Chapter 18

  First or Last Mission?

  Part Two

  The angel forces were already within the land. The police showed no interest in preventing the attacks.

  “How can the cops remain calm in this situation?” Manya said.

  ‘Ms., Yajvan has already announced yesterday, for today to be the cosmic event, and for the people of Sevavann to relax and enjoy.’

  “What if their homes get attacked?”

  ‘In Yajvan’s tone, “Your problem.”’

  A powerful sensation crawled her left limbs. She quickly stepped back. A white light resembling a thick thread emerged, leaving behind small eruptions on the ground on contact. However, the scans determined it was tolerable.

  “But how can I handle everything alone? No, wait,” she remembered the members assigned to her, and she could still summon them apart from losing most of the features. She issued an order to them, to keep the people safe during the war.

  “At least tell me they would run to a safe location if they sense danger?”

  ‘No Ms. Not a single native of Sevavann, fear death.’

  “What about your law? Don’t SL swallow the king for not saving the natives and fulfilling the duties of a king?”

  ‘It should’ve been if a government governed this planet. His planet, his rules.’

  Glued to the live feed, Manya captured the chaos and destruction as cities crumbled under the relentless battles between angels and the assigned members.

  Furious, Karulsh unleashed a barrage of intense beams, each one filled with concentrated light energy. Instead of scorching everything in its path, the light only produced a delightful tickling sensation on her skin. Both Manya and Vega sat on the chair, savouring the delicious snacks. She went through every available feature.

  “I always wanted to ask this, why do you have a function of eating? Wasn’t it a waste in AIs?”

  ‘The great AI, we refer, was the first AI ever built. He didn’t have such a function, but being with humans all the time, he demanded one.’

  “Taste is, according to me is the sanest kind of pleasure a human can get, far greater than any other.”

  Vega nodded. ‘Ms?’

  “I know.” An intense pressure enveloped them. Upon zooming into the sky, a barrier surrounding the planet opened. “How are they able to open it again?”

  ‘It’s strange because angels are not the ones causing this.’

  Manya’s eyes widened. “The day when the entire cosmos will witness the power of Sevavann.” She stood up. “Your king thinks he’s clever. Marketing his planet by using me!”

  ‘Probably Ms.’

  She steeled herself for the confrontation, adrenaline pumping through her veins, heightening her senses. “Vega, how much destruction I can cause?”

  A grin formed on Vega’s face. ‘Endless.’

  A sharp pain pierced through her abdomen, tearing through her adrenaline-fueled emotions like a lightning strike. Gasping for breath, she instinctively hunched over, her hands trembling as she clutched her abdomen. The world around her seemed to blur. Each breath became a struggle, her chest tightening as she fought to regain control, her mind racing to understand the unexpected pain.

  “Vega, you said, it’s nothing but a minor side-effect.”

  ‘Ms., scans are showing imbalance in your soul energy. If not treat urgently, it will lead to fatal consequences. The output of energy is far greater than your body’s endurance. And your SL isn’t absorbing it.’

  “Soul energy? Just do something, or this pain will kill me.”

  Before Vega’s hand touched Manya, a sudden stream of particles crawled beneath her attire; the stabs of relief washed over her. Her internal pain lessened. She had the sensation of it being drained through hundreds of needles.

  In a moment, a blue transparent layer illuminated around her skin. “What just happened?”

  ‘Your SL is absorbing the imbalanced energy.’

  With her newfound strength, Manya dashed towards the barrier and delivered a powerful punch. Ripping apart the barrier, and her newfound strength was back to normal. “That’s it? At least the pain is gone.”

  Wasting no time, another barrier materialised around her and many beams of powerful light energy began their intricate performance. “Like I’ll let you play with me anymore,” she commanded the car, which was resting inside the ocean as a safety measure, to clear her surroundings. The car soared through the air like a flying rhino. Smashing the angels.

  “Vega, I want you to help the rankers fighting off the angels in the land.”

  ‘But Ms., dealing with such a large number of angels alone is not advisable.’

  “Leave before I charge you with another penalty for denying your boss’s order.”

  ‘Yes, Ms.’ The barrier surrounding them weakened and with a nod Vega smashed through it, leaving Manya and the car to fight the entire army.

