Biocores: The Legendary Weapon Designer-Chapter 89: Fair ending

By the time Nioh reached the exit tunnel, Althea was already setting the final explosive charges.

"Where is the thing?" she asked, eyes fixed on the timer.

"Dead... or delayed." Nioh replied, climbing up the jagged shaft without another word.

Althea followed close behind. Moments later, daylight greeted them—cold and gray, like judgment. Akron was already at the top, waiting anxiously at the exit ridge.

"Step back," he ordered, motioning for the survivors to clear the tunnel mouth.

A muffled explosion thundered from beneath, swallowed by the earth’s mantle. The lab collapsed in on itself, burying everything it held—data, bodies, sins.

Silence followed.

"I killed them... It’s all my fault..." Aldoh muttered in a daze. He rocked back and forth, repeating the phrase like a broken machine.

Akron took a step toward him—maybe to offer some comfort—but someone else moved first.

A gunshot rang out.

Aldoh’s head snapped back. Blood sprayed. He slumped to the ground, eyes open, unblinking.

Astin stood over him, arm extended, the handgun still smoking.

"Piece of shit."

"Scum."

"Lowlife trash."

"Outer City bastard."

Each insult came with another bullet. Astin emptied the entire clip into Aldoh’s corpse.

Akron lunged, rage overtaking his expression—but Althea was faster. Her sword slid out and kissed the side of his neck. A silent warning. He froze, chest heaving, eyes wide with disbelief.

He looked to Nioh for help.

Nioh looked away.

"Sorry," Astin scoffed, casually tossing the empty gun aside. "But these Outer City bastards are like cockroaches. They’ll never understand the sacrifices we make to build a real nation. Am I right?"

The other researchers—calm, polished, pristine—stepped in to soothe him, massaging his shoulders, speaking in hushed tones.

"You three must be from the Citadel," Astin smiled, blood spattered across his face. "That kind of presence—you don’t get that from the gutter. The Factory and my family will reward you generously."

"No need," Nioh said flatly. "We followed the mission."

He stepped forward, tone ice cold.

"Forget what happened here. I’m telling you for your own good."

"Of course. We’re professionals," Astin answered. "We don’t ask questions that don’t belong to the mission."

Just as he finished speaking, a low hum filled the air.

A silver airship descended above them—sleek, polished, with golden trim gleaming in the light. It hovered a few meters above the ground before releasing a full platoon of armored soldiers, all bearing the Factory’s sigil.

Their leader landed with practiced ease—a middle-aged man with sharp brown eyes, neatly combed hair, and a thick, groomed beard. His disdain was obvious.

"Sergeant Olver. Security detail from the Factory." He barely glanced at the others, stepping straight toward Nioh. "Thanks for the assistance. We wouldn’t have arrived in time for a rescue." He extended a hand.

Nioh didn’t shake it.

"Ten million."

"What?"

"Ten million Conqueror Points. Althea, process the payment."

Althea stepped forward and held out her wrist. Her device synced with the sergeant’s reluctantly. A moment later, a soft chime confirmed the transaction.

Olver’s expression soured further. "Let me remind you this was a covert mission. Any leak, and you’ll answer for it."

Then he turned to his team. "Clean it up."

Astin pointed casually at Aldoh’s corpse. "Take this too. I still need test material. His corpse will be perfect." He laughed, walking away without waiting for a response.

As the ship took off and faded into the sky, Akron remained still, fists clenched.

He turned to Nioh, trying to speak—but stopped cold.

The aura around Nioh had changed.

It wasn’t just cold.

It was apocalyptic.

Darkness leaked from his biocore like black fire, and the ground around him cracked with pulsing energy.

"Althea?" he asked quietly.

Five agonizing seconds passed. She didn’t blink.

"Transfer complete. Mission marked completed."

That was all he needed.

His biocore erupted with violent energy. The charged static was suffocating. His cloak flared in the shockwave like a banner of war.

"Kill them all." He declared.

The command was not a request.

It was absolute. Imbued with an authority that pierced body and soul. Both Althea and Akron felt it resonate deep within their cores, compelling them like a divine edict.

They moved without hesitation.

Akron’s biocore flared, releasing a pulse of energy as his body was engulfed in swirling light. When it cleared, he stood transformed. Encased in a sleek brown exo-mecha accented with green highlights. The frame was built for speed and violence. Jagged stone spikes jutted from his back like a crown of thorns. A ring of floating rocks orbited the breastplate, humming with kinetic tension.

Fueled by rage and loyalty, Akron launched himself skyward with a single earth-ripping leap. The force of his departure carved a crater beneath him, scattering debris. Yet Nioh and Althea stood untouched, unwavering.

Althea’s body expanded. Her limbs retracted as her biocore twisted her form into something monstrous. Something designed for destruction. She became a full-body plasma cannon. Sleek and alien. The central barrel spun as angular armor locked into place. The flying ship entered her visor.

"If you do this there is no coming back."

Her voice was calm but strained. A final warning standing on the edge of a cliff.

"I have never feared the consequences of my actions."

Nioh’s eyes stayed fixed on the sky.

"Then don’t regret it."

Althea fired.

The blast screamed across the sky. A single streak of light tearing through the clouds. The recoil knocked her several meters back, grinding sparks across the stone. In the distance, the ship was struck. Its hull split open. It began to spiral violently as systems failed.

That was when Akron arrived.

In a breathtaking display of brute power, he caught the tail of the falling ship midair and, with a fluid twist, flipped it over his shoulder. The ship smashed into the mountain below.

The impact cracked the ridge. Steel twisted. Glass shattered. Escape was no longer an option.

Nioh vanished from the ground.

He reappeared high above, floating beside Akron in the open sky.

His arm extended. The needles of Infinity burst forth. Thousands of them. They filled the heavens like a divine swarm.

He closed his hand.

The needles fell.

They rained down like a storm of razors. Each one guided with precision. The ship was torn apart, sliced into oblivion. Screams were drowned by fire and metal. Twisted wreckage fell into the pink fog below. Erased. Forgotten.

Nioh watched in silence as the last fragments vanished into the haze. No remains. No monument. Just justice.

"Let’s go."

His voice was calm now. Heavier than before.

Akron gave a quiet nod, his body still encased in the armor of his fury.

They turned and made their way toward the portal that would take them back to the Citadel.

The mission was complete. On paper, a success.

But in truth, it was a disaster.

Neither Akron nor Althea said a word on the way back.

Each of them carried worries.