Inside the cafeteria of the Ember's underground core zone.
"Don't, don't kill me…"
In the wretched air, a mix of metallic rust and blood, an Ember guard huddled in a corner, his face terrified as he stared at the horrifying figure before him, like a grim reaper.
It was Benjamin, Metal Burst, a Level Two High-Tier Star Envoy from the Star Envoy Association Headquarters.
Staring at this expressionless, terrifying human weapon, the guard's mind kept replaying the nightmarish and horrifying scenes he had just witnessed.
First, all bullets fired at this man spontaneously exploded in mid-air.
Then, the metallic fragments left by the bullets floated around him as if controlled by an invisible hand.
Finally, a chilling scene unfolded.
The bullet fragments, previously suspended around Benjamin, suddenly accelerated.
Then, with terrifying precision, they pierced the heads of every resistant individual in the cafeteria, effortlessly executing a one-sided slaughter.
As for those who miraculously weren't killed by the bullet fragments, the remnants of the metallic fragments within their bodies would undergo a bizarre explosion, utterly killing them.
A devil. This guy was a human devil.
Just an ordinary person, he could never defeat such a devil!
Driven by an intense will to survive, the Ember base guard not only dropped his weapon but also pleaded for mercy in an incredibly subservient manner.
However, his pleas and entreaties were utterly meaningless to Benjamin, the Automaton Star Envoy, who possessed only rationality and no humanity.
Because humans don't care about the life or death of an ant.
Click.
Gazing at the Ember base guard kneeling and begging for mercy, Benjamin's mechanical prosthetic eye emitted a faint whirring sound.
The data streams flowing within his optical iris seemed to be calculating something.
The next second, without a hint of mercy, without any hesitation, Benjamin slowly raised his hand, as if dealing with a pile of useless code.
Boom!
In the painful and despairing eyes of the Ember base guard, the remaining metallic fragments on his body instantly transformed into terrifying, life-ending bombs, completely engulfing him in an explosive blaze.
Not long after, the cafeteria wall he had been leaning against was starkly adorned with an 'abstract oil painting' drawn in blood and flesh.
And the information conveyed by this painting was only two-fold.
One was death, and the other was despair.
At the same time, many similar 'bloody artworks' adorned the Ember cafeteria.
Dismembered limbs of Star Beast test subjects, fragments of resisters' weapons, traces of escapees' blood…
Each of these abstract artworks whispered the same ending called 'despair' to any living person passing by.
And with the addition of these abstract artworks, the Ember cafeteria, at this moment, had lost its usual hustle and bustle.
All that remained was a twisted, death- and blood-filled hellish exhibition hall.
"This, this has already gone beyond the scope of the mission, hasn't it?"
Among the team, a young Association Star Envoy couldn't help but whisper, observing everything Benjamin had done.
His voice trembled, not only from fear but also from a certain moral discomfort.
After all, what was happening here was completely different from the 'justice' Benjamin had spoken of above ground!
And while some in the team shared similar thoughts, no one chose to respond.
Silence became the main theme among everyone present.
After all, the two Level Two Star Envoys who could somewhat persuade and restrain Benjamin, William and Isaiah, had mysteriously become separated in the "Endless Maze" shortly after entering the Ember base's underground core zone.
As for whether this so-called "separation" was an accident or a deliberate act by Benjamin, that remained unknown.
"Move on, to the next area."
Benjamin stood in front of a large door, remaining still for a full minute before suddenly speaking.
His unique automaton-synthesized voice had no fluctuations in tone, yet subtly conveyed an undeniable sternness.
It was as if he was telling the others that if they didn't do as he said, the fate of that Ember base guard would be their own.
Therefore, seeing Benjamin push open the door and enter the area beyond, the six Level One Star Envoys from the Steam City Branch quickly followed.
Leaving aside the lethal danger Benjamin posed, simply being in this eerie, labyrinthine underground core zone meant that even a slight delay could lead to them being lost forever.
So, whether they liked it or not, they could only stick close to Benjamin.
After all, they had no way back.
Whoosh—
The moment they stepped into the new area, everyone felt a chill surge through their hearts.
They lowered their heads, only to see that the vast, empty ground was covered with cool standing water, deep enough to reach their ankles.
Soon, everyone understood where they were.
A huge, defunct, and eerily silent underground drainage system, where only the echoing sound of dripping water could be heard.
And directly opposite them, a silver-haired young man with a black eye patch sat high up at the end of a drainpipe.
He calmly watched them enter below, a chilling smile playing on his lips.
Drip, drop…
Due to the temporary shutdown of the power system, the underground drainage system had also temporarily ceased operation.
The accumulated water was slowly rising.
However, the young man sitting in front of the massive drainpipe seemed utterly unconcerned by this grim development.
He silently watched Benjamin and the others approach him, and once they reached a certain distance, he smiled and raised his hand.
"Yo, good evening, esteemed members of the Star Envoy Association…"
Tendo's voice wasn't loud, but in the vast space of the drainage system, it was inexplicably amplified by the echo.
At the same time, although his tone was very polite, it instantly made everyone except Benjamin tense up.
Because not only was Tendo's timing of appearance extremely eerie, his expression… was also too relaxed.
So relaxed that it seemed he didn't even put these Association Star Envoys in his eyes.
