He watched as Lillian continued her assault, dismantling the fearless warriors with terrifying precision. Although Zack didn't know the exact nature of her abilities, he couldn't ignore the possibility that her blade might be able to cut through materials as durable as his nanosuit. "Ego, has the Avalon system rebooted yet?" Zack asked, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.
The Avalon, piloted by Ava, had been grounded earlier due to the electromagnetic pulse. Thankfully, it had landed smoothly in an open area not far from the mountain. Zack was ready to call for an airstrike to obliterate Lillian and the Black Hand's forces entirely. Before Ego could respond, its voice came through with a shocking revelation. "Sir... Lillian appears to be Ms. Sophia's mother."
Zack froze for a moment, stunned. "Sophia's mother? That's impossible," he said, shaking his head.
He vividly recalled the investigation he'd conducted after the outbreak. The report had concluded that Lillian was last seen in a crowded shopping mall and was presumed dead. "Sir, at the time, the survival rate was estimated at less than 4%. However, there was never definitive evidence of her death," Ego explained in its usual methodical tone.
"A 4% chance? That's still next to impossible," Zack muttered. His expression hardened, the cold edge of his personality taking over. "No matter what the odds are, after today, she'll be dead for sure," Zack said, his tone icy and full of murderous intent.
Even if Lillian was technically Sophia's mother—and by extension, his mother-in-law—Zack couldn't afford to show mercy. First, she was clearly try to kill him. Second, her strength posed a direct and serious threat to him, one that he cannot underestimate, a single mistake can cost him his life. Zack were no saint, if the choice is his or the other life he will always choose his first. "Activate stealth mode," Zack commanded.
The nanosuit shimmered for a moment before blending seamlessly into the environment. Using advanced optical camouflage, Zack became virtually invisible to the naked eye.
Ego hesitated before speaking again. "Sir, perhaps you could use Ms. Sophia to make Lillian stand down—or even convince her to join you," it suggested cautiously.
"There's no need," Zack replied coldly. "Your plan relies entirely on the assumption of an emotional connection between mother and daughter. That's far too uncertain. Emotions can be clouded by amnesia, manipulation, or even brainwashing. I don't take risks like that."
"Understood," Ego replied, falling silent.
While cloaked in invisibility, Zack silently crept toward Lillian. She was still engaged in a fierce battle with the remaining five fearless warriors, unaware that a much greater threat was closing in. 'Anyway,' Zack thought coldly justifying his action, 'Sophia already thinks her mother's dead. I'll just make it true.'
The thought was as emotionless as his steady approach. Just as he prepared to strike, a sudden roar of rockets and anti-tank missiles sliced through the air, heading straight for their location.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted in rapid succession, engulfing the area in smoke and fire. "Power amplification mode!" Zack barked, disengaging stealth mode at the last second and activating his nanosuit's defensive enhancements.
The shockwaves and shrapnel from the explosions battered him, but the nanosuit absorbed the brunt of the force, bouncing off debris like it was nothing. Zack emerged completely unscathed. "Protect the master!" The fearless warriors reacted immediately. Abandoning their fight with Lillian, they formed a protective wall in front of Zack. Even the warrior whose legs had been severed by Lillian crawled forward, determined to shield Zack with what remained of his body.
Despite the rockets posing no real threat to Zack, the fearless warriors remained steadfast in their loyalty. In stark contrast, Lillian wasn't as fortunate. Though her agility and superhuman abilities helped her avoid the brunt of the explosions, she was still only human at her core.
The moment she sensed the danger, she leaped into the deep crater at the top of Bear Mountain. But her speed wasn't enough. Rockets landed close by, detonating with devastating force. "Black Hand!" she shouted through gritted teeth, fury boiling in her voice.
Another explosion sent her flying out of the crater. Her body was riddled with shrapnel, and blood streaked across her combat uniform.
At the base of Bear Mountain, two heavily armed convoys had come to a halt beside Black Hand. From the vehicles, black-clad soldiers were unleashing a relentless barrage of firepower: grenade launchers, individual rockets, and anti-tank missiles—all aimed at the mountain's peak.
Flames roared, and smoke consumed the battlefield, the pungent stench of gunpowder saturating the air. "Don't stop! Keep firing!" Black Hand screamed, his voice manic.
To him, casualties didn't matter—neither Lillian nor his own soldiers. All that mattered was Zack's death. "Die! All of you, just die!" he raved, his voice echoing like a madman's mantra.
Suddenly, two fiery columns several meters thick erupted from the ground like dragons, tearing through the air and heading straight for Black Hand and his forces.
BOOM!
The flames consumed several vehicles, their heat so intense that the steel melted instantly. At the same time, a spider-like mecha, its three-meter body glistening in gold-titanium alloy, swung down from above using spider silk, landing directly in front of the black-clad soldiers. The mecha's occupant, Annie, grinned mischievously. "Bad guys! Let the game begin!" she declared, activating it's battle—or rather, game—mode.
On Tarantula's heads-up display, her enemies transformed into cartoonish villains, complete with exaggerated features and silly animations. "Boom! Headshot! Full score!" Annie exclaimed as she fired Tarantula's machine guns, gleefully mowing down the cartoon villains on her screen.
Nearby, Erza joined the fray. Dressed in a custom fireproof combat suit designed by Zack, flames danced on her wrists, their heat reaching over 2,000 degrees. "Let's see who gets more kills, Annie!" Erza called out with a competitive smirk.
"Deal!" Annie replied, her voice filled with playful excitement.
"Alright, let's add some reinforcements!" Annie tapped a button, and a swarm of drones—hundreds of them—descended from the skies like a flock of birds.
"That's cheating, Annie!" Erza protested with a laugh, but it was too late.
The drones locked onto their targets with deadly precision, each picking out a soldier or vehicle.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Explosions tore through the black-clad soldiers' ranks, leaving behind nothing but smoldering wreckage. Entire convoys were wiped out in seconds, and even Black Hand wasn't spared.
Two drones targeted him directly, blasting him into the air. His tattered cloak fell away mid-flight, revealing a body of metallic prosthetics instead of flesh. When he hit the ground, his broken remains lay in a gruesome pile of twisted metal and blood. With Black Hand's forces obliterated, the relentless bombing on Bear Mountain came to an abrupt halt.
As the flames and smoke began to clear, Zack emerged from the chaos, unharmed. However, the fearless warriors who had shielded him hadn't fared as well. One warrior, the same who had lost his legs to Lillian, had finally succumbed to his injuries. His power armor had shut down, its self-destruct mechanism activating to burn out the reactor. In the end, his armor became his tomb, and he fell in front of Zack, his final act one of unwavering loyalty.