Ubermensch – Chapter 114

Chapter 114

As time passed, data began to accumulate.

The initial shock and confusion gradually transformed into fear and tension.

Steve Queen of the United States made a direct call to Mason.

“Steve.”

Their relationship wasn’t particularly friendly. But at this point, Steve Queen with the most powerful information network and Mason with knowledge of the future had no choice but to put aside their feelings and cooperate.

Knowing this, the two got straight to the point.

“It’s a weapon from our time. One that couldn’t be used in our time because of Specter.”

“Fundamentally, it’s safe. It’s also a toy. It’s designed not to harm humans, directly or indirectly.”

<...You're saying that's a toy?>

Even Steve Queen, who was always smug and relaxed, was momentarily speechless from the shock. The transcendent power of the 28th century, which he had only grasped through fragmented information, didn’t feel real. That was because he experienced a glimpse of it firsthand.

“But it’s an anomaly that it appeared in this time, in this place. I can’t be sure if the AI is functioning normally.”

Steve Queen was silent for a moment.

Mason asserted.

“It’s impossible with the technology of this era.”

“It probably wouldn’t even penetrate the armor.”

After a long silence, he asked.

“Fundamentally, it’s possible. While the owner has priority, all humans have command authority. It’s not my Soldier, but as long as the original owner is absent, it will accept my commands. However, as I said before…”

<...There's a possibility that something is wrong with the AI?>

“That’s right.”

Steve Queen asked.

“I can go.”

Mason had already checked that he could adapt to deep-sea pressure to fight the Bubble. Even if the Bubble had disappeared, diving to the Soldier’s location would be possible.

“It’s also a manned weapon. Although its performance is lower than when controlled by the AI, I can also pilot it.”

“Because there are people who want to have fun piloting robots…”

Steve Queen swallowed a groan. From the perspective of 21st-century people, the 28th century, where people do whatever they want on a whim, would be an era of madness and chaos.

“A ship. A fleet powerful enough to break through even if there are marine monsters.”

When Mason attempted the deep-sea dive, he had chosen an area without monsters. However, now he was not in a situation where he could choose his route. He needed a fighting force strong enough to force his way through.

Mason also contacted Chong Daolong to relay the information and concluded the discussion.

Diplomats and defense ministries of each country discussed the matter, and a joint fleet of South Korea, China, and the United States was quickly formed.

It was a force mainly composed of submarines, keeping in mind battles against underwater monsters.

It was a fleet assembled solely to send one man: Mason.

They continued their voyage smoothly.

“It’s a red sea.”

Although many days had passed since the Bubble’s death, its blood still stained the sea. People sailed through the eerie and horrifying red sea, finally arriving at the location where the Bubble was killed.

“Then… I’ll dive.”

Mason plunged into the red sea.

After the discomfort and pain of suffocating, the smart cells transformed Mason’s body into an aquatic form.

Mason smoothly entered the water.

‘I see it.’

In the distance, the outline of the Soldier came into view.

Mason sent a telepathic message.

‘Soldier.’

However, the Soldier did not respond.

It was entirely possible that there was a problem with the communication function.

Mason decided to approach and open the cockpit.

As he got closer, he saw something like ice encasing the Soldier.

‘What is that?’

It was something Mason had never seen before.

When he touched it, a strange sensation he had never felt before transmitted from his fingertips.

There was no temperature. There was no texture. But his hand wouldn’t go any further.

It was as if the space itself was rejecting Mason.

‘A technology I don’t know?’

Mason was the nephew and disciple of Robert Park, the God-King of Science. He had been educated in advanced technologies to pursue his dream of becoming an astronaut.

There was no technology he couldn’t use. No, even if there was a technology he couldn’t use, there couldn’t be a technology he didn’t even know existed.

Especially Mason’s Barbarian System was a biological version minor copy of the Soldier. It was his specialty, so to speak. He knew everything about the Soldier.

This technology… wasn’t part of the Soldier’s basic functions.

It had been added or improved.

But… who could have done the modification, and why?

No. How could they have modified it?

Mason spent a long time examining the Soldier, searching for any accessible areas.

‘If I could at least extract the nanites…’

However, the barrier surrounding the Soldier had no gaps.

‘Then, could I bring it up to the surface…’

Mason tried to lift the Soldier.

But similarly, any kind of intervention was impossible. It couldn’t be moved or lifted.

It was as if it was fixed to this space itself…

‘Damn it…’

Mason gritted his teeth and surfaced.

He turned on the communication.

“There was nothing I could do.”

Steve Queen and Chong Daolong, who were connected to him via hotline, had grave expressions.

“That’s right.”

“It seemed fine externally. It’s just blocked by a spatial barrier.”

“It’s a technology I’ve never seen before.”

Steve Queen and Chong Daolong discussed something with those around them. Chong Daolong spoke.

