Chapter 124: Peanut’s Revenge
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“Genius…”

“Indeed…”

“Virgil?” Walker said, looking over at his closest advisor, still in his ridiculous Donkey Kong appearance, “I want to fuck their shit up. Like, real, real, bad. Maybe, if I do a good enough job of it, I can stop that.” He waved a spasming hand at the screen.

“Walker, it already plainly states that they are in the midst of the Omega Protocol. I do not think we can fight that, even with all of our power. Kill one of the Omega Protocol, and they will only send a dozen more in their place. They are the Evolver's last line of defense. Creatures with unimaginable power.”

“Omega Protocol?”

“Consider them a clean-up crew for planets that grow out of control.”

Walker shook his head, “But if I destroy this place, maybe, just maybe, Earth will have a little more time.”

Virgil shrugged, “Perhaps, but we do not really know. We also do not know how many still survive on your homeworld. This could all be for nothing.”

“Who cares!” Rimi screamed at them both, the Battlefrog next on the list, “Just fuck up everything, Walker! Go full Dante on them! Crush them into fucking nothing and leave them only questions about how this all happened. No survivors!”

“Whoa, Rimi, calm down.”

“I’m not Rimi right now; I’m his alter-ego, Peanut! And Peanut wants blood!”

Walker put both hands on the arms of his friend, “Are you sure about this Rimi? Once we start, it’s pretty much only going to end one way.”

The large squirrel gave a fierce nod, “I cannot attack citizens of the Multiverse, Walker. But I can do other things. I’ll help.”

Walker nodded, looking over at Virgil, who gave a comically large eye roll.

“Change me back.” A second later, Virgil was back in his squirrelly skin, “Thank you. While I do not have the same provisions applied to me as Rimi, I am not built for combat. But I will help as well.”

Walker nodded again, knowing both of them were behind him. On the stage in front, a bleeding Battlefrog was rolled out onto the stage, one of its legs broken at an odd angle, something that stirred up a feeling within Walker’s chest. He took a deep breath, looking within to find what that feeling was. Words floated through his mind as a sad doot echoed from the stage.

 

I will always help those in need.

 

Walker separated his soul from his body. It didn’t take a great deal of energy, and it allowed him to roam across an area not protected for this possibility. Thousands of booths sat in the area, and as he peaked inside of a few, he saw scenes that only further solidified his need for vengeance.

Garish displays of food and drink on a planet that had to offer basic fare for free from those who could barely afford it.

Laughter and pointing at a poor creature crying out in pain in front of them.

And on every screen in the high-bidders club, a zoomed in image of his home planet, greed held in the eyes of those who would seek to own it.

Walker collected himself back and turned around. An assortment of weaponized assistants were arrayed there, holding in place for his instructions. He called over the sword first.

“Assistant, are you able to attack citizens of the Multiverse.”

“Query response: Negative, peasant Jobe of the Court of Magic.”

“Understood. Another question for you: do you have a database for citizens of the Multiverse? As in, can you tell the difference between a random citizen of the Multiverse, and a Noble.”

“Query response: Correct. All Nobles of the Multiverse are required to have up-to-date credentials, just as all Assistants are required to have up-to-date records from the Assistant database. Is there something I may assist you with?”

“Yes. All Assistants, update your databases immediately.”

A few seconds later, each assistant reported back their compliance.

“Excellent.”

Walker reached into his abilities and pulled out his Omniversal brand. Stepping forward, he placed his hand on the sword. When he pulled it away, a book with a tree on it, hints of purple within its pages sat on the sword’s hilt.

“Query…What did you just do, Peasant Jobe?”

Walker walked to each weaponized assistant and continued the pattern until they all held his brand. Each began to talk, questioning him on what he was doing, until Walker held up a hand.

“I will answer your questions in time. But first, there’s something we need to do. Each of you is disconnected from the Assistant database now, correct?”

A chorus of Correct came back to him.

“Excellent. I name you Cadre as a group. I will call on you to do something for me in a few moments. I expect you to do it with great accuracy and no delay, is that understood?”

Understood!

Walker nodded, then stepped toward the screen, his two assistants waiting for him. “When this goes down, you’ll want to be out there causing havoc. Use your mental faculties, and as things calm down, come and find me. I’m going to do some crazy shit in a minute, but we don’t have a lot of time.” A sad doot echoed out again as the Battlefrog’s bid was accepted. “And I need to move fast. Good luck, and don’t get caught.”

“Be safe, Walker,” Virgil said as he stepped back.

“Thank you, Walker,” Rimi said, stepping back as well.

Walker reached into his abilities and gripped Nullification Field.

 


 

As the Auctioneer loudly proclaimed that the Battlefrog’s sale was much lower than expected, his helper already wheeling it out as it flopped around, a woman in the back watched the auction with excitement in her eyes.

