*

Given their timely appearance, it must have been a pre-arranged action. Communications were already cut off. They couldn't have approached in response to a distress signal.

Without a doubt, some unknown group had drawn them in.

"Captain! The door...!"

But the problems didn't end there. The entrance door that had been functioning perfectly until now began to split apart.

Crackle.

Through the gap emerged a blue light so intense it could blind you. Even from a distance, the sparks flying everywhere made my face sting.

It was a familiar sight.

A tool that even Aion had handled at one point.

Plasma cutter.

Though closer to a tool than a weapon, it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

It was one of many specialized equipment used in the construction of space passenger ships.

The enemy must have chosen it for that very reason. Moreover, it seemed to have been modified, given its abnormal output.

Sure enough, the bridge's supporting walls melted away with disturbing ease.

Boom.

Using the thick steel plate as a stepping stone, in walked a cyborg who had exchanged their entire body for machinery—

"Genesis."

"You know who I am?"

How could I not?

"There aren't many who have crossed humanity's final line."

It was now the 24th century.

Advanced science and technology had already surpassed humanity's cognitive boundaries. A structure where regulatory measures inevitably lagged behind. Thus, humanity established new standards.

Shackles that even Mega Corps couldn't escape from.

'The Four Basic Laws.'

One of them, the AI Restriction Law, was a measure designed to suppress intelligence composed of zeros and ones. It specified that artificial intelligence could only be utilized in predetermined ways and for predetermined purposes.

The prohibition of androids in direct combat was an extension of this.

After all, if responsibility were shifted to convenient tools, what would remain would be a pointless war of attrition.

Humanity had experienced what meaningless conflicts could lead to through World War III. They had agreed to use AI only for proper purposes, at least.

However, there was a loophole. Even if AI's domain was restricted, humans weren't.

A prime example was the emergence of consciousness being entrusted to full-body prosthetics originally meant for AI use.

The blind pursuit of goals to the point of burning one's own body bordered on madness.

That's why people called him—

"Genesis the Zealot."

"If you know even my alias, we can skip the introduction. Open the engine room."

"So that was your objective after all. Unfortunately, I can't grant your request. Even if you eliminate all the passengers, my decision won't change."

Though Aion refused with a heavy heart—

"That decision isn't yours to make."

Suddenly, the pregnant woman—no, Neria—who appeared behind Genesis pulled out a cable embedded in her palm.

In an instant, the adapter connected to its end attached itself to Aion's nape.

Click.

Aion tried to remove it, but Genesis moved first, pinning down his shoulders.

Perhaps it was because he had transcended human limitations.

The pressure alone was overwhelming.

"Ugh."

"Stay still."

"Connecting now. Establishing bypass route, breaching mental barriers."

Stealing someone else's information required high-level abilities. It needed at least two slots, not to mention the necessary talent.

A rare, high-grade personnel.

There couldn't be two such people on board.

Ion closed his eyes as he belatedly realized that Neria was the tuner who had disabled the ship's equipment. He sensed that despite causing numerous casualties, he had ultimately failed in his duty.

"Access code acquired."

"Then let's move to the next phase."

A blue light emerged from Genesis' forearm.

*

"They're after the Ion drive?"

Ga-on muttered, but Vintelo didn't move a muscle. No surprise there. His pupils had been empty for a long time.

Ga-on hadn't asked expecting an answer anyway. He had already obtained all the necessary information.

What people commonly called an Ion drive consisted of three devices.

Hydrogen collection armor.

Nuclear fusion reactor.

And the Ion propulsion engine.

Since having all three components would enable faster-than-light space travel, the city government had maintained strict control over them.

Strategic resources that even Mega Corps couldn't possess.

Subversive groups would naturally covet it. Success would establish a stronger foundation than anyone else's.

But taking action was a different matter entirely.

The city government would pursue them for life.

Whether it stemmed from confidence or arrogance was unclear, but what mattered was that their rampage wouldn't stop just because someone asked nicely.

That's why he had to stop the girl who readily volunteered.

"As you've heard, this is an extremely dangerous situation."

"But it seems too late to back out now."

"Miss Phytoncide."

Though the girl hesitated at his somewhat reproachful tone, she didn't back down. While she wasn't usually one to meddle, she felt that ignoring the situation wouldn't solve anything.

"I can at least protect myself. I can control MUG-2 level slots and units, and besides, you don't know where those people are, sir."

A desperate argument.

And that final point was particularly appealing to Ga-on.

"You can find out?"

"We have that old man's device, right? We should be able to send out emergency signals. If we limit the transmission range, we could probably call only nearby people."

