Chapter 206 - The Hunt is On

AN: So everyone is on the same page, we are rapidly approaching the end of this story. Once it is finished, I plan on taking some time for myself to catch up on a growing backlog of video games and anime I have been stockpiling. While I do that, I will also be reading/listening to Reborn as a Space Mercenary and Trapped in a Dating Sim to prepare for the next FF. They will not be the only franchises involved in the FF, but they will be the main ones.

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Heading to our next world the following morning, I opened a portal to the only place I could firmly recall from memory. Telling Ciri and Ghislaine to grab their coats before crossing through, the two of them assured me they would be fine without them. Boasting that they could handle a little cold, their attitudes changed as soon as they stepped through.

"I…I take that back…", Ghislaine said, as her body shivered and her tail puffed up, "I need a coat…but I…do not own one. My world is…warm!!"

"Why…why can our destination never be…a tropical beach!!", Ciri complained, her teeth chattering loudly, "Cole, a little help…please!!"

"Haha!!", I laughed, "I warned you, knuckleheads."

Letting them suffer for a few minutes, I created an insulating barrier around them to shut out the cold. Giving them a moment to warm back up, the two began looking around at the ice, snow-covered wasteland that surrounded us. Noticing a large, concrete dome off in the distance, Ciri asked if that was where our first stop would be. Nodding my head in acknowledgment, we began walking toward the military while I got them up to speed on things.

Telling them about the Nova, Pandora, and the other groups fighting the Nova, the two of them were quite excited to meet this world's defenders. Unlike the previous worlds we had gone to, this was the first that had almost exclusively female fighters. Eager to cross blades with them, I chuckled and warned them that these were not ordinary women.

"It is worth noting that the Stigmata the Pandora have increased their physical capabilities by at least ten times. There are unique individuals among them that can move at several times the speed of sound, and they hit like a freight train.", I stated, "If they grant you a chance for a sparring session, do not let your guard down."

"So what you are saying is, they are tough bastards!", Ghislaine giggled, full of excitement, "This is exactly why I wanted to tag along with you, get moving slowpokes!"

Running out ahead of us, Ghislaine barely got a few feet away when we began hearing alarm sirens coming from the base. Unsure if we were the reason the alarms were going off, Ghislaine looked back at me with concern.

"Radar would not pick us up at ground level, something else is happening.", I remarked, not detecting any anomalies in the space around us, "Let me check something."

Using Radar Pulse to scope out the situation on base, several hundred red outlines appeared within the compound. Identifying two powerful individuals leading the attack, I used Clairvoyance to see who they were.

"Ah shit, the Wild Hunt beat us here.", I said, as a series of explosions rocked the area, "Look sharp Ciri, it is time for some fucking payback."

"God damn it!!", Ciri huffed, with a scowl, "Ghislaine, do not hold anything back against them. Kill every single one of those elven bastards!"

"You do not have to tell me twice!", Ghislaine replied, with a nod.

Picking up the two women, I used Ice Launch to propel us forward at a high rate of speed. Repeating this process two more times to build up momentum, we slammed into the outer wall of the facility and collapsed a large section on impact. Catching the enemy troops off guard, they let out screams of terror as the wall buried them alive.

"Ha, boom baby!!", I laughed, setting the two of them down, "Alright listen up, we are going to divide and conquer here. I am going to take care of Imlerith, you two worry about Caranthir. He is currently enroute to the power reactor, do not let him get inside. This place runs on a solar reactor, if it is destabilized, everyone here will be burnt to a crisp but me."

"Caranthir is a mage, he is better suited for you than us.", Ciri argued.

"Ciri, Eredin gave Clark's power to Imlerith…", I told her.

"OH!!!", Ciri shrieked, "Yeah, have fun with that!!"

"Who is Clark?", Ghislaine asked.

"I will introduce you two sometime, but now is not that time.", Ciri said, pushing Ghislaine forward, "Just point us toward his location."

Pointing toward the massive building at the center of the base, the two of them nodded their heads and took off running.