“I’ll rest for a bit, replenish my calories, and then search the Bubble’s corpse. I might be able to find the core.”

Mason prepared to dive.

This time, it was a dive to search the Bubble’s remains.

He had to dive deeper and longer.

Mason ate as much as he could to store up calories.

Splash!

After diving, Mason closed his eyes and emitted ultrasonic waves. It was for echolocation. Soon, a giant corpse was detected.

It was the Bubble, slightly drifted by the currents.

Mason swam towards it.

The Bubble, a giant creature resembling a whale, was dead in a horrific state, its body ruptured in the center. Various carnivorous fish were tearing at the Bubble’s corpse, but no matter how much they ate, there would be leftovers, eventually rotting.

Mason looked around the Bubble.

‘Where’s the core…?’

It could have been destroyed. But if it was still there, it would be worth retrieving.

Mason spent a considerable amount of time searching the Bubble’s surroundings.

Then, he saw something huge, faintly illuminating the deep darkness of the seabed.

It was probably the Bubble’s core.

“…”

As it was the core of the Bubble, a giant creature the size of Hokkaido, the core itself was the size of a mountain. Even Mason, transformed into his aquatic form, couldn’t retrieve it directly. He could only install a signal marker and return to the surface.

‘It’ll be useful somehow.’

He would have to research it to see if it had any special functions, but a core of this size would be useful somewhere.

“Is your task complete?”

“Yes. What I can do is done.”

The captain gave an order to the entire fleet.

“All hands, return to Korea.”

Even for Mason, fatigue had accumulated from the consecutive deep-sea dives and transformations.

He fell asleep as soon as he entered his room and lay down.

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

He had a dream.

In the dream, a Destroyer the size of a galaxy was roaring.

A Destroyer identical to Mason, yet entirely different, with white hair fluttering, was reaching out with a silver arm to grasp a planet.

It was roaring with rage, its eyes filled with murderous intent, trying to crush the planet in its hand.

At that moment.

A Soldier flew in from afar.

The moment the Destroyer turned its head towards the Soldier.

Mason looked into the Destroyer’s eyes.

Within those eyes, there was passion. Passion for murder and destruction.

The Destroyer growled and muttered.

Crack!

The planet was crushed in the Destroyer’s grasp.

The Destroyer turned its colossal, galaxy-sized body.

And, the Destroyer slowly extended its massive hand…

๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑๑ஓ๑

“Gahk!”

The moment he woke from the dream, he couldn’t breathe. All his bodily functions were in shock.

Mason struck his chest to stimulate his organs. He controlled his smart cells to circulate blood to his heart and lungs.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

It was a nightmare.

A horrifying nightmare that sent him into shock.

The problem was, Mason’s body wasn’t supposed to dream.

Dreams are what the awake brain experiences while the body is asleep.

His body, composed of smart cells, was always maintained in optimal condition, enabling complete sleep even when he slept.

He shouldn’t be able to dream.

Nevertheless, Mason was drenched in sweat from the nightmare.

‘The Soldier is a servant of the Destroyer.’

The ominous feeling and anxiety he felt when the Soldier first appeared had been proven right.

The Soldier wasn’t on humanity’s side.

It was the Destroyer’s vanguard.

‘Then why is it in an inactive state?’

Was it damaged by the impact of destroying the Bubble?

‘No. That can’t be it.’

Mason knew the Soldier’s durability well.

The Soldier was both a combat weapon and a toy. And one of the most popular ways to play with the Soldier was the asteroid-pushing game.

Although its origin was lost, there was a game where people pushed away giant structures falling towards Earth.

The giant asteroid often used in this game was a rock mass with a diameter of over 20 km, brought from outer space.

It was similar in size to the 24 km asteroid considered one of the scenarios for the Permian extinction.

Although he didn’t know the exact level of the Bubble’s barrier, the Soldier wasn’t weak enough to be damaged by destroying a single organism.

In the first place, when he saw it with his own eyes, there wasn’t even any damage to the armor material, was there?

‘If the Soldier isn’t damaged…’

Mason recalled the spatial barrier surrounding the Soldier.

The spatial barrier, made of technology unknown even to Mason, could it be…

‘…Is someone sealing the Soldier?’

Even if that was the case, two questions remained.

‘Who? And why?’

His mind was complex. Endless questions with no answers were arising.

At that moment, a military transport helicopter was approaching from afar.

Yekaterina and Vilmos Nike were on board the helicopter that landed on the flight deck.

“Kacha? What brings you here?”

“We need to teleport. Pack anything you need.”

“Teleport? Why so suddenly?”

“The Ghost Dragon has risen to the surface. And it’s flying in a straight line towards a certain location.”

In that instant, Mason imagined the worst-case scenario.

“Towards America’s Walking Thundercloud, one of the Three Great Demon Gods.”

It was exactly the answer he had imagined.