"Could it be the lawless folks from Mars District?"
Soldier 11 frowned. From the moment she first arrived in this area, she'd felt a strong sense of discomfort.
The source, naturally, was the chaotic mix of people here.
"Doubt it. Those guys have no reason to break in—if they did, they would've already. From what I've seen, their relationship with the Defense Force isn't exactly hostile."
A woman's voice came from beside her. Soldier 11 glanced at her and asked, a bit confused:
"Is there even anything here worth breaking into?"
She had spent some time at this outpost and hadn't seen anything unusual—just a typical Defense Force garrison.
"Who knows. But since there's an enemy intruding, we can't just sit back. Otherwise, we'll definitely get blamed."
"Yeah. No matter who it is, invading a Defense Force base is a serious offense. They must be brought to justice."
Soldier 11 stood up, picked up the goggles from the table, and strapped on the special backpack and long blade resting in the corner.
"Ugh... We're heading out now?"
"But I'm about to beat this game... I'm right at the final boss."
The woman with the voice was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a lollipop in her mouth, fingers still mashing buttons on her handheld console, its clicks echoing crisply.
Soldier 11 glanced at her, unfazed by her laid-back attitude, and said quietly:
"Move out on your own."
Then she turned and left, leaving the room empty except for the gamer.
The girl sighed, shrugged, set the console aside, and connected to Soldier 11's comms channel.
"The alarm's still blaring. Looks like this intruder's the real deal. Don't rush in—wait for me to take a vantage point."
"Got it."
Soldier 11's calm voice came through the headset, as if she'd expected this response all along.
In the garrison, sirens wailed, red lights flashing.
...
Boom!
A fist coated in ice smashed into the thick wall. As it crumbled, a hail of gunfire burst through the gap.
But Zane didn't dodge. He let the energy bullets hit him directly. Aside from a few clinks and thuds, they did absolutely nothing.
"So that's the spot."
Through the broken wall, Zane's eyes narrowed as he looked toward a building on the outskirts of the base—a warehouse-like structure.
From certain markings, he knew this was where the Defense Force kept detainees. It hadn't seen much use lately and was starting to fall apart.
But based on intel, Zane was sure the two people he was looking for were inside.
He didn't head straight for the place. Instead, he circled toward the side gate near the detention area.
He didn't want the Defense Force to realize his target was those two—otherwise, this would blow up fast.
And the human "Zane" connected to them would be dragged into it too—bringing suspicion and trouble.
"You guys... done playing yet?"
At the side gate, Zane looked over at the dozen or so squads trying to surround him, his voice cutting through the air.
Some of the soldiers already had weak knees. Their gun barrels were searing hot from constant fire, but their attacks had been useless from the start.
To Zane, their efforts were less than annoying.
Not even ants—because even ants get some attention from humans.
Faced with something like Zane, all they felt was hopelessness.
He said nothing else—just raised one hand, palm down, pointing at them.
A terrifying surge of Ether gathered.
Then he slowly rotated his palm upward, and the energy began to split—red, blue, and deep navy.
The three elements swirled and bloomed in his hand like a lotus, beautiful and deadly.
In the next instant, it exploded.
A chaotic burst of energy swallowed everything, expanding wildly like a storm of destruction.
Those hit by the electric current were knocked out instantly as it surged through their bodies.
Those struck by the fire screamed, even through their armor, staggering away in pain.
Those caught by the cold collapsed, frozen stiff and unable to move.
And those hit by two or even all three types of energy collapsed where they stood, losing all ability to fight.
And this was Zane holding back.
He wasn't here to wipe out the Defense Force—just to remove a threat.
In the corner, the prisoner area remained silent. The energy didn't reach that far.
But Zane knew he'd accomplished what he came to do.
Just as he was about to leave, an unexpected fluctuation in Ether returned to him—something underground.
Zane looked down, surprised.
Something was beneath him?
And it stretched nearly the size of the whole base?
Before he could process it further, a burst of vivid orange-red light flared at his side.
"Wildfire!"
A blazing crescent of flame came slashing toward him, carried by a blade.
Clang!
The sword clashed against Zane's raised arm, releasing a sharp metallic ring.
The flames didn't fade. They climbed up his arm, blocking his vision and searing his body.
But they couldn't actually hurt him.
Without hesitation, Zane countered with a punch. Soldier 11 reacted instantly, bringing her blade up in defense.
His massive fist smashed into the blade, bending it into a terrifying arc.
The force surged through the weapon, pushing Soldier 11 back several steps before she managed to regain her footing.
Her arms went numb. The blade trembled in her grip. She stared at the towering figure before her, eyes narrowed.
If that weapon hadn't been forged from high-grade materials, it would've snapped clean in two.
In that moment, she made her judgment.
This opponent's strength was overwhelming. A direct clash was suicide.
Zane stood still in his punching stance, then slowly lowered his arm and looked coldly at Soldier 11