Gyosu was left speechless as he heard the laser bladeâs shell fall to the ground.
Not only did it block the laser blade, which was even able to slice through a bolt rifle made of a modern alloy without getting a scratch, but it also crushed the weapon with pure grip strength.
âYou⊠monster!â
The first one to break out of shock from the unexpected outcome was the cyborg. Letting go of the completely broken sword, he immediately reached into his vest. A familiar pose.
âA gun! Damn it! Right, it isnât over yet!â
As he listened to Hyde sing some sort of weird happy song inside his head, Gyosu swung the rest of the sword that he was holding in his left hand. He could see the cyborgâs swift hands pulling out a white gun barrel.
âDamn it! I should have snapped out of it faster! I donât have strength in my back because of the unstable posiââ
Clangg!
ââŠHuh?â
[Woah!]
He threw the crumpled broadsword, using the crumpled blade as a handle. Because of the current position he was in, the most he thought the sword would do was disarm the gun from him.
Pzt, pzztâ
But the handle of the sword that he swung at the man collided with his mechanical arm and disappeared somewhere. Along with the half-collapsed head of the guy with it.
He couldnât see too well because it was dark, but he saw the outline of something hit the corner of the cubic ceiling with a clang! And bounce off.
It was a power so strong that he couldnât even believe it was true.
âYou⊠what exactly did you make my arm into?â
[Donât think too hard about it. Relax. Just think of it as an epic extension.]
âAll of this is a problem because that extension is where my arm is supposed to be! This is just a complete mutation!â
A black skin similar to that of a dinosaur or shelled creature covered his arm. The tips of his thickened fingers, which were now difficult to consider as a human hand, curled up like hooks, and his arm itself must have grown about 10â15 centimeters, as he couldnât estimate exactly how far his hand could reach now.
No matter who looked at it, he looked most definitely like a Type 3 mutant.
Clack, clack, crunch!
âFâ! Couldnât you make it a little easier to use while you were at it?!â
[Hehe, sorry. There wasnât time to think of something that detailed. Your life compensates for the lack of balance, though.]
Gyosu already broke his third magazine trying to reload the pistol with his new awkward hand.
Switching his gaze between his ridiculously sturdy new arm and the pistol, he decided to ditch the latter. So this is Hydeâs ideal body. He must have really hated that mushy body in GG.
âLetâs⊠talk later for now.â
[Yeah, yeah. You have to solve the problem in front of you first.]
Kkkkkrgggh!
Dwoom!
It seemed like the battle was still fierce up above the staircase, as he heard the sounds of exchanges ring out.
Bang!
âI canât hear the repulsion of the shields. Theyâre fighting with the shields off because theyâre almost out of battery!â
The problem was that it looked like the Exosuitâs side was about to die. He had a lot to talk about with Hyde, but now was not the time. Gyosu sprinted out towardâ
Waver!
âArgh! Hey! Make this smaller or something! Itâs breaking my balance! And the finger doesnât even fit in the trigger hole!â
[Ha-hahahah⊠L-later! Iâll do it later!]
He rested the large arm on his shoulder, then awkwardly ran his way up the stairs.
Bang!
âGrrghh!â
Simon, IB Squad 3âs vice captain, turned off the vision aid, now completely red, and swung his hammer at the one who hit his Exosuit.
Vwooom!
The hammer struck only air. The opponent easily dodged an attack that had the combined power and speed of the Exosuit and the hammerâs own rocket booster. Their level of reaction speed and agility made it hard to believe they were human.
âCyborgs⊠I thought that experiment was abandoned! How did the Executive Department?â
They sounded foreign when called cyborgs, but those were ultimately the result of an alternative prosthetic experiment. A being birthed from the wishes of those who lost their limbs in an accident and the greed of the rich that wanted to abandon their old frail bodies. It was perfect technology-wise, but because the patientâs body rejected the prosthetic when they connected the nerves to the device, it was in the end left in history. The cyborg technology was eventually abandoned because they couldnât figure out the reason for the side effects, but because the experiment results from the research were used to create the base of the Exosuits, the device was in a way the prototype of the Exosuits.
Tfwooooom!
âBloody hell!â
Simon turned back on the shield he switched to manual long ago as he cursed out loud. They attacked with weapons such as flamethrowers or acid sprays, which couldnât be blocked without the shield. Then, when they begrudgingly turned the shields back onâ
Krggkgkgk!
âGahahah! You wonât be able to kill an ant with sluggish moves like those, Investigation Bureau!â
âYou measly gnats!!â
They attacked with a heavy weapon, which shaved off the most energy from the shields. Especially when they came in contact with those chainsaws with odd shaped teeth, massive chunks of the shield were bitten off, leaving them with a sliver of power.
A combination created purely in order to target the Exosuitâs weakness, its battery.
