Bang!

A woman with a bobbed haircut, wielding a spear, was hurled out of a building, spitting blood.

She was Yoon Seung-ah, a B-rank awakener from the Gangnam Shelter, led by Yoo Byeong-tae.

By chance, she landed under an unidentified flying object.

"Cough."

Yoon Seung-ah's mouth was bleeding, suggesting her insides were damaged.

If she got caught by those monsters, she would face a fate worse than death.

In a moment of despair, she even considered whether biting her tongue could lead to suicide. She was a physical enhancement-type awakener.

However, she refused to give up and struggled to lift her body.

Her mother couldn’t live in this world alone.

Using her spear as a support, she managed to stand up.

"If you behave, we’ll treat you right. Haha."
"Come to think of it, is she from the Gangnam Shelter?"
"Gangnam is a bit troublesome."
"When have we ever cared about that?"

The two casually stepped outside, engaging in conversation.

"Huh?"
"Eh?"

They both simultaneously noticed something. A flying object hovering 10 meters above her head.

"Uh, what's that…?"
"Why is it here…?"
"I didn't hear anything about it shooting people…."

Whirring—

The barrel attached to the bottom started spinning around.

"Uh… huh?"
"Shit. No wonder my luck's been good."

That was their last utterance.

Thud thud thud—

Vacuum rounds, firing at a rate of 10,000 rounds per minute, mercilessly struck them down.

Thud— thud—

Whether zombies, awakeners, or physical enhancers, everyone was equal beneath the spear of Hyperion.

"…."

Yoon Seung-ah couldn’t easily believe what she was seeing, even with her own eyes. It felt like witnessing something alien that had no place in this era.

‘What did I just see?’

The flying object hovering above was something that couldn’t exist in reality.

Blue flames erupted from various points around the body, reflecting sunlight off its metallic texture as it floated majestically. The front was made up of cannons, and a massive machine gun was mounted on the bottom.

‘Can an aircraft really hover in place so quietly?’

Moreover, how easily it took down a B-rank awakener…

It was absurdly powerful.

It didn’t even take a second for the awakeners to become corpses.

"Huh?"

She was even more surprised to see someone descending from the helicopter ladder.

Kim Yeong-sik.

The man who had been branded as powerless and expelled from the shelter.

"Y-Yeong-sik?"

With his tousled hair, a somewhat clumsy gait, and a simple face, it was indeed Kim Yeong-sik.

He seemed startled to see her.

"Seung-ah, what are you doing here…?"

Then he suddenly rushed over, pulling a syringe from his pocket.

Thud—

"Ugh?"

She trembled all over as the needle pierced her nape.

“Damn… are you trying to kill me…?”

She couldn’t continue speaking. It felt as if she was receiving a refreshing massage all over, and her wounds began to heal. It seemed like the drug included painkillers.

"Uh, ahem. Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that."

Her ears turned red. Whether Yeong-sik noticed or not, he smiled.

"But how did you end up here?"

Yoon Seung-ah tried to open her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

How could she say she had come out to investigate him? Especially to the person who had just saved her life.

"…."
"Well, I can guess roughly, so you don’t have to force it out."

Yoon Seung-ah felt choked up by Kim Yeong-sik's consideration. He had saved her mother, rescued her when she was captured by the Slaughter Group, and now saved her life again.

All with such an indifferent expression.

Yoon Seung-ah wanted to say something.

At that moment.

Swish—

"Uh? Oh. I got it. Seung-ah, just a moment!"

Yeong-sik paused for a moment, nodded, and turned his body toward the direction the ladder had come down.

"Seung-ah."
"Uh? Huh?"
"I have to rush now, let’s talk later. I’ll leave a mark so I can find you."

"Wait, wait…!"

He hurriedly ran and clung to the ladder.

Woooh—

Thus, Yeong-sik shouted something as he moved away.

- Hyperion!! I haven’t gone up yet, ohhh…

Seeing him clinging to the ladder and howling, she shook her head.

She would have another opportunity to say the words left unsaid someday.

"…."

Seung-ah left a mark for Yeong-sik and set off in search of a hideout.

***

Yeong-sik had been drowsy for the past few days from the hunt.

Although Hyperion took care of the hunting, he still had to observe and do his part in between.

‘Hmm.’

After the battle, he needed to polish Hyperion thoroughly. It had to shine brightly.

"Well… it has an automatic cleaning function, right…?"

Yeong-sik murmured hesitantly.

[You need to conserve power for a quick upgrade.]

"R-Really?"

[You must conserve.]

But considering the time it would take to clean… it didn’t seem to matter much, did it? Or could it be that it liked being cleaned by him…?

