Time ticked away, second by second. The soldiers on standby held their breath, sweat rolling down their temples, yet no one dared to blink—let alone wipe their eyes—for fear of missing even the slightest anomaly.
As the monitors had predicted, the black hole began to contract at regular intervals.
That consuming darkness, as if it could swallow the world, twisted like a rag being wrung out. Space warped visibly around it, stretched taut like elastic on the verge of snapping.
Tension rose with each passing minute, and then—
In the still air, a soft but distinct sound broke the silence.
Something shot out of the passage.
A figure—an ordinary-looking young man—was hurled from the black hole and crashed violently into the ground, unmoving.
Under the floodlights, a pool of bright crimson began to spread from where he landed. Judging by the amount of blood, it seemed unlikely he had survived.
For a moment, no one moved. Then someone exhaled, and like dominoes toppling one after another, the crushing tension dissipated across the entire field.
The lieutenant general sighed in relief, dabbing sweat from his brow. "Looks like he was just a harmless stray..."
Two personnel were dispatched to recover the body, but the ronin samurai—still seated but alert—felt a sting of dread.
"Wait! Don't approach!" he called out suddenly.
But it was already too late.
The 'corpse' twitched. Then, like a puppet snapping to life, the young man sprang up.
His speed was inhuman. The recovery team didn't even have time to scream before their eyes went dark and their bodies hit the ground—lifeless.
The figure raised his head.
Underneath his bloodied, broken skin, there was no flesh. Only spinning gears and brass mechanisms.
One of his eyes dropped from its socket, replaced by a cold, mechanical lens. A ticking sound came from deep within his body. His right knee—no longer human—was a rotating axis of polished brass.
"Open fire!!" the commander barked without hesitation.
Flames burst from countless barrels as lead thundered downrange. Muzzle flashes lit up the darkness, bullet casings rained like hail.
The commander cursed under his breath—what kind of nightmare had they just encountered?
Bullets pounded the figure, pushing him back, tearing through what little flesh remained—but they didn't stop him.
He didn't even stumble.
"Bring in artillery!"
Cannons roared to life. High-caliber shells screamed through the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rocked the earth, painting the field in hellish firelight. A shockwave blasted across the front lines, singeing skin and rattling bones.
When the smoke finally cleared, the spot where the mechanical man had stood was a molten crater.
But from within that scorched pit... he rose again.
His clothing was incinerated, and most of his outer shell had been carbonized. But he moved.
Chunks of charred skin and muscle fell away, revealing a full-body construct of gears and clockwork. Every movement released a ka-ba ka-ba of tightening cogs.
The ronin narrowed his eyes.
The ka-ba sounds began to fade. The machine was adapting.
"Don't stop! Keep attacking—don't give him time!" he warned coldly.
The battlefield obeyed.
Artillery resumed. Then, with a change in command signals, freezing grenades were deployed. Cold mist exploded across the field, flash-freezing the enemy mid-motion.
Frost crawled across his limbs. His movements slowed. Then—crack!—one of his joints split.
But their supply of cryo-bombs was limited.
Soon, they were gone.
With a final signal, the extraordinary forces stepped forward.
Tank-like body enhancers raised massive shields, forming a line. Elemental users stood behind them, launching volleys of flame, wind, and lightning.
The sky itself looked like it was waging war.
But it wasn't enough.
The machine barely flinched.
And then—it stopped resisting.
It looked down at its arms, rolled its shoulders, and for the first time, moved smoothly.
The ground shattered as it launched forward, appearing in front of one of the shield-bearers in a blink.
With fingers pressed together like a blade, it struck.
The reinforced shield shattered like glass.
The enhancer's body rippled with power—muscles bulging, skin hardening to stone—but even that couldn't stop the blade-like hand from piercing forward—
--------------------------------------
Support me at /Arthorain and read upto 100 Advanced Chapters!