"You did what?! You stole my servant!"
The voice in Roy's head rang out again, this time laced with frustration, confirming Roy's suspicion that whatever this thing was, it wasn't all that powerful—probably just bluffing.
"Relax, I'll bring your servant to you soon enough!"
After responding to the voice, Roy helped Arcee to her feet. Getting a unicycle upright wasn't exactly easy.
"I didn't catch your name. What's it?"
"Roy Blake. Just call me Roy."
"Roy, mind telling me how the superalloy barrel of my laser gun got snapped?"
"Uh, well, after I knocked you down, you were still squirming, so I had to break it. No lasting damage, right?"
"No worries, it's fixable. Won't affect much."
Arcee led Roy back into the tunnel, guiding him toward the creature controlling her.
Soon, at the tunnel's end, Roy saw the self-proclaimed "Master"—a rare creature known as a Mind Flayer.
Also called an Illithid, it was a soulless extraplanar being, hermaphroditic and capable of reproducing independently.
Like Xenomorphs, their tadpole-like larvae needed to parasitize other creatures to mature.
But unlike Xenomorphs, which burst out of their hosts, Mind Flayer tadpoles transformed their hosts into Mind Flayers.
Their most infamous trait? Psychic powers.
Nearly every Mind Flayer was a master of psionics, able to control minds or unleash psychic blasts that could scare someone to death.
Arcee had likely been controlled by this Mind Flayer. Though she was a silicon-based lifeform, the fungal growths covering her had acted as a perfect remote control.
The demon at the 3,000-meter level had also been controlled by fungal threads—probably this Mind Flayer's doing too.
Right now, the unlucky creature was bound by red fungi, completely immobile. But since Mind Flayers weren't normal beings, unlike most demons, the fungi couldn't kill it. Instead, the connection between the fungi and its spores caused some kind of mutation.
Though it couldn't move, its psychic abilities seemed enhanced, able to affect minds from a distance.
Only Roy's 99 Willpower attribute let him shrug off its influence.
"Impossible! You're ignoring my psychic suggestions!"
The Mind Flayer stared at Roy in shock. It had been bombarding him with psychic attacks, but Roy strolled up to it unfazed.
"You mean that voice-in-my-head trick? Gotta say, it's pretty weak. Not even a little exciting."
Roy had faced the charms of the Lust King. Compared to that, the Mind Flayer's mental whispers were like plain broth—boring.
At least throw in some spice!
Wait, with a face like that, any "spicy" tricks would probably make Roy's sanity plummet just thinking about it!
The Mind Flayer realized it was dealing with a tough opponent but still tried to fight back, commanding the surrounding fungi to attack Roy.
Roy transformed the Leviathan Axe into a spinning blade and activated his newly acquired rune.
(Forgot to mention earlier, so here's the catch-up.)
After killing the Alien Queen, Roy had earned a new rune, again with a three-option choice. He hadn't picked one at the time, only choosing it after reaching the Russian base.
All were tied to the Alien Queen.
[Acidic: This rune imbues the Leviathan Axe with corrosive acid damage, significantly reducing enemy defenses.]
This came from the Xenomorphs' acidic blood, capable of melting steel.
[Assassin: This rune enhances the wielder's stealth, making them undetectable by various means.]
Pure Assassin's Creed vibes. Xenomorphs were stealthy, but compared to Roy's Deception Space, which carried some risks, this rune wasn't worth considering.
[Chitin: This rune grants the wielder a hard carapace to protect vital areas during combat.]
This would let Roy sprout a Xenomorph-like shell for protection. But his 141 Constitution was already tough enough—if that couldn't take a hit, a shell wouldn't help much.
Plus, growing a carapace? That'd ruin his image.
Roy was an idol-type, after all. Looks mattered.
So, he picked Acidic. The other two were too niche and overlapped with his existing abilities.
He hurled the spinning blade, now glowing with eerie green light thanks to the Acidic rune, whirling around him and Arcee.
Fungi touched by the blade dissolved almost instantly, corroding in large patches.
Joking aside, Xenomorph acid could melt steel—fungi didn't stand a chance.
No matter how special these fungi were, they were still carbon-based.
The Mind Flayer watched in horror as the blade mowed through the fungi like a scythe through wheat. It unleashed its full psychic power on Roy.
Mid-control, Roy's vision went black, his head feeling like it'd been stabbed with a nail.
The pain made him lose control, and the spinning blade clattered to the ground.
Without it, the fungi surged toward Roy.
"Roy!"
Arcee shielded him with her body, protecting him from the fungi. As a silicon-based being, she wouldn't mutate as quickly if infected.
If Roy's protective suit tore, he'd be in trouble.
Luckily, the pain lasted only a moment. His 99 Willpower held firm.
