Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Chapter 7 Masquerade Ball (23)
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***
Clang, clatter.....
Professor stood frozen, at a loss for words, as he listened to the outer casing of the crumpled laser blade peeling away.
Not only had it blocked a laser blade that had sliced a bolt rifle—made of old-era alloy—in half without a single scratch, but it had shattered it with sheer grip strength.
“You monster...!”
The first to snap out of the shock was the cyborg. He dropped the completely wrecked greatsword from his hand and immediately reached into his coat. That familiar outline.
*A gun! Damn it! Yeah, it’s not over yet!*
As Hyde’s voice sang some weird tune in his head, Professor swung the crumpled greatsword in his left hand in a desperate move. He caught sight of the cyborg swiftly drawing a white-barreled pistol.
*Damn! If only I’d snapped out of it sooner! My stance is unstable, no power in my waist—*
Kaaang!
“....Huh?”
[Whoa!]
The crumpled blade gripped tight and swung. He’d swung it awkwardly from a half-crouched position, hoping to at least knock away the gun, but...
Crackle, fizz—
The cyborg’s mechanical arm, struck by the handle of the haphazard swing, vanished along with half its head, which lay in the same line.
It was too dark to see clearly, but from the corner of the cubic cavern’s ceiling, he spotted something ricocheting off with a kang! sound.
A power so immense it was hard to believe it was real.
*You.... What the hell did you turn my arm into?*
[Think of it easy, real easy. Just say you got an awesome new tool attached.]
*That’s the problem—it’s attached where my arm should be! This is a total freak show!*
His arm was covered in a black outer shell like that of a dinosaur or armored beast. The fingers had thickened to the point they barely looked human, hooked at the ends like claws, and the arm itself seemed 10-15 cm longer, making it hard to gauge reach.
No one could deny it looked exactly like a Stage 3 mutant.
Click, click, crunch!
“Damn it! If you were gonna make it, couldn’t you have made it easier to use?!”
[Heh heh, sorry. Didn’t have time to fine-tune the details. Gotta account for some balance issues.]
Professor fumbled to load the pistol with his awkward new hand, crushing the third magazine.
He stared back and forth between his ridiculously sturdy new left arm and the pistol, then tossed the gun away. It seemed Hyde had grown sick of his glass body in GG and imagined this as his ideal flesh.
“Anyway.... We’ll talk later.”
[Yeah, yeah. Gotta solve the problem right in front of us first.]
Scraaaape!
Claaaang!
From the stairs above, the sounds of fierce combat still echoed.
Boom!
*The shield repulsion barely sounds. They’ve used up the battery and shut it off to keep moving!*
The problem was the exosuit side looked on the brink of death. Professor had a ton to say to Hyde, but now wasn’t the time. To support them, he charged forward energetically—
Wobble!
*Argh, seriously! Hey! Shrink this thing a bit! Balance is off! My finger won’t even fit the trigger!*
[Ha, haha.... L-Later! I’ll do it later!]
He slung the massive arm over his shoulder and awkwardly bounded up the stairs.
***
Boom!
“Grk!”
Simon, third squad leader of the Surveillance Division, ripped off his vision aid—filled with red warnings—and swung his hammer at the one who’d struck his exosuit.
Whoosh!
The hammer cut empty air. Powered by the exosuit and its own rocket propulsion, the weapon swung at tremendous speed, yet the enemy dodged effortlessly. Reaction speed and athleticism beyond human limits.
*Cyborgs.... I thought that research was scrapped! How do the Execution Division have them!*
Cyborgs were unfamiliar, but ultimately a byproduct of prosthetic limb research. Born from the dreams of accident victims missing limbs or the desires of the rich to escape aging bodies. Technically perfect, but for some reason, connecting to the nervous system always triggered rejection reactions, dooming commercialization. The cyborg tech failed to overcome that and was shelved; its results formed the foundation for exosuit development—essentially a prototype exosuit.
Fwoooosh!
“Damn it all!”
