Chapter 262: All of this for...

Blake heard footsteps.

At first, they were faint, almost indistinguishable from the ringing in his ears. Then they grew louder, multiplying.

He slowly raised his head.

"...Tsk."

Blake was kneeling on the ground, one hand pressed against his head and the other braced against the concrete. His breathing was uneven, and his vision kept flickering between blurry images and distorted system readings.

Several pieces of his helmet had broken off during the impact. The outer plating around the side of his head was cracked, exposing some of the internal components beneath it. His visor remained partially functional, but the thermal imaging was completely gone.

"Come on..."

A brief flash of static appeared across his vision before the display returned to its previous state.

Blake exhaled sharply.

’Earlier, I didn’t look at every single building properly... Tsk, I was too focused on Alfred!’

He had concentrated too much on reaching the designated location, barely sparing a glance at the structures surrounding his route. Whoever had thrown that explosive had taken advantage of his oversight, using the building’s upper floors to attack him from above.

’Damn it, this is all because of Spoon!’

And now, his helmet was damaged.

His thermal imaging was useless and his head still felt as though someone had driven a hammer straight through it.

"THERE!"

Blake’s head snapped toward the voice.

Several soldiers emerged, their weapons raised as soon as they spotted him. They had clearly been sent here just now, and judging by their clean uniforms. Their expression were also relived, finding him kneeling on the ground had been an unexpected stroke of luck.

One of them pointed directly at him.

"Target located! Move in!"

Blake’s expression darkened

He couldn’t let them get close.

If these soldiers were to get close to their hiding spot, there was a good chance they would eventually encounter Tania. He didn’t know if she was still there, but he knew she was somewhere in the vicinity.

The last thing he needed was to let a group of armed soldiers slip past him and interfere with her.

Blake pushed himself upright.

The soldiers immediately tightened their formation.

"Don’t let him escape!"

Blake lowered his head slightly.

"Who said anything about escaping?"

Before the soldiers could react, he surged forward.

BOOM!

The force generated by his suit propelled him across the distance in an instant. His reinforced boots struck the concrete with enough strength to crack its surface, and the soldiers barely had time to raise their weapons before Blake reached the front of their formation.

The first soldier swung his rifle toward him.

Blake caught the barrel with one hand.

He twisted his body, redirecting the weapon away from himself before driving his other palm into the soldier’s shoulder. His suit’s enhanced strength sent the man stumbling backward into two of his companions, disrupting their formation.

Blake didn’t stop moving.

He couldn’t afford to fight carelessly, especially with his visor malfunctioning. Without thermal imaging, he had lost one of his most reliable ways of identifying movement through smoke, dust, and other obstructions.

A rifle clicked behind him.

Blake immediately pivoted.

A burst of gunfire erupted.

K-CHUNK!

The armor around his left shoulder shifted, several interlocking plates sliding into place as the defense system reinforced the area about to take the impact.

Blake raised his left arm.

Several small openings along the forearm’s metal casing illuminated.

The energy stored within the suit surged through the channels, supplied and regulated by Myles had integrated into the armor. A moment later, a concentrated beam burst from the openings.

ZZZRAK!

The blast swept across the ground in front of the advancing soldiers.

It struck the concrete rather than their bodies, sending a shower of sparks and debris into the air. The sudden burst of light forced the soldiers to recoil, momentarily disrupting their aim.

Blake took advantage of their hesitation.

He lunged toward the nearest soldier, struck the side of his weapon, and drove his shoulder into the man’s torso. The soldier crashed into the wall and slid down, his rifle clattering onto the floor.

Another soldier tried to approach from Blake’s right.

Blake noticed the movement in the reflection of a broken metal panel.

He ducked.

The soldier’s strike passed over his head, and Blake immediately caught the man’s arm, twisting away from the incoming momentum. He used the soldier’s own movement to pull him forward, then swept his leg out from beneath him.

The man hit the ground.

