Planet Spider, his fingers dancing across the console. Static answered him. He tried again, cycling through emergency frequencies. Nothing but silence.
His vision filled with the familiar star charts, his homeworld a vibrant jewel at the center. He plotted a new course, overriding the long-held patrol route. The Marveller lurched, its engines roaring as it broke from its trajectory.
It cannot be.
He pushed the engines harder, the ship shaking around him. Dread coiled in his gut, a cold, heavy stone. His spider-sense, usually a whisper, now screamed a warning.
The dread turned to horror.
He saw it first as a distant glow, a smear of angry orange against the deep purple of space. As the Marveller closed the distance, the glow resolved into a thousand fires. Planet Spider, once a beacon of life, now burned.
Smoke choked the upper atmosphere, a dark shroud over what remained. Buildings, once proud spires, were now shattered teeth. He saw the scars of battle, craters where cities once stood.
His home was dying.
The Marveller descended through the fiery sky, dodging debris that had once been structures, lives. The air grew thick with ash and the smell of burning metal, burning flesh. His sensors painted a grim picture: no survivors.
He landed in the ruins of his city, the Marveller's landing gear crushing through charred rubble. The once-bustling streets were silent, save for the crackle of distant fires. His spider-sense pulled him, a desperate thread, through the devastation.
My home. My family.
He moved through the wreckage, each step a heavy blow against his soul. Buildings had collapsed, their intricate designs now twisted metal and broken stone. The ground was slick with a dark, oily residue.
His senses sharpened, narrowing his focus. He followed the faint echo of a familiar energy signature, a desperate hope clinging to him. The signature led him to what remained of his family's living complex.
A single figure lay beneath a fallen beam. His father.
Garia fell to his knees, carefully lifting the heavy beam. His father's eyes, clouded with pain, flickered open. The spider-web markings on his skin, usually vibrant, now glowed with a fading light.
"Professor Monster," his father rasped, his voice barely a whisper. "He… he came for us all."
A final breath left him, a soft sigh that echoed in the ruined city. Garia held him close, the warmth of his father's body quickly fading. Tears, hot and alien, tracked paths through the ash on Garia's face.
He had failed.
The grief was a physical weight, crushing him. Then, a cold, hard resolve began to form, sharper than any blade. Professor Monster. The name became a prayer, a curse, a vow.
He would pay.
The Marveller became his new home, a tomb of memory and a vessel of vengeance. He refitted the control systems, re-purposing the long-range scanners, once used for diplomatic missions, into tracking arrays. He hunted for a single energy signature.
Professor Monster.
Centuries blurred into a single, focused pursuit. He chased whispers across star systems, the fleeting echo of a presence. Each near miss, each empty world, carved deeper lines into his metallic skin, hardening his spirit. He became a shadow, a relentless hunter, the last thread of Planet Spider's web stretched taut across the galaxy.
Garia's sensors locked onto the energy signature, a malevolent beacon burning against the backdrop of feudal Japan. Professor Monster. The rage, cold and patient, flared. The Marveller descended, cloaked by mountain mists, landing silently near a field of battle.
He saw the carnage, human against human, but Professor Monster's mark was unmistakable, an oily stain on the threads of fate. His enhanced vision pierced the chaos, finding his nemesis. He moved, a silver blur among the clashing armies.
Finally found you, Monster!
The Marveller settled with a soft thud behind a rise of hills. Garia stepped from the ship, the ancient warrior robes flowing around him. His skin, once scarred, now gleamed with a healthy, metallic sheen. His eyes, silver-blue, pierced the dust-filled air.
He saw them then, Iron Cross soldiers, their dark armor a stark contrast to the reds and golds of the human warriors. They moved with a practiced, brutal efficiency. At their center, a figure stood, impossibly still.
Professor Monster.
Garia walked toward him, each step measured, deliberate. The sounds of battle faded, replaced by the pounding of his own heart, a drum of retribution. He felt the weight of Planet Spider, a million souls, at his back.
Professor Monster turned, his yellow cybernetic eyes fixing on Garia. A flicker of something, perhaps recognition, crossed his pale face.
"You."
Garia's voice was low, resonating with four centuries of stored grief and purpose.
"You will pay for Planet Spider."
"For my father, for my mother, for my children, for my siblings."
A thin, cruel smile stretched Professor Monster's lips. A sound, a low, metallic chuckle, escaped him.
"Still clinging to ghosts, old warrior?"
"Your struggle is pathetic."
"Your world was a weakness."
"Your tears will nourish my victory."
Professor Monster did not move, a statue of cruel intent. Garia took the first step, a whisper of motion across the scorched earth. He opened his mind, reaching out with the Way of the Spider, feeling the threads of potential attacks.
The web will hold.
Garia moved, a blur of red and blue. He dipped under Professor Monster's sweeping staff, the air crackling where it passed. A faint blue-silver light traced his path as he spun, closing the distance.
Thrum.
He drove a palm strike, an Aether-infused Venom Fang, toward the Professor's glowing chest orb. Professor Monster merely stood, taking the hit with a chilling indifference. The impact spread across the Professor's augmented chest, a spiderweb crackle of energy, but the orb remained intact.
"A child's touch," Professor Monster's voice boomed, metallic and cold.
Professor Monster countered with a slow, deliberate swing of his scepter. Garia anticipated the arc, shifting his weight, allowing the weapon to pass inches from his head. He felt the wind of the blow, a cold gust of dark energy.
