Chapter 202: Subversion (1/2)
This voice sounded smug in the worst kind of way. The Hybrid attempted eating me multiple times, killed the entire facility, and was draining Emagrotha for power. The sheer level of narcissism necessary to question the necessity of this fight was staggering.
So staggering, in fact, that I didn't miss a beat as I boomed my voice like a hammer,
”Oh, it's absolutely necessary.”
The Hybrid gained some measure of control over its movements, a different mind controlling it. It ducked and dodged a few of my attacks, attempting to retaliate. These were the desperate moves of a beginner, however. He threw himself off balance when he avoided my strikes, making his own counterattacks mute.
After a quick adjustment, I nailed him with three consecutive strikes before Torix nailed his palm with a spear. The voice wailed out, ”Allow me to explain. I was the leader-”
I smashed his face with my fist. He pulled himself from the wall, getting distance from me,
”The leader of this facility. I was attempting to prevent the creation of the Hybrid. I was doing everything in my power to stop them.”
I melted a portion of the floor, the Hybrid's foot dipping into magma. It threw him off balance, letting me duck down and slam my fist into his face. His head bounced off the rock wall, orange mana augmenting it. He fell down, rolling away from me. I cut off his escape as he growled,
”Will you not listen to me?”
I didn't understand what made him believe that he deserved anyone's attention for any length of time. This guy was a cut and dry case. He abandoned his friend and fellow researchers in the pursuit of power. Sure, he could twist his logic some and try to rationalize what he did. Anyone that ends up in this kind of situation does. I'm sure to this guy, the ends justified the means.
That's the thing though. I'd already met quite a few people like him. This guy was a megalomaniac who believed he could worm his way out of anything. I wasn't going to give him a chance. That's why I kept up my assault, piling on damage as he kept talking. Before I sealed his fate, Torix raised his staff,
”Let's listen to what happened here. Perhaps he may give us crucial information about what occurred here or who worked with him?”
I kept my hands raised, grimacing at the Hybrid, ”Start talking.”
The Hybrid had its hands over its face, ”Thank you. At least one you isn't a complete brute.”
I clanked my fists together, ”Tell us what we need to know, or I'll gut you where you stand.”
The Hybrid coughed into his hand, ”Ahem, this facility was created to study Emagrotha. She was the framework for the Hybrids. We found her at the bottom of this disgusting sea, an old pile of mush. That is what Lehesion left of her after their final battle.”
Chrona snapped out with a telepathic wave, ”And why didn't he kill her? Why do this?”
The Hybrid's head twitched, another mouth forming on its face. It spoke out in the same voice,
”Emagrotha agreed to a battle where neither of them would use the mana of Giess. Emagrotha trounced Lehesion to such an extent that he retaliated in the rage of a god. He did more than kill her. He granted her an undying body while stripping her of all her nobility.”
Another mouth formed over the Hybrid's face, the cybernetic teeth clanking as it spoke out in a woman's voice,
”He spoke out in a tyrade of what happened to those that defied him. How they were inferior. Gialgathens are a race of honor above all, and this was a display of character so shallow, they condemned Lehesion. His legend and legacy were threatened.”
His voice change verified a few of my suspicions. The researcher might have actually been the catalyst for the Hybrid's initial development. At the same time, the Hybrid had somehow kept their consciousnesses intact despite their deaths. Those thoughts raced through my mind as Krog let out a telepathic growl,
”And how would a dirtwalker like you know all this?”
Like an insect, the Hybrid twitched as another set of jaws formed on its chest. The woman's voice said,
”We used many mind mages, ones who hide their names in shadows. These remnants probed the memories of many gialgathens who were at the battle. This is how we discovered the mass amnesia following the event. Lehesion cast a spell that wiped the memories of his deeds. That is why no one remembers what happened here.”
My eyes widened at the revelation. They trapped gialgathens here and probed through their minds to learn what happened. That's why the facility was large enough for gialgathens despite no gialgathens being present.
”Wait a moment,” Torix said while cupping his chin in his hand, ”What happened to those gialgathens, and you mentioned something about remnants?”
”Yes,” the Hybrid spoke out in Emagrotha's voice with a new maw across its chest, ”The gialgathens were sent to another facility deep in silver territory. There they created a different kind of Hybrid, one compatible with gialgathens. We were not given the reason why. Our goal was different. We wanted a bipedal Hybrid that maintained lower levels of thought.”