Chapter 19: A Sudden Starbug
Sophie Wexler also felt the energy in the air flowing faster and faster. She suppressed her violently pounding heart, her eyes fixed on what lay ahead.
In an instant, accompanied by a piercing shriek, a giant bug appeared in her line of sight.
Sophie Wexler had never seen such a creature. It resembled a giant insect, its two antennae twitching rapidly in the air. Spikes dotted its enormous wings, and a pair of scarlet eyes darted about.
A chill ran down Sophie Wexler’s spine, her mind on high alert. Unbeknownst to her, her Spiritual Sea had become extremely active.
"It’s an A-level mutated Starbug." Cillian Forrest sensed the energy fluctuations permeating the air.
"An A-level Starbug?" A grave look settled over Sophie Wexler’s features.
She had studied the history of the Galaxy. Decades ago, the Swarm’s population had exploded as they sought to seize territory and resources, leading to countless invasions across the stars.
To prevent the Swarm from harming ordinary citizens, the Empire had established special defense systems on the Capital Planet and its other territories. Each planet also had its own stationed military garrison. A typical Starbug couldn’t even breach the defenses—it would be detected and eliminated by the local garrison the moment it appeared in the planet’s vicinity.
"How could an A-level Starbug appear here?"
The Starbug’s round eyes swiveled, and Sophie Wexler had the distinct feeling of being targeted. Her heart raced frantically as her fingertips flew across her small Light Brain, sending out a distress signal as quickly as possible.
"The nearest military base is over fifty kilometers away," Sophie Wexler said quickly, reading the message on her Light Brain. "Even at top speed, the fastest a warship can get here is ten minutes."
"The bar we just came from isn’t far. There are bound to be some High-level Spiritual Ability Users in there. We should—"
Before she could finish, the Starbug’s eyes suddenly swiveled, its gaze shifting from her to Cillian Forrest. Its pupils dilated with visible excitement, as if it had just spotted its true prey.
Cillian Forrest said, "It’s too late."
The words had barely left his lips when the Starbug bared its fangs and dove toward them with incredible speed. Cillian Forrest’s expression hardened. It was clearly coming for him.
Sophie Wexler’s breath caught in her throat. In the split second before the Starbug reached them, a terrifying wave of spiritual power erupted from Cillian Forrest, surging toward the creature with overwhelming might!
In that instant, the Starbug’s body froze mid-air, completely enveloped by the spiritual power.
The sheer pressure of his spiritual power made it hard for Sophie Wexler to breathe. Compared to the casual wave of his hand he’d used against those Star Thieves, this was the real deal.
For the first time, she truly felt the terrifying extent of Cillian Forrest’s spiritual power.
Suspended in mid-air, its eyes burning scarlet, the restrained Starbug relentlessly attacked the barrier of spiritual power, trying to break free.
As if realizing it couldn’t break through the barrier, the creature went into a frenzy. A sharp, piercing sound echoed from above—the Starbug was launching a spiritual attack.
Cillian Forrest staggered. The turmoil in his Spiritual Sea, which had only just subsided, began to surge once more under the force of the spiritual attack!
The moment she sensed it, Sophie Wexler suddenly realized something!
’Cillian Forrest is still in his Disorder Period! Spiritual power is inherently unstable during that time; he has to use his own power to suppress the volatile energy. But he just used a massive amount to fight the Starbug, and now he’s been hit by its spiritual attack. He...’
’This is bad!’ Sophie Wexler thought. "Cillian!"
Seeing Cillian Forrest’s rapidly deteriorating state, Sophie Wexler was frantic with worry. The rampaging energy in his Spiritual Sea was on the verge of breaking loose.
Sophie Wexler grabbed Cillian Forrest’s hand and, with every ounce of her concentration, channeled all of her spiritual power into him.
"Cillian Forrest, hang in there!"
’She had never seen him suffer a conscious spiritual power meltdown. Once it starts, the attacks become indiscriminate. He’s already expended so much spiritual power... if he loses control completely, the consequences will be disastrous!’
Both of their Spiritual Seas—his and hers—would be severely damaged!
Sophie Wexler didn’t dare to imagine the consequences. She could only pour every last bit of her spiritual power into him. The moment it entered his Spiritual Sea, her power was engulfed by the frenzied energy.
Cillian Forrest was shocked. "What are you doing?!"
An outbreak of his disorder was incredibly destructive—far too much for an F-level Healer-class like Sophie Wexler to handle, let alone soothe.
"I read on the StarNet that if you can interrupt the episode before it fully erupts and calm the Spiritual Sea, you can avoid irreversible damage."
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She gritted her teeth. "Don’t talk, or I can’t concentrate."
She wasn’t as skilled at controlling spiritual power as the Galactic Natives, so she had to rely on her experience from the two times she had soothed him before. She focused completely, terrified of making a single mistake.
Unsure which part of the energy to soothe, Sophie Wexler simply calmed every surge she came across.
Cillian Forrest felt Sophie Wexler’s soothing spiritual power in his Spiritual Sea, and his shock grew with every passing moment.
’He knew that if an under-leveled Healer-class tried to forcibly soothe a patient, their power would be repelled by the patient’s own High-Rank energy, causing severe backlash to the healer!’
But looking at her, he knew she wouldn’t listen to anything he said. She was determined to see this through.
Sensing the resistance in Cillian Forrest’s Spiritual Sea, Sophie Wexler gritted her teeth and snapped, "Don’t resist me! I’m not just doing this for you. If something happens to you, I’m dead meat against that Starbug. I’m doing this to save my own skin!"
After she spoke, the resistance in Cillian Forrest’s Spiritual Sea finally lessened.
Sophie Wexler’s spiritual power swept over the outer edges of his Spiritual Sea bit by bit, advancing slowly.
"What is this dark area in your Spiritual Sea?!" Sophie Wexler said, her voice strained as her spiritual power met a barrier.
After that, no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t advance any further into Cillian Forrest’s Spiritual Sea.
Finally, just as Sophie Wexler reached the point of exhaustion, the rampaging energy in the outer layer of his Spiritual Sea slowly began to calm.
’The soothing power was so gentle,’ Cillian Forrest thought, feeling the change in his Spiritual Sea. ’So gentle that the moment the violent energy touched it, it became docile.’
As Sophie Wexler’s spiritual power swept over the dark area in his Spiritual Sea, its color slowly began to lighten.
Cillian Forrest froze. The look in his eyes changed in an instant, replaced by utter disbelief.
’The toxin... it’s fading?!’
That was it. The moment the toxin faded, Cillian Forrest’s memories came flooding back.
Cillian Forrest’s gaze fell upon Sophie Wexler’s pale face. He then looked up at the Starbug in the air and immediately grasped the situation.
The moment his Spiritual Sea calmed, Cillian Forrest raised his hand and launched an attack at the Starbug still struggling against the barrier, shattering its Spiritual Sea!