Chaos' Heir

The Thilku felt incredibly small. He was at least half a meter taller than Khan, but his brain kept sending warning signals. He knew he was completely outclassed there.

The ship's alarms threatened to deafen the crew, but no one dared to move. The various humans silently stared at the needles closest to them. Those pointy, bright weapons were aiming at them, immobilizing them while Khan handled his business.

Khan's bright eyes pierced the Thilku's skull, studying his thoughts and emotional state. The alien was terrified, frozen in fear. He could barely breathe, let alone speak, but Khan had no intention of making things easy for him.

"[Ah]!" Khan cried, spitting to the floor at his side. "[A criminal with no pride, shame of the Empire]."

The insult awakened something inside the Thilku. The alien seemed conflicted about his situation, and receiving a direct attack on his pride generated the resolve to fight through Khan's aura and react.

The Thilku straightened his back, fear disappearing from his face as he took a proud stance. He was still terrified, but his genes told him to appear courageous. His species demanded it.

Khan didn't miss the alien's internal conflict, but the situation didn't give him time to explore it. He had to get an answer quickly and leave as soon as possible. After all, there were still two pursuers.

"[What was your goal]?" Khan went straight to the point.

"[Causing a political incident]," The Thilku explained before adding respectful words. "[Blue Shaman]."

'So, it was political,' Khan thought. Still, that short answer wasn't nearly enough to explain the entire situation.

Khan's thoughts raced. Ideally, he would ask more questions, but time was short. He had to deal with the other two pursuers, but giving up on obtaining information wasn't an option.

The Thilku's vision suddenly went dark. Meanwhile, the purple-red glow engulfed the crew. The explosions overwhelmed the ships' alarms, and everything fell silent afterward.

The events inside the ship had been short, but the two other pursuers had understood that something was wrong. Their scanners were still glitchy, but missing the hole in their companions' hull was impossible.

Communications flew between the two pursuers, and one focused its scanners on their damaged companion, trying to better understand the situation. However, the equipment glitched with more intensity as the vehicle exploded into a purple-red cloud.

Metal debris flew everywhere as the bright cloud slowly dispersed. Soon, equipment, weapons, and corpses became visible, capturing the two pursuers' attention. They had lost one of their three ships, and things didn't end there.

One of the two pursuers spotted something odd on their companion's ship while looking past the bridge's canopy. A red light stood above the vehicle's hull, unaffected by the space's deadliness. The scanners also stabilized, providing a better read of the situation.

Khan stood on the ship with his eyes closed and his right hand firmly holding the fainted Thilku. His warm membrane had enveloped the alien, protecting it from the cold and death outside. That shortened his air reserves, but he didn't have time to worry about it.

Information about the ship's composition filled Khan's mind. His brain studied the hull's toughness, density, and texture, absorbing every detail it could find to let his element exploit them.

The pursuers on the other ship didn't know how to react to the scene. Firing at Khan would involve their companions, potentially leaving them one-on-one against his ride. Sending warnings wouldn't work, either, since Khan's aura acted as a shield against communications.

The hesitation turned out to be fatal. Khan suddenly released a spherical wave of seemingly harmless mana, which vanished in no time. The pursuers wouldn't have even noticed it without the scanners. Still, what followed was visible with bare eyes.

Cracks opened under Khan, spreading throughout the ship's hull. Those fissures spread until the vehicle split into multiple pieces. The equipment inside stopped working, releasing occasional sparks and more.

As the ship's pieces floated in different directions, its contents fell prey to the space's deadliness. The human crew found itself in almost complete darkness, gasping for air that wasn't there. Some even tried to swim toward the nearby equipment as if stranded in the sea.

Only the ship's pilot managed to make the right move. A bright membrane enveloped her, fending off the space's cold. Yet, the abrupt destruction didn't give her the chance to store breathable air, prolonging the inevitable.

Cheating death for a short minute allowed the pilot to inspect her surroundings. She saw her crewmembers' faces swelling up as ice covered their skin. She watched the ship's pieces flying away, disappearing into darkness. Ultimately, she looked at the shining figure above her, calmly floating among pure death.

Khan reopened his eyes, fixing their glow on the pilot. The latter met his gaze, but the event was short-lived. Her lungs soon demanded air, destabilizing her defensive membrane and exposing her to the space's cold.

Khan waited until the pilot died before turning his head toward the remaining pursuers. His eyes' glow pierced his defensive membrane, sending blue light into the ship's scanners. He looked ready to attack again but didn't move.

The intense stare reflected in the scanners' screens resembled a challenging gaze. The pursuers felt that Khan was daring them to make a move against him.

