A Dirty Pup, You Are
“Good. I won’t interfere anymore.”
I slowly turned Asura’s cockpit around and headed toward the tunnel entrance shrouded in darkness.
But the thing still didn’t move, its gun barrel trained directly on me.
The instant our machines passed each other.
Thud—!
Without hesitation, I unfolded the GX-Final Impact File Bunker from my right arm.
Trusting the performance of the graviton dampers and kinetic reactor coating frame, I cranked the reactor output to its absolute limit in an instant.
Kuwaaaang—!!!
The massive super-alloy stake smashed toward the side of its body like a cannonball, spitting flames.
In that distance, it should have been impossible to dodge.
But.
Thwaaang—!
In front of my eyes, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
Its machine moved with movements that seemed to transcend human reaction speed, barely evading the direct hit of the file bunker.
Of course, shockwaves and fragments scraped and dented some of its gray armor, but it was far from fatal.
Damn it, evading this? I underestimated it too much.
The filthy bastard… I should have finished it from the start.
Using Kinetic Flow was the mistake—for testing the machine’s performance.
[Dirty stray dog.]
A cold, furious voice flowed through the comm channel.
Both of its new laser rifles and real-ammo autocannons on its arms began spitting fire at the same time.
Damn it!
The reinforced mobility truly shone.
I whipped Asura into a sharp turn and dodged the beam and bullet barrage.
I switched the beam magnum in my left hand to precision sniper mode, linking it to the Hawk-Eye targeting system to track its movements.
The precision strike assist system marked its weak points—cockpit joints, sensors—with yellow targeting dots, but its movements were too precise and too fast.
Thwaaang—!
The high-energy compressed beam from the beam magnum grazed its shoulder, but instead of caring, it closed the distance even more aggressively.
The rifle and autocannon kept firing without pause, applying relentless pressure.
It’s specialized for mid-range combat!
I briefly activated Kinetic Flow for explosive maneuvers that let me slip through its bullet screen, while simultaneously opening the shoulder-mounted shake-linked ECM missile pods.
Dozens of ECM missiles arced toward it.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Even under the missile barrage, it showed no panic, weaving its machine with dazzling maneuvers and evading most of the missiles.
A few struck its machine, triggering sensor disruptions, but the effect was minor.
Instead, it used those short disruption windows to launch even fiercer attacks at me.
Kang—!
The Aegis Pulse short-reaction shield barely blocked one of its laser rifles, but the shield energy drained rapidly and the warning lights flashed wildly.
This wasn’t good.
The thing was definitely no amateur.
Its experience and skill were clearly at a high level.
It wasn’t something I could call “ordinary,” but keeping it in my sights with mid-range firepower in this narrow tunnel was foolish.
To seize the advantage, I had to close the distance.
I switched the beam magnum to rapid-fire mode and poured suppressing shots toward it while igniting every booster on Asura.
Do you think you can win in close combat? The file bunker isn’t usable yet, right?! Don’t act like you know everything!
‘I can use it if I want.’
Back at the first ambush, I’d wasted too much output and fired the file bunker indiscriminately—that was dangerous.
I needed to time it perfectly.
It tried to pull away while its autocannon raged, but it was already too late.
Asura’s speed far exceeded its expectations.
Its mobility is…!
I pierced through the rain of bullets and dove into its chest, swinging my right arm wildly through the air to disrupt its line of sight.
In that split-second, I aimed the beam magnum in my left hand straight at the power section beneath its cockpit, where the armor was relatively thin.
Tatatatatatang—!
In rapid-fire mode, the beam magnum unleashed hell.
High-density energy bolts hammered its power-section armor mercilessly.
Kwuuug…!
For the first time, confusion laced its voice.
Its machine staggered sharply and lost balance.
Thud—!
For a moment, I drove the file bunker straight into the center of its chest where it was disabled.
Kuwaaaang—!!!
With an enormous boom, its machine was engulfed in massive flames and exploded.
Shockwaves shook the entire tunnel violently, and rock fragments rained down from the ceiling.
Phew… I finally caught it.
I heaved rough breaths while barely keeping Asura upright.
It was a much harder opponent than I thought.
If Asura’s modifications hadn’t been perfect or if my judgment had been even a split second late, the result would have been uncertain.
Don’t hesitate. Always give your best to kill the enemy.
I deeply reflected on the arrogant thought from moments ago.
With the lingering feeling of victory, I waited for the familiar system notification.
Since all threat elements in the area were removed, the data-permanent-deletion function should have activated automatically.
But… even after waiting, no system notification appeared.
…What? Why isn’t it showing?
Curious, I frantically rechecked the system log and status window.
[Unidentified high-level threat element detected in the area. Permanent data deletion function disabled. Threat element removal required.]
Only an ominous message floated there.
It’s… not over yet?
