We ran, we just kept on running. The streets were already being invaded again. It was just like how they described when Hyer was falling. However, Hyer didn't have metal golems and guardians doing their best to defend what was left of the mechanical city. My insides felt like it was being torn apart but we had to keep on going. The dangers weren't going to end if we didn't try. I didn't have enough energy left in me to use metal wires as a form of grapple. Olley's grapple hook was barely operational too. Though the only thing we needed to know was that the signal was getting closer and closer. Turn after turn, the more focus I lost. Swinging through building after building just kept increasing my fatigue. But I needed to power through it as well as what the hell just happened. Just trying not to remember anything was painful. I grit bit my teeth just to keep my mental fortitude from dying. The gate in front of us was completely wide open, Onagi and Nex were probably inside already. This giant metal structure didn't seem to be damaged by what was happening. As we entered, the lights were barely operational. We had to start using our vision augments. I didn't have a clue what was inside this tower when we first arrived because we only stayed above it. However, now I do. This was supposed to be the site of where people would gather. A town hall of sorts. But there was nothing except for seats, paintings, and destroyed golems. Different kinds of copper, silver, and gold were used to make this place more lavish. Now that Talos was being attacked, the place looked like crap with tables crushed from fights, paintings ripped, and the smell of vermin. Scraps and dust started to make things harder to run through. We kept pressing forward until something suddenly smacked on top of Olley tossing her back out of my sight! I looked to see what happened but I got tossed something too! It was something kind of blunt that landed on my upper torso, I smashed right onto the metal wall creating a small dent. I couldn't process pain properly so it did help me get back on my feet. Luckily, I had the metal soften a bit before I slammed into it along. Olley wasn't so lucky. But a second right after, my body screamed in pain again from the burns and the wall. I looked to see what was thrown at me, it was Nex! Horrified, I turned him around to see if anything was broken. My head turned back to Olley and she managed to do avoid smashing on the wall. She spat out a bit of blood but in the end the only thing that changed was her expression. Despite Onagi thrown right at her, she was mostly fine. She placed him on the side along with Nex.

Arc: Olley! Are you okay?

Olley: Partly, what the hell has a capacity to chuck a body like that.

Arc: I can only think of a few things but I have a feeling this one can aim.

I slapped Nex to wake up but he seemed out of it at the moment. I moved him towards where Olley and Onagi were then looked in the direction where they were tossed. Some rumbling could be heard. Whatever this thing was, it has some power. If we hadn't been there to stop them, they would've splattered all over the walls.

Olley: Hey! C'mon kiddo, wake up! We need some more fire power or we might get screwed over!

Arc: Try waking up Onagi.

Olley: Hey! Wake up! Come on! We need some help!

Onagi's eyes started to open up slowly but he's in clear pain. He started to get back up slowly. Sitting right up along the wall, he looked at us and nodded. Onagi gave us a thumbs up despite his face saying everything hurts.

Onagi: … Pain…

Arc: Yeah, we know. But what the hell is out there!

Onagi: ... I don't know…

Olley: That was certainly helpful.

Voice afar: Why don't I tell you that?

The voice was closer than expected. We looked towards where it came from to see some kind of abomination. It was a bipedal creature with a giant blade made out of bone as its left hand and a claw hand on its right. Its whole body was completely pale with the only thing that stood out now was it's head. There was a makeshift bone crown protruding out of it's skull. It only had one eye for it's only facial feature. I need to buy time for Nex to wake up or we won't make it out here alive. It had some tattered purple cloak dangling on it's back which made it seem sentient. Creatures that don't use clothing usually don't have a hint of sentience yet this one is clearly wearing that robe. Though what was disturbing to me was that it spoke but it didn't have a mouth. But as I was about to point it out, it's flesh on its face opened up to reveal its throat with molar teeth. The way the flesh unraveled like a flower blooming was disgusting that it made Olley vomit. I got my guard up quickly.

Olley: That is massively disgusting! What the hell!

Argo: How dare you address your king like that! Filthy peasant!

Arc: King Argo?!

Argo: In the reborned flesh… I've never felt more alive...

Arc: It's me 24th Arc! The guy you sold out! Don't take another step or we'll attack!

This thing was king Argo!? He looks completely different than to what he was cycles ago! Argo stopped walking in front of us which was a good thing. With that form, it looks like he won't be easy to take down. Olley did say he took the serum but how is his brain still intact?! This must be an evolved form of those vermins or perhaps a different serum. His pale body looked stable and sturdy which made it even more intimidating to look at. Besides that gross mouth, he appear tough than disgusting compared to the other vermins we've encountered. We have to stand our ground until Nex wakes up. Olley didn't hesitate to pull out the Mark2 and aim right towards him. It's giant singular eye didn't even have an eye lid for it to blink.

