The creature offered no reply, but a cold, dark aura emanated from it.
Angela took a fighting stance with her axes and barked, "Do you think you've become invincible just by powering up? Thanatos is your weakness, and there is no loophole! I'll kill you another time now that I have recovered my strength and know your weakness! You're not a peerless man at all!"
Victor raised his hand and snapped his fingers, expecting the female assassin to die instantly. However, nothing happened.
Angela ended up smirking. "Your powers won't work on me! My suit is made of Thanatos, remember? It nullifies the ill effects of all your psychic gifts!"
"Cxkzzs," Victor said in a mealy-mouthed voice.
Angela scowled at the monster before her. Was it trying to say something?
"I can't hear what you're saying! Have you lost your ability to speak? No issues! I'll put you out of your misery in no time!"
Angela powered up her nanotech suit and, with blinding speed, lunged forward. She landed three deadly strikes with her Thanatos axes before leaping back nimbly.
Swipe! Scratch! Victor's body got lacerated wherever she struck, and black blood pooled out. But he seemed unfazed by the injuries.
"Cxrses," Victor repeated in an unearthly tone. The voice sent a debilitating shiver up Angela's spine. Did he say curses?
"I hxve nx gxfts…" the creature said sorrowfully. "Oxly cxrses…"
"Shut the fuck up!" Angela raged. "I’ll butcher you like the animal you are! Die right now!"
She lunged at him for a fatal strike. However, Victor's eyes sparkled red, and a powerful wave blasted out of him.
As the wave hit Angela, she felt her movements decelerate considerably. Her eyes widened as she realized she was in slow motion. The creature grinned and walked towards her at normal speed while she was suspended in the air.
"Did Victor just do what I thought he did?" Haley asked Maverick in awe.
"Yes! I have seen this happen before. Caesar has created a time bubble within which he can control the speed of time. Since Angela is affected, the pace of her movements and reactions are subject to his time warp."
"Do you mean he can control time?" Julia exclaimed. "Oh heavens! Is Victor a god?"
On the battlefield, Angela's eyes were bloodshot. Her muscles strained against the restrictions but to no avail. No matter how much she powered up her suit, her movements slowed down drastically.
Victor stepped right up to her face. "Cxrses…" he said sadly, grabbing her arms.
Angela screamed in slow motion as his fingers wrapped around her upper arms. It's as if a white-hot sword was pressed against her. With a bang, her nanosuit blew into smithereens, leaving her completely naked.
Victor's touch was devastating... Angela's skin and flesh charred as if lava was being poured on her. Her ear-splitting scream cut short as her arms fell off like twigs, and her stumps got cauterized in the heat.
"Monster…" were Angela's last words.
Victor cocked his head back and opened his mouth wide. It gaped open larger than a human's, revealing rows of beastly fangs. With a ferocious snarl, he bit off Angela's head and spat it on the sand.
The female assassin died instantly, and her headless body fell to the ground, her severed neck and arm stumps still on fire.
Wooooooo! Woooooon! Victor's cries rang out again. Then, his eyes searched for prey, and he finally settled on the escaping army.
Tap! Zoom! In one horizontal lunge, he reached them. His red slits glowed again, forming a giant bubble this time.
"Nooo!" Haley cried out. "Victor has slowed down the army's time! He wants to kill them all! Mav, isn't there a way to fix him?"
Maverick nodded. "There is… But I need to distract Caesar for ten seconds at least. Otherwise, it won't work."
Haley bit her lip, thinking. "Do you have speakers on your drones that are hovering over the beach?"
"Yeah, they do. But how is that going to help?"
"Don't ask why! Just connect the speakers, raise the volume to max, and hand me the microphone!"
Maverick quickly typed commands on his keypad, picked up a hand-held microphone on the table, and gave it to Haley.
On the battlefield, everyone in Victor's time bubble slowed down to the point of being frozen. He walked within the dimension, observing his potential victims. His eyes fell on Valeria.
Victor stepped close to her and sniffed her on the neck. His beastly instincts recognized the woman as the first prey. His slit-eyes glowed, and the young woman's movements returned to normal.
"Sir…" Val mumbled, her eyes wide in horror on seeing his ghastly form. "I know you're in there somewhere… I'm glad you are alive… If you want to kill someone, your servant, Valeria, can be the sacrifice… But please let the others go…"
Victor smirked from ear to ear. His body temperature went through the roof. Just by standing near him, Val's clothes and skin were getting blackened and charred. It was like standing on the edge of a raging volcano.
Victor sniffed Val again and raised his hand. His fingers had sprouted claws, one of which he put to Val's cheek. As he dragged down the nail, her skin burnt and tore.
"Ghhhh…" Val groaned in pain. It was a simple tear, but she felt as if her soul was being torn apart. The creature was doing something to her worse than death.
Victor brought down his hand and rested his claws on Val's left breast.
"Hxart…” the creature said, baring its fangs. "I wxll ext yxur hxart…"