Reading settings
Chapter 320: Star Sapphire of Love and Hate
Boom!
The Kryptonian's heavy punch detonated a shockwave in mid-air. Maxima, enveloped in violet light, was sent crashing diagonally down into the street. The terrifying force of the impact instantly caused the ground to crack under the strain, as if a shocking scar had been carved into the open space.
The earth was blasted into a deep crater as dust flew everywhere. A massive shockwave spread out from the point of impact, and cries of alarm echoed all around.
Kara had chosen her direction carefully, selecting a relatively empty spot for the landing. The nearest pedestrians were a mile away and were already turning to flee, so they wouldn't be caught in the blast.
“Alright, I hope that punch helped you cool down a bit,” Kara said as she floated down. “Tell me what happened. Maybe we can help you.”
Of course, as she spoke, her super vision and her battlesuit's built-in scanner were working overtime. Kara had already noticed that something was off about Maxima's condition. She knew Maxima had always been strong, but her abilities didn't used to work like this.
This strange violet energy seemed to originate from some kind of peculiar energy source buried deep within the cleavage on her chest.
“Is that thing affecting you?” Kara asked.
“Meow~”
Hearing the meow from the side, Kara was surprised to find that her Kryptonian cat had somehow followed her out, a small golden bell hanging from his neck and a red cape on his back.
“How did you get here?” Kara asked in surprise.
“Meow meow meow!”
Stryker extended a front paw and struck a pose as if flexing his muscles, the general meaning being that he was also a great fighter.
“Fine… Just don’t cause me any trouble, and be careful not to hit anything in the city,” Kara muttered. “If you break anything, we’ll get a lecture from Mr. Orin when we get back.”
“Hah!”
Maxima charged again, her speed still immense. But the Kryptonian and the Kryptonian cat deftly dodged to the left and right, respectively.
Kara shot out a right fist, which Maxima raised a palm to block, not expecting it to be a feint. Taking advantage of her super-speed, Kara’s figure flickered to the side, bypassing the defense to land a fierce hook punch on Maxima’s left cheek.
Maxima grunted, but before her head could even turn in the direction of the blow, Stryker was already waiting on the other side. With a divine cat-tail whip, his tail lashed out like a whip, violently striking her right cheek.
The force of that whip was also heaven-defying. It struck Maxima so hard her mouth was knocked crooked, and even the violet shield of light covering her body visibly dissipated by a fraction.
A human-cat tag team!
“I really hope this wakes her up!”
Kara said as she stepped forward, winding up her fist again. This move had a name: the "Physical Reboot Method." It relied on applying immense external force to the controlled person's brain to force a restart, with a certain probability of restoring their senses.
The downside was that using too much force could easily leave side effects… but that was fine. Considering the target was Maxima, whose intelligence was only so-so to begin with, any side effects wouldn't make much of a difference.
After all, she was already close to rock bottom.
But in the instant before her next punch could land, Maxima suddenly threw her arms wide, and an overbearing violet light surged forth.
Kara was alarmed. In that split second, she instinctively overcame the Kryptonian weakness of having zero evasion, dodging to the side at super-speed. But Stryker was half a beat too slow and was struck head-on by the violet light.
It wasn't a destructive energy; the light ray didn't even seem to contain any impact. But the moment Stryker was hit, the entire cat seemed to freeze on the spot, enveloped in that bizarre violet light, his body twitching and convulsing as if he had been stupefied.
“Stryker!”
Kara cried out in alarm, turning to demand.
“What did you do to Stryker?”
The next moment, Stryker's tail shot straight up. He opened his mouth, his eyes seemed to transform into the shape of hearts, and he began to drool.
Maxima—or rather, the consciousness currently controlling her body—burst out laughing. “He has been struck by the power of the Star Sapphire.
“Love is the ultimate emotion of intelligent beings, the core that nurtures life. And now, that feeling has been ignited in his heart. Behold! The surging, sacred love that lies deep within every creature!”
The violet light began to transform before her, gradually solidifying into tangible, physical constructs.
They looked like…
Like grilled fish, braised fish, steamed fish, roasted suckling pig, fried pork chops, black pepper steak, and so on and so forth…
Kara: “?”
Maxima: “…”
Seeing Stryker, his eyes sparkling with heart shapes, fly up to be surrounded by all manner of delicacies, Kara's brain momentarily crashed.
She slowly turned her head to look at Maxima and asked hesitantly, “Um… is your new ability to conjure up all-you-can-eat food?”
That was actually a pretty gentle skill.
