Chapter 535: The Face Beneath the Helmet
But the mistake was already made, and there was no turning back. All Ethan could do now was pray that the figure he longed to see in the sky was still safe. That silhouette had vanished from sight, leaving him alone in Shatterstar, retreating at full speed.
The fiery red energy orb continued to swell, and he had no way of knowing what its destructive power would be when it finally detonated. Already, a third of the Blood Realm’s void had collapsed, scorched into nothingness by the inferno. Shockwaves rippled endlessly across the land. As far as he could see, there were no black-armored soldiers left, no masters of the Blood Clan, only devastation.
Shatterstar’s alarms screamed in his ears. Shield integrity had fallen below fifty percent. The void itself was collapsing, and cosmic turbulence now tore through the Blood Realm. Even if the fiery orb vanished at this moment, the world was crippled beyond repair. No life could survive here again.
He had already won his gamble with the old turtle. The others were shouting at him to run, voices raw with panic. But what Uncle Jed and the rest didn’t understand was that Ethan’s greatest fear wasn’t whether he could escape. It was the inevitable vacuum burst that would come when the energy storm finally dispersed. Everything would be dragged back toward the center, crushed together with such force it might even form a black hole. He remembered lectures from his quantum energy classes back on Earth, explaining how anything drawn into such a collapse would be compressed beyond recognition.
Even as dread pressed on him, he couldn’t help but register how vast the Blood Realm truly was. Shatterstar’s engines were nearly maxed out, the propulsion system running at full capacity. Half an hour had already passed, and still he hadn’t cleared the world. By comparison, the trip from Beastfall City to Hurricane City across the Sea of Death usually took Shatterstar less than fifteen minutes—while running at only a tenth of its output. Now it was running flat out, and the horizon still hadn’t let him go.
His worst fears arrived with terrifying speed. The expanding red orb slowed, quivered, and then, at its peak, collapsed inward. Shatterstar shuddered violently. Its forward thrust stuttered, nearly halted by the pull, though it still managed to crawl forward.
The sky blackened. A breath later, it erupted in blinding light. The crushing suction that had held Ethan in its grip abruptly vanished, and vision slowly returned. What lay before them left every voice in Shatterstar silent.
Ahead stretched endless desolation. Behind, nothing but infinite void. Half the colossal planet was simply gone, as though some cosmic giant had bitten into it like an apple, exposing the stars beyond.
"It really... really destroyed a world," the old turtle whispered.
"Girl, you were right," Uncle Jed said hoarsely. "Good thing this brat didn’t use that thing on the Umbral Star. Otherwise I’d already be meeting the Lord of the Underworld—and the entire star would’ve gone with me." His eyes lingered on the broken horizon, still dazed by what he saw.
Ethan found no words. He had only meant to obliterate that monster. He never imagined he would erase an entire world.
The Blood Clan was gone. The thousands of black-armored soldiers had likely perished as well. What remained of this immense realm was nothing more than a shattered husk drifting in the endless cosmos.
He scanned the wreckage, heart pounding, searching for the figure he hoped had survived.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
[Warning: powerful lifeform detected, closing rapidly!]
His eyes flicked to the radar. A single red dot was racing toward him. He traced its bearing, lifted his gaze, and felt his chest tighten. Excitement warred with fear—but in an instant, the fear gave way.
"Shatterstar, open the isolation bay door."
At this point, they were practically adrift in space. If the hatch opened directly, Uncle Jed and the others would be sucked into the void. They were powerful enough to endure for a short while, but Ethan wasn’t willing to risk it. Instead, he ordered Shatterstar to open the isolation bay first, ready to receive the approaching black-armored figure.
This time, he had to learn who she was. And what she meant to him.
From behind her visor, the black-armored woman saw the bay doors open. A flicker of relief crossed her face. Ethan didn’t notice, but after the briefest hesitation, she finally stepped inside.
Ethan had already left the virtual cockpit. Standing in Shatterstar’s chest cavity, he watched her cross the threshold. His chest tightened. Something stirred deep within him, a strange current that made his fingers tremble.
The moments that followed stretched endlessly. She entered the cockpit. They stood facing each other, gazes locked, both of them trembling as though caught between dread and anticipation.
"Can... can you take off your helmet?" Ethan asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.
She froze, then gave the smallest shake of her head. Ethan’s heart sank—until she shook it again, then slowly nodded. His breath caught.
Her hand rose to the top of her helmet. Click... click... The clasps released. With deliberate care, she lifted the helmet free and tucked it under her arm.
"Holy cow..." Uncle Jed’s eyes bulged. What had been hidden behind the mask was a face of breathtaking beauty, so flawless it seemed unreal.
"Wipe your drool, old man. Otherwise I’ll send you to the Eye-Gouging Hell and let you reincarnate for ten thousand years." Her voice was light, playful even, but her words carried an edge.
Uncle Jed flinched. He touched his chin and discovered, to his horror, that he really had been drooling. His face burned red. With forced bravado, he muttered, "Your little girlfriend’s got quite the mouth. Threatening to send me to hell for ten thousand years—what does she think she is, the Lord of the Underworld?"
Ethan’s pulse stuttered. At the very instant she lifted her helmet, something long buried stirred in his memory, a hazy recollection that sharpened like lightning. His heart sank before he could make sense of it.
Thump!
Uncle Jed’s massive, seven-foot frame flew backward as though struck.
"I am his mother," the woman said, her smile fixed on Ethan alone. "And if you dare talk to me like that again, you’ll not only visit the Eye-Gouging Hell, but the Tongue-Pulling Hell as well... and reincarnate for another ten thousand years."
Her words were sharp, but her voice flowed soft and smooth, almost teasing.
Yet the first four words—I am his mother—exploded through the cockpit like thunder.
"What?!"
"No way?!"
Bongo and the Dragon Child gasped almost in unison.
Until this moment, they had been entranced by her beauty, unconsciously comparing it to their own and finding themselves lacking. They had assumed this woman was some mysterious lover from Ethan’s past. But his mother?
That was the last thing they expected. And judging by her easy talk of hells as if they were her private estate, she didn’t seem like the kind of mother anyone would find easy to get along with.