Nemesis looked at the group, its single glowing eye locking onto Jill and Peyton.
Police identifiers flashed in its HUD.
The massive head tilted slightly.
"...STARS…"
Then—
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
With a deafening roar, Nemesis raised its enormous rotary gun, the barrel spinning up in a violent blur.
Bullets screamed through the air, ripping apart asphalt, and carving craters across the road.
But Luke?
He didn't even bother with dodging.
Mana surged through his veins with a faint hum, coating his body in a shimmering blue film. His skin hardened instantly, dense as steel.
PING! PING! PING! PING!
Each bullet slammed into him—only to ricochet away harmlessly, spinning off into the night with sparks flying. The barrage was relentless, a metallic storm pounding against an immovable wall.
The ground around Luke exploded in chunks of debris, but he stood firm, his coat whipping from the shockwave.
Finally, the gunfire slowed… then stopped.
CLACK… CLACK…
The rotary barrel spun to a halt, smoke rising from its overheated muzzle.
Luke glanced down at his chest, brushed off a flattened bullet that had wedged into his shirt, and flicked it aside.
"Well," he muttered with dry calm, "that tickled."
Behind him, Jill, Peyton, Alice, and Terri just stared expressionlessly.
Once upon a time, this kind of scene would've made their jaws drop: Luke tanking explosions, glowing with mana, summoning shadows like some overpowered game boss.
But what now?
Now they just looked… done.
There was no awe left, no surprise—just the collective realization that Luke could do whatever he damn well wanted.
And they were all too tired to question it anymore.
Peyton sighed. "You know what? I'm not even shocked."
Luke looked up at Nemesis—something in the creature's stare felt different this time. Its single red eye flickered and focused, scanning, analyzing.
Luke tilted his head, a faint grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Now it's time for a beating," he said casually.
CRACK!
The pavement split beneath his feet as he launched forward, shards of asphalt shooting outward from the impact.
One blink—he was already in front of Nemesis, wind swirling around his form like an afterimage.
Nemesis barely had time to react.
BOOOOM!
Luke's fist snapped upward in a brutal uppercut, blue mana flaring across his arm. The punch landed square on the monster's jaw, the sound echoing like a cannon blast through the ruined street.
A shockwave burst outward, rippling through the air. Streetlights bent, windows shattered, and a gust of wind roared past, scattering debris like paper.
The massive creature was lifted clean off its feet—launched backward and up, twisting midair with a distorted metallic groan.
Sparks burst from its cybernetic frame as its head snapped back.
Luke didn't wait.
He crouched, mana coiling around his legs like lightning.
WHOOSH—CRACK!
He shot upward, chasing Nemesis into the air, the sound barrier cracking behind him. His silhouette flickered in and out of sight, and then—
BAM! BAM! BOOM!
Each hit echoed like thunder. Luke's fists blurred, pounding into Nemesis from every angle. Every strike sent a shockwave rippling across the night sky, flashes of blue light marking each impact.
Nemesis swung a massive arm in desperation—CLANG!—but Luke was already gone, reappearing on the other side.
He drove a punch into the monster's ribs, denting its armor and forcing out a guttural roar.
THOOM! CRACK! KRAAAM!
From the ground, the others could only watch in stunned silence as the two figures clashed above them—one glowing with light, the other bleeding smoke and sparks. The sound alone was deafening.
Finally, Luke twisted midair—mana flooding into his leg until it flared bright azure.
"Let's finish this!"
CRAAAAACK!
His roundhouse kick connected clean across Nemesis's torso. The force sent a visible ripple through its body before the creature was hurled downward—spinning violently like a crashing aircraft.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact hit like an artillery shell. The street erupted, asphalt shredding and chunks of debris rocketing skyward.
Luke landed a moment later, light as a feather, his coat settling behind him as the smoke began to clear.
The crater was wide and scorched.
Nemesis lay at the center, its machine gun and rocket launcher long gone—torn apart the moment it was sent flying through the air.
Luke stepped down into the crater slowly. He stopped beside the motionless bioweapon, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Hey," he said evenly, "are you in there?"
For a few seconds, there was nothing—only the faint sound of fire crackling in the distance.
Then came a low growl, guttural and broken, echoing from deep inside the creature's throat.
Luke exhaled quietly. "So that's a no, huh?"
Luke's expression flattened. There was no sign of recognition, no trace of thought left behind.
Whatever mind Nemesis once had was gone—just another weapon controlled by Umbrella, forced to kill until something finally stopped it.
Unlike in the movie, there was no plot armor for him here.
Luke's expression hardened. "Then it's better to end this."
He lifted his hand, mana flickering faintly around his fingers as he spoke under his breath. "Goodbye."
The ground trembled, and a sharp stone spike erupted upward from beneath Nemesis's head. The impact was swift and final—the creature jerked once, then went still.
*****
A/N: The next chapter will introduce another transmigrator with a system—along with new hints about what the system really is. If you'd like to read it right away, it's already available on my Patreon (the story there is updated up to Chapter 80).
Now, I know some people don't like the idea of other transmigrators showing up.
But don't worry — this isn't one of those stories where they pop up every few chapters and ruin the focus.
Here, they appear maybe once or twice in a hundred chapters, just to spice things up.
And besides, our MC is different.
He's not on the same level as those other system users — and if you've been following the story, you already know why.
Let's just say… if someone else has a system, it might not stay with them for long. 😏
👉 patreon.com/cw/Universal_Peace
Or, if you prefer, you can just wait until next week for the public release. Thanks for reading and supporting my work!
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