Intergalactic conquest with an AI

As soon as he took off, one of the beast's heads lunged at him with terrifying speed. Its jaws opened wide, and for a split second, Rex knew there was no way to dodge in time.

"Mini Cleo! Max output on the energy shields!" Rex shouted, his voice steady despite the chaos.

In an instant, multiple energy shield domes deployed, lighting up in rapid succession. The head slammed into the barriers, but the sheer force sent Rex tumbling backward and straight into the creature's throat.

"Well, that's just great," Rex muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm as he hovered inside the foul, pulsating cavern. "It smells like something died in here!"

"Be careful, Master!" Mini Cleo's holographic form appeared beside him, her tiny face covered by an exaggerated gas mask, her voice tinged with both concern and playful mischief. "The corrosive liquid in here is highly dangerous! If it touches you, you'll be in serious trouble!"

Rex waved her off, though he couldn't help but grin at her antics. "Got it, got it. But don't worry, I've got an idea." His smirk widened as he gripped his claymore, the blade glowing brighter as it expanded in size.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Mini Cleo tilted her head, curious. "What's the plan, Master?"

Rex licked his lips, his tone both cocky and excited. "Tell me, Mini Cleo, do you ever hear what happens when you accidentally swallow a fishbone?"

Mini Cleo blinked, then giggled behind her gas mask. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

Rex raised his claymore, the blade now a blinding beacon in the darkness of the creature's throat. "Let's see how this beast likes a little... indigestion."

Inside the monstrous creature's throat, Rex held on tight to his claymore, grinning like a madman. With all his strength, he spun the massive blade in wild arcs, tearing through the pulsating walls of flesh as he tumbled up and down like a whirlwind.

"Hahahaha! Enjoy the fishbone, you ugly bastard!" He roared, his voice echoing within the beast's troath as he became a spinning, living saw.

Mini Cleo, clinging tightly to a lock of his hair, screamed in protest. "Maaassstteeerrr! I'm feeling so dizzy!" She whined, her holographic form flailing helplessly.

Rex, who shared everything Mini Cleo experienced, immediately felt the dizziness hit him like a hammer. His vision swirled. "Oh no... I think I'm going—"

Meanwhile, outside, the battle was going from bad to worse. Ys fought fiercely against the remaining seven heads, her immense serpentine body coiling and striking like a force of nature.

But the difference in strength was undeniable. Her injuries were taking their toll, and with every move, her speed was slowing. Her once-beautiful scales were now marred by countless wounds, her green blood streaking through the water.

One of the heads finally got its chance. It lunged forward with terrifying speed, its jaws closing around Ys's midsection in a crushing bite. A pained, guttural roar erupted from her as the creature clamped down, its teeth digging deep into her flesh.

But Ys wasn't one to surrender. With a savage twist of her body, she turned her head and sank her own fangs into the offending head. Her thick and corrosive venom bubbled through the creature's flesh, forcing it to release her with an ear-splitting howl.

But not before it tore a massive chunk of flesh from Ys's body, leaving her even weaker.

Rex, still spinning like a hurricane, finally delivered the decisive blow. With a deafening roar, he cleaved the creature's head clean off from the inside, emerging from the stump drenched in black blood and other unmentionable substances.

Gasping for air, he took a quick look around, and his heart dropped when he saw Y struggling to stay afloat.

"Ys!" he shouted, his voice cracking as he took off toward her.

Her serpentine body began to sink, her strength all but gone. "Darling..." Her voice was faint, trembling with exhaustion and pain. "I... I don't think I can keep fighting." Slowly, she collapsed into the water, her body limp as the seven remaining heads surged toward her, ready to devour her.

"NOOOOO!" Rex's anguished scream tore through the battlefield as he dove toward Ys with everything he had. His wings burned with effort, his heart pounding in his chest like a war drum.

"Mini Cleo!" he shouted desperately. "Find her core! I know she's not one to die like this; she's tougher than Carlos, and that guy's practically immortal!"

Mini Cleo's holographic form appeared beside him, her scanners whirring at full speed. "Found it, Master! Her core is in the egg, the one from when you first met her! She's retreating back into it to regenerate!"

Rex's eyes locked on the faint glow of the egg, resting on the seafloor beneath Ys's sinking form. Without wasting a second, he tucked his wings and dove underwater, cutting through the currents with every ounce of his strength. But as he neared the egg, his blood ran cold.

