Chapter 167 Complain or Comply?
"What, are you chickening out now?" The Professor, who looked extremely calm, sneeringly said to Alex as her head slowly floated towards him. "Don"t tell me you can"t even do something as simple as that?"
"I do not have any problems with killing you. My problem however, lies in the fact that what you plan could fail." Alex said as he shook his head in exasperation. "Seriously? The first part of your plan is to have you killed by me? Are you really sure about doing this, or do you just want to die?"
"I"m serious, tentacle boy." Professor Frances replied as she narrowed her eyes. "Now, if you don"t want to kill me with your hands, I will just have to do it by myself then."
The Professor"s face then scrunched, as if she was about to do something by herself.
"Ugh! Suit yourself then!" After seeing what the Professor was about to do, Alex was left with no choice but to attack.
He pointed his index finger right at the Professor, activating his Electromagnetic Manipulation.
Alex then probed all the electrical signals inside Professor Frances" head, confirming that all of them were working normally inside the Professor"s brain.
At the instant that he had this confirmation, Alex immediately used his Electromagnetic Manipulation to snuff out the electrical signals inside the Professor"s brain.
"Bzzt!"
The effect was instantaneous, with all the activities of Professor Frances" brain blinking out into nothingness.
"Scwhoo…"
The lights on the Professor"s eyes went dim as her head started to fall down.
Alex stretched out one of his hand, catching her head.
"…" Just by looking at the head in his hands, Alex can confirm that the Professor was indeed, dead already.
Her brain, which was the source of her life, has no electrical signals anymore, which just turned her brain into a lump of lifeless tissue.
As for the Symbol on her forehead, it suddenly glowed at her death before it broke down into countless tiny golden particles.
These golden particles flew into the air, spreading out until even Alex could not see them anymore.
Once these particles were gone, Alex looked back at the Professor, seeing that the Symbol on her forehead was completely gone now.
"So if a Traveler dies, the Symbol on their forehead will really disappear. Interesting." Alex muttered as he let out a sigh. "I thought that this could happen when a Traveler dies, but seeing it with my eyes is something else…"
Alex already had the notion that something like this might happen, but seeing the sight with his own eyes was something that was unforgettable to him.
"Tsk." As he clutched the head in his hands, Alex gritted his teeth as he approached Alina.
Even though he was happy that he and his teammates were the ones who survived, everything that Alex heard earlier made his mood extremely down.
And the plan that the Professor proposed just exacerbated that mood.
For Alex to be angry right now was already acceptable, but the time for his negative emotions will be for later.
For now, he still had to do what he was supposed to do.
"Alina, you already know where you will place this head." Alex said as he pa.s.sed Professor Frances" head to Alina"s waiting hands. "Just… make sure that you place it well. After all, we invested a lot on Professor Frances" plan…"
"Don"t worry Alex. I got this handled." Alina replied as the Professor"s head disappeared.
Alex did not pry on where it was placed, as he trusted Alina with her actions.
**************
And with that, the First Phase of Professor Frances" plan had just concluded.
As for the Second Phase of her plan, Alex already knew when to perform it.
But before the Second Phase could start, Alex will have to keep the Professor"s head safe first, which he just did with Alina earlier.
"…"
After Alex confirmed these points, he saw Alina giving him a strained smile, as if she wanted to say something more to him.
"Are you… feeling fine, Alex?"
"…Don"t worry, I am fine." Alex said as his tense body started to relax. "I… just have to adjust my mind."
"…"
Alina did not say anything to Alex as she lunged in, holding Alex"s right hand with her left.
She squeezed lightly with that hand, as if she was trying to comfort him.
Alex did not reject her hand, with him squeezing her hand in return.
"…"
"…"
They continued holding hands for a few more minutes, as they tried to enjoy the serenely quiet ambience of their surroundings.
*************
"So… what should we do now?" Queen Mother asked the other two as she approached them. "Do we kill the Pantheon now?"
"Not yet." Alex replied as he shook his head. "I still have to talk to two people first."
After saying these words, Alex gave Alina a nod, which she immediately understood.
Alina waved her hands rhythmically, causing another distortion in s.p.a.ce.
Two figures appeared in front of Alex, with both of them looking extremely stressed.
"h.e.l.lo there, Andrew Collins and Signum." Alex said as he stared at the father and daughter pair. "I take it that your stay inside my partner"s storage was a productive one?"
Signum, who looked disgruntled, only crossed her arms as she let out a loud hmph. From the looks of it, she did not have a good time with her father inside Alina"s storage.
As for Andrew Collins himself, he only let out a sigh, showing that he did not enjoy everything that happened to him now.
The weary look on Andrew Collins face however disappeared when he looked around him.
"…" Alex could see Andrew Collins" eyes widening as the said person saw the effects of Alex"s railgun attack. His daughter had the same reaction too, and the only reason that she could still stand was Queen Mother supporting her from behind.
"What the h.e.l.l happened here!" The father asked as he looked like he was about to take off and escape. Just seeing the look on the man"s eyes made it quite apparent that he was spooked by the sight around him.
"What happened here? It"s just simple. I fought with the Pantheon and the Alchemists, and I defeated both of them." Alex calmly replied as he relished the stunned faces of the father and daughter pair. "Now, all of the Pantheon are my captives, while all of the Alchemists are dead…"
"No way…." Andrew Collins shook his head, as if he could not believe what he just heard. "They"re the Pantheon… There is no way that you can just defeat them…"
"…" From the looks of it, even if Andrew Collins was angry with the Pantheon, he still thought of them as an unstoppable juggernaut that n.o.body can topple.
