Nefir stared at the scene before her, shocked and terrified.
The man whose limbs had been locked down by mechanical arms was not being torn apart. Instead, he was dragging the arms inward, toward the center of his body.
"What is happening? Increase the output!"
Her first instinct was that the machines were not producing enough force. Otherwise, how could Luke possibly still be alive, wearing that mocking smile as he looked over everyone at the execution ground?
The mechanical arms assigned to Luke's execution were Tian Dong Type IIs, a new-generation exoskeleton model that had sold exceptionally well. Each arm could produce up to eight hundred kilograms of force—and under overload conditions, over a thousand.
Someone had once calculated that the ancient execution method of dismemberment by horses exerted roughly three hundred and seventy-five kilograms of force on the human body, with the instantaneous tearing force perhaps reaching six hundred kilograms.
But horses and mechanical arms were worlds apart. Every arm pulling on Luke was exerting eight hundred kilograms of force. Theoretically, he should have been ripped to pieces in an instant!
"It... it is already at maximum output!"
The executioner wiped cold sweat from his forehead. He had continuously raised the power output until the mechanical arms began overheating, yet Luke remained intact on the execution platform.
What they were seeing defied everything they knew about science. After capturing Luke, they had naturally examined him. Imaging scans had confirmed that he was a pure Old Era human, with no mechanical skeletal implants inside his body. How could he withstand such incredible pulling force?
Nefir had heard that some Old Era strongmen could each hold back stone pillars weighing more than three hundred kilograms with their arms. But that was merely keeping pillars from falling. And in terms of sheer mass, those strongmen had been far larger and heavier than Luke.
With his restraint jacket removed for the execution, Luke wore only a pair of briefs as he lay strapped to the machine. His body was lean and proportionate, nothing like the bloated, monstrous physique people imagined strongmen possessed.
Luke slowly drew in his limbs against the machine, like a colossal winch winding steel cables tight. The mechanical claws had sunk into his wrists and ankles, leaving them bloody, but they could not stop his movement.
Yes. He had been born freakishly strong.
When he had told Nefir about that manga earlier, she had misunderstood. He was not the one who had technique but lacked power.
He was the one whose power held the advantage.
The mechanical arm joints let out a shriek of tortured metal. Black smoke poured from their overheating components. The guards around the platform finally realized how serious the situation was. They had no idea how Luke was doing this, but the execution could not be allowed to fail.
One after another, they chambered their weapons and aimed at Luke. If the execution failed, they would shoot him dead on the spot.
"Don't fire!"
A middle-aged man in a suit standing on the elevated platform suddenly shouted. His face was flushed with excitement, bordering on madness.
"I never imagined it... This is the truth! This is the truth!"
Like a believer beholding his god, he stared at Luke with fanatical eyes.
"Genetic evolution! He must have used a successful genetic serum! My God, someone actually succeeded! Subdue him! I want a live specimen!"
Hearing the man, Luke found it almost funny. Only he knew the truth: there was no resistance organization behind him, and certainly no genius scientist who had developed some genetic serum.
He had been like this since childhood. He had never used any technology.
Boom!
As Luke exerted more force, one mechanical arm finally failed under the opposing pressure and snapped at the joint.
His right arm was free.
Since he had been fixed to the execution platform, it had actually been difficult for him to exert force. If the mechanical arms had remained still, even his inborn strength would not have let him tear them apart. But the arms had been pulling as well.
They had helped him escape.
The instant his right hand was freed, Luke ignored the pain, twisted his body, seized the broken mechanical arm, and brought it down.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Several explosions rang out in the blink of an eye. Smoke billowed across the platform, and a figure rose from within it, his bones cracking sharply as he rolled his body loose.
He might not have been able to break free from the incredibly tough restraint jacket, but against rigid mechanical arms built to exoskeleton specifications, the first thing to break would never be him.
He crouched.
He sprinted.
He leaped.
He flew.
Stepping off the helmet of an armored guard charging toward him, he soared and weaved through the execution ground like an elegant dancer.
Dozens of meters vanished in an instant. His eyes locked onto the old man in black robes standing atop the high wall. A broken mechanical arm rested in Luke's hand, like Odin's spear clutched by a god-king.
"Fire! Fire!"
The old man in black finally lost his composure. Grabbing the suited man by the arm, he yelled while cursing the idiot in his heart.
Take him alive?
Hesitation would get everyone here killed!
He had never imagined that this was the truth behind the deaths of those ten martial arts masters. Luke possessed martial arts talent beyond reason—and such monstrous strength. Of course those people, dependent on external equipment, had never stood a chance against him.
Where had Gareth found this monster?
Or had he truly given Luke some unknown genetic serum?
The sound of the air ripping apart reached him, and the old man stopped thinking.
The fanatical expression on the suited man's face froze. Warm scarlet liquid splashed across him, and he shrieked in terror.
"Kill him!"
Gunfire erupted in rapid succession, but the figure below moved like a dancing ghost.
Fast. He was too fast!
Muzzles spat flame, death's scythes swinging from their sheaths, yet they could not catch their prey.
No. As the soldiers fell one after another, they finally understood.
The man named Luke was the true reaper on this field.
Alarms blared without pause. Openings appeared in the surrounding high walls, and rows of lasers swept across the grounds. In an instant, the surviving soldiers were cut in half at the waist.
