Kevin was certain that he had died. He remembers falling… then nothing.
No feeling of hitting anything, pain, or a sense of what happened. It was like his life was cut short.
But then…
He was falling again!
'What is going on?'
MOTH's greatest soldier was confused by… falling again.
Next moment, it was darkness! And then he was falling again!
'Is this a loop of my death!? Those freak aliens!'
Before he could scream, it was darkness again! And then he was falling again!
"DAMN YOU CRAZY ALIEN MONSTERS!!!" Kevin couldn't keep his composure anymore. What he was experiencing was torture.
But the next moment, someone grabbed him. He could feel metal. It was armour.
'Hell NO! Those freak Knight monsters!'
The white-haired soldier tried to struggle, but the knight's hold was like a vice grip. He couldn't get out of it.
"Throw him down and then knock him out with lightning," a female voice full of authority said from the side. Kevin could tell that this girl was young.
But it was not that Herrscher who conquered his world.
'Is she a descendant of that monster? How much time passed for them?' He pondered as the knight holding him threw him to the side.
'I was in the air? I can't tell, their tech is weird.'
The pain of the collision made him snap out and finally orient himself. He was surrounded by those freak knights. He could make out three types of them.
The pike, the gun, and the bulky tower-shield knights—there was also that hunting spider robot looking down on him from a distance.
He was surrounded by a small army.
'Not only did they bring me back to life, tortured me, but even set it up perfectly to surround me.'
"So what now? You torture me even more? Fifty thousand years were not enough?" By this point, Kevin didn't care if he died, or lived or something else entirely when it comes to these people. They are monsters, and only God or Honkai knows what they are capable of.
"I do apologise. Sirin was a bit of a hardhead. She did an experiment without thinking of the consequences." A cherry blonde girl walked forward out of the sea of knights, and they moved to the sides, giving her space. It looked like the sea was parting and letting her walk unopposed.
"That's IT!? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!?!" Kevin trembled with fury. He saw red as he dashed towards her without a care about what would happen to him.
However, inches away from her, his hand couldn't touch her neck! It was like an invisible force was keeping him away!
'A-Again!? What is with these people!?'
"That was uncalled for." She motioned with her hand, and he was back in his original spot.
The white haired man looked at this with shock and disbelief.
'Is this how I was brought back to life?'
He looked at his hands and then at her.
"You are of the third dimension, and I am of the fourth. Your existence is fleeting, something that I can rearrange anyway I want."
With a snap of her fingers, he became an old man. Who can barely stand.
With another snap, he was reduced to a small boy.
All of this happened in a span of… a snap of fingers.
"Do you see?" With the third snap, he was back to his original self.
"...Is this supposed to make me drop to my knees and beg?" While it was terrifying, it really was, but Kevin was far too gone to care.
"I don't need to do that. Since you will do it anyway." The cherry blonde girl nonchalantly replied as she looked at the rifle-wielding knights.
"Knock him out. It appears he has gone feral."
"Feral!? Do I look— " a bunch of bolts of lightning slammed into him from all directions. "-like…an… animal…"
With a thud, the white haired man was out.
'This is how manipulating a person for 50 thousand years looks like.' Hisako looked at Kevin's knocked-out form as she walked over to her lady.
"Well, we secured him, what now? Should we release some people from the time freeze?" The assistant chef asked.
"We should." Erina nodded as her gaze returned to Kevin." Recover him and put him in time freeze. I have no doubt that someone like him will be useful in future."
The cherry blonde had some ideas about how they could use someone who hates Technocracy to that extent.
But such decisions are for Marcus to make. After all, her job is to help him control his empire…sometimes, cook food, and look gorgeous, among other things…
~~~~~~With Marcus~~~~~~
The Inventor and Supreme Commander of Technocracy could not stop smiling as he walked towards the Bridge of his Flagship.
The reason for his happiness was that he was close to bringing his dream to reality.
Soon, he will see the arrival of his armada. Something like that was a dream come true for any space RTS fan! Oh, and he played a lot of those in his past life.
Where other nerds played mainstream stuff like Counter-Strike or Call of Duty, he played those a bit but never beyond a certain point.
He enjoyed the grind, but it quickly became boring after realising how monotonous it was.
It lacked… substance, like world domination and infrastructure build-up.
That is where RTS games come into play. He played those longer, well, until Gatcha and Girl Collection took over.
'Honestly, that stuff in the games is way easier.' Marcus realised he had quite a few 'admirers' who wanted him.
"What is with those expressions?" Kiana, hugging his arm, brought him back from his thoughts.
"Hmm?" He looked to his side and saw the girl's blue eyes curiously looking at him.
