Chương 28: A bug problem

The arrival of massively powerful entities and the birth of a new god had made Earth a less boring and somewhat interesting place. This, of course, would not have been an issue if those interested were coming with good intentions. The Hraak were not that type. The birth of a god meant that this world was likely full of life and power. Their mana-based equipment was strong, with weapons specifically made to harvest human souls.

This made the risk of tearing small portals into such a world and snagging a couple hundred or thousand people at once pretty acceptable. Souls were profitable business to the Hraak, and all they needed was a tiny amount of instability in the dimensional membrane. What both elder gods had created was no small ripple. As such, the door was almost literally wide open. What they needed was to know where to strike.

For the last half year, all they had done was plan, finding high-population areas with the help of their oracles. The strike had to be fast and precise. Five minutes, in and out. It was a literal heist for souls. It happened two days before Christmas, when people were still frantically buying their last presents and shopping for the holiday. Seven portals opened, and tools were brought through to consume the mana here and keep the portals open. Paris. Los Angeles. New York. London. Shanghai. Tokyo. Moscow.

All were hit at the same time. Early morning in one place, late afternoon in another, and evening rush hour in the east. Their organizers were all Alphas, their insectoid bodies stronger and more developed than all the drones rushing in behind them. Everything worked exactly as planned. Until they tried to use their gear. Weapons powered down. Armor lost its protective auras. Even the tools keeping the portals open fizzled out, causing the gates to simply collapse. They had accounted for everything…

Except for the fact that there was literally no universal mana on this world. The birth of a god-seed had made their calculations of this world's magic completely pointless. No god could be born in a world without magic… Or, at least, it shouldn't have been possible. Whatever strange magic existed here could not sustain anything they had brought with them. This did not only make their mission impossible, but a quick escape was now a pipedream. If a mission failed, the queen never sent rescue squads.

As such, the so-called professional soul-snatcher teams found themselves surrounded by the nations' own military and defense forces rather quickly. The bugs didn't even try to fight back. Weapons clattered onto the ground, and all their fancy mana-based tools were reduced to little more than paperweights. Of course, Veridian and the Vatican were doing damage control as well as a media block.

Every video uploaded to the internet was deleted the moment it appeared, and the technology even reversed back through the devices the videos had been uploaded from, deleting the recordings there as well. The whole Bug Invasion panic never made it further than the people who had actually encountered them. Sadly, communication with the Hraak was impossible, so there was only one person—or rather, dragon—who could help them understand what had just gone down. Joshua's phone was going wild.

All three of them were ringing at the very same time. - - - - - - - - - - - - Joshua had just come back from the other side and was really hoping for a long, warm bath. Instead, he had this to deal with. The phone he had gotten from the Vatican, the one he had gotten from the agents, and his old personal phone all had dozens of missed calls and about fifty messages. Instead of picking up, he simply decided to skip the calls and appeared back in the Vatican, in the main chamber of the Pope.

The guards beside the door nearly jumped when a man simply appeared from a silver mist.

"Seen that you have been looking for me... or rather, everyone is looking for me, but since the Vatican is my first contact, I'd rather hear it from you. What's the issue?"

"You are a rather blunt man, Mr. Joshua Steel." Pope Giorgio shook his head. He had dealt with problems before, but this entity had just popped in twice now, without a single shred of care for subtlety.

"Yes, there has been an issue around the globe, one might say. I am shocked you did not notice with all that... power of yours." The Pope gave him a smirk.

"I was rather occupied in my own new realm... so what's the fuck-up?" Josh asked, getting a bit frustrated about not getting to the point.

"The so-called... fuck-up, as you so vulgarly stated, is a multi-pronged attack, or rather failed attack, on humanity by a bug-like race." Pope Giorgio shook his head.

"They arrived with weapons and all manner of objects, only for their weapons and tools to fail. In fact, they did not even put up a fight once they were surrounded. However, we are having issues understanding them."

