3rd POV
After Ace successfully rescued the hostages, Zastin and his two subordinates emerged from their hiding place.
"Come here, big guy!" Kaja shouted as he charged from behind Gaga Naz, who was still being forced backward by Metalgelas. Raising his fist, he slammed it into Gaga Naz's back.
BAAM!
"AAARGHH!"
Caught between attacks from both the front and the rear, Gaga Naz cried out in pain.
"Huh?!"
Seeing his subordinate being overwhelmed, Borara moved to help, only for a sword slash to force him back.
"Tch! You again! Who are you people?!"
"Because you're about to be arrested."
Zastin took out Strengthbot and activated it.
"That...! You!"
"Borara and the Tengkotak crew, you are under arrest for illegally capturing Power Spheres and entering Earth without authorization."
Zastin pointed his sword directly at Borara.
Borara clenched his fists tightly. His eyes widened as he stared at Zastin, whose entire body was now covered by Strengthbot's armor.
The pressure radiating from Deviluke's greatest swordsman sent a chill down his spine.
Realizing that he stood no chance against a Zastin whose strength had tripled thanks to Strengthbot, Borara immediately shouted toward Yoyo Oo, who was some distance away.
"Yoyo Oo! Activate my battle armor!"
"Y-Yes, Captain!"
Hiding behind cover, Yoyo Oo hurriedly responded. His trembling fingers rapidly tapped a series of commands on the control tablet in his hands.
A side hatch on Tengkotak's mothership suddenly opened.
From the hidden compartment, a purple suit of heavy armor equipped with rear jet boosters shot out, carrying an enormous war hammer.
The armor slammed perfectly onto Borara's body, locking onto each joint within seconds. The chest plate sealed shut around him.
"Hahaha! Let's see the true strength of Deviluke's Greatest Swordsman!" Borara roared as he swung his massive hammer.
At the same moment, Gaga Naz finally broke free from the pincer attack of Metalgelas and Kaja.
"You bastards!"
His body rapidly expanded, becoming taller and far more muscular. Black spikes erupted from his back, while both arms swelled with muscle until he resembled a giant gorilla.
"Wow, you got even bigger. What do you think, rhino monster?" Kaja joked to Metalgelas.
When he turned around, however, Metalgelas was gone.
"Huh?"
Before Kaja could process what had happened, Gaga Naz charged straight at him with his enormous fist raised.
BAAANG!!
A powerful laser struck Gaga Naz's fist, knocking it off course.
Kaja immediately leaped backward before the punch could reach him and looked toward the source of the shot.
Standing atop a distant boulder, Jaja lowered his sniper rifle and gave him a thumbs-up.
Seeing that, Kaja grinned at Gaga Naz.
"Come on!"
He charged once again.
Meanwhile, Zastin dashed forward like a streak of white lightning.
His sword collided head-on with Borara's war hammer, producing a thunderous shockwave that shook the entire floating island.
CLAAAAANG!!
Sparks and bursts of white and violet energy exploded in every direction.
Borara's eyes widened.
The physical force behind Zastin's strikes had suddenly become utterly absurd.
Each rapid slash forced Borara completely onto the defensive, driving him backward across the floating island's barren wasteland.
Elsewhere, Gaga Naz roared in fury when he saw Kaja still smiling.
He slammed both gigantic hands into the ground, sending shockwaves that split the earth apart.
"Come here!"
He lunged forward.
The two massive mechanical claws on his back shot toward Kaja from opposite directions.
Kaja agilely leaped backward just before they closed around him.
"Take this!"
He rushed forward and threw a powerful punch.
However, in his monstrous form, Gaga Naz's physical strength had increased dramatically.
Crossing both arms, he blocked Kaja's punch before immediately retaliating by firing twin lasers from the centers of his mechanical claws.
Fortunately, Kaja activated the shield built into his gauntlet just in time.
Even so, the blast sent him flying backward.
Before Kaja could regain his balance in midair, Gaga Naz had already leaped high above him, preparing to crush him with both gigantic fists.