That sounded ludicrous on many levels. Powerful soldiers could fight and win against ships, but not in the middle of space. Realistically, that environment utterly favored vehicles, but the crew had no confidence in the situation. Odds had no meaning against that monster.

Khan remained still as the pursuers' ship slowly retreated before performing a sudden U-turn and acceleration. The ride quickly disappeared, leaving Khan and his prisoner alone with the allied vehicle.

A grunt tried to escape Khan's mouth, but his lips remained sealed. Mana escaped from his back, propelling him toward his ship. He slowly reached his ride's side doors, which opened to allow him inside.

Khan released the warm membrane as soon as the doors closed. He even dropped the fainted Thilku when his feet touched the floor. The threat was no more, but Khan was far from done.

"My Prince! My Prince!" The two soldiers shouted, hurrying into the cargo area. Their worry was genuine, but their mana also showed a tinge of respect. Witnessing Khan's prowess firsthand had given birth to some devotion.

"That was spectacular, My Prince!" One of the soldiers added, approaching the fainted Thilku. "Allow me to restrain this criminal!"

The soldier had bowed during the request, pointing his eyes at Khan's feet. The new perspective made him spot something concerning. Blood was flowing down Khan's legs, drenching his shoes and dripping on the metal floor.

"My Prince, you are injured!" The soldier shouted, claiming the attention of the entire crew. The pilot and technician soon entered the cargo area, quickly noticing the expanding pool of blood at Khan's feet.

"Get us out of here," Khan scolded the pilot before addressing the two soldiers. "Restrain the Thilku. I'll worry about my injuries."

The pilot's eyes went wide as he hurried back to his seat. The pursuers could very well send reinforcements, so disappearing was the priority. Luckily, the quadrant was empty and secluded, so finding potential safe destinations wasn't a problem.

The soldiers also understood that point, but their worry about Khan's injury didn't wane. However, he ignored their feelings and headed into his quarters, sealing the door as soon as he crossed their entrance.

'Twice is still too much,' Khan cursed, lowering his trousers to expose his legs.

Multiple deep cuts had appeared on Khan's legs. His joints were fine, but his skin and muscles had suffered during the previous sprints. His speed had been incredible, but his body had paid the price.

'Even the first wasn't that great,' Khan thought, ignoring the pain radiating from his legs as he half-crouched and removed his shoes.

The trousers followed, and Khan washed his legs afterward. He felt slightly uncomfortable, but the bleeding had already stopped by then, and that was enough.

Wearing new trousers sent more pain to Khan's brain. His muscles needed rest, and his legs' state acted as a loud warning. His new technique was dangerous.

'A normal human might have lost a leg,' Khan realized, 'But its power is undeniable.'

The previous two sprints had been Khan's first attempt at the Transcendent Step in a real battle. He had only relied on the foundation form, and its execution had also been lackluster, but the outcome had been acceptable. The technique clearly had potential.

'And this wasn't even a perfect execution,' Khan considered. 'It wasn't even one of the advanced forms.'

The urge to go in a long, secluded training session invaded Khan, but more pressing problems were at his doorstep now. The attack on his ship wasn't over yet. It wouldn't end until he completed his move.

Khan barged into the cargo area under the soldiers' worried gaze. The two men wanted to ask about his condition, but neither spoke. His aura hinted at the desire to handle different topics.

The soldiers had tied the Thilku to a seat, using metal wires to bind his legs and hands. The alien's physical strength could probably overcome that brittle restraint, but the ship had nothing better to offer.

"It's out cold, My Prince," One of the soldiers announced. "Should we look into the medical bay for drugs to wake it up?"

"No need," Khan said, focusing on the symphony around the fainted Thilku. He gave a silent order, and a tremor spread, entering the alien.

The Thilku gasped, abruptly waking up. His big arms and legs pressed on the metal wires, but strength abandoned his limbs when he looked at Khan. Everything returned to him now. The alien recalled what had happened.

"[The political incident]," Khan didn't waste time. "[What did it entail]?"

Khan's eyes had gone dark, but the Thilku felt unable to stop looking at them anyway. His gaze never went to the soldiers or floor while he sorted his thoughts to give a reply.

"[Pushing the Blue Shaman in the Empire's domain]," The Thilku explained, "[Lord Exr's domain. There's a secret military planet that doesn't abide by the interspecies agreement with the Global Army. The plan was to trap you there]."

"[Does the planet have more criminals]?" Khan questioned.

"[Yes]," The Thilku confirmed. "[They would have fought you to stir an incident]."

"[Give me the coordinates]," Khan ordered before glancing at his soldiers. "We are heading into the Empire's domain."