QT: Against My Will-Chapter 629 - 12.09 - Stinky Bun Strolls Around - Interstellar Voyage

Inside another alien ship that was under similar attack...

A tiny doll, no larger than a teacup, approached a series of doors, each towering over it like giants. Undeterred, it winded up its tiny arm and gave each door a hearty slap.

Stunky Bun’s powers began to manifest right away. The vessel started to tremble and groan under the strain of his untamed magic, its structure weakening and breaking apart.

Stinky Bun continued his assault, each slap a mighty blow that could only be felt by those in the vicinity. His little stitched body vibrated from the force, and his mommy had to catch him before he could bounce off the ground.

"It’s actually working," Dai An’s heart leaped in joy as she held her baby in her arms, "Stinky Bun, are you tired?"

Stinky Bun shook his head. ’No! Mommy, I’m Stunky Bun!’ He wiggled in her grasp, demanding to be let down.

"Okay, okay," Dai An kissed her baby’s forehead, "Just a little bit more."

She set Stunky Bun back onto the floor, and the little doll ran forward to continue his little stroll around the ship.

· ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·

Meanwhile on Nathaniel’s side...

The enemy ship unleashed a powerful beam of energy. This torrent of destructive force collided with the barrier Victor had conjured around their ship. His shield vibrated intensely upon impact, absorbing the brunt of the attack.

Victor, in the middle of the chaos, had to use a lot of his powers to protect everyone. Overwhelmed, he couldn’t spare a thought to check on Shina Night.

{Nora, infiltrate the enemy ship that attacked us.}

{Roger that.}

Victor’s powers were stretched to the limit as he focused on keeping Lily and everyone who was close to her safe. His daughter was too young to be facing this type of trauma two times in a row. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

· ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·

Once the situation calmed, Victor released Elera and Lily from his protective space. He then went to check on Shina Night, but to his astonishment, he found only Nathaniel there.

Overwhelmed with confusion, Victor grabbed Nathaniel by the collar, and lifted him up. His eyes bore into Nathaniel’s, searching intently for any sign, any trace of Shina within those depths.

"If you look any deeper, you might get even more lost," Nathaniel cautioned silently. Dai An exchanged Nathaniel’s soul with Silvia’s when his uncle had killed him, taking advantage of their death and their mate bond. He also began to suspect that his uncle’s decision to kill him were initiated by Dai An herself.

Victor’s grip on Nathaniel loosened when Nora told him that Shina’s team was gone as well, "So, not just an unwanted pet, but a dumpster as well," he muttered to himself, half in realization, half in amusement as he tugged at Nathaniel’s shirt to reveal his collar, "She really sank you low, didn’t she?"

Nathaniel’s body was covered in a chaotic array of ugly curses. Victor couldn’t help but scoff at the idea that Nathaniel had sacrificed his powers to save everyone. To him, it was clear as day — it was Shina who had drained him of all his powers.

"..." Nathaniel fixed his uniform, showing no reaction to Victor’s words as he covered Dai An’s scribbles. "You look like you’ve been through a dumpster dive yourself," he replied calmly.

"..." Victor’s face bore signs of fatigue, with beads of sweat and a look of exhaustion that was hard to miss. It had been a long time since someone had drained him so thoroughly without a break.

Shina was high maintenance, with a capital ’H’. Even though she no longer sought death, Victor could no longer sustain Shina’s life with his powers. Who knew when she might decide to hurl a meteorite or an army of hostile aliens his way again?

His unspoken truce with Shina was ultimately the best outcome for everyone involved. What was once fun had become too much to handle, even for Victor.

Victor was on the verge of leaving Shina’s room, but a sudden surge of anger took hold of him. He spun around abruptly, his fist cutting through the air and landing squarely on Nathaniel’s face.

The force of the blow sent Nathaniel stumbling backward, crashing against the wall. He held his face in shock, "..." speechless.

"For seducing my daughter," Victor spat out and stormed out of the room.

Nathaniel could only stare at Victor’s retreating figure, his lips curling upwards in a sardonic smile, "Seducing your daugher, me?" he rubbed his swelling cheek, "I just gave her what her own father could not," his eyes narrowed, "and if it happens again, I will give her a new mother as well."

· ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·

{Do you want me to look for Shina?}

Victor paused, contemplating. Deep down, he felt a sting of hurt that Shina hadn’t considered him worthy of being a part of her circle. She even collaborated with him to trick his mother before, didn’t she? Wouldn’t most people desire a powerful member such as him on their side?

{Spare your energy for something more productive,} he finally said.

{Like what?}

{Focus on strengthening our defenses and gathering allies,} Victor explained. He was destined for greatness, not to be a mere follower. Every part of him oozed an aura of a natural born leader.

Yet, despite this...

Victor shook away his thoughts, ’Rather than becoming her dog, I would rather remain a wild card.’

He was a lone wolf, not a pet. He was too strong to be tamed, too powerful to be contained.

· ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·

As Stinky Bun neared his next target, the door creaked open, and a large group of aliens stepped out, blocking his way. He looked at his mommy, and then at the group of aliens. They didn’t seem scary, or even hostile. If anything, they seemed a bit scared.

Dai An used her powers to convey a series of emotions to the alien crew. "I will help you with shaking of the enemy vessell, but in exchange, I want you to send me and my team to these coordinates."

She handed them a tablet with a map that pointed to the coordinates of her next mission.