As his snap echoed, an indistinct power stirred the surroundings as both mind and reality interacted with one another. Before long, the cloaked figures around him opened their eyes as they regained consciousness.
One by one, they rose up from the ground and pushed through the exhaustion and pain that they felt. Even the young girl with scarlet eyes and black hair—the villain who wields the ability to use blood as weapons—miraculously stood up even with her slightly broken spine.
After standing up through sheer willpower, they opened their mouths as Dolian pulled out a couple of white cubes from his pocket and tossed them onto their tongues. The cube dissolved within their mouths and slid down their throats as a whopping amount of calories and other essential nutrients the body wants and needs gushed through their bodies.
Being given such an absurd amount of calories in a couple of seconds would obviously bring some imbalance to their well-being, but as soon as Dolian willed it, every single cell in their bodies hungrily absorbed every single bit of nutrient they could find and grab.
Their wounds started to heal. Their fractured bones, even the young girl with crimson eyes' broken spine started to regenerate back from its grotesque state.
But the change didn't stop there. Their bodies morphed and transformed under their cloaked appearances. Their veins bulged and endless energy cascaded down like a stream of warm water. Their muscles roared with immense strength that can shatter a person's spine with a casual punch. Their brains whirred as if an old dusty computer turned into the latest model through magic and was downloaded with a library full of countless pieces of info ranging from martial arts to survival and many more.
'It would take them 10 minutes before they finish their metamorphosis and turn into super soldiers that can deal with entire squads of enemies on their own. Added with their quirks that complement their enhanced physical and mental attributes, this would be enough to deal with the prepared Leader who returned back in time and arrive at the same end .' The Dolian who sat on a golden throne within his mind turned his gaze that seemingly pierced through the thick walls of his palace and saw a distant blob of consciousness that rapidly approached him.
From the shadows ahead of them, a young boy with brown hair and green eyes outlined himself out of nowhere. His appearance was exactly the same one as before, the one who went to mess with Blitz's minds in the underground hallways. Even though he was so near, no one else other than Dolian appeared to have noticed his presence at all.
With a wide grin on his face, the young boy's body quickly squirmed and transformed into a glob of living flesh. Anyone who looked at it would puke in disgust at the eldritch sight that would leave one in horror from a casual glance. Yet, Dolian stared wordlessly with the same apathetic gaze and watched the blob of living flesh transform into a plump owl with blue feathers and golden eyes.
The young boy was actually Stolas!
Stolas cooed with obvious joy in its voice as it flapped its wings. It flew up into the air and perched itself on Dolian's forearm that bent at a 90-degree angle to accommodate the happy owl.
Dolian used his other free hand to pat the owl on the head and scratch him under his chin. His act appeared to have delighted the owl as it then rubbed its feathery face against Dolian's.
After allowing the owl to have its fun, Dolian whispered with a cold face, "Failure's not an option."
The owl nodded its head as it flapped its wings and landed on the ground. "Yes, master."
"Good." Dolian nodded his head and turned around, spinning his body on the heels of his shoe. Then, just like how the young boy with brown hair and green eyes appeared out of nowhere, Dolian's presence receded to the extreme as he magically disappeared and fused with the environment around him.
Even the owl who has superhuman mastery of the mind couldn't sense his presence at all.
Stolas took a look at the villains around him as he received the corresponding memories of what conspired. After processing what just happened and receiving the plan, Stolas' body started to shake and squirm once more as he transformed into a blob of living flesh.
He twisted and turned on the ground like a pile of pink and brown goo. From the small owl, his body quickly expanded more and more until it reached the same height as Dolian's own body. Then through the knowledge he gained from Dolian and the abilities he received from the numerous modifications Dolian gave him, he took out a couple of white cubes from his newly formed clothes that were simply made out of living tissue and ate them.
Crunch.
The white cubes quickly dissolved into a gooey white liquid that slid down his throat and into his stomach. After feeling the extreme amounts of nutrition stream into his bloodstream, Stolas willed every single cell in his body to crazily absorb every bit of energy they can get, and his strength explosively rose.
After a short while, Stolas' body can be considered that of a dragon. Even though Dolian never once showed just how strong his body actually was and hid his strength all this while, Stolas knew that his current physical stats were beyond a doubt strong.
Stolas flexed his muscles and felt his boundless might. But even with the added muscle mass, his physique remained slim and suitable for actual combat. He can explosively change directions, do exhausting actions for long periods of time, and exert strength on the fly; it was a body meticulously crafted by Dolian himself after years of perfecting the design.
He exhaled his turbid breath and inhaled a lot of oxygen. He could feel his lungs expand, his muscles twitch, his heartbeat, and his legs spasm; he was given conscious access to every single part of his body.
The one who masters the mind gains control of the body. If a quirkless owl like Stolas can already do so much with the guidance and modifications given to him by Dolian, one could only wonder just how terrifying Dolian really is under his guise as a normal middle school student.
Stolas opened his eyes and looked at the fellows beside him. In his memories of the future, he would die a sudden death while fighting against Leader, but that allowed Dolian to grasp Leader's fatal weakness of being unable to remember recent memories before his death.