And this arrogance and disdain emanating from Tendo's very core instantly made these experienced Association Star Envoys feel a strong sense of crisis and unease.
Of course… Benjamin was an exception.
Because he didn't believe that Tendo, who only had a mere Level One Star Energy value reaction, could threaten a Level Two like himself.
As Tendo spoke, the scene in the show zoomed in on his face.
On screen, although Tendo was smiling as he looked at Benjamin and the others below, even through the screen, everyone could feel the undisguised killing intent hidden beneath Tendo's smile.
Meanwhile, the dimension viewers noticed something unusual.
At this moment, on Tendo's forehead, there was a strange quantum collar.
Silver data streams surged wildly in the special device on his forehead, reflecting his silver-white messy hair.
'Holy crap! What's that on Tendo's forehead?'
'New equipment? Never seen him use it before!'
'The speed of that data flow definitely indicates high-grade stuff!'
The dimension viewers were right.
The item Tendo wore on his forehead at this moment was naturally no simple thing.
It was a special piece of equipment he had specifically exchanged from the Popularity Mall—the Portable Quantum Hub.
[Portable Quantum Hub: Allows the wearer to possess a certain level of high computational power similar to automatons.]
[Popularity Price: 500,000]
Drip—
After a brief greeting, Tendo braced his hands against the outflow pipe, gracefully leaping down like a feather. Perfect circular ripples bloomed around his feet in the standing water, making a clear sound.
Tendo stood calmly, wearing the harmless smile of a simple youth, as he looked at the group before him.
"…A Level Two, six Level Ones. Your Star Envoy Association, or rather, your Iron Dome family, has truly given me quite the challenge."
"Because if I let you pass through here, the next area will be the base's Quantum Center."
"And I will absolutely not let you pass through that place."
Hearing Tendo's words, Benjamin, from the crowd, spoke expressionlessly.
"What if I insist on passing?"
"Insist on passing, you say?"
Tendo's face showed a conflicted expression, as if he was contemplating this difficult question.
But just as everyone waited for Tendo's answer, his figure instantly vanished from his original spot.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of a Level One Association Star Envoy at the back of the team.
Tendo's palm pressed against the person's face, his previously harmless smile abruptly disappearing.
In its place was a chilling, indescribable coldness and sternness.
"…If you insist on passing, then I'll have no choice but to ask all of you to die here."
"Because, you see, I have a reason to guard this place."
As his words fell, Tendo moved.
Boom!
Accompanied by the dull thud of bones shattering and flesh contorting, the Level One Association Star Envoy in Tendo's hand was propelled by a mysterious force like a rag doll, flying backward at astonishing speed and crashing into the wall behind, his body embedded firmly within it.
In no time, a large amount of fresh blood flowed out along the cracks in the wall, spreading a dazzling red in the standing water on the ground below.
And at the very moment Tendo made his move, Benjamin raised his hand and shot a gray metallic torrent at him.
The specially made metallic fragments exploded upon 'contact' with Tendo, and fire instantly engulfed his entire body.
But…
"Metal Burst with a control aspect? Interesting."
When the explosion's fire dissipated, everyone's pupils instantly constricted.
Because Tendo, who had just taken a direct hit from Benjamin's 'Metal Burst', was surprisingly unharmed!
Looking at the stunned crowd, Tendo, with his left hand, removed his eye patch, revealing a pair of deep, sky-blue eyes with numerous special star-track patterns.
At the same time, he slowly opened his right hand.
In his right palm lay several metallic blades emitting a peculiar glow.
If the person who had been attacked by the Metal Burst had not been Tendo, but someone else, then even if that person could withstand the first round of explosions, they would not have been able to endure these specially made metallic blades.
Although Tendo had publicly revealed his Star Source, Benjamin's face showed no signs of panic.
Through his electronic eyes and extraordinary automaton computing power, he had already, during this extremely brief encounter with Tendo, found the corresponding Star Source in his vast Star Source database.
"Vector Control. I didn't expect you, an Ember brat, to be able to develop this Star Source to such a degree."
Hearing Benjamin's words, Tendo merely smiled.
He clearly wasn't bothered by Benjamin knowing his Star Source.
And looking at the smiling Tendo, as well as the Level One Association Star Envoy he had just killed with a single blow, everyone present felt as if the surrounding air had completely solidified.
Only the clear dripping sound of water slowly echoed.
Finally, after a moment of confrontation, Benjamin slowly raised his hand.
"Kill him."
"Yes!"
Watching the group rush towards him, Tendo's smile grew even more radiant.
However, this radiance was neither joy nor excitement.
It was mockery.
Just as Benjamin had previously not regarded the Ember members in the cafeteria as humans, Tendo likewise did not regard these Association Star Envoys before him as humans.
Because from the moment they decided to kill, they should have been prepared to be killed themselves.
And he was the one to bring them death.
"Vector… Reversal."
Under Tendo's calm voice, a situation that both surprised Benjamin and terrified the Association Star Envoys emerged.
Around Tendo, water droplets that should have been falling began to change direction, forming the spectacle of an 'inverted rain'.
The water around Tendo was flowing backward, or rather…
Tendo had changed the direction of gravity around him!
And for the Star Envoys who had approached within a certain range of Tendo, the impact was undoubtedly immense.
Because their bodies… were out of control!