The sewers beneath the Iron Vault didn't smell like waste; they smelled like ozone and old grease.
Chronos and Elara moved through the tunnels, the only light coming from the faint blue hum of Elara's charged veins. Chronos kept his hand against the damp stone wall, using his [Architect's Eye] to scan for vibrations.
"It's close," Elara whispered, her hand gripping the hilts of her Void-Steel daggers. "The Chimera. The guards call it 'The Janitor.' Anything that enters these tunnels without an ID chip... it deletes."
[Warning! High-Density Mana Signature ahead.] [Target: Mechanical Chimera (Rank-D Elite)]
The tunnel opened into a massive circular chamber. In the center sat a nightmare of scrap metal and ancient tech. It had the body of a lion made of rusted armor plates, a second head—a goat made of hissing steam pipes—and a tail that was a jagged, whirring saw blade.
Its eyes flickered a murderous red.
ROAR—!!
The sound wasn't a growl; it was the grinding of metal gears. The Chimera lunged, its heavy paws cracking the concrete.
"Elara, left! Draw its fire!" Chronos commanded.
Elara moved like a streak of blue lightning. [Bolt-Flash Dash] triggered, leaving an afterimage as she circled the beast. The Chimera's tail sawed through the air where she had been a millisecond before.
Chronos didn't join the fray. He stood still, his mind sinking into the First Void. He didn't need to punch the monster. He needed to dismantle it.
[Architect's Eye: Scanning Target...] [Weakness Found: Central Mana Core (Sub-surface, behind the chest plate).][Structural Flaw: Rusted hinge on the left shoulder.]
"Elara! The left shoulder! Strip the plate!"
Elara didn't question him. She leaped, her gravity daggers glowing with a dark, hungry light. She slammed a blade into the hinge. The gravity-well inside the dagger pulled the rusted metal toward it, twisting the heavy armor like it was made of wet paper.
The Chimera screeched, its left arm locking up. It turned its steam-head toward her, preparing to blast a jet of boiling pressure.
"Now," Chronos hissed.
[Skill Activated: World Pressure (Focused)] [Cost: 30 Mana]
Instead of a wide area, Chronos focused the weight of his dimension into a single point—the Chimera's chest.
CRUNCH.
The beast was slammed into the floor. The immense gravity pinned its torso, the floor beneath it cratering. For the Chimera, it felt like a mountain had suddenly decided to sit on its ribs.
"System," Chronos muttered, his eyes glowing gold. "Deconstruct... THE HEART!"
[Processing... Connection established via World Pressure.] [Matter Deconstruction: Initiated.]
A black swirl appeared in front of the Chimera's chest. The armor didn't break; it dissolved. The gears, the wires, and the glowing blue mana-core were pulled into the Void.
[+400 Metal Essence gained.] [+200 Mana Essence gained.] [Loot Found: 'Ancient Gear' (Rare).]
The Chimera's red eyes flickered and went dark. The massive metal body slumped, now nothing more than a hollowed-out shell of scrap.
[Quest Complete: The Chimera's Toll] [Rewards: +500 Metal Essence, +1,000 XP] [Level Up! Level 3 -> Level 5]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 5.] [New Feature Unlocked: 'Dimensional Shop' (Basic).] [New Creation Tier Available: 'Atmospheric Gases & Basic Vegetation'.]
Chronos fell to one knee, sweat dripping from his chin. His mana was at 5/150, but the rush of the Level Up was like a cold drink on a desert day.
"You... you just ate it," Elara said, stepping back from the hollowed-out metal carcass. She looked at her daggers, then at Chronos. "You didn't just kill it. You erased its very essence."
"It was just a machine, Elara," Chronos said, standing up. "And now, its parts are going to help me build a forest."
He looked at the heavy steel door at the end of the chamber. The entrance to the Iron Vault.
"The guards will have felt the mana surge," Chronos said, his voice turning cold. "We have five minutes to get those fragments before the A-Rank Searcher arrives. Are you ready to see what a 'Zero-Star' can really do?"
Elara spun her daggers, a fierce grin on her face. "Lead the way, Creator."