From every corner of the ruins… broken building windows, collapsed underground passages, even camouflaged bunkers amidst the rubble—
Countless combat robots, varied in design but clearly from the same technological system, poured out like a tide.
Some hovered in the air, some sped across the ground, some emerged from underground. Their numbers were so vast that they instantly filled the visible ruins, dense and endless.
They didn't stop, continuously pouring terrifying firepower into the arena's center.
The entire arena area had become a death zone of raging energy. Even space appeared distorted from the heat and energy overload.
"Th-this is..." The Association's Heroes were stunned.
"Metal Knight!" Child Emperor spun around, looking at a Metal Knight robot, clearly a remote-controlled model, that had appeared nearby unnoticed.
As a former assistant to Metal Knight, he recognized it instantly.
A light on the robot's head lit up, indicating an active communication link. A cold, synthesized voice spoke: "I said I would act."
The calm tone sent shockwaves through everyone present.
"You," Sitch looked at the terrifying army of robots outside, which had nearly turned the ruins into a sea of machines, his voice dry.
"When did you get so many robots? Didn't you say the development cost for a single robot was 9 billion?"
"That was just development. Mass production is different," Metal Knight stated succinctly.
"..."
Everyone was speechless, 'How much of the budget had this guy embezzled?'
But seeing the overwhelming robot army and the continuous bombardment, a sense of absurd hope began to stir.
'Could he actually have a chance?'
Atomic Samurai couldn't help but ask, "Metal Knight, are you sure? That monster even beat Boros..."
"Using Boros's combat data against the target, combined with previous observations, I have identified key information," Metal Knight interrupted, his electronic voice carrying certainty.
"The target, 'No.17', is not a biological entity, but a high-intelligence, humanoid combat robot."
"What!"
"A robot?"
"That No.17 is a robot?"
The news exploded in everyone's minds like a bomb.
Heroes and monsters looked at each other, faces filled with shock.
'The No.17 who was going to destroy Earth was a robot?'
'If he was a robot, didn't that mean there might be someone behind him controlling him?'
The thought filled them with terror. They would rather this be a robotic uprising crisis.
"A robot's strength lies in its power source and energy output limits," Metal Knight continued his cool analysis. "No matter how sophisticated its design or how durable its materials, once its energy is depleted, it's just scrap metal."
He manipulated the robot to raise an arm, pointing at the fire-covered arena:
"I have mobilized 122,800 units of my [Annihilator] series combat robots. They are equipped with 17 different types of energy weapons and physical ammunition."
"They will maintain a saturation attack for the next ten minutes. The total peak energy released will be equivalent to one ten-thousandth of the sun's energy output per second."
"Based on calculations, even an energy core capable of interstellar travel or planetary destruction cannot compare to that total energy storage."
"By continuously draining it, the target's energy reserves will inevitably be exhausted."
'One ten-thousandth of the sun's energy? Ten minutes?'
Everyone's scalp tingled, but a wave of elation surged within them.
'Maybe it could actually work!'
"Can it really drain him?" Metal Bat couldn't help asking, his voice filled with hope.
"Probability exceeds 87.3%," Metal Knight's electronic voice remained steady, exuding strong confidence. "Conservation of energy is a fundamental law of the universe. There is no infinite energy. In this war of attrition, victory is ours."
The Association Heroes, and even some monsters, showed long-lost signs of excitement. Even Psykos felt a faint spark of hope rekindle.
Standing at the edge of the crowd, Fubuki heard Metal Knight's analysis and plan, and her heart leaped.
'It actually sounds like it might work!' But when she looked at Setsuna, who was listening with a smile, sorrow washed over her.
'Even if it works, so what? The big boss of the enemy is happily listening to our plan.'
She thought bitterly, 'If we defeat No.17 and anger him, making him act personally, that will be true hell, won't it?'
As if sensing her gaze, Setsuna turned back. His lips didn't move, but Fubuki clearly 'heard' the words echoing directly in her mind:
"Worried the game might end early?"
Fubuki's body stiffened.
"No need to worry for that," Setsuna's gaze returned to the arena engulfed in raging energy, his eyes calm.
"Because No.17's energy is infinite. Even if you had ten thousand suns, theoretically, you couldn't outlast him."
Fubuki felt as if struck by lightning, her blood running cold.
'Infinite energy? How can you fight that? Wasn't conservation of energy a fundamental law of the universe?'
What deepened her despair was that No.17, with such terrifying, almost 'rule-based' ability, was merely this man's subordinate.
'Did Earth even have a future?'
Just then, a calm, slightly impatient voice pierced the explosive roar, clear across the scene:
"First, I'm an android. Don't compare me to low-level robots with fixed potential and limited energy."
"Second, my energy is infinite. Although I could waste time with you, it seems pointless. Your energy is only enough to recharge me."
As the words ended, an indescribable, terrifying suction force, as if using the energy beams as a bridge, forcibly drained the energy from the robots.
On Metal Knight's remote-controlled unit, crimson warning lights flashed wildly.
On his monitors, the energy readings of all his robots plummeted like an avalanche.
"Warning! Energy core overload! Unable to cut off power supply circuit!"
"Warning! All units losing energy—"
Before Metal Knight could even disconnect the power, his robot army was drained dry, going dead in droves.
The light faded. No.17 stood unharmed in the center of the arena, rolling his neck. "Alright, anyone else want to challenge me?"
Deathly silence.
Whatever enmity existed between Heroes and monsters, only one shared emotion now pervaded the air.
Bone-deep, lightless despair.