New Game+

After receiving the Diamons techs, the many scientists immediately began to look for ways to combine Barrier Technology and create a more efficient way of equipping it to the soldiers.

Richie's sound became the top science applied to create this. And so, a barrier technology that increases in strength the more soldiers there was created. The force field of the Unlocked utilized a strange frequency that each Exoskeleton was equipped with. A single Exoskeleton could create a weak shield and would break if a single bullet struck it.

But as the Exoskeletons grew in number, so did its strength. 

Despite having more than seventy of them standing in a formation, the force field broke from the power of Lynd's attack.

The explosion occurred when two sound forces collided. 

The soldiers saw Lynd sending a punch out, and somehow, it resulted in the scene before them.

The underwater sound shock wave spread out and caused ripples that Lennox immediately counteracted by sending bombs to the sea's bottom. 

Various ripples could be seen, but to the eyes of an outsider, it looked like the King Naga was still battling with the Lingkaran, who was struggling with an underwater battle.

The Unlocked began to shoot, but Lynd created large icebergs that appeared around him. Lynd continued to move unhindered as he looked at all the soldiers battling.

The Unlocked began to attack using the various techs that their suits had. Solarium beams which were improved using Meng's desolation, blasted from several Exoskeletons. Solidified lightning was also used. Others began to use molecular bullets that were enhanced using Typical's Path.

"Don't bother using Everbright techs! Treat his eyes like Meryl! Don't use sounds as he might control it against you! Zone users, keep forcing your Zones! Tanks, Fighters, and Standards up in front! Scouts, keep an eye on that guy! We don't know what other Paths he gained in these past days! I want Realm users activating their Realms! Snipers, fire at will!" Cliff gave several orders, which made the soldiers assume their respective position.

Because of the Unlocking, the army kept harnessing the new ways of how soldiers would fight. Just as how time and tech had changed the method of warfare, the Unlocking opened up a different context of battle. The soldiers in this army were all Unlocked and had previous experiences facing off against other Unlocked soldiers.

  Cliff had learned as much as he could and could execute a textbook battle from the tremendous wisdom of Arthur and Lennox's instructions.

Lynd glanced and observed the battlefield. Before he was chased three weeks ago, he had already seen the proposed battle tactics for war.

"Tanks… Fighters… And those must be the standard soldiers." Lynd continued to release several layers of defenses. The icebergs were somehow able to retain their form despite the attacks from the techs. A layer of sound enveloped the ice, and added with a bit of Typical's power, Lynd created a strong force field.

Suddenly, the large chunks of ice exploded out. The ice traveled with great speed as if there was no water resistance meeting it.

"Shields up!" Lando, Gardo, Roselyn, and Cliff shouted.

The Tanks used their corresponding techs to resist the explosion. The Standard soldiers also grouped together to resist it.

Each Tank had its unique means of resisting the explosion. The Soldiers all used a counter sound force to resist the coming sound and shoot the exploding ice shards.

Lynd observed the reactions and praised them. No soldier was hurt at that attack. Each soldier quickly used a counter-reaction to resist the blast. Amazing teamwork also appeared as the soldiers divided their roles into defending and shooting down the ice shards.

The Tanks and Fighters were undaunted by the attack and kept rushing towards Lynd.

"So this is your plan? And Cliff is the General? Since no Hero is here to lead the way, you made Cliff a Commanding General instead of a Funneling General." Lynd analyzed the battlefield as he recalled the proposed theories and strategies of battle.

The Tanks and Fighter were in position and began their harassment attacks aimed to make Lynd move.

Dara used a crowd control skill as her suit exploded into many pieces, with each piece rushing towards Lynd.

Danny followed nearby and began to use an attack. Lander began his whirling attack.

Lightning enveloped Dara's scattered pieces, and even she was glowing bright yellow.

Danny's body began to tremble as the Were-Serum was taking effect.

Lander's suit was drawing energy from his own body, and a tech that converted energy into the power of Typical's needles occurred.

The other Unlocked Fighters and Tanks also employed a unique battle skill taken from the many Paths of the Heroes and the Unlocked.

Lynd couldn't help but smile as he glanced at this.

"Three weeks, and this is what you are capable of. It looks like you guys got a lot from the battle." Lynd's voice was echoed out. 

But as the group drew closer, Lynd disappeared.