Simon reactivated his shield on manual and spat curses. Attacks like flamethrowers or acid sprays that demanded a shield for defense. And when forced to power it up—
Ratta-tat-tat!
“Kra ha ha ha! So slow you couldn’t catch a single ant, Surveillance Division!”
“You flea-bitten bastards!!”
Followed by attacks from heavy mass weapons that drained the shield’s energy most. Especially that odd chainsaw blade—each graze shaved off huge chunks, dwindling remaining power.
A combo designed to exploit exosuits’ weakness: the battery.
*Not scavenged from some buried lab. Custom-made cyborgs to counter exosuits. The Execution Division have the tech.... No, according to the BDSM leader via Azel’s comms, Raptor Society and Execution Division are allied, so Raptors must’ve acquired the cyborg tech!*
Zzzzap!
Claaaang!
[Graaaah!]
“Kyaa! Feels great!”
“Damn it, Jonathan!”
Finally, Jonathan, holding out beside him, fell to their hands.
*We lost. Can’t reach the central power plant. Raptor’s legion will trample Dome’s city.*
Boom!
Simon slammed his hammer into the ground. As they dodged sharp fragments from shattered slabs, he dove to Jonathan’s fallen exosuit.
*....Dead.*
The chest frame was crumpled inward past his ribs. Probably that piston-fisted one’s doing.
No time for sentiment. Simon swiftly yanked Jonathan’s exosuit battery—better preserved thanks to his energy shield armament—and swapped it with his own.
*Defeat’s certain. At least get to comms range and report on Raptor’s cyborg tech!*
Gunshots had echoed from downstairs earlier. The greatsword cyborg—the biggest threat—must’ve gone to finish the agent resisting without an exosuit. That agent, who could’ve escaped quietly, chose to risk life drawing enemy eyes.
“I’ll stake my life.... To repay half that expectation...!”
Whiiiir!
To conserve battery, Simon powered up all aux systems. Vision aid glowing red. Countdown showing remaining runtime—like his own lifespan. Four cyborgs slowly closing in.
And then,
*Life sign.... One more?*
Behind the cyborgs. From the black shadows, a massive monster claw lunged.
“Wha— Graaaah!”
The cyborg reacted at near-sensor speeds, swinging its chainsaw back, but the nightmare-black claw grabbed the spinning blade, shattered it, and hurled it away.
“Uwaaaaa—!”
Thud!
Thump.
The cyborg’s scream cut off abruptly as its body hit the wall.
Splat, splat.
Footsteps echoed from the darkness where the cyborg vanished.
“Oh, right. These guys don’t die easy. But crushing them whole like you said.... Feels too inhumane, Hyde.”
A blood-soaked man talking to the bizarre left arm dangling from his body.
“Mu.... Mutant!”
“No, you bastard!”
Crunch!
He scooped shattered slab chunks and hurled them like shells. Forgetting his draining battery, he stared at Simon, who gawked blankly, and said,
“BDSM reinforcements, Professor!”
***
The central power plant battlezone flipped with the sudden arrival of reinforcements.
At its heart, Professor—appearing after ambushing one, casually dominating the mood—
*Hng! Grk!*
[Hold your breath! That thing! Breathe before grabbing the yellow tank and you’re dead!]
Was terrified.
*Flames I get, but a chemical sprayer?! One drop and I’m done!*
[Should’ve just shut your mouth and dived into the shield! You exhaled everything!]
*Gotta ID friend or foe before diving! And if I hadn’t bluffed to stall them, I’d be melted by acid or flames by now!*
When he ambushed the chainsaw guy, spotting the opaque yellow tank strapped nearby nearly made his heart leap out.
Imagining the yellow liquid wasn’t hard. Same color as the chemical gas from the gas grenades en route.
His plan—grab one and fight cautiously centering his sturdy left guard—had no gas or flames.
Crunch!
He hurled more slab chunks, charging forward as the cyborg dodged.
It recovered stance instantly, turning the sprayer toward him.
Professor snatched a wide slab he’d eyed earlier, shielding his front like a buckler.
