Chapter 205

I was going to die.

That’s what I thought.

But when I finally opened my tightly shut eyes, my body was fine. The shoulder blade that had been pierced by Aaron’s sword was slowly healing, albeit sluggishly.

Chiiiiiiiik—!

From the array units attached to Aaron’s body, a massive amount of steam burst out. He sheathed his sword and let out a short sigh.

“……W-What did you do?”

“……”

When Vladimir, still on the ground, asked, Aaron only gestured with his chin toward his back. Vladimir turned his head in that direction—and froze in horror.

There was a huge hole.

In fact, it took him a moment to even realize that it was a hole. At first, he thought the wall had simply disappeared, since he could suddenly see the outside of the facility.

While Vladimir was still stunned by the sudden change in terrain, Aaron approached Linda and Sasha, who had been hiding in the corner in fear. Before Vladimir could even stop him, Aaron grabbed both of their shoulders.

“W-Wait a sec—!”

Vladimir tried to lunge at him in panic, but before he could, Aaron let go and turned to look back at him, murmuring softly.

“Now, return.”

“W-What?”

“Your role is over. The shackles are off, so leave.”

Before his mind could process what that meant, Aaron snapped his fingers. A large number of threads wrapped around them and hurled them through the massive hole in the wall.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!?”

Even in the chaos, Vladimir managed to hug his family and deploy his shield. They flew like shells through the air before landing safely on the ground. When the dust that rose from the impact cleared, they realized they were in the middle of a wasteland.

“A-Are you both okay?”

“Y-Yes… we’re fine…”

“Yeah, I’m fine…”

Vladimir checked on his wife and daughter. Fortunately, neither of them was hurt. He let out a sigh of relief—then grumbled about Aaron’s thoughtless behavior.

‘T-That crazy bastard…!’

Judging from the distance from the facility, they had flown nearly a kilometer. If he hadn’t deployed [Aegis] in time, they would’ve been nothing but paste on the ground.

But the heat that had burned his head soon cooled before reaching his crown. The air that entered his nose was nothing like that of Honeycomb City—it was raw and unrefined.

The scent of nature.

The aroma of a wild land untouched by human hands.

It had only been a day, but it felt as though five years had passed since he last escaped from Honeycomb City. Only now did he realize how much he missed his hometown—New Valhalla City.

He turned to his wife and daughter.

“…Let’s go.”

“W-Where to?”

“New Valhalla City.”

“Huh? W-Where’s that?”

“Let’s walk first. I’ll explain on the way.”

Carrying his daughter on his back, Vladimir began walking toward New Valhalla City. As they moved, he began to tell his wife and daughter the truths he hadn’t had the chance to reveal before—

That Honeycomb City was actually a research facility operated by the Stingray Group, that the real last city of humanity—New Valhalla City—truly existed, and that he was the heir to a megacorporation called Millennium Technology, among other things.

Linda looked confused, shaken by the sudden truths. She seemed anxious, unsure if she could adapt to this new world.

But Vladimir believed she would be fine. She had simply become too accustomed to living in “compressed time.”

Even as they talked, Vladimir continuously transmitted a distress signal toward New Valhalla City. Once the signal reached them, Militech would surely send a rescue team.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be there soon.”

“That’s not what worries me… It’s just…”

Linda’s gaze drifted to Vladimir’s shoulder—the spot Aaron had pierced earlier. But now, the wound had almost completely healed.

“Who exactly was that man? He suddenly started fighting you, and then just threw us out like that…”

“That…”

Vladimir hesitated.

He didn’t know how to explain it.

Why did Aaron do such a thing?

Truthfully, even Vladimir himself didn’t understand what had happened. At that moment, he had been seized by a compulsion—as if possessed—that he had to fight Aaron, had to defeat him to survive.

But now that his head was clear, he could look back at the situation more calmly. He organized his thoughts for a moment… and then burst into a hollow laugh.

“Ha… hahahaha…”

“H-Honey?”

“Damn it…!”

Though his mouth was still laughing, tears streamed down his face. They were tears of pure frustration.

He had lost again.

Defeated once more.

And at the end, not only had he failed to bring Aaron down, but he’d even been saved by him.

