Intergalactic conquest with an AI

"Fuck you, kitty," he spoke slowly but loud enough for the primordial beast to hear. "I could beat your ass anytime and make you my pet if I wanted to."

His words echoed across the battlefield; they were raw and unpolished, filled with reckless confidence. For a heartbeat, silence followed. Even Gaia, radiant and composed as ever, tilted her head and pressed her lips together in mild embarrassment.

"…No, you cannot," she said softly while shaking her head, though her voice carried a faint trace of reluctant amusement.

But the tiger's reaction was nothing like hers.

Then came a deep booming laughter that cracked like thunder and rolled across the battlefield.

"Bahahaha! Foolish, reckless cub!" The beast roared, its voice ringing with wild delight. "Even if you are only a Tier Five, you are still a titan… and a titan with the heart of a beast! Good! Very good! Young one, I shall wait. One day, when you are strong enough, come and defeat me. Claim me as your prey if you dare!"

With that, the tiger turned away, its twin horns blazing with renewed fury as it threw itself back into the battle. Lightning and frost surged in unison, colliding with the fallen titan in a storm that shook the heavens.

"Sigh… that was reckless of you, young one." Gaia's tone carried both weariness and disappointment. Her voice rolled like a soft wave, yet it was heavy enough to press against Rex's chest.

"And that mouth of yours... such crude words do not suit a Titan. Leave that behavior to the brutish ones."

She turned fully toward him, her eyes gleaming with ancient light. "That explosive personality of yours must be tempered. To challenge a primordial beast when you are barely a planetary champion is not courage; it is suicide."

Her words hurt like a teacher's reprimand, stern yet strangely protective. She raised her hand, and from it, strands of green stellar energy flowed from her palm and wrapped gently around the silver titan.

"Even if I wished to shield you, it would be useless. A single trace... just a leftover echo of primordial stellar energy from one of our blows could erase you completely."

Gaia let out another long sigh, her breath carrying the scent of forests and life itself. Behind Rex, the air twisted, and a massive emerald portal bloomed open, swirling with light that looked like leaves caught in a timeless wind.

"Now then," she said at last, her voice softening, "off you go. I will speak to your mother later… and we will fix this attitude of yours."

Before Rex could even raise his voice in protest, she flicked her finger lightly. The portal pulled him in at once, along with everyone who had been near him, sweeping them away in a rush of green light.

From beginning to end, Rex had not even managed to say a proper greeting. His brief encounter with Gaia ended as abruptly as it had begun, with her nagging him like an elder scolding a child and then casting him aside.

A heartbeat later, the portal flared open again, spitting Rex and his companions out beside the Cleopatra, which hovered high above the battlefield. Far below, the ground shook from the clash of titans as the fallen one was dragged further away, roaring in hatred as the punitive force forced it into retreat.

But Gaia lingered for a moment, her thoughts unsettled.

{How did he resist my bloodline suppression? That should be impossible. Unless… unless he is not truly a Titan. But no, that cannot be. He carries my sister's energy signature. There is no mistake... he is of her blood. Then how?}

The question gnawed at her, but she finally closed her eyes and exhaled, shaking her head. {No… this is not the time for doubts. The battle still rages. I must focus. Later, I will find answers.}

Her gaze hardened, and her massive form turned toward the storm where the other titans and primordial beasts were locked in combat. With Gaia finally stepping forward to join the punitive force, the tide of the battle began to shift.

The fallen titan was being pressed harder than before, its roars echoing through the void as green roots of stellar energy bound its limbs and the horns of the black tiger cut through its flesh.

Yet even surrounded, the depraved colossus fought with maddened fury, and every minute that passed, the punitive force was pushed back inch by inch.

The moment Rex and the others stepped out of the glowing portal, the silver light of his Titan form faded away. His massive frame shrank back into his human body, and the instant his feet touched the ground, his knees buckled.

He almost collapsed then and there, but Little Red was quick enough to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Young Emperor, forgive me for taking such liberties," Little Red whispered into his ear. Her voice was soft and almost fragile, a stark contrast to the metallic weight of her body.