  ***

  Curious she was, Manya again went through the features to find out any trace of Trishul. If one can destroy an entire island, few of them could end this war. It wasn’t there, but found two interesting features, named “Particle Fusion” and “Pholo.”

  Astrid launched an attack on Manya, who had her full focus on mastering every available skill. Dodging Astrid’s spear, Manya touched it in the very next moment. Thousands of tiny blue particles emitted from her arm and wrapped around the spear. In a few seconds, she became more adept at remotely controlling the spear and Astrid, locked in a fierce battle against the particles.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Manya received an alert that signalled an impact of concentrated light energy. Her gaze fell upon a collection of enormous beams, all directed towards her.

  “I made food. First time!” the mysterious male voice said.

  All this technology and still can’t cure this hallucination.

  After feeling a gentle touch on her lips, she opened her mouth. She could taste curry and rice. The moment it passed her throat, a profound power screamed from the heart, followed by a sharp headache, which was creating a path to an asleep memory.

  With each passing second, she delved deeper into her memories, intensifying the headache and sorrow. Within her memory, there was a white figure, a male. Standing alone, between her and the eternal darkness. Consumed by deep sadness, she tried to hold the man back from stepping into the darkness, fearing what lay ahead.

  “Don’t… Don’t… Don’t go!”

  She unleashed a burst of energy that redirected the powerful beams shot from celeriots. Her brain trapped between consciousness and passing out. Pholo!

  A sharp object pierced through her shoulder.

  “In all honesty, I am uncertain of what transpired, but it undeniably provided me with a chance to uplift you,” Karulsh said.

  Manya smiled, “A being who’s been feeling proud for backstabbing, as expected from insects like you.” The sharp item inside her shoulder spun. Should I yell more? Maybe I should.

  “An earthly soul who believed she could challenge the celestial beings, a feat deemed impossible to accomplish.”

  Her screams spread across the entire ocean. More?

  “Though you were born as a human,” Karulsh continued, “you shall transcend to become renowned throughout the cosmos. The cause of this land’s descent.” He giggled. “Thanks to you and Ira, today’s the day my dreams came to fruition. Ira played an even more vital role than you did. Had I not discovered her working alongside you, this day would never pass.”

  “Wha… What do you mean?” Manya said.

  He stopped the torture, at least what he thought it to be.

  “My original intent was solely to return her to heaven. But then, I became privy to your yearning to join MS,” he chuckled. “The bait I had longed for finally presented itself. Upon discovering Ira’s betrayal and her connection with a human, I was granted permission to make her my servant,” he grew eager, “a higher angel as your servant, and a lure to dismantle this planet. It was the most glorious day of my existence!”

  He signalled Astrid to bind Manya. “Hours before you arrived at MS mansion, I was present in your apartment. You slumbered as if the morrow would never come. With the newfound authority vested in me, subjugating Ira became a seamless task. Everything you bore witness to this day, it was all a charade, a staged altercation designed to steer you towards your impending fate!”

  She wished for Yajvan to hear Karulsh’s words. Ira was innocent. Moving closer, Karulsh placed his hand on her head, created a vibrational impulse to make her lose consciousness. I needed a head message.

  A smug played Karulsh’s lips. “I think Heavens have decided your fall through another way or,” he looked past her shoulder, “Or by my new slave.”

  The light-bound grip around Manya tightened and spun her around. Her brainwashed best friend, with a victorious smile, approached her.

  “Vega, is there a way to cure an angel who’s been brainwashed recently?”

  ‘No Ms.’

  “Then I guess I have to smash her head again.”

  Ira emerged out from the chaos of angels, sending several lackeys into the ocean with a smile as evil as it could be.

  “You have welcomed another companion,” Ira said, “I never anticipated that you would forsake your dearest friend, knowing the depths of anguish within my heart.” She traced her finger over Manya’s face. “I beheld her, your assistant, being detrimental to those of my kind.”

  “What can one do?” Manya said. “If your best friend turned into a worthless being.”

  Controlling her own emotions to make Ira lose her rationality was harder than she thought it would be. However, it delivered a forceful blow to Manya’s abdomen that should cause immense pain because of limited mobility. With lightning-fast speed, Ira showered her with a flurry of punches and kicks, each strike landing with precision and force.

