After ensuring Anna was in capable hands, Ashton excused himself to his chamber. As much as he would have liked to stay and chat with his crew, there was a lot he needed to think about, especially about the information Otiga had disclosed before.
"Occuna was destroyed? How could someone destroy an entire planet like that?" He mumbled before entering the bathroom.
The sole reason Otiga acpanied the rest of Ashton's crew was to give him the information. A planet's destruction was a controversial topic, and such destruction is often looked down upon and could damage the reputation of that region's 'Protector' regime.
Hence, the matter was yet to be disclosed to the public. But since the [Ghosts] had returned from the Occuna not too long ago, Otiga hoped they would have some information on the topic.
When they proved to be of little use, Otiga decided to ask Ashton about it. Upon noticing Ashton's condition, she did not push him about it but asked him to keep her request in mind.
"No matter how I see it, this so-called Cult of Cosmos could be the culprit behind this."
[Hm... maybe.]
The automated shower immediately sensed Ashton's presence, along with the dust and blood he was covered in. Instantly warm water rushed out of the triangular shower head to hug his body, momentarily taking his worries away from him.
"Destroying a planet seems like a challenging task. I have seen and heard many peculiar things, but I still can't wrap my head around a planet being destroyed like that."
[Rather than saying a planet was destroyed, it's more suitable to say it was made inhabitable. If that's the case, there are quite a few ways to achieve it.]
"Xyrans might have used them a lot, I suppose."
[I can't deny nor confirm the truthfulness of that statement.]
"Woah, you sound like a dirty politician!"
[All politicians are dirty. But I digress; I meant to say that a strong enough plasma cannon and enough power supply should be enough to sear a planet's surface.]
"If people of Occuna couldn't last against it, the earth has no chance either."
[Exactly.]
After a good time inside the shower, he finally stepped out as the water droplets gently poured through his hair, tracing his well-defined muscles.
At that moment, Ashton had found a new enemy to put in place. However, this time it wasn't an individual like Phantom but a mysterious organisation.
Eula's homeworld and Occuna were the only two places the Ghosts had been to for mission. During both jobs, Ashton had an encounter with the Cult.
While it could be ignored as a coincidence, Ashton didn't think so. They had to be looking for him or someone in his crew. That's the only explanation Ashton could e up with at the moment.
[Sometimes your brain can be so slow.]
"What do you mean?"
[You already know what, or should I say, who they are after.]
At that moment, a faint memory resurfaced. Metal sharks targeted Eula because she was a succubus, but the people from the Cult were also there for her.
But since she was well protected, they shifted their attention to a somewhat easier target--Anna!
"These fuckers are getting too cocky," Ashton mumbled while smiling, "Thankfully, the news of Phantom's demise should make them second guess their intentions."
[One can only hope.]
After getting dressed, Ashton headed outside to check on the relief measures. Although a third of the city had been reduced to a pile of rubble, the residents appeared unaffected by the disaster. Seeing humans, vampires, werewolves and undead smile while helping the relief efforts was heartwarming.
"Congratulations, young lord," Montagu said with a straight face, "You have achieved the impossible. I can finally see why my dearest daughter took a liking to you."
"I'd like to apologise for my inpetence in protecting her-" Ashton muttered but was immediately stopped by Montagu.
"You have nothing to apologise for, son." He said, "Anna got injured because she was weak and couldn't foresee an ambush. That said, I'm glad I got to see her newfound strength. HAHA!"
[A family of masochists, I'm telling you. You'll get married into a family of masochists!]
'Stop thinking out loud, mofo! I ain't getting married yet.'
[Forget about marriage, be a sigma male!]
"Sigma?"
[Sigmaballs.]
'...can't believe I fell for that.'
"Anyways, I'll take my leave." Montagu patted Ashton's back, "Someone needs to watch over Anna, and I believe you have a lot of work to do."
Ashton responded with a curt nod as Montagu disappeared right before his eyes.
"Teleportation, that might e in handy."
[You would consume your father-in-law for a mere ability?]
'Anything that es out of your dirty mouth bees dirty.'
[Hey, you're the one wanting to do the sucky-sucky for an ability!]
Jokes aside, the battle reduced his number of undead foot soldiers by around 11%. Thankfully, most of them were the undead under Bismark's mand, so his main force was mostly unaffected.
However, not that the limit on manding more undead had been lifted, Ashton wanted to start resurrecting more shade soldiers.
Unfortunately, Earth wasn't the place to do it, as the residents were feeble pared to the rest of the galaxy. But he then remembered something.
Ashton immediately dipped his hand in his inventory and removed a monster's severed head. It was the lizardman he had confronted on Occuna.
'He wouldn't be of much use without a body.' Ashton shrugged ically, 'That is if I didn't possess [Association].'
A moment later, he called out every single undead from [Valhalla]. The task Ashton was about to give them wasn't something he could acplish by himself quickly.
"Remember this head," He mented, waving the severed head around like a trophy, "Search far and wide. I don't care if you have to plunge into the swamp, but find a body suited for this individual. The ones who bring a corpse to my liking will be promoted to a higher class!"
The skeletons began cluttering their teeth in excitement. Being promoted meant they'd be able to handle more power and have a unit of their own, much like Sven and the others did. Even though they weren't alive, their greed for power lived endlessly.
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