Chapter 1838: Finding Lily & Sasha

Ssssnnnngggg~

Three mech-suits tore through the sky above the Zeta Division.

Two were in black plating marked with sharp red stripes, while the third carried purple stripes.

Their destination was unmistakable: the Zeta Tower, standing proudly at the very heart of the division like a colossal spear driven into the center of the city.

Straight to Zeta Tower?

That’s practically suicide!

Yet none of the three slowed down.

They knew exactly where they were going. They knew who was waiting for them inside, and they understood perfectly well what would most likely happen once they crossed those doors.

Still, there was no hesitation.

Their blood burned with anger, their thoughts consumed by revenge, and every passing second only brought them closer to the person responsible for what they had lost.

"Governor... do you really think he’ll stay there?" Young Aether asked, his voice carrying through the communication channel. A deep frown formed beneath his helmet as the enormous tower grew larger in their view.

"He has to know we might come looking for him."

Jonathan gave a quiet shrug. "He’s the Governor," Jonathan replied. "If he was afraid of us coming for him, do you honestly think he would have done all of this in the first place?"

Young Aether fell silent.

His gaze shifted toward Allen, who had remained quiet throughout the journey.

Unlike Jonathan, Allen wasn’t looking at either of them. His attention remained fixed on the Zeta Tower ahead.

"Aether."

Allen’s voice suddenly called him.

Young Aether turned his head slightly.

"You know this is a suicide mission, right?" Allen muttered. He glanced toward Jonathan before looking back at Aether. "We lost someone close to us, and that’s why we’re going. I understand that. But you don’t have to do this for us."

Young Aether remained silent.

"Please," he continued, his voice becoming quieter.

"I can’t lose anyone else."

"..."

Young Aether stared ahead for several seconds.

"You’re close to me as well, Allen," Aether finally said. "How am I supposed to stand aside when I know you two are walking straight into danger?"

His voice carried no hesitation.

"And besides..." A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I’m not doing this only for you."

He paused, his gaze settling on the tower.

"I’m doing it for that little girl, too."

His smile widened slightly.

"After all, I’m the greatest uncle, right?"

"..."

"..."

Neither Jonathan nor Allen answered immediately.

Then Jonathan glanced toward Allen.

Allen glanced back.

A faint smile appeared on both their faces.

Soon, the three mech-suits reached the outer perimeter of the Zeta Tower.

Their thrusters lowered to a quiet hum as they descended toward the enormous entrance plaza.

Armed soldiers stood at strategic positions around the gates, their attention sweeping across the surrounding area while automated surveillance cameras slowly tracked movement across the plaza.

Allen looked around carefully.

"What should we do?" he asked, lowering his voice. "If we start fighting here, the entire tower will know we’ve arrived before we even get through the entrance."

Young Aether turned toward him.

"Don’t worry. I have an idea."

Young Aether stepped forward alone, raising his palm, where a subtle white glow appeared.

The energy diffuser pulser.

RIN had modified the device specifically for his mech-suit, allowing it to release a concentrated pulse designed to disrupt their entire system

Aether activated it.

Bop!

A barely visible wave of energy spread outward.

Then the soldiers standing guard suddenly froze.

Their weapons slipped from their hands.

One after another, their systems went dark.

Aether didn’t waste a second.

His hand snapped toward his weapon.

Twin Eclipse launched from its mount.

The twin-bladed weapon spun through the air, cutting their head one after another.

The weapon zigzagged through the remaining guards, each movement controlled and deliberate rather than wild. Blood sprayed across the polished floor as the soldiers collapsed around the entrance.

Twin Eclipse completed its final arc and came whipping back toward Aether.

He extended his hand.

The weapon slammed into his palm.

Tang!

Aether’s boots struck the ground a moment later as he stabilised himself, his mech-suit absorbing the force through its reinforced joints. He rotated the Twin Eclipse once in his hand before locking it back onto the mount across his back.

Jonathan and Allen landed beside him moments later.

"Let’s go inside."

Without waiting for a response, Young Aether immediately jogged deeper into the tower.

Jonathan and Allen stared at Young Aether’s back for a moment before following him into the tower.

"AI?" Young Aether quietly muttered into his suit’s system.

[Yes.]

Young Aether fell silent when the AI system answered.

It wasn’t the words themselves that bothered him. It was the voice. The tone was different from the one RIN had used before.

He wasn’t sure whether RIN had simply been shut down or... completely exterminated by the Mother System.