Blake released him and turned toward the remaining attackers.

Two were regrouping near the entrance.

One was already aiming.

Blake’s visor flickered.

For a fraction of a second, the soldier disappeared behind a wave of static.

’Not now!’

Blake didn’t wait for the display to recover.

He trusted his instincts, throwing himself sideways as another burst of gunfire tore through the space where he had been standing.

His metal shoes struck the ground.

The propulsion units beneath them activated with a sharp mechanical hiss.

WHOOOSH!

Blake shot upward, narrowly avoiding the next volley. He rose just high enough to clear the soldiers’ line of fire, then twisted in midair and directed his arm toward the ground.

Energy gathered inside the forearm emitters.

ZZZRAK!

The beam struck the concrete between the two soldiers.

The resulting blast threw dust and fragments across the passageway, forcing both men to lose their footing. Blake cut off the propulsion and dropped, landing behind them with a heavy metallic impact.

Before either could turn, he struck one across the back of the armor and drove the other into the ground with a forceful shove.

Both went down.

There were no soldiers left.

Blake remained still for a moment, listening for additional footsteps.

"Phew—"

BOOM!

Blake flinched, immediately turning toward the sound.

"What now?"

His first instinct was to go and check on Alexis.

If that explosion had come from the area where Alexis was fighting, then he might be in trouble. Blake could already imagine the possibilities, each one making the lingering pain in his head feel even worse.

’Who could even be such a threat to him?’

He looked down at his damaged armor.

The cracked helmet.

The malfunctioning visor.

The unstable system readings.

He wasn’t exactly in peak condition to help, either.

And if he went charging into another fight like this, there was a very real chance that he would become more of a burden than an asset.

Blake clenched his jaw.

Still, there was something else he couldn’t ignore.

Someone had deliberately attacked him.

Which meant continuing along the same route could lead him directly into another ambush.

Blake glanced at the unconscious soldiers scattered across the ground.

Then he looked ahead.

He couldn’t go back the way he had come.

Not anymore.

He would have to find another route, one that didn’t leave him exposed to whoever was watching the area.

"...Honey," he muttered, touching the side of his helmet. "I’m going to owe you a new visor."

Static crackled in response.

Blake’s expression soured.

"Yeah. Great talk."

***

"Y-you let go!"

Anthony’s voice rose sharply as Zlatan tightened his grip.

His feet barely touched the ground, and his hands instinctively clutched at Zlatan’s wrist, trying to loosen the fingers wrapped around his jaw.

It was useless.

Zlatan held him as though he weighed nothing.

"Now, now, there’s no need to shout."

He turned Anthony’s face slightly to one side.

"You knew something was up, didn’t you? You’re as smart as you’re clumsy."

Anthony’s expression faltered for the briefest moment.

Zlatan’s smile widened.

"Ah."

He turned Anthony’s face in the opposite direction, which made him struggle harder.

Zlatan glanced over his shoulder.

A short distance away, Alexis was struggling to keep Trail-X from forcing him backward.

Alexis had managed to hold his ground, but the fight was gradually pushing him toward the port.

Zlatan watched them for a moment, then he looked back at Anthony.

"Your plan won’t work."

Anthony’s eyes trembled as he spoke.

"He isn’t even... at one hundred percent."

Zlatan stares at him silently, and his gaze shifted toward Alexis again, as he abruptly released his jaw.

Anthony stumbled forward, his feet scrambling for purchase.

For one hopeful instant, he thought he might be able to escape.

Then Zlatan grabbed him by the front of his clothing and slammed him against the ground.

BAM!

Anthony’s breath escaped him as the impact knocked him flat.

He tried to roll onto his side, but Zlatan planted a foot beside him, preventing him from getting back up.

"Stay down."

Anthony trembled, eyes teary, but he refused to let the fear show on his face. He raised his head, glaring at him with all the defiance he could muster.

"A puny guy like you..." Anthony began, his voice trembling, "can’t do anything."