  Manya giggled. “Talks of being the celestial entity, the one higher than all and hitting like a human.” With each passing moment, acting wounded appeared hard.

  Ira stopped. “Funny how a mortal is curious to see the methods of angels.”

  “Yeah, show me, if you have any.”

  Ira moved her arm forward, and tightened the bindings around Manya, which confused all, as there weren’t any screams from Manya. Only a wide smile spread across her face. Despite her body being crushed and her skin swelling, Manya’s smile remained unwavering until she blasted.

  An enormous explosion happened on the celeriot overhead. In a state of confusion, Karulsh shouted. “Where’s that car?”

  Many rectangular objects emerged from the depths of the ocean floor. Objects that had formed hundreds of waterspouts on her second mission. The waterspouts rose, their size grew larger, twice as big as what she had encountered before.

  “What in the name of God is happening here?” Ira said.

  “Has her spirit departed?” Karulsh said.

  The sound of a mysterious yet powerful attack caught their attention.

  “She’s up there!” Ira said.

  All three of them charged towards an orange light of thunder emitting above the celeriot. While getting closer, many angels were being propelled away from the shore, tumbling down. The instant they grasped the truth, anger surged within them. It was Manya.

  She used a gun that could transform into a sword to defeat, not kill, the angels until they became crippled. Sparks of orange energy emanated from her weapon, piercing through everything around her. Unlike the test missions, she doesn’t have to choose the weapon. There was a buffet of weapons available at her command.

  What annoyed Karulsh was the car, playing the loud music and was controlling the celeriot, headed to another.

  Manya teleported to them in a blink of an eye. “You liked the ‘Pholo’? Wasn’t it amazing? My exact copy! But it had limits, unlike soul cl—” She stopped Astrid, who was about to dash forward with a weapon full of chains. “Wait! I’ll be right back.”

  She returned to the angel army below and destroyed her way inside the celeriot.

  “Why are we waiting for her?” Ira said.

  Acting as her eyes and ears, the car conveyed all the conversations and physical activities. Manya smirked. “Higher beings, my foot.” Before they could approach her, she was already onto the next location, leaving behind the wreckage of a destroyed celeriots and ariots.

  Ira and Karulsh were frustrated because they couldn’t control the celeriot’s security measures, leaving them with only their weapons. However, they notified the pilot about the imminent collision within 10 seconds. The captain was unaware that Manya had already implemented a layer to limit his celeriot’s movement.

  “Wait—I am live?” Manya said. Vega had mentioned her social pages/accounts. “What was it? Like, share and-and… love me? Argh!” She hesitated to say more, as it would make her look desperate. But if one useful thing Raisha had told her was that looking desperate, needy, and stupid was essential to gain fans, at least if one was a beginner.

  Her live stream views were increasing at a rapid rate. She had crossed 19 million views in mere minutes. It was easier to defeat the entire angel army than to take the next step without appearing foolish and uncool. She was confused between adding more waterspouts or hoard of pony to make the battle appear kid-friendly. But it won’t remove the blood and torture. She selected the option of mermaids and merman.

  Hundreds of mermaids and merman controlled by in-built AI materialised around her. They looked like a best product dropped out of God’s personal storage, if there’s one. The role of the projections was to lure the angels into the most critical locations, which were about to turn into an area of blast or pit of fire, debris or a black sea made of angel blood, mid-air.

  She flew to the highest vantage point, the epic battle between angels and projections—quite a sight. Wings on mermaids and mermen were a visual delight. The blast from the collision of celeriots became a perfect bait to attract all the angels spread across the entire planet and a perfect frame holding a disastrous canvas. To her surprise, the weapons mer… people were yielding were—real—but only melee weapons, but they were dying with just a single strong gust of angel’s wings.

  The power wrapped around her, brought a wide grin to her face despite the discomfort of abdominal cramps. So-called divine beings were being outperformed by AI-controlled projections, whose flawless movements would make for the perfect live stream cover photo.

  The view was truly surreal, like nothing she had ever seen before, but it soon transformed into something opposite to what she had hoped for. The falling debris and those remaining in the sky merged, transforming into a multitude of interconnected circles that filled the air.

  “Portals?”