The thought lingered in the back of his mind, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Since his left hand was completely an illusion and he didn’t actually have a real hand, he had allowed the system to move it according to his muscle movements. It wasn’t perfect, but he was managing well enough for now.

Whatever the case might have been, the suit was still functioning and still listening to his commands.

That was enough for now.

He walked deeper into the enormous tower.

This was his first time entering the Zeta Tower, and the sheer scale of the interior immediately caught his attention.

The massive halls were filled with mech-suits moving between different sections, technicians working on equipment, and soldiers exchanging information through their communication systems.

The trio continued walking, blending naturally into the crowd of soldiers and personnel moving throughout the tower. None of them appeared suspicious enough to attract attention, and no one stopped them as they approached the elevator.

"Looks like they’ve been busy," Allen muttered as his eyes swept across the surroundings.

His gaze eventually settled on a large elevator positioned farther down the corridor.

"That should be the one."

Young Aether followed his gaze.

"Where would that Governor bastard be?"

"Everyone knows the Governor’s designated place," Jonathan replied. "The top floor."

The trio nodded.

They continued toward the elevator.

As they walked, however, Young Aether quietly observed everything around him.

The way the mech-suits moved.

The way the soldiers spoke.

The way every person seemed to carry an unusual weight in their movements.

There was something strange about this place.

Nothing immediately appeared wrong, yet the atmosphere itself felt different.

Young Aether narrowed his eyes.

He hummed quietly, as though listening to an instinct.

After a moment, he simply nodded to himself and stepped into the elevator alongside Jonathan and Allen.

Jonathan reached toward the control panel and selected the top floor.

The elevator doors closed.

Sssssnnnngggg!

The elevator began ascending.

There was no sudden acceleration, no violent vibration, and no noticeable shift in momentum. It simply glided upward with an almost unnaturally smooth motion, carrying the three men toward the highest floor of the tower.

Allen’s heartbeat gradually quickened.

The same was true for Jonathan.

Even Young Aether could feel the tension building inside his chest.

They were going to face someone far stronger than themselves.

Someone they might not be capable of defeating.

Death wasn’t guaranteed... but neither was survival.

Allen lowered his gaze. A gentle smile appeared on his face as the visor of his mech-suit flickered.

Images appeared across the display.

His beloved family.

Their smiles.

Their laughter.

Moments that had once seemed ordinary, yet now felt more precious than anything else in the world.

His vision blurred.

A tear rolled slowly down his cheek.

Allen clenched his jaw, trying desperately to hold himself together.

Ding~

The elevator finally reached the top floor.

The trio stepped out.

They stopped.

The corridor before them was completely empty.

The three stared down the long, immaculate pathway stretching before them.

The trio glanced at each other before moving forward, their weapons fully engaged and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Their footsteps echoed quietly through the metallic corridor as they continued deeper into the top floor.

After several meters, the corridor suddenly diverged into four separate paths.

The trio stopped.

They exchanged another cautious glance.

"It’s only a matter of time before everyone notices we’re here," Allen said quietly. "We’ll split up and cover as much of the area as possible."

He looked toward the three different directions.

"If we find anything, contact the others immediately. And if we encounter enemies, do not engage them unless absolutely necessary. Avoid a fight as much as possible."

Young Aether and Jonathan nodded.

Jonathan raised his hand slightly.

"Once we find anything suspicious, we inform each other through our shared connection."

"Got it."

Allen took a slow breath before turning toward one of the corridors.

Jonathan chose another.

That left Young Aether standing alone before the remaining two paths.

Young Aether’s eyes shifted toward the two corridors.

Then, suddenly, that child appeared at the end of one of them.

[Elevated heartbeat detected.]

Young Aether immediately averted his gaze.

He simply turned toward the other path and walked away without looking at the child again.

His grip tightened around his weapon as he continued through the corridor. He carefully scanned both sides, his visor sweeping across every corner and doorway as he advanced.

Left.

Right.

Nothing.

Then he noticed a door.

Young Aether stopped in front of it.

He raised his weapon and positioned himself beside the entrance before reaching out and opening the door.

The room beyond was completely empty.

Nothing.

Not even a single object that explained why the room existed.

Young Aether frowned.

He slowly scanned the interior before stepping inside for a moment. His eyes moved across the bare walls and empty floor, searching for anything unusual.

There was nothing.

He stepped back into the corridor and continued forward.

