The laboratory that was clearly reduced to debris after the collapse of the ceiling looked perfectly fine, without a single trace that anything happened inside. Robert couldn’t remember everything in detail, but he was pretty sure that it was the same place. Moreover, the same people were observing him with an unhidden interest as if they were seeing him for the first time.
“He looks too human-like, just bigger. Could he copy our appearance?” One of the junior scientists asked, checking something on a table computer.
“We can’t be sure, Robert. Don’t jump to any conclusions before we get more information,” the head of the group shook his head, before loudly ordering, “We will try to communicate. All attention is on the energy shield. Scan everything you can…”
I think I’ve heard it before… So, what is it? Time-traveling? Time-loop? Or mind-fucking thing, like illusion or virtual reality? Nope, I don’t think it is the latter as to recreate my body with its range of abilities is just impossible. Moreover, the idea that my whole struggles were fake from the beginning is a straight way to the mental hospital. So, no, everything is real… It doesn’t seem to be a time loop either.
Checking his own appearance, Robert noted that the state he appeared in differed from the previous time. Back then he was in the form of a sphere with only parts of the human body. He had to recreate himself in front of multiple eyes, showcasing his completely inhuman nature. This time, on the other hand, he was in a human shape from the beginning, managing to regenerate his destroyed body after smacking into the machine, but before appearing in front of the scientist’s group. This difference already proved that, despite the same starting point in time, his state wasn’t reset. And from all his knowledge about time loops in movies, it wasn’t possible.
Okay, it must be that broken thing that returned me here… Let’s check another thing.
Giving a mental command, Robert moved his obsidian steel in the exact same place as he did in his first appearance in the realm – to cover his knees and elbows, while simultaneously creating a crown from metal horns. Smiling, but keeping the silence, he caused quite a similar comment about his potential connection to Demonologist. However, this time Rob possibly knew who they were referring to.
It must be that fucker! No, I need to avoid the fight with him and those agents… It’s pointless to oppose them. The kid appeared to be not a kid, but a teenager with a shitty attitude and an absence of gratitude for trying to save his life. Like why in the hell would you blow everyone, including yourself? No, that shitass doesn’t deserve any help. Moreover, at his age I was already sitting in the bunker, fighting on the frontlines… No age-immunity for him after such an explosive presentation of his capabilities. Just nope.
Sensing that the time before everything would go sideways was running out, Robert’s mind started to race in an attempt to decide his next course of action. He had little to no desire to fight against someone who he didn’t know, and, frankly speaking, had no wish to know. The problem was that his wish might not be considered at all as after the broken fight nobody was there to confirm his identity as a summoned entity, and not an intruder.
That’s why my best shot is to just get out of this place, without fighting too much… And I need to choose another route.
Finally shaping the plan, Robert decided to speak, but the familiar loud explosion was already resounding from above. Sending a mighty wave across the building and causing the look of worry to appear on the faces of people around. Immediately reacting to it, Rob stepped forward only to meet the force shield that prevented him from leaving the place. However, his fist was already shooting forward. Rotating his body and putting his whole mass into the strike, he hit the invisible fence with everything he had. Multiple bluish cracks spread from the place of impact, causing several flashes of light when the construct tried to stabilize its structure.
“What? Hey, release me, you morons! This place is going to collapse!”
Shouting from a burst of anger, Rob halted his actions. The intolerable sensation of being put into the cage was influencing his unstable emotional state, which was already on the verge of exploding. The recent fight, attack from the agents, struggle to survive the warp, the bloodbath from his inner beast, and, of course, the museum – everything went in succession for him, giving him no break to get over the whole experience. His mind just couldn’t recover a calm state, no matter how hard he tried, balancing like a boiling pot, which could overflow at any moment.
Obviously, such a reaction only scared the scientists. In its turn, Rob failed to stop himself from making more hits. The overcharged force shield was barely holding his anger, obstructing the surroundings with visual effects from each heavy impact. The following trembling and collapse went into a completely empty room, but not before the fleeing group had closed the outer door to the laboratory, clearly afraid of being chased. Only falling blocks managed to return clarity to Robert, redirecting his emotions in the proper direction – into his attempt to escape.