Zlatan’s eyes widened, laughing.

"Haha..."

He could have knocked Anthony unconscious and left him there.

It would have been the easiest option and both of them knew that.

Yet, despite being completely at Zlatan’s mercy, Anthony was still looking at him as though he hadn’t lost.

Zlatan grabbed him and, with no effort, he hauled Anthony upright and threw him over his shoulders.

"AH!"

Anthony struggled, kicking and twisting as he carried him toward the nearest building.

Zlatan walked through the entrance.

He continued to protest as they crossed the interior, but was ignored. Zlatan selected a room away from the main passageway, shoved the door open, and deposited Anthony onto the floor.

Before Anthony could scramble away, Zlatan pulled out restraints and secured him tightly.

His wrists were bound. His legs were restrained. Any attempt to stand would be difficult, and any attempt to escape would require far more time than Zlatan was willing to give him.

Anthony tugged at the bindings.

"Y-you...!"

Anthony glared at him as Zlatan walked toward the door. For the last time, he looked back at him.

His expression was strangely empty.

All of this was irrelevant.

The fighting.

Humans.

Even the larger purpose everyone in his circle seemed so determined to attach to their actions.

None of it truly mattered to him.

Not the world.

Not the consequences.

Not even the destination itself.

There was only one thing Zlatan had ever wanted.

He stepped through the doorway.

"Getting lost in my thoughts," he murmured to himself. "How childish."

His smile widened slightly.

Then he was gone.

He accelerated down the passageway, moving with such speed that the air seemed to shudder around him. When a wall obstructed his path, he didn’t slow down or bother searching for another route.

CRASH!

He tore straight through it.

Concrete and metal exploded outward as he emerged on the other side, continuing forward without so much as glancing at the destruction behind him.

***

Alexis was breathing slightly heavily.

His eyes remained fixed on Trail-X, whose armored figure stood between him and the port.

The man was proving more difficult to deal with than Alexis had anticipated.

Every time Alexis managed to force him backward, Trail-X recovered and pushed forward again. Every time Alexis redirected his attacks, the armored man adjusted his stance and tried another approach.

"Tch..." ℴ

He shifted his weight, carefully repositioning his feet.

The port was getting closer.

He had been trying to drive Trail-X away from it, keeping the fight as far from the waterfront as possible. Whatever the opposing side intended to accomplish there, Alexis had no intention of allowing them to do it without a fight.

Yet somehow, despite all his efforts, the situation had reversed.

Now he was the one being pushed back.

Alexis immediately moved to intercept him again.

His leg and Trail-X’a arm collided.

CLANG!

"You’re seriously getting on my nerves."

His eyes flickered toward the port.

Too close.

He had to push Trail-X back.

Now.

Alexis lunged forward, throwing a heavy kick toward the armored man’s upper body. Trail-X raised his forearm to block it, and the collision sent a sharp vibration through both of them.

Alexis immediately followed with another kick.

His heel struck Trail-X’s side, forcing him to twist away from the impact.

But the armored man barely retreated.

Instead, he stepped forward again.

Alexis stared at him in disbelief.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Y-you evil..."

He went for a punch.

Alexis blocked the first strike, slipped past the second, and drove an elbow toward the side of Trail-X’s helmet. The blow landed with a metallic clang, forcing the armored man to stagger sideways.

Alexis took a step forward.

"Stay down!"

Trail-X turned back toward him.

His movements were less controlled.

Alexis noticed immediately.

At first, he had assumed Trail-X’s persistence was simply a product of his armor and training. But the longer the fight continued, the more obvious the changes became.

He was breathing harder, his attacks becoming less measured.

He was committing too much strength to each movement, leaving openings that hadn’t been there earlier.

And whenever Alexis managed to evade a strike, Trail-X reacted with increasing frustration.

He was getting frantic.

Alexis adjusted his stance and raised his leg.

"Come on, then."