A little farther ahead, he found another door.

Young Aether stopped before it.

He opened it.

This time, his expression immediately changed.

The entire chamber was filled with sexual toys.

For several seconds, he simply stood there, staring into the bizarre chamber.

"What the hell...?"

He immediately stepped back and closed the door.

Without wasting another second, he continued down the corridor, deliberately putting as much distance as possible between himself and that room.

Eventually, the metallic passage opened into a much larger space. A huge glass wall stretched from floor to ceiling.

Young Aether slowed to a stop.

He approached the glass and looked down.

Clouds stretched endlessly beneath the tower, drifting slowly across the vast sky.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

"..."

Then he noticed something.

Above the clouds.

The child was standing there.

Young Aether’s entire body stiffened.

The figure stood impossibly far below, yet somehow appeared perfectly clear through the glass.

Those ice-blue, lifeless eyes stared directly at him.

[Elevated heartbeat detected.]

Young Aether instantly turned away.

His heart began pounding violently against his chest.

His breathing became heavy and uneven, each breath suddenly feeling harder to draw than the last. His fingers clenched tightly around his weapon as he forced himself to remain still.

He shut his eyes.

Breathe.

Just breathe.

Several seconds passed.

Slowly, his heartbeat began to settle.

Young Aether opened his eyes again. "...Why is this happening now?" he muttered.

He took another slow breath before activating the shared connection.

"One path is a dead end. I’m moving toward the remaining route."

"Copy that."

Jonathan’s voice answered through the connection.

"I haven’t encountered anything either. Not yet, at least."

"Yes, me too," Allen added.

Young Aether nodded faintly.

He turned away from the glass wall and walked back toward the intersection.

When he stepped out of the pathway and looked toward the remaining corridor, he stopped for a moment.

This time, there was no child standing there.

The corridor was completely empty.

Yet,

[Elevated Heartbeat Detected]

Young Aether took a slow breath before walking toward the remaining path. As he ventured deeper into the corridor, the silence around him became increasingly oppressive, until he eventually encountered another door.

He reached for the handle and tried to open it.

But it didn’t open!

He frowned and tried again, applying more force this time.

Still, the door didn’t budge.

Young Aether’s expression hardened. He drew his weapon and pressed one of its blades against the reinforced metal. With a sharp movement, he carved a deep diagonal line across the door, then cut another through it, forming a massive X.

He stepped back and raised his leg.

THANG!

The door violently flew inward, its damaged pieces scattering across the floor as they crashed into the darkness beyond.

The moment Young Aether stepped inside, his suit detected the complete absence of light and immediately activated its night vision.

The darkness transformed into shades of pale green across his visor.

His fingers tightened around the slotted ring of his weapon as he carefully scanned the chamber.

Nothing.

The room was empty... completely em—

"U-Uncle? Is that you?"

A little girl’s voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.

Young Aether immediately turned toward the sound.

"Lily? Where are you?"

He rapidly looked left and right, searching through the darkness.

There was no one.

His night vision showed nothing except the empty chamber.

Then the voice came again.

"Uncle! I’m here! P-Please help me, Uncle... I-I’m so scared!"

She cried out in pain.

Young Aether’s heart tightened.

He immediately moved toward the source of her voice, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find her.

"Activate lights."

The helmet around his forehead shifted slightly.

A mechanical mechanism emerged from the side of his armour, and a powerful spotlight suddenly burst to life.

"Lily! Where are you, dear?"

His voice echoed through the room as he hurriedly searched from one side to another.

Then the spotlight swept across the far end of the chamber.

It stopped.

Young Aether froze.

There she was.

Lily was chained to the wall.

Her small body was covered in blood, her head hanging weakly as her trembling eyes slowly lifted toward the light. She squinted against its brightness, almost as though she were seeing light for the first time.

Young Aether’s heart finally released the enormous weight that had been pressing against it.

He immediately rushed toward her.

"Lily, I’m here. Your Uncle is here. Don’t you worry."

Pain crept into his voice as he crouched before her.

He slowly reached out and gently touched her cheek.

Or so he thought.

His fingers passed straight through her skin.

Young Aether froze.

Lily’s trembling expression vanished.

A wicked smile slowly spread across her bloodied face.

Her eyes suddenly ignited with an unnatural blue glow.

"You fell for such an obvious trap~"

Young Aether’s pupils contracted.

Chuccckkk!!

A flesh-cutting sound echoed through the dark chamber.