Chapter 780 Warning
"Prince Khan," Margaret announced, but Khan didn't reply. She had learned about his change in status, but that wasn't enough to make him speak.
Khan briefly looked at Margaret before focusing on the blue bush. Even with many missing leaves, the plant appeared rather healthy. It seemed the lab had learned how to nourish it while he was stuck on Baoway.
"Our study discovered many hidden properties," Margaret said. "Would you like to hear them, Prince Khan?"
Khan's eyes remained on the plant as his feet finally began to move. He advanced through the lab, crossing frozen scientists and interactive desks until he reached the blue bush. He was basically standing before Margaret now, but his attention never went to her.
The advance cleared the view into the previous areas. The scientists had heard rumors, but looking past the hole dug through the metal explained the gravity of the situation. The intermitting illumination shone on destroyed and buzzing machines, maimed corpses, and pools of blood, telling a clear story about Khan's deeds.
Death seemed unavoidable, and Khan's silence didn't reassure anyone. His aura made the air reek of cold, killing intent. Nothing could stop him, either. The scientists could only indulge him until he decided to take their lives.
Margaret also lost all hope at the sight of the gory spectacle, but some defiance shone in her eyes. She knew her team had gotten close to killing Khan, and the months he had spent stranded on Baoway had allowed her to fulfill some goals.
"It's too late, Prince," Margaret chuckled. "The information is already out there, and you'll never find where it went."
Margaret was right, but Khan had accepted that truth long before flying to the space station. His presence there wasn't an attempt to limit the damage. He wanted to write a message both humans and aliens could read.
"Killing us and taking this plant will be pointless," Margaret continued, doing her best to enjoy any remaining second of her life. "This sample has already borne fruit. You'll always be many steps behind."
Khan reached for one of the blue leaves, tasting it between his thumb and forefinger. Margaret believed he was checking its state, but the following purple-red glow destroyed that idea.
Mana escaped Khan's fingers, flowing over and inside the leaf. That energy quickly spread throughout the plant as cracks opened on its surface. The bush retained its intact form for a second before falling apart, becoming dust on the interactive desk.
Margaret didn't expect that development. She didn't know what had happened in Baoway after her departure, but the blue plant remained a valuable resource. Destroying it wouldn't feel right even if Khan had a thousand of them in store.
Margaret wasn't the only one who experienced surprise. The scientists faced a similar emotion, which was enough to break the frozen state in some cases. One close to an exit even glanced at the door as calculations happened inside her mind. Khan was fast, but it would take her a single jump to escape the lab.
The woman stared at the door as sweat ran down her forehead. She wanted to live if possible, and running away seemed the only path toward that. Her body tensed up as plans and simulations invaded her mind, but a bottomless terror replaced everything when her finger flinched.
A purple-red light shone on the woman's face, and her eyes moved to inspect the source of that sudden glow. A floating needle had appeared near her cheek, ready to stab it and explode. Needless to say, any idea of running away ended at that sight.
Margaret and the other scientists noticed the event, but Khan remained the most terrifying part of the scene. He was still looking at the interactive desk but had sensed and reacted to a mere idea standing meters away. His awareness seemed to border omniscience.
Slowly, more needles materialized in the lab, each pointing at a scientist, and Khan made it look effortless. He didn't move at all. Even his eyes remained still, but enough spells to blow multiple rooms materialized anyway.
"P-" Margaret tried to say something, but the rest of her line remained stuck in her throat. A hole suddenly opened at the center of her forehead, and blood and brain matter spurted from it as she fell lifeless on her back.
The thudding noise created by Margaret's crash set off the scientists. Everyone mustered their mana or tried to escape, but the needles were faster. All the spells shot toward their targets, detonating and devouring heads.
More thudding noises followed as every scientist fell dead to the floor. The area tried to become silent, but the lingering effects of the chaos element made the various machines flicker. A few even released sparks as the lab's artificial illumination struggled to remain on.