"Snipers! Scouts! Now!" Cliff ordered.

Several muffled sounds were heard as the snipers shot on the possible spaces where Lynd could have evaded to.

The attacks tore through the gaps of the attacks in between.

"Front line! Pull back! Everyone, eyes closed now!" Cliff didn't waste time and made another order.

The rushing Unlocked quickly used other techs to rush and retreat backward. At that moment, a powerful bright explosion occurred.

BOOM!

The light illuminated the dark seas as a miniature sun was born.

Yet as the sun was born, the Scouts and Snipers kept sending out more ranged attacks by shooting at the last area where they saw the sun being born.

"General! How did he disappear?! Lynd never met the Thief in the Night!" Dara asked as she retreated. Luckily, they made it on time and rode the shock wave of the explosion to safety. 

"Lynd has grown stronger, and his ability to imitate has transcended reason. He is copying the techs he saw! What you just saw wasn't the Path of the Thief in the Night! That was SPU's cloaking tech! Everyone! Do not show any more techs than we have already revealed! No Cloaking! No Canadian Frost!" 

"General. What about Were Tech? I've already used the Serum! He can't see me under the suit, right?" Danny asked. His entire body was constantly creating energy and force, and strange wild hair was growing all over his body.

"I'm not sure! But his Realm is strong! That's how he evaded the bullets! He might be- Oh. There it is."

Lynd reemerged and had a very strange form. A thick layer of fur appeared, and his face now resembled a wolf.

"What an interesting Path. The science Danny has is lacking, though. I shouldn't use it. And since I have to be serious in this fight, I'll show you an interesting body." Lynd undid the effects as his body reverted to his normal human form. But then, energy gathered.

"His body… The energy around it! It's getting stronger!" Lando was shocked.

"His combining the Paths. The impossible has come true! The Way has appeared!" Gardo exclaimed.

"Cancer cells. Modified mitochondria. Cold Fusion. He even has Meryl's nuclear cells!" Roselyn used her scanners to see it all.

"A Ranked Heroes Body! He built it!" Cliff trembled.

"Not quite." Lennox's voice was broadcasted.

"That is not the theorized body of a Ranked Hero. It has the foundations, though. His body is very unstable. He could kill himself if he ignites multiple Paths together. Not to mention he doesn't have a dantian yet." 

Cliff still cursed as he looked at the power level of Lynd. It was so strange and abhorrent. It felt as if he was fighting a god.

"We only have one shot in defeating him! Use tech reveals on the last moment to attack him. If he managed to block or evade your attacks, it would be our loss. All those new techs will be something that he can copy." Cliff explained.

"What's the plan, General?"

"We'll move step by step. We continue the same attacks that we've made earlier. Since his body isn't self-sustaining, the more powers he uses, the weaker he gets. We'll drain him of all his energy! He only has one arm, so Tanks and Fighters try to get him to fight you in a melee. From what Lennox said, it seems he can't use certain powers at the same time. Look, he is creating energy right now through his multiple cells, but he can't summon all of it at once."

"So he can only use those stored powers one at a time?" Roselyn asked.

"Not exactly. He can't use conflicting powers at the same time. It also means that he can't create powerful attacks with two different Paths at the same time. Don't get intimidated. If he could use all of the Paths together with such power, he could have used Richie's sound to trap all of us when he exploded using Meryl's explosion. But he couldn't!"

"I see. So he's bluffing. That stance he is doing now is a bluff." Roselyn broadcasted it that even Lynd could hear it.

"I'm not bluffing, Roselyn. I'm just showing you what I'm capable of." Lynd chuckled.

"Soldiers! This battle is another chance to Overcome. Facing this madman who wants to kill us gives us the rare opportunity to grow! We can't win unless more Heroes are born among you!" Cliff shouted.

The Tanks, Fighters, and some of the Standard soldiers who had their respective ranks in the army all began to activate several protocols that made their suit generate more energy.

The Nuclear cells of Meryl were planted in their suit. The radiation increased as their suits were strengthened.

"Shall we continue the dance?" Lynd asked haughtily.

"He's just following Richie! Don't forget! Lynd's the guy who blushed when girls threw him their underwear! All of his personalities are but copies of the others! But we've fought the real deal! So don't be scared! Push forward and Overcome!" Cliff ordered.

The army charged at Lynd, and the battle ensued once more.