To hell with them! Let’s get out!
The falling ceiling had already started to raise dust, but Robert ignored it, locking his eyes on the source. His reactor core was already slowing down to set the minimum available weight while maintaining high energy output. A moment later he jumped, literally breaking through the debris with his own body. Reaching the wall, Rob tried to bounce against it but failed. His speed was too fast for him to rotate, while the surface he wanted to use appeared too weak to handle the force. Therefore, smashing through it, he fell on the floor on the upper level. Clumsily rolling and getting onto his feet, Robert paused for a moment before continuing his escape.
Throwing away the panicking scientist, who failed to notice two with a half-meter figure in time, Rob followed a wide corridor until he reached several huge lifts. Quite a few people inside were already smacking the buttons in an attempt to force the closing of the doors, seeing an approaching giant. Sparing a single glance and causing screams of fear, Robert quickly found a sign of the emergency stairs nearby before heading there. Piercing the metal door with a single hit, he simply ripped it apart before going inside. In the next moment, he had to close his eyes, protecting them from the torrent of bullets.
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Acting on instinct, he made several wide and blind swings, trashing the surroundings, just to stop the attacker. Only after two seconds, he managed to control his emotions, reminding himself once again of his current bulletproof body. Opening his eyes, Rob saw a few deep holes in the walls and a broken body of the man in what appeared to be a guard's uniform. His abnormally caved-in chest with a frozen expression of terror. The small caliber gun that the man was still holding in his hand. And a huge pool of blood that the dead vomited after getting hit. The very same blood was still dripping from Rob’s fist, painting the white floor.
However, Robert felt nothing. No regret about killing, when he could easily avoid it. No sadness about the loss of a precious life. No perverted happiness from venting the anger. Only indifference as if this death meant absolutely nothing, not even a second of his attention. Yes, his boiling rage from the whole damned situation was there, ready to explode from any mishap, but the killing itself brought nothing. Still, the event caused his thoughts to go in a different direction, while he was moving upstairs. The reaction of the guard together with other facts had already partly explained to him what to expect from the new realm.
So, what do I have? The technological level is roughly on the same level as my old Earth with a few improvements, like a force shield… But not on the level of the previous world, luckily. At least, judging from the simple ballistic guns, no plasma or laser weaponry. The existence of supernatural abilities is a norm as there was no surprise from my own capabilities or appearance. That demonic creature is just another example… On the other hand, it seems they are all “registered” in a database, making it easy to verify an identity. And if they need a database, I can assume that the number of superpower wielders is big enough to struggle with remembering everyone. So, even with my appearance, I can potentially hide if I am not checked personally or isn’t targeted specifically.
Next is the reaction of the guard and the agents. Hostile entities are treated without regard to their life – they instantly opened fire, going for a kill from the start. No talks, no negotiations, no asks to surrender. Is the danger level from those hostile entities so huge that they don’t want to risk? Doesn’t matter now… It seems the best course of action for me is to avoid fighting while leaving the place. It’s better to minimize the casualties until I can figure out more about this world. Yes, let’s do it, Rob.
Sprinting on the last set of stairs, Robert stopped near the thick door for a moment. The trembles from the fight between unknowns had stopped at this point, but the panicking shouts of the people around were still present. Most of them came from beneath, indicating that quite a few decided to ignore lifts. Or maybe they didn’t want to wait, wishing to have at least a minimum control over their fate. And the only reason why Rob thought about them was a result of his pondering over the closed obstacle.
Do I break it? Or do I wait until they reach me?
Looking at the biometric scanner to the side of the door, Robert barely held his annoyance. The scientists were too slow. Their heavy breathing and long pauses between each word showed that they were struggling to move upward, indicating the absence of any physical activity. Obviously, tens of floors were quite a challenge for any untrained human, especially one who neglected everything apart from work, but Rob’s patience and time were both running out quickly. So, waiting for another awfully long dozen seconds, Robert nodded to himself before turning his attention to the door.
