Chapter 55 - Four Seconds

"Huff... Huff..."

Karl gasped for air, feeling the warm trickle of blood running down his forehead.

At least he was still alive.

He had anticipated the ACPA pilot firing at him—

So he had dodged ahead of time.

He hadn't been directly hit by the 20mm rounds that could have ripped him in half—

But the shrapnel from the bullets hitting the ground had cut him up pretty badly.

Karl tore off a piece of his undershirt from under his ballistic vest, wiping the blood off his forehead before tying a makeshift bandage around the wound—

Just to keep the blood from blinding him in the fight ahead.

"This is seriously bad..."

He glanced at the time.

Eight minutes—

Now only about seven remained.

That meant he had seven minutes to defeat an ACPA—

And get the target to Konpeki Plaza.

"Yeah... dream on."

What did he have?

A monowire, a Kenshin tech pistol, and a few grenades.

And he was supposed to take down a 2.5-meter-tall ACPA—

A walking tank whose armored gauntlet was almost as wide as his entire body?

This is some high-difficulty bullshit.

A no-hit speedrun attempt?

Would be nice if he could reload from a checkpoint—

He'd probably clear it in ten tries or less.

Karl's mind raced, trying to figure out some kind of battle strategy.

Then—

He heard it.

The ACPA he had just blown off the second floor was moving again.

The sheer weight of the thing made it impossible to ignore.

And then—

Silence.

Karl froze.

The enemy had stopped moving.

Why?

A second ago, the guy was hell-bent on chasing him down.

Now he was just standing still?

Karl's stomach twisted.

And then—

He figured it out.

"He doesn't need to climb up here anymore."

"Got you."

Inside his helmet, the ACPA pilot grinned.

He raised his Gatling cannon—

Aimed it at Karl's position on the second floor—

And fired.

The roar of gunfire drowned everything out.

Karl wasn't hit directly.

But the floor beneath him—

Was completely obliterated.

Before he could even react—

The entire section of the second floor collapsed.

Good news: He was lucky.

Not one bullet had actually hit him.

Bad news: The circle of destruction was six meters wide—

And he had no escape route.

So—

He fell.

The ACPA pilot smirked.

His tactic had worked.

He had forced Karl to face him head-on.

The difference in equipment was too vast.

Karl's desperate struggles were nothing more than childish defiance—

Easily countered.

"Looks like it's over, rat."

The ACPA's Gatling cannon swiveled toward Karl.

But before he could pull the trigger—

Karl's hand flicked out.

A thin silver wire snapped forward—

A monowire.

It could slice through flesh, metal, and bone.

It was razor-sharp.

But—

There was one thing it couldn't cut.

An ACPA's armor.

The monowire sliced through about one centimeter of the ACPA's outer armor, wrapping around the surface.

Karl gave it a tug—

And quickly realized his full strength wasn't even a match for a single finger of the ACPA.

"Oh, well... looks like this really is it."

The ACPA pilot didn't even flinch.

Even as Karl attacked, the Gatling cannon was still slowly raising, the smug arrogance of looking down on an insect never leaving the pilot's posture.

Karl could hear the monowire straining, the mechanical whine of its tension reaching its limit.

"Alright, I get it—this is too much to ask of you."

"One last favor, then."

Even if it looked desperate and ugly—

He wasn't going down without a fight.

"Bear witness, to my final struggle."

Karl smiled.

The ACPA pilot was confused.

What he wanted to see was Karl's despair—

Whether it was rage, terror, or pleading—

Anything but a smile.

Because that would mean his superiority had been proven.

And yet, here was a street-rat merc—

Smiling?

"Thanks, for underestimating me."

The monowire wrapped around the ACPA's arm suddenly lit up—

It was charging.

When fully charged, monowires could enhance their already razor-sharp edges with electric heat—

And that single moment of boosted sharpness—

Was enough.

"Zzzzt!"

The crackle of electricity echoed.

The monowire sank deeper—

Not one centimeter, but ten.

The metal armor split apart—

Its edges glowing hot, slightly melting.

And beneath that—

Flesh.

For the first time ever, the ACPA pilot felt pain.

Not just physical pain—

But a blow to his pride.

He was above humans—

Beyond them.

Untouchable.

Yet now, he had been wounded by a mere human.

"Did I... anger a god?"

Who knew?

Karl yanked back—

The monowire lashed out, slicing across both of the ACPA's wrists.

Like a hot knife through butter—

His own hands were severed.

A clean, surgical cut.

Monowire never disappoints.

As Karl fell backward, the severed hands—

Still clutching the monowire—

Remained stuck to the ACPA's armor.

His arms, now half-mechanical stumps, sprayed blood.

But the cyberware had done its job.

Now—

It was Karl's turn.

He was falling, his body collapsing backward.

Above him—

He saw light.

The second floor's ceiling was broken—

Sunlight streamed through the cracks.

The destroyed chandeliers left this whole floor in darkness—

Yet up there—

It was bright.

Just like a clear sky.

Karl let himself fall—

And the ACPA pilot, still reeling from pain, didn't notice—

The severed hands stuck to his armor—

Had just opened.

Inside—

Two grenades.

Their pins had been pulled long ago.

Now then...

How many seconds does it take for a grenade to explode after the pin is pulled?

Four? Maybe five?

And how many seconds had passed?

Exactly four.

"BOOM!"