âThey didnât dig through some abandoned lab to get this cyborg equipment. They were cyborgs tailored specifically to deal with Exosuits. The Executive Department got⊠No, according to what the BDSMâs leader said through Ezelâs comms, the Raptor Society is cooperating with the Executive Department, so it must be the Raptors that obtained this cyborg technology!â
Pszzzt!
Dwooom!
[Gaghhh!]
âAh, now thatâs what I like to see!â
âDamn it, Jonathan!â
Even Jonathan, who was holding on next to him, fell to their hands.
âWe lost. Itâs impossible to approach the central generator now. The Raptors are going to trample the entire city.â
Booom!
Simon swung his hammer down to the ground, and while they dodged the sharp fragments of the flagstones, he flung himself towards Jonathanâs collapsed Exosuit.
ââŠHeâs dead.â
The frame near Jonathanâs heart was crushed all the way into the deep part of his ribcage. It must have been from the bastard with the piston hand.
He didnât have time to sit here and be emotional. Simon quickly pulled out the battery from Jonathanâs Exosuit and replaced his own. It must have been because Jonathan was armed with an energy shield, because he still had much more battery left than he did.
âOur defeat is already certain. I need to at least make it far enough for the comms to reach them and tell them about the Raptorâs new cyborg technology!â
He heard gunshots near the bottom of the stairs not long ago. Looking at how the most dangerous sword cyborg disappeared, he probably went down to finish off a member that was fighting even after they lost their Exosuit. The members who could have spared their lives had they quietly escaped instead risked their lives to turn the attention of the enemy.
âI need to repay even a fraction of those expectations⊠even if it costs my lifeâŠ!â
Vwooom!
Simon turned on all of the support systems that he had turned off to save battery life. His vision aid was still bright red. There was a countdown indicating the remaining operating time, which was no different from the countdown of his lifespan. The four cyborgs slowly closed in on him.
AndâŠ
âThereâs⊠another life signal?â
From behind the cyborgs. A black monsterâs claw burst out of the dark shadows.
âWha, AGHHHH!â
Responding at almost the same speed as the Exosuitâs sensor, the cyborg swung his chainsaw towards the figure behind his back, but the horrifying black claw just grabbed the spinning chainsawâs blade, crushed it, and then threw it.
âEEAHHHHHHââ
Boom!
Thud.
The cyborgâs screams were cut off the moment its body hit the wall.
Splish, splish.
And from the darkness where the cyborg disappeared, came the sound of footsteps.
âAh, right. Those guys donât die that easily. Uh, but itâs a little⊠inhumane to crush their entire body, donât you think so, Hyde?â
The man covered in blood spoke to himself, as if he were talking with the grotesque arm attached to his body.
âItâs⊠Itâs a mutant!â
âNo, it isnât, you bastard!â
Crack!
The man picked up a handful of broken flagstone fragments nearby and threw them towards the cyborgs like cannonballs, then looked at Simon, who was just dumbfoundedly staring at him now, his draining battery forgotten.
âIâm the BDSMâs reinforcements, Gyosu Park!â
The situation took a drastic turn at the central generator after the sudden reinforcements appeared.
And at the center of it all, Gyosu, who emerged confidently from the dark after successfully ambushing an enemy, wasâ
âHuuup! Mmmph!â
[Hold your breath! There! Youâll die if you breathe in before you get to that yellow can!]
Close to pissing his pants.
âI would understand the flamethrower, but a chemical spray?! Iâm dead if I breathe in even a droplet of that!â
[You should have just shut that loud mouth of yours and ran inside the shield! You let out all of your breath!]
âHe needed to identify me if I wanted even a chance of getting in! And if I hadnât bluffed and stopped those bastards, either the acid or the flamethrower would have made me into a pile of mush by now!â
When he ambushed the one with the chainsaw arm, his heart almost jumped out of his mouth after finding another guy holding a can full of an opaque yellow liquid.
It wasnât hard to imagine what that yellow liquid was after all. The chemical gas from the gas grenade he used on his way here was the exact same color as that.
A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.
Gyosuâs plan to use his left arm to grab one of the cyborgs at a time and fight it out slowly did not include anything about gas or flamethrowers.
Cra-a-ck!
He threw another handful of flagstone fragments, then dashed forward while the cyborgs moved to dodge.
The cyborg immediately recovered and turned his weapon in Gyosuâs direction.
âThe type we passed through back there was fine as long as you didnât breathe it in! It should work out somehow as long as I block the direct blow!â
[Wait⊠Wait! Stop! It isnât that! Thatâs not the same one!]
Just before the contents of the container on the manâs back sprayed out, an image was shared with him through Hydeâs consciousness. In the corner of the combat area was a horrifying image of an Exosuit that seemed to be corroded.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Skreeeet!
âC-corrosion? Melt down?!â
[Aaaaahhhh! You idiot!]
He tried to stop as fast as he could, but Gyosu was already right in front of him.
Watching Gyosu charge in at him with a flagstone, the cyborgâs lips curled up, as if that wasnât even close to enough to stop him.