"I see. You needed me to find out if this was a fluke or if there are more coming." Joshua nodded, scratching his chin.

"Essentially. We would be very grateful for your assistance." The Pope stated, visibly strained to say it.

"I'm guessing Veridian is also lighting up my phone for the same reason?" Joshua asked.

"Most likely." Giorgio nodded.

"Get me someone to lead me to one of them." Joshua nodded.

"I promised I'd help, so I am. No need for anything really. It's just right to help out one's neighbour."

"And we are very pleased by your... willing cooperation." The Pope nodded. Seven darkly dressed agents arrived from a side door. After a nod from the Pope, their leader spoke to Joshua.

"This way, please." - - - - - - - - - - - - The so-called "interrogation" went pretty badly. None of the drones talked nor did they know anything other then following orders. As for the warrior-looking bugs, the one Joshua tried to talk to went even worse. It tried to get away, but when Joshua used his divine sense to maybe pry some information out of its head, the warrior went crazy. It attacked Joshua, its sharp upper-hand claws literally breaking against his skin.

Then, realizing Joshua was completely unkillable to it, the bug used its other arm to stab through its own brain.

"What happened?" an agent asked through the microphone.

"I used divine sense and looked into its mind, as talking wasn't working." Joshua frowned as what he had seen made him sick. This race was literally preying on humans, and humans only. He couldn't see much, as the bug offed itself too quickly, but what little he had seen was enough.

"Do you have more of these big boys?" he asked.

"Four more," the agent spoke instantly.

"Give me another one. I have business on their world and need coordinates."

"Sir, Joshua Steel," Cardinal Julius spoke through the comms.

"We do not want a war between worlds."

"Exactly why I need to go. This world is barely protected. I need to make a statement." Josh said with a dark look. He was a nice person, but what these bugs were doing on a regular basis pushed him into a cold fury.

"Another... now." Three more bugs killed themselves trying to avoid giving out information about their world. Still, Joshua got what he wanted. He sent a letter to his BFF. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I have issues with some bugs doing soul collections on humans. Would there be consequences if I put my foot down a bit hard on their world?" —Joshua Steel The answer came almost instantly.

"The Hraak have many gods as customers. I do not advise destroying their planet, but if you just want them to stay away from your worlds... I think that can be arranged. Then again, you would make a fun scene if you went and popped the head of their queen. I would love the market crash for a few hundred years. I can keep you safe, sure... but you have worlds that rely on your help. Maybe don't make more problems than you can handle." —Big C.

Josh punched into the air, the metal wall beside him deforming from the pressure. He had become a god, yet when he could finally do something major, he was blocked by the fact that there was always a bigger fish.

"Maybe I just have to grow powerful enough that those other fuckers cannot dare mess with me. Then I crush this human soul business." His fist gripped so hard that he could have made a diamond with such pressure. Still, he was going to give them an educational visit, and he already knew whom to bring. - - - - - - - - - - - - Gu Zhao's world was now super easy to reach. Joshua felt that when he tried to manifest there, a specific magic was already set up for his divine resonance.

"A good day to you, Brother Zhao." Josh floated down from the sky using the same flying sword he had gotten from the cultivator god.

"I did not expect you to come so soon to train." Gu Zhao nodded towards him, standing beside his disciples. All seven close disciples stopped their training, cupped their fists, and bowed.

"Welcome, Lord Steel!" they all said in a serious tone. Josh decided to return the greeting with a slight bow of his own, making Gu Zhao smile.

"Sorry, brother, but I am afraid I come with less stellar news and maybe a request. A dangerous one. Could we speak privately?" Gu Zhao saw a look he had never seen on Joshua. It was dark and extremely serious, nothing like the always-optimistic dragon god he knew. He nodded and motioned toward his home on the peak.

"I will hear you out, brother." Up on the peak, they sat in front of each other, and Joshua dropped the news.