Too much power, too little finesse.
Garia used the momentum, twisting, and launching himself off the Professor's arm. He landed lightly, a silk step on the ruined ground, already sensing the next attack. Professor Monster's eyes glowed, twin yellow-orange beams tearing through the air where Garia had just stood.
Whoosh.
The ground exploded, sending chunks of earth and rock flying. Garia wove through the debris, his Aether Sense painting the trajectory of each fragment. He focused on the Professor's mechanical jaw, a perceived weakness.
He launched himself again, a Thread Leap, propelling through the air. He aimed a precise kick at the Professor's jaw, Aether shimmering around his boot. Professor Monster barely flinched, his head snapping back with a sickening crack.
Crack.
The Professor's jaw shifted, grinding. He spat, a glob of green fluid hitting the ground. The contempt in his eyes deepened. Professor Monster retaliated with a brutal backhand, augmented strength behind it. Garia barely got his Aether Weave up, a shimmering blue shield.
Thump.
The impact was immense, rattling Garia to his core. The shield held, but his arm screamed in protest, jolting painfully. He staggered back, a searing pain in his side.
Professor Monster stepped forward, his heavy boot crunching rubble. He moved with a purpose, raising his scepter high. Garia saw the intent, a crushing blow aimed at his head. He tried to evade, but the earlier impact had stolen a precious fraction of his speed.
The scepter descended.
CRACK.
Garia tasted blood, a metallic tang filling his mouth. A sharp pain lanced through his right side, just under his ribs. He felt a deep internal pressure, a wet tearing sensation.
My liver.
He tried to push through the pain, to counter, but Professor Monster was already upon him. A focused energy blast erupted from the Professor's eyes, a searing orange line. Garia twisted, desperate, but it was not enough.
Sizzle.
The blast tore across his chest, ripping through his armor. Air hitched in his throat, a burning agony in his lungs. He felt a violent shudder, a searing heat that stole his breath.
My lungs.
He fell, a broken marionette, but his mind still raced. He saw the Professor's raised boot, another deliberate, crushing strike. Garia pushed a last surge of Aether from his core, a desperate, raw blast of blue energy. It slammed into Professor Monster's knee.
The Professor roared, a sound of pure mechanical rage, but his knee buckled, momentarily throwing him off balance. The boot strike still connected, a glancing blow to Garia's stomach.
Thud.
His vision grayed. A wave of nausea washed over him, his stomach seizing. He felt the hot, viscous flow of internal bleeding.
My stomach.
He collapsed fully, the pain a white-hot spear in his gut. His body screamed, every movement agony. His vision flickered, the world blurring at the edges.
He had to end this.
Garia pushed himself, a final, desperate act of will. He saw the weak point, the power orb in Professor Monster's chest, now exposed by the sudden lurch. With trembling fingers, he gathered the last of his Aether, a focused, burning thread. He flung it, a psychic spear, at the orb.
Zing.
The Aether struck true. Professor Monster screamed, a high-pitched, metallic shriek that echoed across the battlefield. The orb in his chest flickered, a deep crack forming across its surface. Dark energy spewed from the wound, a geyser of purple fire.
Rumble.
The Professor staggered, clutching his chest. His cybernetic eyes dimmed, flickering wildly. His entire body convulsed.
"You… will… pay!" Professor Monster snarled, his voice distorted, weakened.
Iron Cross soldiers rushed forward, grabbing their injured leader. They dragged him back, a frantic retreat, leaving the battlefield to the dying.
Garia lay still, the taste of blood thick in his mouth, the battlefield fading around him. He had won the battle, but the cost was almost everything.
Garia pushed with his good arm, dragging himself through the broken earth. Each inch was agony, a fresh wave of fire through his wounded side. His enhanced physiology, a gift from Planet Spider, kept him alive where any human would have already died.
He found a shadowed crevice beneath a collapsed rock formation. It offered concealment. He pulled himself inside, the rough stone scraping against his torn robes.
Failure.
He collapsed, the darkness a welcome cloak. His skin, once smooth and metallic, now crisscrossed with glowing silver lines. They pulsed with dull pain, reminders of Professor Monster's power. The chest wound, the torn lung, the damaged liver—they would never fully heal.
To be so close. To let him escape.
He closed his eyes, the long hunt over, replaced by a longer wait.
* * *
The hologram faded. Garia turned back to Takuya. His gaze was heavy. "After the battle, Professor Monster went into hiding for four hundred years. And I waited."
"Four hundred years?" Takuya blurted out. "How are you even… that old?"
Garia gave a small, sad smile. "For my species, one Earth year is four hundred years on Planet Spider. For me, it has only been about twenty years since that battle."
Takuya tried to process it. Four centuries. For Garia, it was like two decades. Still a long time. A lifetime of waiting.
"I am too old and injured to fight him again," Garia said. His voice was tinged with sorrow. "My only hope now… is you. To carry on my mission of vengeance."
Takuya looked at Garia. He saw the scars. He heard the ancient pain. This wasn't just Garia's fight. It was Takuya's. For his father. For Earth. For Planet Spider. He nodded slowly.
"I'll try," Takuya said. His voice was quiet. Determined. "I'll try to live up to your expectations."
***
Advance Chapters on patreon.com/Najicablitz.
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