However, despite years of research and countless experiments using Dust Citizens, no one had yet managed to control that mech.
Every Dust Citizen forced to participate in the experiment would be drained into a shriveled husk within seconds of activating the Abyss Walker.
Yet now, he was determined to take that gamble. Since the Lord of Light and Shadow had chosen him, perhaps he was the true master of the Abyss Walker.
Under normal circumstances, he certainly wouldn't gamble with his life like this.
But now, he had nowhere left to retreat.
"Head of the Church!"
Upon hearing this, Vanti, the Herald of Light, tried to dissuade him, but Charles forcefully cut her off, ordering her to take a group of fanatics and go find Dr. Carrie.
Dr. Carrie wasn't one of his people; she might not necessarily help him.
But that didn't matter; he believed that if Vanti held a gun to Dr. Carrie's head, she would help him suit up in the Abyss Walker.
At the very core of the Lighthouse: the energy and computing center.
"Is the Clotho System inside here?"
Mark gazed at the heavy steel door at the end of the corridor and placed his hand on the fingerprint scanner beside it.
Morgan, the old Lighthouse Commander—having been dosed with truth serum— had revealed everything, including the existence of the Clotho System.
Thus, after seizing power by force, he had immediately brought Goku and the others to the energy and computing center.
He wanted to see exactly what this Clotho System—capable of foretelling the future—really was.
Only now did he realize that he hadn't been born on the Lighthouse, nor was he Hong Kou's biological younger brother.
Instead, he was the savior whom the first Commander—using the Clotho System—had calculated would one day put an end to the Mana ecology.
Of course, he didn't believe in that so-called prophecy.
He felt that, compared to his own insignificant self, Goku was the one who could truly save the world.
"Verification failed!"
A red "X" flashed on the fingerprint scanner.
Mark furrowed his brows. He was now the Lord of Lighthouse City and ought to possess full administrative authority over the Lighthouse.
Yet, he couldn't open this fingerprint lock.
This implied that even after he became the City Lord, Morgan wouldn't reveal the truth to him.
And this energy and computing center could likely only be opened by Morgan or someone he had authorized.
"Then let's just blast it open with the electromagnetic cannon!"
If the fingerprint lock wouldn't work, blasting the door open with force would get them inside just the same.
At worst, there might be some damage to the interior.
"Alohomora!"
Seeing this, Goku stepped forward and cast an unlocking spell at the gate.
Under the spell's influence, the gate slowly swung open.
That's the nature of magic; while it might lack the destructive power of Ki, it is certainly convenient for everyday use.
"That works too?"
Mark and the others were stunned for a moment, but they quickly composed themselves; after all, this wasn't the first time Goku had displayed such miraculous abilities.
Compared to his instant defeat of the Light and Shadow Society enforcers and the City Defense Force, this didn't seem all that shocking.
"What kind of creature does this brain belong to?
Could it be a Monarch-class Phage Beast?"
Stepping into the hall of the energy and computing center, they gazed at the massive glass enclosure ahead, which housed half of a biological brain over a dozen meters tall; looks of astonishment appeared on everyone's faces.
If the brain alone was over a dozen meters tall, the creature's original body must have been hundreds of meters in size.
What kind of creature could reach such a scale?
According to Lighthouse records, only a Monarch-class Phage Beast could attain such dimensions.
But who could possibly kill a Monarch-class Phage Beast and remove its head?
After all, even... if It was the Lighthouse's most powerful central electromagnetic cannon; even when it struck a Monarch-class Phage Beast , it could barely impede the creature's movements.
It couldn't even penetrate the beast's defenses.
The Lighthouse had once encountered a Monarch-class Phage Beast; it was only by using the central electromagnetic cannon to stall for time that they managed to ascend to a sufficient altitude and escape.
It was fortunate that Monarch-class Phage Beast couldn't fly; otherwise, the Lighthouse would have been destroyed long ago.
Hearing the discussion among Mark and the others, Goku's eyes lit up.
His primary reason for coming to this world was to spar with powerful martial artists.
However, he had previously gathered that, aside from the Phage Beast, there didn't seem to be any true experts among the humans in this world.
At least, there were none on the Lighthouse.
But now, seeing the head of this colossal creature, he wondered if there might actually be formidable experts in this world after all.