"There is a literal world with bug-like entities exclusively aiming to break into other realms with humans, steal souls, and disappear before the resident god could capture them. They have technology that runs on mana, and their civilization sells the souls to gods." Gu Zhao's hand turned almost white as he clenched his fist. For him, souls were sacred. He hadn't even had time to release all the souls from the card given to him by Joshua.

"What are you planning?" he asked.

"I checked them with my divine sense. The bottom ones they call drones are barely sentient beings. Only the warriors and their queen have a personality and such. If it was that easy, I would just turn the planet into a ball of magma..." Joshua stared down at the smooth floor.

"But there is something holding you back, I assume." Gu Zhao nodded grimly.

"Yes. Remember that they sell souls to gods. If I go there, I could gather some serious amount of enemies. Enemies that could easily wreck both worlds I care for, even if my tentacled friend can keep me safe. Maybe I can also get help from Oberon, but it does not feel right to depend on them."

"You wouldn't come here if you did not have a plan." Gu Zhao allowed a slight smirk.

"So?"

"We could go there disguised. Do you have any way of distorting your divine aura to feel totally different?" Josh asked.

"I am afraid not. There are some demonic sect skills that can trick others, but I do not practice nor do I know them." Gu Zhao shook his head.

"No worries. I have this." Josh pulled out the circlet he had gotten from Oberon.

"I tried this... it's weird, to say the least, and you will only be able to speak in rhymes while wearing it, but it totally shifts your aura. I also got this." Joshua pulled out the fairy wings.

"This makes my aura impossible to sense. Anyone looking would just be confused why they are looking at air or a trick of the light."

"Also Oberon, I presume?" Gu Zhao took the vine circlet.

"The fae king knows his stuff, to be sure. Remind me after this to get him something nice." Josh chuckled.

"I think this could work." Gu Zhao nodded.

"When?"

"I think we should go into the Void first. If we go from here, they might be able to calculate the realm we came from." Joshua noted.

"Smart." Gu Zhao put on the circlet. His lower half immediately turned into that of a deer. Even two fancy antlers grew on his head, and his ears became longer and furry.

"This has to be the weirdest thing, I just hope no one is watching. Having hooves and fur and antler, I must look like some disaster."

"Hah!" Josh chuckled as Gu Zhao's face went pale.

"It works." - - - - - - - - - - - As for a plan, there was only one. Get in, say nothing, destroy the factories where they made the soul-stealing equipment, take away all the soul cards, and leave a message that if this continued, there would be much bigger consequences. It was not exactly subtle. Planet Grotutur had never seen anything like what happened that day. A strange light appeared high above the city, almost like a distorted reflection of sunlight. Beneath it, a figure slowly descended from the sky.

A deer god… whose silver hair flowed around his face as he descended, his strange form illuminated by the unnatural light surrounding him. The Hraak looked up in confusion at first. Then the ground shook, then the first mountain erupted from the earth. Not an existing volcano. An entirely new one. The land split apart as molten rock surged upward, followed by another eruption several kilometres away… then several more. The Hraak began to panic.

Their cities had been built with mana-powered technology, their factories protected by layers of defenses designed to repel conventional attacks. None of that mattered when the very landscape beneath them began changing. A tsunami suddenly rose from the distant sea. It came crashing toward the coastal settlements like a moving wall, sweeping through structures and leaving entire districts submerged. The earth itself twisted beneath Gu Zhao's will. Roads split apart. Mountains rose from flat ground.

Rivers changed course. Forests were flattened by waves of earth and wind. And through it all, Joshua moved unseen. The fairy wings made him little more than a strange distortion in the air. He went straight for the factories. One after another, the enormous facilities where the Hraak produced their soul-stealing equipment simply ceased to exist. Machines melted into slag, while storage chambers were turned into ash. Production lines were ripped from their foundations.

