CHAPTER SEVEN: FATE.
CHAPTER SEVEN: FATE.
Khan's statement brought a wave of surprise and anger to the inmates who heard him. The inmates knew exactly the meaning his aura carried and did not like that at all. The whole field soon filled with killing intent and impending doom as the inmates readied themselves for Khan, while some charged forward, destroying the guardian automatons in their way to find out what kind of psychedelic experience Khan was on – who knows, maybe he was willing to share some.
Khan's gaze grew cold as, in the dust, two purple dots glowed, and he laughed amidst the chaos. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a brown-coloured, four-armed alien that looked female and stood at a whopping height of seven meters (twenty-four feet) charged forward at Khan's haughty remark, injuring and killing other aliens that wanted a piece of Khan before her. This was the only inmate who refused an arm wrestling duel with Kevin since she considered Kevin a mere baby not worth her time.
She wore white garments with four armholes that she adjusted to resemble a crop top and white shorts. Red tattoos adorned her body, featuring thousands of different alien races. She sported long black hair that swept down her shoulders, with a muscular yet toned and feminine body, making her look extremely appealing and attractive despite her towering height. She had been captured with extreme force by the plumbers and had hired the help of bounty hunters called EightEight, SevenSeven, and SixSix. It wasn't hard to guess from her tattoos that she had committed mass alien genocide. Her goal was to fight the strongest of each species to the death, emerge victorious, and tattoo their appearance on her skin. In short, she traveled challenging different aliens and fought only the strongest of their kind.
Khan knew of the giantess named Fate and her story. Ironically, she made her opponents meet their fate, and her face was always the last thing they saw. Her cell was ten times reinforced than the other inmates' due to her strength, earning her respect among them. She was strong enough to destroy a mountain as big as Everest with five punches, with some strength added, but could do it with three full-powered punches without using her core energy. She was indeed a formidable foe.
Khan looked up as Fate took one leap to reach him. The ground did not tremble at her landing, nor did the air current change significantly. Her expertise in movement techniques and combat put her far above almost every creature in the universe. Kevin, witnessing this, gulped hard and thanked his stars that Fate never took him seriously whenever he would meet her and challenge her to an arm wrestle.
Khan folded his hands and looked directly at Fate's two pairs of eyes. "Our battle has been delayed because of the restrictions of this place. But now, Fate will have the honor of fighting the next thing to the strongest and smartest creature in the universe since the destruction of the Oren Empire. Prepare yourself, Khan, the Appolexian," Fate exclaimed, her voice generating sound waves that reverberated off everything.
"Hmm, don't give me that bull. Nothing could have stopped you from attacking or challenging me all this time. You only let yourself get captured since you heard I was roped in by the plumbers. You've been hunting me, haven't you?" Khan paused dramatically, creating a tense atmosphere. The guardian automatons stopped fighting with the inmates to collect data from Fate and Khan's fight, analyzing formations and strategies that could be used against them. The inmates came to a standstill as well, watching the scene unfold before their eyes.
"I have seen you giving me bloodthirsty looks, you hypocrite! Of all times to challenge me, it's now! Now that escape is a possibility! Are you mad?!" Khan expressed his anger without holding back, his Appolexian traits beginning to show.
"Haha, you dare call me a hypocrite. You, who have crippled entire nations and worlds just for your selfish interests and suddenly got arrested by those playthings called plumbers, don't give that bull! I know there is something among the pile of rubbish stored in this dimension that is of value to you." Fate couldn't take Khan's witty remarks standing; she shot back at him as their stories intrigued every inmate in the field.
"And now is the best time to challenge, since you are in a hurry and would want to remove any obstructions in your path, right?" Fate said, her battle intent seeping out of her body, causing the inmates, including Kevin, to fall to their knees out of sheer suppression. The automatons were unaffected, lacking receptors to fall under that suppression, and continued collecting data.
"I am not fighting you," Khan said uncaringly.
"I knew you would say that..." Fate spread out her top right arm in a come-hither motion to a random spot in the ceiling. Khan's eyes flickered at that motion, not liking what his instincts told him. The world around the inmates seemed to quake for a whole minute, with cracking and booming sounds getting closer. A black object, blurry due to its speed, destroyed a wall and flew right into Fate’s outstretched arm.
A black battle-axe with gold inscriptions appeared in Fate's hand, surrounded by destroyed guardian automatons and dark oil still attached to its blade. Fate's energy seemed to soar to greater heights the moment the axe fell into her arms.
"Oh, it's been so long, beautiful. You know I had to steal this from one of the treasuries of a famous To'kustar (Way Big). This thing's made of infinitum and Taydenite; let's say it can cut anything and is indestructible. If you don't fight me, I will simply destroy this space, and anything you desire here will be destroyed instantly," Fate said, eyeing her battle axe with longing.
Khan's expression immediately turned dark after that revelation from Fate. He could see the axe and confirm, from its texture, that somehow, someone had managed to forge two materials said to be indestructible into one. Fate simply smiled at his reaction, having succeeded in getting him to accept her duel, as she dropped her axe.
"Wrong choice of words, Fate."
It was Fate's turn to smile, her demeanor calm and composed as she looked down on Khan, excited for their battle.