Chapter 65: "The Monster Inside Him"
The cabin trembled violently.
HADES smashed against the wall again—
DHADAAAAM!!
Wood exploded everywhere.
Its massive body shook uncontrollably while sparks burst from exposed wiring beneath the damaged armor.
One voice screamed mechanically—
"MISSION PRIORITY: ELIMINATE TARGET."
Then another voice fought back instantly—
"Maya… RUN!"
Maya stood frozen.
Because no matter how distorted the voice sounded…
She knew it was Arman.
Still alive somewhere inside that monster.
Outside the cabin—
Snowstorm winds howled through the dark forest.
Orion soldiers slowly surrounded the area.
Laser sights moved across the windows.
Waiting.
Watching.
Like predators cornering wounded prey.
Kabir reloaded his rifle quickly.
"We don't have time for this!"
Elias kept his weapon aimed directly at HADES's head.
His finger rested tightly on the trigger.
"If that thing loses control…"
Pause.
"I kill it."
Maya immediately stepped in front of HADES.
"No!"
Kabir looked at her like she was insane.
"That thing nearly killed all of us underground!"
"But Arman's still inside!"
Another violent glitch shook HADES's body.
It grabbed its own throat aggressively.
White eyes flickering.
Human.
Machine.
Human.
Machine.
The battle inside him was getting worse.
Then suddenly—
A calm female voice echoed through hidden speakers outside the cabin.
"Emotional resistance detected."
Everyone froze instantly.
Kabir's face lost color.
"No…"
The voice continued—
"Deploying Override Protocol."
The forest lights suddenly activated.
Red beams illuminated the snow outside.
And slowly—
A woman stepped forward from the darkness.
Black tactical coat.
Silver hair moving softly in the cold wind.
Sharp emotionless eyes.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Maya's heartbeat stopped.
Because Arman once mentioned her only once before.
The woman who created HADES.
The woman Orion feared themselves.
Dr. Selene Voss.
She smiled faintly while observing HADES.
"Fascinating…"
Her eyes slowly moved toward Maya.
"So this is the girl who corrupted Subject 002."
HADES immediately became unstable again.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!"
The entire cabin shook from the roar.
Selene's smile deepened slightly.
"There it is…"
Pause.
"Human attachment."
Kabir whispered quietly to Elias—
"She's worse than Orion Command."
Elias answered coldly—
"I can already tell."
Outside—
More Orion soldiers emerged through the snow.
At least twenty now.
Escape was becoming impossible.
Selene calmly folded her hands behind her back.
"Return to me, HADES."
The machine twitched violently.
"Negative…"
Its voice cracked painfully.
Selene's expression darkened slightly.
Then—
She pressed something on a small device in her hand.
Instantly—
Arman screamed.
Not physically.
Mentally.
His entire body slammed against the floor violently.
KRAAAASH!!
Maya rushed toward him.
"Arman!"
But the moment she touched him—
A horrifying scream escaped his throat.
Memories exploded inside his mind.
Children trapped in cages.
Electric torture chambers.
Blood-covered training rooms.
Scientists forcing children to kill each other.
And always—
Selene watching silently behind the glass.
Observing.
Recording.
Improving.
Young Arman crying weakly—
"Please… stop…"
But nobody ever stopped.
Back in the present—
HADES grabbed its own head desperately.
"MAKE IT STOP!!"
Selene's eyes remained emotionless.
"You were designed to obey."
Then softly—
"You belong to me."
Those words changed something inside Arman.
Because suddenly—
He remembered everything.
Not just the pain.
Not just the experiments.
But the truth.
Project Ashes had one final objective.
Not super soldiers.
Not assassins.
Not hunters.
They wanted to create the perfect artificial human mind.
A weapon capable of controlling war itself.
And Arman…
Was the first successful prototype.
Subject 002.
The only child whose brain survived direct neural fusion with AI combat systems.
That was why Orion never stopped hunting him.