“This is one of the best auctions we’ve ever held. Who knew that such a large group of bidders would arrive this time around. We’ve really struck it rich!”

The man beside her bounced on his toes, “I know! With this funding, we’ll be set up for the next three renditions! I still can’t believe we got that Dragon! How’d you do that!”

“I have a friend in the Psi Protocol,” She said with a grin, “He can get me all kinds of rare entities. You should see the giant…wait what’s that?”

As she said that, a huge wave of sparks splashed out in a massive ring from one of the top booths. As it passed, each screen faltered and turned off. The lights in the auditorium went out, and the Auctioneer’s voice, empowered by the magical apparatus in his hand, stopped working. The woman looked at the man who looked back at her with a confused expression. As she was about to speak, a voice could be heard from far away.

"I used to think I was a small fish in a big sea. Just another guppie. A goldfish even, with the memory of one. But now I know the truth. I know what you all are. This, all of your excess and waste. Your cruelty and greed. It’s going to fail. To fall. I almost lost myself in it as well, before I truly understood the heart of what you are. Now, I see that you're all minnows, believing you're sharks. This is my sea, and your world is already over."

 

-System Message

The System Administrator has locked all systems in the localized area

 

“Did that say the SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR !” She screamed at the man.

Before he could respond, the gravity in the area changed. What used to be a very comfortable environment for their thin frames now felt punishingly harsh. One of the Gordites in the third-row balcony actually fell through the floor, crushing the group below them in a haze of screams. A flash of light lit the area, and the entire top floor balcony exploded, flames and lightning firing out over the area.

The voice spoke again, “They were the worst of your kind, but still, there is more work to be done. Cadre, target all nobles within the area. Exterminate them with extreme prejudice, hold nothing back.”

Weakly heard, a group of voices confirmed the order. The woman began to hyperventilate. She looked toward the exit nearby, where her friend was already pounding on something. It was the air.

“What is this? There’s no forcefield or generator! It’s like the air has hardened!”

“Not air, space. A friend of mine showed me how to do it, " a voice said. As she turned around, the speaker stepped down through the air, floating as if moving down a staircase no one could see. The gravity around him asserted itself more powerfully, making the bones in her legs break as he grew closer. She cried out involuntarily as the god-like being stepped over to her.

“Cadre, do you have any information on this one?”

“Noble: Lira vu Alsing. Family line: Greystalls. Head of all exotic acquisitions for the Central Auction. They are suspected of stealing resources from multiple planets and bribing officials of the Ipsilon Council. The Assistant database labeled them as important to multiple councils.”

“Alright, that’s enough for me,” He reached his hand up, and a sword fell into it on its own. With a glare in his black eyes, he swung it down with speed before they seemed to swallow her whole.

 


 

As Walker rampaged throughout the Auditorium, Virgil and Rimi were busy on their own. The moment the upper balcony blew, Walker having warned them that would be his first target, they raced through the back areas. After Walker had fired off the Nullification Field ability, all of the screens had gone down, including the back area, where the cleaning crew likely moved through after the auction ended.

Thus, while they had time, both sped in different directions. While Rimi ran down the stairs with the aim of helping the creatures locked up in the back, Virgil had other ideas in mind. He ran into each room on the top balcony, the previous occupants currently in pieces of gone entirely, and collected every little thing they dropped.

While Walker had included resource trading as a part of the Omniversal update, most of the Multiverse still used containment spheres to hold their wealth. As such, Virgil had no problem delving into each room and grabbing a veritable fortune of Temporal resources.

He didn’t feel bad about it. Resources were resources, and they needed them more than their previous owners.

 


 

Rimi burst into the bottom-floor room, a sign labeling it as containment. A few terrified nobles with pointed ears looked at him. Immediately, he wound up his arm and threw it forward.

 

Warning: Assistants may not attack Multiversal citizens.

You have been warned.

 

“Fucker!” Rimi cursed.

“It-it’s an assistant! An Assistant tried to attack me!”

“What’s happening out there!”

“I wish I knew! Someone call the Zeta Protocol!”

A large amount of tapping at the nearby door drew Rimi’s attention. Dodging around several platforms holding entities chained down, he quickly moved over toward it.

“What’s that assistant doing!”

“Somebody stop it!”

But they were far too slow. Rimi threw the door open, finding two Cadre sitting outside. The Spear tilted its tip at him as if in salute, then dove through, quickly followed by a pair of daggers. That’s when the screaming began.

 


 

Walker was tired.

Pulling on his Elemental strand, he formed it into a fireball and threw it at a group of skinny bastards on the second level. Everytime he asked the Cadre about them, the things they told him always made it plain that they needed to die. At this point, he just assumed they were guilty by appearance.