It was also obvious that she herself was at her limit. Her frame trembled as sparks flashed from open wounds, while streams of living metal leaked from the cracks in her armor-like body.

That living metal no longer pulsed with vitality but instead oozed like dull mercury, stripped of the mysterious properties that had made it alive. Even her eyes, once vibrant with power, flickered weakly as if her inner core was struggling to hold onto the smallest charge.

Despite her ruined state, her loyalty did not falter. She held Rex firmly in her arms and, with her broken hands, activated a dozen small scanners that spread soft beams of light across his body, searching for damage.

Her movements were clumsy and sluggish, but her intent was unwavering; she would still fulfill her duty as his guardian.

"Do not trouble yourself, Little Red," Rex muttered, his voice tired yet calm. "I am only drained of planetary energy. I pushed too much of it out at once, more than I should have. Give me an hour to recover, and I will be able to replenish enough to stand on my own again."

He tried to sound reassuring, but his pale complexion betrayed the truth. The planetary energy within him was not merely power; it was life itself.

To spend so much of it in such a short time was dangerous, leaving him hollow, as though his very soul had been scraped raw. Every breath was heavier than the last, and every muscle in his body begged for rest.

Before he could continue, the sound of footsteps approached. Valxir and his men stepped forward from the haze with their weapons still at hand. Their eyes were wary but also filled with questions.

Sensing danger, Little Red instantly shifted her stance, spreading her fractured wings around Rex like a living shield, her damaged frame sparking furiously in protest.

"It's alright, Little Red," Rex said while raising a weary hand. "They are not enemies. Yssera struck a bargain with them, and what you are about to see is the completion of that deal."

As if to prove his words, the stormy sky split open with the thunder of engines. Two transport ships descended from the clouds, their metallic hulls gleaming in the flashes of lightning.

One was large, its frame built for long voyages, while the other was smaller and more compact.

"There is your prize, gentlemen," Rex said, his voice steadier now, though exhaustion still weighed on him.

"The larger ship is yours. It carries wormhole technology strong enough to pull you out of this sector, just as promised."

"But once it serves its purpose, the core will trigger a self-destruction protocol. That safeguard exists to ensure none of our technology falls into the wrong hands. I trust you understand."

After hearing Rex's words, Valxir let out a low chuckle and shook his head. Slowly, he stepped closer, his boots crunching against the broken ground. When he stopped a few paces away, he extended his hand toward Rex; his expression remained surprisingly calm.

"Of course I understand." Valxir's voice was steady, though his eyes carried the glimmer of curiosity. "So, what do you say we share contacts? Who knows, perhaps one day I will rise to become the king of the mercenaries. If that happens, I could prove useful to you. What do you say?"

For a moment, his hand lingered in the air. The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the faint hum of the descending transports above them. Rex glanced at the extended hand, then let out a tired breath.

"Little Red," he murmured, "help me stand up. My legs feel like noodles right now…"

Obedient as ever, though her body sparked and groaned with every movement, Little Red carefully lifted Rex to his feet. Supported by her, he reached out and clasped Valxir's hand with a firm grip.

In that brief moment, something unspoken passed between them, not friendship, but a strange respect forged in the fire of war. Their devices exchanged contacts, sealing the end of this unexpected partnership born from stranger circumstances.

With the matter settled, Rex and Little Red finally returned to the Cleopatra. Inside, the great war fortress felt almost peaceful compared to the battlefield outside.

Little Red wasted no time; her broken body could no longer hold, so she abandoned that ruined shell to transfer her core into a fresh body.

Meanwhile, Rex allowed a squad of imperial maid-bots to assist him. They hovered at his side, using a compact gravitational device to lift him gently off the ground, carrying him toward the fortress's command room.

The moment the automatic doors slid open, a familiar blur launched itself at him.

"Daaaarrrliiinggg～!"

Yssera practically tackled him, her arms and legs wrapping around him in a fierce embrace. The sudden weight pushed him off balance, and both of them toppled to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

"Ouch…" Rex winced, but a faint smile tugged at his lips as he rubbed Yssera's head. "Hey, Ys. Good to see you too."