The sea breeze stirred ripples on the clear surface. Deep within this world, where humans could hardly reach, silence enveloped the space. Time seemed to stop, as if nothing would ever change.
A petrel skimmed across the sea. This nimble bird, leisurely roaming the five oceans, used its sharp vision to scout the distance after climbing higher.
"—"
Suddenly, its elegant and peaceful flight encountered a small hiccup.
A gust of cold wind froze its wings, causing its flight path to falter.
Why did the sea surface, which should have been in a warm migratory season, become so eerily calm in an instant? A biting cold stabbed into the deep layers of the sea; waves of frigid air swept across this sea from a certain direction.
Crack—
The sea surface, far below the freezing point of fresh water, froze solid.
BOOM—!!
A flying figure smashed through the ice, shattering the waves that had frozen into ice sculptures. His falling body didn't plunge straight into the sea; instead, he stopped unnaturally and ascended rapidly!
Another white shadow rushed across the ice from afar at a terrifying speed toward the dark figure. He had no auxiliary devices on him, but every step he took on the sea surface used a block of hard, thick ice as a stepping stone. As he stepped on them, he shattered them, using the counter-force to burst forward at supersonic speeds!
"Guh—"
Lin saw the white shadow had turned into a silver-white line charging toward him from below. He immediately manipulated his anti-gravity flight device to charge toward it, the long sword in his hand drawing an arc as it collided with the charging figure!
Bang!
The shockwave that erupted once again shattered the surrounding ice. Even the sea surface was blown into a circular void, which then immediately froze into that shape due to the low temperature.
Lin was knocked flying, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. That power, so great it induced despair, defeated him overwhelmingly after only half a second of engagement—he couldn't even manage a stalemate.
At the same time, his left hand holding the sword was covered by a layer of frost and became completely necrotic.
The gap between a "successful product" and a "failure" was as clear as day.
After Kevin's surgery was successful, his neural reaction speed, strength, and velocity had far surpassed those of a human. Even though Lin was at the peak of humanity in terms of physical strength, facing Kevin was like an ant facing an elephant.
But Lin had once frontally defeated Herrschers by using his own style of combat, creating a favorable environment, and delivering a fatal blow.
But that wouldn't work on Kevin.
Because Kevin was the person who understood Lin style best. He knew when and from what angle Lin would strike; he knew what Lin would consider for his next move. This was an instinct carved into his body—an instinct driven by the experience of living and fighting alongside Lin countless times.
When tenderness turns into a blade and trust becomes a bullet, all the past vanishes like smoke.
Lin didn't have time to adjust his posture before falling into the sea; Kevin was already pursuing him relentlessly. Lin could only use his right fist to strike his left arm, retrieving the sword while shattering the ice. At the same time, a small missile was fired from his arm guard.
Bang!
Kevin's figure didn't change at all. A layer of ice shield solidified in front of him. The fire from the missile's explosion quickly melted some of the frost, but after that, it was completely extinguished by the low temperature...
Shing!
Kevin looked up in surprise. At this moment, his hard ice shield was pierced by the tip of a long sword, with a small section of the blade barely poking through.
This sword... it was made of Soul Steel!
However, just when he thought this useless strike had failed to cause him any damage, the ice shield was completely shattered in the next second, and the sword pierced into his lower abdomen without suspense.
"Urgh—"
Blood drifted out from the wound, turning into red ice particles in the next breath. The wound was already covered by a layer of frozen blood.
Lin coldly stepped on the end of the hilt. Clearly, he had used the power gathered from the anti-gravity flight device, concentrating it into a single point to break through Kevin's ice shield.
However, this level of attack only counted as a superficial wound for a MANTIS.
Without even needing to intentionally control it, the terrifying cold air had already begun to erode Lin body. A thin layer of frost solidified on his entire armor. He immediately pulled out the long sword, wanting to retreat.
However, Kevin had already pulled his right fist back like a bow. With a gaze of infinite coldness fixed on his former friend, his whole body tensed, concentrating the mountain-splitting power of a MANTIS into his right fist.
—Blast!
BOOM!!!
Lin couldn't feel pain, but he could see and hear. His entire body was screaming.
In an instant, he used his weapon to block, barely defending himself from Kevin's direct fist strike. But he saw that after the punch hit the long sword, his arms used for defense were instantly snapped like two noodles. Then, the sword collided with his body, and hair-raising sounds of "damage" echoed from within him.
With just one strike, Lin body was completely broken.
This was truly a battle with no suspense. The "outrage" of the mastermind after being exposed was impossible to resist.
Lin lost control over his hands, watching helplessly as the long sword fell into the sea. He could only grit his teeth and control the anti-gravity flight device to slow his backward flight, trying to find a way to retreat temporarily and send word of Kevin's betrayal back to the Fire Moth.
However, when that pale shadow appeared on the horizon, Lin understood: he no longer had a chance.
Snap.
A hand—a palm containing power far beyond humans or even Honkai beasts—lifted Lin head. It ripped away the anti-gravity flight device from his back. After glancing at the helpless Lin, Kevin tossed it aside. The sophisticated device was already frozen solid and smashed onto the ice.
The freezing temperature ate away at Lin body, showing signs of low-temperature frostbite. But Kevin only watched coldly as the man convulsed in his hand. His cold-blooded gaze scanned the face under Lin half-broken helmet again. Then, carrying him with one hand, he walked toward the headquarters.
The blood in his whole body seemed to have frozen.
The rustling sound of footsteps on the ice below was constant.
Lin couldn't feel the "heat" of being near death, nor the "cold" of being eroded by the low temperature. All there was was an endless weakness lingering in his body.
Why didn't Kevin kill Lin directly?
Was it to make Lin see the headquarters destroyed by him once again? To make the humans Lin cared about fall before his eyes?
Lin thought helplessly, his consciousness nearly slipping away, until—
"Let... him go."
Chiaki stood in the large hole created by Lin and Kevin, smiling as she watched Kevin, who had stopped on the ice.
Kevin's body was trembling.
Could this monster, who killed without blinking, still have the emotion of "fear"?
What was he... afraid of?
Lin eyes opened a sliver. In the blur, he saw that girl...
And, the Mei she was controlling, with a pistol pressed against her temple.