Hercules fell to one knee as he clutched the hole in his abdomen, leaking golden blood all the while. He had a wry smile on his face, unable to believe that after such a great and illustrious life, that it would be here that he was going to die.
However, the raised cannons and nozzles that had been charging up beams to finish him off began to dim following the roar of Theseus.
"We surrender!"
The face of Hercules cramped as he heard this, but he sighed in the end. As stubborn as he might be, part of him realized that this might be the best outcome.
With that, the Great Hero collapsed into unconsciousness.
.......
Achilles was gazing at the stump of his leg that was still bleeding profusely until now.
Rather than scared or in pain, he was utterly confused. For him, this outcome was utterly incomprehensible defying every bit of common sense.
He made no moves to stifle his blood, still locked in that state of shock, but he soon began to weaken as the energy of life left him.
It didn't matter whether you were God, Demi-God, True Lord, or mere mortal, losing the essence of your body that kept it running would lead to death.
The blood loss snapped eventually out of his stupor, but it was already too late... or so he thought.
"We surrender!"
Achilles smiled weakly, his consciousness already too far gone to recognize who this voice had belonged to him. He closed his eyes, succumbing to the darkness that beckoned him, prepared to never open them again.
......….
Pyrrha was exhausted as she sat on the ground while panting. The robots around her had made no moves to pressure her further, allowing the Demi-Goddess to rest.
Having calmed herself, her panic had ended. As she looked around she finally registered the state of the other four, making her heart sank. She sighed and addressed one of the robots.
"Hey, can you please not kill us? It might cause you more trouble later on." Pyrrha informed it softly, unaware if they were even capable of understanding her language.
Unbeknownst to her, this request had ensured that Medea had only been knocked out instead of outright killed, as the Miranda AI subroutine had analyzed her to be the likely instigator and most deserving of death.
Pyrrha got escorted towards a large tank that looked like it could transport personnel. She had watched as Hercules, Medea and Achilles had been unceremoniously tossed in after having their lives preserved.
Theseus and herself, as the two that had been deemed the most likely to cooperate, got bound by their arms and escorted within, yet had been allowed to remain conscious.
They shared a sad look and complied with the arrest before being led away quickly by the Miranda AI subroutine.
.........….
Darius Stone was currently seated at a desk within the Portable House, writing some things down while thinking. He was communicating with the main Miranda AI continuously all this while, working together to lessen the workload.
Suddenly, Darius paused as he raised his head up with a smile of interest.
Oh?
He felt that whatever warning his Spiritual Senses had been conveying all this while to stay off Pokterr had disappeared just now.
If he wanted to he could freely return to the continent whenever he wished to continue his purge of the Insects.
Darius smiled and closed his book, returning it to his Inventory. He then stood up and exited his room only to see Gunner and Xela patiently waiting for him.
They too had sensed the change and were waiting for their master to decide on whether they would stay or go back to finishing their Quest.
Darius smiled when he saw them, and noticed that they were ready to go. As such, he escorted them outside the Portable House and retracted it.
Outside, there were already the foundations of a metal base that was still bare as only the processing and production facilities had been established so far. However, many Builderbots were moving about, adding more to the base in real-time.
This was Miranda's first starting point, and she would easily be able to continue to the rest of Ludo in due time.
It would not be as fast as Pokterr because there was still life on Ludo and Miranda had to remain secretive for now, but that was even better.
Miranda left another child AI here, but this was given much more resources since the operation required more than just the usual AI rigidity, also needing some flexibility here and there.
Darius then placed a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array down and used it to return to Pokterr immediately. He had decided to put his new element discovery as well as the Test of Mettle on hold.
The group disappeared in a flash of yellow light as they left Ludo and entered Pokterr from the main base.
The moment they coalesced, they were able to see a huge amount of robots bolting overusing electromagnetic movement, guarding a large Transport Carrier in the center.
The trio curiously watched this happen, wondering exactly what was going on. Miranda used this time to recall the subroutine and digest everything it had done in this time.
When she opened her eyes, they were wide as saucers, filled with surprise that was neither pleasant nor the opposite.
She quickly sent the information she had acquired to the mind of Darius and his two Branded Servants.
By the time the trio had digested it, the transport had already been brought before them and opened to reveal the Five Demi-Gods.
Theseus and Pyrrha turned to gaze at the trio, their faces greatly changing once they felt their auras and took in their looks. With some quick processing, they could tell that these were the three that the Gods had wanted investigated, the ones suspected to be helping the Insects!
At this time, Darius opened his eyes and gazed at the five with an unreadable expression. He smirked and began laughing lightly, finding the whole thing rather amusing.
Neither Theseus nor Pyrrha interrupted him, just watching him quietly, wondering what their fates would be.
"I have always wanted to know more about the Fake Lords of Elysium, their power, their essence, and their truth. I have created hundreds of intricate plans for this purpose, but all of them needed me to become at least an Adept first." Darius began musing with a smile.
"However, never did I think that five perfectly good test subjects would literally walk into my hands. Not any bunch too, The Greatest Hero, The Minotaur Killer, The Gentle Goddess, The Witch Queen, and the Invincible Hero." Darius stated while folding his arms behind his back.
"If I could have gotten Cadmus, Bellerophon, Jason, Odysseus, and Bacchus as well, I would be set. However, this is already an unexpected boon, it's not too good to ask for more." Darius finished while shaking his head.
He then gazed at the two conscious Demi-Gods whose expression had changed greatly after hearing him speak. He snapped his fingers and commanded:
"Miranda, take them to a special area where you can use Source Energy to suppress Divine Energy. When they all come to, let me know."
Before any of the conscious Demi-Gods could speak up, the door got closed on them and they got taken to another part of the base. Darius simply watched it go with a calm expression.
Xela suddenly said. "I kinda like that Pyrrha. She seems nice."
Darius thought back to the famous Greek Mythology of Earth and agreed. "She's the only one I would consider non-threatening. Achilles and Hercules are only a mild problem."
Darius' expression became serious. "Theseus though, might be a slight problem."
Gunner grunted with disapproval. "Him? He is barely as strong as me if I activate Earth's Guardian."
Darius nodded and patted Gunner's shoulder. "That's true. But let me ask you this Gunner, would you like to face me as an enemy?"
Gunner paused and a drop of sweat appeared on his brow as his mind played out a mock battle against the other.
"N-No…"
Darius chuckled at the large lad's honest reaction. "Well, Theseus is basically similar to myself, yet he has lived a few thousand years longer."
This made both Gunner and Xela shiver as they remembered the handsome face of Theseus and his docile behavior. When they looked at him with the same lens they used to look at Darius, his docile actions changed and looked like something hidden behind a great plan.
Darius was amused as their thoughts were likely true.
Pyrrha had surrendered likely because she didn't like fighting and didn't want to cause more trouble. On the other hand, Theseus must have surrendered because that had been the wisest choice at the time, but with every second that passed, that formidable mind was surely formulating plans to escape or gather as much information as he could before such an attempt.
Xela hummed with curiosity. "And what about the last one? That witch?"
Darius's smile disappeared as his face became grim. "She is the most dangerous of them all, and if I did not need her essence, I would kill her immediately."
Xela was shocked by this. "Isn't she the weakest of them?"
Darius sighed. "She is, but is also the most dangerous. Her danger comes not from her power, but from her cruelty and madness. She is the embodiment of relentless vengeance, and giving her an inch would be giving her a mile to cause you and those you love harm."
Unsurprisingly, Darius reached the same evaluation towards Medea that Theseus had all those millennia ago, which was why the Great Hero had assassinated her.
