episode_0096

“What’s going on?”

I was deep in thought about the reason for the summons, feeling the doubled gravity as the smooth, cylindrical elevator shot upwards like a projectile, hurtling towards the skyscraper’s highest floor.

Was it because I was too loud again?

Or maybe they called me because I haven’t been around much these past few days and they want to hang out?

Many thoughts came to mind, but if that were the case, wouldn’t it be easier and faster to just come to my room to talk or call me, rather than summon me to the office? I shook my head.

“Ah! Is that it?”

They said they were analyzing combat data along with Kerberos’s maintenance. Could it be a program update patch?

If so, they might have called me to explain it in person.

‘How’s my prediction, Martina?’

‘…’

Martina, too, must have been surprised by my perfect deduction, clearly unable to close her mouth.

She might have just turned off her awareness because we were having sex until just now, but let’s assume it’s the former anyway.

Because I look even more awesome with my perfect deduction.

However, it seemed my prediction was beautifully off the mark, as Martina’s voice echoed in my head.

‘Brace for impact.’

“What?”

Ding!

While I was lost in thought about what Martina had said, the elevator had already reached the top floor, stopped, and its doors began to open.

And before the door fully opened to reveal the CEO’s room and Kathleen’s face, a fist the size of my head came crashing into the elevator car.

“Huh?”

Even without Kerberos activated, my enhanced reflexes and perception recognized the perpetrator who was ‘greeting’ my face with a fist.

It was a morbidly obese man with a dark smile behind black sunglasses, his shaggy beard smeared with white sugar glaze.

In other words, the man who looked like a typical donut-loving US police officer, the kind I’d seen a lot before falling to Eclipse Point, was approaching me with considerable speed even in the slowed reality.

His mouth moved.

-Let’s fight. Kid.

Only then did I understand what Martina’s ‘Brace for impact’ truly meant.

‘This fucking bastard.’ Before I even had time to utter the thought in my mind, my face and that huge fist ‘kissed’ each other, and the back of my head smashed into the elevator wall, not stopping but continuing to punch through.

A tremendous crash!

A deafening roar and swirling concrete dust filled the corridor of some unknown floor.

My mind, which had momentarily flown away and then returned, twisted my body in mid-air using my still-flying core as an axis, landing my feet on the floor and rising up with a sliding motion.

My vision was obscured by such thick dust that I couldn’t have seen a dick right in front of me. I frowned, but as if to prove my worry was unfounded, the dust cloud swirled away like a curtain snatched by a hand.

“You can’t lie down already!”

“You utterly unethical bastard…!”

As the attacker bursting through the dust threw a punch, the sleeve of his uniform tore open, proudly revealing what was inside.

A combat-type arm implant with a full-metal body and an utterly monstrous appearance.

Dozens of square meters of air and dust were instantly sucked into its intake, and the ultra-high output cylinder inside turned it into compressed air, which then exploded along with the punch.

“Holy shit…!”

This curse wasn’t uttered out of desire, but rather as an act of defiance against this fucked-up situation.

Boom!

A deafening roar erupted as if TNT had exploded right in front of me, and my body was sent flying along with the corridor, which was torn apart by the shockwave of the compressed air explosion.

Even the Smash Grenades, which required troublesome reloading and insane firepower packed with explosives, felt less destructive than that thing, which merely detonated compressed air.

No. That’s probably right.

After all, if it’s MegaCorp’s latest implant, it would easily surpass the firepower of such old-fashioned, conventional explosive weapons!

“Hahaha! Does this feel a bit like cheating? Then let’s play up close!”

My internal organs were shaken by the shockwave, and my skin, damaged by bullets made of clumped dust, was rapidly repaired by nanoweare.

But there wasn’t enough time to heal all my wounds before that crazy old man, who was charging like a bull, requesting close quarters combat, reached me.

“Sucking in a sharp breath!”

Then, even if I’m not in top condition, I have no choice but to take him head-on.

The Kerberos inserted into my cervical spine opened into three sections, sending electric signals throughout my body, intense enough to feel like my nerves were burning.

Physical-ware, Speed-ware, Berserk-ware. Three composite operating systems, delivering output beyond top-tier, activated simultaneously.

Now, doing it even once isn’t impossible.

The world slowed down.

I stomped on flying debris with my airborne body, bent my knees at the right moment, kicked backward to regain balance, twisted the incoming wrist, hooked my knee into the crook of his arm to break it, and then choked his neck with my calf.

Attempting acrobatic movements against things flying at supersonic speeds would be tantamount to suicide.

However, with my current abilities, it was entirely possible, and Kerberos, too, seemed to agree, allowing my body to move exactly as I willed.

“Oh?”

The crazy bull, uttering a foolish sound, lost his balance in mid-air and slammed his head into the floor with physical force, combining supersonic speed and rotational momentum.

Crunch!

Surely, materials strong enough to build MegaCorp’s headquarters would be incredibly high-grade, but this guy’s head was so hard that it ground through them as smoothly as scooping ice cream with a spoon.

