As commader Dexter was leading to the main station, on the way there were twelve giant chs, each sealed in transparent chambers. Their designs varied wildly. One looked like a tallic centaur with six arms. Another resembled a dragon fused with artillery weapons. They were sleeping gods waiting to wake.
"Acquire!"
Igaris extended his hand ans Acquisition energy surged out from his core. He stretched his senses, feeling the dormant power inside each machine. Unlike wild beasts, these chs didn’t resist. They had no will.
His energy spread, touching each one gently.
[ Acquisition in progress... Units successfully integrated. Loyalty 100% ]
His chest rose slowly. He could feel their presence join the legion within his dinsional space. His army had just gained twelve Master-class war machines, each capable of wiping out a small Town.
He turned to Dexter. "Does this base connect to any others?"
"Yes, My lord. Countless to be exact," the commander replied. "But this o doesn’t have planetary tracking. The others are monitored directly by the Federation Military Council."
"We’ll leave them alone for now. Any signs of reinforcents heading this way?"
"Yes. We must hurry," Dexter replied urgently.
Igaris said nothing more. He followed Dexter toward the main station, activating Darkness Domain once again.
And just like that, he vanished from reality.
The Darkness Domain consud energy rapidly, but Igaris had already committed to giving everything for this mission.
Five minutes later, Commander Dexter arrived at their destination.
Before him stood hundreds, no, thousands of chs spread across nearly two kiloters. They were stationed beneath a massive do-like steel structure that lood like a fortress against the skyline.
The ch station was brightly lit and thoroughly monitored. Surveillance drones hovered overhead, while guards patrolled the periter with advanced rifles slung across their backs. A few of them took note of Commander Dexter’s presence, but said nothing. To them, he was simply doing his routine inspection.
If only they knew the truth.
Dexter wasn’t here to check the chs. He was here to guide a thief straight into the Federation’s armored heart.
Rows of tallic giants lined the floors, each stored with care. So chs glead with polished alloy plating, others bore the scars of old wars and aged, but still radiating a nacing power.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, absolute darkness descended—like the beginning of an apocalypse. Artificial lights flickered out, torches died instantly, and even the surveillance drones that had been illuminating the area went black, swallowed by the void.
But it wasn’t everywhere.
Only a specific section of the do had been consud. Beyond its boundary, everything remained normal, bright and alert. That stark contrast made it even more unsettling for those inside.
Guards stumbled, confused and panicked, calling out to each other. So tried to switch their gear manually, but nothing responded. They were trapped in a pocket of abyss.
At the center of it, Igaris lifted both hands high.
"Acquire!"
A surge of radiant platinum energy erupted from him like a tidal wave, flooding the ch station’s inner zone. Dozens, no hundreds of shimring threads shot out, connecting to nearby chs, flickering with runic symbols and divine light.
"Cough!"
Blood dripped from the corners of Igaris’ lips, his body straining under the pressure. But he didn’t stop.
This wasn’t reckless.
It was calculated.
He had only a few minutes, maybe less than that before they realized soone had infiltrated the station. There would be no second chance.
[ Acquisition Successful! Integrated Units: 78x ]
[ Acquisition Successful! Integrated Units: 102x ]
[ Acquisition Successful! Integrated Units: 99x ]
...
Everywhere he passed, entire batches of chs were swept clean from their positions. One by one, they vanished into his Dinsional Space, claid by the platinum light of Acquisition.
Though the guards inside the blacked-out zone couldn’t see what was happening, those just outside the Darkness Domain watched in stunned silence.
As the void receded limited to just a 250-ter radius, they finally saw the results.
The chs were gone.
Not damaged. Not shut down.
Gone.
The entire sector, once crowded with towering machines, stood empty.
Swallowed. Devoured by a darkness none of them could comprehend.
Then ca the sound of alarms, blaring across every inch of the compound like wailing banshees.
"Commander Dexter! Soone’s devouring the chs. Do sothing!" one of the guards shouted in panic, grabbing Dexter’s arm and shaking him out of what seed like a trance.
Panic spread like wildfire. No one knew what had happened or who had attacked. Everything had happened too fast, too cleanly, too impossibly.
Dexter blinked, feigning clarity, and nodded firmly.
"Mobilize all Strike Units! I want this monster found now!" he shouted, barking orders with the tone of authority they expected.
To everyone else, he looked like a leader stepping up in crisis.
But in truth, he was still acting.
His body obeyed, but his soul belonged to Igaris.
Every movent, every word of his was an illusion scripted by the one hiding within the shadows.
"Attack!"
"Stop the monster, or we’re all done for!"
The guards scrambled, summoning their chs and boarding them in a frenzy of panic and desperation. Engines roared to life, and within monts, dozens of armored machines charged into the pitch-black veil of darkness.
But the mont they entered the Darkness Domain, their senses were devoured whole.
They saw nothing.
No lights. No outlines. Not even the glow from their own cockpits.
Just an oppressive abyss.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
"Crash!"
"Slash!"
Their weapons fired at random. Blades swung into shadows. Explosions echoed against the steel do walls as the guards struck nothing. Instead, they collided with each other in blind chaos.
But inside that suffocating blackness, Igaris moved like a ghost.
His vision was unclouded. His will was sharp.
While his enemies were blindfolded, he continued acquiring chs with precision and calm.
The numbers climbed steadily.
300... 500... 1,000...
Soon, his cha army reached 2,000 units.
Most were standard C or D-Rank machines, common among war soldiers. The rarer B, A, or S-Rank chs were scarce here, likely stored elsewhere under heavier security.
Still, it was a massive haul.
A force strong enough to invade a city.
And Igaris wasn’t done yet.
Reviews
All reviews (0)