I tightened the chain, feeling the frantic pulse in Dr. Robert's throat. Staring fixedly at the giant in front of me, I shouted, letting my impatience flare:
"Let me pass now! Step away from the door and stick to the wall!"
The man, his expression icy, obeyed. I began to approach the exit slowly, never taking my eyes off him. However, Robert's voice sliced through the silence, dripping with venom:
"Do you really think you're getting out of here unscathed? We captured the girl who was with you. Penny is being tortured this very second."
Those words hit me like a physical blow. For a fraction of a second, my concentration wavered. It was the opening he needed. Before I could react, a brutal hand grabbed my hair. I was flung away like a ragdoll; Robert was released mid-toss, rolling across the floor while I slammed brutally against the concrete of the corridor.
"You really are an animal," the giant said, approaching with heavy steps. "Even a monkey would have more focus if it wanted a banana. You're going to die now, simply because you are weak."
I looked at my hands; blood was leaking from my mouth. Am I actually useful? I wondered as the sound of his footsteps echoed. He hoisted me up by the arm, my feet losing contact with the ground. The first punch caught my stomach; saliva sprayed from my mouth instantly. The second blow landed in the same spot, precise. I could feel my organs compressing. The third was straight to the face, breaking my nose and sending me tumbling to the end of the hallway.
The pain was unbearable. I spat blood, the red trail on the floor growing steadily. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me conscious, even as my body begged for it all to end.
Thoughts of Penny—trapped, suffering the same or worse—forced me to reflect. I couldn't give up. I wouldn't give up. But how was I supposed to defeat a mountain like this?
"Activate: Architect's Eye!" I growled, pushing myself up onto my knees.
I wiped my nose with my sleeve. He might be big, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I accessed the System inventory, focusing on recreating the chains:
[Chains Recreation: Successful!]
I began to spin the metal in a spiral, building speed. I couldn't miss. If I failed now, it was over. I threw the chain with all my remaining strength, and it coiled perfectly around the giant's neck. He took a defensive stance, planting his feet to avoid being pulled, while his hands went to his throat to try and tear the metal away.
I knew I couldn't win a tug-of-war against him. But I didn't need to win; I just needed him to pull me. When he yanked the chain with his raw strength, I took the momentum and flew toward him. I reached for his face. He tried to dodge at the last second, but I managed to grab his ear with a firm grip.
[Do you wish to decompose the organism?][YES] / [NO]
"YES!" I screamed internally.
I initiated the decomposition with all the rage in my body. In an instant, his ear began to vanish, turning into blue lines of code and a digital mist. On the panel, the message flashed: "Success..."
It was progress toward victory. However, a second message appeared immediately after:
[The System failed to store the human organism.]
I ignored the warning and leaped back, watching the man howl in agony as blood spurted from where his ear used to be. Seeing his suffering brought me a dark satisfaction. It was just a minor setback before he turned to dust.
But in the middle of that ecstasy of violence, a memory of my uncle flooded my mind.
The image of the white corridor and the giant's blood began to flicker, replaced by the smell of burnt oil and old metal from my uncle's workshop. I must have been fourteen. I was furious because a neighbor had broken one of my inventions out of pure spite.
"I should have destroyed his radio too, Uncle!" I had shouted back then, fists clenched.
My uncle, hunched over a disassembled motor, stopped what he was doing. He wiped his grease-stained hands on an old rag and looked at me with a seriousness that silenced me instantly.
"Arata, listen to what I'm about to tell you," he began, his voice hoarse but firm. "We are mechanics. We understand how things are put together, piece by piece. And he who understands how to build gains the terrible power of knowing exactly how to destroy."
He pointed to the tools on the workbench.
"But listen well: it is not up to us to judge who should live or die. The moment you decide you have the right to erase something from the world just because you have the power to do so, you cease to be a creator and become nothing more than a glitch in the system."
"But he was unfair!" I tried to argue.
"The world is unfair, Arata. But if you respond to injustice by throwing lives in the trash, you become the very thing you hate. The death of Uiyiki... was the greatest mistake you ever made. Not because she is gone, but because you chose the path of deciding who deserved to exist. You thought you were a God, and a man who thinks he is God ends up losing his own soul."
He gripped my shoulder tightly.
"If one day you have the power to 'undo' things, use it to fix what is broken, not to delete what bothers you. An erased life is a part that never returns to the world's engine."
The agonizing pain of the giant brought me back to reality. My chest heaved, my heart racing. I was wrong. In that ecstasy of violence, I had completely forgotten what my uncle had taught me. How could I forget? I asked myself, feeling the weight of those years-old words.
"Big guy, listen to what I'm going to say!" I shouted, clenching my fist, but this time without the decomposition mist. "I'm going to beat you until you give up on trying to kill me. Or... we can end this now, and I can help you with your problems later."
My gaze was determined. My mind, once a chaos of hate, was now clear and calm. But the man wouldn't listen. The rage on his face was absolute. He charged at me, the floor shaking with every step, throwing a massive punch aimed straight at my head.
