47 No man escapes the Manhunters
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"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" screamed Raiden as he hit the ship's controls.
"Damn it! Is this some sort of a joke? Every time I try to find my way back to Earth, something has to get in the way?" said Raiden.
Kori looked at the screen and said, "No matter what I do, we're unable to escape Biot's gravitational pull. We have to land; we just have to do what Sayd said."
"Damn it! Why did she do it like this? Had she asked, I would have done it regardless! Damn it, Sayd," said Raiden in anger.
"Would you have? You don't treat the Green Lantern as a real threat, Raiden. Had she not done this, you would never come to Biot. You would have told Sayd that you could handle the Green Lanterns," spoke Kori.
She was the first to realize Sayd's action and why they were necessary. She had witnessed the power of the Blue Lanterns firsthand, and if it's true that the Green Lanterns have the same level of power, then they were more than a threat to Raiden. After all, unlike the Blue Lanterns, the Green Lanterns' force numbered in the thousands. They were too powerful for Raiden to handle, and if they were really eyeing Raiden, then doing this is a must.
"I think I could handle a couple of Green Police," said Raiden.
"That attitude will get you killed one day, Raiden. Come on, let's see what Sayd wanted us to find here. Maybe it's a good thing."
"Ughh, whatever. Let's just get this over with. Try to land closer to that abandoned city," said Raiden as he pointed towards a massive city in the middle of Biot.
"Sure, strap in, both of you. We don't know what sort of danger will be on this planet, so prepare yourself," said Kori.
...
The trio's ship landed in the middle of the city. It was completely barren and empty, a desolate and dark place where no one had lived for centuries.
"Sheesh, this place is creepy," said Raiden.
"I feel like I'm being watched, brother Raiden," said Carry.
"Let's get this over with, as quickly as possible. This place is making me uncomfortable," said Kori.
The trio walked until they reached what they had assumed was the city center. In the middle of it was a statue of a massive robot with red marks on it, and under it was some ancient writing.
"Well, I don't know what this is saying," said Raiden.
"Wait, let me handle this. I can translate it for you, brother Raiden," said Carry as she guided her ring towards the ancient markings and said, "Translate."
The markings started shifting, then settled. The trio looked at it in a bit of shock.
"No man escapes the Manhunters," said Kori.
"The Guardians' second creation…," said Raiden. "Is the information Sayd wanted us to get related to them?"
"Who knows? Still, I'm starting to get truly uncomfortable, Raiden. It's like something is watching us," said Kori.
"Yeah, brother Raiden, it's weird, this place."
"Aren't you guys being a bit too much? There's literally nothing out there," said Raiden.
The duo of girls glared at him, to which he said, "Okay, okay, got it, got it. Just stay close to me. I'll handle anything that comes our way."
...
"This looks like it's the place we're looking for, Raiden," said Kori.
Raiden stared at the massive building with carvings on top of it saying in ancient language, "Headquarters."
"Well, this has to be it, or else we're never finding what we're looking for," said Raiden.
The trio got into the building and were shocked to see the same statue they saw in the main square inside the building. However, it looked more real, and there were more than a dozen of them at the entrance.
"These look like they're alive. Shit, imagine they wake up right now?" said Raiden.
"Raiden, shut up! Stop creeping me out. I mean, look at their eyes; it's like they're staring at my soul."
"Nah, don't worry. Come on, let's head upstairs and see what's up," said Raiden.
Since both Carry and Kori refused to get on the elevators, Raiden was forced to join them on the stairs. Each floor had dozens of those robots he saw at the entrance, but Raiden didn't care much for it.
"Let's see, this sounds like what we're looking for," said Raiden as he looked at the weird thing in the middle of the top floor.
*Ding. Ding.*
"Brother Raiden, look, my ring, it's resonating with that thing," said Carry.
"Let's check it out then. Carry, can you tell what we have to do?" said Kori.
"I think I'm supposed to insert my hand into that thing," said Carry.
The item had some sort of hand-scanning thingy on top of it, clearly needing to scan someone's hand.
"Okay, here I go," said Carry as she placed her hand inside the hand-scanning thingy.
The thing scanned her hand then focused on the ring before a green screen popped up.
"Oh, look, I can control this," said Carry, as she was switching between files.
"Whoa, hey, click on that. That looks like it's very important," said Raiden as he pointed at the screen, specifically at a file that said [Femara: Females Only Race].
