503 Death's Door
How do you steal a famous scientist right under the nose of a Sovereign?
Firstly, it was an outrageous thought. Even the craziest men would say it's impossible.
You simply don't steal anyone or anything in front of a Sovereign.
They are faster than you, stronger than you, and more perceptive.
It's a futile effort. An endeavor bound to fail. A guaranteed death wish.
But Varian planned that very thing.
That's why, he once again requested Sovereign Irene for the space stones, and got Blue Flash to acquire CTFs for their usage.
Then, he asked them to enter Demon Abyss and CTF to the dungeon closest to the stadium.
He calculated that Julius would quickly return, but in his opinion, the time would be sufficient.
He and Blue Flash extensively studied all the footage—secret and public on Julius' combat and concluded that it was mostly safe.
But they didn't consider the fact that Julius could've gotten stronger.
At the Sovereign level, even that slight increase changed the entire dynamics of the plan.
So, as he lay down in a pool of blood, Varian found himself hearing Julius' menacing words.
But Varian didn't lay in despair. He retrieved an item from his storage ring and a light started to envelop him.
"Varian? What secret are you hiding? I'll dig it out one by one." Julius smiled and his giant titan form shrunk to five meters.
He tightly held the ghost ship that tried to escape and began to tear it.
Kaaa!
With a creaking sound, the top of the ghost ship began to break.
"Narcis died because of you. What do you think I should do?" Julius asked in a chilly voice.
"And Sia…do you even remember her? Besides this guest ship, that'll be your greatest value. You'll be the bait for me to lure her out."
Kaaa!
The ghost ship's top was forcibly opened and Julius finally saw the young man who shook the solar system.
"You still dare to smile?" Julius was taken aback by that nasty smile.
He had an ominous premonition and hurried to grab Varian.
But a bright light enveloped him and the ghost ship as space twisted violently.
Once Julius realized what Varian was trying to do, he didn't hesitate and directly punched out.
Boom!
With a loud boom, the space exploded and then, the ghost ship was gone.
"He faced my punch head-on. He's dead." Julius told himself but what Varian did at the final moment was etched in his mind.
He flipped a middle finger at him.
"…It's a pity I couldn't get his corpse for the lab." Julius had one regret.
He had no doubts about Varian's fate. There's no way he could survive a Sovereign punch head-on.
…
…
"Haaa!" Varian gasped and breathed in violently as he woke up in a white room. "We escaped?"
"The CTF took us away in the last second…" Boo appeared in front of him and sighed.
Varian clutched his head and tried to recall what happened before he fainted.
Suddenly, his eyes widened and he turned to Boo. "The punch! Julius attacked m—"
"Here." Boo cut him off and waved its hand.
Whoosh!
Three walls with huge dents appeared in front of Varian. These were the Sovereign level walls.
"…"
"Did you forget, master? You asked Boo to keep them around you all the time, just in case." Boo patted its chest in relief.
"…Thank you, Boo." Varian sighed in gratitude.
"Haha~ What are you saying…" Boo blushed a bit and turned away.
An awkward silence filled the room. Varian confirmed that his condition was fine and was about to step out of the room.
"Master!" Boo appeared in front of him and blocked him.
"What?" Varian titled his head.
"T-There's….There is…" Boo tried to come up with something but finally hung its head.
Varian had an ominous feeling as he stepped out of the room.
"WHAT?!"
The sight of the ghost ship's interior devastated him.
Broken walls, sparks of electricity, twisting of space…as he recalled the pristine and elegant feel it always had, Varian felt a pain in his heart.
He looked at Boo's crestfallen face and apologized. "I'm really sorry, Boo."
For others, it was only a spaceship.
But for Boo, it was its body, its home, its everything.
So, this damage not only hurt it physically but also emotionally.
Even though he was with Boo for two months, Varian never thought of Boo as a machine.
To him, Boo was as human as any person. In fact, Varian never really associated the term 'human' with one's race.
His attitude towards Enigma didn't change after knowing her race.
To him, what a person aspired for and worked towards was more important than their inherent and immutable elements of identity.
So, he'd give up a million Shadow Order 'humans' for one Boo without thinking.
"Woo~" Boo suddenly started crying. Crystal blue tears fell out of the white ghost's eyes and Varian was suddenly at a loss.
"Boo…" Varian called out softly. His head was still a bit dizzy from the injuries and his body was still not completely fine.
So, with each step he took, he staggered and stumbled, but he kept walking and reached Boo.
He raised his hand and lightly patted Boo…and his hand passed right through Boo.
"Master…it really hurts." Boo whimpered. "Boo…Boo feels like a part of Boo is broken."
Varian's eyes were filled with killing intent as he promised. "Boo…I'll take revenge."
Boo stopped crying and stared at his face. In the end, it nodded weakly.
Then it said. "Master, Boo will try to fix the injuries."
Varian nodded stiffly when he heard the word 'injuries'.
Walking into a room, he first checked whether his 'messages' reached Enigma. Only after confirming it did he sigh in relief.
Then, he called up the holograms and checked the situation of the ghost ship.
He saw a ghost ship teleporting into the demon abyss. Since they didn't have Enigma—abyssals didn't know they arrived.
And despite the injuries, Boo was still capable of stealth.
So, the ghost ship cautiously escaped the Demon Abyssa and landed on an asteroid in a remote region.
Varian swiped the hologram and observed the exterior of the ghost ship.
He saw Boo's reluctant expression as it retrieved all the backup materials—metals, circuits, and special formation components and used them to fix the damages sustained by the ghost ship.
Boo's face was filled with pain and with each fix, it seemed to recall the injuries.
But with equal determination, Boo continued on.
The broken metal defenses, the AI systems, the formations, the stealth components, everything was slowly being fixed.
'…my little ghost is working hard. How can I slack off?' Varian took a breath and walked out.
