The air pulsed with raw energy.
Ryo's muscles burned, his mind surging with new data, new instincts, new power.
He had felt strong before.
Now he felt unstoppable.
Across the room, the cybernetic soldier—his unknown Lazarus counterpart—was grinning.
Metal shifted and expanded along his spine, plating reinforcing his limbs. His body whirred and clicked, adjusting—evolving in real-time.
> "Oh, great. You're not the only one leveling up mid-fight."
> "This is gonna be fun."
The bastard cracked his knuckles, the sound like grinding steel.
"Ready, Prototype 001?"
Ryo exhaled. His body felt light. Fast. Dangerous.
And he had only one thought:
Bring it.
Clash of Monsters
The Lazarus soldier vanished.
Ryo's instincts screamed.
He moved.
FAST.
A fist whizzed past his skull, missing by a hair. The force ripped through the air like a mini-shockwave.
Ryo twisted, driving his knee up.
Contact.
His knee slammed into the man's ribs, sending him skidding backward—but instead of stumbling, he dug his heels in, anchoring himself mid-motion.
The bastard grinned.
> "Good. You're learning."
Then he counterattacked.
A blur of motion.
Ryo barely saw the kick coming.
He blocked—but the force sent him flying. He crashed into a steel console, denting it.
Pain **flared—**but his body adapted, absorbed it, pushed through it.
He was healing faster.
> [DAMAGE COMPENSATION: 45% MITIGATED.]
The Lazarus soldier stalked toward him.
"You still don't get it, do you?"
Ryo rolled his shoulders, standing. "Then explain it to me, asshole."
The man smirked.
> "This isn't a fight to kill each other."
> "It's a fight to see who adapts first."
Ryo's pulse spiked.
Because he felt it too.
With every second, his body was processing the battle, calculating, improving.
The longer he fought, the stronger he became.
But so was his enemy.
Vos and Karin vs. the Lazarus Squad
While Ryo fought, the others were barely hanging on.
Karin ducked under a Lazarus soldier's sweeping strike, sliding between his legs and firing up. The bullets pinged off his cybernetic plating.
She cursed. "Fucking bulletproof bastards!"
Vos roared, unloading a shotgun round into another Lazarus soldier's chest. The blast sent the bastard staggering, but he didn't drop.
The Lazarus soldier grabbed Vos by the throat.
Lifted him.
Started crushing.
Vos's face reddened, struggling.
"Ryo!" Karin shouted. "We're getting slaughtered over here!"
The System's Next Move
> "Welp. Looks like your friends are about to get turned into paste."
> "You gonna let that happen, rookie?"
Ryo's jaw clenched.
Then—
A new prompt.
> [SYSTEM COMMAND OVERRIDE DETECTED.]
[PROTOTYPE 001 AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED.]
> [RELEASE LOCKED FUNCTION: GEARBOUND INTERFACE]
> "Ooooh. Now this should be good."
Ryo felt it before he understood it.
A pulse in his mind—like a connection to something unseen.
Then—the Lazarus soldiers twitched.
For a fraction of a second, they hesitated.
Ryo's eyes widened.
"They're running on a signal."
Karin was already moving.
She fired point-blank into the distracted soldier's eye socket—one of the few weak points in their plating.
This time, the bastard dropped.
Vos broke free, gasping.
"Whatever you just did, kid—do it again."
Ryo's mind was racing.
> [GEARBOUND INTERFACE: ONLINE.]
[NEURAL LINK TO IRONBORN PROTOCOL DETECTED.]
He understood it now.
These Lazarus soldiers weren't just cyborgs.
They were networked.
And now?
Ryo had hacked into their frequency.
Turning the Tide
The cybernetic leader noticed.
His grin faltered.
> "So… you figured it out."
Ryo stared him down.
"They're connected." His voice was steady. "And now I'm part of that connection."
A beat of silence.
Then the Lazarus leader laughed.
> "Good. That means this fight is finally real."
He rushed forward.
Ryo met him halfway.
Ironborn vs. Lazarus – The Final Clash
The room shook as they collided.
Ryo's fist met the man's palm, the impact sending a shockwave through the lab.
They moved like monsters.
A blur of steel, speed, and raw destruction.
Blow after blow.
Ryo was matching him now.
Surpassing him.
With every attack, his body was adapting, calculating, adjusting.
The Lazarus soldier's smile faded.
For the first time—he was losing.
Ryo grinned.
Then—
He pivoted.
And drove his fist straight into the man's chest.
CRACK.
The cybernetic plating fractured.
The Lazarus soldier staggered, coughing up black fluid.
His eyes flickered.
"That… was unexpected."
Ryo stood over him.
"Stay down."
The man chuckled weakly.
"You really are one of us."
Then his head snapped toward the others.
> "Lazarus Squad—fall back."
The remaining Lazarus soldiers froze.
Then—they obeyed.
Before Karin or Vos could react, the enemy retreated, moving with inhuman precision.
The Lazarus leader smirked.
"We'll meet again, Prototype 001."
Then they were gone.
The Aftermath
Ryo exhaled sharply. His body ached. Burned.
But he was still standing.
Vos dusted himself off. "What the fuck just happened?"
Karin was still catching her breath. "They… left?"
Ryo wasn't sure how to answer.
All he knew was—this wasn't over.
The Next Step
The system pinged.
> [QUEST COMPLETE: IRONBORN VS. LAZARUS]
[REWARDS: 3,000 XP, 7 Gearbound Credits, Blueprint: Adaptive Nanofiber Armor]
> "Damn, rookie. You actually survived."
> "But you made an enemy today."
Ryo clenched his fists.
No.
He hadn't just made an enemy.
He had declared war.