Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Lyra leapt out of cover, her eyes blazing with determination as she charged at the golem. The golem immediately retaliated, releasing a barrage of lightning bolts in her direction. Your journey continues on empire

She weaved through the corridor, dodging most of the attacks with amazing agility, though the close proximity of the strikes left the air around her crackling with static.

Her twin pistols fired relentlessly, filling the space with the sharp cracks of gunfire. While most of her shots missed their mark, a few found their target, striking different parts of the golem's crystalline body.

The armor-piercing rounds burrowed a few centimeters into its structure before detonating, creating larger cracks and deeper holes in its once-impenetrable form.

The golem faltered slightly but continued its advance, undeterred by the damage. Lyra grinned despite herself. "Oh, what's wrong? Feeling the heat yet?" She taunted, her voice laced with adrenaline as she closed the distance.

When she was finally within a few meters, Lyra summoned her bloody nanomaterial tentacles once more, the crimson tendrils lashing out and coiling around the golem's arms and legs. The golem raised its fists to punch the tentacles away, but Lyra was faster this time, manipulating the tentacles to bind the golem in place.

"Haha! Gotcha now!" Lyra shouted, her grin widening. The golem struggled against the tentacles, its movements jerky and erratic as it tried to break free. "Now what? Weren't you all high and mighty a second ago? Try to free yourself from this, you shiny bastard!"

But as the words left her lips, the golem's glowing blue eyes locked onto hers. It didn't struggle this time. Instead, its remaining blue crystal flared with a brilliant, blinding light with the intensity of a miniature sun.

"What the hell—?" Lyra muttered, her confidence flickering.

Then, without warning, one of the golem's shoulder crystals shattered into hundreds of pieces, sending shards flying in every direction. The instant the crystal broke, an enormous discharge of electricity erupted from its body, the power radiating outward in an explosive wave.

The surge hit Lyra point blank.

"Aghhh!" she screamed as the shockwave tore through her tentacles, shattering them into useless fragments of nanomaterial. The force sent her flying backward like a ragdoll, her body slamming into the cold metallic floor with a sickening thud.

The attack carried the raw power of a Tier 3 entity, and for Lyra, who was only at Tier 2, it was devastating. Her power armor was left in shambles, pieces of it broken and sparking, exposing parts of her body.

Blood streamed down her face from cuts and ruptured vessels, the coppery taste filling her mouth as she lay sprawled on the ground, smoke rising faintly from her damaged suit.

"Cough... cough... haaa..." Lyra wheezed while blood dripped from her lips as she struggled to breathe. Her chest heaved with shallow, labored breaths, and her vision blurred as she tried to lift herself off the floor.

Her arms trembled as she pushed against the ground, but they gave out almost immediately, her strength completely drained. Before she could attempt again, another lightning strike hit her square in the back, forcing a strangled scream from her lips as she collapsed once more.

"Guh—STOP!" She tried to shout, but her voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

A second bolt struck her, followed by another. Each strike was weaker than the last due to the golem's diminished energy reserves, but it didn't matter. Lyra's body couldn't take any more. She couldn't even feel her limbs anymore; her nerves were fried, her consciousness barely hanging on by a thread.

On the other hand, the golem, now reduced to a Tier 2 peak power level due to the crystal explosion, was still in better condition than Lyra or Gustav. Its body showed visible cracks, and its movements were slower, but it was far from defeated.

The golem hovered slowly toward Lyra's motionless form, its glowing red eyes cold and calculating. It stared down at her for a moment, as if savoring its imminent victory, before raising its arm.

The remaining crystal on its shoulder began to glow again, albeit sluggishly, as it charged up one final shot aimed directly at Lyra's head.

This was it. The fight was over. The golem knew it, and so did Lyra. Her foe loomed above her, its form flickering slightly from the strain of battle, but its power was still enough to finish her off.

The crystal on the golem's shoulder began to pulse, the energy building to a crescendo. It was ready to claim its prize, the life of its opponent.

But before the shot could fire, a deafening roar erupted from the side.

The next instant, Gustav crashed into the golem like a cannonball, tackling it with enough force to send both of them flying across the corridor. The charged lightning blast fired harmlessly into the ceiling, the bolt tearing through the metal above and scattering debris onto the floor.