One of the creature's heads had seen the egg too. Its massive form twisted through the water like a missile, its jaws opening wide as it sped toward Ys's core.

"NOOOO!" Rex shouted, his voice raw as he pushed himself to go faster. But the difference was abysmal; he was built for the skies, not the sea. Against the speed of the creature, it was like watching a baby sloth race an adult swordfish.

The head was closing in fast; its gaping maw was just inches away from swallowing the egg whole.

Desperation surged through Rex's veins. He extended his arm as far as it would go, straining to reach the egg. But it wasn't enough. The beast was faster. The gap was closing.

"I SAID FUCK OFF!" Rex roared with every ounce of strength and fury he had left. A massive shockwave of silver energy burst forth from him, radiating like an explosion. The aura blasted through the water, slamming into the creature's heads and forcing them back in a violent ripple.

The few precious seconds the shockwave bought were all Rex needed. With a final, desperate lunge, he wrapped his fingers around the egg and held it close to his chest. His wings ignited in a fiery glow as he shot upward, breaking through the surface of the water in an explosive burst.

Soaring high into the air, drenched and gasping for breath, Rex clutched the egg tightly against his bare chest. He glared down at the beast below, his eyes blazing with defiance. "You're not taking her from me," he growled.

The egg that held Ys began to glow softly in Rex's arms, its surface shimmering like liquid light. Slowly, it started to dissolve, its radiant material seeping into Ys's injured body.

As the egg vanished completely, Ys was left cradled in Rex's arms, her human form limp and battered. The material from the egg spread over her wounds, knitting her flesh together little by little, the glow of healing faint but steady.

Rex stared at her, holding her close. This was Ys, the Ys who was always carefree, who loved to joke and laze around, who teased him endlessly with that mischievous glint in her eyes. Seeing her now, fragile and broken, tore through him like a blade.

His chest tightened with a pain he had never felt before, a pain so deep it seemed to echo in his very soul. His grip on her tightened, and with that pain came something else, an uncontrollable, seething rage.

Below, the monstrous beast stirred, finally shaking off the effects of Rex's earlier shockwave. Its eight heads, now thrashing with fury, burst from the ocean's depths. This time, its movements were different, more calculated, more deliberate.

It wasn't just hunting Rex anymore. It was hunting a threat. A threat that had dared to challenge it, that had dared to hurt it.

The creature surged toward him with terrifying speed, the ocean parting in its wake. Rex didn't flinch. He wrapped Ys tighter in his left arm, shielding her with his honeycomb-like energy barrier. The shimmering shield expanded around her, encasing her in a protective cocoon.

With his free hand, Rex crafted a glowing silver chain from the nanomaterials stored in his golden halo. The chain coiled around his claymore like a living thing, securing the massive weapon to his wrist. No matter how fierce the fight became, he wouldn't drop it. Not this time.

His eyes blazed with silver light as he turned to face the charging beast. "Bring it on," Rex roared, his voice cutting through the air like thunder. "Today, you go down!"

As if it understood his words, the creature let out a deafening roar of its own, all seven mouths opening in unison. The sound was so powerful it rippled through the air and water, shaking the very battlefield itself.

But Rex didn't falter. He answered with a roar of his own, primal and raw, as his entire body erupted in a brilliant silver light.

The golden halo on his back flared to life, releasing streams of nanomaterial that surged into his body. Cleo's voice echoed in his mind, a warning from earlier. "Three meters is your safe limit, Rex! Don't push past that; your body won't hold!"

But Rex knew this wasn't the time to play it safe. Ys's fragile form in his arms reminded him of what was at stake. There was no room for hesitation.

His body began to grow, stretching and expanding as he infused more and more nanomaterial into himself. Three meters. Four. Five. Six. His muscles burned with the strain, his veins glowing like molten silver. He was a giant now, shining like a star, a silver comet falling from the sky.

With a battle cry that shook the heavens, Rex dove toward the creature, his claymore swinging in massive, earth-shaking arcs. Each swing unleashed devastating shockwaves, splitting the air and ocean alike.

The water below churned violently, pushed back by the sheer force of his strikes, creating massive craters in the waves.

The beast lunged upward to meet him, its seven heads snapping and thrashing as they closed in. Rex's silver light clashed with the creature's black, oily aura, their power colliding in a storm of chaos and fury.