741  Doomsday On Earth (1)

"Ashton, don't!" Ibis yelled. She was a fool to believe her plan would work, but it was the best she could come up with, given the situation. But Ashton was ruthless and, ignoring her pleas, turned Linas into his summon. "I warned you over and over, yet you keep pulling all these bullshit stunts thinking it would work," Ashton scoffed. "You had enough chances, and you blew them all. Therefore, whatever happens from now is on you and the Xyrans."

Linas's body twitched, a spark of life returning to his vacant eyes as darkness replaced his soul. Linas, they knew, was no more; instead, what stood in his place was one of the strongest creatures under Ashton's command. The malicious aura leaking from Linas's corpse forced countless Xyran to throw up. It was way too dense than anything they had felt before. Even Ibis was having a difficult time keeping her composure. It was at that moment that she knew she fucked up bad. In the greed of retaining her position in the council, she had doomed everyone to hell. What made it even more ironic was that Ashton had warned them. If the Xyrans pulled any tricks, they would have to pay the price for it dearly. The council had thought he was bluffing, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Ashton's strength was no joke. Even though he hadn't shown them the true extent of his powers, countless Xyrans were already on their knees, wondering what would happen next. In a surprising twist, Ashton turned towards the resurrected Linas and instructed, "Stand down." The Xyrans, still on their knees, exchanged confused glances. Linas, now under Ashton's influence, complied without any complaints, as did the other undead Infiltrator.

A moment later, Ibis looked up to see Ashton standing right in front of her and offering a hand to help. If anything, Ashton's actions confused her even more.

Hesitant but sensing that she had no other choice, Ibis cautiously accepted Ashton's hand. He gently pulled her to her feet, and the rest of the Xyrans, mirroring Ibis, followed suit.

"Not a heartless rick that you thought am I?" Ashton smirked.

Ibis stared into his eyes, expecting to see any indication that it was just another way for Ashton to toy with them. But he seemed sincere in his approach. Even then, Ibis couldn't believe that Ashton would forgive them just like that.

"What are you doing, Ashton?" Ibis asked when she couldn't hold back anymore. "Why are you treating us like... this?"

"Destroying you would be easy, but it won't bring me any joy," Ashton nonchalantly shrugged in response. "Now that you've learned your lesson. If that's not a good enough answer, then let me make it clear. I have no interest in killing ants."

Ashton's reply stung her a bit. After all, they were proud Xyrans, overlords of the galaxy. It wasn't every day that someone compared them to insects. However, Ibis knew Ashton was telling the truth. The way he dispatched two Infiltrators and brought everyone down to their knees without even revealing his true strength was good enough for her to know their place before him. If anything, Ibis was happy they wouldn't likely lose their lives now. The pride and money they lost would eventually recover, but when one's life was gone, it didn't return. That said, Ibis still had questions lingering in her mind. Mainly, why did Ashton kill Infiltrators if he was willing to forgive her? After all, he could have gotten his point through just by beating the crap out of them. "You killed two of my Infiltrators," she asked him as the crowd behind her gasped. "Why did you do that if you were planning to forgive us either way?"

"I thought you already knew," Ashton smiled before shaking his head. "To teach you a lesson and get that false sense of superiority out of your damn head."

He continued, "You challenged me twice, so I killed two of you men. If you challenge me again, you'll lose more of your people until you're the only one left. You get that, don't you?"

Ibis nervously nodded. He was right. The Xyrans had definitely looked down upon him ever since he 'accused' Lord Rood of wronging him. They went as far as ignoring his lineage, thinking they could deal with a Precursor. Their behaviour towards him was the textbook definition of overconfidence and being drunk in power—things they were now paying the price for. "We'll surrender without any conditions," Ibis made the decision for herself and her followers. While the council wouldn't like how she dealt with the situation, Ibis did not care about what they'd have to say. She was doing what was best for her and those who believed in her.

As far as her seat in the council is considered, she could come up with some way inside as long as she lived. Hell, if nothing else worked, she could form a new council with the support of common folks and overthrow the current regime. After all, either of those plans seemed more reasonable than challenging Ashton and dying for no reason. Ibis smiled at her thought process. Overthrowing a regime was easier than dealing with one man... what kind of strange world had she been living in?

"I'll take your word for it, and hopefully, no one will try to jump me now," Ashton, seemingly pleased with her decision, nodded.

With a casual wave of his hand, Ashton cancelled the summon, and the resurrected Linas and the other Infiltrator faded away into Valhalla. As the summons faded, Ashton turned towards Ibis.

"Now, if you'll join me, I would like to talk to you about something."

"Uh... Can't we do this here?" Ibis hesitantly asked him. "Not when there's so many ears on us," Ashton shook his head. "You could either come with me or send the rest of them away. I'm fine with either way."

Ibis looked at those behind her and decided to follow Ashton instead. It wasn't like he couldn't kill her in front of them if he wanted to, so doubting his intentions didn't make much sense to her.

Their meeting barely lasted ten minutes, but when Ibis returned, the Xyrans could see she was lost in her thoughts. Whatever Ashton had told her had taken a toll on her. But as promised, she didn't reveal anything to anyone as both parties went their separate ways.