On the surface, two massive rocks rumbled violently before shattering apart as the ground beneath them split open. From the newly formed tunnel, Jonas burst out and shot straight into the sky.
"Is that it?" he muttered under his breath as his gaze lifted toward the colossal creature towering above.
According to historical records, there were long-standing rumors of a beast known as the Behemoth. Its height was said to dwarf the clouds themselves, and its sheer size exceeded that of mountains.
'This… is just a few levels below that.'
Jonas could still remember the time he had faced a Behemoth-class Khaerix. Compared to that monstrosity, the Devastator before him was almost cute by comparison.
"Not that it'll be any easier to kill," he said quietly.
He could sense it clearly. The core inside Fortune was not very strong. Perhaps that was the reason this machine had been abandoned in the first place.
'But…'
It was enough.
The Devastator-class Khaerix looked like a grotesque fusion of an elephant, a tortoise, and an octopus. Its massive body loomed like a living fortress while numerous tentacles, each the size of towering buildings, writhed through the air before slamming down repeatedly onto the base below.
'Not good. At this rate, it'll break through earlier than expected.'
Jonas drew in a deep breath. Then he pushed his thrusters with everything he had, reaching maximum instantaneous acceleration.
…
The creature had no name.
It had no identity.
It had been created for only one purpose—to destroy, consume, and reform.
Its sole directive was simple: prepare the world for its creators.
That was its only goal.
Its only desire.
But then—
It saw it.
A machine.
Something similar to itself, yet fundamentally different.
Hostility surged within its mindless awareness.
For the sake of its creators, it would destroy it.
…
"That's it," Jonas said quietly.
The Khaerix had suddenly stopped its assault and was staring directly at him.
At least, that was what he assumed.
It didn't possess just a pair of eyes.
Hundreds of eyes were fixed on him, each one burning with raw bloodlust.
Jonas simply laughed.
Raising Fortune's right arm, he aimed the mounted gun directly at the creature.
"Eat lead!"
Plasma bullets erupted from the nozzle, raining down toward the massive body below.
The tentacles reacted instantly.
Moving at a speed that felt unnatural for something so enormous, they twisted and layered themselves together, forming a gigantic wall that blocked the storm of bullets.
But Jonas had already expected that.
His thrusters roared as he shot downward at incredible speed, nearly breaking the sound barrier.
"Come," he muttered.
With a smooth motion, he unsheathed the Arkon blade and raised it high.
Pale blue light flowed throughout Fortune's frame, gathering along the blade before expanding outward into a three-meter-long weapon made entirely of pure energy.
The tentacles were already lunging toward him.
But Jonas was faster.
He focused completely on his senses.
The world slowed.
Every movement became clear.
He could see the paths of the tentacles as if they had been drawn across the air.
"Moonlit Sword Style…"
His breathing slowed as his energy synchronized perfectly with Fortune.
"…Falling Starlight."
Blade-shaped streaks of energy danced through the air.
In the span of a single breath, Jonas unleashed over a hundred strikes.
The incoming tentacles were shredded instantly, reduced to torn chunks of flesh that scattered through the sky.
But even as they fell apart, Jonas could see what was happening.
The wounds were already healing.
'It isn't over though.'
"Moonlit Sword Style…"
He pushed his thrusters to their absolute limit.
Extending the energy blade, he began spinning vertically, gathering speed and momentum with every rotation.
"…Full Moon Cataclysm!"
A massive blue disk of energy descended like a falling moon.
It carved through the regenerating tentacles and slammed into the creature's main body, ripping apart layers of flesh and leaving behind a deep gash that cut into its back.
An ungodly roar of pain erupted from the monster.
The sound alone shook the surrounding air violently.
Jonas was just about to press the attack when his instincts screamed at him.
He leapt backward immediately.
A black beam of energy shot past the space he had occupied a split second earlier.
"Finally feeling like taking this seriously?" Jonas said with a grin.
Without hesitation, he dove back into the battle.
After clashing with the creature for even this short time, he had already confirmed something important.
The beast wasn't newly created.
It had fought before.
Underneath its seemingly healthy exterior, it was hiding old injuries.
'Now all that remains… is finding the core.'
Fortune had already begun running its calculations.
By tracking the creature's energy signature and the flow of power through its body, locating the core of any Khaerix—or even a Kairos—was usually simple.
'Although experienced ones can fake the signal.'
But for something as simple-minded as a Devastator-class creature, that level of deception was impossible.
There was only one real problem.
The nuclear core inside Fortune was defective.
Even though Jonas had limited himself to the bare minimum of attacks, the machine's energy reserves were already approaching critical levels.
'I can fight for about six… no, four minutes.'
That was all the time he had.
And within those four minutes, he would kill this creature.
"Go beyond your limits!" he shouted as he hurled himself back into the fray.
…
"Is it really okay to leave it to him?" Ethan asked quietly as he stared up at the sky.
Even from their current location, the sounds of the battle echoed through the base.
Each collision of force sent violent tremors through the structure.
Every strike sounded powerful enough to collapse the entire facility.
Running away without Jonas didn't feel right.
It felt wrong.
"Perhaps," Sylvia replied.
Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides.
"But it isn't something I want to do."
The moment the words left her mouth, she turned and dashed out of the room.
Ethan hesitated for only a brief moment.
Then he ran after her.