Huge, even considering his size, it was made from thick metal. What was more, the designers of this place didn’t make the rookie mistake of putting a highly defensive door on the weaker walls. No, the whole surface that separated the inner side of the building from the outer world was covered with metal plates. Not that could stop Robert, as clenching his fist, he roared with anger before shooting forward. The first strike left a dent on the surface, causing a barely noticeable sensation of pain to wash his hands. In the next moment, obsidian steel moved, once again creating brass knuckles, and more strikes followed. Shattering hits resounded in the area, immediately scaring away the group of scientists. Still, the door held. Bending under the powerful blows, it was clinging to the was as if it was the purpose of its life.
I need more power… What if?
Not halting his actions, Robert focused on the tangible feeling over his black metal. Earlier, no matter how hard he tried, Rob failed to create an Energy Blast. The obsidian steel simply refused to collapse, while his ability seemed to be stressed already to fuel his rector core. However, this time he didn’t try to repeat the same thing, instead attempting to use his old idea about coating the construct with devastating energy. Rob always lacked control to achieve it, and frankly speaking this time wasn’t different. What was different was the resistance of the material – he could easily push with all his mental effort without any reservation, while previously such exertion would easily destroy the whole construct.
Flickering with white flashes, his fists started to burn their way through the metal. Each next hit started to stabilize the light, slowly turning the broken bulb into a working lamp. Maybe Robert couldn’t shoot Energy Blasts anymore, but his skill was still there. He wasn’t learning it from scratch, just readjusting to the change he went through. It was still far from being an instinctive weapon in his arsenal, demanding a mental effort to keep up the effect. Moreover, the door disintegrated much earlier than he managed to get a firm grip on the ability. Pushing the metal plates aside, Robert immediately stepped forward, widening the hole with his huge body. A moment later he paused, looking at the scene in front of him.
Dozens of armed agents were pointing their weapons at him. Hiding behind the mobile fortification made from silver metal, most of them wore helmets and bulletproof vests with huge signs “CSA” written on them. Scattered around a huge but now empty hall, they created a semi-circle around Rob’s position. Considering the ruined state of the place with broken glass, traces of panic, and quite a few dead bodies, something told Robert that they wouldn’t even blink before using their whole arsenal, disregarding the possible damage to the surroundings. And they got a lot – not counting multiple rifles and shotguns, several of the armed agents carried bulky grenade launchers in their hands.
“Let’s avoid unnecessary violence!” Robert shouted, making a first step toward this small army, “Let me leave freely, and nobody will get hurt!”
“Not registered. Confirmation of murdering at least one guard. Be ready to shoot. Few supers are already on their way here,” the voice wasn’t loud, but the eye-catching figure of the very same woman Rob knocked out in the short confrontation was hard to ignore. Currently, she was standing almost in the center of the group, speaking too openly to miss her words even if he wasn’t listening.
As if she is indirectly threatening me… Nice move, but no. I am not afraid. More like confused – how the hell she is already here? Was she tracking me, or what?
“Surrender, and we’ll spare your life! The prison is much better than a grave.”
This time the woman’s voice was louder, addressing him without a single trace of worry. Calm, and cold, her tone sounded like she was stating the well-known facts. However, Robert saw it in others. The barely visible trembling of the rifle’s barrels. The sweaty palms. The harsh breathing, despite the motionless state. Obviously, not all of the agents showed their fear, but there were enough cases to see how unsafe they felt. That made Robert widely smile, stepping forward once again.
“If you want to put me in a cage, I will kindly refuse… I will leave this place, and whoever tries to stop me, will die… I WILL NOT BE CHAINED AGAIN! So, better think carefully before…,” Robert never had a chance to finish his words as the tall beauty tilted her head to the side, before sending a short command through her communication device. And the hell broke loose.