Omni-Corp's Lunar Headquarters was a fortress of white ceramic and laser grids. Inside the "Inner Sanctum," the Chairman—a being who had discarded his physical body decades ago to become a sentient algorithm—watched the Vanguard's progress with cold, calculated fury.
"He is using the Mythic Chest as a thruster?" the Chairman hissed, his holographic face glitching.
Back on Earth, Yuto wasn't looking for a rocket. He was standing on the ruins of the Stock Exchange's roof. He had the [Mythic Chest] welded to his right arm and the [Admin Key] jammed into the lock, but he still refused to turn it.
"Ayase, Kurenai, Isabella—get on," Yuto commanded.
The three warriors grabbed onto Yuto's shoulders. Shion clung to his leg, crying about the lack of oxygen in space. Rin stood at the center, her silver aura wrapping around the entire group like a pressurized bubble.
"How are we supposed to get to orbit without a ship, Alpha?" Kurenai asked, a rare look of confusion on her Oni face.
"Simple physics," Yuto said. "I'm carrying fifty-five percent of the world's unrendered mass in my right arm. If I release the 'Potential Energy' of this chest toward the ground without actually opening it..."
"You'll create a Newton's Third Law reaction of biblical proportions," Isabella finished, her eyes widening. "Yuto, that's not traveling. That's rebounding."
Yuto slammed his right fist into the roof of the Stock Exchange.
He didn't spend a single Fragment. He just allowed the Vault Pressure to "leak" for one-thousandth of a second.
The Stock Exchange building didn't just collapse; it was driven five stories into the earth's crust. The resulting upward force launched the Vanguard into the sky like a railgun slug. They broke the sound barrier in seconds, trailing a streak of golden "Interest-Data" behind them.
"WE'RE OVER BUDGET!" Shion screamed as they exited the atmosphere, the friction of the air turning Rin's silver bubble red-hot.
"Quiet, Shion," Yuto wheezed, his muscles screaming under the G-force. "We're traveling for free."
They slammed into the Lunar Colony's primary hangar bay at ten times the speed of sound. The reinforced blast doors shattered like glass.
Yuto stepped out of the crater, his hoodie smoking, his right arm glowing with the heat of a falling star. He looked at the horrified Lunar Security droids and the holographic projection of the Chairman.
"I'm here to audit the backup server," Yuto said, his voice echoing through the vacuum-sealed base. "And I'm starting with your executive bonuses."