Maxima: “…”
The Star Sapphire of Love and Hate—the violet light of the Emotional Spectrum. It possessed the ability to awaken the deepest love within a living organism and use that emotion to control or lock down their actions.
However, this was the first time the ability had resulted in a scene resembling a grand imperial banquet…
“Ahem, in any case, no creature can escape love! Love is the ultimate answer to life!”
The Star Sapphire controlling Maxima seemed to be trying hard to recover the prestige it had lost to this foodie cat.
“Now, it’s your turn!”
She spread her fingers, and a surging tide of violet light erupted, enveloping Kara just as it had Stryker.
“Feel love, embrace love! And then become a part of the Star Sapphire!” Maxima hovered in the air like a queen, violet light spilling from the corners of her eyes.
Completely enveloped, her body bound by the violet light, even Kara found herself completely unable to struggle free. This had nothing to do with raw power; the force that restrained her body wasn't overbearing at all. Instead, it was something softer, like water, yet it was like a quagmire that made one sink deeper and deeper without realizing it.
Just like love itself.
Kara's expression gradually became vacant. She floated in mid-air as her eyes were slowly filled with violet light, her mouth hanging agape.
“Come, show me what your love looks like!” the Star Sapphire said in anticipation.
However, the violet light before her gradually transformed, being molded into…
Maxima?
Maxima was instantly petrified.
Just as a Blue Lantern shows people what they hope for and a Yellow Lantern can construct a target's greatest fear, the target locked by the Star Sapphire of Love and Hate should materialize the person or thing they love most deeply.
Maxima was stunned for a moment.
The image this girl materialized with the violet light was herself. Didn’t that mean…
Then she saw Kara, who was supposed to have been captured and lost in a daze, suddenly wink at her. The corner of her mouth curled into a slight smile. “Maybe our relationship is surprisingly good, don’t you think?”
Maxima’s bewilderment lasted for a moment, her brain briefly overloaded.
The next second, she snapped back to her senses.
“No… that’s not right. None of this is real. It’s fake… It’s all fake!”
At this very moment, outside the illusion, in true reality, at the very instant Maxima had attacked Stryker, she had been tied up by Kara with a rope at supersonic speed, restrained on the ground in a compromising, tied-up posture.
Everything after that had been a dream.
The Lasso of Lies.
Her work done, Kara clapped her hands beside her, grinning. “Hope you have a good dream.”
(end of chapter)
Boom!
The Kryptonian's heavy punch detonated a shockwave in mid-air. Maxima, enveloped in violet light, was sent crashing diagonally down into the street. The terrifying force of the impact instantly caused the ground to crack under the strain, as if a shocking scar had been carved into the open space.
The earth was blasted into a deep crater as dust flew everywhere. A massive shockwave spread out from the point of impact, and cries of alarm echoed all around.
Kara had chosen her direction carefully, selecting a relatively empty spot for the landing. The nearest pedestrians were a mile away and were already turning to flee, so they wouldn't be caught in the blast.
“Alright, I hope that punch helped you cool down a bit,” Kara said as she floated down. “Tell me what happened. Maybe we can help you.”
Of course, as she spoke, her super vision and her battlesuit's built-in scanner were working overtime. Kara had already noticed that something was off about Maxima's condition. She knew Maxima had always been strong, but her abilities didn't used to work like this.
This strange violet energy seemed to originate from some kind of peculiar energy source buried deep within the cleavage on her chest.
“Is that thing affecting you?” Kara asked.
“Meow~”
Hearing the meow from the side, Kara was surprised to find that her Kryptonian cat had somehow followed her out, a small golden bell hanging from his neck and a red cape on his back.
“How did you get here?” Kara asked in surprise.
“Meow meow meow!”
Stryker extended a front paw and struck a pose as if flexing his muscles, the general meaning being that he was also a great fighter.
“Fine… Just don’t cause me any trouble, and be careful not to hit anything in the city,” Kara muttered. “If you break anything, we’ll get a lecture from Mr. Orin when we get back.”
“Hah!”
Maxima charged again, her speed still immense. But the Kryptonian and the Kryptonian cat deftly dodged to the left and right, respectively.
Kara shot out a right fist, which Maxima raised a palm to block, not expecting it to be a feint. Taking advantage of her super-speed, Kara’s figure flickered to the side, bypassing the defense to land a fierce hook punch on Maxima’s left cheek.
Maxima grunted, but before her head could even turn in the direction of the blow, Stryker was already waiting on the other side. With a divine cat-tail whip, his tail lashed out like a whip, violently striking her right cheek.
The force of that whip was also heaven-defying. It struck Maxima so hard her mouth was knocked crooked, and even the violet shield of light covering her body visibly dissipated by a fraction.
