Intergalactic conquest with an AI

After nearly an hour of what could barely be called a

conversation

with the assassin leader, Rex finally stepped back, letting out a deep breath as he crouched by the small river in the garden.

He dipped his bloodied hands into the cool water, scrubbing them with a kind of calm precision that felt unnervingly out of place after what had just transpired. Behind him, the leader of the assassins still dangled limply in the air, suspended by the same white chains that had held him since the beginning.

If the assassin leader could still think, if he could still feel, he might have begged for mercy. But his broken body told another story. His face was no longer recognizable, a pulpy mess of swollen flesh and blood.

His limbs were twisted at grotesque angles, like some nightmarish pretzel. Even his infamous healing factor had given up hours ago, the sheer brutality of Rex's punishment having pushed his body beyond any hope of recovery.

He wasn't even breathing heavily anymore, just wheezing shallow, broken gasps.

Rex stood, shaking the water from his hands before turning his gaze back to the mangled figure

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. "You know, this could've all been avoided if you'd just told me who sent you."

His voice was conversational, almost friendly, like he was chatting with an old acquaintance.

"Although…"

Rex scratched his chin, as if considering something.

"Now that I think about it, if I keep punching your face like that, there's no way you'd be able to talk even if you wanted to. My bad. Anyway, it doesn't matter."

He smiled faintly, almost apologetically.

"I know someone who can rip the answers straight from your brain. So… yeah. Guess I overdid it for nothing."

Rex turned away from the leader, letting the chains hold what little remained of his dignity. His pitch-black eyes scanned the garden until they landed on the rest of the assassins.

They were scattered across the ground, each one bound tightly by the same glowing chains that now felt more like a death sentence than a prison. Unlike their leader, they were still intact, unbroken in body, if not in spirit.

The assassins stared at Rex, wide-eyed and trembling. They had all witnessed the brutality unleashed upon their strongest warrior, the one they had believed was invincible. Now, as Rex began walking toward them, their fear grew so thick it was suffocating.

Rex stopped a few steps away, just close enough for all of them to hear him clearly. He placed his hands behind his back, tilting his head slightly as if deep in though

t. "Hmm, what should I do with you all?"

he mused aloud, his tone light and playful.

He suddenly clapped his hands together, grinning.

"Oh, I've got it!"

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His voice carried a mock excitement that made the assassins shiver.

"Here's the deal. If you don't want to end up like your boss over there..."

he pointed with a thumb toward the mangled figure still dangling in the air,

"swear your loyalty to the twins you were trying to kill. Sounds fair, doesn't it? I mean, better than the alternative."

The assassins froze. Rex's smile was anything but comforting. The oppressive weight of his presence hung over them like a storm cloud, his abyss-black eyes boring into their very souls.

His smile didn't reach his eyes; in fact, it made the aura surrounding him even more terrifying. Every fiber of their being screamed at them to respond, to say

something,

but their voices were trapped in their throats.

"Well?"

Rex asked, spreading his arms as if inviting them to speak.

"Anyone? No?"

His smile faded slightly, replaced by a look of mild disappointment

. "Guess I'll have to make some more organic art. Don't worry, I'm getting pretty good at it."

Rex reached out, his hand inches from the head of the nearest assassin, who began hyperventilating as tears streamed down his face. The assassin's lips moved, but no sound came out; he couldn't even beg for his life.

Before Rex could go any further, a familiar voice rang out behind him.

"That's enough, Rex."

He froze mid-motion, slowly straightening as Cleo's voice carried across the garden. The tone was calm and neutral, yet it carried an authority that couldn't be ignored.

Rex turned his head slightly, just enough to glance over his shoulder. Cleo stood at the edge of the garden, her holographic figure glowing faintly in the dim light. She met Rex's gaze without flinching, her golden eyes sharp and unwavering.

"They can't answer you because your aura is too heavy,"

Cleo continued, her voice steady as she stepped closer.

"You're suffocating them, Rex. They aren't defying you; they physically can't respond."

Rex turned fully now, the chains retracting slightly as he released the trembling assassin. His abyss-black eyes locked onto Cleo's golden ones, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. The air between them felt electric, charged with tension.

Cleo's usual perception of Rex, bright, dependable, a beacon of hope, was completely shattered. The man standing before her now felt alien, his aura so oppressive and sinister it made her feel uncomfortably.

Where she once saw a radiant, white light surrounding him, she now saw something entirely different: a swirling void of blackness, suffocating and impenetrable.

