1324 In The Homeground
Dark space stretched in all directions. Sometimes, it was pitch black. Sometimes, there were patches of gray.
Rings of brilliant white light extended from one end to another, glowing and dimming.
It seemed to be a fusion of a bridge from the fairytales and the dream from a sci-fi comic.
Merov and Sonya quickly passed through these rings, crossing light years in matter of seconds. The journey in inner space was fast and short.
The rings at the start of tunnel had already began to dim out and slowly collapse. Even powerful space awakeners wouldn't be able to get them back working.
Yet, the two candidates kept their senses on alert. The route was absolutely safe. This space channel wouldn't be damaged even by peak rank 7s like themselves.
Even the proud Merov had tried and conceded, a rare thing for the prince.
"Everything went wrong. We have to dig up the truth after we return." Sonya suddenly said, without even looking at him.
There were still twenty seconds left until they could exit. The Princess felt that they were almost home and hence, safe. So, she already began to think about the next activity.
The whole Zion fiasco was bizzare. She had a nagging feeling that someone was using them as pawns for their own gain.
Whoever this mastermind was…
Sonya decided he'd show him hell and make him the price.
"It's not that difficult to think. It might all be Baldur's plan." Merov, who usually disdained to even talk to her, replied right away.
"Baldur? He's just a kid." Sonya raised an eyebrow.
"Think about it, if we three die, he got the highest merit in order. It makes so much fucking sense." Merov made a face of wise and spoke out loud, like the journalist who had unearthed an unholy conspiracy.
Sonya's brows arched into a frown and she bit her lip. "A rank 4 or rank 5? The king's words would be useful only if he had the strength to back his position. Baldur is too weak. Even if we drop out, no, even if we all die, nothing would change for him."
"You dumb woman! You don't get it!" Merov lashed out. "It's just like you, you're a hundred years older than me! You talentless woman can still be in this race, why can't he? It's the same damn thing! If the king really cared about strength and
talent, I'd have been the de facto crown prince already!"
The more Merov spoke, the colder Sonya's expression turned.
Caught up in the moment of their temporary cooperation to escape, she had forgotten this man's narcissism.
"I am the most talented man in the history of our kingdom. At my age, no man had reached the rank I did." Merov proclaimed.
"Heh," Sonya's lips curled into a smirk. "Why do you have to emphasize 'man' so many times? Can't you just say the stronges—
oops!"
The Princess covered her mouth and let out a mocking chuckle. "I'm sorry I forgot you weren't. There's someone before you, a woman who stood heads and shoulders, no, fricking skyscrapers above you. She reached rank 2 before she was even 20. What were you doing when you were 19?"
"Bitch!" Merov's aura shot up and he glared at her with venmous eyes. If not for the location, he'd have fought her already.
"Pr-no, Isadora is dead. I am alive. That's the difference. What if she was an unprecedented genius? Will she crawl out of the dead? Or…" The Prince's voice turned low, vicous and condescending. "Will she turn into an Und—"
"I'll rip your head off even if I have to break the damn space channel!" Sonya's voice was unbelievably cold and murderous.
Merov wanted to mess with her, to break her bottomline. But he noticed that there were only a couple more rings for them to pass through, just two or three seconds until they reached the other side.
'You'll beg like the weakling you are.' Merov clenched his fists and prepared himself.
As they had just three more rings to pass through, the space channel suddenly turned dark for a moment.
The lights went off.
"Oh no!"
A powerful dark silhouttee with twinkling lights rushed toward them at a breakneck speed. Following it were six similar silhouttees.
"Quick! Quick!" Sonya dashed towards the exit at her fastest.
"Damn it!" Merov cursed as he was behind her by a small moment.
But as the quote went, to escape from the tiger, you don't need to outrun the tiger, you just need to outrun your friend.
Sonya jumped at the exit and Merov dived right afer her.
The captain of Orion raised his hand and the space rings fluctuated violently. Then, everything broke apart like it was happening on a mirror.
The space channel began to collapse and a space storm engulfed everyone.
As creatures of space, the Veyans comfortably navigated through the otherwise dangerous spatial fluctuations.
The candidates had to struggle. They quickly used some treasures they had and barely managed to avoid any significant injuiries.
Sonya who was about to exit found herself in a different location from the solar system where the newfound civilization was.
This place was close to Centaurus but not too close.
"Damn it! If only Merov didn't delay at the start, none of this would've happened." The Princess spat out blood and began to quickly heal herself.
At the same time, she called her maid Romanov to bring up the fortress to meet her halfway.
Even though the battle fortress wasn't of much use so far, it could effectively block even the rank 8 enemy for a significant period of time.
That much time was more than enough for the Pala kingdom to make a move and capture these foreign bastards.
Romanov didn't respond. Before she could think or contact others, six light beams fell from the space.
The explosion forced her back.
The six peak rank 7s looked at her with killing intent.
Sonya gritted her teeth.
"Come!"
