Chapter 122 - 123: First Encounter

Chapter 122: Chapter 123: First EncounterStill hovering in the cold, silent expanse of the stratosphere, the collision with the Solar Warden starship replayed in Richard’s mind. He took a deep, controlled breath inside the Prometheus Mark 8, letting out a measured sigh. The flicker of panic, though momentary, served as a sharp reminder of the vast, unknown dangers lurking even in the seemingly empty void. He refocused, his initial fear solidifying into a cold, hard resolve.

"Alright," Richard’s voice, amplified and subtly deepened by the suit’s internal speakers, resonated in the commlink. "Time to put this suit to its real use. First encounter. I’m scared, yeah, but after seeing that footage... there’s every damn reason to burn this lizard on a stake. And I intend to do just that."

"Sir, may I remind you that strategic discretion and data acquisition are paramount," David, interjected calmly, his voice a smooth, logical counterpoint to Richard’s raw emotion. "Unnecessary engagement or property damage should be minimized for optimal mission parameters."

"Duly noted, David," Richard retorted, a hint of steel in his tone. "But sometimes, optimal parameters involve a little justified vengeance. Destination: Mount Malindang. Full speed. Zoom in on Lake Duminagat. Thermal scan surroundings, prioritize organic signatures."

A faint hum vibrated through the armor as Prometheus surged forward, streaking through the upper atmosphere like a falling star. The majestic, sprawling mass of Mount Malindang rapidly grew beneath him. As he closed in on the coordinates, his visors activated, projecting a detailed overlay of the landscape. A small, crude camp became visible, nestled cunningly beneath a canopy of dense trees, a few hundred meters from the shimmering surface of Lake Duminagat.

He activated thermal vision. The camp’s crude heat signatures were immediately apparent, but one stood out. A large, unmistakable life sign: a humanoid form, but with a distinct, reptilian tail. The Krill. Richard’s jaw tightened.

Then, his gaze fell upon the surrounding area. Human corpses. Scattered like discarded dolls. Most appeared to have been exsanguinated, their forms withered, pale. The rage, which he had so carefully contained, ignited. "Corpses... he’s feeding," Richard growled, his voice laced with pure, unfiltered fury. "David, activate combat mode. Lock on target: primary that lizard in front of us. Deploy magnetic spikes. Engage stealth field, full power."

"Combat mode active. Target locked. Spikes deploying. Stealth engaged," David’s calm voice confirmed, the subtle hum of the suit shifting as energy coursed through its systems. A thin, almost imperceptible energy field shimmered around Prometheus, rendering it invisible to the naked eye. From his back, three small, blue spikes detached, streaking ahead like miniature guided missiles, embedding themselves in the earth in a precise triangle around the unaware reptilian.

The Krill, a low-ranking grunt assigned to this remote harvesting outpost, had been enjoying its meal, the fresh, warm human blood, a welcome deviation from the colder, more processed rations. Its meal was interrupted by a faint energy spike. An anomaly. It looked up, its slit pupils dilating slightly.



A shimmering distortion in the air, then a sleek, blue-and-cyan shape materialized, descending smoothly from the sky. It was a machine, clearly. An energy spike? Incoming. A machine, descending. Its aura...is strong, yes, but not the depth of a Harvest Leader. Still, powerful for a mere construct. Foolish. A machine is a machine. No match for a Krill’s close-combat technique.

A cruel smirk stretched across its reptilian face, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth. It extended two daggers from concealed wrist sheaths, their blades gleaming with a dark, sickly green hue. It ran its forked tongue across one of the blades, savoring the taste of the potent neurotoxin it was laced with.

Richard landed lightly, his armored boots sinking barely an inch into the soft earth. His helmet’s internal systems zoomed in on the corpses, the full, grotesque reality of the Krill’s feast washing over him. His rage boiled over, unfiltered, raw.

"You FUCKING scaly BASTARD!" Richard roared, his voice distorted and amplified through the suit’s speakers, shaking the very trees. "You think this is a goddamn buffet?! You FUCKING parasitic, blood-sucking ABOMINATION! I’m going to rip your goddamn scales off!"

The Krill blinked, momentarily taken aback by the sheer volume and venom of the ’machine’s’ voice. It had expected silence, or sterile commands, not this primal fury.

"Foolish metal! You will face a true Krill, honor my presence as the true masters of this land. and it snarled, lunging forward with a blurring burst of speed that belied its bulk, circling Richard in a predatory dance. It smirked, confident, its eyes fixed on a blind spot Richard’s back. It aimed for a killing strike.

As the Krill lunged, Richard didn’t flinch. His fury was a furnace, burning away caution. In a split-second decision, he commanded, "David, open visor." The helmet’s faceplate hissed, retracting with fluid grace, revealing Richard’s human face, his silver eyes blazing with cold, otherworldly light.

The Krill skidded to a halt, its eyes wide with shock and confusion. "What?!" A human? Inside the machine? Its concentration wavered for a fraction of a second—a fatal mistake.

Before the reptilian could even process this impossible revelation, Richard’s armored hand shot out, moving with impossible speed. He didn’t swat the dagger away; he caught its blade mid-strike. A high-pitched shriek of tortured metal filled the air, followed by a sickening CRACK as the dark green dagger, supposedly unbreakable, shattered into a dozen pieces in his armored grip.

Richard’s gauntleted hand then clamped down on the Krill’s wrist. He squeezed. With a horrifying CRUNCH and a guttural scream of agony from the reptilian, its bones snapped and pulverized under the immense, focused pressure. The Krill roared, a sound of pure agony.

"AAAAAAHHH! My arm! You—!" it shrieked, collapsing to its knees.

Richard, his face a mask of pure wrath, didn’t relent. He slammed the screaming reptilian to the ground with a sickening thud, its large body leaving a shallow crater in the earth. "Not so tough now, are you, you inbred MOTHERFUCKER?" Richard’s voice was a low, dangerous growl, raw with loathing.

"David, deploy magnetic brace," Richard commanded, stepping back.

From the Prometheus Mark 8’s back, four sleek, bracelet-sized devices shot out. They landed with precise thwips and immediately snapped into place, magnetically attaching themselves to the Krill’s arms and legs, locking onto its thick, scaly limbs.



He moved a few steps back from the triangle formed by the magnetic spikes, his silver eyes, still glowing fiercely, fixed on the struggling Krill. "Activate magneto field."

"Magneto field active. Target contained," David confirmed. The three spikes embedded in the ground pulsed with an ethereal blue light. Arcs of pulsing energy, like chains of pure force, shot out from them, linking to the bracelets on the reptilian’s limbs. The Krill was held down, pinned in a powerful, contained stasis field, unable to move a muscle.

The reptilian, straining against its invisible bonds, managed to raise its head, a sneer twisting its broken features. "You filthy human! You don’t fight fair! You rely on your machines!" it hissed, spitting at the ground near Richard’s boots.

Richard’s presence intensified, his silver aura flaring. His voice deepened, the rage in his eyes burning hotter. He walked towards the immobilized creature, his every step deliberate.

"Fight fair? You think sucking people dry is fair, you reptilian piece of SHIT?! You’re just a fucking lizard. And you will BOW down to me." With a subtle psionic push, amplified by the shackles, the energy chains tightened, forcing the Krill’s head down, slamming its snout against the dirt.

"No, you’re not worthy to bow down, you should offer blood and your innards in front of a human," Richard continued, his voice a cold, terrifying promise. "Your presence, however, will provide extensive re