Knox loomed over it, chest heaving, fists still trembling with bloodlust. Slowly, he raised one hand outstretched, Ki flaring into a crackling sphere of black‑red hate, ready to reduce the bug to ash.
"What's your name, bug?"
The alien stared up at him defiantly for a long moment. But eventually, it let out a resigned sigh.
"My name is Marzette, if you insist on knowing."
"Thank you for the lessons, Marzette," Knox nodded once, solemn despite the manic blaze in his eyes. "...Farewell."
He braced to fire-
But paused as Marzette's mandibles suddenly twitched upward in a faint, bitter chuckle.
"Lessons, huh? Then allow me to impart one more lesson. While you may have somehow won this battle..."
Her compound eyes shifted past Knox, toward the horizon.
"…you have already lost the war."
Knox's grin faltered. "What?" He turned, following the bug's gaze-
And his stomach dropped.
A glimmering spear of crystalline metal floated in the sky, its tip glowing with violent green light. The machine's hum slowly ramped up, the sound becoming clearer now that he was paying attention to it.
'Nope! Abso-fucking-lutely not. I don't know what that is, and I don't want to know.'
Those words only echoed in his mind through his [Thought Acceleration]. In reality, Knox didn't hesitate.
Ki flared at his feet as he launched himself off the ground into the air. The wind screamed past him as he shot upward, putting distance between himself and whatever nightmare weapon this was.
The weapon fired.
FWOOOM!
And for a second, he'd thought it was that easy. The green blast that came out of it was heading right for Marzette's body-
Then the blast adjusted.
The green energy contorted mid-flight, twisting like a living serpent, carving a jagged path through the sky. Undeterred, he moved out of the way again.
And again.
And... again.
But no matter how he veered, how fast he flew, or whatever obstacle he flew behind, it adjusted. Closing the distance with terrifying inevitability.
Right. Towards. Him.
Eventually, after dodging it for what felt like forever in his slowed perception, his frustration reached a peak.
"This is some captial 'B' bullshit!" he roared. "Since when do fucking bugs get Omega Beams?!"
Turning around, he faced the blast head on. He dug into his reserves, Ki erupting around him in a furious corona. His arms crossed in front of him, aura compressing into a rippling wall of black on crimson energy.
Teeth grinding with effort, he pushed his Ki control to its very limits, successfully creating a shoddy barrier out of indignance and spite.
Skill [Ki Projection] Rank increased!
+1 SOUL multiplier for increasing from F to E.
'Hah! Take that, you overgrown-!'
But the blast ignored his barrier like it wasn't even there.
It pierced through his Ki, emerald energy erupting into tendrils of lightning that danced across his skin. Every muscle locked at once, his nervous system hijacked by the alien current.
His jaw clamped shut hard enough to crack teeth. Foam bubbled between his lips as his body betrayed him completely. The stench of ozone and burnt hair filled his nostrils as he convulsed violently.
Eventually, his aura sputtered and then vanished.
He dropped out the sky like a puppet with cut strings, face cracking the pavement on impact. His vision swam, but through the haze he saw the white ant still floating in the sky, looking down at him with what he swore was smug satisfaction.
"I admit you are scarily talented, Knox Creed," Marzette coughed wetly beside him, still alive. "But victory is never just the strength of your fists…"
Her voice trailed into silence.
And Knox, body fatigued and twitching, could do nothing but watch as the shadows of his captors closed in.
__________
Darkness.
Despite opening his eyes, it made no difference. The world was pitch‑black, like he'd been dumped in the center of an ink well.
Knox blinked a few times, then licked his lips. With his [Pain Suppression] in full effect, he was able to assess that his jaw ached, his ribs throbbed, and his skin was split in too many places to count.
Weirdly enough, that was a good thing. It meant he wasn't dead.
'Why, though?' He wondered. 'I would've killed me in their shoes.'
Shrugging, he shelved that thought. Knox didn't understand the thought process of bug people, after all.
He tried to lift his arm.
It barely moved. Just a few inches upward before something clinked in the dark.
The sound of cold, rattling steel.
"Oh?" he muttered under his breath. His lips pulled into a thin line. "Did they really just leave me in a room chained up? That's just disrespectful…"
He rolled his shoulders, tensing, and pulled against the resistance. The chains groaned, taut against his wrists.
Then he stopped, tilting his head. It really was just normal chains.
He wouldn't be able to break these chains with just his normal strength. But he had Ki, the same power their strongest warrior, Marzette, was using to fight him. They should have an idea of what it can do already.
'...Are these guys stupid?'
Shaking his head, he pulled his Ki to the surface-
ZZZZZT!
A jolt of electricity surged through his arms, ripping down his nerves like wildfire. His muscles spasmed violently, causing him to slump in his chains.
"Ghh-hahh… son of a bitch!" he hissed between clenched teeth, smoke curling faintly off his skin.