A chill sweat trickled down my spine.
What other threat element was still left? Instinctively, I maxed out Asura’s sensors and scanned the surroundings.
And in that moment, my gaze naturally lingered on the deepest spot in the tunnel—the pitch-black machine that had been standing motionless since earlier, exuding an eerie sense of pressure.
Could it be… that one?
No way. That machine was completely silent, emitting zero energy reactions.
Ziing—
A faint yet sharp high-frequency sound accompanied a sinister red line of light piercing through the darkness from the head of the pitch-black machine.
At the same time, faint steam leaked from the joints, and the heavy metal body began to move—slowly at first, but unmistakably.
[Threat element scan complete… Hostile machine identified.]
A cold mechanical synthesized voice suddenly forced open the comm channel without warning.
The voice carried no emotion, but the coldness within it alone sent a chill down my spine.
Chronos Mercenary Squad machine, multiple destroyed confirmed… Valentine machine, destruction confirmed… Illegal intruder, confirmed…
It calmly listed the facts as if it already knew everything I’d done here.
As of now, this machine Knightfall activates Unmanned Automatic Defense Protocol Level Omega. I will eliminate the target in front of me.
Knightfall…?
The name flashed through my mind.
The more memories returned, the colder my spine became.
In the game, it had only appeared in the final high-difficulty area as a hidden boss.
With a declaration of war, Knightfall charged forward at explosive speed.
Blue energy particles burst like flames from the black armor surface, and sharp energy claws formed in its hands.
Kagakang—!
I reflexively moved to dodge, but I was one step too late.
Knightfall’s energy claw deeply raked my left shoulder armor.
The Aegis Pulse shield barely blocked the direct hit, but the massive shockwave made my machine stagger violently.
This bastard…!
I switched the beam magnum to rapid-fire and fired at Knightfall, but it evaded every beam.
It was impossible to believe it was simple AI movement.
It was as if a seasoned ace pilot was personally controlling it—precise and efficient combat maneuvers.
Small plasma casters deployed from its shoulder area, and it began firing continuous blue energy bolts without pause.
At the same time, precision-guided micro-missiles launched from its waist, trailing smoke as they flew at Asura.
Damn it, this thing isn’t playing around!
I activated Kinetic Flow to the extreme, pushing Asura’s mobility to its limit.
I dodged the barrage of plasma bolts and missiles pouring into the narrow tunnel while looking for an opening for counterattack.
I tried to use the Data Ghost skill to extract Knightfall’s weaknesses or system information, but powerful firewalls and unknown security systems blocked me, and I couldn’t obtain any meaningful data.
Damn it, it won’t break through!
After several tense exchanges, scratches and dents accumulated across Asura’s armor.
The energy claw had raked my left arm, and the plasma caster’s direct hit caused warning lights to flash on the right leg actuator.
It was dangerous.
Stronger than any enemy I’d faced so far.
I gritted my teeth and made my decision.
I had to stake everything I had left.
At the same time I used Asura’s boosters in reverse thrust to pull away from Knightfall, I unfolded the GX-Final Impact File Bunker.
[Skill Kinetic Flow activated, reactor overload 200%]
Trusting the extreme energy efficiency created by the graviton dampers and kinetic reactor coating frame, I pushed the reactor output beyond its limit once more.
Foolish resistance.
Knightfall’s cold voice came through the comm channel again.
It showed no opening at all and charged at me even more aggressively.
The precision strike assist system activated, and the center of Knightfall’s chest—presumably the faintly glowing core unit—marked as a yellow targeting dot.
One chance.
Now!
Asura, pushed to the absolute limit of Kinetic Flow, dodged Knightfall’s energy claw attack and fired the file bunker.
Kuwaaaang—!!!!!!!
With a boom far more powerful than before, the file bunker struck the center of Knightfall’s chest core unit.
The black armor shattered and exploded, and fierce blue energy flames roared inside.
Knightfall’s movements slowed dramatically, then it lost all power and collapsed forward.
The red glow of the head sensor also faded helplessly.
Kuh… Hah… It’s… really over…?
I leaned against the broken controls of Asura and let out rough breaths.
Finally, the waited-for system notification appeared in my vision.
[All threat elements in the area have been eliminated. Permanent data deletion function has activated.]
[Special machine protocol type Knightfall defeated confirmed.]
[Reward List]
Credits: 250,000 CR
Blueprint: Knightfall Energy Claw (Grade: A+)
25,000 credits… and a blueprint?
I widened my eyes and checked the reward list again.
Even the substantial credits were welcome, but what caught my attention even more was the Knightfall Energy Claw blueprint.
Earlier, that vicious weapon that had ripped through Asura’s armor like paper.
While the file bunker was a heavy, destructive one-shot, this energy claw was a completely different style of powerful weapon—fast and specialized for continuous close-range attacks.