"That I have too many girls who want my favours." He honestly replied, making her pale.
Is he going to dispose of her!?
When he saw the reaction, he chuckled. She quickly realised that he was messing with her!
"You are messing with me!" the white-haired girl huffed. Relief was all over her face, even though she was, for a second, afraid for her life!
"Not really, I am thinking that I have too many." Marcus used his free hand to stroke his chin.
"Huh… how will that work? You are planning to invade a bunch of realities. All the worlds will have cute girls who will attract your attention one way or another." The girl began to explain, making him look at her with amusement.
"Shouldn't you be happy that I want to limit the number of my admirers?" He replied, making her pout a bit.
He is right, she wants that. It means more time for her to get him to like her. But, at the same time, she needs him to bring Mei into the fold, because if he does not, Kiana has no idea what will happen to the Thunder Queen.
"I am. Anyway, why don't we shelve that for now and talk about the other thing that made you grin like a little kid?" Kiana swiftly changed the theme of conversation.
"That is because my Armada is about to arrive. I have been dreaming about it for a long time." He looked forward towards the lift doors, with a genuine smile on his lips. He couldn't wait.
"...Oh… a boy thing. Wasn't expecting that."
Marcus rolled his eyes as he returned his gaze to her.
"Of course, what's the point of space conquest if you can't have a huge fleet of warships and carriers?" He explained to her, his voice a bit emotional as he recalled watching New Hope for the first time when he was just a small kid. It was on that fat TV.
'What was its name… oh, right! Goldstar! A grey-ish TV with a big button to turn it on.'
It's classic that he remembers to this day.
"I don't know? My dreams compared to yours are basic." The girl replied as they arrived at the lift
"Dreams change when one's capacities improve. My dreams changed several times. The more my tech improved, the wilder forms of my dreams I could pursue." He said to her as they entered the wide lift room. The doors closed behind them, and the lift began to rise.
"I would say that these are more like desires than dreams." The girl reasoned with him as she didn't stop hugging his arm. She was more like a clingy cat than a girl.
"I think that dreams are something you want to pursue, and once you reach them, you will be happy no matter what," Kiana explained honestly as she gazed at the doors with a distant look.
"Oh, then your dream has been achieved." Marcus chipped in, showing her a knowing smile. His expression told her that he knew what her dream was.
"Well, Mr. Psychic, my dream did… how should I put this… evolve? Massive alien invasion combined with reality check can do things to one's dream." She replied with a similar smile to his. It was telling him, 'My life is crazy, things change!'
"Fair point." He looked at her eyes. He could tell from her surface thoughts that she was worried about Mei and what could happen to her. There was nothing about her new dream; either she was thinking in a roundabout way, or it was a simple idea that was shelved. Either way, she had an idea how to fight his casual probes.
"Yep!" She smiled brightly at him, almost telling him he won't pick up on her like that!
Moments later, they arrived at the bridge level. The first thing they saw was a coordination centre, where officer girls were organising the incoming armada and where it would come out.
Kiana could see that it was a big deal for these people. If it's like that, it means the fleet will be huge…
Or at least this is what she sees before her.
"Your people are quite on edge," she commented as they walked towards the double doors on the other side of the Coordination centre.
"It is, the arrival will be something else." Marcus slightly smirked as he was already imagining it.
"...okay…" Though the same can't be said for Kiana, the girl has no idea how big of an armada he is talking about.
She had already seen two fleets before, and they didn't look small at all. Both of them were enough to conquer the world they were floating above.
As the pair passed the room, they entered a room completely opposite to the coordination room. It was empty, with huge windows, and only had one piece of furniture: the throne.
Kiana remembered what Mei once said: One's room reflects one's personality. She has no idea if that applies to a Throne room in a warship.
"Isn't it… a bit too plain?" She commented on the room.
"So you noticed it." He faced her as he wanted to see if she would understand the throne room.
"Hard to miss." The girl deadpanned at such a response.
"That's because the warship is brand new, and my conquests so far are minuscule. I am thinking of making this empty place full of trophies." Marcus imagined this place full of stuff like Captain America's shield, dragon skulls, and all sorts of artefacts made by aliens.
"Huh, I guess it does make sense." She looked around, imagining similar stuff… only less wild.
"Though…" For a second, he wondered if the ship would remain his flagship for long, as his Confiscator didn't last long.
"Hmm?" Kiana waited for him to explain.
"Nothing. I am thinking something stupid." He waved his hand as he dropped into his throne, and holograms surrounded him. He could see data related to his Technocracy.
'It would seem Jarilo IV terraforming will start soon.' The pieces of the Assimilator are moving into positions to send down the weather towers.
