The ceiling of the underground vault split apart with a deafening roar.
Massive armoured capsules descended one after another, suspended by glowing magnetic restraints.
Each one was taller than a truck.
Black alloy.
Red cores.
Hunter symbols burning across their surfaces like warnings from the future.
Aarav stood frozen for half a second.
Five.
Five giant capsules.
Even one Omega Hunter had nearly destroyed them.
This was far worse.
Rohan slowly stepped beside him, staring upward.
"…I would like to formally apologise for every time I said college life was hard."
Aarav let out a dry breath.
"Accepted."
The capsules hit the ground.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The chamber shook violently.
Cracks spread across the steel floor.
Emergency lights flickered.
Dust rained from above.
Then the front plates of the capsules opened.
And the monsters stepped out.
Not machines.
Not exactly.
Humanoid figures wrapped in black biomechanical armour, their bodies moving too smoothly to be fully robotic.
Their eyes glowed crimson.
Their presence alone made the air feel heavier.
Aelina's expression darkened instantly.
"Hybrid Execution Units…"
Mira's violet eyes narrowed.
"So they've started using living weapons."
Aarav looked between them.
"Please tell me that sounds less bad than it actually is."
Mira answered flatly.
"It sounds exactly as bad as it is."
The central unit stepped forward.
Unlike the others, its armour carried silver markings.
Its voice was not metallic.
It sounded human.
Cold.
Controlled.
"Origin confirmed."
"Bio-units AELINA-500 and MIRA-700"
"By order of the Null Sovereign… surrender."
Silence filled the chamber.
Then Mira smiled.
It was not a warm smile.
It was the kind of smile someone made before destroying something.
"No."
The hybrid unit tilted its head.
"Resistance is inefficient."
Aelina stepped beside Mira.
Blue light spread beneath her skin.
"Then we will be inefficient."
Rohan whispered to Aarav, "I like them."
Before Aarav could answer—
The hybrid units attacked.
Fast.
Far too fast.
The first one lunged straight for Aarav.
Its crimson blade cut through the air.
Aarav barely dodged, stumbling backwards as sparks flew from the floor.
The force alone was terrifying.
This thing wasn't just stronger than the Hunters.
It was intelligent.
Aelina intercepted instantly.
Blue energy exploded from her palm as she blocked the strike.
The collision sent a shockwave across the room.
"Aarav—stay back!"
Easy for her to say.
Another hybrid unit dropped behind him.
Rohan grabbed a broken Hunter rifle from the floor.
"Bro, catch!"
He threw it.
Aarav barely managed to grab it before the second unit attacked.
Instinct took over.
He fired.
A blue blast struck the unit's shoulder, forcing it back.
Not enough to destroy it.
But enough to survive.
Rohan pointed dramatically.
"See? Action hero!"
"I hate this!"
Across the chamber, Mira was already a storm.
Thousands of nanoshards surrounded her like a galaxy of blades.
Every movement of her fingers became destruction.
A hybrid unit rushed her.
She didn't even blink.
The nanoshards shot forward.
SLASH.
One clean motion.
The enemy split apart before it could reach her.
She turned, violet eyes glowing.
Cold beauty wrapped in violence.
5
Aarav stared for half a second.
Even in chaos, she looked unreal.
Then one of the silver-marked units moved.
Faster than the rest.
It bypassed Aelina.
Bypassed Mira.
Straight toward him.
Its crimson blade aimed for his heart.
Too fast.
Too close.
Aarav froze.
Then—
Mira appeared between them.
CLANG!
Nanoblades formed a shield just in time.
The impact sent sparks flying.
The force pushed her backwards—into him.
For one brief moment, Aarav caught her by the waist to steady her.
Their faces were dangerously close.
Mira looked up at him, violet eyes wide.
Her usual coldness cracked again.
Just for a second.
Then she pulled away immediately.
Her voice returned to ice.
"Try not to die."
Aarav smirked despite everything.
"I'll do my best."
Aelina, unfortunately, noticed everything.
Her blue eyes narrowed slightly.
Ah.
Jealousy.
Even in a future war that apparently existed.
The silver-marked hybrid unit stepped back.
Its crimson eyes studied Aarav.
Then it spoke.
"Interesting."
"Both units display emotional deviation around the origin."
Mira's expression turned deadly.
"Say one more word."
The Hybrid Unit ignored her.
Its gaze remained fixed on Aarav.
"Now confirmed.
Emotional attachment accelerates synchronisation."
Aelina's face went pale.
"No…"
Aarav frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Mira's voice was low.
"It means the Null Sovereign knows how to break us."
The silver-marked unit raised its hand.
The remaining Hybrids stopped attacking.
Then it delivered the real blow.
"Third unit located."
"Selene-1000 awakening has begun."
The entire room went silent.
Even Mira froze.
Aelina's voice dropped to a whisper.
"No… not her."
Aarav looked at them.
"Who is Selene?"
Mira's expression had lost all arrogance.
Only seriousness remained.
"The girl from one thousand years ahead."
Aelina finished softly.
"The war queen."
The Hybrid Unit's voice echoed again.
"Location: Europe."
"Retrieval already in progress."
Then, with terrifying calm, it added—
"If you wish to save her… run."
The hybrid units activated self-destruction.
Aelina's eyes widened.
"Everyone down!"
Mira grabbed Aarav.
Aelina pulled Rohan.
And the entire underground vault exploded.