It was me who slammed him, yet why was it also me who gasped in astonishment? Clicking my tongue at this absurdity, I immediately lifted my leg and stomped down on him with my heel.

“Heh heh. So you weren’t completely worthless.”

“What…!”

Clench!

Caught. My ankle.

‘Does this bastard not feel pain? No… even if it didn’t hurt, he should at least have a concussion, right?’

I was painfully aware that he was a tough opponent, but wasn’t this a bit too much?

If he’s human! When his head slammed into the floor at supersonic speed, shouldn’t he at least bleed from his head?!!!

“Heh heh heh… Looks like you’re surprised.”

My body felt a whoosh of buoyancy, accompanied by a feeling of gravity increasing tens of times over, and I plummeted to the floor below.

***

Wailing!

-Class 1 Emergency. Class 1 Emergency.

Inside Rossmore Classic Vultures headquarters, a Class 1 security alarm began to blare.

It was a severe danger level, requiring key personnel to evacuate under security protection and employees to temporarily cease work.

The center of the incident.

On the 38th floor, a fierce battle was in full swing.

Something moved at invisible speeds, tearing out rebar and swinging it, while the Enforcer easily blocked it by raising his arm, then fired built-in shotgun pellets like a punch.

The figure that was surely there blurred slightly, and round lead pellets scraped across the corridor floor, ricocheting away.

The next moment, the Enforcer’s arm twisted and he fell face down, slamming into the wall. But John, who had disappeared, instinctively launched a kick, which the Enforcer guarded by crossing his arms against the boot sole that would have slammed into his chest, sending John crashing into the opposite wall.

Both sides tumbled through walls, shattering office desks, and the screams of office workers echoed.

“Damn it all…!”

It was as if the nearby security guard had raised his rifle, but…

“Oh.”

His hand was empty, and a blood-soaked John, rifle shouldered, unleashed a continuous stream of fire, emptying the entire rifle magazine towards the slowly approaching Enforcer.

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

Abdomen, waist, thighs, joints.

Each was a vital point meant to subdue an opponent, yet every time a high-velocity bullet hit, sparks flew as if he had protective plating inserted everywhere, and the dim interior repeatedly flashed bright then dark.

Click. Click.

The large-capacity assault rifle magazine, capable of holding up to 60 rounds, was instantly emptied, and the rifle, now a piece of scrap metal, spun and was brought down as a blunt weapon.

It was an attack based on chillingly mechanical judgment, devoid of hesitation or error, but the Enforcer was no easy opponent. He placed his palm against the vertically descending rifle butt, smoothly twisted his wrist to deflect it, and then unleashed a massive punch.

His left hand naturally pulled back to his waist as he deflected the rifle, his legs firmly anchored to the ground, and his fist shot straight forward.

Yes. A straight punch.

Thud!

“Gasp!”

Watching him tumble, once again destroying all the office furniture, the Enforcer smiled and took a drag from his cigar.

“Heh heh heh. Are you flustered? Thinking, ‘Surely no one should be able to keep up with me based on pure specs alone…’”

“You motherfucker… What the hell does Ayakashi’s Enforcer-nim want with me…?”

The Enforcer’s eyes gleamed as he watched John, who despite clearly having taken several direct hits, spat curses and rose as if still full of vigor.

In reality, he probably still had energy to move.

However, apart from the ugly visible wounds and the fierce beast-like aura he emanated, his youthful appearance made Enforcer Dustin pause for a moment in thought.

‘That aura… It’s similar to that person.’

If he delved a little deeper into his thoughts, he would reach the truth.

But Enforcer Dustin decided to dismiss such thoughts and only consider his orders.

Isn’t a dog doing its job best when it only listens to its master?

“Come along quietly.”

“Why should I? What’s so pretty about a fat old man who just throws punches out of nowhere?”

If it were my kids, they’re pretty, so I might forgive them, but no matter what, a fatty is a bit too much… Even as he spouted such nonsense, Enforcer Dustin scratched his cheek at the defiance.

Of course, the problem arose because this boy? Young man? named John Doe was far stronger than Enforcer Dustin had anticipated.

‘I thought a few punches would knock him out, you know…’

Feeling the creak of his chrome arm reaching its durability limit, he compressed the surrounding air.

“Otherwise, all the employees here will be caught in the explosion and killed.”

“What the…”

Since it had come to this, Dustin decided to act despicably.

It was a threat that wouldn’t even work on an ordinary mercenary, promising no innocent casualties if he complied quietly.

But Dustin believed he would accept this absurd threat.

“Why me… Ugh… You bitch. Fine! I surrender!”

At the sight of John irritably scratching his head and raising both hands, Enforcer Dustin smiled contentedly, then plugged one nostril and blew out the pooled blood.

“I poked him because his eyes still looked human, but it worked out well! What a relief! Hahaha!”

“What is this crazy fatty blabbering about?”