Ryo's breath hitched.
The figure stepped forward, steam curling off their cybernetic body.
A man—tall, lean, and built like a war machine. Silver plating covered half his face, his eyes gleaming mechanical blue. The exposed portions of his body were scarred, but intact—unlike the twisted, rusted horrors they had fought above.
This one was… different.
Stronger.
Smarter.
And he was grinning.
> "Oh, great. You woke up a cybernetic super-soldier. Fantastic job, genius."
Ryo barely registered the system's sarcasm. His body was locked in place, instincts screaming DANGER.
Vos raised his rifle. "Identify yourself."
The man tilted his head.
Then the others started waking up.
The cylinders hissed open, and six more figures stepped out. Men. Women. All augmented.
And all of them… were staring at Ryo.
"Ironborn," the first man said again, voice rich with amusement.
Ryo clenched his jaw. "Stop calling me that."
The cybernetic man chuckled. "Oh? But that's what you are, isn't it?"
His eyes flickered. Scanning. Calculating.
"…No. Not yet. But soon."
Seven Against Three
Vos didn't hesitate. "Stand down!"
His finger tightened on the trigger.
The man moved faster than humanly possible.
Before Vos could fire, he closed the distance in a blur, grabbed the barrel of the rifle—
—and crushed it like tin foil.
Vos's eyes widened. "What the—"
The cybernetic soldier grabbed his throat and lifted him off the ground.
"Shit!" Karin fired, bullets slamming into the man's torso.
He barely flinched.
Then his free hand shot out, catching the bullets mid-air with inhuman reflexes.
Ryo's stomach dropped.
This isn't just another failed experiment.
This was something perfected.
Something designed to kill.
And they were outnumbered.
The System's Gamble
> "Alright, rookie. You're about to get obliterated. So unless you want to die right here, I'd suggest doing something incredibly stupid."
Ryo's mind raced.
Their weapons were useless.
These people were faster. Stronger. Built for war.
Which meant the only way to win was to fight smarter.
His eyes darted toward the holo-terminals still flickering.
And then—an idea.
A reckless, insane, borderline suicidal idea.
"System, can I override their implants?"
> "Ohhh, now you're thinking. Maybe you're not completely useless."
> [OVERRIDE PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE.]
WARNING: CHANCE OF SUCCESS – 27%.
Shit.
"Better than nothing," Ryo muttered.
He bolted toward the terminal.
The cybernetic soldier's head snapped toward him.
"Don't." His voice was calm. Cold. A command.
Ryo didn't stop.
He slammed his hand onto the control panel.
> [ACTIVATING OVERRIDE.]
The holo-screen flashed red.
The Lazarus soldiers shuddered. Their bodies jerked, muscles twitching, metal sparking—
Then their leader moved.
Too fast.
Before the override could finish, he lunged across the room—
—and drove his fist straight into Ryo's chest.
Broken Bones and New Revelations
Pain exploded through Ryo's body.
He barely registered the crack of ribs snapping before he slammed into the far wall.
His vision blurred.
He couldn't breathe.
Somewhere, distant and distorted, he heard Karin screaming his name.
But above all—
He heard the cybernetic man's voice.
> "Too soon."
Heavy footsteps approached.
The man knelt, gripping Ryo's chin, forcing him to look up.
There was no hatred in his expression.
Just understanding.
> "You don't even know what you are yet, do you?"
Ryo coughed blood. "G-Go to hell."
The man chuckled.
> "Oh, my friend… I've already been there."
His glowing eyes bore into Ryo's.
> "And soon… you will be too."
The system's urgent warning flared in his mind.
> [CRITICAL INJURY DETECTED.]
[FORCED EVOLUTION UNLOCKED.]
Ryo's body burned.
Something was changing.
And deep inside his mind—
Something else was waking up.