"Eat this!"
Just before those enormous fists came crashing down, a precise crimson beam shot across the battlefield at incredible speed.
BANG!!
"UAGH!"
The shot struck Gaga Naz's fist, knocking it off course.
Kaja immediately seized the opening.
The instant his feet touched the ground, he spun around and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick directly into Gaga Naz's jaw.
DUUUUM!!
The impact launched the gigantic alien several meters backward.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Borara had been pushed all the way to the edge of the island's crater.
Every swing of his massive hammer was effortlessly blocked or intercepted by Zastin's flawless swordsmanship.
"Don't get cocky, Deviluke!" Borara roared.
He stomped his armored foot into the ground.
The jet boosters on his back ignited at full power, launching him high into the air.
He extended his left palm downward.
"Black Hole Collapse!"
A pitch-black gravitational vortex rapidly expanded above the battlefield.
Its overwhelming pull sucked in sand, rocks, and even tore apart the ground beneath Zastin's feet.
Borara intended to pin Zastin in place so he couldn't evade the next attack.
Grinning viciously, Borara raised his gigantic hammer overhead.
Every booster on his armor flared to maximum output as he descended like a meteor, bringing down the strongest blow he could muster upon the immobilized swordsman.
"Die!"
But amid the roaring winds and swirling debris drawn into the black hole, Zastin remained standing.
His eyes sharpened.
He lowered his stance, planting one foot firmly into the desert ground before gripping his sword with both hands.
Strengthbot began to glow faintly, signaling another surge of power.
"Deviluke Swordsmanship."
Zastin launched himself straight toward the center of the black hole.
With a single lightning-fast horizontal slash, his blade sliced through the gravitational vortex itself, shattering the black hole into countless particles of light.
"W-WHAT?!"
Borara's eyes widened in horror as he continued descending.
Without giving him even a moment to react, Zastin passed him in midair.
A flash of white light cleaved through Borara's battle armor in an instant.
CLAAAAAAAAANG—BOOOM!!
Zastin landed gracefully on one knee before rising to his feet.
Ahead of him, Borara had fallen to one knee, leaning heavily on his massive hammer just to remain standing.
Blood trickled from the corner of Borara's mouth as he glared at Zastin with burning hatred.
"Surrender. You've already lost."
Zastin leveled the tip of his sword at him.
Despite the fury on his face, Borara secretly began gathering energy within the hand concealed behind his hammer, unnoticed by Zastin.
"You think this is over?!" Borara shouted.
"Isn't it obvious?" Zastin replied calmly.
From the corner of his eye, Borara noticed someone in the distance shouting a warning to Zastin.
Hearing the warning, Zastin immediately swung his sword to finish Borara.
But...
"Too late! Gangantua Black Hole!"
Borara thrust out his hidden hand.
A colossal black hole, as large as the floating island itself, burst into existence.
"HA... HA... HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Borara laughed triumphantly, convinced that victory was finally his.
Everything began to be drawn toward the massive black hole.
At least...
That was what Borara believed he was seeing.
---
Ace POV
"Phew... that was close." I let out a relieved sigh as I walked toward Zastin.
"Ace-sama, what happened?" Zastin asked, looking confused as to why Borara had suddenly frozen in place.
"Well... let's just say I planted a deep illusion directly into his mind," I replied, tapping my temple.
"I see..."
Yeah. Fenghuang Down's brainwave manipulation ability was incredibly powerful, but it also consumed a ridiculous amount of energy.
I took Fenghuang Down out of my pocket.
Right now, it was nothing more than an ordinary pendant. I could recharge its energy, but I could also just make a new one.
I raised my right hand, and energy gathered together before forming a brand-new Fenghuang Down with the exact same shape and amount of energy. I could actually create one with much more energy. Heck, I could even make one as powerful as the original.
But after seeing how absurdly long the creation process was...
I AM NOT READING ALL OF THAT!
Even if I asked the System to dump all that information directly into my brain, my head would probably explode into red bean paste.
I looked at the exhausted Fenghuang Down in my hand...I'll give this one to Yuki or Miko.