Gustav growled ferociously, his claws digging into the golem's shoulders as he pinned it to the ground. Sparks of electricity coursed through his body, his muscles twitching from the residual shocks, but he didn't let go.

"Get up, you useless bitch!" Gustav snarled; his voice was a mixture of pain and rage. His sharp blue eyes locked onto Lyra, who lay crumpled on the ground. "I know you're still alive! Get up and LEAVE! I'll keep this bastard busy!"

The golem thrashed beneath him, its crystalline limbs struggling to break free as it charged its remaining energy. Gustav roared again, slamming the creature's head into the floor repeatedly, trying to buy Lyra whatever time she had left.

Lyra's vision swam while her ears rang from the earlier blasts. But hearing Gustav's words cut through the haze like a blade. She coughed again, tasting blood, but forced her head to turn toward him.

"Gustav…" she muttered weakly, her voice barely audible.

"DON'T JUST LIE THERE!" He roared, his voice strained as the golem began to overpower him. "GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"

Despite her body screaming in protest, Lyra gritted her teeth and forced her trembling hand to grip the ground. She knew Gustav wouldn't last much longer. And she couldn't let him die after he was trying to save her.

Lyra, with great effort, managed to roll onto her back, her battered body screaming in protest. Her hands trembled as she reached toward a compartment on her armor's leg. She pressed the button, and the compartment hissed open slowly, revealing a small bag of shimmering golden blood.

The sight of the blood brought a faint smile to her bloodied lips. "Heh... thanks for warming it," she muttered weakly, the heat from the golem's earlier lightning attacks having warmed the bag to the perfect temperature.

There was no time to savor it, no time to relish her favorite drink. With no hesitation, Lyra bared her sharp fangs and sank them into the blood bag, sucking down its contents as fast as her body would allow.

Rex's blood, golden, intoxicating, and impossibly potent, hit her system like a surge of raw energy. Normally, the twins drink this blood in the privacy of their heavily reinforced room, taking their time to indulge in its effects.

The blood was not just sustenance for them; it was an aphrodisiac, a genetic awakener, and an enhancer that pushed their bloodline abilities to their absolute limit.

This overwhelming power came at a cost. The twins bodies would enter a berserk state after consuming Rex's blood, their primal instincts overtaking their rationality. Cleo, ever practical, had designed their room like a high-security prison for the galaxy's worst psychopaths, using the strongest metals she could obtain.

Every time they drank, Cleo would simply toss them into the room to fight each other until exhaustion overtook them.

But now, Lyra didn't have the luxury of a safe space to lose control.

As the golden blood coursed through her veins, her face flushed bright red, and small, involuntary moans escaped her lips. Her crimson eyes slowly shifted, becoming a mesmerizing silver hue that glowed faintly in the dim light. Her silver hair began to emit a soft white light, the glow spreading across her entire body like a radiant aura.

Meanwhile, Gustav, still on the ground after being flung across the room by another lightning strike, groaned in pain. His vision blurred, and his body refused to move. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he saw Lyra crouching next to him, her glowing form practically radiating madness.

"Are you tired already, little kitty?" Lyra teased while poking Gustav's cheek with childlike playfulness. Her silver eyes sparkled with unhinged energy as she tilted her head, her lips curling into a mischievous grin. "Do you want some catnip? Oh, wait… never mind. That's super illegal in the galaxy. Sorry for mentioning it."

Gustav's eyes widened as he took in her transformed appearance, his lips curling into a faint smirk despite his pain. "Ha… I was right. You really are one crazy bitch," he muttered before his head dropped to the side, unconscious.

Lyra blinked, staring at him for a moment before pouting. "Oh! How rude! I was even trying to get you a nice treat, and you call me a bitch? Bad kitty..." She poked his cheek again. "Hey, kitty, did you die? … Can I eat you?"

Before she could continue her antics, a sharp crack of electricity broke through her thoughts. The golem, battered but still functioning, fired another lightning bolt directly at her.

Without even thinking, Lyra's body reacted. In an instant, a pair of massive white bat-like wings erupted from her back, their glowing surfaces shimmering as they blocked the lightning bolt effortlessly. The attack dissipated against the wings, the energy scattering harmlessly around her.