Super Gene

Han Sen let Kahn into the camp so they could continue their discussion. Kahn spoke without preamble. “You might not believe me when I tell you this, but we are all trapped on this world.”

“What do you mean?” Han Sen asked with a frown.

“Well, since you’ve entered Metal World, have you tried contacting anyone outside it?” Kahn said.

Han Sen and Yuya looked at each other. Then, they looked back at Kahn without responding.

Kahn sighed and said, “It is good that you haven’t. I advise that you don’t try it. Two Demon Marquises tried to leave, but they died doing so. The same thing happened to some of the Buddha, Dragon, and Destroyed. No one can leave this planet. If you do not believe me, you can go ahead and try to leave. But don’t blame me for not warning you.”

“How are those that leave killed?” Yunyi asked.

“They fell to their deaths,” Kahn said, his voice clipped.

“Fell to their deaths?” Han Sen and the others frowned.

“Have you ever played with a rubber band? The further you pull, the harder it hits when released. When you enter this planet, your body becomes bound by the rules of it. If you fly above the surface, you will feel a power trying to drag you back down. The higher you fly, though, the stronger it gets. Eventually, even the strongest are thrown back to their doom,” Kahn said.

“Isn’t what you’re describing just gravity? Why must you make it sound so complicated?” White Real said.

Kahn shook his head. “It is not gravity. Gravity gets weaker the farther you get from a planet, but this force grows stronger with distance. And when the planet finally overcomes your resistance and drags you back, you end up hitting the ground at mind-blowing velocities. No Marquise body can withstand it.”

“How high can you fly before this power appears?” Han Sen asked.

“Ten thousand meters,” Kahn answered quickly.

“Ade.” Yuya looked over to a strong beast Marquise.

That lion-like Marquise answered by leaping with its powerful legs and taking off into the sky. He reached a height of ten thousand meters in a short amount of time.

When it passed ten thousand meters, the lion Marquise slowed to a crawl.

It continued flying higher, but its pace was excruciatingly slow. It struggled for some time, and when it reached a height of thirteen thousand meters, it stopped completely.

“Ade, come back!” Yuya shouted.

Ade started to follow the command, but before he could turn around, a scary power launched him back down to the ground.

Pang!

Ade’s body was like a meteor descending. He struck the metal surface at a frightening speed, and a massive crater was formed upon the crash. Han Sen and the others immediately ran over to him. Ade’s body was completely broken, like a mashed cake.

Ade roared. A holy light covered his body, and then he was back to normal.

“Now we can talk about this properly, right?” Kahn smiled.

They returned to camp and began discussing the terms of cooperation. They struck a deal.

In the meantime, Kahn explained more of how the planet had been found. The Demon and the Buddha were the first ones to discover Metal World. A battle had drawn them into that rarely-traveled region of space, and as they fought, they stumbled across the hidden planet.

The two races sent people to explore Metal World, but somehow, news of the planet was leaked to the airwaves. The Dragon, the Destroyed, and Sky Palace received word of their discovery.

It was only after the Marquises landed on the planet that they realized how dangerous the place was. And it was also then that they discovered they were unable to leave.

The Dragon, the Destroyed, and the Buddha quickly formed an alliance. They killed almost all of the Demons that Kahn had brought to the planet, so when Kahn caught sight of the Sky Palace people arriving, he came to them in the hope of receiving their help.

Yuya looked at Kahn and coldly said, “The news about this place was released because you found out something was wrong, right? You lured other races here. That is why the Dragon and the Destroyed grouped up with the Buddha to fight you, wasn’t it?”

Kahn sighed and said, “I have been here this entire time, haven’t I? I haven’t been able to contact the outside world. I don’t know if it was a Demon that leaked the news.”

After that, Kahn laughed and said, “Even if we were the ones who leaked the news, it shouldn’t have any impact on our cooperation.”

“Why would we join you, anyway? The Dragon would be a much better choice,” Han Sen asked calmly.

Kahn seemed ready for Han Sen to say this, and so he smiled. “When they formed their alliance, it gave them an advantage. But they won’t share anything with you. They’ll want to keep the benefits for themselves.”

“What benefits?” Han Sen asked, zeroing in on the key point of what Kahn had said.

If the other races were trapped, their best choice should have been to coordinate their efforts to search for an exit. But instead, they had attacked the Demon. It seems as if there was something more going on that Kahn wasn’t quite willing to reveal.

“The first two teams to arrive found some old ruins on the planet. The ruins might have been left by a deified elite.

Now, those three races are guarding it. If we work together, we might be able to beat them and nab the loot for ourselves. Sky Palace is strong, but you cannot fight all three by yourselves,” Kahn said with certainty.

Kahn provided them with more intel on the location and disposition of the ruins, and Han Sen sent someone to verify Kahn’s story.

Kahn wasn’t willing to give out too much information, though. He smiled and said, “We Demon and the Buddha discovered the ruin at the same time. We know as much as they do. There is no harm in us forming an alliance with you, is there?”

Han Sen and Yuya held a brief discussion. They both agreed that an alliance was a good idea, so Han Sen left the details of the operation to Yunyi and Yuya. They were better than Han Sen at that sort of thing.

“We have to move while the blue storm is raging and the metal creatures are hidden. Once we are in the ruins, we will be safe. We won’t get attacked by the creatures,” Kahn explained, clearly wanting them to move quickly. And on the way, they’d meet up with the rest of the Demon.

Kahn had many secrets he could not reveal, but most of his information was legit and it saved Han Sen a whole bunch of time. And if the Dragon attacked them while they were in the ruins, teaming up with the Demon could save their lives.

They confirmed the blue storm’s duration and the ruin’s location, and then they set out. They met up with the other Demons and continued on.

The Demons were in terrible shape. They were wearier than Han Sen had imagined. Aside from Kahn, there were only twenty Marquises remaining, and all of them were injured.