And every soul card Joshua could find disappeared into his storage. The Hraak had no idea what was happening. They only knew that something immensely powerful had entered their world, and nothing they possessed could stop it. Then Gu Zhao brought the final part of the message. He raised one hand and earth beneath Grotutur began to move. The landscape itself was reshaped until enormous words were etched across the ground, visible from the sky and impossible to misunderstand. STOP STEALING SOULS.

Beneath it, a second message appeared. NEXT TIME, WE COME FOR YOU. There was no language barrier as this was written with divine power. Anyone looking at it would see the message in their own tounge. The Hraak understood perfectly… of course their queen was panicking. She had never expected retaliation. The Hraak had countless gods among their customers. Their entire civilization had grown wealthy by harvesting souls from other worlds and selling them to those gods.

They had always considered themselves too useful or risky to punish. They had been wrong.

"CALL THEM!" the Queen screamed. Her claws slammed down on the emergency control panel.

"CALL EVERY GOD WHO OWES US!" The system activated, signals shot through the dimensional network. By the time the first divine presences began appearing above Grotutur however, there was nothing left to fight. Joshua and Gu Zhao were already gone. Half of the drone population was missing and almost every major soul-stealing facility had been destroyed. And worst of all… Every stored soul card was gone. Five million souls that had been carefully collected, stored and prepared for sale… gone.

The Hraak Queen stared at the ruined landscape. Her mandibles trembled. Then she slowly turned toward the destroyed remains of her production complex. The voice coming out of her was no word could describe. A scream of pure fury and sadness. She thought her world untouchable… now hundreds of years of work went up all in smoke. What's worse? That five million souls stored were not only for sale… she wanted to buy her own divinity. She was growing old and did not want to pass down her position to her daughters.

Now she could not gather enough souls in time do buy it, even if she had her tech to do so. The gods who arrived looked pissed. This was a profitable planet and two gods ruined it for everyone.

"Let's call the others and find out who did this." the feathered lizard god riding a snake made of flame nodded to the other god and they left. - - - - - - - - - - - - The two who had caused this escaped into the Void and then jumped back into Joshua's world.

"I do not feel any better, This might haunt me later. But what they did was pure evil, So the hammer had to strike the anvil," Gu Zhao frowned as he took off the vine-circled circlet, finally returning to his normal appearance.

"I am starting to hate this stuff. Keep it away from me." He pushed the circlet toward Josh as if it were covered in dirt.

"I don't know. You rocked the look." Josh forced a smile, though he felt awful as well.

"This had to be done. Now, how and where do we free the souls? I already have serious issues with the ones I have. Would you be so kind as to take most of them?"

"I will make them a land in my personal world. That is the least I can do..." Gu Zhao nodded.

"So what do you plan to do with that card?" He pointed toward the only one Josh had kept.

"I know this might sound absurdly lucky, but I have people from this realm in my own, so they would have a better time with those from the same planet."

"Agreed," the cultivator god nodded.

"Well... I am heading back. Also, don't skip your training!" Gu Zhao jested before disappearing. Josh just shook his head and put away the circlet and wings. Then he looked at the card in his hand. He was glad he had looked through them all, as one name had caught his eye.

"Rokua Behani. A Hetoru in civilian clothing, and about six thousand others." His son would be happy to meet his father. Josh added the card to the summon list with the others, after first giving the man a small talk in the same cream-colored room about what had happened and how his son was also there. The military man took the news seriously and thanked him for the chance to see his son again. Finally returning to his castle, Joshua jumped onto his bed, actually smiling.

He might have caused massive destruction, but who knew just how many more souls were safe because of what he and his sworn brother had done? - - - - - - - - - - - - If Cthulhu had a chair, he would have fallen off it from laughing so hard. The death of bugs barely interested him, but the young god really had done it. Joshua had poked a massive wasp hive, and done it so cleverly that those in pursuit could not, for the life of them, find the one behind it.

The empire he was about to punish with a death plague was suddenly not nearly as important as this. If anything, he might just simply turn their people into screaming plants instead… Oh, how lenient he truly was indeed.