172: Heartless Enterprises, Part Eight

Heartless Enterprises, Part Eight

[Hm,] Neve thought. [For my plan to work, I'll need to be careful. But, I think this is the right thing to do.] 

Having made her choice, all she could do now was try not to get taken down by this android before her plan could be fulfilled. 

[I have 525 mana left. That's enough to summon Erin one more time and get some more shielding in. I hope this is enough.] 

Andromeda wasted no time. 

She leaped back, firing a laser aimed at her sister's head. Raising her staff, Neve blocked the shot with {Flash Shielding}, bringing her mana down to 500. As Andromeda landed, she seemingly pulled a couple of grenades out of thin air and threw them at Neve and Erin. 

Erin moved toward the android, perhaps not even noticing the thrown items, while Neve dodged back. 

Doing so, she ended up beside Andromeda's sister. 

The grenades exploded, unleashing a burst of energy that just barely did not reach the healer and the android. Just before Neve could move forward and rejoin her summon, she was asked: 

"Did you truly change your mind so quickly after hearing what I had to say?" 

Neve looked over at the android. 

"Yes. What, were you lying?" 

"No," she replied, "but... It is hard for me to trust someone whose heart can be swung so easily. Someone who'd betray an ally so quickly." 

"Messia," Andromeda called out, as she avoided Erin's attacks easily, "I do not believe you have the luxury of speaking so casually right now." 

"... She's right," Messia, her sister, responded. 

The android then ran up, taking her energy blades out as she went to help Erin. 

Amidst the sniper rifle firing and thunder cracking up above, Neve thought about that. 

[... I wouldn't say I betrayed her, personally.] 

As Erin managed to keep the distance closed between her and Andromeda, the android finally swapped out her rifle for a pair of energy pistols. Firing them at the lamia, but unable to inflict any damage due to Neve's continued use of {Flash Shielding}, the android's eyes shifted toward Neve herself. 

[Crap.] 

Neve got ready to try to avoid the attacks that followed, but as Andromeda dashed toward her, her sister intercepted the enemy, standing in front of Neve and swinging the blades mounted onto her wrists at her sister. 

Briefly, the two of them fought each other in a duel, and Neve watched. It became painfully clear why Andromeda's sister could never simply walk into Galactech and handle her business directly. Why she kept waiting for Andromeda to walk out. 

That being, as skilled as her sister was, Andromeda was just better. 

Andromeda put her weapons away and dodged one stabbing thrust after another from her sister's wrist blades. It seemed effortless, as did the way in which she dealt her sister a knee to the gut that put her down instantly. 

Her eyes fell on Neve again, and the healer held back a sigh of relief as she saw how they flickered. Finally, a sign that she was doing the right thing. 

[How much longer, though?] 

Erin intervened before Andromeda could do anything to the healer, stepping between them and pushing the android back with a slam from her tail. 

With her sister behind her and the alien pair up ahead, Andromeda brought out her pistols and began to fire at both parties. Her sister responded by strafing to the right, running away from the steady stream of lasers. Neve simply used {Flash Shielding} more, bringing her mana to 450. 

Soon, Andromeda put her pistols away and ran toward Neve and Erin with nothing but her bare hands. 

Erin went to wrap herself around Andromeda, in hopes of restricting her movement, but the android nimbly flipped over her body, continuing to make her way to Neve. 

For a few fleeting seconds, Neve looked into the eyes of her opponent and was shaken. 

The single-minded desire to kill, the way she pushed her body to its limits, the way Andromeda's focus wasn't shaken even once. 

It was like Neve's past self was running straight at her. 

[Past? No...] Neve corrected herself. The world almost seemed to slow down as she saw Andromeda approaching. [That anger is still in me. I can feel it. All it's looking for is an outlet. A new target. What will happen to me when I find one?] 

She shook her head. 

[No, come on. Focus on the fight.] 

Just as she said those words to herself, Andromeda reached her position and Neve responded by slashing at her with her awakened blade. She didn't hit her, obviously, as the gap in speed between them was tremendous, but she managed to make Andromeda back off which allowed her sister to come in from the side. 