Argo: Yes! I wish to thank you! If I didn't sell you out, I wouldn't have achieved this form… Take a look at the pure beauty of this form. And it only gets better.

Arc: Gets better?! You mean there's more!?

Argo: Of course! I was promised by those crazy scientists that if I took care of you two, I would gain more power! This feeling, it's almost orgasmic. I finally feel powerful HAHAHAHA! True power. A power to even rival Adamians.

Arc: You're insane!

Argo: What is the illusion of the monarchy? Nothing but the deception that we actually had true power to begin with. We live with the mortal knowledge that if people rose against the monarchy, we would lose. But this… This is what true power is. Real domination comes from fear. Fear of the true absolute power. The power to control a person's death.

Arc: All of this just for power? What the hell! You plummeted your own city into the ashes!

Argo: And they will be reborn with our power. They will take on new forms as perfect Plauxian bodies. They shall be perfect just like me. My army will rise.

Olley: You'll kill millions of people in the process! What kind of leading is that!

Argo: Sacrifices must be paid in blood and I am willing to pay for it. I've come this far to gain this kind of power. I can't stop now.

Arc: You've gone over the deep end. Your plan will fail. You'll just be contained on this planet.

Argo: You don't even know what they have planned, young man. Your scope is far too small to understand.

Arc: So they do have a plan.

Argo: And it is one that you will never live to see. I've come to harvest your corpse!

His bladed hand lunged towards me but I surged up the ground to create a crude metal shield. His blade pierced right through it and was just inches away from my throat. This guy was made serious! They didn't care if I was alive or not anymore! I surged up a metal pillar that hit his gut and surged again to create another pillar to throw him away. Argo got tossed to the side of the piles of debris with a big crash. Placing down Nex in a safer spot, I started to walk towards Argo.. Now his mouth started closing up and getting back up on his feet. Olley tightened up her gloves then walked by me.

Olley: Do you think we can win this?

Arc: Won't know unless we try.

Olley: I like that.

Argo: Adamian, do you think a king should change for his people?

Arc: I'm not one for monarchs.

Argo: Then know that your death is nothing but a stepping stone for a new kingdom… With the magic of your people, not even the United Republic will be able to stop us.

Arc: That's what they always say.

Argo: Silence!

I surged up then slammed the ground creating a bunch of metal pillars. Olley quickly on her feet, jumped on one of the pillars getting a better vantage point. She parkoured her way towards the big chandelier. I made sure that his blade wouldn't be much use with metal pillars. This meant that he could only stab through instead of slice or he might break a bone. However, as I said that, he slashed some of the few pillars breaking his bone blade. Argo didn't even flinch, he just saw that his blade broke then grew another like it was nothing. His body was emitting a surge like presence. So this is what a person turns into if they inject themselves and pass the levels. Without any other hesitation, I created new pillars. Some even started to surround him, others smacking him. This only seemed to frustrate him than damage him. My power was still a bit loose, I wasn't sure how much was intentional or not. The pillars just kept increasing without me surging. Each growing like spikes hitting Argo like a pinball. There was no way that I gave out that much output. Argo started to get pissed and charged towards me. He started to create a bone shield to ram through the ever growing metal pillars. I dodged them easily but then I realized that he wasn't aiming for me! He was running towards Nex! Just as he passed me I could've sworn he was laughing. Suddenly a giant bullet ran pierced through Argo tossing him on to the ground with a large thud! Olley had landed another perfect shot. Without any hesitation, I surged the ground again creating a metal forest. We didn't have the firepower to take this guy down. The damage we're inflicting only seems to make him angrier. The bullet that went through his torso started to regenerate. Great, a monster with regeneration. I kept trying to enclose the metal beams so to stop him from moving but he just kept breaking them over and over. I surged up once more! This time beams started to produce spikes from the metal forest! Spike after spike was piercing him. Yet, there wasn't a single ounce of blood that was coming out of him. Just for good measure, Olley shot another bullet right through his head. Everything silent but Argo just didn't stop!

Olley: What do we do?!

Arc: We move! Take Onagi and Nex farther away!

Olley: Roger!

Olley jumped towards the two while I kept my concentration on Argo trying to escape. My head was burning up from trying to keep this guy from moving. As soon as he broke a spike, I would create another! However, a giant magical surge appeared in the air! He was about to do something! But Onagi appeared by my side. His eyes surged bright blue creating an electrical surge on the metal forest! Bolts of electricity jumped from pole to pole in lightning quick succession. The blinding light zapped Argo hard burning him in the process. But he was still clearly resisting. His resistance seemed to be too great! The burns on his body just kept regenerating over and over! I kept pushing the spikes further and further so that Onagi's electricity would be more effective. It just didn't stop him. Olley just picked up Nex instead then ran to a safer area leaving just us to fight through this monster.