Maybe that"s the real reason that Andrew Collins was this cowardly…
Well, if that was the case, then Alex will just have to show him how wrong his views were.
"Alina, show them the goods." Alex said as he gave Alina a sly smile. "These two will surely like them…"
"Got it." Alina replied as she waved her hands once more.
Alex watched her pensively, knowing that Alina was accessing the multiple pockets of her improved Storage.
With Alina gaining dimensional manipulation skills, she was able to create separate pockets in her storage, which she was using extensively already.
Alina stored Lauren and Andrew Collins in one pocket, and she stored each Pantheon member separately on different pockets.
Now, she"s pulling them out of these pockets to display them in front of the father-daughter pair.
"Oh f**k them sideways!" Andrew Collins cursed out as the tied-up figures of Myth, Miden, Machi, Foresight, Nomad, Plague, and Tetra were displayed in front of him. "They"re really captured! Holy molly!"
Andrew Collins then started to pace all around him as he looked at the Pantheon with curiosity and wariness.
"…."
Alex continued watching Andrew Collins as the said person looked at Alex and the Pantheon members with fear.
His whole body started to tremble now, as if the man just realized the predicament that he was in.
Just seeing the man"s chattering teeth was enough to make Alex smile in excitement.
"Hehehe…" Alex knew that at this point, Andrew Collins will be fearing him more than the Pantheon.
"If you"re already done seeing all the magnificent stuff that I did, then maybe it is time for me to negotiate with you…" Alex said in a low tone, emphasizing the word "negotiate".
Andrew Collins let out a nervous gulp as he looked back at Alex, who was now staring at him with a predatory look in his eyes.
"You… do you want to use me to obtain the Legacy of Tartaros?" Andrew Collins asked as he took a step back away from Alex. That is the elephant of the room, and Alex was quite relieved that at least, Andrew Collins knew what Alex"s priority really is.
"Well yes, that is the main reason that I did not do anything to you yet." Alex replied as he saw Queen Mother hugging Lauren from behind. "I still need you for the Legacy, and I think making you safe from harm will make our negotiations better."
"Safe from harm? What a nice way to say it." Asteria muttered behind Alex as she shook her head. "Hooman, you really are growing more and more devious as days pa.s.s by…"
"…" Naturally, Alex ignored what the dumb fairy was muttering behind him.
"You said that you will negotiate with me…" Andrew Collins nervously replied as he gave Alex a shaky look. "If I really can help you on obtaining the Legacy, then what will I get in return?"
"What will you get in return? Well, I will give you the right to deal with the Pantheon." Alex replied as he swept his hands towards the tied-up Pantheon members.
"If you want the Pantheon dead, then I will kill them immediately. If you want them powerless, then I can make it happen. Or if you just want them to go on normally, then I can allow that too." Alex said, with his voice this time turning oily and suggestive. "As long as you give me the Legacy, you can do anything you want against the Pantheon…"
"…" Even a stupid person could see that Andrew Collins was extremely tempted right now.
"Now, that"s not a bad deal, right?" Alex said as he placed one of his hands on Andrew Collins" shoulder. The man flinched, but he held his ground as he stared back at Alex.
"I can… really do anything to them?" Andrew Collins replied as his eyes swept towards the tied-up Pantheon. "Anything?"
"!!!" Lauren, who was being snuggled by Queen Mother, had her eyes wide open as she heard what Alex and her father was talking about. Her mouth was also wide open, and it only closed when Queen Mother playfully closed it.
For her to be shocked was not a surprise for Alex already. The only thing that Alex was worried about was the possibility of Lauren disrupting the negotiation.
Fortunately for Alex, Lauren did not do anything to interrupt them.
Lauren kept her current position, as she seemed to be content on just quietly observing Alex and her father.
"…."
*****************
With his FED Manipulation, Alex could feel fear, trepidation, anger, and unrestrained happiness blossoming inside Andrew Collins. All these emotions were raging like fire inside Andrew Collins, and Alex knew that it will take a lot to extinguish them.
These signs alone confirmed to Alex that this man had just taken his bait.
"In that case, I want them all-" But before Andrew Collins could say his demand, Alex raised one of this tentacles, prompting the man to shut up.
"Not so fast, old man." Alex said as he shook his tentacle side to side. "I must get the Legacy first before I allow you to deal with the Pantheon. If you want the goods, you have to pay me first."
After saying these words, Alex gave Alina another one of his nods.
After seeing this nod, Alina waved her hands once more as she placed the tied-up Pantheon members inside her Storage.
"…" Alex smiled as he sensed the intense disappointment inside Andrew Collins. It must have hurt, denying him the way to vent his rage. Well, with Alex around, Andrew Collins cannot do anything about it.
Now then, how will this man react? Will he complain, or will he comply?
"But… I do not know how I can help you out." Andrew Collins said as he started to shake his head. "Even now, I still do not have my memories, and I am not sure if I can still regain it…"
"Don"t worry about that." Alex replied as he looked at Alina. "My partner here already obtained the info that she wanted from Nomad, so all that you have to do was to follow her instructions."
Andrew Collins looked at Alina, who gave the man a nod as she held the hilt of her Katana.
"Um, ok. I will just follow you all, haha." Andrew Collins replied as he let out a shaky laugh.
"Good, that is what I like with obedient people." Alex replied in satisfaction. "If you were this rational before, then maybe all of this could not have happened."
"…"