"Could it be that white-haired girl who piloted the Abyss Walker?"
Ran Bing suddenly spoke up.
Earlier, when the old Commander Morgan revealed the truth about the Lighthouse, he had mentioned an incident where they were surrounded by Phage Beast on the surface.
A white-haired girl, piloting a terrifying Heavy-Duty Exoskeleton known as the "Abyss Walker," had instantly slain a Dominator-class Phage Beast and saved them.
Later, they brought the white-haired girl to the Lighthouse to meet the first Commander.
Afterward, the white-haired girl vanished, leaving behind the "Abyss Walker" exoskeleton.
Subsequently, the first Commander created the Clotho System, and, following the system's prophecy, found the infant Mark.
"Pull up the data on the Abyss Walker!"
Mark instructed Erica, who was behind him.
Because... With Goku's presence, the Lighthouse had now been seized by him through a show of force.
Old City Lord Morgan had been cast out to the Phage Beast ; the Church of Light and Shadow was virtually wiped out; and Victor, the commander of the City Defense Force, had surrendered—while the Hunter Corps were his people to begin with.
Furthermore, since Old City Lord Morgan had announced earlier that day that Mark would be the next City Lord, the department heads—unaware of the full truth—naturally viewed his succession as a logical progression.
Thus, within a mere hour, he had secured supreme authority over the Lighthouse, granting him access to all the data in its archives.
"Just a moment!"
Erica took out the tablet left behind by Old City Lord Morgan and, after a few quick operations, retrieved the files regarding the "Abyss-Walker" Heavy Mecha.
Then, they watched a short video clip.
In the video, a white-haired girl piloting a menacing Abyss-Walker Heavy Mecha instantly killed a Commander-class Phage Beast—moving at a speed too fast for the recording device to properly capture.
"An expert!"
Goku's eyes lit up as he watched the Abyss-Walker piloted by the white-haired girl in the video.
Although it was just a video, his intuition told him that she was formidable.
Whether using mind-reading or telepathic memory extraction, it was impossible to access a person's entire memory at once.
This was especially true for an elderly man like Morgan; with sixty or seventy years of life experience, it would take days and nights of continuous reading to go through it all.
That was why, back in the main hall, Goku had only accessed fragments of Morgan's memories based on his immediate thoughts, missing the scene shown in this video.
"Let's go take a look at that Abyss-Walker Heavy Mecha."
After examining the Clotho System, Mark made a swift decision, leading the group to the research zone for the "Abyss-Walker" Heavy Mecha.
Goku was incredibly strong, but the Mana ecosystem and those Monarch-class Phage Beasts were not to be underestimated.
He reasoned that if Goku could pilot the Abyss-Walker Heavy Mecha, their chances of victory would be significantly higher.
Or, if he piloted it himself, he could help share the pressure with Goku.
However, just as they hurriedly arrived at the Abyss-Walker's dedicated testing zone, before they could even step inside, they heard the sound of an explosion from within.
Immediately after, a figure appeared overhead—it was the Abyss-Walker Heavy Mecha seen in the video.
"Charles!"
But when the helmet opened to reveal the face inside, Mark, Zai Bing, and the others couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
"Hahaha, Mark! You didn't expect this, did you?"
Floating in mid-air, Charles felt the terrifying, god-like power surging within him and burst into maniacal laughter.
Indeed, under the threat of force, Dr. Carrie had allowed him to attempt piloting the Abyss-Walker Heavy Mecha.
The moment he entered the machine, he once again sensed the Lord of Light and Shadow and merged with the entity.
With the aid of the Lord of Light and Shadow's power, he could perfectly control this...
...a massive mecha from 250 million years ago, ...and gained god-like power.
At the same time, his shattered body was effectively reborn.
"Now, it is time for revenge!"
Charles piloted the Abyss Walker and vanished instantly; he moved so fast that a sonic boom was created.
As for Mark and the others, Charles's speed was far too great for the naked eye to track.
"Die!"
Charles struck directly at Mark's head, intending to shatter it on the spot.
But just then, a figure appeared in front of Mark.
Bang!
Charles was sent flying backward at even greater speed, crashing through several metal walls in succession before becoming embedded in a metal pillar, looking utterly dazed.
"He's got some skill; his speed is about on par with Old Piccolo's."
Goku remarked as he withdrew his fist.
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