Boom!
An explosion resounded as time and space became wonky, resulting in Mystique being sent flying.
"Kahahaha!" Suddenly, despite getting punched, Mystique broke into laughter and exploded into a sea of insects that were capable of devouring even space and time.
Their appearance caused all three other entities within the Core Skill Manifestation to pale in fright as they hurriedly unleashed all their abilities to kill the swarm.
Guoong!
Technocraft held a tiny finger-sized gun in his hand, turning around to stare at the approaching swarm of insects as he pressed the trigger, unleashing a plasma beam that was millions of kilometres wide, slamming a good portion of the swarm.
Tch!
He clicked his tongue upon noticing that half of the swarm within the blast radius had survived, "They are tough."
"Aieee!" One of the insects somehow managed to evade all attacks as it landed on his arm, piercing its stinger through his skin as it injected something.
Splat!
Technocraft splattered the insect as he stared at his hand in a hurry, noticing that it was rotting in response to the pierced region. He concentrated on the spot, observing that using him as a doorway, the poison had infiltrated one of the universes under him.
This was the universe funnelling strength to that portion of his body, so when he was affected there, the poison seeped into the universe.
Roar!
Once it arrived at the universe, the poison found a massive lifeless planet and seeped into it, fusing into it immediately. Following that, thumping sounds resounded from it, akin to a heartbeat.
Kieee!
The ground protruded as a few seconds later, the mud slid to reveal a grotesque insect spanning a couple of kilometres in length. It let out a screeching sound before taking flight. It didn't have wings, but strange appendages similar to the engines of rockets.
They unleashed a formless thrust that allowed it to soar through the skies, reaching space in a matter of seconds. The insect looked around as slowly, the colour of the thrusters changed, causing the space around it to fluctuate before its figure vanished.
It had warped!
The creature had absorbed part of the foundation of Technocraft, the laws that formed the planet it had fused with. Thanks to that, it obtained some of the nature of the place, especially the biological thrusters and warping capabilities.
The insect warped to another part of the universe, appearing next to a spacecraft travelling at light speed towards its destination.
"What is that?" The scouters within the spaceship were alarmed at its sudden appearance, "We're travelling at light speed though!"
"All hands on deck, prepare the rail guns!" The captain of the spaceship announced calmly, controlling his nervousness as he watched the rail guns come into action and target the insect, blasting it away.
He immediately ordered them to stop the light-speed travel to minimise damage and targeted the insect, flashing around it from all directions as it was bombarded to the extreme and killed in a matter of minutes.
"Victory!" The people in the spacecraft cheered as they immediately sent out drones to capture the splattered body parts of the insect.
"Dump them into the spectral generator. We'll obtain precious genetic material for our evolution from this." The captain announced in response, breaking into a grin, one that morphed into shock minutes later, "T-This is…?"
The genetic material they created was beyond valuable, so valuable that a single serum amounted to as much value as a planet, causing him to mutter, "I would be beyond rich…"
He took a serum and stabbed it into himself, "I won't hesitate anymore. With this, I'll finally become a transcendent…"
Gah!
He screamed in pain, with veins popping all over his body as his organs ruptured in response, causing fear to form on his face as his body exploded. But a few seconds later, a single cell pulsed with power amid the organic mess, gradually growing in size as it pulsed like a heart, eventually pulsating to become a heart.
Following that, bones, muscles, organs, the brain, everything was built around it, eventually resulting in the captain forming a whole body, "That was intense!"
He stared at himself, sensing the voluminous power coursing through him, "I see, I can now warp through space on my own."
He immediately noticed something else, "It seems I'm not strong enough to warp long distances yet. I would need to train and bring this power under control."
"Captain, are you alright?" One of the soldiers arrived before him to ask in concern.
"Yes," The captain nodded when suddenly, his hand flashed and stabbed the soldier with another serum, watching him writhe around in pain before his body exploded.
But unlike him, the soldier failed, for his body failed to reform, "It seems not everyone can inherit this power. Anyhow,"
He stared beyond the spacecraft, into the depths of the void, "Things have gotten interesting."
What?
The insect that had injected the poison in Technocraft stared in shock that its power not only failed to wreck damage but instead ended up becoming a tonic to fuel the growth of the respective universe.
While it was still reeling from shock, Technocraft swatted it dead, sighing as he said, "You think my worlds would be destroyed by such small quantities? Don't underestimate my maniac inhabitants."
He then thought, 'That was dangerous. If more than three insects had injected poison into the same universe, the effects would be beyond what the natives could handle. It would result in that universe getting destroyed by the swarm.'
"I should be careful against them." Muttering as such, Technocraft continued firing against the swarm of insects, observing through the corner of his eye at the figures of the Reincarnation and Transmigration Systems that were only jumping around from one place to another, manipulating space and time as they saw fit to avoid a confrontation, "These fuckers are truly planning to extremise Mystique's bombastic tendencies."
A minute later, the collective consciousness in Mystique changed as the swarm of insects vanished. Immediately after, a figure appeared, one that expressed frustration. It was a conservative collective consciousness that didn't wish to see his strength grow anymore.
Mystique turned around and headed straight towards the barrier of the Core Skill Manifestation and punched once, shocking the two Grade 4 Systems as he almost pierced through.
But a second later, just when Mystique punched a second time and created a path leading outside, right as he was about to leave, a leg arrived from outside and landed on his face, sending him reeling back in.