The owl didn't find his death unusual. He even found it a pleasing end to his meager life, because as long as he can help his master take a step forward to achieve his goal, he would even sacrifice his life countless times.
'It has been 10 minutes already since we returned back to the past, so Leader must be planning on launching a counterattack already, not knowing that my master has also gone back in time with him.'
'Master originally did the same right now. He made me replace him and act as a decoy, and we went on going from one base to another to brainwash all of Kryptos' troops to amass an army for his plan on establishing his own secret organization.'
'Unfortunately, even with master's unrivaled strength and wit, Leader's ability to revive himself was just as peerless, and is perhaps directly related to his quirk achieving an awakening already.'
'Due to this, and with the newfound revelation of Leader's ability to return back in time, master has decided to change the plans and take on a more forceful approach.'
'Heh, Leader, you've made a fatal mistake revealing your trump card to my master!' Stolas' eyes gleamed as the clothes around his body transformed into a mass of black slime which then became a fluttering black cloak.
"Let's go." He ordered with an apathetic voice and walked.
The others soon followed behind him.
Their very presence radiated an invisible pressure that would cause others to bow down. Especially Stolas as he seemed to have undergone a radical change.
Gone was the subservient owl who does his master's bidding. Now was the tyrannical dragon with unmatched might.
As they walked, Dolian watched from the shadows with a cold gaze and slowly disappeared, walking off into the unknown for his own plans to take place.
Soon enough, the group of six encountered their first base according to Stolas' memories. He made sure to do as his past self did in order to avoid messing with the future, all so as to trap Leader in a fatal position just like his master instructed him to do.
The small base was a small three-story building with a handful of guards keeping watch in the middle of the day. Through the glass windows, Stolas saw plenty of personnel lazing around, or doing work.
It was just like before, and this was something Stolas anticipated. Ten minutes was indeed too short of a time to actually influence something as large as an entire island. Even if Leader wanted to send all of his men to bombard him already, it would take too long, especially when Two is now part of his team, a person whose value in mobilization is considered priceless.
'The real scheme should happen once I go on to conquer the second largest base on the island, the one closest to Kryptos' Headquarters.'
Confident of his assumptions, Stolas walked freely to the building along with the others in broad daylight, but mysteriously enough, they went unnoticed as if they were completely invisible.
Walking up to one of the guards that were leaning his back against a wall in an inconspicuous spot, Stolas pressed his finger against the forehead of the guard as if tapping something. In the next second, the eyes of the guard turned lifeless as Stolas successfully hypnotized him.
"Shout that you found something and lead them here, after that, you'll enter this hypnotized state once again."
Stepping back and hiding in the shadows along with the others, Stolas watched as the guard regain his senses. Then, just like Stolas instructed, the guard seemed to see something near him and shout, "Hey! I think there's something here!"
All of the guards near him were immediately startled upon hearing his shout. Even though they were on a remote island with no other humans, they still needed to be cautious of anything that might transpire.
They hurriedly arrive at his spot and looked around, but they were greeted with nothing.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Are you trying to pull off a prank?!"
Before they can shout any further, their eyes turned limp as a resounding snap echoed. They paused their movements as if thick chains sealed their limbs in place.
From the shadows, Stolas stepped out and revealed his presence along with the other five behind him.
Stolas wore a genial and amicable smile under the shadowy cloak he was wearing. With a gentle voice that soothed the soul, he whispered into their ears that felt as if their soul was being caressed, "Are you all okay?"
In their eyes, Stolas' figure seemed to have warped as a pair of angelic wings unfurled behind him. The soft rays of sunlight shone on his handsome face that made their hearts flutter. His smile made their minds go blank as if a higher existence was staring down at them.
'A-An angel?'
'Is that an angel?'
'Why do I want to cry right now?'
The memories of the atrocities they committed started to resurface in their minds. The heavy weight of their sins started to weigh down on their minds as an invisible boulder soon appeared.
"Are you all regretful of the actions you all took?"
"Do you want to repent for your sins?"
"Do you want to be embraced by the arms of our benevolent God once more?"
Their eyes wavered upon hearing his voice as they gulped their saliva. His ethereal voice rang in their ears as they felt that a ray of hope appeared in the darkness that looms around them.
"Yes."
It was a simple answer, but it felt as if they spat out a vile glob of evil from their mouths in an attempt to cleanse their souls.
Stolas' smile widened as he pursed his lips, "Good."
"You are all indeed the children of God."
"Now come, let us bring light to this forsaken world."
As Stolas turned around, his gentle face remained but the way he looked turned freezing cold, 'Master truly is a master of the mind. If he was the one doing this, then he could have simply forcefully brainwashed them without all this God nonsense. Alas, that too has some of its own disadvantages, and taking a more gentle approach is always better if one wants to be a great manipulator like him.'
AN: This chapter has 2179 words.
You know, I could probably write some softcore BL in Arc 2 because the pieces are there and I just need to make them connect.
(April 22, 2023 - 513rd day of writing)
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