*Safe if not inhaled when passing! Block direct hit and see!*
[Wait.... Wait! Stop! That’s not it! No!]
Just before the tank on its back bubbled and sprayed, an image shared via Hyde’s consciousness. Corner of the battlezone: an exosuit horrifically corroded and melted.
!!!!!!!!!
Screeeeech!
*Co-Corrosion? Melting?!*
[You idiot!]
He braked hard, but was already right in front.
The cyborg sneered, lips curling as if no slab could block it.
*Damn! Make the left arm bigger! Shield-body size!*
[You said smaller earlier!!!]
Shwaaaa!
Acid solution sprayed before he could dodge.
That instant,
Fizzle!
A max-shield exosuit intercepted, blocking the spray with its barrier.
Simon was a veteran too. Unknown identity or not, seeing Professor attack, he chose to assist immediately.
“Now!”
“Grkhuuugh!!!”
Unable to open his mouth amid vaporized solution to thank him, Professor swung his left hand—huge slab embedded at the fingertips.
Smaaash!
The cyborg flew like truck-struck, slamming into the cavern corner.
“Graaaah! Aaaah!”
The tank shattered on impact; horrific screams echoed from the landing spot. Solution that melted exosuits. No survival possible.
“This.... A dream?”
Simon began doubting if he hallucinated before death. At the dire moment, a man appeared, dispatching foes in seconds. He’d heard mutant tales, but never half-mutated humans.
Eerie movements.
Eerier appearance.
The bizarre reinforcement, who’d sent the cyborg flying then nimbly approached, now...
Thud thud thud thud thud thud!
“Grk! Hng! Hooo!!!”
Desperately pounded his shield, face turning deathly as he pinched nose and mimed opening something.
“Uh, um....”
Definitely not normal, at any rate.
***
Crunch!
“Graaaah!”
The cyborgs—four matching one exosuit—evenly split. With only two left, handled by Simon and the gasping man bursting from the shield, they fell easily.
“Surveillance Division! Everyone!”
“Y-Yes sir!”
After ripping off the last cyborg’s mechanical arm, Professor yelled at the Surveillance Division man beside it. The exosuit’s faint glow died—battery dead.
“Cough! Cough!”
The cyborg, gripped in Professor’s hand, spat blood.
Watching Simon dash to the central generator, it smirked faintly.
“Useless....”
Crunch!
“Aaaah!”
“Useless my ass. Just crank the power and done. Not sparing you outta pity. Need witnesses to properly crush Execution collaborators later.”
“Kh, kuh huh.... Grk!”
Professor read leisure in its laugh. Hollow yet relieved.
*....What’s this guy got?*
Then, Simon yelled from the tower.
“The door! Door won’t open! Security door’s melted shut!”
“What?!”
“Kuh huh huh! You lost. Defeated!”
*....That acid! Brought for this from the start!*
Thought it over, but power uncranked meant failure despite slain foes.
Professor tossed the cyborg and told Simon, groaning at the security panel below the tower.
“Move! Lemme smash it!”
“N-No! Big shock severs control panel from system! Only legit procedure works!”
“They got in to shut it!”
“Enemies now, but Execution’s still Dome members! Of course they know codes!”
Boom!
“So.... You melted it shut with acid....”
Checkmated. One step away!
Pondered long, but no way to touch power without structure knowledge. Couldn’t attempt blind.
“Damn.... If only the elevator worked....”
Then, the Surveillance man spoke hopefully.
“Elevator? Another power switch spot?”
“Yes.... One more, but....”
“Say that sooner!”
“This.... Tower connects to Dome surface. Past ceiling touching ground, management cutoff switch....”
“There, that?”
Squinting, yes—way up the power tower, iron railing spot.
“Problem: Not emergency access. No elevator, can’t reach. Elevator power’s cut....”
“Okay! Be right back!”
“....Pardon?”
Simon, glum over squad’s failed sacrifice, looked up at Professor’s bright voice.
Crunch!
Crack!
“No....”
The man beside him bolted to cavern wall at his words,
Crunch!
And climbed using left arm smashing rockholds.
***