Chapter 17: Breaking Through to the Probe Tier
937 Words
"Can the Judicator survive three hours?" Quinn demanded, glaring at the medic.
The medic nodded. "Yes."
Soon, the Judicator's Citadel forces surrounding them melted away into the ruins.
Alone at last, Glenna exhaled sharply. Three hours was a safety buffer; two would patch her up enough. With no other Probe Tier fighters nearby, these primitives couldn't stop a fly.
Her gaze flickered to Treyce Valmont's corpse before scanning for Odon. Wait... where's that arrogant oaf? Panic surged as she tried to rise, but agony forced her back down. Fine. Even if he's breathing, he's worse off than me. And Asta... ambushing me? He'll pay.
A kilometer away, buried under rubble near Odon's body, Lucien Vance drew ragged breaths. Pain screamed through him, but one thought cut through: Flesh Forging Essence. The Forging could rebuild him.
Methodically, he hacked off Odon's fingers until a crystalline chip glinted. "Finally," Lucien breathed, fusing it into his palm. Universe-shattering agony ripped through him—every cell tearing apart and reforming. Cosmic energy, vast and cold, plucked him—an insect beneath a starship's hull—from Earth and hurled him toward the void.
Blood sprayed. Ecstasy warred with torment as he harmonized with the star-strewn darkness.
An hour crawled by. Color seeped back into Glenna's cheeks. One more hour, she thought, a thrill piercing the pain. Crimson Fortress will be mine. My bargaining chip with the real players.
Blue Zones offered flimsy protection. In a standard trial, maybe. But with the Tenth Academy looming? Every hungry student wanted to shine. This rock would drown in blood.
The true nightmare? The second wave crashing down in two months.
Their group was pre-selected cannon fodder, signed up before the Tenth Academy hype. The second wave? Pure sharks. Academy-honed students. Glenna shuddered. What monstrous geniuses are coming?
Monopolizing Crimson Fortress was delusional. She'd trade it—auction control for a top-tier evaluation. Treyce likely had the same scheme.
Another thirty minutes bled away. Glenna flexed her fingers. Good enough. Time to find Odon's corpse.
WHUMP!
A shockwave of Stellar Energy pulsed from a kilometer off. Glenna's head snapped around. What in the void?!
Under rubble, the agony ebbed from Lucien. He clenched his fist. Real power hummed in his veins. Now. Now I stand at the threshold. Now I grasp a sliver of starlight.
Glenna stabbed her combat scanner. Beep-beep-beep-BEEP! CR 1,080 blinked on-screen. Her breath caught. Probe Tier breakthrough? Who? Asta?!
Across the wasteland, rock shifted. Lucien Vance emerged from debris, dust swirling, his gaze pinning her.
Glenna's eyes widened, cold dread pooling. "You... broke through?"
Lucien stalked forward, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. "Your scanner works, I see."
Honey coated Glenna's voice. "Asta, about earlier... shoving you? Reflex! Battle instincts!"
Lucien halted ten meters out. "Wouldn't dream of doubting you, Glenna. Academy elite reflexes."
Relief flickered in her smile. "Treyce and Odon are dead. The Judicator's finished. Crimson Fortress is ours. Partners?"
"Partners," Lucien echoed, the smirk widening. "Spot me some crystals first?"
Glenna's smile froze. "Crystals?"
"The shiny rocks you're hoarding."
Her eyes iced over. "Explain."
"Hand over the Void Ring."
"This a robbery?!" Glenna snarled.
Lucien shrugged. "Call it an audit."
Glenna lurched up, fury overriding pain. "Think Flesh Forging makes you hot stuff? We're both broken! You?" She spat. "A fresh Probe Tier runt. CR 1,080? Pathetic!"
Lucien's smirk sharpened. "Funny. If you believed that CR crap, you'd be swinging. Not yapping."
Glenna fell silent.
"CR measures raw energy splash," Lucien drawled, stepping closer. "External noise. Doesn't touch combat strength. Page one, Academy primer."
"Bull!" Glenna shot back. "That's coddling weaklings! Higher CR crushes lesser ratings! Why was Treyce top dog? His CR doubled mine!"
Lucien took another step. "Prove it."
Glenna's hand flashed to her Void Ring. A Flare Crystal shattered. Fire roared skyward like an angry dragon. "FLAME PALM STRIKE!" She lunged, palm blazing.
Lucien moved. Not fast—instantaneous. His hand snapped up. A crescent moon of stellar energy spun. STELLAR PALM.
Impact.
KRA-KOOM!
The moon detonated. Glenna's inferno vaporized. Unstoppable force hurled her like a ragdoll. Bones snapped—CRUNCH!—as she skidded to a broken halt a hundred meters away. She stared through a haze of disbelief.
Impossible! What WAS that?! Not Shockwave Palm! The gap... double my CR! How?!
Lucien stared at his palm, awe warring with hunger. This... is Stellar Palm unleashed. Palm raised, a star appears. The star’s death throes annihilate. One star... What of two? Ten? Twenty?
This secret dies with me.
The explosion brought Quinn and the Citadel forces charging back. They found Lucien standing alone amidst settling dust.
"Brother Vance?" Marcus Flint gasped.
Quinn scanned the wreckage, stunned.
"Lock her down. Get the Judicator patched," Lucien commanded.
Soldiers hauled Glenna away. Medics rushed Zane Shaw off.
"Wait..." Zane's voice was a thread.
They gathered.
Zane's bloodshot eyes found Lucien. "Guard the Fortress while I'm out. It’s yours."
Lucien met his gaze. "Done."
"Thanks," Zane breathed before darkness claimed him.
The Citadel mobilized. Rebuilding teams swarmed. Survivors were calmed. Rowena's squad recalled. Lucien delegated—the Citadel knew its duties.
His path led downward into Crimson Fortress's sterile Augur prison. Glenna waited.
She hung suspended, limbs bound. Suppression emitters hummed.
Lucien waved the guards off. He stood before her, ripped the Void Ring from her finger, sliced her thumb, and smeared the genetic key onto the ring. Hiss. It unlocked. He dumped its contents.
"Who. Are. You." Glenna rasped.
Lucien smiled. "Guess."
"You’re stardust," she hissed.
Lucien nodded. He scooped every energy crystal. Unmentionables went back into the Void Ring, which he tossed onto her lap.
- Writer