Strange... I thought.
Suddenly, the world seemed to slow down. Above the giant's head, I saw a line of command code floating in the air. The code entered my mind and, in an instant, I "saw" the move before it happened. The punch the big guy threw appeared in my vision seconds before his arm even extended. I dodged with supernatural ease.
The System panel appeared before me:
[The Architect's Eye has finally been utilized correctly.]
Is the System insulting me now? I wondered internally, but the messages continued:
[Premonition commands can only be seen during an act of direct violence against the host.][Limited to only one target at a time.][Maximum use: 3 times per combat.]
I ignored the technical explanation and advanced. While dodging the second punch—which I already knew exactly where it would land—I dove toward the giant's chest. I began a sequence of rapid punches. The first didn't even tickle; the second sent a shock through his body; the third began to leave marks on his flesh; and the fourth, imbued with all my strength, pushed him back several inches.
His third punch was heavy, but easily evaded. With my left hand, I recreated the chains instantly. I dropped to the floor, sliding between his legs and taking the metal with me. I sprang up, circling the giant and wrapping him up like a macabre gift.
The chains locked his legs, chest, and shoulders. With a well-placed kick to the back of his knee, I brought him down. He hit the floor with a dull thud, heavy as the crap I took yesterday.
A smile of relief crossed my face. I had finally won a fight alone, without needing anyone to carry me.
However, I felt a sudden prick.
I reached for my neck, feeling the cold body of a syringe. I looked back, my vision beginning to blur. Dr. Robert was standing there, panting, his arm extended. I had forgotten him. A rookie mistake. A fatal error.
"HAHAHA, Hero!" Robert cackled, his voice distorted by my failing senses. "You forgot I was here? Now you're going to die of an overdose. This mixture has over five different class-evolution drugs. No one has survived more than two without having their brain fried!"
My vision began to close into a dark tunnel, but suddenly, figures from my childhood leaped from the shadows. Ted, the mangy teddy bear, and Gelson, the crooked-necked giraffe. In my imaginary world, Ted was the villain and Gelson was the hero, but now both seemed to be the only lawyers in the court of my sanity.
"Arata, listen to me," Gelson said, his voice soft and worried. "Your head is confused. Let us help you."
"Don't listen to him!" Ted barked, slapping the giraffe. "This long-neck doesn't know how to play; he's never beaten me! Listen to daddy here: let's bash this Doctor's face in, and after he's on the ground, let's find Penny and... well, you know, do some 'naughty' things, if you know what I mean."
I was no longer sane. I was the defendant, the judge, and the victim in that mental courtroom, while I heard the Doctor's real voice in the background as if it were coming from underwater:
"Right... I just need to wait for him to die. That way I guarantee no one follows me."
In a surge of rage, I threw a punch at the wall, missing the Doctor's head by inches. Without me consciously commanding it, the System activated and decomposed the entire wall next to me. The corridor opened into nothingness, revealing the street outside.
The walkie-talkie in my pocket vibrated, Ren Ashi's voice crackling over the radio:
"Hello? Penny? Arata? If you're listening, Kai is in danger in front of the lab while I'm making our IDs. We're below the animal hall!"
I ran aimlessly, tripping over my own feet as I saw Ted flipping the bird to Gelson in my peripheral vision. I burst through the automatic door and found myself in a gigantic hall. Rows upon rows of cages held animals of all kinds—a literal stockpile of biological trafficking.
"Big guy," Ted said, sitting on my imaginary shoulder, "blow up the damn floor and let's raise some hell!"
"Don't do it!" Gelson pleaded. "You could hurt Kai if the ceiling collapses on him!"
Suddenly, the Architect's Eye reacted to the overdose. My vision turned a painful, intense neon blue. Lines of probability crossed the floor, highlighting the molecular structure of the building. I could see the "heat boxes" where Kai and the enemies likely were.
I ignored the giraffe's protests and followed the bear's advice. I approached the point calculated by the system and slammed the floor with my left hand.
[Molecular Decomposition: Area 12x12 activated]
The concrete vanished. The floor below gave way, crushing three soldiers in white armor and helmets. I leaped through the hole, landing in the middle of a new corridor. To my right was the glass door to the lab; in front of me was Kai, sweating and looking absolutely shocked.
A shot rang out. Before I could even think, the System reacted on its own. A bullet from a Glock, fired from behind me, was decomposed in mid-air before it could touch my skin. The soldier who fired was trembling, realizing he had just tried to kill a monster.
[Bullet mass stored. Do you wish to recreate the projectile? Please point at the target.]
I aimed my palm at the soldier.
"Bang," I whispered.
The bullet was recreated and fired at supersonic speed. The impact exploded the man's head, spraying brains and helmet fragments across the far wall. Ted laughed hysterically, while Gelson vomited in a corner of my mind.
I turned to Kai, who still hadn't closed his mouth.
"So," I asked, wiping away a bit of bluish blood leaking from my eye. "Need a little help?"