âDamn it! Why didnât you make the arm a little bigger? Big enough to cover my body!â
[You said to make it smaller beforeeeeee!!!]
Pshhhhk!
The acid solution fired out without a chance for him to escape.
Just thenâŠ
Pzzzzzz-t!
An Exosuit with its shield output raised to the maximum budged in and blocked the acidic solution with its shield.
Simon was also a seasoned veteran. Although he was unsure of his identity, he decided to cooperate with Gyosu after watching him attack the enemy.
âNow!â
âMmmphmp!!!â
After expressing his gratitude with a closed mouth because of the vaporized solution, Gyosu swung the large flagstone he was holding with his left hand.
S-powww!
The cyborg soared through the air like he was hit by a truck and landed in a corner.
âGahhhhghhh! Aaaaaaghhh!â
The container holding the liquid must have broken, as a blood-curdling cry came from the location where the cyborg fell. The liquid could even melt an Exosuit. There was no chance he would survive.
âIs this⊠all a dream?â
Watching all of this unfold, Simon started to question whether this was just an illusion he was seeing before he died. In the final moments before death, a man suddenly appeared and dealt with the enemy. He had heard a lot about mutants before, but none about a person who only partially mutated.
Bizarre behavior.
An even more bizarre appearance.
The odd reinforcement that swiftly approached him after sending the cyborg flyingâŠ
Thunkthunkthunkthunkthunkthunk!
âMMmmph! MM! PhmmPPMMhH!â
âŠwas desperately knocking at his shield as he pointed at his mouth and tried to express something opening up.
âUh, umâŠâ
One thing was for sure. They werenât normal people.
Crunch!
âGaghhhh!â
The four cyborgs had fought on par with Simonâs one Exosuit. Now that only two were left, Simon and the man who aggressively collected his breath inside the shield easily dealt with the other two not long after.
âInvestigation Bureau! The power!â
âR-roger that!â
After breaking off the arm of the last cyborg, Gyosu yelled at the IB member next to him. Just in time as well, as he saw the Exosuitâs dim light flicker off.
âCough! Cough!â
The cyborg grasped Gyosuâs hand and coughed out blood.
But as he watched Simon run towards the central generator, he drew a faint smile.
âItâs no⊠useâŠâ
Squeeze!
âAghhhhh!â
âAs if. All we need to do is turn on the power. I didnât spare you out of pity. I just needed a live witness so we can properly deal with the ones who cooperated with the Executive Department.â
âKeh, kehehehâŠeurgh!â
Gyosu could sense confidence in the cyborgâs laughter. A sort of empty but satisfied one.
ââŠThereâs something going on here.â
Just then, Simon shouted from the entrance of the tower.
âThe door! The door isnât opening! They melted the security door shut!â
âWhat?!â
âKeheheheh! You all have lost. Youâve been defeated!â
ââŠThat acid solution! This was the real reason why they brought it!â
And just when he thought it was all over too. Even if they defeated the enemy, it was all useless if they couldnât turn on the power.
Gyosu tossed the cyborg aside and called to Simon, who was struggling by himself in front of the security panel at the bottom of the tower.
âGet out of the way! Iâll break it down!â
âN-no, you canât do that! The door is made so that the control panel is isolated from the system if it receives a strong impact! The only way in is through the official procedure!â
âBut they went in and turned off the power!â
âThey are the enemy right now, but the Executive Department is still a part of the Dome! Of course they know the code!â
Bang!
âSo thatâs why⊠they went through the trouble of melting it down with acidâŠâ
It was an unexpected factor. They were just one step and one last door away from turning on the power!
He continued to think, but nothing popped into his mind about how they could turn on the power. No matter what he thought of, it wasnât possible to try it because he didnât know the layout of the central generator.
âDamn it⊠if onlyâif only the elevator could moveâŠâ
But then the man from the Investigation Bureau spoke as if there was some sort of hope.
âElevator? Is there another place where you could turn the power on?â
âYes⊠there is one more placeâŠâ
âYou could have said that earlier!â
âSo⊠this tower is connected to the Domeâs surface. If you go a little under the ceiling of this space, the part where it touches the ground, then thereâs one more power breaker for managementâŠâ
âWhereâŠ? That over there?â
When he squinted his eyes and looked up, he indeed saw some sort of iron railing far above the tower.
âThe problem is, that facility wasnât created considering emergencies like this, so you canât get to it without an elevator. Because the power to use the elevator is currently offâŠâ
âOkay! Be right back!â
ââŠPardon?â
Simon, who had been depressed at the thought of failing the operation that their entire squad risked their lives for, raised his head when he heard Gyosuâs voice suddenly brighten.
Crack!
Crâgack!
âWaitâŠâ
The man that was just standing next to him started to run towards the walls of the cavity after hearing what he said.
Crunch!
Then he started to climb the wall by stabbing the bedrock with his left arm.