Two cybernetic men... Their eyes locked on each other with determination despite the darkening night, they clashed in the complex sky of that twisted planet.
Lucius Varden, thinking he was faster, flew toward the sky, but the cybernetic man named Marcin Grom suddenly materialized beside him. He used both hands like a club, delivering a hard blow to Varden.
For the last few minutes, Lucius Varden had been on the verge of regretting calling Marcin Grom "scrap metal." Because even though this man's technology was 400 years old, it must have been the most powerful of its time, as he was able to keep pace with Lucius Varden's body in every regard.
Struck by the blow, Lucius Varden crashed down from miles above. Like a flat stone skipping across the water, he bounced several times on the earth before finally slamming into the trees. The first tree he hit shattered, halting his jump. The second tree split in half, slowing his speed. The third tree finally stopped him, leaving only a massive hole in its trunk.
"No way!" Lucius Varden exclaimed, holding his back as he straightened up. "This man... this man is not normal!"
"I told you this fight was unnecessary," Marcin Grom appeared as a black shadow in the sky. His long, graying hair swayed in the wind. His face, obscured by shadow, resembled the visage of an executioner from a nightmare. "But you didn't listen!"
Marcin Grom suddenly descended to the ground with the force of the rockets on his back. He tried to crush Varden with his foot, but Varden evaded with two steps backward. A massive crack formed in the ground. Varden instinctively raised his hands to guard against any incoming punch. Marcin Grom, however, did not punch; he grabbed the man by the arm and slammed him into the ground with a hip throw.
Lucius Varden could now understand why he was losing the fight. Although the man opposite him didn't possess superior technology, he was, after all, a Weapon Security member. If Varden wanted to defeat him, he couldn't do it through hand-to-hand combat. He needed to use his advanced technology. As Varden slowly stood up, Marcin Grom began pacing in a circle around him.
"When I opened my eyes, I wouldn't have believed you if you hadn't told me I had slept for 400 years. It's as if nothing has changed in the galaxy... as if I just fell asleep yesterday."
Varden rubbed his aching head and stood up. "You should thank me, old man!" Varden said, cracking his back. He swung his arms, stretching a little. Dust and dirt fell to the ground as his arms moved. "I'm helping you wake up." Then he reached toward his chest. An invisible hatch on his chest slowly opened. "But you are wrong about one thing, old man."
"And what is that?"
"Technology has advanced quite a bit in 400 years." What Lucius Varden pulled out of his chest were three green spheres squeezed between his fingers. Before Marcin Grom could even grasp what the spheres were, Varden hurled them toward him. Marcin Grom, trusting the strength of his body, tried to shield himself with his hands, taking the impact on his chest. As the spheres struck Marcin Grom's body, a large amount of green slime spread everywhere. Because of this sticky goo, Marcin Grom couldn't move his arms. He tried to take a step, but despite his immense power, he was tightly glued to the ground. Even Marcin Grom's face was covered in the slime, but he looked at Varden with his exposed right eye. "It's glue, Marcin Grom. Can you believe it? We use this in the office."
Lucius Varden walked slowly toward the man. "What are you going to do? How are you going to counteract the glue?"
Marcin Grom began continuously applying power with the jets on his back. The soil was torn apart, and he was free, but he still couldn't open his arms. The slime continued to cover him until he started to ascend toward the sky with the full power of his jet. He struggled with all his might to open his hands as he climbed toward the sky.
"What is this maniac trying to do?" Varden muttered. "Damn it!" he said, and started flying to catch up with the man. Marcin Grom passed the sky, almost entering space, when he suddenly cut his engine. As Marcin Grom fell, Lucius Varden quickly moved aside because the man was about to fall right on top of him. Due to the heat and speed, the slime began peeling off him piece by piece. Marcin Grom was about to hit the ground when he activated his engines one more time, trying to slow himself down. The power of his engines wasn't quite enough, so he didn't manage to stop completely, crashing heavily into the ground. As dust enveloped the area, Lucius Varden muttered:
"This old man is completely crazy!"
Something hurled toward Varden from amidst the dust cloud. It was a tree. As Varden instinctively dodged, another tree was thrown at him like a spear. A tree... then another tree... Then, instead of a tree, Marcin Grom lunged, shouting, "Your technology is useless!" and struck Lucius Varden's abdomen with a kick, sending him crashing to the ground.