Seeing the fungi closing in, Roy activated a power from the Wendigo King: Winter's Arrival.
Instantly, a blizzard erupted 6,000 meters underground, the cave's temperature plummeting.
The red fungi, highly sensitive to cold, had nearly reached Roy and Arcee but now recoiled.
No matter how the Mind Flayer tried to control them, the fungi's instincts kicked in—they couldn't handle the chill.
Roy had thought this ability was flashy but useless. Turns out, it was perfect against cold-fearing underground fungi, stealing the show.
The Mind Flayer, now fused with the fungi and sharing their traits, writhed in agony.
While other fungi could retreat into the rocks, the Mind Flayer had no such option. It begged Roy for mercy.
"Let me go! Human wizard, please spare me!"
"Go to hell!"
Roy threw the Leviathan Axe, obliterating the Mind Flayer's head, ending its life.
[The Leviathan Axe has slain a legendary creature. You may choose one rune enhancement.]
Surprisingly, the Mind Flayer was a legendary being too—no wonder its psychic powers were so strong.
Too bad it didn't drop a chest.
If it hadn't been ambushed by the red fungi upon arriving on Earth, killing it would've been trickier for Roy.
Another three-rune choice popped up, but now wasn't the time. Roy wanted to seal the spatial rift first.
The cave was complex, though, and finding the rift might take a while.
"Roy, why're you still here? Not heading back to the surface?"
"I'm looking for a spatial rift. It's gotta be sealed, or more weird stuff will keep coming through."
"A spatial rift? I can scan for it."
Roy blinked. "You can detect those, Arcee?"
"Of course! Cybertronians mastered wormhole travel ages ago. We know a ton about space!"
Roy's image of Transformers was stuck on their movie stereotypes. He'd forgotten Cybertron's tech far surpassed Earth's.
Thousands of years ago, Cybertronians were already spacefaring, likely outpacing even the Predators.
But as silicon-based beings, their tech was harder to reverse-engineer.
"Arcee, I'm counting on you."
"Leave it to me!"
A drone launched from Arcee's shoulder, rapidly scanning the cave.
Minutes later, she had results.
"Found it!"
Arcee led Roy deeper, where they found a strange crack.
It looked like someone had painted it on the stone wall—unreal, like two mismatched image layers forced together.
Roy had never seen a naturally occurring spatial rift. It felt almost magical.
If it weren't in such an awkward spot, he'd hide it and study it later.
"Arcee, have Cybertronians ever dealt with rifts like this?"
Arcee nodded, her voice heavy with sorrow.
"Yes. My homeworld had one once. Our scientists didn't realize how serious it was, studying where it led. It grew bigger, unstoppable, and unleashed horrific creatures that turned my kin into flesh demons. Cybertron fell.
"Optimus Prime and Megatron had to team up, leading survivors to find a new home in the cosmos."
Huh, that didn't match the stories Roy knew from his past life.
Wasn't Cybertron destroyed by the Autobot-Decepticon war?
Arcee's tone was so raw, it didn't sound fake.
"How come Bumblebee never mentioned this?"
"Bumblebee and we three sisters left Cybertron early, before it happened. I only learned about it later from Optimus. I haven't told Chromia or Elita."
Elita was the third sister.
"Don't be sad, Arcee. I'm sure you'll find a new home."
"I hope so."
Seeing her still down, Roy tried to change the subject.
"Arcee, what weapons do Cybertronians use to close these rifts?"
"Lots of weapons can close them, but most are for massive rifts—like two-dimensional foils or dimensional collapsers. Those are too destructive for a small rift like this."
Roy's vision darkened. He'd heard of those sci-fi weapons in his past life.
Use those, and the whole Earth might vanish—along with the rift.
"Anything safer, less overkill?"
"Maybe a gravity bomb. It destabilizes the rift's structure, letting it collapse naturally."
Great. Roy didn't have a gravity bomb either. That tech was way beyond him.
Time to think magic.
Recalling the Key of Solomon, Roy found a sealing array.
He had the materials in his inventory, and it wouldn't take long to seal the rift.
Arcee was amazed by magic's strangeness, a power she couldn't comprehend.
"Roy, how does this work? Sealing a rift with such little cost?"
"It's complicated, involving a ton of theories. But here's the gist: magic's ultimate goal is 'making wishes come true.'"
"Making wishes come true? Sounds simple!"
"It sounds simple, but it's insanely hard to pull off."
As they talked, Roy finished the array. The rift shrank to fist-sized, and he camouflaged it to avoid attention.
"That should do it."
"Roy, can we head back to the surface now?"
"Yeah, but your presence might cause a stir. I've got a spell to hide you, but you'll lose consciousness during it. You okay with that?"
Arcee nodded.
"You're Chromia's friend, so you're my friend. I'm willing to try!"