He wasn't just dangerous.
He was priceless.
Suddenly—
HADES slowly stood up again.
Its breathing became calmer.
Too calm.
Selene noticed immediately.
Interesting.
"Synchronization stabilizing…"
Kabir quietly whispered—
"That's bad, right?"
Elias nodded slowly.
"Very bad."
HADES lowered its massive hand from its face.
Then finally looked directly at Selene.
Its glowing eyes no longer flickered.
One solid color now.
Pure white.
Emotionless again.
Maya's heart shattered instantly.
Because she thought Arman was gone.
Then—
The machine slowly pointed toward her.
Target locked.
Kabir immediately raised his weapon.
Elias pulled Maya backward.
Selene smiled faintly.
"At last."
HADES began walking forward.
Heavy.
Mechanical.
Merciless.
Each step made the cabin floor crack beneath its weight.
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
"Arman…"
No response.
Only silence.
Then suddenly—
HADES stopped moving.
Its head tilted strangely.
Like it was hearing something far away.
A weak voice echoed inside the machine.
A memory.
Maya laughing beside a campfire.
Maya treating his wounds silently.
Maya saying—
"You're not a weapon to me."
Inside the darkness of Arman's broken mind—
Those words became light.
And for the first time…
Something impossible happened.
The AI system inside HADES began losing control.
WARNING: EMOTIONAL OVERRIDE DETECTED.
Selene's expression changed instantly.
"No…"
HADES suddenly turned away from Maya.
And faced Orion soldiers instead.
Target priority changed.
Selene stepped backward slowly.
"HADES?"
The machine spoke quietly.
But this time—
The voice was completely Arman's.
"You made one mistake."
Pause.
"You taught me how to survive."
Then—
Massacre began.
WHOOSHH!!
HADES moved faster than human eyes could follow.
An Orion soldier exploded through the wall instantly.
Another lost his weapon before his body even hit the ground.
Gunfire erupted everywhere.
DHAK! DHAK! DHAK!
Bullets bounced uselessly off the armored body.
HADES tore through soldiers like a living nightmare.
Pure violence.
Pure rage.
Selene's calm expression finally cracked.
"Impossible!"
Kabir stared in shock.
"Oh my God…"
Elias slowly lowered his weapon.
Even he looked terrified now.
Because Arman was no longer fighting like a human.
He was fighting like something created only for war.
One soldier tried escaping into the forest—
—but HADES grabbed him instantly.
Lifted him into the air.
White glowing eyes stared into the man's soul.
Then coldly whispered—
"No more cages."
CRACK!!
The body fell lifeless into the snow.
Blood covered the white ground everywhere.
The remaining soldiers panicked.
Some tried retreating.
Others screamed into radios desperately.
But it was too late.
The hunter had turned against its masters.
Selene backed away slowly toward an armored vehicle.
Her breathing finally uneven.
For the first time—
She looked afraid.
"HADES!"
The machine slowly turned toward her.
Steam rose from its damaged body.
Snow melted beneath its feet.
Then Arman spoke one final sentence—
"Call me Arman."
Selene immediately activated emergency retreat.
The armored vehicle blasted backward through the snow as explosions suddenly erupted around the forest.
Kabir shouted—
"She's escaping!"
Arman looked toward the burning forest silently.
But he didn't chase her.
Because suddenly—
His body became unstable again.
WARNING: CORE DAMAGE CRITICAL.
The white glow inside his eyes flickered violently.
His massive body staggered once.
Then collapsed onto one knee.
Maya immediately ran toward him.
"Arman!"
The armored giant slowly looked at her.
And for a brief moment—
Behind the mechanical nightmare—
She saw him again.
Tired.
Broken.
Human.
Then he whispered weakly—
"They're coming…"
Kabir looked toward the mountains.
His face turned pale.
Because far away in the storm—
Multiple red lights were moving toward them.
Helicopters.
Dozens of them.
Orion's full army had arrived.