Chapter 58 - This time will be different, you son of a bitch
Jin had no memory of the information about the anti-tank rocket.
Faust α.
It utilized a tandem-charge warhead designed to penetrate single-use defense systems.
A monster capable of piercing armor over 1,000mm thick.
The massive heavy weapon belched an incredible burst of flame from its rear.
Whoosh!
The rocket shot forward, cutting through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the projectile reached its target, piercing through the steel-reinforced outer wall.
It all happened in barely a second.
Immediately after, the air distorted, and a massive explosion erupted.
BOOOOM!!!!
The high-temperature, high-pressure shockwave swept through the building's interior.
The pupils of the group watching through the windshield turned red from the reflected flames.
As the sequence of events was recorded on the body cam—
Jin's body lurched violently back and forth.
Though the rear ejection port vented gas to counteract the recoil, the barrel still shook wildly.
And the vibration was so overwhelming—
"Urgh!"
The impact rattled his entire skeleton, forcing him to swallow back a breath.
This was all because the Faust α was a Borg weapon.
The R&D department's ambitious Borg series.
A specialized weapon designed for cyborgs who had replaced their entire bodies with machinery.
At the unexpected remark and timing, Wonder twitched somewhere in the background.
Of course, Jin wasn't aware of that—he was too dizzy to care.
He'd pulled triggers before, sure, but when had he ever fired a rocket launcher?
Without proper firing posture, he had pressed his head tightly against the scope when shooting, and that had been a mistake.
Still, the impact was undeniable.
The blast shattered every window within the second and third floors near the impact site.
As for the enemies inside—there was no doubt.
Either their organs had ruptured from the shockwave, or they had been engulfed in the fireball and burned to death.
That was the advantage of thermobaric warheads.
They wiped out the enemy while minimizing structural damage.
The result?
Chaos on both sides.
"We're under attack!"
"Shit! Is it the Resistance?!"
The sudden bombardment sent the TB forces scrambling into battle positions—
"What the hell did you just fire?"
"Those bastards are still stunned! Now's our chance!"
"We're storming the main entrance! Hold on to something!"
Ocia shouted and slammed the accelerator.
VROOOOM!!
With the overheated engine roaring, the vehicle rammed through the fence with a THUD! and charged straight toward the building entrance.
Just then, enemy forces burst outside and opened fire.
RATATATAT!!
Bullets rained down, covering the windshield in a web of white cracks.
But Ocia didn't stop.
The speeding vehicle sent two enemies flying before smashing straight through the lobby entrance.
CRASH!!
The moment the vehicle screeched to a halt in the wide-open space—
"Get out!"
Den shouted from the back.
Fenrir kicked the door open.
And there—
A soldier sat on the floor, stunned, his face filled with disbelief.
BANG!
A hole opened in his forehead.
Beyond his falling body, Albus leaped out of the vehicle, gripping his submachine gun.
With a swift click, he lowered his visor.
The heat detection function activated, painting the approaching enemies in vivid red outlines.
Clack!
Without hesitation, without wavering, without a single moment's doubt—
The muzzle spat fire.
Enemies crumpled one after another.
Helmet and all, their heads were pierced clean through by high-penetration rounds.
And this was just from regular shots.
If he charged his weapon, the firepower would double.
Of course, the recoil would increase drastically, but that was no problem.
The ergonomically designed reinforced exoskeleton would absorb the shock.
This is insane.
Albus let out a dry chuckle.
Wasn't R&D supposed to be that quirky company that sold vending machine guns?
The infamous "Do Not Reload" brand.
Discarded on the streets like cigarette butts.
Seeing those cheap weapons everywhere had naturally built up a prejudice.
Having taken down two more enemies, Albus reloaded.
It felt like his assumptions were being shattered.
They weren't just eccentric—they were formidable.
And that was exactly what Wonder had intended.
No manufacturer could afford to be eccentric without a solid foundation.
This entire operation was a kind of showcase proving that fact.
How it would all end, though, was still unknown.
"Any injuries?"
"None."
In an instant, they had cleared the first floor.
The team regrouped.
"Then we move. It's gonna be hot in there, so brace yourselves."
Den took off toward the stairs.
His bounding strides were like a gazelle's.
After all, his lower body had already been cybernetic.
And with the added exoskeleton, the man practically flew.
Tatatatat!
He reached the stairs in an instant, and the others picked up speed to follow.
"I should've been the one to fire."
At the irritated voice, Jin turned his head.
Fenrir stood there, the other Faust slung across his back.
Jin's weapon, having fulfilled its purpose, was carefully stored in the vehicle, but Fenrir hadn't had the chance to do the same.
With no other option, he carried it on his back as he ran.
And that proved to be more of a hindrance than expected.
Not because of the weight, but because of its 1,400mm length.
But what could he do?
If he didn't like it, he should've fired it earlier.
By then, the group had reached the second floor, the center of the explosion.
The sweltering heat and flames engulfing the interior unfolded before their eyes.
There were no survivors.
Among the twisted structures, only burning corpses sizzled in the fire.
The third floor was no different.
The only variation was the number of charred bodies.
Thus, the group immediately climbed the stairs.
The problem arose the moment Ocia stepped onto them.
"Hiiibaaarrr!!"
With a mangled cry, something curled up on the floor suddenly leaped up.
Its half-melted face resembled that of a frog.
"Jjuuuggooo!!"
With a tremendous jump, the creature snatched Ocia in an instant and hurled itself through the flames, diving out of a shattered window.
A loud thud followed.
The wailing of an alarm blared in the background.
"Ocia!"
A shocked scream.
Grace dashed toward the window, but Den grabbed her shoulder.
"She's not dead. It's just the third floor!"
As if to prove his point, gunfire soon rang out below.
