The Spider Queen

[Stop]

Sophie paused briefly as a cold inhuman whisper echoed in her mind. The rest of the mercenaries continued to walk towards the metalloid bridge, but she remained frozen in place.

"Priestess?" Sophie muttered quietly.

She recognised the voice because unlike the Hunter Goddess, there was a small trace of concern hidden inside the seemingly cold tone.

[Your target still lives]

[The hunt has not ended]

"There isn't much I can do about it," Sophie explained patiently.

"This ship leaves for the frontier region today and I can't fight the entire camp of Hyperion knights without putting Lily in danger."

[It doesn't matter]

[The goddess demands her sacrifice and as a vessel you need to accomplish certain tasks in order to use her powers freely]

Sophie had no problem admitting that she didn't mind coming back to the Unova Syndicate once she became stronger.

But the main issue was that she had no guarantee that the captain would still be alive nor where to find him in the vast expanse of space.

This was her best chance to kill him and perhaps the priestess knew this fact as well.

"What… what… if I fail and don't finish the hunt?" Sophie asked hesitantly.

[The hunter goddess is neither kind nor merciful. This is your first chosen sacrifice so the price to pay for failure will be steep]

[A life for a life]

"Whose life?" Sophie demanded as panic rose up in her chest.

"Mine? Or the life of someone close to me?"

There was a brief moment of silence as all Sophie could hear was the frantic pounding of her heart.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"ANSWER ME PRIESTESS!"

Sophie ignored the strange gazes of the nearby mercenaries who were shocked by the sudden yell that erupted from her mouth.

[I am unable to say.]

[Just know that no vessel has ever been willing to lose the life of the one that the goddess took from them]

[Please make the right choice…]

[For your sake]

The final cold whisper echoed in Sophie's mind, and she could feel the presence lingering in her mental space slowly fade away.

The priestess had left after her final warning.

Make the right choice?

What a joke….

The word 'choice' would imply that Sophie had the option to refuse.

Lily was looking at her with a worried expression, but the hybrid girl had too many thoughts on her mind.

What to do?

Returning to the camp site of the Hyperion knights and tracking down the captain would take time.

Time that she clearly did not have.

The ship was going to leave today and without it, there was no way to get off this planet.

Furthermore, Lily's safety would be at risk no matter what option Sophie chose since she did not trust the other mercenaries onboard the vessel.

So, dropping off Lily on the starship by herself was clearly too unsafe.

But taking the little girl with her to fight the Hyperion knights was also dangerous.

Sophie's golden eyes darkened as she walked mechanically towards the metalloid bridge and the two pale-skinned aliens waiting for the warriors.

Was there a way out of this situation?

Wait a minute…

A twisted grin flashed across Sophie's face as a crazy plan began to take shape in her mind. It was a plan that could go terribly wrong in a number of ways.

But what other choice did she have?

"Lily…" Sophie whispered gently.

"When we go onboard the starship, I want you to close your eyes and no matter what you hear… do not open them."

Sophie planted a soft kiss on the little girl's forehead and headed towards the bridge with a determined glint in her eyes.

It was time to prepare.

Lily who was currently being held in her big sister's arms found herself carefully transferred to Sophie's back where she was secured by two pieces of metalloid rope.

The little girl didn't fully understand what was happening but trusted her big sister, so she closed her eyes as the pair walked up the bridge and entered the vessel.

"Welcome back," a mental transmission was sent into the minds of the mercenaries.

"Please proceed in an orderly fashion back to your quarters.

The crewmembers were exactly the same as Sophie had remembered. Pale-skinned aliens with long, slender limbs that seemed easy to snap.

They all wore the same red robe with various symbols and pattern sewn into the material by careful needlework.

The mercenaries were led down a messy labyrinth of tunnels and corridors until they arrived at the familiar door to their room.

One of the crewmembers placed his hand on the scanner next to the door and soon the sight of the multiple beds carelessly scattered across an open space elicited laughs and jokes.

"Home sweet home," a muscular warrior mocked.

"By the gods… I have missed sleeping on a bed," another mercenary nodded his head and agreed.

"I will kill whoever messes up the bathroom this time," a hulking brute growled darkly.

One by one the mercenaries entered the room under the watchful gaze of the two crew members.

Sophie had intentionally moved towards the back of the group and was among the last members to reach the metalloid door.

She placed one foot inside the room but froze as if waiting for something.

"Does anyone here know how to fly a ship?" Sophie's casual question pierced through the sea of conversation.

"What are you doing? Just get inside!" a furious mental whisper appeared in the minds of the mercenaries.

Sophie continued to speak as if nothing had occurred and once again asked the same question,

"Does anyone here know how to fly a ship? Just raise your hand or whatever appendage you got so I can tell."

There was a short pause and then a few mercenaries around the room raised up their hands, tentacles, or wings.

Most were curious about why she was putting on a performance and adopted a wait and see attitude to observe how the crew would respond.

Sophie's eyes quickly swept the interior of the room and took note of the mercenaries with starship piloting capabilities.

"Thank you," Sophie gently spoke but there was no smile on her face.

Slash!

The two bodies of the crewmembers fell to the ground with their heads cleanly sliced off by Sophie's bladed appendages.

Every mercenary in the room reacted with shock and horror as blue blood spurted out of the headless corpses.

Yells and shouts filled the room as the warriors could not believe what has just happened.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Why would you suddenly attack them?"

"Do you want to die?!"

Sophie casually raised up her right palm and unleashed the full force of her cultivation base. The immense pressure from a qi tide cultivator forced all of the mercenaries to their knees.

Cracks appeared on the ground as Sophie channelled all of her rage and frustration into this intimidating display of raw power.

There was a slight tinge of red spreading across Sophie's golden eyes as she gazed at the mercenaries helplessly struggling to breathe.

No… don't lose control.

Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm down her bloodlust and reduced some of the pressure.

She needed the mercenaries alive.

Or at the very least, she needed to keep the ones who could drive a starship.

This was the solution that Sophie had quickly thought of after hearing the warning from the priestess.

There was only one option to finish the hunt and ensure that there was a way to leave this planet once the captain died.

Mutiny.