As Varden slid along the ground, he realized Marcin Grom was leaping onto him. He tore up one of the trees and used it as a guard. When the tree split in half, he tossed it aside and kicked the man. Marcin Grom blocked the kick to his abdomen with his knee. Then Marcin Grom swung another punch. Another tree was used as a shield and shattered. This time, Marcin Grom's punch was so furious that it pierced the tree and struck Varden's shoulder. Seizing the opportunity, Marcin Grom grabbed Varden by the shoulder and tightly embraced him.
One of Marcin Grom's arms was still slimy. Marcin Grom's goal was to stick Lucius Varden to himself. Lucius Varden and Marcin Grom were glued to each other. Marcin couldn't use his left arm, and Lucius couldn't use his right. They began punching each other until Lucius, realizing he couldn't withstand the punches any longer, tore his arm out of its socket to free himself. With Lucius's arm remaining in his grip, Marcin Grom stumbled backward a few steps. Lucius Varden had lost his right arm.
As Lucius Varden's right arm exploded in a massive blast, Marcin Grom walked out of the flames. "You are not a warrior," Marcin said. "You are just an official. A despicable official, a slave to money, who doesn't know how to question things."
"You shouldn't disrespect an SWR official, old man. Did your family never teach you manners?" Lucius Varden paused for a moment, then continued speaking. "Normally, I was fighting you only for a promotion. That's why I hadn't thought of pushing myself too hard."
Varden's cybernetic body began turning gray. First, his left hand retracted into his arm. Then his arm transformed into a three-barreled weapon. This... this was a laser cannon. His left arm was transforming into a laser cannon.
"So you have a laser cannon..."
"Yes... I only need to use it in tough times because, as you know, these damn cannons consume too much energy." The section right in the middle of Varden's chest opened, revealing a core shining with blue light. "My ammunition is quite limited." With the energy from his core, he could fire a maximum of six times.
"You can't hit me with that cannon," Marcin Grom said.
It was as if Lucius Varden's cybernetic body was taking over his human body. The mechanical parts on him were moving like living components. Lucius Varden smiled. "I hope you can evade the shots!" he said, and fired a plasma orb from his arm. Though the orb was initially the size of a cannonball, it grew bigger and bigger until it reached the size of a truck. The sphere, glowing bright red with lava-like, vibrant colors, advanced at great speed. Although Marcin Grom tried to evade to the side with the full power of his jet, his left shoulder and arm were shattered and vanished. But his nanotech armor completed his broken arm. As his nanotech armor completed his arm, it seemed as if his body had slightly shrunk in size.
"As long as it's not fatal, your shots are meaningless!"
"Is that so?" Varden said, and fired once more. Marcin Grom jumped. His legs were shattered but slowly reformed. One more shot, this one Marcin Grom completely managed to evade. "How many is that? Only three... We're just halfway there!" Lucius Varden thought. He fired one more shot, this time immediately following the previous one. Half of Marcin Grom's body was blown away. Marcin's body had shrunk so much that he was barely the size of a frail human. Yet, his head seemed enormous compared to his body.
Lucius Varden was uneasy as he raised his hand to fire, knowing he only had two shots left. He was struggling just to hold his trembling arm in the air.
"The good thing about nanotech armor is not its strength. This armor can adapt. Now, it has adapted to evade the shots. No projectile can hit me within miles anymore." Marcin Grom smiled. His left arm slowly changed shape and became an axe. "Like I said, you are not a warrior. You do not possess the courage to fight with disregard for your life. Your end has come. Therefore..."
Not a sound was heard, but Varden could see the bullet passing through Marcin Grom's throat and falling to the ground right before his eyes. The bullet bounced a few times on the ground and stopped at his feet. Marcin Grom raised his hand to his throat. Blood was gushing from his throat. First, his eyes watered. Then he began coughing up blood. When he fell to his knees, he was convulsing and violently vomiting blood.
He curled his hand into a hook and started digging the earth. As he fell beside the spot he dug with his last breath, Lucius Varden looked into the distance. Aldoux Weisshafen was aiming his weapon at him from the top of a hill. Aldoux Weisshafen, appearing like an ant, stood up and slung his weapon over his shoulder. An unexpected and incredible bullet, fired from miles away, had become the end of the century-old legend.