Khan finally lifted his eyes as two glowing spears materialized above his head. They gathered power while pointing at opposite ends of the lab and shot forward once Khan took his first step.
Explosions resounded inside the lab, creating strong winds that pushed any loitering object away. The spells then gave birth to pillars, which rose toward the ceiling and eroded the surrounding metal.
Cracks expanded through the floor as everything began to crumble. The lab sank on itself, but Khan had already disappeared, moving to his next target.
Similar scenes unfolded in all the locations Khan planned to destroy. Blinding pillars ate away expensive equipment, useful machines, and bodies, often affecting the areas on the upper and lower floors.
By then, the rumor had become a certainty, and the event didn't stop at the space station. Everyone panicked and tried to escape the structure, but Gordon's team prevented that. He even used the noble authority to deactivate the teleports, leaving the desperate crowd with only one option.
Many sent distress signals and requests for help into any available channel. The network became flooded with such messages, and to the readers' surprise, the Nognes family didn't censor them. Everyone learned about the slaughter unfolding inside the space station, but no one moved to stop it.
As for Khan, he felt worse at each spell he launched, which did nothing to justify his actions. Even if his face didn't show it, he experienced everything, angry and in pain the situation had forced that out of him.
Of course, no one was forcing Khan to do anything, but his way of life required that. Sacrificing himself or his integrity was always the safest option, and he chose it every time.
Besides, those decisions worked differently for Khan. His mind had no space for regret. He had become that kind of man, leaving no available path behind.
The slaughter lasted half an hour, culminating at the teleport area. Everyone there was innocent, but Khan showed no mercy anyway. Those workers had still opened the gates for people who were against Khan, which had become an unforgivable crime now.
Admittedly, Khan could have wrapped the matter quickly but had opted for a fast-paced walk to experience the magnitude of his destruction. Once the job was done, he returned to the hangar, where a terrified crowd awaited him.
The random workers Lieutenant Dyester had crossed from the list had gathered there since everywhere else could be Khan's target. The hangar also was the only hope of escaping in the absence of teleports, but Khan's arrival seemed to destroy that thought.
However, Khan didn't attack. He took a few steps forward while the workers retreated at his advance before stopping. His stance began to convey cold confidence as his eyes ran through the crowd. His appearance had remained strangely clean during the endeavor, but the light that started leaking from his gaze reminded everyone of the monster he was.
"Let this be a warning," Khan announced, his calm voice echoing through the symphony, becoming a loud chant. "This is the fate of anyone suspected of aiding those against me."
Gulps and shaking legs spread throughout the hangar. Ordinary people would find such claims unreasonable, but the space station's workers had just witnessed the truth. Khan was for real. He was ready to engage in a crazy slaughter at the mere suspicion of enmity.
"You have five minutes to evacuate," Khan continued. "Starting now."
Khan's words triggered mass panic. All the workers headed for the few available ships, crowding them while struggling to cross their narrow metal ramps. The hangar barely had enough vehicles to fit them all, but those soldiers wouldn't engage in orderly departures after what they had witnessed.
Khan nodded at the distant Gordon while the mess unfolded, and the man hopped on the noble ship with his team. They were the first to depart, slowly followed by the rides that managed to set off.
Nevertheless, Gordon stopped the ship right outside the space station. The other vehicles shot at full speed into the universe, trying to put as much distance from the structure as possible, but not Gordon. He had orders to remain there and complied.
Once the five minutes were over, explosions began to resound inside the space station. Smoke filled the hangar as the mana barrier destabilized, pushing all the gas into the universe. Huge cracks also appeared in other areas of the structure, losing their protection against the fearsome void.
Then, the structure began to cave in, almost imploding on itself. Its surfaces bent and broke, crushing the innermost areas. The process continued even when Khan stepped into the universe protected by a mana barrier. He reached his ship just in time to watch the space station explode from the scanners.