“8…”
“7…”
The cold countdown was like a funeral bell tolling in everyone’s heart.
Vivian’s sword was plunged into the Scavenger’s chest, the hilt still vibrating slightly.
She could feel that the so-called Energy Core beneath the tip had not been completely destroyed.
Instead, it pulsed wildly like an enraged heart.
“…System overload… irreversible…”
The machine’s synthesized voice became intermittent, filled with the static of electromagnetic interference.
Its huge single eye flashed with chaotic red light, locked firmly on Vivian, the closest target.
“Get back!”
Alicia shouted, Holy Light gathering in her hands again, ready to envelop Vivian along with that hunk of metal.
“Pull out the sword!”
Vivian gritted her teeth, trying to wrench her weapon free.
But the sword seemed to have been welded in place, not budging an inch.
“Don’t pull it out!”
Lynn’s voice was hoarse, carrying an unquestionable resolve.
Everyone looked at him.
He stared fixedly at the gaping hole made by the sword, a line of game lore only he could see flashing through his mind:
After the Scavenger’s Energy Core suffers physical penetration, it triggers a backup power source self-destruct.
The only way to stop it is to manually cut off the physical switch located on the core’s side wall.
How could he explain this?
He had no time to explain!
“6…”
“5…”
“Nobody move!”
Lynn roared.
Before anyone could react, he had already shot forward like a leopard.
His target wasn’t Vivian, nor Alicia, but that giant steel spider about to explode.
“Lynn!”
“Brother!”
The exclamations from Vivian and Lilith sounded simultaneously.
They didn’t understand.
What was he doing? Going to his death?
The Scavenger’s program was haywire, but its combat instincts remained.
It sensed Lynn’s high-speed approach, and one of its nearest mechanical arms swept towards him!
It wasn’t a cutter or an energy cannon, but a damaged exhaust vent at the joint.
“Hiss—“
A visible, searing white jet of air erupted from the vent.
Lynn had no time to dodge.
He only felt a wave of burning agony across his back, the sound of fabric instantly turning to ash mixing with the “sizzle” of flesh being seared.
He grunted, the blast sending him stumbling forward, nearly falling to the ground.
The high-temperature airflow had torn a huge gash in the clothing on his back from top to bottom, even scorching off a large piece of his pants.
Large patches of skin were exposed to the air, covered in shocking burns, some areas already blistering.
It hurts.
Hurts like fire.
But Lynn couldn’t stop.
“4…”
“3…”
Using his forward momentum, he rolled, dodging a stomp from the Scavenger’s other arm, and scrambled awkwardly to the machine’s chest.
Vivian’s sword hilt was right before his eyes.
Without even looking, he forced his entire right hand into the gap beside the blade!
“Ah!”
Lynn let out a suppressed cry of pain.
The edges of the gap were sharp metal, instantly carving several deep, bone-visible gashes into his arm.
Inside, electrical sparks danced wildly, and scorching energy currents assaulted his flesh.
He felt like his entire arm was being roasted.
But his eyes were frantically searching.
Found it!
On the side of the core, a recessed, inconspicuous red button.
“2…”
With all his strength, he bent his fingers, pressing down hard on it with his fingertips.
“Click.“
A soft sound.
The world fell silent.
The flashing red light in the Scavenger’s single eye went out completely.
The massive metal body let out a final “groan” of protest, all its joints locking up, turning it completely into a pile of scrap metal.
The life-threatening countdown stopped on the final second.
Vivian’s sword was still stuck in it.
Lynn’s hand was still inside.
The crisis was over.
Lynn’s taut nerves finally snapped at this moment.
The intense pain from his arm and back washed over him like a tidal wave.
His vision went dark, and his body went limp, sliding down to lean against the cold steel.
He gasped for breath, his vision blurring, a ringing in his ears.
He saw Vivian, Alicia, and Lilith, three people from three directions, all rushing towards him at once.
Their faces wore the same expression.
A mix of shock, lingering fear, heartache, and… something more fervent, more dangerous.
“Lynn!”
Vivian was the first to reach his side.
She wanted to help him up, but seeing the horrifying, bloody burn on his back, her outstretched hand froze mid-air.
Her gaze fell on her own sword, still embedded in the machine.
It was her who had almost brought down the entire team.
It was also her who had created this one and only opportunity for Lynn.
And it was her who had caused him to be so grievously injured.
A powerful sense of guilt and an even stronger protective urge exploded within her.
“Holy Light!”
Alicia was right behind her.
Without a word, she knelt beside Lynn, her hands hovering above his back.
Gentle Holy Light spilled from her palms, covering the terrifying wound.
Lynn felt a wave of coolness, the intense pain easing considerably.
He could smell Alicia’s scent, that holy, incense-like aroma from the Church Cathedral, now enveloping him.
The Saintess looked at his pale face, at his brow furrowed in pain.
Her usually placid golden eyes churned with unprecedented turbulence.
He had done this to himself to save them.
This man, this “gift from God” she had decided he was, shouldn’t have to suffer this.
He should be placed in the safest, cleanest, softest place, protected properly by her alone.
“Brother, your hand…”
Lilith’s voice was choked with tears.
She crouched on Lynn’s other side, carefully cradling his bloody, mangled right hand.
Warm tears dripped, one by one, onto the back of Lynn’s hand.
Lilith kept her head down, no one could see her expression.
Only Lynn, before his consciousness plunged completely into darkness, saw it.
She was crying.
But the corners of her mouth were curving upward.
She was smiling.
She was crying for his “sacrifice,” yet laughing for his “vulnerability.”
A perfect, wounded brother who needed her protection, who could no longer run away.
How wonderful.
Ignis also came over.
She gently nudged Lynn’s leg with her large head, a “whining” sound like a puppy’s coming from her throat.
Lynn was surrounded by the four of them.
He lay weakly on the ground, clothes torn, covered in wounds.
Like a small piece of meat that had fallen into a pack of hungry wolves.
The hostility they held for each other was gone from their eyes.
All their gazes, all their desires, all their possessiveness, were focused solely on him.
Lynn managed a weak twitch at the corner of his mouth.
He knew.
His “suffer-to-gain-sympathy” act… might have been played a bit too hard.