"Who are you?"

Cleo asked, her voice quieter now, though it carried an edge of suspicion.

Rex tilted his head slightly, a flicker of confusion passing across his features.

"What kind of question is that?"

he replied, his tone calm but tinged with curiosity.

"You aren't... the same,"

Cleo said, narrowing her eyes as she studied him closely. "

You feel... different. This aura, it's not like you, Rex."

Rex blinked, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"You think I've changed?"

he asked softly, his voice almost amused. "Maybe this is just a side of me you've never seen before, Cleo. Or…" He stepped closer, his pitch-black eyes gleaming in the faint light.

"Maybe this is the real me."

Cleo didn't move, though she could feel the oppressive weight of his aura pressing against her.

"No,"

she said firmly, her golden eyes narrowing.

"The real you isn't like this. The real Rex wouldn't enjoy doing something so... vile."

Rex chuckled, shaking his head.

"You always did see the best in me, Cleo. But sometimes... the 'best' isn't enough."

Before Cleo could respond, Rex turned back toward the assassins, his expression unreadable. His voice softened, but the edge of menace still lingered.

"Take them away,"

he said flatly. "

I'm done here."

Cleo hesitated for a moment before giving the command. "

Phantom unit, secure the prisoners. Move them to the holding cells."

As the black-armored units emerged from the shadows to carry out her orders, Cleo's gaze lingered on Rex. For the first time, she felt uncertain about him and about what he was becoming.

And as the last of the assassins was dragged away, she couldn't shake the feeling that something dark was stirring within him, something that even he might not fully understand.

After the Blood Clan assassins were dragged away, the garden fell silent, save for the soft murmur of the artificial river. Rex made his way toward the pool that connected to the water's flow, his steps slow and deliberate. The adrenaline from earlier had faded, replaced by a strange heaviness he couldn't shake.

Once he reached the edge of the pool, Rex deactivated his armor with a low hum, the sleek plates retracting and disappearing, leaving him in nothing but a thin, sweat-drenched shirt and a pair of plain black pants. Without hesitation, he stepped into the cool water, goin in until it reached his chest.

Rex leaned back and let his body float, staring upward as the tension in his muscles began to ease. His gaze sought the sky out of habit, but all he found was the arched stone ceiling of the underground garden.

The realization made him sigh, and he let his eyes close, the weight of exhaustion pulling him deeper into his thoughts.

Minutes passed in silence, broken only by the faint ripples in the water. Then, a familiar voice reached him.

"Rex..."

It was Cleo. Her voice was softer than usual, almost hesitant, a note of concern hidden beneath her usual composed tone.

Rex opened his eyes lazily, tilting his head toward her. His golden irises, glowing faintly in the dark, met hers, and Cleo exhaled in relief. His aura had returned to the radiant, inspiring energy she was used to. The oppressive, sinister feeling from earlier was completely gone, as if it had never been there at all.

"Mmm? What's the matter, my wife?"

Rex asked, his tone light and playful, like nothing had happened. He gave her one of his usual grins, the kind that could disarm a battlefield of tension in an instant.

Cleo paused, studying him. It was as though the person standing before her now was an entirely different man from the one she had seen earlier, with abyss-black eyes and an aura that could crush the strongest wills. It left her... unsettled.

"There's nothing wrong…"

Cleo said carefully, though her golden eyes betrayed her concern.

"I just wanted to see how you were feeling after… you know."

She hesitated, clearly trying to find the right words to express herself.

"Oh, that,"

Rex said, his smile fading slightly. He moved toward her in the shallow water, his steps deliberate but slow, as if considering his response. Without warning, he grabbed Cleo's hand and gently pulled her into the pool, catching her by the waist as she splashed in.

"Rex!"

Cleo gasped, her expression half-shocked, half-annoyed. But she didn't pull away from him.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry you had to see that side of me,"

Rex murmured, his voice quieter now.

"So far, only Carlos has ever seen me like that. It's just... when someone hurts the people I care about, I lose myself. I can't help it. It's like something in me snaps."

Cleo stared up at him, her golden eyes catching the faint glimmer of the artificial river's ripples. The garden lights had been destroyed by the shockwaves of Rex's punches, leaving the area cloaked in shadows, but somehow, her eyes seemed to glow even brighter in the darkness.

Rex reached up, brushing a few strands of damp hair from her face.

"I'm sorry if I scared you

," he said softly, his fingertips lightly trailing across her cheek.