The strange and mysterious force seemed to provide no resistance whatsoever.
A terrifying green beam of light pierced through layers of rippling energy in an instant!
It struck the chest of the minotaur-like creature, Agger, with pinpoint accuracy.
"This is impossible... This is..."
The once-confident Agger widened its bull-like eyes in shock.
A burst of scorching air sprayed from its large nostrils as it let out an incredulous cry.
Meanwhile, the crystalline orb in its palm, radiating brilliant, multicolored light, was on the verge of unleashing more bizarre changes.
But it was too late.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
One green beam after another bombarded Agger's body relentlessly.
In the blink of an eye, the creature was completely evaporated, leaving behind only traces of green atoms dispersing into the air.
Clatter...
The now-dim crystalline orb fell to the wooden floor, rolling toward the mangled remains of Agger's body, now smeared with foul blood.
Crack! Crack!
Zaire tilted his neck left and right while holding his Gauss burst rifle.
A deep, muffled voice came from inside his helmet:
"Eating 'people' right in front of me? You've got guts, I'll give you that..."
He then took heavy steps forward, his boots squelching through blood and gore as he walked to the center of the room.
Zaire looked down at the dim crystal orb, cautiously picked it up, and examined it closely.
A strange artifact that Agger had relied on as a trump card—it was worth investigating further.
However, despite inspecting it thoroughly for some time, Zaire found nothing unusual.
Reluctantly, he tossed the orb into the ammo pouch at his waist for later study.
After scanning the blood-soaked private cabin one last time, Zaire pulled out all the hard drives from Agger's desk and stashed them in his ammo pouch as well.
He then raised a gloved fist, lightly tapped his helmet, and spoke into the communication channel:
"David, target eliminated. Do you need assistance?"
"…"
On the other end, Ironman David seemed to still be in the midst of an intense battle, offering no response to Zaire's question.
Without wasting more time, Zaire hefted his Gauss burst rifle and began running toward the deck above.
Switching the comms channel, he issued a command to Jessica:
"Jessica, mission's done. Prep for evac."
"Uh, boss? I just started evacuating some crew members... There are still a lot of enemies hiding in the lower decks."
Hearing Jessica's report, Zaire immediately responded:
"Don't go deeper, and don't get tangled up with them. Return to the deck immediately. David might need backup!"
"Understood!"
At that moment, Zaire, now propelled by his electronic muscle fibers, charged through a broken cabin door like a rampaging bull and returned to the upper deck.
He looked up sharply, his helmeted gaze locking onto the pitch-black night sky.
The Gauss burst rifle in his massive gloves tilted slightly upward, ready to fire.
Even the blinding grenades strapped to his waist were primed for deployment.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
But as the deafening flashes of laser cannons and the ominous hum of vector engines filled the night,
Thud!
A charred, lifeless body suddenly plummeted from above, landing with a sickening crash on the deck nearby.
Whoosh—
At the same time, a Valkyrie transport ship swooped low over the brightly lit cruise ship, its wings tilting sharply as if showing off.
"Master, it's done!"
Ironman David's mechanical voice echoed through the comms again, brimming with satisfaction.
"Phew—"
Zaire exhaled deeply.
He watched the Valkyrie ascend rapidly, its metallic frame gleaming faintly in the moonlight, and said flatly:
"David, conserve fuel... You don't want to swim back to shore, do you?"
"Uh... Understood, Master."
Standing tall on the deck, Zaire finally relaxed a little.
He listened to the distant shouts of the crew at the ship's stern and the splash of lifeboats hitting the water.
Before long, the sound of armored footsteps approached.
Zaire turned to see Jessica sprinting toward him, Hellgun in hand.
From her resolute movements and eager strides, it seemed she was finally adapting to the chaos of the battlefield.
"Hmm... Mission accomplished," Zaire murmured to himself, a faint grin forming beneath his helmet.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
As the Valkyrie's engines roared, Zaire stood at the cabin door, watching the deck of the Minotaur recede into the distance.
Behind him, Jessica wiped the sweat from her forehead after removing her helmet. She gathered her short hair into a neater shape and glanced at her trembling hands, taking deep breaths to calm herself.
At that moment, five radiant streaks of light sliced through the dark night sky, plummeting toward the cruise ship.
This time, there was nothing to stop the cruise missiles as they struck their target!
Explosions and fiery debris ripped through the Minotaur, obliterating most of its structure.
Seawater rushed into the fractured hull, dragging the ship down toward the ocean's depths.
Nearby, terrified crew members frantically rowed lifeboats away from the impending vortex.
Onboard the Valkyrie, Zaire removed his helmet, his face impassive as he gazed at the sinking ship.
He closed the cabin door with a casual motion.
Turning, he saw Jessica still staring blankly at nothing.
After a moment's thought, he decided not to disturb her and made his way to the cockpit.
He glanced at David's metallic figure in the pilot's seat and said:
"David, thanks for breaking protocol. If we'd had to face a flying enemy, it wouldn't have been so easy."
David slightly tilted his metal head, the blue glow in his eyes flickering as he operated the Valkyrie.
"Master, it's my duty... Besides, it wasn't me who killed them—it was Valkyrie's machine spirit. That doesn't count as breaking the rules, right?"
"Haha... Fair enough," Zaire chuckled.
He patted David's shoulder lightly with his massive red gloves.
After briefly discussing their estimated time of return, Zaire reassured David and retreated to the corner of the cabin.
He sat down, intending to rest his eyes, but something came to mind.
Zaire glanced at Jessica, now slumped in her seat and drifting to sleep.
He reopened his simulator interface.
Earlier, before the mission, he'd started a standard loot simulation.
Now, the countdown for the ten pulls had already finished, waiting for Zaire to check the results.