'However, the planet has no moon. The rotation is a bit erratic—'
Midway, he was interrupted by the white-haired girl who ended up sitting on his lap while facing him. She had a grin on her face as she gazed directly into his eyes.
"We have 16 minutes until your toys arrive, so I think we should enjoy it while it lasts." She placed one finger on his chin.
Marcus looked at her for a second and then at the big screen, where the timer was going down. It was 16 minutes and 32 seconds until the armada arrived.
"It depends if you can stomach such close interaction, you did run away from me twice." He teased her back as his hands went to her firm back cheeks, squeezing them for a second.
Kiana's cheeks heated up as she recalled those vivid images and what he did to Bronya. She needs to balance this situation, otherwise she will be in big trouble.
"No worries. I realised something." The girl shook her head and quickly changed the theme of conversation.
"What did Kiana realise?" He pulled her closer, making her start feeling self-conscious. But she passed it through.
"I realised that you are a sadist, " she declared, making him raise one eyebrow. That is something he is aware of, and many people should know by this point.
"And?"
"Let me finish~" She puffed her cheeks before explaining her 'major' discovery. "I realised that after watching you tease Enterprise like that." The girl smiled before dropping the 'truth'.
"But, that is not all, on the other hand. What I noticed from Bronya and Erina as your fiancées is that they have that self-confidence, even my evil self has it.
I would say that…assurance, or more like that drive, attracts your attention."
Marcus looked curious. This discovery, or more accurately, this pointing out, made sense to him. Athena, his first Fiancée, did attract his attention with her curiosity. She is very driven when it comes to curiosity.
Then Sirin… the girl is the incarnation of drive when it comes to what she wants; she is a bit mad. Then Erina... nothing needs to be said about her. The inventor is well aware from her anime of how crazy she is about her cooking.
Then Bronya, the girl, is hardened and driven to ensure that her city survives whatever comes her way.
When these girls are that driven, they become quite regal in Marcus' eyes.
"You are not wrong." He agreed without beating around the bush, his reply made her smile increase several times.
"Very good! That is why I want to join your army!"
The Inventor's expression morphed into disbelief. For a second, he pulled her closer, making her face get even closer, close enough to kiss her.
"Do you understand what you are asking?" He asked her in a heavy voice.
"Yes. Very. I am at my best when I am fighting. How else could I attract your REAL attention?" She placed her forehead on his.
"Hmm…" Marcus 'pondered,' Well, more like focused on Kiana's attention as she was all over him at the moment. The girl was trying extremely hard, which made her look sexy and cute at the same time.
"You do know that it is dangerous. I don't want you near the frontlines." However, he wasn't to the point that he accepted her request just because she was cuddling him.
"That's why you should give me gear." She poked his cheek with a finger as she pulled her face away from him. The girl was teasing him quite a bit.
"I could do all that. But I should get something back from that, no?" Marcus squeezed her bum, making her show him a cute pout.
"But this is for you. If I show my capabilities, you will see me better," she explained with a frown. This guy is driving a bargain.
However, she then recalled her plan with Sirin. Her pout disappeared the next second, as she would be able to request some gear after doing THAT.
"On second thought. I have something else to offer~"
Marcus looked curious for a bit. The girl was clearly scheming something.
"What—" She placed her finger on his lips to stop him.
"When we are back on the station, can you follow me? I want to show you something~." Kiana said that with a heavy blush, making Marcus curious about what she wants to show.
"Sure. It would seem you are becoming a bit more assertive." He nodded at her request before pointing out something he noticed this morning.
His comment made her smirk. It would seem he was paying attention to her! That is a relief!
"Like I said~" She once again brought her face closer, but this time, Marcus was waiting for her. As he immediately kissed her, his action caused Kiana's eyes to widen as she was surprised for a second, but then she adjusted and wrapped her hands around his neck and pushed herself into him.
If he wants a kiss, she might as well show him she is serious and won't run away for the third time.
The kiss lasted for a while, and as Kiana needed to take a breath, she pulled back and looked at him with rosy cheeks.
"Like I was saying~~" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know what you desire, something I wanted to do~ it's like a two things with one stone."
Kiana wasn't lying; she wanted to be assertive with her actions. It's what helped her become Herrscher of Flamescion in the first place, or would have if not for the accident.
So it was just perfect for her.
Instead of becoming Herrscher of Flamescion, she will become something else entirely, something great in Technocracy!
"Commander, it's time." Before Marcus can continue teasing and kissing Kiana in his lap, the Captain of his ship disrupts him.
He looked behind the white haired girl, the Valkyrie followed as she looked at him well. The pair saw that the timer was ending, and only thirty seconds were left.