"So you want to play the Pied Piper."

After careful consideration, Ga-on reached a decision.

"But don't get ahead of me. And if anything feels off, run away immediately. Even if I die. Can you promise that?"

"...Yes, I understand."

With that, Ga-on drew the pistol from Vintelo's waist.

17 rounds loaded.

Though it seemed unusable with the auto-lock engaged—

Click.

The security was released with a crisp sound.

While Ga-on lacked a tuner's qualities, someone else didn't.

"How about it? Seems usable enough, don't you think?"

Ga-on shook his head as if exasperated and opened his trunk bag. He found the Nuclease and popped it into his mouth.

"What's that?"

"A supplement."

"Do supplements these days come from shoe soles?"

Though the girl looked at him suspiciously, Ga-on maintained his poker face.

"Let's go then."

*

The girl's proposed strategy proved quite effective. Given Vintelo's apparently high position within the group, the emergency signals kept drawing them in one after another.

Ga-on counted as he retrieved the combat knife lodged between the eyes of an unnamed man.

"That makes four. We've probably dealt with most of the patrol units."

While reducing enemy forces was encouraging, a long tail was easier to catch. They'd likely be discovered within minutes.

"What do we do now?"

"We head to the bridge."

Carelessly dismantling the Ion drive was out of the question. The engine room was designed to self-destruct if intruders entered.

Since only the captain could issue the deactivation command, their path was necessarily limited.

But Ga-on had to stop in his tracks after just a short distance.

Unexpected guests had appeared in the dead end.

Two of them, no less.

"I knew it. What if we'd actually stopped searching?"

"Weren't we told there was only one escapee? Why am I seeing two?"

It was the young couple from the cargo hold.

Matt and Sheet, weren't those their names?

"Who cares, as long as we handle it right?"

"True enough."

"No one escapes from us anyway."

The two casually exchanged banter as if they'd already won.

Ga-on pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Alternating between both targets equally.

But the bullets couldn't penetrate their foreheads, instead deflecting after merely grazing the skin.

'A slot?'

They must have received additional reinforcement procedures on their foreheads.

"The confident shooters always aim for the head first."

As Matt extended his arm, his forearm opened in four directions. What emerged was a mechanical device with smooth curves like a parabolic antenna.

Without any warning, an intense burning sensation seized his entire body.

A pain ray that emits specific electromagnetic waves to stimulate only the pain receptors under the skin.

The so-called 'Pain Maker.'

While he hadn't expected to see crowd control weapons typically used by police or military here, this wasn't the time to be impressed.

Perhaps thinking Matt had him pinned, Sheet raised her rifle.

Their tactics were becoming clear.

Matt restrains while Sheet finishes them off—a complementary partnership at its core.

But it wasn't without gaps.

In other words, it took both of them to equal one fighter. To put it more plainly, each was only half-capable.

Moreover, they had poor compatibility.

For Ga-on, who had died countless times, pain that merely felt fatal was as good as no attack at all.

His hesitation was just a feint to induce carelessness.

Ga-on exploded upward, ignoring the bullet that grazed his temple as he charged straight at Sheet.

"What—"

He'd just learned how hard the skull was. But—

"How about under the chin?"

Ga-on pressed the muzzle into the soft flesh and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

"Sheet!"

Matt's scream and Ga-on's spinning motion happened almost simultaneously.

Using the falling Sheet as a springboard, Ga-on leaped and drove a kick into Matt's abdomen.

Naturally, Matt let out a sharp cry at the spear-like strike.

Before the sprawled Matt could rise, Ga-on gathered his remaining centrifugal force and threw the combat knife.

Thunk!

The blade pierced precisely through the neck.

The skirmish lasted barely two seconds. Only one person remained standing at the end.

"That makes three out of five dealt with."

The girl approached Ga-on as he reviewed the battle in his mind.

"See? My help was crucial, right?"

"What help?"

"I stopped the man's slot, didn't I?"

Come to think of it, the intense pain had seemed to fade during the collision. But if asked whether that had decisively influenced the outcome—

"Well, I probably would've been fine without it."

"Yes, yes. I get it. Male pride, right?"

No, that wasn't it.

Feeling things getting awkward, Ga-on kept his mouth shut.

He couldn't have continued anyway. He'd been sensing an odd gaze for a while now.

"Why don't you come out instead of just watching?"

"Ah, you noticed?"

A boy emerged from around the corner with a casual shrug.

That unforgettable smile.

Yes, it was him.

The perpetrator of the sudden massacre in the cabin.

According to Vintelo—

"Ron, was it?"