"You should help your two subordinates so we can head home sooner," I said to Zastin.
"Yes!" Zastin immediately dashed toward the battlefield where his subordinates were still fighting.
I looked around for Klamkabot.
Ah, there he is.
I walked over to the weakened Power Sphere, who was lying on the ground.
Seeing him like this reminded me a little of Craftbot when I first met him.
"W... what d-do you want?" he asked weakly, his voice filled with caution.
"Relax, Klamkabot. I'm not here to hurt you." I smiled. "You see, because you teleported this floating island to Earth, sooner or later people... or other beings... will realize that something from outside Earth has appeared here."
He remained silent, slowly processing my words, probably because he barely had any energy left. "So I want you to guard this island for me. Of course, you'll be paid."
"Heh... I d-don't have any p-power left anymore... I already g-gave it to another Power Sphere..."
Did he think I actually cared about teleportation?
Sure, teleportation was annoying to fight against, but there were plenty of ways to counter it, like locking space itself or simply predicting the destination coordinates. Easier said than done, but there were still plenty of methods.
"I don't need your teleportation power," I said casually as I crouched in front of him. "Power or not, I can upgrade your body and your systems. I'll provide you with a new energy source, reinforce your armor, and install plenty of advanced weapons. Even without your old teleportation ability, you'll still be able to protect this floating island."
Klamkabot stared at me with his dimly blinking eyes. "W... why would y-you go that far?"
"Hm?" I sat down and leaned against one of his legs. "You remind me of a friend. He's also a Power Sphere. When I first met him, he was heavily damaged, so he entrusted me with his power so I could repair him. Let's just say... I'm feeling a little sentimental."
I stood up and faced him again.
"So? Will you accept my offer?"
"Before that... I h-have a question."
"Sure."
"W... who are you?"
I grinned.
"Facing the shadow, slashing the shadow. Facing the light, slashing the light. My name is Akashi Ace!" I folded my arms proudly across my chest.
He stared at me expressionlessly.
"...Are you seriously n-not embarrassed saying that?"
"...Now that you mention it..." I covered my face with one hand. "...That is a little embarrassing."
"Alright, let's be serious. I'm Akashi Ace, the fiancé of Deviluke's First Princess, Lala Satalin Deviluke."
"...After hearing that... your first introduction s-sounded more believable."
...Was he trying to provoke me?
Hey!
You're literally dying!
Is this really the time to annoy the person trying to save you?!
"Whatever! You clanker boomer!" I snapped before I could stop myself.
"I... d-don't know what that means... b-but I somehow feel offended..."
Just as I was about to respond, Zastin called out to me.
"Ace-sama! We've gathered all of Tengkotak's members."
Zastin approached, followed by a small square-headed alien.
Ciciko...Or rather, Kokoci, He looked noticeably tense.
"Ace-sama, the commander of TAPOPS wishes to speak with you," Zastin reported, stepping aside.
"Greetings! My real name is Kokoci, Commander Kokoci." He introduced himself while stacking two pairs of sunglasses over his eyes.
"Yo, I know. I'm Akashi Ace. I assume Zastin already told you who I am."
"Yes, Lord Ace! On behalf of TAPOPS, I sincerely thank you for your assistance in capturing Tengkotak." He saluted in a rather unique manner.
"It's no problem. Actually, I'd rather leave the cleanup to you. I don't like dealing with complicated paperwork."
"Understood! Then, with your permission, I'll take care of the rest."
"Go ahead." I turned back toward Klamkabot.
"So? Do you believe me now? Even the commander of TAPOPS is speaking to me respectfully. Heck, Deviluke's greatest swordsman treats me with the utmost respect."
"...Alright... I believe you."
"You still sound unconvinced." I shrugged.
"Whatever. More importantly, let's recharge you first."
I raised my hand and began constructing a large charging station designed specifically for a Power Sphere of Klamkabot's enormous size, far larger than ordinary Power Spheres.
Once it was complete, Klamkabot slowly crawled inside using the little strength he had left.
