Chapter 006: The Shadow Within
The blue plasma flame burned fiercely in front of Havek 'Iron Eye's' organic eyeball. The intense heat distorted the air, and the smell of burning protein stung Havek's nostrils.
"Made it from your subordinate's arm."
Logan's voice was colder than the flame.
"Now, tell me about the 'Red Cradle'—"
Before he could even finish his sentence.
[Warning!]
A red warning window popped up in the center of Logan's vision, overriding all other system messages.
[Warning! Strong bio-signature detected! 150 meters above, at the '4th Bulkhead'!]
[Threat Level: B (Estimated). Approaching rapidly!]
Logan immediately stopped the interrogation. Goosebumps erupted all over his body.
'An enemy inside?'
His gaze flickered past the pursuit squad's corpses outside the door and Havek at his feet.
'It wasn't Havek's team? Then what...'
His question was answered by a massive vibration.
KUNG...!
From far beyond the ceiling, something was descending from the upper levels of the dam.
KUNG...!
It wasn't just footsteps. It was a heavy, rhythmic impact, as if a giant hydraulic press was slamming down on the dam's concrete structure. The entire machine room trembled faintly, and the yellow emergency lights on the ceiling flickered anxiously.
KUNG...! KUNG...!
It was getting closer.
Logan didn't move the plasma cutter from Havek's eye as he asked.
"Was there something else in this dam?"
Havek looked as if he had completely forgotten the threat from moments ago. His mechanical eye was offline, but his remaining organic eye was wide with genuine terror, staring up at the vibrating ceiling.
"I don't know... I don't know! This was supposed to be an abandoned dam! The scans... the scans showed no non-human bio-signatures!"
The genuine terror in his voice proved this threat was outside Havek's plan.
Logan immediately reclassified Havek from 'intelligence asset' to 'bait' or 'baggage.'
KWAAANG!
The floor directly above. A terrible crash echoed from just beyond the machine room ceiling.
'It's reached this floor.'
The [Master Blueprint] in Logan's head displayed the 3D map. The main entrance to the machine room. The '4th Bulkhead.' That's where it was.
[Distance to Threat: 30 meters.]
[Bulkhead Structural Integrity: 95%.]
There was still time. But it had to be stopped.
***
Eva shivered instinctively. Her S-Class Awakened's superhuman senses were screaming a warning, piercing through her Mana Exhaustion to register the danger of the approaching presence.
'It's strong...!'
This was a threat on a completely different level from Havek's team. If Havek was a sharp 'sword,' this was a giant 'hammer' coming to crush everything.
She desperately willed strength into the mechanical legs Logan had built.
Screech...
The C-Grade servo motor responded to her will, forcing her paralyzed legs to move.
'I have to move...!'
She gritted her teeth. Her pride as an S-Class Blade Dancer wouldn't allow her to sit idly by in front of a monster like this.
KWA-AANG!
The machine room's heavy steel bulkhead buckled inward by a good ten centimeters, as if a giant had kicked it.
Fear froze her heart, but Eva's eyes instinctively searched for a weapon.
There. In the corner of the machine room, her twin longswords—extensions of her own soul—which Logan had moved away while subduing Havek. She stared at the swords desperately. If she just had those. Even with no mana, even if these legs were just scrap metal, she could at least put up a fight.
KWAAAAANG-!
A second impact. The bulkhead's hinges shrieked as they warped.
***
Logan made his decision in less than a second.
[Master Blueprint] was calculating the bulkhead's remaining integrity in real-time.
[Remaining Bulkhead Integrity: 40%. 90% probability of failure on 3rd impact.]
'Ten seconds.'
He made an instant decision.
'Unknown B-Grade monster. Insufficient data. Havek... keep him alive for now. He'll be useful as an asset or as bait.'
His body shot into motion. He switched off the plasma cutter and snatched up Eva's two swords from the corner.
He ran back to Eva and tossed the swords in front of her.
KA-LANG!
A spark of life returned to Eva's eyes at the familiar sound of steel.
"Get up! Guardian."
Logan's voice was like ice.
"Time to earn your keep."
He didn't help her pick up the swords or assist her in standing. A 'resource' had to prove its own value.
Logan immediately ran to the workbench. Lying there was the B-Grade Plasma Cannon he'd ripped from 'Jogg's' corpse, still warm.
He grabbed the cannon.
[Target: Plasma Cannon (B-Grade)]
[Status: Power source disconnected. Energy control circuit damaged (33%).]
[Repair & Modification Plan: Connect C-Grade Power Core. Bypass circuit required for overvoltage protection.]
[Estimated Time: 3 minutes 00 seconds.]
KWAAAAANG-!
At that exact moment, the machine room's massive steel door began to tear open from the inside with a horrific sound.
Logan slammed the cannon onto the workbench and pulled out all his tools.
He looked back at Eva, who was using her swords as a crutch to slowly stand, and shouted.
"Eva!"
It was the first time he had used her name.
"Three minutes! Buy me three minutes!"
Logan immediately ducked behind the workbench. His hands began to move frantically, grabbing the C-Grade Power Core from 'Spark's' corpse and the A-Grade Power Converter he'd taken from Havek.
The red warning messages and the monster's form vanished from his vision. Only the damaged circuitry of the B-Grade cannon remained, glowing in blue.
***
KRRR-ZIK!
KWAAAAAAANG!
Finally, the 4th Bulkhead was torn open like paper.
From the darkness beyond, two red optical lights flared to life. They were nothing like Havek's—these were massive and ferocious.
A heavy, steel body crawled through the torn gap.
It had the shape of a giant beaver, but its jaw was a horrific maw of steel, forged from the dam's scrap rebar and steel plates. Broken pipes stuck out from its body like bones, and the dam's control cables were wrapped around its back like a twitching nervous system.
The 'true owner' of this dam. A B-Grade mutated monster, the 'Dam Guardian.'
The monster recognized the people in the machine room as intruders. Its red gaze snapped to the side, spotting Havek struggling in his chains.
"Krrrrr…"
The monster made a curious sound and approached Havek.
"No… stay back! Get away! I…!"
Havek's screams were meaningless.
The Dam Guardian snapped its giant steel jaw around Havek's upper body as if he were a toy.
KRA-DUNCH!
A horrific sound of chains, bone, and cybernetics crushing together.
The monster lifted Havek's corpse and slammed it back to the floor. An empty end for an A-Grade cyborg.
Now, the monster's red gaze turned to the two remaining living beings in the room: Eva and Logan.
KRAAAA-!
A roar that shook the entire dam. Eva just barely managed to stand, using her swords as support. An S-Class Awakened with zero mana. And the only thing holding her up was a pair of D-Grade mechanical legs, built from the corpses of her enemies.
Behind her, she could hear Logan welding and hammering like a madman.
'Three minutes…'
She gritted her teeth.
'S-Class movements are impossible. But…'
She adjusted her grip on her swords. She would have to hold on with pure muscle and the power of these D-Grade legs alone.
'…I can block it!'
The Dam Guardian kicked off the floor and charged, its massive steel jaw opening wide as if to swallow her whole.
In her state of Mana Exhaustion, Eva stood her ground, her mechanical legs whining with the strain of their C-Grade servo motors.
KRAAAAAANG-!
Her twin swords met the Dam Guardian's steel jaw head-on.
A bone-jarring impact shot up her arms and rattled her entire body. The D-Grade rig screamed, and her body felt light as a feather. But she held.
From behind her, Logan's desperate shout rang out.
"...Two minutes, thirty seconds!"
"It's only been thirty seconds?!"