Wanderer Ch 22: Stupid Pests!

(Ko Jaro)

The control panel was screaming at me—alarms blaring, warnings flashing—but my eyes were locked on the endless wall of flesh racing toward me. It wasn't just a hand—it was an entire horizon, a living, moving landscape that blotted out everything. The Wanderer's palm.

What the hell was I even doing? I barely knew this human, this Jack. I didn't owe him anything. His problems weren't mine.

But... this. All of this. The destruction, the death, the sheer insanity of it all—it was unacceptable.

"Unacceptable!" I shouted, slamming my fists into the control panel. My voice cracked, anger bubbling into every corner of my mind. "All of this is unacceptable!"

I fired again, pouring everything the ship had into a series of bright orange blasts. They struck the approaching flesh, disappearing into the endless, smooth surface like raindrops on stone. The impact wasn't even worth noticing.

"Damn it!" I hissed through clenched teeth. My hands flew across the controls, trying every maneuver I could think of, but it didn't matter. I couldn't escape it. Her hand was too big, too fast. I was going to die here.

My chest tightened as I braced for impact. The thought of it—the absurdity of being crushed by a hand—flashed through my mind in a bitter wave of irony.

Then, it happened.

"Boom!" A blinding explosion of white light erupted in front of me, shaking my ship violently. My view was swallowed by the flash as the massive wall of skin retreated.

My jaw dropped as I saw her flinch for the first time. The blast rolled across her impossibly large body, lighting up the vast curves of her form with chaotic bursts of energy. Her enormous figure trembled, ripples of movement visible across her celestial-scale frame.

I sat there, stunned, panting, staring at the scene before me.

"What in the..." I whispered before my gaze shifted.

There, on the horizon, breaking through the void of space, came a fleet. Hundreds—no, thousands—of Krugar ships rising from the planet below, their metallic hulls gleaming against the light of battle.

I leaned forward in disbelief.

"Finally," I muttered. "The Stormhammer Fleet..."

This wasn't over yet.

***

(Thalassa)

The explosions peppered my body like raindrops, irritating but ultimately meaningless. Tiny flashes of light marked the futile efforts of these pests, their attacks barely registering on my skin. I tried to stay focused on the speck in my palm—the one thing I had been searching for, the key to answers I needed—but it wasn't easy with the constant barrage of tiny detonations.

Then, one particularly bright blast erupted near my right wrist, far too close to the speck. I instinctively pulled my hand closer, shielding it with my other palm as the flare died out. My golden eyes narrowed in frustration, and I could feel the heat of anger rising within me.

"Stupid pests..." I muttered through clenched teeth.

And then, as if to mock me further, Eclipsa's voice drifted over, light and dreamy. "Oh my... this feels so good," she cooed, as if she were basking in the destruction like some kind of cosmic spa treatment.

I whipped my head around to glare at her, only to find her utterly absorbed in her own world, letting the little fleet's attacks bounce harmlessly off her. She had that infuriating smirk on her face, her black hair flowing in waves as though even the vacuum of space danced to her whims.

"If you're done enjoying yourself," I snapped, my voice slicing through the din of the battlefield, "do you think you can help me exterminate these vermin?"

She turned her head lazily, her crimson eyes gleaming with amusement. "Fine, fine," she said, her tone mocking, as if I were a child throwing a tantrum.

I watched as she focused on a cluster of the little ships swarming near her. Without warning, she leaned forward and stuck out her tongue, her movements slow and deliberate. In one swift motion, she swept the ships up like crumbs, pulling them into her mouth.

I scowled as I watched her antics. "Ridiculous..." I muttered under my breath.

Eclipsa placed her hands on her pale cheeks, her expression one of pure delight as the ships inside her mouth continued to fire in vain. From where I stood, I could see the faint glow of their explosions radiating through her skin. She tilted her head, savoring the feeling like some kind of twisted delicacy.

"Oh, sister," she murmured, her voice muffled by the ships in her mouth. "You really should try this. It's delightful."

I turned back to my palm, focusing on the speck that I had risked so much to claim. I could feel my patience fraying, but I forced myself to take a steadying breath. The fleet was nothing but an annoyance, an insignificant obstacle.

They wouldn't stop me from achieving my goal. Nothing would.