Transcendent Gene
Chapter 109: Premonition [5]

Chapter 109: Premonition [5]

"You’re better than I thought. How long did you have to train to get used to that thing?"

Raymond spoke casually, but his actions were not so slow. He pushed back, raising his arm gracefully and bringing forth a wall of fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue, looking at the source of the explosions. He wasn’t the only one in the chamber, but he might as well have been. The people around them were dying one by one as collateral damage. If they didn’t run, they would be running towards disaster.

The annoying part was that the man in the suit didn’t say a single word. Raymond had been talking to him for the minute they’d been fighting, but he didn’t get a single response.

Rather, there wasn’t even a sign of acknowledgement. It was as if the man never heard his words in the first place.

’Gio wasn’t kidding.’

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Raymond avoided an array of missiles and threw a flame dragon at the suit. As he expected, the flames splashed against the armor and dispersed to the sides as if it were hitting a chunk of unmeltable rock.

’It can’t be burned. It has to be penetrated. The attacks are strong too. These aren’t normal weapons.’

This particular man seemed to enjoy using the rockets more than anything else. They didn’t just come from its forearms, but also from cannons that came from the suit’s waist and shoulder blades.

Aside from the rockets, energy weapons seemed to be the primary attack method. There were guns that shot energy rays that came from its shoulder blades as well. On its shoulders and in three separate parts of its arms, there were separate energy weapons that shot arcs, balls, and beams.

It looked as if the suit had a weapon for any possible kind of attack or battle situation. That included close combat. When Raymond tried to get close, a sword appeared in the man’s hand. It cut at him and shot an arc of energy that he had no choice but to dodge. Even if he was able to get close, landing an attack was difficult.

Raymond glared at the moving parts of the suit with a frown.

’These weapons can’t actually be stored in the suit. There isn’t enough space for that. Magic doesn’t exist, which means they’re using some kind of technology to create the effect of a suit loaded with weapons. Regardless of how it was done, these designs can’t be manufactured with ordinary means. Who are their backers?’

The Apocalypse Church was active across many Strata. The problems their believers caused were equally many. However, was their backing really this high?

’Do they have members even in Elysium?’

Raymond frowned again. He focused on dodging more than attacking since his primary goal was to observe the capabilities and weaknesses of the suit.

Licks of flame sputtered from his soles for but a moment before he shot forward like a bullet, leaving a flaming trail in his wake. He arrived in front of the enemy, who raised his arm and armed another weapon.

The man chose not to use his sword and instead armed a cannon. Raymond wasn’t going to back away from a threat that couldn’t reach him.

He moved first. He gripped the handle of his sword, and brought it out of its sheath in a crisp swing. The blade glowed orange with heat, and when it made contact with the suit’s metallic form–

Screech!

A sharp sound rang out, punching into Raymond’s eardrums. He continued to push his blade, searing a gash into the suit. His eyes narrowed as he peered into the blackness beyond, trying to glimpse the man within.

’It isn’t there.’

He gritted his teeth, pulled his sword back, and quickly dodged around the man’s back.

’I didn’t cut all the way through.’

There was still a layer of armor keeping him away from the man’s skin. It must’ve been some sort of secondary system rather than an armor he was directly wearing on his body.

’And...’

Raymond watched the man turn around to face him. The gash on his chest was noticeably healing.

’...it can repair itself.’

His eyes narrowed a level further. He wanted to check the durability of the suit. There had to be a limit to how much it could heal before it fell apart.

He wanted to do it oh so badly, but he could not.

He never forgot the situation he was in.

BOOM!

He let loose a great blast of flames directly in front of the enemy. Even if the flames did nothing, the explosive force sent him tumbling backward trying to regain his balance.

Using the chance, Raymond turned his back for the first time and ran to the corner of the chamber. The flames under his feet boosted his speed, allowing him to reach it in mere seconds.

He turned around just in time to make eye contact with the armored man. He watched as a pair of guns raised out of the man’s shoulders and charged up with auras of light and heat.

And then his own feet were lit with flames. They shot directly downward, forcing his body into the air.

Voooom!

Two bright green rays of energy blasted from the guns, but the only target they found was the wall. They seared two holes in its surface before their aim trailed upward to chase Raymond.

The beams ascended, following him into the air. He saw them below and heard the sound of them tearing through the reinforced walls.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Small, frisbee-sized rings of green energy that looked like two leaves spinning around each other flew through the air, hitting the walls and the surrounding equipment, damaging everything around Raymond.

But he had confidence in his own abilities.

He pushed harder, bringing forth more power. The flames at his feet became stronger, and somehow, he managed to keep his legs straight enough to keep his momentum upward.

Rockets flew wildly through the air. The lasers followed with heightened ferocity. Amidst a chaotic mess of explosions and the sound of deathly energy beams, Raymond shot out of the chamber.

He went higher and higher, leaving the signs of chaos below.

The armored man didn’t give chase.

Was there a reason for that?

Raymond shook his head.

’I hope everyone else made it to the rendezvous fine.’

With such a thought in his mind, he rose out of the hole and reached the surface.

"Huu..."

He looked back down, his brows furrowed.

’It gets worse and worse every time we find a new lead.’

Raymond sighed to himself and moved his attention.

’Now then, the rendezvous...’

VOOOOOOOM!

Raymond’s eyes abruptly widened.

His attention went to the sky as a massive drone filled the air like the buzzing of a million bees.

’Fuck.’

Right. It was a trap the whole time.

Now, he understood why it took so long to activate.

However, it was already too late to understand such a thing. It was already too late even as he summoned his flames and ran as fast as possible.

A beam of red and white light, wide enough to consume the entire world, came down on his coordinates.

It looked like dirt, wind, and debris should have been kicked up in every direction. It looked like a shockwave should have spread, destroying everything nearby.

But the technology was too advanced for that.

Simple, direct elimination of a single target area with no collateral damage.

The Hammer fell once again.

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