“Damn it!”

Thinking back to his fight with Aaron, Vladimir’s heart burned with humiliation.

“While I was fighting with all my strength, that bastard had no intention of killing me! He was just buying time, figuring out how to save us!”

Aaron hadn’t been serious from the start.

While Vladimir had pushed his body to the limit with [Bullet Time] and [Aegis], desperate to strangle the life out of him, Aaron had merely endured it—stalling for time.

It was probably because of that female android—the Techno-Wizard who had escaped the room the moment the fight began. Aaron must’ve been waiting for her to succeed in whatever she was doing.

And once she had, the moment he received the signal that said “It’s done,” he blew a hole in the wall and immediately evacuated Vladimir, Linda, and Sasha.

Aaron had helped Vladimir.

That was the truth of it all.

“I did have talent, damn it!”

Both [Bullet Time] and [Aegis] were top-tier combat modules known as Game Changers. In terms of specs alone, Vladimir should’ve been able to wipe out an entire lab just like Aaron did.

But he couldn’t.

For one simple reason—

“Why am I like this!?”

The problem was himself.

His vessel couldn’t contain it.

His experience didn’t support it.

His sense—his instinct—was that of an ordinary man.

What good were cyberware and modules when his mind remained mediocre? Even with such high-performance modules, he couldn’t use them properly.

He was like a flea in a cage.

He had let the situation control him and limited his own power. He’d wielded a greatsword like a kitchen knife.

He could’ve fought better. More skillfully. Maybe, if luck was on his side, even won.

“And yet I—!!”

Had been one-sidedly helped.

Forced out of the battlefield.

Helped by none other than Aaron Stingray, then trudged back home like some defeated soldier.

He could make excuses—plenty of them.

His family had been hostages. He’d been caught in the trap that was Honeycomb City.

But so what?

The result wouldn’t change.

This was his reality—running away like this.

“Is this really how it ends?”

Think, Vladimir Kharitonov.

Are you really going to retreat like this?

Yes, if he was being rational, that was the right choice.

His family was safe, and he could just return to New Valhalla City and live a comfortable life.

Five years—or rather, a single day—was all it took for him to gain a wife and daughter. He had no idea how he’d explain that to his father, but that was a problem for later.

‘Well, I did get [Bullet Time], so maybe he’ll overlook it.’

But still—

He couldn’t feel satisfied.

He couldn’t stand the thought of retreating while owing Aaron Stingray a debt. Who the hell did he think he was, telling him to “go back”?

‘Son of a bitch.’

Son of a bitch.

Son of a bitch.

Son of a bitch…!

While he was cursing nonstop, Vladimir came to his senses and saw something approaching from afar—an aerial transport vehicle bearing the Militech insignia. They must have received his distress signal.

Vladimir completely ignored the greetings of the Militech private soldiers and first helped Linda and Sasha into the vehicle.

And then—

“These two are VIPs. Treat them with utmost respect.”

“Sir? W-Where are you going?”

“There’s something I haven’t finished yet.”

With that, Vladimir turned and began walking back the way he came. Behind him, Linda and Sasha called out, but Vladimir deliberately ignored them and pressed on.

There was something he had to do.

Even if it cost him his life.

[System authority partially compromised.]

[Honeycomb City maintenance system shutting down.]

“What!? Who did this!?”

Benedict’s voice—somewhere between a scream and a question—was answered by the computer projecting a holographic display. On it appeared a woman, covered in blood, directly accessing the system. It was the same woman who had come with Aaron.

She had linked herself to the power grid and was wreaking havoc through the system. Realizing she had been spotted by the surveillance cameras, she quickly fled the scene.

This facility boasted strong defenses against both physical and cyberattacks from the outside. However, once someone managed to infiltrate and connect offline like this, the internal security became dangerously vulnerable.

“Damn it, what the hell is that!? A ghost!?”

There was a gaping hole in the woman’s chest—marks left by the defense drones’ bullets earlier.

Just five minutes ago, Benedict had received a report from the drones confirming “target eliminated.” He’d even ordered the body brought in to provoke Aaron.

