Battle Of Planets

Chapter 63: New Prime!
”R-Ryuk?” Nancy repeated slowly, trying to understand who he was and how he could threaten someone as powerful as General Albert, who had 79 power points.If he were around her age, that would mean he was likely at a similar level to Tyson and maybe even Alex. Thirty power points at most? Even the world’s most promising genius, Mark, was only at 43. So why did her mother and uncle look so shaken by the mention of his name?

Nancy’s confusion grew as she turned to her mother. ”Prime means...?”

Mrs. Winters stammered, her voice shaky. ”That young man... he was selected by the Prime Meta-bot?”

Steve nodded gravely. ”Yes, just as Edward predicted.” He exhaled sharply. ”We’ve all seen his progress. He’s a monster—just as Victor calculated. He’s already at 54 power points, nearly reaching General rank. And he was chosen just six years ago.”

Nancy’s breath hitched in her throat.

”Fifty-four power points?” she whispered in astonishment.

Even Mark wasn’t at that level. And Tyson—her Tyson—had fought tooth and nail to reach 17 power points. How is this possible?

Her mind raced with questions, but one thing was clear—she had no idea what ”Prime” truly meant. Yet, the weight of the revelation sent chills down her spine.

”Mom, tell me about P-Primes,” Nancy said.

Mrs. Winters inhaled deeply. ”A Prime is a Ranger with one specific color,” she clarified. ”Your father had his theories about them. He once mentioned that there were three Primes at the beginning of this era.”

”Single colors?” Nancy echoed, attempting to piece it together. ”Does that influence their growth rate?”

Steve nodded in agreement. ”Yes, it’s quite alarming. We believe he might be the first to reach 100 power points.”

Nancy’s eyes widened. One hundred? Even the strongest warriors hardly ever made it past 80.

Steve continued, ”I’ve been taking care of him. He’s an orphan, but he’s a good kid.” He smiled briefly but then looked at Nancy with a more profound message in his gaze—there was still hope.

”So General Albert fears that Ryuk will surpass him and force him to step down?” Nancy asked, her mind racing. ”And you said he’s had the Meta-bot for six years. We moved here just a year ago, so why haven’t you mentioned this before, Uncle?”

Steve sighed. ”It was classified, Nancy. Some things shouldn’t be revealed too soon.” He shook his head. ”You don’t get the nature of political games. Neither did your father. But that bastard Albert? He knows how to play them well. Plus, we weren’t sure about Ryuk’s growth rate. Even if he was a single-colored Ranger, we needed proof.”

Mrs. Winters scoffed. ”As usual, you needed proof.”

She remembered how the Research Department had discarded Victor’s theories, dismissing them for lacking immediate, tangible evidence. And now? Now that time had proven Victor right, everyone wanted a piece of his legacy. Some sought to praise him, while others aimed to exploit his influence for their own rise to power.

”I-I’m sorry, Sister-in-law. You know Victor was like a brother to me,” Steve apologized again, his voice heavy with guilt. ”I—I tried my best, but—”

”Leave it, Steve,” Mrs. Winters interrupted sharply. ”I don’t want to discuss the past. Just tell me how I can protect my daughter from that monster.”

Steve sighed, rubbing his forehead. ”You need to inform General Edward and hope he stands by you. Otherwise...” He hesitated. ”Albert will use his influence to deport you, claiming it’s to investigate Victor’s theories or anything at his disposal.”

Nancy felt a lump in her throat; her hands clenched into fists. Now that he has received confirmation from Ryuk’s results, he wants to use her to manipulate others. How can he do this?

Mrs. Winters’ expression darkened. ”My husband did everything he could to protect you, and now, when his family needs assistance, you tell us to fend for ourselves?”

Steve fell silent. He had no justification.

His heart was torn in two. He had to protect Ryuk—humanity’s greatest hope—before Albert found a way to eliminate him. At the same time, he wanted to help Victor’s family. Yet, on both sides, his hands were tied. He was at the mercy of the game his opponents played.

”Since Albert returned from the tournament, he has greatly outperformed the other two generals,” Steve explained, his voice steady. ”He assumed leadership, while the other two stepped aside, striving to maintain balance.”

His gaze hardened. ”And his son—despite being a civilian—dares to misuse his power at every opportunity. You’ve seen it too, haven’t you?”

Mrs. Winters and Nancy both nodded in agreement.

Nancy had witnessed Albert’s son’s unchecked arrogance firsthand. No one dared to challenge him since his father took control of Babylon. Although she had been somewhat protected by the Research Department and Victor’s remaining subordinates, none had enough power to stand against Albert or rein in his son’s behavior.

And worst of all, he had focused his attention on her.

That was why she needed to escape Babylon—before it was too late.