Could he have misunderstood Hyperion all this time? Even if it seemed cold, perhaps it…

Of course, he didn’t have the courage to ask directly.

That’s how it was.

[Human. Are you feeling sleepy at your current level?]
[Human. Clean it more thoroughly.]
[Human. Where are you keeping your mind?]
[Human?]

‘Yeah. No. Maybe it just can’t stand seeing me idling around.’

[There will be no rest until a dimensional transmitter is installed after the third evolution.]
 
Yeah. Whatever it is, he’d just do as told.

"But where are we going now, Hyperion?"

Yeong-sik, who hadn’t heard the destination clearly, showed his curiosity.

Beep—

The destination was displayed on the screen.

"What?!"

Yeong-sik’s sleepiness seemed to vanish as he checked the screen.

"That place…."

It was where the largest group among the domestic Slaughter factions had formed. The area was as large as several shelters combined.

"Wait, are we really going there? Isn’t it too dangerous…?"

Knowing the original story, Yeong-sik was aware of the monsters that resided there.

There were S-rank awakeners, the mid-bosses from the original, and numerous A-rank awakeners.

So far, the awakeners caught by Hyperion had been B-rank or lower. And the gap between A-rank and others was enormous.

Thus, the place filled with dangerous creatures could genuinely be perilous.

"How about reconsidering? It could really be dangerous there. The abilities of awakeners can be quite bizarre."

[It’s the best choice for rapid power accumulation and growth.]

"…."

Ah…

It seemed Hyperion regarded awakeners as elite monsters that provide good experience.

After checking the increase rate of the power source after the last battle, he confirmed that it had indeed been excellent experience, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.

But the danger remained unchanged…

[I will proceed with the upgrade using the power sources accumulated so far.]

If they were heading toward the Slaughter area, wouldn’t it be fine to attach some defensive measures…?

[Vacuum compressed bullet automatic machine gun - removed]
[Vacuum compressed bullet cannon - mounted]
[Vacuum compressed bullet cannon - lv.1 enhanced]

"Uh… the defense too…."

[Vacuum compressed bullet cannon - lv.2 enhanced]
[Neutron cannon 12 mounted - mounted]
[Photon cannon BRX-2A 128 mounted - mounted]

"Defense…."

[Photon cannon BRX-2A 128 - lv.1 enhanced]
[Photon cannon BRX-2A 128 - lv.2 enhanced]
[Plasma focused cutter - Lv1 enhanced]

"Defen…."

[Triple core attack-type pulse field generator - installed]
[Ion cannon - mounted]
[Multi-launch vapor bomb rocket launcher - mounted]

"Wait…."

Hyperion… what on earth do you want to become? Are you planning to conquer the world?

That was Yeong-sik's inner thoughts, which he couldn’t say aloud.

"Yeah. Right. The best defense is a good offense…."

With a sigh, those were the words that came out of Yeong-sik’s mouth.

***

“…That one is unusual even to me?”
“…A bit of an extreme growth direction.”
"What? Just a bit?"

Kalshtein looked at Arya with disbelief.

The silver-haired beauty nodded with a cold expression.

"At that level, it's a decent choice."
"…."
"Indeed, it's rewarding to teach her properly."

The AI integrated into Hyperion undergoes strict examination and management under Arya's supervision before being implemented. That applies to even the prototype.

As such, the AI of Hyperion inevitably reflects Arya's influence.

"Um."

In any case, it seemed that the dimensional transmitter issue would be resolved quickly thanks to that. If they could just install that, they would somehow be able to proceed with the next plan.

"Thanks to the 'Eternium' that makes up Hyperion, the ether supply is smooth."

Eternium is a mineral with the power of

 creation that can replicate matter when combined with ether. Scientifically, it couldn’t be defined, leading to it being referred to as 'God's metal,' even in SF.

Eternium was one of the most critical components of the evolving Hyperion and was also a material used in ether weaponry. In other words, its conductivity to ether was incomparable to other minerals.

"But will it be alright with that personality? If it breaks free from control, it might be troublesome… I don’t want to delay the transmitter issue any longer."

At that moment, Arya laughed as if it were absurd.

"Heh."

Kalshtein, who had spent a long time with Arya, felt a shiver down his spine.

"There’s no one who would make such a foolish choice after receiving my education."

"…."

Her unwavering confidence left no room for doubt.

Sometimes, Kalshtein found Arya intimidating.

It was like a sisterly presence… or something.

***

At that moment, far away.

Hyperion's body shook unsteadily.

"W-What’s happening? An attack? We haven’t even arrived yet?!"

Yeong-sik, who had been dozing off, wiped his drool and looked around.

[Nothing happened.]

"Eh?"

Hyperion couldn’t explain that it felt somewhat chilly.