"Raiden! Try to be serious here," said Kori as they watched Carry navigate through the files.
"Wait! Carry, go back," said Kori. Carry obliged as she returned to the last file [Ysmault Incident].
Clicking on it, the file opened up. The images and the report about the incident were... horrific.
"Jesus Christ... that's messed up," said Raiden.
"X'Hal, may you guide these lost souls," said Kori.
"Brother Raiden... this is horrible," said Carry.
The trio looked at horrific destruction images, showing the Manhunters hunting and killing the people of Ysmault. The report recorded the death of not a thousand or a million; rather, it was two billion lives taken, all in one day.
[Manhunters have judged that emotion is the source of evil. As such, they are now hunting for all lives that had emotion in them. Manhunters must be stopped, and we the Guardians must start taking action against them. This is much worse than the Vega incident.] The report concluded with this.
"Brother Raiden, look, there's a follow-up report for this," said Carry.
[Manhunters have taken this much further; they have eliminated an entire section. Sector 2322 has been erased fully. Reports indicate an estimated ten billion lives have been lost.]
"This is insane," said Raiden.
"If this report gets out... the Red Lantern Corps would wage total war on the Green Lanterns. Ysmault is their planet," said Kori.
"Their leader always raged about revenge against the Guardians and their actions. I now understand his anger. But forget the Red Lanterns; if these reports and numbers get out, not just the Red Lanterns, rather the whole universe will turn on the Guardians. Hell, I suspect some members of the Green Lantern Corps will turn on them as well," said Raiden.
"Hey, Carry, is there a way for you to download this?" asked Raiden.
"Yeah, I think I can download it to my ring's storage," said Carry.
"Do it then. Download both these reports and the one about Vega as well. These will be nice blackmail material against the Guardians," said Raiden.
As Carry initiated the download process, the room suddenly trembled.
"Oh, fuck," said Raiden.
The trio exchanged alarmed glances. "This is absolutely your fault, Raiden! You jinxed us," said Kori.
The statue-like Manhunters surrounding them began to stir. Eyes that were once lifeless now gleamed with an eerie glow; the dormant army of Manhunters had awakened. Raiden, Kori, and Carry stood ready, bracing themselves for what was about to unfold.
"They're just robots; let's mess them up," said Raiden.
The Manhunters attacked with swift and coordinated precision that took the trio by surprise. They walked together and held in their hand shotgun-looking laser beams and started shooting. Raiden, relying on his instinct, skill, and Art of the Swallow skill, dodged the beams. His movements were a dance of power and agility, dodging laser beams and striking back with a blast of purple energy, a new spell he learned from the skill Teachings of Circe.
Kori unleashed her abilities, creating bursts of solar energy that scorched through the metal bodies of the Manhunters. Her combat prowess matched Raiden's.
However, the duo was stunned. Both of them had unleashed a lot of power to surprise the dozen or so Manhunters. Yet, both had only killed one each; the other ones were mildly hurt.
"Okay... I now understand why they are a danger," said Raiden.
They were robust and resilient, incredibly so.
Carry, though still inexperienced in real combat, utilized her Blue Lantern powers to create a shield and used it on Raiden and Kori. She also started to enhance Raiden with her energy. Her protective constructs absorbed the energy attacks, giving Raiden and Kori the opening they needed to retaliate.
However, the trio soon realized the overwhelming odds against them. As more Manhunters joined the fray, their numbers swelled. Now, the building was full of them, and outside, where the city had been empty, their numbers reached the thousands. Raiden, initially confident in his abilities, found himself shocked at the sheer strength and efficiency of the Manhunters.
"Raiden, we can't keep this up! There are too many!" shouted Kori as she blasted a group of Manhunters with a wave of energy.
"We need to retreat, find another way out!" added Carry, creating a shield to protect herself from the relentless attacks.
Raiden, acknowledging the situation, nodded.
"Looks like this situation calls for a servant. Throne of Heroes!"
'You just hit the servant summoning jackpot! I'm Achilles, a Rider-class servant. Yep, I'm the hero everyone knows for having his only weakness being his heel. But not many can even get to my heel, no way! Don't forget that I'm one of the fastest people of all time! AHAHA. Oh wait, hey, WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T get to fight! You use my body, and I just watch! I was so excited for battle!' It was the swift hero, Achilles.
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If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at
"https://www.patréon.com/Riadooo"
Don't forget to change "é" to "e"