A little fucked up? It was, he had to admit to himself. Maybe even stereotyping to some degree. But he was really starting to feel worn out and didn’t want things to get any worse. Then, the sword identified something he didn’t expect.

“Noble group located: The Arisen.”

“Arisen? What’s that?”

“Query response: The Arisen is a small Noble group who broke away from the Awakened after betraying them during a snatch and grab mission just prior to the first Rendition.”

 

Those are the fuckers who grabbed Kwaya.

 

Walker looked over at the group on the first floor, stepping down toward them. Each had purple hair bound up in different types of crowns floating overhead. Their clothing looked like they’d seen better days, with patches and tied-up areas, but still, they were here, meaning they had some kind of currency. He searched back in his memories, finding a name for them.

“The Umplari? Why? Why would you betray her? She was like your child!”

“Who be you and how you know tha name!” One old woman yelled out, a finger raised as she pointed at him.

“Who I am doesn’t matter. Why are you here?”

“Wha you mean why we ere?” A man said beside her, “This be a auction we be attending. Who be you to be killing all dees people.”

“Justice,” Walker said with a glare. “Does the name Kwaya mean anything to you?”

“Pah!” The old woman yelled out, “Da fool betray our ways. We know of her well. Legend. Myth. Failure.” She spit on the ground, “She make us like dis. She break da path.”

“She protected you!“Walker screamed, completely unaware that he was defending Kwaya’s actions to these people. “You betrayed her, not once but twice!”

“We no kill her. We no break da way!”

Walker shook his head, “Cadre, spare them. They’re already miserable enough.” As he said that he began to move away, just as the balcony above it collapsed, crushing three of the purple-haired Umplari.

He looked back, “Whoops.”

Three souls floated up, causing Walker to reflexively suck in air in his startlement. They entered him through his mouth.

 

Basic Godeater Threshold met

Empowered souls obtained: Five

Restoring basic functionality.

A huge spread of energy coursed through Walker’s body, washing away his exhaustion and immediately making him feel better, though he didn’t know how to feel about that.

“What the fuck!”

“Walker!” Rimi yelled out, waving from a recessed section not far away, Virgil beside him, “We’ve gotta go. This place is starting to collapse!”

“Coming! Cadre, come on!”

The group of weaponized assistants flew over, forming a guard around the trio as they ran through the area. When they reached the back, still inside the building, Walker found dozens of creatures and items waiting for him.

“Jesus, you guys didn’t hold back.”

“That would be Rimi, Walker.” Virgil replied. Then, with two cupped hands, he presented a huge collection of medium-sized metal spheres, “With these resources, I believe we more than paid for our trip here.”

“Uhh-” Walker’s brain short-circuited for a moment, “Okay, then.”

Reaching into the system administrator window, Walker turned off the system lock. Looking around at the large group of differently abled and injured creatures. Walker had an idea. Reaching into his strands, he lifted the Life strand high above his head and pumped multiple resources into it.

A large green aura filled the air, dropping like an umbrella upon everyone in the area. As those around him watched their wounds heal in moments, they began to whisper about what was happening. Chains removed, the Scalebound Dragon stood up for the first time, looking around.

“What is this? What are you?”

Walker smiled at him, “Hopefully, your new landlord. Now, everyone get into the portals. We’ll have to travel twice, but we’ll get to Symphony one way or another.”

Activating the temporary portal system, he placed three in front of everyone, with one very large portal for the Dragon and other large creatures. Taking them directly to the storage area, Walker spotted a smiling Rimi, a newly healed and dooting Battlefrog on his shoulder. Virgil coordinated everyone, and they quickly grabbed up all of Walker’s purchased resources before diving through another series of temporary portals.

Just as they stepped onto Sonata’s soil, Walker looked around at the curious faces. He scratched one finger against a brown beard.

“What?”


 

Deep in the center of the Grand Auction

 

The location of the Central Auction was a supreme secret to many. Hidden in a deep and private spot, within the core of the excavated planet itself, it was a crowning achievement for the Multiverse. A wonder of engineering and hard work.

Well, the hard work of Assistants, that is.

But today, it stood mostly empty. Silent but for a few wailing voices and shouts of pain. Then a grand cracking sound rang out.

The top balcony collapsed, driving the second-most top balcony down onto the third, then the fourth. Onward, the destruction and weight built upon itself, breaking the building into pieces of its former grandeur.

A few purple-haired folk looked around at the utter devastation, worry growing at the understanding that any who survived would be questioned thoroughly. Then, a notification saved them the effort.

 

Warning: The planet The Grand Auction is due to collapse.

 

Time until total destruction: Five minutes

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