A desperate scream followed by the sound of things breaking.
If only that were the end of it.
The commotion was bound to attract TB's reinforcement troops, and there would be no shortage of them.
Even so, Den remained firm.
"Our target is Taha! Don't forget that!"
At his shout, Grace tore her gaze away from the window.
At the same time, Jin shoved her forward, urging her to run to the fourth floor.
"They're here!"
"Kill them!"
The enemies, already prepared, unleashed a hail of bullets at the group.
And so began a chaotic battle.
Bullets rained down, grenades arced through the air, and thick smoke obscured their vision.
Through the smoke, beast-transformed officers lunged at them.
Two of them had the heads of rats, each wielding a dagger in both hands.
Jin and Fenrir immediately stepped forward.
Jin's fist crushed one's skull—
Fenrir's claws tore out the other's throat.
Both of them were equipped with exoskeletons.
It might not be as efficient as those of the specialized troops, but it was more than enough.
At least, enough for Jin to conserve his mana.
Bang!
Albus fired a bullet into the skull of a fallen enemy, wiping the blood from his faceguard as he shouted.
"Keep moving!"
They pressed on.
Through the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors, the battle continued.
"Ugh!"
A groan escaped from within the group.
One of the resistance fighters who had been rescued alongside Felix and Grace.
He had taken a shotgun blast at close range, dropping to his knees.
His bulletproof vest had saved his life, but it couldn't stop the internal trauma.
"You son of a bitch! Die."
The enemy growled and fired the shotgun again.
Bang!
Felix rolled away, barely dodging, then slammed his right hand against his left chest.
His pupils dilated in an instant.
Combat stimulants activated.
As the neural enhancement flooded his brain, time seemed to slow.
Amidst that moment, he drew his handgun.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Every bullet struck dead center in the enemy's forehead.
The man wobbled and collapsed.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Felix felt his heart pounding at an accelerated rate as he swiftly reloaded his magazine.
Then, raising his gun once more, he aimed at the front.
A beastman with the face of a hyena was charging at him on all fours.
Bang!
Jin, who had been climbing the stairwell, snapped his head back at the gunfire behind him.
It was out of his line of sight, so he couldn't see what had happened.
All he could hear was the violent noise drilling into his ears.
Who was it?
At that moment, someone pulled the trigger at him.
The bullet grazed his helmet.
Only because he had instinctively ducked his head.
The next moment—
Gravis roared.
Bang—!
The enemy's body lifted off the ground, slammed into a wall, and slid down.
Jin kicked his head like a soccer ball.
Blood splattered against a wall marked with "8F."
Without even a moment to brush off the eyeball stuck to his instep, Jin hoisted Gravis and fired.
The enemy on the staircase, who had been preparing to shoot from above, now had a gaping hole in his throat.
"Hhhhhh…"
With his final exhale, the man crumpled to the ground.
"There! Those damn resistance scum!"
More enemies swarmed in.
Jin gritted his teeth.
The battle behind him still seemed fierce, but he had no time to care.
At some point, the fight had spiraled into chaos.
Amidst the confusion, they had all scattered, leading to this moment.
With reinforcements pouring in from the emergency stairs and elevators, no floor was safe—not the ones they passed,
nor the ones ahead.
This was a disaster.
Now, he truly realized how insane this operation was.
Only seven of them had stormed the enemy's stronghold.
But the dice had already been cast, and Jin charged forward.
Smashing through the enemies blocking his way.
***
Eighth floor.
Gravis's magazine ran empty.
He grabbed his handgun.
***
Ninth floor.
His faceguard was broken.
With the thermal detection function disabled and smoke grenades filling the floor, he relied solely on his senses to continue fighting in the hazy battlefield.
***
Tenth floor.
His handgun's magazine was also empty.
Only then did he realize a bullet had lodged itself in his shoulder.
He ignored it.
***
Eleventh floor.
One of his companions lay collapsed on the ground.
Before he could check if they were alive, a grenade flew toward them.
There was no time to look back.
***
Twelfth floor.
A transformed Fenrir was fighting three officers.
Counting the one already down, that made four.
Though he was clearly struggling, the werewolf met Jin's gaze, shook his head violently, and bellowed.
"Above! Taha is there!"
Jin sprinted.
Toward the final floor.
***
Thirteenth floor.
Unlike the previous chaos, an eerie silence filled the space.
Taha was there.
Sitting at the center of geometric patterns, a man covered in intricate red tattoos on his back slowly turned his head.
"…So you've made it this far, Zahad."
"Announcing yourself as the boss? I had my doubts, but of course, you were at the top."
Jin spat out a mouthful of blood to the side.
"Get up, you bastard."
At that, Taha slowly rose to his feet.
Reaching out, he grabbed the handle of an absurdly massive hammer and spoke.
"You are not my opponent. Did you not realize that back then?"
It was the moment he referenced their previous battle.
Crackle!!!
The most violent hum in the world filled the space—
"…You really didn't realize it, huh?"
Taha twisted his lips into a smirk and turned his head.
And then, his chin snapped back.
Only afterward did he realize—he had been punched.
"…?"
Momentarily stunned by the unexpected speed, Taha swung his arm wide.
The hammer carved an arc through the air.
But there was nothing there anymore.
Jin spun in midair, aligning himself with Taha's face, and unleashed a devastating double kick.
Boom!!
A resounding impact.
Taha, having taken the brutish dropkick directly to the face, slid backward.
Landing on the floor, Jin let out a low growl.
A clearer, more intense lightning surrounded him now.
"This time will be different, you son of a bitch."
"…What?"
Taha furrowed his brow and muttered under his breath.
Of course, he had no way of knowing.
The night sky that belonged to Jin alone—
The radiant constellation within it now shining at an even greater height.
[Mana Circuit (Lv4)]