Onagi: Situation?

Arc: X, regenerative and body mass multiplication.

Onagi: Core?

Arc: Not yet identified.

Onagi: Mmm...

Onagi jumped to the other side of the metal forest then produced multiple knives from his pocket. However, there was another big surge from Argo! In a quick second, a giant ball of blue energy destroyed all the pillars freeing him. He didn't miss a single beat by attacking right at me. I kicked the ground to wrap my leg in armor then delivered a fast roundhouse kick knocking him into another direction. Onagi threw his knives right at him but he created another bone shield to block it out. Onagi sent out another shock electrocuting the knives! This time magic seemed to have damaged him. We took a step back to see what he was going to do now. His eye started to look around erratically. He was starting to get nervous. When an animal gets cornered it becomes much more dangerous. I was barely keeping up with Onagi because my powers were too raw. Argo started to hold it's stomach. This time his skin started to crawl. It seemed like he was about to get consumed by his own power. But It was much worse! His skin opened up pores releasing a monstrous horn! Seconds later, a foul smell was coming from the gate. Olley came running back through the metal gate with Nex on her back. That's not a good sign! She closed the gate quickly! She was calling for help!

Onagi: Attack!

My head wasn't going to last if I didn't at least damage him. I surged up this time metal wires started to wrap around Argo. Onagi tried to follow up but a flying vermin jumped at him. He struggled with it leaving Argo just to me to hold.

Olley: Wake up! Nex come on!

Shit! I lost my concentration! It happened in a blink of an eye, I could feel it's bone blade pierce my stomach. The pain was immeasurable but I gritted through it. In quick reaction, my hand was on the blade trying to make sure it wouldn't go any further. I could feel the pain getting progressively worse with each second. Blood poured out of my hands as I held the blade. Everything was starting to get blurry. If I close my eyes now, then it'll be all over. Argo threw another punch that I managed to dodged. However, it still cut my cheek. With one hand, I touched the wall to wrap Argo's hand in metal preventing him from moving it. Except, removing one hand off the blade meant it got shoved in even deeper. I screamed out but I wasn't going to be killed so easily. I coughed out blood on Argo's face, then gritted my teeth again. I let go of the blade impaling me further! Just another day on the job huh, my eyes began to finally surge up. In a quick relay, I created a crude sharp blade from the metal flooring then sliced Argo's blade clean off. Blood splattered on the floor as Argo's hand started to flail around. Suddenly a big boom came from a distance, a bullet shot Argo straight on the chest tossing him on the other wall. Both his arms were cleaned off. I went down on one knee. The pain was a bit too much. I could see my blood slowly leaking out. Onagi had finally killed that flying vermin that had attacked him by electrocution. It's body was completely turned into ashes. He ran towards me.

Onagi: Okay?

Arc: Does it look like I'm okay! Argh! Don't touch me there.

Olley: Arc!

I looked back to see that Argo was in the process of regenerating in the corner. He wasn't moving. This was hopeless. We need Nex to get us out of here already! There was no chance in hell that I wanted to die by impalement. That's just too dumb! I could feel my head getting frustrated by the thought of it.

Arc: Olley! Bring Nex to us! Onagi! You need to wake up Nex! Shock him awake if you can! We need to get out of here now!

Argo: Getting tired already! I'm just getting started… Who knew regenerative powers were the best.

Argo started to get back up again! His arms were a bit slow to regenerate probably from the massive formation of muscles. We could see them regrow strand for strand. Olley dropped Nex next to us and Onagi did small shocks to wake him up. Olley tried to stop the bleed but this giant blade in me wasn't going to go away anytime soon! I can barely feel my fingers now. I needed to defend them. There's no way that I was going to let these guys die! Not here! Not now. Just as Argo was about to charge right at us with his regenerated bone blade, Nex opened his eyes! Everyone grabbed each other and without another second we arrived inside the vaulted library. Nex screamed in pain because of the shocks on his body. My body was starting to numb up. Everyone was talking but it was a bit hard to hear… Suddenly a big shock came to my body! The adrenaline finally stopped!

Arc: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Onagi: Okay?

Olley: Stay alive Arc! We can still help you!

Nex: Arc I'm so sorry! I didn't think that… Oh geez! That's a lot of blood, keep him up! If he closes his eye he's done!

Olley: Come on Arc, you can do this! Stay up! Come on!

Arc: I can barely feel anything…

Olley: Who's going to do it?!

Nex: Do what?!

Olley: Someone to be the one that pulls the blade out!

Nex: You idiot! If you pull it out it's just going to get worse!

Olley: He's in pain!

Nex: Well he's going to die and I'd rather have him in pain than die!

Arc: You guys better do something damn it! Argh! This hurts. I've been stabbed before but this one hurts.

