🔌 Part I: The Anomaly in the Level 5 Code
Big Ben was still ticking rapidly, but the Temporal Sentinel's stasis had granted Kael and Elara a precious moment of respite. They were hidden behind a pile of rubble that the System had labeled [Unstable Ruins].
"The Shadow Ghouls (Lv. 35) are anchored to the main portal," Kael whispered, consulting the three-dimensional map of the Level 40 scan stored in his mind. "Killing them would require a direct confrontation with Holy damage. Too much noise, too much expenditure. We need to bypass the main firewall."
Kael activated his [CODE ACUITY] to analyze the section of the Fragment extending underground. He was looking for a forgotten service door, a protocol too old to be integrated into Cronos's Level 40 defenses.
"The Core Fragment incorporated the old Westminster utility system," Kael explained. "Cronos updated all the high-level access points but neglected the lower-Level environmental filters, viewing them as irrelevant."
Kael located a weak spot: an old ventilation conduit, partially submerged in Thames water, running under the embankment and seeming to lead toward the base of the Tower.
ENTITY DETECTED: [UTILITY CONDUIT (LVL 5)]
Status: Abandoned.
Function: Clock Mechanism Ventilation.
Detection Risk: Low. (Ignored by Lv. 30+ Entities).
"There it is," Kael said, pointing to the spot. "A Level 5 ventilation conduit. It's the only way for an undetected entry. But there's a Level 15 digital lock, powered by an external circuit."
🔓 Part II: The Low-Power Hack
Elara looked at the narrow conduit with disdain. Her armor was sleek, not designed for crawling in the mud. "Can you pick a Level 15 lock with your residual energy?"
Kael still had 65% Mental Energy, but he couldn't afford to waste it. A full [Deconstruct Interface] on the digital lock would atomize it, but the sudden code explosion would alarm the aerial patrols.
Kael recalled the successful exploit on Waterloo Bridge (Chapter 7). He didn't have to destroy the mechanism; he just had to confuse it.
Kael focused, using a sub-script technique he had learned from analyzing the electrical attack on the Golems.
[Kael uses: Flow Sub-Script (Focus: Minimum Electrical Overload)]
> TARGET: LVL_15_DIGITAL_LOCK > SCRIPT: Power_Flow_Reversal.Set_Value [x150%] > DURATION: 1s > COST: Mental Energy -5%
Instead of destroying the code, Kael briefly reversed the flow of energy powering the lock. The electricity, overloaded, caused an instantaneous "system error" in the lock.
There was a quiet pop, and the digital lock on the conduit hatch went dark, its green light turning red: [LOCK STATUS: SYSTEM FAILURE].
"Open the door," Kael ordered. "The system registered only a temporary electrical anomaly, not a Class override."
🕳️ Part III: Into the Core Fragment
Elara, despite her distaste for the mud, didn't argue. With a grunt of frustration, she lifted the steel hatch. The air escaping the conduit smelled of ozone, dust, and burnt code.
"This is your element, Archivist," Elara muttered. "You're the one guiding us in here."
Elara crawled in first, her armor scraping noisily against the metal, but the sound was muffled by the thick conduit walls and the distance from the main portal. Kael followed with difficulty, his body unused to the physical exertion.
The conduit angled sharply upward, and after several minutes of effort, they emerged into a vast, cavernous chamber lit by the same sick golden light as the tower.
They were inside the Big Ben Fragment.
This was no basement; it was the Tower Under-Core. The original clock mechanism hung above them, a labyrinth of giant gears and pistons descending from the ceiling into a foggy abyss. The gears weren't brass, but obsidian, and they moved at an absurd speed, producing the frantic ticking sound.
AREA DETECTED: TEMPORAL ANCHOR MECHANISMS
Function: Maintain the instability of the Failed Balancing Loop.
Risk: Presence of TEMPORAL Elemental Damage in the air.
"We're in," Elara whispered, drawing her sword. The air was heavy, and her Demon Hunter senses felt the demonic energy.
Kael wasn't looking at the gears; he was looking at the code within them. At the center of that mechanical chaos was a pulsating mass of golden energy, vibrating to the rhythm of the ticking: the Boss.
[DEMON CLOCK: CRONOS (Lv. 40) - ANCHORED]
⚠️ Part IV: The Final Tactic
"Cronos is high up, bound to the gears," Kael quickly explained. "He's not the only threat. There are three entities patrolling the room. We emit little Aggro here, but it won't last."
Kael pointed toward three dark masses slowly moving along the metal walkways circling the gears.
ENTITY DETECTED: GEAR GOLEM (Lv. 30)
Type: Mechanical Construct/Guard
Primary Weakness: [SONIC] or [VIBRATORY SHOCK]
"Level 30 Gear Golems," Kael said. "Heavy armor, kinetic damage. Your Holy damage will do little. Our database predicts [SONIC] as the primary weakness."
"I don't have sonic weapons, Archivist. I'm a Hunter, not a Bard," Elara countered, gripping her sword.
Kael smiled, but it was a problem-solver's smile. "You don't need a weapon. We have an entire clock mechanism that's disintegrating. We need to induce a resonance in the room. You must distract the Golems while I use my abilities to overload a key gear, creating a vibratory shock that hits their sonic weakness."
"Distraction. Sounds good," Elara said, her expression transforming into excitement. "Which gear do I hit?"