The two remaining Federation Hunter-Seeker mechs whirred frantically, their optical sensors flashing a violent, warning red. Their internal combat threat-assessments were completely looping; according to the local Federation network, the cloaked man standing before them didn't exist. There was no genetic signature, no electronic ID tag, and no registered resonance. To the cold logic of the military drones, he was a ghost.
But the superheated plasma swirling around Asherās bare fist was very, very real.
Lucy lay in the toxic mud, her breath coming in ragged, painful wheezes as she stared at his back. Up close, she could see that his cloak was a ragged, generic conscript uniform, but the raw, suffocating pressure radiating from him was heavier than any Star Sovereign she had ever encountered.
"Warning," the leading droneās mechanical vocoder droned, its heavy twin-barrel minigun rotating at blinding speed. "Unidentified biological entity. Interference with a high-priority execution protocol will result in immediate termination."
"Is that so?" Asher muttered.
With a sharp mental command, Asher pulled back on his demonic core. The glowing violet veins pulsing along his neck suddenly faded, retreating beneath his skin like dying embers. The faint, jagged black horns protruding from his dark hair withdrew smoothly into his skull, leaving his forehead completely unblemished. To anyone looking, he now appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary, pale-faced human civilian.
He was perfectly blending into the backgroundāa hidden powerhouse hiding in plain sight.
"Let's see your targeting computers calculate this," Asher whispered.
Before the execution drones could even register the physical shift in his appearance, Asher vanished.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Step.]
[Consuming 10 MP...]
The space where Asher had been standing warped into a brief vortex of absolute darkness before snapping shut. The drones' targeting reticles instantly lost lock, their automated heavy turrets sweeping left and right in a desperate search for their target.
A split second later, Asher materialized directly in the air above the second drone. His Agility stat of 26 made his movements a terrifying blur to the naked eye. As he fell toward the mechanical predator, he let his suppressed powers completely erupt once more.
Crimson light exploded from his pupils, and his fingers elongated, sharpening into gleaming, obsidian-like talons.
[Skill Activated: Plasma Claw.]
[Consuming 15 MP...]
A blistering, crackling aura of violet-blue plasma enveloped his right hand, humming with a terrifying, destructive frequency. With a savage downward swipe, Asher drove his talons directly into the heavily armored chassis of the Hunter-Seeker mech.
Screeech!
The military-grade titanium alloy plating, designed to withstand heavy artillery, melted like warm butter under the superheated plasma of his claws. Asherās hand buried deep into the droneās internal workings, his fingers wrapping around the thick bundles of synthetic neural fiber and the secondary power grid.
"My turn to eat," Asher snarled, a dark, primal grin splitting his face as he triggered his absolute cheat code.
[Passive Skill: 'Assimilation' activated.]
Instantly, the frantic mechanical whirring of the drone died. The bright blue optical sensors flickered violently as the machine began to pixelate from the inside out, its heavy metal frame dissolving into brilliant streams of blue digital data and raw electrical current. The energy rushed up Asherās arm, pouring directly into his soul core like an adrenaline shot.
[Assimilating: High-Spec Hunter-Seeker Drone (Military Grade).]
[Gained: 250 EXP]
[Absorbed 40 units of refined Tech-Matter. Defense increased temporarily.]
The remaining drone instantly registered the total destruction of its partner. It rapidly pivoted on its hover-thrusters, attempting to back away to a safe firing distance while charging its main plasma cannon. The barrel glowed with a blinding, lethal blue light.
But Asher didn't give it the chance. Dropping from the dissolving wreckage of the first machine, his feet touched the mud. His muscles coiled with a devastating 20-point Strength stat.
He lunged forward, his boots tearing up deep tracks of toxic earth. He didn't use a skill this time; he relied on pure, unadulterated brute force. Closing the distance in a fraction of a heartbeat, Asher launched a devastating right hook straight into the main optical lens of the charging drone.
BOOM!
The impact sounded like a detonating missile. The glass lens shattered into a thousand pieces, and the entire front chassis of the drone imploded under the sheer weight of his kinetic force. The machine was sent flying backward, bouncing twice through the rusted starship hulls before exploding in a massive fireball of metal and fuel.
The industrial wasteland went dead silent, save for the crackle of the burning wreckage and the heavy patter of the oily rain.
Asher stood amidst the flames. He took a deep breath, consciously pulling his demonic energy back inside. The crimson glow in his eyes faded back to a calm, dark brown. His obsidian talons retracted, his hands softening back into regular, human fingers. Within seconds, any physical trace of the monster that had just obliterated two multi-million credit military drones vanished.
He turned around and walked back toward Lucy.
The young cadet was staring at him in absolute shock, her body trembling as the shock of her survival began to set in. Her Silver-frame armor was completely bricked, hissing with dead steam, and her leg was heavily fractured. She tried to push herself up, to grab her fallen plasma saber, but she didn't have the strength.
Asher stopped a few feet away from her, looking down with an unreadable expression.
"Commander Briggs really went all out to make sure you didn't leave this sector alive," Asher said, his voice now sounding completely normal, devoid of the terrifying demonic echo from before.
Lucyās eyes narrowed, a flash of her former military discipline cutting through her pain. "How... how do you know Briggs? Who are you? You aren't a civilian... and you aren't an ordinary human."
"I'm a ghost," Asher replied coldly, crouching down so he was at eye level with her. "Just like you are about to be. If you stay here, the next cleanup crew Briggs sends won't just be drones. They will find you, and they will finish the job."
Lucy bit her lip, a look of bitter helplessness crossing her face. She knew he was right. She had no family left, her superiors had framed her as a traitor to the Federation, and she couldn't even stand up on her own. "I have nowhere to go," she whispered, her voice tightening. "If I'm dead to the military... I have nothing."
Asher reached out, his hand open. For a brief second, a faint, hypnotic pulse of violet light flashed in the palm of his handāa subtle hint of the King's Crest power waiting to be unlocked within his system.
"You have a choice, Cadet Lucy," Asher said, his voice dropping to a low, commanding tone. "You can die here in the mud as a disgraced traitor. Or, you can come with me, heal, and learn how to tear down the system that betrayed you. I am building something in the dark. An army that will eventually make Commander Briggs and the entire Federation bow."
Lucy looked from his face to his open hand. She could feel the faint, heavy pressure radiating from him againānot a threat, but a promise of absolute, overwhelming power. To a cadet who had been discarded like garbage, that power was an intoxicating lifeline.
She reached up with a trembling, blood-stained hand and firmly gripped his palm.
"Take me with you," she said fiercely.
Asherās lips curved into a dark, satisfied smile.
[System Notification: Potential Lieutenant recognized.]
[Current Synchronicity with Cadet Lucy: 15%]
[Increase synchronicity to 100% to unlock the 'Monarch's Subordinate Crest' and initiate Demonic Conversion.]
"Good choice," Asher said.
Lifting her effortlessly into his arms, Asher stepped back into the deepest shadows of the rusted hull, using his Shadow Step to vanish into the stormy night, leaving the burning remains of the Federation's execution squad behind.