Lynd laughed and disappeared once more.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions occurred as the snipers kept firing. The scouts kept relaying the location where they sensed movements, and the front-line warriors kept chasing and shooting at the location.

The Unlocked army moved faster than before as it chased after Lynd.

Cliff, Gardo, and Lander kept giving off commands to hit Lynd.

But then, Lander could see that the water around the location of Lynd was moving erratically. He could see that a large cone-like force surrounded Lynd. The bullets and other attacks sent towards Lynd would slide off or veer off the original trajectory.

"Damn it! He got my power!" Lander cursed.

"Keep shooting! His wasting energy! We deplete him to defeat!" Cliff ordered.

The underwater explosions kept increasing, and soon Lynd's figure was finally visible. Lynd was headed towards Dara. The snipers and scouts, and other soldiers continued to send their attacks towards Lynd to help Dara escape.

But Dara didn't retreat. She gazed angrily at Lynd. She activated her suit to explode out and some to attack Lynd. 

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Each piece of Dara's suit exploded as it reached the cone-shaped force field that Lynd was creating.

The cone- force shattered from the consecutive explosions.

Dara used the remaining armors and rode on one while another flew to the back. A metallic rope was tied to the retreating armor piece, and the other end was tied to Dara. Dara jumped towards Lynd and harnessed a majority of the energy in her body to her arm.

Lynd saw Dara's serious look.

"You've come ready to die!" Lynd laughed as he raised his arm and created a powerful beam that used Meryl's Path.

Dara gritted her teeth.

"I love you, General!" Dara shouted. The armor piece that was retreating was suddenly drawn towards Dara with great speed. 

Lynd thought that the metal piece would retreat and carry Dara further, so he used a beam version of Meryl's powers. But Dara pushed forward.

Dara didn't know if Cliff heard her sudden declaration. She had no suit to protect her and knew that approaching the dangerous form of Lynd was tantamount to suicide.

The armor piece struck her on the back and allowed her to evade the beam. Her body was greatly injured, but her face did not react on the slightest. 

The moving metal arced through the waters and brought Dara closer to Lynd. But then...

STAB! STAB! STAB!

Several invisible needles had been standing near Lynd. The water made these needles more difficult to sense, and Dara was only able to sense in when she was near them. She managed to move her body and evade, and the needles stabbed on her shoulder and leg. But instead of retreating, Dara forced the last piece of armor to continue to push forward.

  Dara gave her all and punched Lynd.

Lynd laughed. The stabs that staggered Dara gave him the time to switch the Path being used on his hands. He and reached out to grab Dara's punch with his palm.

At that moment, Danny rushed off with incredible speed. His entire suit emitted powerful electricity that even electrocuted his body. 

Danny was aiming for this moment.

Danny bore the pain and slashed down on Lynd's extended hand.

This speed was not revealed before, and Danny used this last moment and aimed to slice off Lynd's arm. He couldn't attack Lynd because of the shield before. But now, with Dara's efforts, the shield at the front of Lynd was broken. Lynd was also extending his arm to meet Dara's attack out of arrogance. And this extended arm was outside the force field.

Danny knew Dara's courage and acted in sync with her recklessness.

But Lynd wasn't even bothered at Danny's sudden acceleration.

Right before the palm of Lynd met Dara's punch, a strange energy that had green lights appeared. And when Dara's punch collided with Lynd, a green explosion occurred.

BOOM!

Solarium techs were its foundation, but this explosion was stronger than Solarium or Eradication as it had traits of Meng's desolation.

Danny's quick rushing strike did not happen as the sword of his Exoskeleton melted from the heat. The explosion's force was so strong that Danny's Exoskeleton was thrown back. Half of Danny's suit was charred, and the burns even reached his body. With the remaining strength he had left, Danny flung the sword on his other hand, but the sword met a sound shield and bounced off and fell to the abyss of the ocean.

No signs of Dara's body remained.

The soldiers shouted in anger and continued to attack Lynd. Not a second passed when the enraged attacks and charge of the soldiers began.

Lynd simply laughed and evaded the incoming attacks as he focused on slowly reforming the shield in front of him. But then he felt it. The force field he created to surround him was breached again.

"Hey, Lynd! It's time for our rematch!" Lander shouted.

Lynd was surprised and turned around to see Lander breaking through the shield from the back.