My Glide On Death

Chapter 15: The Beast and the Bait

"Let me go, you idiots! Boss will kill you!" Ethan shouted, struggling against his restraints.

Ken smirked. "I think you’re forgetting something. He’ll come for you first. A fleet commander is supposed to be undefeated—if he loses, he’s eliminated."

Ethan’s glare hardened. "What do you want? You neither kill me nor let me go. But remember this, Ken—traitors don’t live to see the next sunrise on Mars."

I stepped forward. "Tell me where Maki is!"

"Who?"

"Maki Rodrigo. The girl who arrived on Mars five years ago."

A flicker of recognition crossed his face. "Oh, that girl. She lost to me and was imprisoned. Nearly escaped once, but Sir Carlos caught her. She’s with him now."

My stomach twisted. "Carlos? Who’s he?"

"Commander of the Second Fleet. Boss’s left hand. And the son of Sir Karl Sandburg’s stepbrother." Ethan explained.

"Where can I find him?"

Ethan let out a dark chuckle. "He doesn’t have a base."

"You expect me to believe that your boss’s left-hand man doesn’t have a base?"

"He’s different. He even appointed someone else to manage the Second Fleet. And get this—he hasn’t fought in the past nine years. He stays in the M.P headquarters alongside the First Fleet’s commander and the boss himself. You won’t even make it past the front door. You’ll be dead in seconds."

I ignored the warning. "Tell me about their powers."

Ethan scoffed. "Theirs?"

"Your boss. His right hand. His left hand. What are their abilities?"

He snorted. "Are you high? I don’t even know their names, and you expect me to know their powers?"

Ken crossed his arms. "Didn’t you say you’ve only ever lost to two people? Carlos and the First Fleet’s commander?"

Ethan hesitated. "Yeah."

I pressed on. "Then you must’ve seen their abilities firsthand."

Ethan’s jaw tightened. "Fleet 1’s commander is beyond anything you can imagine. He crushed me with sheer raw power alone."

"And Carlos?"

Ethan’s expression darkened. "I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me."

Ken leaned in, voice cold. "If you don’t, we’ll kill you before he does."

A tense silence followed. Finally, Ethan sighed. "Fine. But promise me—return my limbs. I have to get off this planet. No matter what I tell you, my boss won’t let me live."

"We promise." I said.

Ethan swallowed hard. "Carlos doesn’t have just one ability—he has three. I only know two. And trust me, even those are enough to kill you twice over."

Ken scoffed. "You just worry about your limbs."

Ethan shot him a glare before continuing. "The first ability is called Mitochondrial Multiplication. You know mitochondria, right? The powerhouse of the cell? More mitochondria mean more energy. He can multiply the number of mitochondria in his body, giving him an extreme surge of energy. With it, he can move faster, hit harder—he’s a walking supernova."

I clenched my fists.

"The second ability—Gravitational Manipulation." Ethan’s voice dropped lower. "He can control gravity within a small radius. At first, it seems harmless—it doesn’t directly damage you. But don’t underestimate it. It’s just as deadly, if not more, than his first ability."