"Be careful, Caranthir has Martian Manhunter's power!", I called out to them.

"Do not worry, I always carry a box of matches on me!!", Ciri assured me.

Shaking my head at her, I began teleporting from building to building as I raced toward Imlerith. Reaching him a few moments later, the big oaf was putting the smackdown on several Pandora and their Limiters. Batting them away like flies, Imlerith laughed at them and insulted their fighting prowess.

"Is this all you are capable of?", Imlerith asked, holding one of the E-Pandora by the throat, "All of you are nothing but insects under my boot. If you surrender yourselves to me now, I can promise you a comfortable life living as my concubines and servants."

"Like hell we would agree to that!", Elizabeth spat, staggering to her feet, "Come on ladies, we need to work as a team to take him down. Our friends and comrades need us to dig deep and take him down!"

Wiping the blood from her lips, she looked back at her beaten and battered allies. Struggling to pick themselves up off the ground, they nodded their heads in agreement as their Limiters helped them up. Knowing how desperate the situation was, the E-Pandora Imlerith was holding summoned her Volt Weapon and lashed out at his face. Caught off guard, as he thought he had choked her out, the woman managed to knock his helmet away and scratch his face.

"We…are not…weak..!", the woman wheezed, as his grip tightened around her neck even more.

"Damn you bitch, how dare you tarnish my beautiful face!!", Imlerith roared, full of anger and rage, "Die!!"

"Rattle, no!!!", Amelia shouted, hearing the bones in her neck begin to crack.

Seizing my chance to ambush him, I created a plasma beam with my electricity and in one fluid motion severed his arm. Watching his arm fall off, the Pandora and Limiters froze up uncertain of what happened. Quickly ripping his severed arm off her throat, Rattle began gasping for air as she lay there on the ground.

"SON OF A BITCH!!!", he howled, staggering backward overwhelmed with the searing pain he was feeling, "Which one of you bitches did that!? I will rip your heart out and feed it to you!!"

"It was not them, it was me Imlerith.", I stated, staring down at him from my rooftop vantage point, "I would love to see you try that with me. In fact, how about I tag them out and take over the fighting for them."

Turning his attention to me, his rage-filled expression went pale white immediately. Having likely heard of me from Eredin, he must have known that even with Superman's powers he was still outmatched.

"When did you get here!?", Imlerith shouted, reaching for an item on his hip, "Damn it, you were not supposed to be here yet!!"

"Well I am, so what are you going to do about it?", I asked, jumping down off the roof, "You were acting pretty cocky just a minute ago, where did all that bravado go? Come on, you have a Kryptonian's power…why are you acting so afraid of me?"

"I am not afraid of you!", he retorted, as he pulled a horn up to his mouth.

"Stop him, that item summons hordes of monsters and nova!!", Elizabeth shouted.

"Jeez lady, calm down, would you.", I remarked, using Healing Magic to restore them to peak condition, "All of you just stay out of this, I will be done in a few moments."

Just as Elizabeth had said, as soon as Imlerith blew the horn, a host of Nova and Wave Monsters appeared behind him. Wasting no time, he ordered them to attack me all at once.

"I do not care how powerful you are, my King's creations cannot be beaten!!", Imlerith stated, "Now go my-"

Creating several energy projections of myself, I launched them at Imlerith's forces, blowing most of them away in just one explosion. Temporarily blinding him with the flashes, I closed the gap between us and gapped him by the face with my right hand. Forcing him to his knees, electricity began arcing around us vaporizing any of his monsters stupid enough to approach.

"You know nothing of my powers Imlerith, summoning a horde of monsters was one the worst mistakes you could make. While the people of this world may tremble in fear, all I see are little batteries to fuel my power.", I told him, with a twisted smile, "You may think that having Superman's power is a blessing, but against me, it is only going to prolong the suffering you are about to experience!"

Releasing a small Ray Sphere blast around me, Imlerith and his summoned creatures began wailing loudly as I began siphoning off their bioelectrical energy.