As the soldier raised his weapon, Rush had already seized control of his movements. The man's finger trembled on the trigger—but no matter how he struggled, it would not budge.
Startled, the soldier didn't see Xiao Feng dart forward and deliver a sharp kick that sent him crashing out of the room. Adjusting the fresh clothes given to him by the Emissary, Xiao Feng turned and said,
"Since that's settled, I'll take my leave now. Take care of yourself. Once I've found the other three, I'll return for you."
The Emissary nodded.
"Don't worry. With my relationship with Sam, they won't dare lay a finger on me."
"I hope you're right..." Xiao Feng and Rush slipped quietly from the room.
After weaving their way through the labyrinthine corridors, they emerged into the great hall, where K and Earth Dog were waiting—clearly agitated.
"Boss, do you know what time it is?" Earth Dog blurted. "What took you so long?"
"I had something important to take care of," Xiao Feng replied, glancing around at the littered husks of spider drones. "What's the situation outside?"
Earth Dog scratched his head awkwardly.
"Pandora's still out there fighting the soldiers. Looks like she's about to finish them off."
"You two cowards holed up in here while a woman fights alone outside?" Xiao Feng shot them a glare. "Isn't that just a little disgraceful?"
With that, he sprinted toward the nearby window.
Rush caught his wrist mid-stride.
"Xiao Feng, don't forget—your healing ability is gone. You need to be careful."
Xiao Feng hesitated, expression hardening.
"Even if I can't heal, I won't let a woman protect me."
He tore free and leapt out the window.
Landing outside, Xiao Feng froze in astonishment.
Behind him, Earth Dog, K, and Rush followed suit, halting beside him—equally stunned.
The scene before them defied belief. Dismembered limbs of Alliance soldiers lay scattered across the plaza. The barrels of autocannons, grenade launchers, and chain guns had been sliced clean through. Even the heavily armored assault vehicles had been effortlessly destroyed.
Though their plating was formidable, it was nothing compared to the alloy of Hades' bones. Once again, Pandora's power had surpassed all expectations.
But what truly gave them pause were the three figures standing before her—identical in appearance, clad in tailored black suits and leather shoes. Though it was night, they wore no sunglasses. Their mere presence radiated an oppressive aura that made Xiao Feng deeply uneasy.
"Can you tell what level they are?" he asked Earth Dog quietly.
Earth Dog glanced at his HUD.
"All three... off the charts. Well past Level Nine. Nearly at Level Ten."
"Shit... Where did the Alliance dig up three monsters like this?" Xiao Feng muttered. "Whatever. I'm going to help Pandora. You three are too weak—don't get in the way."
Once dominators of their own domains, K and Rush—both once-legendary Level Eight espers—could only exchange embarrassed glances.
Xiao Feng strode up to Pandora and took in the scene.
"Hey, gorgeous. What are you waiting for? Why haven't you attacked yet?"
"Watch your mouth," Pandora snapped coldly. "Or I'll slice you open too."
Xiao Feng chuckled.
"Looks like we've got some unresolved tension. Let's settle that after we deal with these guys, shall we?"
Pandora's opinion of him clearly hadn't improved. She still didn't understand why her superiors had sent her to rescue such an arrogant brat.
"Pick one," she said icily. "The other two are mine."
"I was going to say the same thing. You pick one—the rest are mine."
"Stop trying to act tough," she scoffed. "They're all above Level Nine. You're not even Level Nine yet."
"Esper rank doesn't dictate strength. I'm a Level Eight, sure—but I can still crush Level Nines."
"I'm done arguing. I'll take the two on the left. The one on the right is yours. If you beat him, come help me after."
With that, her left arm snapped forward, a blade ejecting as she lunged at the two suited espers with explosive force.
Xiao Feng shook his head and reached into a nearby wreck, yanking a cannon barrel free from the ruins of a vehicle. He gripped it like a club and charged at the remaining esper.
On Pandora's side, one of her opponents summoned a raging windstorm around him. The other conjured twin spheres of fire in his palms.
The flames twisted into a blazing serpent as the wind carried it toward her.
But Pandora was blindingly fast. She vanished in a flicker and reappeared beside the fire-wielder, slashing without hesitation.
The fire esper immediately summoned a wall of flames—raging three meters high, heat surging outward. Pandora was forced back and instead turned her attention to the wind esper.
Meanwhile, Xiao Feng's opponent's skin began to gleam with a metallic sheen.
Xiao Feng swung the cannon barrel with all his might. It crashed into the man's arm with a deafening clang—like striking solid steel. The impact sent a jolt through Xiao Feng's arm, nearly numbing it. The barrel bent grotesquely from the force.
He tossed it aside, growled softly, and charged barehanded.
The metal esper smiled faintly and launched a heavy punch at him.
But ever since inheriting Ares' strength and speed abilities, Xiao Feng perceived the man's movements as laughably slow.
He caught the punch with both hands, pivoted, and remembered a move taught by Rice—the "Cross Lock" of jujutsu. Gripping the metal esper's wrist, Xiao Feng twisted, hooked his legs around the man's neck, and flipped—slamming him into the ground.
He held him down with tremendous strength, fully immobilizing him.
And that was just the beginning.
Focusing his will, Xiao Feng attempted to control and strip away the metal from the man's transformed body.
Had K attempted this, he might have struggled. The density of the esper's metallic form was immense, and difficult to manipulate. But Xiao Feng was different—his power had evolved. Not only did he wield metal manipulation, he possessed formidable psychic strength.
Under the dual pressure of his abilities, the esper's second arm began to dissolve.
One by one, metallic particles peeled away, dispersing into a fine mist.