The enforcer didnât even have time to scream.
Asher didn't unleash his full demonic formânot here, not with hundreds of black-market eyes watching. Instead, he kept his human guise locked tight, relying purely on the terrifying, condensed power of his balanced stats and his tech-oriented skill set.
With a sharp twist of his wrist, Asher channeled his 20-point Strength. Crack. The enforcerâs massive titanium pile-driver arm shattered at the elbow joint, hydraulic fluid spraying across the concrete like black blood.
Before the giant could reel back, Asher driven his left palm straight into the center of the enforcer's chest plating.
[Skill Activated: Cyber-Hacking.]
[Overriding Enforcer Core Matrix... Access Granted.]
A jolt of dark violet energy surged from Asherâs fingertips, instantly hijacking the enforcerâs extensive cybernetic nervous system. The giant froze mid-air, his mechanical eyes flashing erratically as Asher completely overrode his motor functions. With a cold flick of his wrist, Asher used his Cyber-Hacking to force the enforcer to spin around and unleash his own sub-dermal shoulder missiles directly into his own men.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The surrounding Iron Fang thugs were blown off their feet in a spectacular cascade of fire and shrapnel.
"Kill him! Kill that bastard!" the remaining syndicate enforcers screamed, recovering from the blast and raising their heavy kinetic shotguns.
Asher didn't give them a chance to pull their triggers. His 26-point Agility kicked into overdrive. To the crowd, he completely vanished from thin air, leaving behind a faint blur.
He reappeared instantly in the center of the remaining squad. His right hand flared with a blinding, superheated violet light.
[Skill Activated: Plasma Claw.]
[Consuming 15 MP...]
With surgical, terrifying speed, Asher danced through the ranks of the syndicate. His plasma-infused talons sliced through heavy ballistic vests, steel-plated helmets, and shotguns alike. Each swipe left clean, glowing, molten cuts in its wake. The enforcers dropped one by one, their weapons dismantled before they could even register his position.
Within exactly forty-two seconds, the entire clearing was dead silent, save for the crackle of burning electronics and the groans of the defeated syndicate.
Asher stood in the center of the carnage, completely unblemished, his clothes devoid of a single speck of blood. He took a slow breath, letting the plasma fade from his fingers as his eyes remained a calm, dark brown.
He turned his attention to the massive metal crates stamped with the United Federation Military sealâBriggsâ illegal weapon shipment. Walking over, he placed his bare hands onto the heavy steel container.
[Passive Skill: 'Assimilation' activated.]
A brilliant, cascading web of blue digital light erupted from his palms, wrapping around the entire shipment. The massive crates, containing hundreds of experimental pulse-rifles and high-grade plasma batteries, began to pixelate and dissolve into pure, liquid energy, flowing directly into Asher's chest.
[Assimilating: Experimental Federation Pulse-Rifle Cache.]
[Gained: 600 EXP!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 3 ââ> Level 4 (400/800 EXP)]
[All stats increased by +2. Unallocated Stat Points received: 5]
[Tech-Matter Devoured: System processing speed increased by 10%.]
The sheer rush of energy made a literal spark of violet static dance across Asher's eyelids. He could feel his soul core hardening, expanding, and becoming infinitely more refined.
He turned back toward the silver-haired boy. Jax was still sitting in the mud, his crude mechanical arms sparking weakly, his jaw completely slack as he stared at the empty space where a multi-million credit weapon shipment had just existed.
Asher walked over, extending a clean human hand to the rogue mechanic. Behind him, Lucy stepped out of the shadows, her eyes glowing with a fierce, quiet pride.
"Your makeshift cores were about to detonate," Asher said, his voice smooth and commanding. "A waste of good talent. If you want to actually hurt the people who took your life-support lines, you're going to need a lot more power than that scrap metal can give you."
Jax stared at Asherâs open hand, then up at his calm, ordinary face. He couldn't understand what Asher was, but he had just witnessed a man rewrite military tech with his bare hands and wipe out an entire syndicate squad without breaking a sweat. It was the kind of absolute, undeniable power Jax had been praying for.
Jax reached up, gripping Asherâs hand tightly. "Who the hell are you?"
Asher pulled the boy to his feet, a dark, knowing smile touching his lips.
[System Notification: Lieutenant Synchronization with Jax has reached 30%.]
[The foundation of the Hidden Sovereign Vanguard is growing.]
"I'm the guy who's going to fix your arms," Asher said quietly, turning back toward the neon-soaked rain of the slums. And then, we're going to take over this district.