The moment he secured the watch, Lucius activated his mental link and attempted an intrusion.
But no matter which viral technique he employed, nothing could unlock or activate the device.
Every method he tried was blocked by a force imbued with Ruleforce.
Seems like this thing carries an incredibly high ontological rank.
After several failed attempts, Lucius decided to suspend the probe for now.
"Very well," he nodded, then turned to Frank. "You may go."
Just as Frank opened his mouth to respond, a sudden circular portal opened beneath him, and he fell through before he could utter a word.
The sealed chamber was left with only three unconscious figures and one deceased Dimensional Reincarnator.
Frank landed in a vast open-air hangar.
Under a dusky yellow sky, sleek, futuristic battleships sat quietly in neat rows.
A tall woman approached, blue-skinned, long-haired, unmistakably a purebred Kree. She carried a case roughly the size of a laptop.
From her attire, Frank recognized her as an Accuser.
"You're Frank?" the blue-skinned woman asked.
Frank gave a small nod.
"From this moment on, you're a probationary member of the Accusers. You'll serve aboard the Resh." Her gaze bore into him. "I'm Janna, your commanding officer."
"Yes, ma'am." Frank, though still unsure what was happening, instinctively responded with a military salute.
Janna gave him a sidelong glance before opening the case.
Inside were two golden bands, each nearly ten centimeters wide, etched with intricate patterns resembling human faces. They gleamed under the ochre sunlight.
Nega-Bands.
Frank's heart pounded. His excitement almost made him forget how dangerous his current position was. Hands trembling, he reached for the bands.
With these… I'm practically on the level of a demigod.
Janna's eyes darkened as she watched him lift the relics.
She didn't understand why the Supreme Intelligence would entrust such a powerful weapon to this Earthling.
A million years ago, a Kree blessed with immense fortune rose meteorically through countless encounters, eventually attempting to fuse with the M'Kraan Crystal, seeking to become a multiversal singularity akin to the Phoenix.
He failed.
And the M'Kraan Crystal, deeming the Kree too greedy, punished the entire species, permanently locking their evolutionary potential.
Since then, the Kree had undergone no biological evolution for a million years. They could no longer produce natural superhumans. This made individual combat the Kree's greatest weakness.
To compensate, they created the Supreme Intelligence, channeling their resources into technological advancement. Science would bridge the gap nature denied.
Armed with limitless knowledge, the Supreme Intelligence created millions of weapons.
Among them, the most iconic single-soldier armaments were the Kree Warhammer and the Nega-Bands.
The Kree Warhammer was standard issue for Kree warriors, coming in many variants, the most famous being the "Universal Weapon" wielded by Accuser Ronan.
Ronan's hammer could manipulate cosmic energy and bend reality to his will, disassembling and reconfiguring matter, altering shapes, emitting shockwaves, absorbing energy, manipulating gravity, generating force fields, creating Time-Shift Zones, and even enabling hyperspace teleportation via willpower.
Later, Ronan embedded the Power Stone into his hammer. Ironically, the overwhelming force of the gem restricted many of the weapon's original capabilities.
By contrast, the Nega-Bands were even more versatile.
They could convert sunlight or photonic energy, massively enhancing the wearer's mental and physical capabilities. The user could fly, unleash photonic blasts, survive in the vacuum of space, resist cosmic radiation, and function indefinitely without food, sleep, or air.
In a Kree army where individual combat power was a glaring weakness, wielding a "Completed Weapon" or Nega-Bands was the ultimate honor.
Due to the rarity and difficulty of manufacturing the Nega-Bands, crafted from an exceptionally rare material, every elite Kree dreamed of wielding a pair.
And now… they were handed to this outsider from Earth?
Resentment burned quietly in Janna's chest.
Unseen viruses swirled through the air around them, silently monitoring their thoughts.
The Nega-Bands were indeed priceless, but a war was coming. How could they send troops into battle unarmed?
Besides, Dimensional Reincarnators were full of tricks. Give one a weapon like this, and who knows what kind of chaos they might unleash?
Lucius had already mobilized the entire fleet of the Kree Empire.
Included among them were many super-battleships, each rivaling or exceeding Ronan's Dark Aster.
Unlike the Supreme Intelligence, who had only committed a partial force, Lucius had no need to worry about safeguarding colonies or protecting Hala. He wasn't concerned about post-war vulnerability to rivals after fighting Thanos.
This was a full-force assault, no reservations, no contingencies.
The Kree Empire, dominant through science and technology, had equipped its Accuser fleets with gravitational systems capable of both offense and defense, matter-annihilation missiles capable of destroying half a planet in one strike, matter disassembly bombs, shockwave explosives, and other terrifying superweapons.
Compared to the brute-force numbers of the Black Order, Lucius had unwavering faith in Kree space warfare.
"Kree Empire, initiate full-scale wartime mobilization."
Lucius issued the order in the name of the Supreme Intelligence. It was swiftly ratified by the Kree High Command.
Naturally, some generals and civilian leaders dissented, arguing that deploying all military assets would put thirty billion Kree citizens at risk.
But Lucius was not open to negotiation.
Those who raised objections… were handled by viruses.
Once total consensus had been achieved, by any means necessary, the skies filled with shadows.
Black fleets lifted into the air like the wings of Death, casting the ground below into eerie darkness.
Most ordinary Kree citizens had no idea what was happening. But the sheer scale of this military movement plunged all of Hala into a tense and oppressive silence.
The starships and their escort vessels surged into orbit. With thrusters blazing at full throttle, the massive warbirds streaked across the void like falling stars, vanishing into the endless cosmos.
Planet Hala. Sealed metallic chamber.
"Ugh… my head… It hurts like hell." Lucia propped herself up with a groan. "If I hadn't already awakened… this headache alone might've turned me into a monster."
Memories surged back, she and her team had been captured by the Kree Empire, subjected to brutal torture.
So then… where was this?
Her instincts as a Reincarnator kicked in. She quickly scanned her surroundings.
A seamless chamber with floor, walls, and ceiling fused without gaps. Her three teammates lay unconscious nearby. But their squad leader, the veteran who had reincarnated across at least ten worlds, was nowhere in sight.
"Lucia…" a weak voice called out.
A frail young man nearby stirred awake.
—————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/Madbot635 [remove the parentheses ( )]