And then — the two Predators were instantly slain.
Of course they were. Aedric's cultivation had already reached the ninth and final level of Postnatal Core Refinement, a realm where even the legendary Dongfang Bubai would have no choice but to die with eyes closed. How could two underage Predators possibly stand against that?
The only reason Aedric had bothered to conceal his true power earlier was twofold:
First, he wanted to test his weapons — to see if they could pierce Predator armor in a single blow.
Second, he needed the pair to lower their guard. After all, Predators were notorious for blowing themselves up when cornered. If either had managed to activate their wrist computers before dying, things could have gotten very messy.
Now, with two swift strikes, both colossal heads rolled free. The two alien bodies crashed heavily to the ground. Aedric snorted coldly, then calmly walked forward and stored both corpses and their equipment into his dimensional space.
Waste not, want not. Predator tech was priceless, and his space was more than large enough.
As for how to use their gear? That's what the System was for — one quick exchange back home, and he'd know everything.
Predator corpses were, after all, biological treasures — each a fusion of countless warrior DNA strands, carrying immense research potential. Their hybridization technology alone was worth more than worlds.
With the "No-Honor Duo" dealt with, Aedric turned back to the still-burning Alien Queen, frowning. She'd been roasting for nearly ten minutes and somehow wasn't dead yet.
Just as he was considering adding more fire, the Queen suddenly let out a piercing, ear-splitting shriek — so sharp that it almost made Aedric want to save her instead of finish her off. A jolt of alarm shot through him as he realized what was happening.
Damn it — she's calling the others for help!
Shoving aside the false empathy caused by his earlier possessions, Aedric immediately invoked his Shapeshifter authority, commanding all nearby Aliens not to come.
But his authority could never override the Queen's. No matter how many times he ordered them to stay put, the seven Aliens continued crawling toward her — only slightly slower.
There was no more time to waste.
Aedric sheathed the True Martial Sword and drew Blackfyre and Dark Sister, one in each hand. Relying on his Unburnt ability, he leapt directly onto the Queen's blazing body and plunged both swords down into her massive skull.
Once. Twice. Three times. Four.
The divine flames on both blades roared with every thrust. The Queen's acid blood hissed as it poured out — only to vaporize instantly under the heat, sparing the Predator-forged chains from harm.
No matter how the enormous creature thrashed, she couldn't escape the relentless rain of sword strikes.
After nearly a hundred furious stabs, the mighty Alien Queen finally shuddered, let out a final hiss, and died — not in glory, but in humiliation, skewered to death like an oversized bug.
Damn, you were one tough boss.
Wiping nonexistent sweat from his brow, Aedric examined his two burning swords. That's when he noticed something: Valyrian steel, for all its durability and resistance, lacked the sheer cutting power of top-tier martial-world blades. Against heavily armored, non-magical enemies like the Queen, it was just… slow work.
Of course, that was assuming those martial blades could withstand acid blood — which they couldn't.
Each had strengths and flaws. If only he could combine them. Right then and there, Aedric resolved that once he returned to the System's space, he would have it forge him a weapon that fused both worlds — the sharpness of martial blades, the toughness of Valyrian steel, and the divine flame's anti-magic power.
He had just made up his mind and jumped down from the Queen's still-burning corpse when the seven summoned Aliens finally arrived — late to the party.
Seeing them look around in confusion, Aedric sighed in relief. Good thing I killed her first. Otherwise, I'd be fighting all seven right now.
Not that he feared them, but he still needed those Aliens alive to hunt down every last facehugger in the pyramid. He wasn't about to spend hours playing bug exterminator himself.
With the Queen dead, Aedric's Shapeshifter authority now ranked supreme. The seven Aliens, recognizing him as their new master, immediately turned and charged off to eliminate every last facehugger in the temple.
Not a single one can be allowed to reach the surface, he thought. Even one escape means mission failure.
Still, even with seven of them, he wasn't reassured. Better go block the exit myself, he decided. No telling if one of those things might slip by.
But just as he was pondering that, a sudden, blade-sharp pain stabbed through his skull. He gasped, instantly realizing what it meant — one of the seven Aliens had been killed.
Scarface. The strongest of the three young Predators — the one who had once fought the Queen herself. Against him, ordinary Aliens never stood a chance.
Luckily, Aedric had only divided one-seventh of his consciousness into each Alien. If he'd projected his full awareness into one, he'd be a wreck right now — vomiting blood, maybe worse.
The death feedback from a Shapeshifter link was no joke.
He quickly withdrew his awareness from the remaining six Aliens but, before cutting the connection completely, sent them one final command: Find Scarface. Capture him alive.
Then, despite the throbbing pain in his skull, Aedric cast Blink, reappearing in an instant at the tunnel's main exit — the only passage to the surface.
He had to guard it personally. No Alien could be allowed to escape — not even Scarface himself.
After all, who knew whether he had already been infected by a facehugger? Aedric wasn't about to take that risk.
Finally, he split off a sliver of his mind again, linking to the Alien farthest from Scarface. Through its eyes, he watched the battle unfold.
Five Aliens encircled Scarface, who stood tall and unyielding among them. Even under orders to capture, not kill, they attacked fiercely — but the Predator was a monster.
In moments, four of the Aliens lay dead. The fifth managed to strike a desperate blow, wounding Scarface gravely. He fell, unable to rise again.
Not bad, Aedric thought grimly. The strongest one indeed — those two cowards combined couldn't match him.
And then, realizing he was finished, Scarface activated his wrist computer.
He was going to blow up the entire pyramid.
~~--------------------------
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