The two androids battled briefly, with Andromeda punching her sister in the chin, before Erin came in and used {Dragon's Divine Breath}. She attempted to cover Andromeda in flames but the opponent raised a leg up and axe-kicked Erin's hands down before headbutting her so hard that Neve heard a crack amidst the pouring rain. 

As Andromeda's eyes flickered again, her sister positioned herself in front of Neve.

As thunder clapped above, the two sisters stared each other down. Neve looked up at her mana as Erin disappeared, hoping it would regenerate just a little. 

"... You're trying so hard," Andromeda told them both. "But, I was made to protect my creators. You're wasting your time, fighting me." 

[If anyone's time is being wasted, it's you,] Neve replied in her thoughts, remaining perfectly still outside of them. 

"But, fine," Andromeda said, tapping against some unseen buttons under her left wrist. "If you want me to try a little harder to stop you, I will." 

Neve's ears perked up. 

[That can't be a coincidence. It's almost over.] 

Then, although almost no damage had been done to Andromeda so far, she entered her second phase, a change marked by the way the white lights in her eyes changed to blue. 

Neve resummoned Erin. 

MP: 160/1300

The lamia, who'd heard what Neve wanted to do earlier, looked ahead and saw that Andromeda was still after them. 

"Not yet?" She asked. 

"A little more." 

"Alright." 

With that being said, Erin activated {The Lamia's Hunt} and dashed toward Andromeda.

She swung a claw-bearing hand in Andromeda's direction, but before she could even get within arm's length, the android punched her in the gut. 

Erin was knocked unconscious. Neve's eyes widened. With just one move, the android had put Erin down. 

With that done, Andromeda then shifted her attention to Neve. Even as her sister ran up and tried to fight her, the android casually kicked her sibling away and walked straight to Neve's position. 

[Hm. Okay,] Neve thought, inhaling sharply. [She's probably got a speed of around 100, given how easily she took down Erin. And, her Strength is probably pretty high too. She hasn't even used any spells yet, right? So... Yeah, I'm probably just fucked.]

Neve sighed as Andromeda stood in front of her, stopping. Her blue eyes were almost blinding to look at. 

[What was it her sister said? Conviction? Is that it?] Neve nodded to herself. [I guess this is meant to ask just how much I trust my plan, isn't it?] 

Andromeda pulled out a knife and slammed it into Neve's abdomen. 

"Mmgh..." Neve gritted her teeth, taking the blow completely and falling to her knees. 

"... I have nothing against you, Neve," Andromeda told her. "But, I cannot reach into your Inventory unless you die. If you give me what I need to activate the rocket, I will not kill you. But, if you don't..."  1

Her sister stepped in before the conversation could progress any further. 

As Neve's blood slipped into the water-covered floor, Messia tried to kick her in the chest, only for her foot to be caught in mid-air and her body to be flung to the side. 

Neve remained silent, holding a hand against her wound as Andromeda walked over again. 

"As I was saying, will you hand over the items yourself, or do I need to take them from your lifeless corpse?" 

Neve said nothing. 

"... Very well." 

Andromeda raised her knife into the air. 

Just then, however, it happened. 

What Neve had been banking on since she realized Andromeda was the hidden boss fight of this floor. 

The android's body shut down. 

[NOW!] 

Neve healed herself back to full health with two casts of {Great Healing Dart}. 

Then, with no small amount of effort, she cut off Andromeda's legs. 

[Just in case.] 

"Messia, there are some things we came here to take from you. Where are they?" Neve asked desperately. 

"W-What?" The android asked as she looked down at her sister. 

"Just hand them over!" 

[I made a lot of assumptions to get this far, but if my guess is right, there's a reason the name of the item we needed to pick up here was so vague.] 

The three items Neve had been tasked with picking up by Andromeda herself were necessities, fuel, and oxygen. 

Necessities, of course, stood out, as the word was so vague. That was because it wasn't one singular item, but a collection of them. Things the talmer would need to make it on a new world. 

Messia produced a crate. 

Neve opened it as she heard Andromeda's body beginning to spark to life. 

She was right. 

Among the items contained in this case were nutrients, water, and vitamins. But, right next to them, was one small block simply labeled, "batteries". 

"Okay, you, listen to me," she said to Andromeda's sister. "Here's what you're going to do..." 

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