"Oh, we can continue after things settle down." The inventor moved her. She wasn't that happy that their time alone had ended.
"Okay~." The girl stood up and let Marcus stand. The pair walked to the edge of the bridge and looked at the darkness of the void.
For now, they can see the debris of mechs, warships, and bug corpses floating chaotically, nothing particularly impressive.
But then… green cracks began to appear in the void, spreading and expanding, getting bigger and bigger.
The cracks didn't stop, and the green blob began to open up like a huge wound in reality. Moments later, magic circles started to appear like stars in the green wound.
"How…many of them are there?"
"You think this is much? What you are looking at is the vanguard." He chuckled as he saw her expression.
Right on cue, warships began to blast out from the magic circles. Their arrival was synchronised; not a single ship was late or early, as they all arrived at the same time.
Their armour and shielding shredded the debris in their path. After the vanguard, a much bigger number of magic circles appeared, looking like one of the 'hands' of the Milky Way galaxy, stars everywhere, big and small. Moments later, at least ten times more warships of all sizes blasted in a synchronised arrival.
"..."
"Amazing, isn't it?" Marcus gushed as he looked at his hand. It was trembling. He was excited to see ten thousand of his warships arrive in perfect formation.
"Just how many of them did you order to arrive?" Kiana asked. Does he really want to begin the conquest of this reality?
"Enough to fix this part of the galaxy." He replied, before looking at her expression. "You should get used to this. After all, you want to be in the military." The Supreme Commander reminded her.
"Once we begin, there will be expansion upon expansion, " he said with crossed arms. His gaze returned to the green 'wound' as the field filled up with more magical circles, four of which were absurdly huge.
"Here it is, the bulk of forces."
"...The bulk!?"
Right on cue, the next wave arrived. Four huge objects blasted out, causing a ripple in space itself and sending a wave through reality. This wave sent the debris away, clearing a way for the Assimilators to arrive.
"...Four…of those!?"
Kiana needed to double-check this guy! Just why the hell does he need so many of them!?
"Wait, you want to remove the debris?" The girl realised he wants to fix this solar system from all the garbage in the void.
"Indeed." He nodded at her before looking at the captain. " Send the word, activate gravitational pull, we will test out if the Assimilators can sculpt at a cosmic level."
"Understood, relaying these orders." The captain nodded as she began to issue the commands on his behalf.
The girl looked at how the ships began to move. They began to split up, and the acorn-shaped assimilators began to open up, like a hand. It was different from what Kiana had seen before.
"Wait! Are these big ones the T-shaped structures that I saw above Earth and the Ice World?" The girl connected the dots even though the shape was different.
"These are my arcane level Ouranos-class All-Purpose Assimilators. They are motherships that Technocracy will use to terraform planets and Solar systems…
Like this one." He explained to her that the four Assimilators moved into position and began to fly in four different directions.
As they moved, the opened 'hand' began to glow and pull debris into it.
"Oh… so you can move planets now?" The girl was a bit surprised by this revelation. But moments later, it made sense. The guy had impressive tech and a huge amount of military.
"When they couldn't?" He replied with a raised eyebrow.
His reply made her roll her eyes at him. What a sassy response!
"Anyway, since I got my dose of excitement, it's time for you to meet some of my people." He looked at incoming gunships from one of the Assimilators, and Kiana perked up, hearing that.
She knows who it is! It's his Assistant and his Goddess fiancée!
"Okay, then let's go." She hugged his hand and got closer to him. The girl smiled at his reaction. She was showing him that she was dedicated to him.
Sadly for the girl, she has no idea that Marcus is already considering testing her resolve.
It's one thing to show and another to prove with her actions at crucial moments. He doesn't want her to pretend just so that she can get assets, like a fleet, but if she is serious, then he doesn't mind even giving a reality to the conqueror for him.
"Sure~." He smirked for a second, and that smirk sent shivers down her spine. Whatever he was planning could potentially make her question her decisions.
~~~
Quinella waited for the moment her gunship landed in the hangar of Marcus' flagship. It has been ages since she saw him in person.
She was excited and nervous at the same time.
While confident about her situation, she still worries that someone will replace her as the Assistant.
Especially if he is planning the entire ORDER of females. Like priestesses to their God, only on a grander scale.
Just thinking about this 'Official Harem' size makes her frown.
"Can't we fly any faster?" She asked, her annoyance barely hidden.
"Relax, we are almost there." The Goddess of Wisdom, next to her, tried to calm her down.
Honestly, it has been quite the journey, from collecting specimens to nurturing a civilisation, and now they are invading a unique reality.
