A laser beam, wreathed in swirling heat, erupted from the muzzle of a massive blaster rifle, incinerating a cluster of planters. The destructive energy evaporated the nutrient solution, obliterating the submerged flesh masses. Facing the crimson beam, the Cleaner activated an emergency shield generator, raising both armored forearms.

  Could the shield withstand it? A foolish question. No shield could endure the relentless beam from a blaster rifle. So what now? How to confront this threat? Die pathetically like this? …Ridiculous.

  The raised armor split, deploying the shield generator. A deep bass rumble shook the air, thin purple lightning tore the sky, and billions of hexagonal tiles enveloped the Cleaner.

  He wouldn’t die easily. No, he had no intention of dying at all. Forming the shield, the Cleaner switched his HMD’s display mode, detached his right arm from the reinforced exoskeleton frame, and input an emergency escape command. The physical display on his chest flashed “Approved,” and the rear hatch hissed open, expelling yellowish-green protective fluid.

  He’d abandon this exoskeleton, though some parts were too valuable to lose. Immersed in the fluid, the Cleaner threw himself out, activating his head-protecting mask’s power. Entering the self-destruct passcode into the HHPC (Hand-Held Personal Computer) on his right arm, he switched the Assault War Dress (AWD)—a combat armor suit—to battle mode.

  A cataclysmic explosion clashed with the laser beam. The apocalyptic light engulfed and devoured the illegal plant, obliterating everything. The flesh masses—proto-androids not yet alive—vanished without a trace, a portrait of destruction. The energy clash, shaking the entirety of Hydro de Benzene, vaporized the protective fluid and shattered the crimson armor worn by Danan, the Cleaner’s adversary.

  “—!?” Danan grunted.

  “Danan, Code Onimus operational time remaining: one minute thirty seconds. Cleaner’s vitals still active,” Nephthys’ voice echoed in his mind.

  “Danan! Above you!” Lils shouted through the comms. Shielding Eve from the devastating blast, Danan—having lost a third of his armor—caught a fleeting glimpse of a black shadow that vanished.

  “How many more must you kill to meet a complete death, Black Serpent?” a man’s voice, laced with icy killing intent, came from behind.

  A sharp blade slipped through the gaps in the bio-fused metal filling Danan’s armor holes, stabbing toward his heart. Coughing blood, Danan swung his arm, grasping the air, and deployed a machine gun blaster from his mechanical arm. Reforming the flowing blood, he drew a crimson sword.

  “Lils, he’s… still in the exoskeleton?”

  “No,” she replied.

  “Then what—”

  “The enemy’s no longer wearing the exoskeleton—just a combat armor suit!”

  The shadow flickered, a single sword flash slicing through. A shrill metallic clang rang out, and crimson iron fragments scattered.

  “Nephthys!” Danan shouted.

  “Cleaner has activated the Assault War Dress’s combat mode,” Nephthys reported.

  Impossible—a mere human couldn’t move like this in just a combat suit. No way they could strike with superhuman speed or wield a blade that severed bio-fused metal. Cold sweat trickled beneath Danan’s armor as he fired the blaster repeatedly at the approaching shadow, its blade glinting.

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  “Danan, stay calm,” Nephthys urged.

  I am calm.

  “Danan, I’m rushing to sync your vitals! Hold out until then!” Lils called.

  No guarantee I can.

  “It’s a shackle, my coffin. To me, the exoskeleton is just chains. Black Serpent, how much longer can your power last? After your fight with Damocles, you were crawling on the ground. The moment you’re in that state again—your death is certain,” the Cleaner taunted, darting with superhuman agility and whispering in Danan’s ear.

  Faced with terror and the despair of death, any human would freeze. Their mind blanked, crushing hope with their own hands. The will to fight snapped like a broken sword, leaving them to wail at the gleeful jaws of the end.

  A strange laugh vibrated his eardrums. Raging passion burned his body, heating his blood. Standing at despair’s edge, with death closing in, was it madness to stoke his fighting spirit to push it back?

  “No,” Danan muttered.

  Focusing Lumina’s bugs into his eyes, enhancing them, he tracked the Cleaner’s high-speed movements.

  “I want to live… I want to live! I’m not mad! I—will never die!”

  Gripping the black blade aimed at his heart, he crushed it.

  “!?” The Cleaner froze.

  He’d never had a blade caught and shattered. Of course—without the exoskeleton, this was his true self, a bared blade. Once drawn, his lethal edge couldn’t be sheathed until it killed, existing to carve the inescapable fate of death.

  “Danan, Code Onimus remaining: thirty seconds. Immediate elimination of hostile required,” Nephthys warned.

  A fiery glow shone through the Cleaner’s visor—a lustrous black star, like obsidian. The Cleaner’s movements slowed, hesitating under the passion in Danan’s eyes. That fleeting gap was a decisive opportunity to reverse the odds.

  Danan’s fist loomed like a giant’s. Controlled by Lumina, his bio-fused metal sword merged with his arm’s armor, forming a crimson blade-arm. The Cleaner narrowly dodged the red blade by a hair, only to be doused in a flood of liquefied blood.

  The Lumina network linked the host’s combat status in real-time, a tactical system. Holding Danan’s life, Eve—who’d grafted Lumina’s bugs—manipulated silver wings in her fading consciousness. Piercing a single silver feather into the Cleaner’s mask, she whispered, “Those eyes… I’m borrowing them,” her lips curling as she hacked his camera display.

  The Cleaner’s vision turned to static. Tearing off the useless mask and covering his face with one hand, he glared at Danan with red eyes through his fingers.

  “…”

  He couldn’t let his face be seen. Being recognized by a target raised mission risks and endangered his kin.

  “…”

  But he was one step from killing Danan. The bio-fused metal protecting Danan had reverted to blood, exposing his brown, muscled skin. Ignoring the risk, for the savior Canaan, for his family, he’d eliminate the Black Serpent obstructing the plan. Reaching for a spare black blade, the Cleaner began to draw the dark steel when a call from his HHPC interrupted.

  “My savior… What is it?” he asked.

  “Mid-level city soldiers are coming. Withdraw, my hound,” a voice replied.

  “But I’m so close. Let my blade skin the Black Serpent and offer his sinful flesh to you… Grant me five more minutes, my savior.”

  “Withdraw. That’s an order. And… are you fine with your face being seen? Someone might harm your kin again. So withdraw… understood?”

  “…As you command, my savior, Canaan.”

  Covering his face, the Cleaner spun. “Your life is spared for now. Thank Canaan’s mercy, Black Serpent. And White Lady… your sister seeks you. Never forget that.” With inhuman speed, he scaled the plant’s wall and leaped through the collapsed hole.

  “…Eve,” Danan rasped.

  “…”

  “You idiot… pushing yourself like that.”

  “Code Onimus disengaged,” Nephthys announced.

  “Danan, Eve, you both okay?” Lils asked.

  Spitting blood, Danan lifted Eve, clutching his throbbing head. “Somehow,” he muttered, surveying the obliterated plant.

  “Lils… find an escape route from here. Sorry, but… Eve and I are at our limit.”

  “The facility’s security is down from the battle’s aftermath. See the elevator ahead? Take it. It’s probably the exit.”

  “…”

  Elevator. Spotting the green lamp as Lils instructed, Danan dragged his heavy body to the control panel, connected a hack cable, and forced the doors open.

  “…”

  Stepping into the cool elevator compartment, he collapsed to his knees, lying on his side and focusing solely on breathing. Closing his heavy eyelids, Danan sank into darkness as if submerged in mud, his faint breaths mingling with the vibrations of the automated elevator.