A human-cat tag team!
“I really hope this wakes her up!”
Kara said as she stepped forward, winding up her fist again. This move had a name: the "Physical Reboot Method." It relied on applying immense external force to the controlled person's brain to force a restart, with a certain probability of restoring their senses.
The downside was that using too much force could easily leave side effects… but that was fine. Considering the target was Maxima, whose intelligence was only so-so to begin with, any side effects wouldn't make much of a difference.
After all, she was already close to rock bottom.
But in the instant before her next punch could land, Maxima suddenly threw her arms wide, and an overbearing violet light surged forth.
Kara was alarmed. In that split second, she instinctively overcame the Kryptonian weakness of having zero evasion, dodging to the side at super-speed. But Stryker was half a beat too slow and was struck head-on by the violet light.
It wasn't a destructive energy; the light ray didn't even seem to contain any impact. But the moment Stryker was hit, the entire cat seemed to freeze on the spot, enveloped in that bizarre violet light, his body twitching and convulsing as if he had been stupefied.
“Stryker!”
Kara cried out in alarm, turning to demand.
“What did you do to Stryker?”
The next moment, Stryker's tail shot straight up. He opened his mouth, his eyes seemed to transform into the shape of hearts, and he began to drool.
Maxima—or rather, the consciousness currently controlling her body—burst out laughing. “He has been struck by the power of the Star Sapphire.
“Love is the ultimate emotion of intelligent beings, the core that nurtures life. And now, that feeling has been ignited in his heart. Behold! The surging, sacred love that lies deep within every creature!”
The violet light began to transform before her, gradually solidifying into tangible, physical constructs.
They looked like…
Like grilled fish, braised fish, steamed fish, roasted suckling pig, fried pork chops, black pepper steak, and so on and so forth…
Kara: “?”
Maxima: “…”
Seeing Stryker, his eyes sparkling with heart shapes, fly up to be surrounded by all manner of delicacies, Kara's brain momentarily crashed.
She slowly turned her head to look at Maxima and asked hesitantly, “Um… is your new ability to conjure up all-you-can-eat food?”
That was actually a pretty gentle skill.
Maxima: “…”
The Star Sapphire of Love and Hate—the violet light of the Emotional Spectrum. It possessed the ability to awaken the deepest love within a living organism and use that emotion to control or lock down their actions.
However, this was the first time the ability had resulted in a scene resembling a grand imperial banquet…
“Ahem, in any case, no creature can escape love! Love is the ultimate answer to life!”
The Star Sapphire controlling Maxima seemed to be trying hard to recover the prestige it had lost to this foodie cat.
“Now, it’s your turn!”
She spread her fingers, and a surging tide of violet light erupted, enveloping Kara just as it had Stryker.
“Feel love, embrace love! And then become a part of the Star Sapphire!” Maxima hovered in the air like a queen, violet light spilling from the corners of her eyes.
Completely enveloped, her body bound by the violet light, even Kara found herself completely unable to struggle free. This had nothing to do with raw power; the force that restrained her body wasn't overbearing at all. Instead, it was something softer, like water, yet it was like a quagmire that made one sink deeper and deeper without realizing it.
Just like love itself.
Kara's expression gradually became vacant. She floated in mid-air as her eyes were slowly filled with violet light, her mouth hanging agape.
“Come, show me what your love looks like!” the Star Sapphire said in anticipation.
However, the violet light before her gradually transformed, being molded into…
Maxima?
Maxima was instantly petrified.
Just as a Blue Lantern shows people what they hope for and a Yellow Lantern can construct a target's greatest fear, the target locked by the Star Sapphire of Love and Hate should materialize the person or thing they love most deeply.
Maxima was stunned for a moment.
The image this girl materialized with the violet light was herself. Didn’t that mean…
Then she saw Kara, who was supposed to have been captured and lost in a daze, suddenly wink at her. The corner of her mouth curled into a slight smile. “Maybe our relationship is surprisingly good, don’t you think?”
Maxima’s bewilderment lasted for a moment, her brain briefly overloaded.
The next second, she snapped back to her senses.
“No… that’s not right. None of this is real. It’s fake… It’s all fake!”
At this very moment, outside the illusion, in true reality, at the very instant Maxima had attacked Stryker, she had been tied up by Kara with a rope at supersonic speed, restrained on the ground in a compromising, tied-up posture.
Everything after that had been a dream.
The Lasso of Lies.
Her work done, Kara clapped her hands beside her, grinning. “Hope you have a good dream.”
(end of chapter)