His legs folded inward, and his body transformed back into a sphere to begin recharging.
One problem solved.
Now for the next.
I walked over to Zastin and Kokoci.
"Zastin. Take me to Borara."
He nodded and led the way, with Kokoci following behind.
When we arrived, Borara was still trapped inside the illusion.
I pulled out a dagger-like device.
A power extraction tool.
I walked over and stabbed it into the glove covering Borara's right hand.
A few moments later, the indicator light turned green.
Power extraction successful.
Black Hole Ability acquired!
While I was extracting Borara's power, Boboiboy and his friends suddenly teleported into the area, where Zastin's subordinates greeted them.
They didn't really know me, so I simply sat there and watched.
A moment later, they walked over.
"Thank you." Boboiboy bowed his head slightly.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I had my own reasons for being here."
"Even so... thank you!"
"Alright, alright." I stood up.
"Zastin, take Borara and the rest. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can all go home."
Zastin nodded and began escorting Borara and the other Tengkotak members aboard his spaceship, where they would later be converted into figures.
"You guys wait here. I need to take care of something before we leave." I needed to make this floating island invisible.
So I walked around installing several devices to achieve that.
After making one full circuit around the island, I finally finished.
Once I activated them, the island should become completely invisible to outsiders.
When I returned, everyone was ready.
Kokoci had already departed with Tengkotak's mothership, while Klamkabot had recovered a little energy.
I walked beside Zastin.
"Keep an eye on Kokoci."
"Understood, Ace-sama. It seems you don't trust the Kubulus race very much."
"How am I supposed to trust a race where most of them could be classified as criminals and con artists?"
"So... using Earth's terminology... that makes you racist." Zastin's words nearly made me stumble.
I stared at him in disbelief.
Did he seriously just call me racist?
If I was racist, then what would actual racists be?
"W-Why would you say that?"
"Hm? Isn't that what it means? Judging an entire race based on stereotypes."
"No. Don't put that label on me." I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"I'm suspicious because they're not one hundred percent trustworthy...Alright, listen, Zastin. If the probability isn't 100%, then it's fifty-fifty. If it's below 50%, then it's complete bullshit," I said.
"...But... that's not how percentages work, Ace-sama."
Go tell that to every gacha system out there!
Fifty-fifty is bullshit!!
"Forget it." I waved him off. "Let's just get these kids home first. After that, we'll head back ourselves." I sat down inside the spaceship.
We returned Boboiboy and his friends to Tok Aba's Cocoa Corner.
I also bought several bags of chocolate.
I remembered hearing that it was incredibly delicious.
After dropping them off, we headed back to Japan.
Traveling by spaceship was much faster than riding Evildiver, We arrived in only five minutes.
The moment I got home, Tohru welcomed me as usual.
I also saw Craftbot watching TV together with Lala and Asia.
Seeing that scene, I couldn't help smiling.
"I'm home."
"You took forever, Ace!" Lala complained as she hugged me.
"Welcome back, Ace-san," Asia greeted me with a gentle smile, which I returned.
"Oh, you're back?"
Craftbot merely glanced at me before turning his attention back to the television.
Hah.
The one who's been with me the longest is somehow the most annoying.
Whatever.
I sat down beside Craftbot, with Lala on one side of me and Asia beside her.
No matter what...
Today had been a huge success.
I obtained the power of a black hole.
And I gained a floating island that contained an entire Power Sphere manufacturing facility.
Heh.
There's no such thing as having too many benefits.
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Author's Note
This chapter marks the final chapter before the story goes on hiatus.
Why the hiatus? Lately, I feel like the spark of my imagination for this story has started to fade, don't worry I not dropping this story. At the same time, a completely new story has been taking shape in my mind, and I really want to focus on writing it.
What is it about?
Recently, I've been reading a lot of novels by bronz_deck, and they inspired me with an idea for a new story centered around a Chaos Gacha system, Stay tuned.
That's all I'll say for now.
Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this story. I hope you'll continue to support my future works as well.
See you again in a new story!