That is what happens when Marcus is not contained. Quinella could dissuade him from some actions or delay certain things. That is why Assistants exist. They can consult their leader on some things.
Or at least, this is what Quinella thinks. However, that can change depending on how big their empire will be.
That is why she wants to be at the head of this 'Assistant Girls' project, which he wants to do from his maids' group.
Delegating nonsense projects to lackey girls would give her a chance to spend time with him.
"Mhnn." Quinella shrugged, not caring; all she wanted was to see Marcus.
Moments later, the gunship landed, and the side doors opened, revealing a massive hangar with a red carpet spread out at the end. Marcus, with a white-haired girl, was waiting for them.
For a second, the platinum-haired assistant looked happy, but then her smile dropped as she saw the carbon copy of Sirin around his hand.
'Ugh… she does look like her, to an unsightly level.'
The pair walked out of the gunship and walked towards Marcus.
"Welcome to Glamoth System." The Inventor greeted them. Not that Quinella paid attention to that as she swiftly got in front of him and leaned into him.
"Ohhhh~~~ so good~~~" The beauty hummed nearly moaned from the sheer fact that she was hugging Marcus.
Kiana, who was hugging his arm, needed to let him go. She had never seen someone that bold! This girl ignored what Marcus said and instead was 'recharging' in his hands.
"Ha, someone is quite clingy." Marcus hugged her back as his sadistic Assistant began to rub her head on his chest.
"You have no idea! It has been weeks! I feel like having withdrawals!" Quinella lifted her head and looked at him in the eyes. She looked like an abandoned puppy.
The Inventor could not resist as he pulled her into a deeper hug.
"Okay, Okay. Let's go and catch up~." He whispered into her ear, making her smile, and soon enough they began to walk towards the awaiting train.
Kiana, who was behind, looked at them and then at Athena.
'Umm… isn't this the assistant? Why did he leave his fiancée?'
"Don't look that surprised. Quinella holds a special place in his heart." Athena walked over and looked at Kiana; to the Goddess, it looked like she was looking at the twin.
It's extremely strange and even scary how he created a girl who looks like this one.
She knows that Marcus created Sirin based on this girl from this specific universe. That is what baffled her. Only now has their tech reached the point that they can interact with other universes, but he did it before he had the tech.
'Clearly there is something that I don't know.'
"But you are a Goddess and his Fiancée," Kiana replied as she was struggling. The girl was struggling in front of a real Goddess.
Athena's presence is something else. The white haired valkyrie could feel heaviness radiating from this girl. It was almost like a holy…divine presence.
For someone who is a human… a genetically modified human, still human with no power except for whatever genes were altered, she can't resist and gawk at her.
"And she is his first true creation. AI turned legitimate human, and as someone who governs wisdom, I know when to strike and get all the attention I want.
You don't want to annoy someone with a warped sense of value." Athena clarified as she walked over and used her index finger to close Kiana's mouth. The girl was still in awe in the presence of divinity.
"...I-I see… makes sense." The girl snapped out of her shock.
To think that she was in the presence of a Deity. From ancient culture, no less.
"I am more concerned about you. I do hope you are not in a total mental breakdown. Marcus can be… scary." The brown haired goddess showed a sympathetic smile.
Kiana, for a second, recalled that crushing aura when he was annoyed, really annoyed at Sirin for… self-mocking? He was livid at that time.
"...I am trying to dodge as many landmines as possible." The girl replied as she looked at Marcus, who was some distance away from Quinella.
"Good enough, remember, as long as you don't look down or mock his creations, he will most likely spoil you rotten."
Athena's reply made her grimace a bit. It would be fine if not for the fact that he was like honey, and all the females with a bit of understanding of what power was wanted him.
"If only that were easy; he has a lot of admirers," Kiana replied as she began to walk. If they stood any longer, those two would leave without them.
"True, but paradise awaits as long as you know how to navigate the sea." Athena smiled, telling the Valkyrie that she knew how Marcus worked.
Thankfully, the Kaslana know it as well. After seeing Athena in flesh, she has now seen all of his future wives.
The similarities were exactly as she had expected! Her plan for that crown is a go!
"True." She nodded at Athena. The Goddess had a surprised look for a second.
"My, aren't you interesting? Someone did her research in such a short amount of time." The brown-haired Olympian realised that Kiana knows what makes Marcus click. If this is true, then she will see this twin of Sirin more often.
"People say that I have my moments, not all the time, but when it's a dire situation, then I can do it." Kiana honestly replied that she is not the smartest one.
"A warrior trait, interesting, you might be worthy of my blessing." The goddess pushed her glasses up as her divinity told her this girl was a great warrior.
~~~
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