WebNovels

Chapter 13 - Unchained at Last (5.1)

Queen Vanella did not often find herself speechless.

But as she stood in the silence of the chamber, the buffoon's words ringing through her mind, she realized she had no response.

'Prisoners who deserve to die?'

It was absurd. Insolent, even. This... this brute had revealed nothing of strategic value to her people, only vague warnings and mockery. She'd thought he was stringing her along out of some greater purpose. 

But no. He was just a dullard, clinging to scraps of control with a fool's grin.

And yet, instead of begging for mercy or threatening her with hollow boasts… he asked for executions?

Bound in humming chains, bruised bloodied, yet grinning like a mad beast.

He was clearly not the brightest mind, yet even he shouldn't have looked so pleased in his circumstances. His smile irritated her to no ends, as if he somehow knew something she did not.

As if the entire world was already in the palm of his hands.

For a moment, staring at that damnable face, she so desperately wanted to shut down whatever he was thinking of and simply walk out. To cut down any hopes or schemes and sentence him to rot in this cell.

But if his information, as sparse as it was, held any hint of truth...

The weight of her crown had always pressed heavily on her shoulders, but only now did she ever hesitate in indulging that feeling. For every life, from the innocent to the corrupt, depended on her choices.

And, as frustrating as it was, she could not allow mere irritation to blind her to opportunity.

"...Indeed," She answered quietly. "Murderers, terrorists, heretics against the crown. There are indeed prisoners with already ordained deaths."

His smile widened, blood staining his teeth. "Perfect. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

His satisfaction rankled her, but before she could demand clarification, he tilted his head once more and added another remark.

"I guess I'll need to get patched up too. Got any way to get me back to full strength quickly? Like a healing pod, or a magic elixir, or..."

Her antennae stiffened. 'Does he take me for a fool? He is clearly plotting some form of escape-'

"Nope," Knox suddenly cut in, as if he could hear her thoughts. "Whatever you're thinking isn't it. Just indulge me for a bit? I promise it'll make sense."

She ground her mandibles together with that statement, but eventually let out a sigh.

"Fine," Vanella relented. "The answer is... no. Your biology is, obviously, alien to us. I doubt our current technology could bring you to full recovery, but a doctor may be able to restore you to combat readiness."

Knox nodded. "Fair enough, I expected as much."

Silence lingered for only a single heartbeat. Because the next words that casually came out of Knox's mouth made Vanella seriously consider if she were going mad.

"Now, I need you to release me."

Her entire body stiffened in open offense.

He barreled on, utterly unfazed by the venom in her glare. "You patch me up, let me stretch my legs, and I'll fight on your side. Hell, I'll deal with the whole invasion myself if you just free me."

For a moment, Queen Vanella thought she had misheard him. Release him? Ally with him?

The audacity. The sheer arrogance.

Her claws flexed, the only outward sign of the storm brewing within her. This wretch sat before her in chains, battered and bleeding, and yet spoke as though she was the one bound and helpless. As though her empire existed only to barter for his service.

However…

On the other hand, she had to think about this pragmatically.

There had been no falsehood in his earlier words. Years of politics had sharpened her eye for deceit to a science and she knew he had not lied to her. So while she didn't appreciate his lack of knowledge, it was obvious that was really all he knew.

Furthermore, he had managed to fight Marzette to a standstill, and were it not for her own interventions, he would have won.

Sure, the beginning of the fight had seemed to be in her favor, but his ability to adapt to his opponent was unlike anything she'd ever seen.

If such a creature truly could be turned to her side… 

She forced her mandibles still. She could not allow her thoughts to show.

"…You ask much," she said coldly, her voice carrying the weight of her throne. "You presume even more."

Knox slowly blinked. "I'm on an alien planet in chains. Audacity is sort of a given."

"Tell me then, why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't," he agreed. "Honestly, if I were you? I wouldn't trust me at all."

Her antennae twitched, sharp with irritation. "Then you admit your words are empty."

"No," Knox rasped, leaning closer. "I'm saying you need to see this from my perspective."

"Elaborate," she demanded.

Knox drew a slow breath, his head tipping back until it thumped softly against the wall.

"Alright. Cards on the table. I've only got three real ways out of this mess."

"Option one: I sit tight here, chained up, and wait for my old slave masters to come find me."

Queen Vanella let out a sharp, almost amused click. "That will not happen. If what you say of them is true, then even if they eradicated us they would not scour the ruins for a random slave. You are disposable to them."

Knox actually chuckled at that, though the sound came out rough. "Yeah. I figured that already."

"Option two," he went on, "I try and ally with your lot. If I succeed I get to be free and I should already be strong enough to deal with the incoming invasion. I'll just kill all of those idiots up there, steal their ship, and go back home."

Her antennae flickered, betraying faint intrigue despite herself. "And the third option?"

For the first time, Knox didn't answer right away. His grin faltered into something quieter than dumb confidence.

"You said three," she pressed, her mandibles clicking faintly as if savoring the correction. "You have listed only two. Either you lied, or you are a fool who cannot count."

It was only a teasing statement, one similar to the various mockeries he had already thrown himself.

Yet...

His eyes slowly dimmed to being half-lidded, and when he spoke, his voice was low and even as if he was talking only to himself.

Something deeply wrong had just occurred. And it filled her with a sense of unease.

"...There are certain people in this universe who are born... better. Mutants, my people called them. Freaks of nature who come out the womb already towering over the rest with abilities far outside of the norm."

She hesitated, then spoke. "And you are one of these mutants, I take it?"

Knox's dry laugh was fake. "Nah, I'm the opposite. My power was weaker than even a newborn infant. But in return for this injustice, nature decided to bless me with... something else."

He leaned forward in his chains, eyes catching the faint glow of the room's lights. "Adaptation. Every bit of damage my body takes, every new technique I pick up, every moment I spend just simply existing. It all makes me stronger, little by little.

"In exchange for my weakness, I am limitless."

Queen Vanella felt the faintest chill creep along her carapace, though she kept her posture rigid. "…And what, exactly, is the point of this rambling?"

Knox's grin had entirely vanished at that point. His expression hollowed into a blank slate, lacking any of his earlier bravado or mockery. 

Only a terrifying stillness.

A black‑red energy unfurled from his body in a slow, suffocating wave, crawling up the walls, pressing into the chamber until the air itself felt heavy. The humming chains buzzed violently, sparks leaping as they strained to contain the surge.

When he spoke, his voice was dead calm.

"The point is… if I wanted to, right now, I could break these toys, walk out that door, and kill every last living being on and around this planet."

His eyes fixed on hers, unblinking.

"And it would be so… easy."

Queen Vanella felt the weight of the darkness pressing in as Knox's aura thickened the air around them. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, to go screaming as far as she could from the thing in front of her.

Yet, she straightened, forcing her mandibles to clamp shut the tremor in her voice. To turn away would be to show weakness. To show weakness would mean death.

"I…" She held back a shudder. "I would prefer the second option, if you wouldn't mind."

Slowly, Knox's energy withdrew, the oppressive black-red wave receding back into his body as the chains' sparks dimmed to a dull hum.

He chuckled jovially. "Yeah, me too."

But the chuckle quickly turned low and solemn, as if some terrible truth was weighing upon him.

"Me too," She barely heard him repeat to himself.

It was at that moment that all the pieces finally came together. The reason why his grins unnerved her, why his insolence rattled her, why even his silence felt mocking.

He was not simply a prisoner. Nor merely an alien slave.

Queen Vanella the Eternal had unceremoniously allied her people with a monster.

More Chapters