Looking into Axel's playful eyes, Adam Smasher's mouth twitched slightly.
"So even I can become nothing more than a game in someone else's eyes..."
As the words left him, he suddenly raised a hand, intending to crush Axel's head.
His arm had barely moved when Axel seized him and slammed him directly into the spacecraft.
BOOM!
The hull instantly buckled and split apart. The pilots and crew inside immediately began jumping out, scattering in panic.
Before they could escape, Axel swung Smasher downward again.
BOOM!
The impact echoed across the city.
In Corporate Plaza, countless spectators stared with their mouths hanging open. Some people were so stunned that poorly installed cybernetic implants literally dropped from their faces.
The pilots who had not managed to get far enough away were caught in the shockwave. Flesh, metal, and cybernetics were torn apart instantly, leaving only shattered skeletons falling from the sky.
Meanwhile, sparks erupted across Adam Smasher's body as his systems approached their limits.
Seeing that, Axel grinned and slammed him into the spacecraft a third time.
BOOM!!!
The resulting shockwave blasted a massive opening through the clouds above Night City.
Far away in Tokyo, even Saburo Arasaka and his family could not hide their shock.
"That isn't power any human should possess," Saburo muttered.
Beside him, Yorinobu Arasaka took a deep breath before shaking his head.
"Not even an alien should be that powerful. Damn it, he looks like something out of an old comic book."
Then something seemed to occur to him.
Yorinobu suddenly pointed at Saburo and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! I just realized it. Your era is finally ending, old man!"
He laughed harder.
"I don't know where Axel came from, but I like him. His hatred for Arasaka goes beyond reason. It's practically demonic."
Pointing directly at Saburo, he continued.
"Watch carefully. One day he'll come for you too. He'll smash your head with those fists, and I'll be there to enjoy the sight!"
"Uncle!"
Michiko quickly grabbed Yorinobu's arm.
Yorinobu glanced at her and sneered.
"Don't touch me."
His expression darkened.
"I hate you. I hate Hanako. I hate Saburo most of all."
He jabbed a finger against his own chest.
"And I hate this cursed Arasaka name."
His eyes returned to the screen.
"Arasaka's end is finally here. I can't stop him, and I don't want to."
He pointed toward the combat data.
"Look at the numbers. During that launch alone, his speed exceeded seventy-five times the speed of sound."
The room fell silent.
"No weapon we possess can match that. Which means we have no way to stop him directly."
His voice grew colder.
"The Chimera's plasma cannon couldn't even scratch him. If that can't hurt him, what can?"
Then he looked directly at Saburo.
"If Axel decides he wants your head, it will roll into the river of blood Arasaka has spilled over the decades."
"You'll die a miserable death, and you'll..."
"Enough!"
Saburo's roar silenced the room.
Back in Night City, Axel held the wrecked spacecraft in one hand and Adam Smasher in the other.
He pulled Smasher's damaged face closer.
Smasher could not feel pain. His body lacked the necessary receptors.
Yet he still felt something he had never experienced before.
Powerlessness.
He bared his teeth and gave Axel a cold smile.
"You are the true legend."
Admiration filled his eyes.
"Power beyond imagination. Speed I cannot comprehend. Flight."
He laughed weakly.
"You are perfection, Axel. Far beyond anything I ever became."
His voice softened.
"To die by your hand is an honor."
He stared directly into Axel's eyes.
"When people tell your story, they'll remember that Adam Smasher was one of the first to fall before you."
A strange peace settled over him.
"I once believed my strength had no limits."
He smiled.
"You've given me something I never expected. You've given me room to dream."
Lowering his head, he glanced at his nearly flattened mechanical hand before looking back up.
"Thank you."
Expectation filled his gaze.
"Kill me like a legend."
Axel responded with a grin.
"Why would I give you what you want?"
Before Smasher could react, Axel's telekinetic power tore apart the remainder of his body.
Metal screamed.
Components exploded.
Moments later, only Adam Smasher's head remained.
Holding it by the skull, Axel smiled cruelly.
"Why rush toward death?"
He lifted the head higher.
"I'm putting you in the Afterlife's public restroom."
Smasher's eyes widened.
"You're the best trophy I've collected so far."
Axel chuckled.
"But don't get too comfortable. Eventually, Saburo Arasaka's head will be hanging beside yours."
His grin widened.
"I'll build an entire wall of living heads."
He tilted his head slightly.
"People will spit on you. Some will probably do worse."
Then he laughed.
"Don't worry. I'll have someone clean you up every morning."
His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"That'll be your purpose from now on."
Below, Lucy and the others stood frozen.
Rebecca trembled as she watched Axel raise the wrecked spacecraft.
"He's going to throw it..."
Her breathing became uneven.
"He's actually going to throw it..."
Then her expression changed.
"Wait..."
Her eyes widened.
"That direction..."
Lucy immediately realized what was happening.
"Run!"
She pointed toward the skyline.
"He's aiming at Arasaka Tower!"
Panic exploded through the crowd.
"Run!"
"We're dead!"
"Oh my God!"
"That's not a person!"
"Move!"
Ignoring the chaos, Axel casually aimed the ruined spacecraft toward Arasaka Tower.
Then he threw it.
WHOOSH!
To everyone watching, the wreck seemed to vanish.
An instant later, it appeared halfway up Arasaka Tower and blasted through the structure.
The impact continued downward, tearing through floor after floor before reaching the foundation.
RUMBLE!!!
The entire city shook.
People watching from home leapt from their seats and scrambled for safety.
Near Corporate Plaza, debris erupted outward in every direction.
Massive chunks of concrete and steel became deadly projectiles.
One woman who had previously massaged Axel was struck instantly, her body pierced by flying fragments.
Rogue also saw death approaching.
As a massive slab of debris hurtled toward her head, she found herself remembering Johnny Silverhand's face.
Then, just as impact became inevitable...
WHOOSH!
Axel landed directly in front of her.
Adam Smasher's head dangled casually from one hand.
Facing the storm of debris, Axel raised his free arm.
Everything stopped.
Every fragment approaching his position froze in place.
Behind him, the people in the fan-shaped area remained untouched.
Everywhere else was devastation.
The debris continued onward, smashing into nearby corporate skyscrapers.
Dozens of towers were sliced apart.
The screams lasted only moments before vanishing beneath the thunderous collapse.
One building after another crashed into the city below.
Anyone present who survived would remember the sight for the rest of their lives.
Looking at the destruction surrounding him, Axel grinned.
He raised Adam Smasher's head.
"Well?"
He smirked.
"How does that feel, old man?"
Without waiting for an answer, he casually tossed the head toward Rogue.
Still stunned, she failed to catch it.
The head bounced across the ground and rolled through the dust.
Afterward, Axel slowly raised his hand.
Then he clenched it into a fist.
"Be quiet."
The moment he spoke, an overwhelming wave of telekinetic force surged outward.
The collapsing skyscrapers, shattered ruins, and everyone trapped within them were compressed into fine dust.