Yet the woman who should’ve been dead was now alive, hacking every corner of the facility’s systems. Judging by the situation, even some of the defense drones seemed to have fallen under her control.

Why wasn’t she dead?

Was he looking at a ghost?

That thought lasted only a moment.

“She appears to be a modified android. Search results indicate her base model is from the CL-series Maid Android line…”

“Are you kidding me!? And you’re telling me this now!?”

“The tuning level is extensive, causing scan errors. Over 80% of her body components are indistinguishable from a normal human’s.”

“So what!? Even if she connected from inside, how can one damn android break through our entire security system!?”

“I’m sorry, Director, but most of the facility’s operating programs were built over fifty years ago. They’re quite outdated—”

“Shut up! And what, you want me to overlook this because you ‘didn’t know’? Bullshit! You said she was dead, so I didn’t bother checking, but while I wasn’t watching, she came back to life and tore through our system!”

Unbelievable!

Benedict shouted, unable to contain his rage.

“What kind of lunatic modifies a maid android like that!? And who the hell gives it wizard-grade hacking tools!? What kind of freak does that!?”

It made no sense.

Or maybe—that nonsense was the point?

To catch them off guard?

But then—

Swoooosh—!

Something like wind brushed past the tip of Benedict’s nose.

“W-What was…?”

Thunk. Flop.

Before he could even comprehend what happened, something was wrong with his android secretary standing before him. When he turned his head, its body was split clean in half and had collapsed to the floor.

And not just that.

His office, the hallway, the desks, all the research equipment—everything in the direction the wind had passed—had been sliced clean through.

Only then did Benedict realize what that “wind” had been.

“[Techblade]…!”

It was the blade energy Aaron had fired from afar.

That damned android had crashed the system, halting the flow of time-acceleration drugs into Honeycomb City. Thanks to that, Aaron could now go on a rampage, slicing through the entire research facility without fear of causing drug leaks.

Crack-crack-crack!

The office Benedict stood in began to tilt. The fissure carved by the sword energy widened, transforming into a massive chasm.

And at the other end of that chasm, Aaron Stingray stood, looking directly at Benedict. He sheathed his sword and snapped his fingers.

Shhhhhhh!

Thousands of threads shot toward Benedict with terrifying speed. But Benedict, a member of the Alpha Class, could barely track their motion with his eyes—something his former self would never have managed.

Throwing himself to the side, Benedict narrowly avoided the assault of threads and simultaneously worked to restore the system, awakening AI Miyu.

“Miyu! Snap out of it!”

[Yes, Mr. Benedict. What is it?]

“Release Omega!”

[But Omega requires another 57 hours to reach completion…]

“I don’t care!”

He could always make another specimen.

Of course, it would take months of time and astronomical costs, but it wasn’t impossible.

However, if Aaron completely destroyed this facility, the Paradise Verification Project would be over.

They would fail to complete even the first stage, “Creation,” and the century-long project would end in failure.

That was unacceptable.

No—he would never forgive him for that.

He would lose his only chance to become the true Emperor.

“This is a direct order from the Director! Release Omega and stop my brother!”

[Code Name: Omega—Target parameters adjusted.]

Rumble rumble rumble—!

The floor of the research facility began to open.

From deep underground, a “specimen pod” launched upward to the surface. The sealed glass door burst open, and green liquid poured out in waves.

Inside, the being known as “Omega” revealed itself—bearing an uncanny resemblance to both Aaron and Benedict.

“Rise! Get up!”

Benedict forcibly inserted the preloaded combat modules into Omega’s Socket HUB. Each time he did, Omega’s body convulsed as if struck by an electric shock.

And finally, Omega opened its eyes.

“Yes! Finally! It’s done! Now go—kill that man—huh?”

Benedict’s vision flipped upside down.

Thud. Something heavy hit the ground.

It was his body.

His body—lying far away.

‘W-What…?’

What happened?

Even his brilliant mind took a moment to process it.

He felt something gripping his hair—and soon realized it was Omega’s hand.

‘Ah… ahh…’

So this is… how I die.

As darkness spread across his vision, Omega brought Benedict’s head closer to its mouth.

And just like that—

Benedict was devoured by his own creation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep