— — — — — —
"You're absolutely right to reprimand us."
The two-meter-tall mechanical giant known as Satellite Prime Wiseman, Haz Ilyus, lowered his head humbly and apologized to Regalzeva, not for himself, but on behalf of his creator, Melvazoa.
Within the Evie Empire that ruled over the ExE World, intelligence gathering was the responsibility of Melvazoa. But the sudden appearance of two anomalies, Trihexa that hadn't appeared in any reports and Ryo Yagami as he now was, proved without question that Melvazoa's intelligence had failed.
So being blamed by Regalzeva was only natural.
"It's rare for little brother Melvazoa to mess up his intel work. That's a first." Regalzeva waved it off casually. "Still, the unknown is part of what makes invasion fun."
He brushed aside the intelligence blunder with ease. Compared to the minor inconvenience Melvazoa's mistake caused him, Regalzeva's own habit of recklessly invading other worlds had caused the empire far bigger problems.
"Don't tell Melvazoa about this, Haz. I'll explain it to him myself later."
Knowing he was in the wrong, Regalzeva dismissed the matter without hesitation, already planning to use it as an excuse, or maybe a shield, the next time he acted on his own.
Haz understood immediately and inwardly groaned. That meant the next time Regalzeva wrecked a carefully laid plan by charging off alone, he wouldn't be allowed to report it.
The only question was how many planets suitable for bases would be destroyed next time.
After all, the demon before him had an unhealthy love for destruction.
Once he finished warning Haz, Regalzeva seemed to relax. His five massive electronic eyes shifted and locked onto Ryo.
Then, unexpectedly, he spoke first, "My apologies for making you wait."
He stepped forward. At seven meters tall, his enormous frame blocked out the sunlight, casting Ryo in shadow.
"To be honest, it would be a waste to kill someone as strong as you."
"Oh?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, looking at him with mild amusement.
Regalzeva studied him for a moment before speaking. "Then how about this? I'll give you a chance. Join my empire as part of my foreign legion. As payment, I'll abandon my occupation of this world and only exterminate ninety percent of the organic life on this planet."
He paused, "How does that sound?"
Before Ryo could answer, Regalzeva glanced casually at the Creator God and Great Red, "And your companions can live too."
"Though my brother Melvazoa has been researching a new combat model recently, so he may need to collect some physical data from them. But with me vouching for them, he probably won't dissect them completely." He spread his arms as if making a perfectly reasonable offer. "So really, they'd only be taking a tiny risk. What do you think?"
"Hmm... Sounds like a decent deal." Ryo rubbed his chin, looking curious. "But why wipe out ninety percent of all life? What's the point?"
"Of course there's a point," Regalzeva answered firmly. "I call it extermination, but in truth, we'll be bringing them back as data and experimental subjects for developing new combat units. And compared to keeping living specimens under control… Corpses are much easier to study."
"Well," Ryo said, nodding slowly. "That clears things up."
"It seems you understand." Regalzeva lowered his head, staring down at the much smaller man beneath him. "Then your answer is...?"
"I refuse."
Ryo grinned, flashing eight white teeth, his expression loose and lazy. "I think you've got the power dynamic backward."
He raised a hand and pointed into the sky, toward the sleek warship overhead, currently using web-like cables to capture Trihexa. "That ship up there? I'm taking it."
Then his finger lowered and pointed straight at Regalzeva, "And your body. I'm taking that too."
"..."
Regalzeva was silent for two seconds.
Then he sighed, "What a shame. I rarely offer mercy."
He slowly raised his massive mechanical arm and opened his palm. "I even thought I'd try peaceful conquest for once."
"Why..." His voice grew colder. "Why refuse me?"
Dark violet mist began spilling from his palm.
The moment it appeared, the air twisted violently. Space itself trembled, and faint cracks like shattered glass spread through the atmosphere.
Haz sneered, "Pathetic. You had a chance to survive, and you threw it away right in front of Lord Regalzeva. Looks like your life's about to end."
Regalzeva's five eyes gleamed. "If you refuse me, then die."
Boom!
His gigantic hand slammed downward.
But...
The one crushed beneath it wasn't Ryo. It was Haz.
The sudden strike smashed the mechanical giant into fragments and drove the wreckage deep into the earth.
The whole of Mount Meru shook violently under the impact, as if its very foundation had been rattled loose.
Then the trembling stopped... Silence.
Creator stared at Regalzeva's hand embedded in the ground and hesitated, "What... is he doing?"
Great Red blinked blankly. "No idea. Maybe he's insane?"
The next second, Regalzeva seemed to realize something. He lifted his hand and stared at the broken mechanical fragments in his palm.
His face twisted.
"HAZZZ!!"
His roar shook the mountain.
"How... how could you die like this?! How am I supposed to explain this to Melvazoa?!"
"Oh no… he'll definitely punish me harshly."
"..."
Looking at Regalzeva, Great Red looked genuinely confused. "But… wasn't he the one who killed him? He didn't even hesitate."
Creator, who had already realized something was wrong, turned toward Ryo. "What did you do?"
Ryo didn't answer. Instead, he casually walked up to Regalzeva.
Step by step.
Then he leaped onto Regalzeva's knee, using it like a platform, and peered into the giant's palm at the broken scraps.
He shook his head with exaggerated pity, "Even the energy core carrying his central intelligence got smashed."
He clicked his tongue, "...How tragic."
Hearing Ryo's voice, Regalzeva's five eyes spun wildly and locked onto him.
"You?! Since when were you standing there?!"
'He was standing on my knee this whole time... and my scanners didn't detect him?!'
Shock and fury surged through him.
"Since when?" Ryo smirked, resting a hand against Regalzeva's arm. His eyes narrowed with amusement. "Didn't I walk over right in front of you?"
Regalzeva's eyes flickered frantically.
And then he remembered.
Yeah, he had watched Ryo stroll over. But why hadn't he realized it?
"What's on your mind?" Ryo pressed close to him, his tone playful.
Regalzeva's eyes flashed harder.
And only now did he realize something even stranger.
He was holding Ryo in both hands.
That bizarre lifeform was standing in his palms.
"How..." he muttered.
Then his entire body froze. At some point, he had fallen to one knee.
Kneeling. Holding Ryo up with both hands like an offering.
A terrible sense of dread flooded his electronic core.
"Looks like you've figured it out." Ryo smiled. A bright, delighted smile.
"That's right. Exactly what you're thinking."
His eyes sank into darkness, his grin turning eerie and unnatural.
"From the moment you laid eyes on me..." Ryo's voice dropped into a chilling whisper. "Your machine body submitted to me."
.
.
.