159 META-ARTILLERY ASSEMBLY
Then a cold grin spread across Damen's face. "Don't worry. After tonight, he'll think twice before coming after GenSyn Industry again."
"Why?" Dorin asked.
"Because by tomorrow morning," Damen said, his voice low and certain, "every news outlet in Melrose City will be screaming for justice. The media will tear the SIA apart for their dirty tricks in GenSyn today."
"I'll make sure the comments favors us", Kail added.
----
[Zetheris HQ]
"What do you mean Captain Zor and his veteran team couldn't arrest Damen Dark? Are you sure Black Halo didn't turn up to help him?" Shawn demanded, his voice tight.
"No," Dackerie said. "Damen nearly killed Captain Zor with a single punch. He's far stronger than we assumed from a high-school kid."
Shawn's plan had been crude and simple: get the SIA to manufacture a pretext to raid GenSyn, arrest Damen during the chaos, and then do whatever was needed while he was in custody.
Everything depended on one thing — capturing Damen.
They had considered the Black Halo angle.
If Black Halo showed, Shawn could use the association to brand Damen an accomplice. He would be turned into a fugitive.
That would still serve his goals too.
But Black Halo hadn't appeared, Captain Zor failed, and the operation collapsed entirely.
"You idiot," Shawn spat. "I don't believe one man can beat everyone we throw at him. If soldiers won't do it, send a team of meta-humans. I will get him. I must." He slammed his glass down; it shattered across the table.
Dackerie rubbed his forehead. "I don't think that's possible. Yesterday's fiasco became a major scandal for SIA. Director Ambrone won't risk backing us again …. not with their reputation on the line."
"So, I'm helpless against him?" Shawn asked, his fury trembling.
"I'm afraid so, boss," Dackerie said.
-----
[Melrose City's Aur mine]
Damen made a last-minute trip to the space rift, bringing Liorea with him. Their mission was urgent — to deliver arms to Fortress Myrone.
He didn't bother clearing the mine or asking for authorization; there was no time.
Yaris spotted him the moment he arrived and straightened instinctively. According to him, this was the same noble guest who shared a name with his old friend's nephew.
"Sir, are you heading down the mine again?" Yaris asked.
Damen only nodded. He'd already severed his ties to the past … there was no reason to pretend otherwise now.
A sudden commotion broke out near the shaft. A group of miners pushed a stretcher toward the surface.
"What's happening?" Liorea asked.
"There was an accident," Yaris said, glancing toward the noise. "One of the workers got hurt."
Damen turned toward the stretcher. The man on it was Ralph Dark — his uncle. He was having difficulty breathing, his condition almost critical.
For an instant, something flickered behind Damen's eyes: a memory, perhaps, or an echo of the boy who once lived under that man's roof.
"I could 'Drain' him now…in his condition, he won't survive it", the thought came to Damen's mind.
But Damen stopped the thought at the last minute.
Ralph had been cruel.
Damen could take his life at any time… he was for a moment tempted to do so…. but he had still been his only family.
Ralph wasn't worth the effort… wasn't worth the grudge.
Damen's got his revenge when he became a superhuman.
Liorea looked to him for directions. Damen said nothing.
"Let's go."
He turned and walked toward the elevator, leaving Ralph behind without a word.
"It's over", he told himself. "That life, that name, everything that bound me to it is gone."
His heart hardened.
The elevator descended into the deep blue glow of the rift. Moments later, Damen and Liorea crossed into the realm of Anu.
-----
[Planet Anu]
"Wow … this place is enormous and weird," Liorea said, pressing her face to the armored vehicle's viewport. "Coracle never brings me on business trips. It's like I'm the only one actually running his operations."
Damen glanced at her. "How did you end up working for someone like Coracle?"
"Well… I needed his help to find my missing brother. You know that." She shrugged.
"But that's not the whole story, is it?" Damen pressed.
Liorea stared at the twin suns hanging over the horizon. "No. I feel like I can use my power for something. Even if it's just to take lives when someone deserves it….or not."
"I'm not here to judge," Damen said. "I never planned to be a hero. But don't pull anything reckless like the Veyran infiltration with Kail again … he's fragile. I don't want him hurt."
Liorea snorted. "Kail isn't fragile. He's strong, resourceful, and humble … nothing like the other rich kids his age."
Damen's voice turned firm. "Kail's like a brother to me. Hurt him and I won't spare you."
"Yes, boss," she said without missing a beat.
The fortress rose up before them then, dark and immovable against the alien sky. They had arrived at Fortress Myrone.
-----
They were ushered straight into the reception hall. Lord Nicaesa sat like a rock at the center, watching them approach.
"You brought company," he said, appraising Liorea with a sharp look.
"She's my assistant," Damen replied coolly. "And she can help Fortress Myrone."
"Really," Nicaesa said. "Show me."
Liorea snapped her fingers. A heavy container dropped out of thin air with a dull thump. Guards reached for rifles, then relaxed at Nicaesa's signal.
Liorea opened it.
Inside the container were rows of engineered parts, compact barrels, actuator assemblies.
"What are these?" Lord Nicaesa asked.
"These will build meta-artillery," Damen said.
Nicaesa's eyes went hard. "Meta-artillery…the very thing that our fortress needs- long range bombardments. I tried to get them from the Veyrans but they refused to sell them no matter what terms I may offer. They say it was their secret."
Damen raised his data pad and projected schematics and drawings into the air. "Secrets… Not anymore."
Nicaesa barked an order.
Soon, engineers flooded the hall. The room roared to life as hands, voices, and calculating minds quickly matching parts to plans.
Fortress Myrone had just gained something dangerous and valuable.
-----
While Liorea stayed to supervise the meta-artillery assembly, Damen headed back to the training center.
"Damen, you are back again. Care to try our latest simulator and break its record again?" Lieutenant Kalmer asked when he saw him.
"Why not?" Damen replied.
The simulator has been upgraded since his last visit. Thanks to parts sourced through the Aukouma family, the rig was far more sophisticated.
Inside the chamber, the old scenario returned: a storm of meteors.
Damen launched into the sky and began smashing every rock that appeared—kinetic blasts and lightning tearing them apart.
He dashed like a streak of electricity, zigging and zagging through the storm; none of the meteors survived his onslaught.
New Core of the Minds had been integrated into him, boosting his autonomous combat to Level 2. He was twice as fast and far more responsive than before.
When the simulation ended, he returned to the floor.
"You learned to fly?" Kalmer blurted, stunned.
He barely glanced at the scoreboard—he already knew Damen had shattered every record.
"It's limited flight," Damen said.
"You're a flying boy now?" Kalmer laughed in astonishment. "Phenomenal progress. No wonder Green couldn't stop praising you. How is he doing in Melrose city, by the way?"
"He's handling logistics. We couldn't have shipped half of this without him," Damen replied.
They traded a few more words when the alarm screamed through the facility.
"The aliens are striking again?" Kalmer asked.
"Ready to get your hands bloody?" Damen said.
"You bet."
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