Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 168: Need to Kill.

The two spies had already recovered their strength and were preparing for the next confrontation, using one of their spells to vanish entirely. Though he could still follow their position through the phones they were carrying, Dante was forced to admit that their technique was superior to his Ghost Mode. He was unable to fool the eyes of people, after all, while they were able to erase their presence entirely.

A while back, Dante had asked Volcan about something he believed would greatly enhance or hinder the way he used the relic. To put it simply, he was concerned about whether he could switch between armors without having to take one off.

The time it took to summon each armor was only a few seconds at most, but Dante didn’t like the idea of leaving himself exposed until that happened, especially when he was trying to stop people from discovering his true identity.

Thankfully, he had nothing to worry about. In fact, it turned out that switching between armors was much faster than taking one off entirely then summoning a new one right after.

The only downside would be that, instead of disappearing for a moment, the strain placed on his body would simply increase, and that’s exactly what happened when Type 9-3 was done weaving itself from the countless threads of light that erupted out of his chest.

’This is... weird...’

Besides 5-6, which he could barely remember wearing, 8-3 was the highest Level armor Dante had worn to this day. He could vividly remember the strain it placed on him, and because of that, he was able to tell that something was different about 9-3 almost instantly. The stain that threatened to tear his body apart was there, but a different sensation accompanied it, bringing with it a strange sense of unease.

[

Name: Dante

Species: Human

Threat Level: 0

Baseline Retention: Intermediate (95%)

Stats:

Strength: 6 (+25)

Durability: 4 (+30)

Agility: 4 (+20)

Dexterity: 4 (+15)

Computing Power: 7 (+20)

Energy: 0 (+250/250]

Implants:

Diamond Fist (D)

Neural Interface Module (C)

Optic Augmentation Module (C)

Armor: Type 9-3

Abilities:

Aether Shield.

Aether Spear.

Aether Rebound.

Aether Distortion.

]

With no time to check the stats granted to him by the new armor, Dante dismissed the Status Screen and raised his right hand, snapping his fingers to activate the last ability on the list. The ability itself can be activated with a thought, so the motion itself was nothing but theatrics.

A wave exploded from the pure white armor and washed over everything in the rooftop restaurant, ripping the veil behind which the two spies hid and shattering the insidious weapons they had conjured for their assault, but one change was more notable than the others.

It wasn’t anything related to the surroundings or even the two spies Dante was fighting. It was closer, more personal, but far too elusive, making it difficult for him to grasp its essence. Soon enough, he knew why it bothered him so much.

A mistake. He had made a mistake at some point. Just as he attempted to figure out what it was, a single thought surfaced in his mind once more.

’... what the hell am I doing?’

A sudden chill enveloped Dante as he finally understood. It wasn’t that he made a mistake at some point in his confrontation with the two spies—the mistake was confronting them in the first place.

His upgraded plan was a mistake. That wasn’t by any means a new discovery—from the moment he came up with it, he knew it would lead to disaster. Despite that, he still went through with it, and here he was.

Dante knew of his tendency to make reckless decisions, but this was far too much for his usual risk tolerance. He would never have gone through with his upgraded plan for the simple fact that it contradicted the original goal, and yet-

[Dante!]

Volcan’s call snapped his line of thought, reminding him that he was still in the middle of a deadly fight. The two spies have once again disappeared, and going by their position on the map, they were already closing in on him.

Jumping away at the last instant, Dante rolled once and pushed himself up, snapping his fingers at the same time. Another pulse of white energy spread out, and the spies were once again exposed.

Dante’s attention wasn’t on them, however. Just as the white energy began to fade, he noticed something floating in the sky. It was far enough that he couldn’t discern the details, but a small screen appeared on the left side of his field of vision, showing a zoomed capture of what he was looking at.

Alarms suddenly blared in his mind and the sense of wrongness he felt before spiked. Thunder Strike, one of Flame Guard’s four remaining members, was looking straight at him. Though his own face was hidden behind the visor of a helmet, Dante felt that their eyes met, and that left him stunned.

’... kill...’ A moment later, he came back to his senses, and his gaze shifted to the two spies. ’I need to kill them!’

As if sensing his will, the looks on the two spies turned even more grim. They forwent their stealth magic and went straight for the attack, producing several cone-shaped missiles while conjuring more bladed weapons.

Dante did the same, activating Type 9-3’s Aether Spear ability as he rose to his feet. Taking a firm step forward, a spear of white radiance forming in his hand as he twisted his body and flung it with everything he had.

The spiky haired spy was running to the left when a hole the size of a football was suddenly blasted through his body, followed by a distant explosion. Not sparing him a moment of thought, Dante turned to the second spy who was gazing at his partner with wide-eyed disbelief. A moment later, anger seemed to overwhelm him and murder shone in his eyes.

Leaping into the air, he made some motions with both of his hands before pointing two fingers in Dante’s direction. The air shifted and stirred, then it flowed around a central point, turning into a violent tornado.

If he were a normal human, Dante would have been ripped apart the moment the cyclone picked up speed. However, thanks to Type 9-3’s Aether rebound, the sharp wind bounced off his pure white armor, allowing him to appear entirely unaffected.

Sadly, his perfect defense wasn’t so perfect. The armor was practically bleeding energy at this point and would run out before long. Instead of dispelling the wind using Aether Distortion, Dante took the second spear he had already summoned and aimed it at the rugged spy, repeating the same motion as before.

Another boom followed the launch of the missile-like spear, and the resulting blast dispersed the cyclone. Unfortunately, the second projectile failed to strike its target.

Though he was still in the air, the rugged spy appeared to step on something as he jumped out of the way. Swiping with his hands, he created another salvo of cone-shaped missiles, but just as they burst forth, Dante formed another spear and flung it, giving the spy no time to adjust his stance or repeat the same trick from before.

This time, the spear didn’t miss. A hole popped through the rugged spy’s chest, and his body flew away, carried by the remnant force of the spear beyond the roof’s railings.

Watching him disappear, Dante wasted no time turning away to make his escape. He would have liked to finish things properly and make sure both spies were dead, but that was a luxury he couldn’t afford this time.

Dashing toward the other end of the roof, the same one he arrived at, he was about to give Volcan the order to change him back to 5-1. That was when he heard it.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP

In the silence that enveloped the world, the repeated claps seemed deafeningly loud. Before he could give it a single thought, Dante’s gaze shifted toward its source, and what he saw almost caused his heart to stop.

Away from the area where he and the two spies had clashed, a shadowy figure sat at one of the tables. He was leaning back into his chair, his legs crossed as if he had been relaxing in the same place for quite some time.

Same as when he caught sight of the lightning-clad hero, Dante’s eyes seemed to meet that of the shadowy figure, if those white circles could even be called eyes.

’Volcan!’

His resident AI executed the order before he thought the first letter of his name. Threads of light erupted and instantly enveloped his body. The shadow parted his hands as a new armor replaced the white one, and just as he joined them in another clap, a brilliant flash erupted from the direction of the city hall, and Dante disappeared from the rooftop restaurant, leaving not a single trace behind.