Panting, he sagged back against the unseen wall, head lolling forward. The chains clinked once, settling.
A sigh pushed out of him, long and resigned. "I should've known they weren't that dumb."
He let his head thunk softly against the wall behind him, tongue clicking in irritation. The chains creaked as he shifted, testing his limited freedom, then went still again.
'Alright… think. What options do I even have here?'
His mind began to tick, cold and methodical despite the dire circumstances.
'Option one: sit tight. Just wait. The real invasion is coming eventually, and when it does? These bugs don't stand a chance. I can just bide my time until the cavalry arrives and take over the ship when I'm free.'
He smiled faintly at the idea.
'Option two: convince them to cut me loose. Offer to help. Play nice, scratch their backs until they realize I'm more useful alive than chained in a hole. Risky, sure, but if I pull it off, maybe I'll get out of here intact without waiting on a rescue.'
He exhaled sharply through his nose. Both options sucked, honestly.
And he was honestly leading toward the first one. It was lazier and had less of a potential growth payout, but at least it was safe.
Except… was it, really?
Knox's head lifted slightly, grin sliding right off his face.
They hadn't explicitly ordered him to keep his scouter on him at all times, but he was at least seventy percent sure they used it for tracking purposes.
And his scouter had been cracked, confiscated, and likely broken.
'Which means… the invaders roll in, glass this planet, and they either gloss over me and I die in the rubble. Or... they assume I'm already dead and don't bother picking me up. Either way, I'm fucked.'
There was an extremely small, almost improbable chance that they killed everyone on the planet, rescued him from his captivity, and then healed him up and promoted him to a proper soldier.
…Yeah, right.
'Who am I kidding?' A wry, humorless grin appeared on his face. 'This is the Frieza Force. They couldn't give a rat's ass about me.'
With that decided, Knox let the silence press in, the dark swallowing him whole.
For a few minutes, or hours since he couldn't tell the time, he just listened to the faint hum of electricity crawling through whatever machine he was strapped to.
[Meditation] made the whole process easier.
Then a hiss cut the stillness.
A faint line of light carved through the darkness as a door opened, flooding his vision. Knox squinted, blinking until the blur sharpened.
Three bugs—er, three Chitinari—stepped into view carrying long sticks. Much like the rest of the bugs he'd seen up until now, their carapaces were a bright red. Knox didn't know if that meant anything, but the only two off-color ones he'd seen seemed like important people.
These guys were just random soldiers.
The one in the middle was slightly taller than others, though. Clearly the leader.
"Well," Knox rasped, flashing bloody teeth. "If this is the part where you tell me I've been a very naughty boy, I'd like to request a safe word up front."
Silence.
'Tough crowd.'
Then the tall one finally stepped forward.
"You are fortunate, off-worlder. The Queen has decreed that you are not to be destroyed until I get the answers she seeks. Be grateful, for I would've slain you where you stand for that crass comment in any other circumstance."
Knox let the silence hang. His eyes, shadowed and ringed with bruises, just stared back. Then he leaned forward as much as the chains allowed.
And promptly snorted.
"Please," he mocked. "You couldn't kill me even if I just sat here for the next thousand years. Just because I can't use my Ki right now doesn't mean I'm as weak as your sorry ass."
A hiss ran through the chamber. The other bugs shifted, offended already, but the lead interrogator pressed closer.
"And don't start yapping at me," Knox cut him off before he could speak. "If you want me to talk, at least send in someone important. Like uh… what about that white one? He seemed pretty important. Yeah, send him in."
The chamber went still.
The interrogator's mandibles ground together sharply. "You dare speak of Queen Vanella the Eternal with such irreverence?"
"Her name is... Vanilla?" Knox purposefully acted dumb. "No, wait, that thing is female?! And the Queen of this whole planet? Damn, she's got one ugly face for a woman."
'Not that I can tell who is attractive amongst bug people-'
The butt of one of their staves cracked against his side, causing him to guard himself with his Ki. A pulse of electricity surged down the chains, searing through his muscles.
Knox hissed, his body jerking in place.
ZZZZZT!
[Electricity Resistance F] skill acquired!
Through repeated surges of searing current, your nerves have learned to disperse the voltage before it can influence your body.
+1 BODY multiplier for acquiring a physical skill.
Then he sagged once more, chuckling under his breath. 'Oh, great. I was starting to think that sort of skill was impossible.'
"Is that supposed to hurt? I literally just got punted across a city by the bug version of Wonder Woman and you think a little zap's gonna make me cry?"
The interrogator hissed at his mockery once more, raised his staff, and was about to strike again-
"That is enough."
The voice cut through the chamber, cold and resonant.
The bugs froze instantly, mandibles clattering in unison. They dropped into bows so deep their antennae scraped the floor.
A new figure stepped through the door, white carapace gleaming like marble under the light. Composed, every subtle movement seemed deliberate as she regarded him with cold compound eyes.
The Queen had arrived.