”So, most likely, he’ll label it an investigation or even assert that you’re concealing secrets about Victor just to gain control over you,” Steve said. ”I’m worried he’ll even convene a meeting of the Generals to take custody of Nancy if Edward refuses to turn her over.”

”Is he going to go that far?” Mrs. Winters hesitated, her voice filled with uncertainty.

”I’m afraid so,” Steve replied. ”Unless we find strong backers, someone who can stand up to him.”

Nancy understood exactly what that meant. She needed someone to back her up, someone strong enough to protect her from Albert and his son. She knew Tyson would do everything he could to shield her, but deep down, she feared his strength wasn’t sufficient—and that terrified her.

Tyson never thought twice about what lay before him. Once he set his mind on something, that was it. Just like the last time he confronted Coco, the most powerful rogue in Elria, as if he didn’t care about the enemy’s power. He never gave up.

The defiant boy would confront Albert by himself, regardless of whether the whole city abandoned him for her. She was aware of this and felt frightened about what could occur next.

She felt trapped. She wanted to protect Tyson from harm, but leaving him to marry someone else wasn’t an option. Her love for Tyson was unparalleled, but she sensed her choices narrowing, and if she didn’t decide soon, Albert would take that choice away from her.

”I’ll reach out to Utopia,” Steve said. ”You should also consider contacting Edward for assistance.”

Mrs. Winters nodded, and the phone call descended into a heavy silence. Lost in thought, Nancy stared at the floor.

---

”Sergeant!” Ken pleaded, pulling himself along the ground after his twelfth mile, as Bee whacked his rear with a stick.

”Run, boss! Your future wife is watching!” Bee shouted excitedly.

Lara’s fist clenched into a ball as she heard Bee repeat that for the fifth time. She shot a wary glance at Tyson, who was engrossed in his phone with a smile.

How dare he say that? Lara cursed inwardly. The senior might misunderstand her intentions. She needed to silence Bee before he caused any more confusion.

Watching from the sidelines, Shaun noticed that Lara’s face was about to catch fire from hearing Bee’s words.

”Shut up, you bastard!” Ken shouted, pulling himself forward. ”You’ve had me running this damn thing for three days, you lunatic!”

Finally, Ken’s bracelet clicked to twelve miles.

”You did it!” Bee shouted, raising his hands in the air. ”Look, my boss did it!”

Tyson closed the page on his phone and smiled at Bee. ”Good job. Now let’s grab a bite to eat, and don’t forget to bring that creature with you.”

”Yes, Sergeant!” Bee shouted, clutching Ken’s leg like a trophy while the group shuffled toward the dinner hall.

”Why are you laughing, Senior?” Lara asked, jogging to keep up with Tyson while Shaun walked beside them, casting pitying glances at Bee, who was dragging Ken by his legs.

”Nothing,” Tyson said, grinning, ”I just hit a thousand fans on my fan page.”

”Wow, that’s amazing!” Lara replied, attempting to conceal that she and her best friend were secretly the moderators of the fan page. ”That’s a milestone, don’t you think, Shaun?”

”Yeah, sure,” Shaun said with a shrug. ”It’s a weird page, but whatever floats your boat.”

Lara smacked his shoulder. ”What do you mean by ’weird’?”

Tyson nodded with a knowing expression, evidently unamused by Shaun’s indifference. ”Right? Are you aware of any fan pages like mine? No? I didn’t think so.”

”Actually, I do,” Shaun said casually. ”I follow Sergeant Alex’s fan page. It has about 121 thousand followers.”

Lara’s face darkened like a thundercloud. How could he mention that in front of Tyson? She was aware of it, but she didn’t want Tyson to hear and feel discouraged by the overwhelming number.

”Excuse me?” Tyson stopped, his expression suggesting he had just seen a ghost. ”What did you say?”

”121 thousand—”

”Don’t. Repeat. It.” Tyson mock-seriously grabbed Shaun’s collar, as if preparing to scold a misbehaving child. ”Why did you have to ruin my fun?”

”I thought you wanted to know,” Shaun said, scratching his head, utterly unfazed.

”No! Damn it, 121k?” Tyson shouted, his face a blend of disbelief and self-pity. ”Will I ever make it that far?”

”You will, Senior,” Lara said, glaring at Shaun as she whispered, ”Why did you have to tell him? I’m muting you for that.”

Tyson walked ahead, feeling deflated and muttering, ”He’s so far ahead...”

”Unfollow that group,” Lara said while running after Tyson, hoping to cheer him up.

”What did I do wrong?” Shaun asked with a shrug. Still huffing from dragging Ken, Bee shot him a puzzled look while keeping his hand on Ken’s leg.

Ken lay dramatically on the ground, pretending to be dead. But when Shaun glanced over, Ken stuck his tongue out as if wanting Shaun to believe he was dead.