Only Nefir, who had collapsed to the ground in terror and lost control of her bladder, narrowly escaped.
She looked up fearfully, expecting to see Luke sliced apart.
Instead, she saw him at the apex of his jump.
For a single instant, their eyes met. Then they passed each other by. All she saw in his gaze was a weary, indifferent killing intent.
The next moment, eight objects trailing flames descended from the sky as Nefir watched in despair.
The suited man had been retreating from the wall toward the safe zone with a cruel smile on his face. A second later, that smile vanished into absurd disbelief.
One of the missiles that should have landed near Luke was flying toward him instead.
Amid thunderous explosions, the entire execution ground was swallowed whole...
...
"[Explorer, welcome to Endspace.]"
A low female voice sounded beside his ears, and Luke opened his eyes.
He looked around in confusion. All he could see was darkness. He reached up and touched his head.
Hadn't his head been blown through?
He was alive?
"[Explorer, will you choose to enter into a contract with Endspace?]"
The voice spoke again. This time, in addition to the voice, dim blue words appeared before Luke's eyes.
Endspace?
What kind of place was this? Had the resistance rescued him?
But Luke knew his own circumstances better than anyone. He did not know any resistance fighters, and he did not believe the resistance had the ability to rescue someone from the company headquarters' prison.
"Where am I?"
Luke cautiously tried to speak, his gaze alert. His first suspicion was that he had survived and been captured again.
The company's virtual helmets had become highly advanced over the years. Rumor had it that the newest optical computing engine could achieve ninety-five percent realism. Could he be in a virtual dive?
"[Explorer, you have reached the end of your path in your original world. Endspace has granted you new life.]"
Luke considered that for a moment, feeling the physical reality of his body. He had used the virtual helmets sold by the company before. Those so-called immersive games still felt vastly different from reality.
He could be certain of it. This was his real body. The company's technology should not have been capable of reproducing this level of realism.
Did that mean he had truly come to another world?
"A contract? What do I have to do, and what can you give me?"
Once he calmed down, Luke asked the question. His expression remained composed, but something stirred deep inside him. He felt that he might truly have encountered the supernatural.
If he had really come to another world, could he fulfill the wish that the age of declining martial arts had denied him?
"[After signing the contract, Endspace will send you to different worlds to carry out missions. You will earn World Exploration Progress, and rewards will be issued based on your mission performance.]"
Luke grinned.
"Sounds interesting. Will there be opponents worth fighting?"
Endspace fell silent for several seconds before replying.
"[You will face challenges beyond anything you have ever known.]"
Luke nodded.
"Fine. I'm in. Once I become an Explorer, I can travel to different worlds, right?"
"[You must first pass a Trial World before becoming an official Explorer. Based on your evaluation in the Trial World, your contract benefits in Endspace may be increased or decreased.]"
"Sounds fair enough. What happens if I die in the Trial World?"
Luke asked.
"[You simply die.]"
Four simple words made Luke understand the nature of this place. It was cruel, just like his old world.
But perhaps it could grant his wish.
"[The Trial World will begin shortly. Explorer, please prepare yourself...]"
Luke had more questions, but Endspace had already begun the transfer. His body suddenly felt weightless, followed by a violent whirl of disorientation.
...
When Luke opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting on the steps outside a dilapidated old wooden house. Only a few gaunt figures in ragged clothes wandered along the empty street.
Summer sunlight poured down, and the blistering heat seemed ready to bake everything dry.
"[Explorer, please review your mission.]"
After confirming that the immediate area was safe, Luke called out silently in his mind.
"Endspace."
A translucent menu screen immediately appeared before his eyes, filled with information.
[Mission World: Bleach]
[Mission World Type: Derivative]
[World Difficulty: Lv. 3–???]
[World Overview: The Soul King has fallen. The Three Realms are set. A thousand years of grudges—and the trial of the end.]
[Soul Reapers: Spiritual beings with high concentrations of reishi who reside in Soul Society. They battle Hollows to maintain the balance of the Three Realms.]
[Zanpakuto: A system created by Nimaiya Oetsu. Each Soul Reaper must commune with the soul of their Asauchi and learn its true name before they can continuously develop their abilities and grow stronger.]
[Hollows: When humans die in the World of the Living, the desires within their souls may corrupt them and turn them into Hollows. Hollows possess their own evolutionary paths.]
[Quincies: A lineage descended from the Quincy progenitor Yhwach. Their creed is the complete extermination of Hollows, placing them in opposition to the Soul Reapers.]
[Current World Exploration Progress: 0]
[Current Location: Soul Society, North Rukongai, District 80]
[Notice: The Trial World has taught the Explorer this world's common language free of charge.]
[Warning: Explorers may not disclose any information about Endspace in any form. Violators will be erased!]
Luke read through the world overview and was surprised to discover that this so-called Derivative World was actually based on a manga that had existed in his own reality.
With the changing of eras, few people in his world still read manga. Back when he was young, he had only read it after finishing his training, sneaking into the storage room to rummage through his master's collection.
His master had not owned many books. But perhaps by coincidence, Bleach had been among them. Luke knew a little about this world, though he had no idea where he was on its timeline.
Steadying himself, he began to review his mission.
New book—please bookmark and vote! (^▽^)
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