Nex: We can use the cream to close your wound but we'll have to make it quick!

Arc: Do it! Damn it!

With a quick motion, Onagi and Olley pulled the bone blade out of me. I screamed in agony then even more when they applied the first aid spray. From burning, stinging, numbing, and cold. All the sensations were coming to me all at once. My sweat was pouring out of my head nonstop. The blade was several inches big, I'm surprised that pulling it out didn't kill me instantly. I tried to get back up but everyone pushed me down.

Onagi: Don't.

Nex: You still have massive internal bleeding. It didn't just tear your body but your organs as well. Let the first aid heal before you do anything else!

Arc: We have to go regroup. Argo is just going to get stronger the more he practices with his power.

Nex: That regenerative skill definitely caught us off guard. His body was much bulkier so a hit wouldn't break him down so easily.

I could feel the first aid cream wriggling around inside my body. It didn't make me feel good because I had to deal with the other pains. My back was in bad shape along with my ribs. Plus my other eye was still blurry which didn't make things easier. Onagi checked around to see if there was anything helpful in the rubble. He touched some electrical wiring near the shelves. It turned on the lights around us.

Onagi: Team.

Arc: He's right. We have to find the others. That signal… was it even real?

Onagi: Unsure.

Nex: But Arc…

Olley: I agree with Arc. We can't just stay down here. They'll find us eventually.

Arc: What was his Plauxian mutation? How did he survive?!

Olley: His brain. Only the monarchy has that kind of mutation.

Arc: What kind of coincidence is that! Fuck! This burns, a lot actually. I need some painkillers.

Nex: Take more pellets. It'll numb it but you'll feel slower.

Arc: if I numb it then. At least I'll be able to walk out the pain.

Olley grabbed the pellets out her combat suit then poured a couple on my mouth. I wrapped my hands around her then stood up. At least, we can move forward. This kind of walking made me anxious even if the vault door was still intact. Though with the kind of power they had, these things could break it down if they could. The path towards the team was in wreckage. Onagi took point to see what was up ahead while we walked sluggishly through the rubble. Just when I finally had a word from Juxo, I can't die now. I have to keep going. My teeth felt like they've been gnawing for ages. Eventually we all started to hear a commotion up ahead. They were still fighting!? Rushing towards the noise, Onagi prepared some electric currents. However, an object was tossed just a mere feet away from us creating an explosion! Olley prepared a shot but stopped when she saw what it was. It was Volv!

Volv: Don't go in there! It's still dangerous!

Arc: What happened!?

Volv: Someone sold us out! They knew we were coming today!

Arc: Onagi and Olley can still fight. Take them instead.

Nex: I can too!

Arc: Are you sure? You're the only one that can get us all out when the time comes right. If you get knocked out again then we'll be in trouble.

Nex: I can do this! You said I can do this!

Arc: I did… Fine! Just be careful! Please don't do anything reckless.

Volv: SIV! Take me back!

As if appearing out of nowhere, Siv appeared next to Volv. His face was bloodied up but he clearly was still fighting. One after the other Siv came and transported everyone to where they needed back up. Volv's durability is one of the strangest things I've seen. Siv appeared one more time to me.

Siv: Do you know who it is?! This is the second time! How the hell did they manage to know!?

Arc: I don't know but they managed to split us up hard. What the hell are you guys even fighting? Last I remember, you don't throw a man that size with ease. If that was anyone but Volv they would've died. Is it her?

Siv: No, it's another threat. It's that scientist guy. But we can't touch him.

Arc: Why not?

Siv: He's holding our asset hostage.

Arc: Then we have to save her! We can't let Eliza just die! What did he want!?

Siv: He wants an Ev3 golem named Able. But the asset said that she sent him away somewhere and never to return. Apparently whatever it had in it's black box had everything he needed.

My body dropped to the ground. Something in my head just snapped. This feeling was just too surreal to process. Parts of my body got cold. Able's dead. What are we supposed to do now?! Everything is falling apart! Are we going to die here? This is bad. I don't think we'll survive this! Siv pulled my arm and slugged me across the face. His face flared up, blood dripping down his forehead

Siv: Get it together lad! We're in a fight here! He's got some kind Avatar inside there kicking our asses and you want to break down? You're Human! Stand your ground or die!

Arc: Yeah, yeah…

Siv: If you don't then lots more people are going to die. Hell! This entire planet is going to die! Now shut it and get it together!

Arc: Yeah… I'm getting there.

Siv: Good! Now I can't do this forever. Are you coming with us against him or what?

Arc: I'll go.

Siv: Good soldier... Good soldier....

I wasn't quite sure why I decided to fall into pieces there. That usually never happens, why was it different this time? I got back to my feet. Siv finally calmed down too. He wrapped his arms around my body then he surged up.