Biological Supercomputer System

Emily, Amber, June, and Mira hurried through the city streets, flanked by their Chimaeric Demon escorting them.

Debris from shattered buildings and scattered refuse littered the streets. In the distance, explosions echoed, and smoke filled the air, obscuring their vision.

However, while the city itself was certainly in ruins, it was the people who had suffered the most devastating impact. Bodies littered the streets, some lying in pools of blood, others reduced to unrecognizable masses of flesh.

The scale of destruction was higher than anything they had ever seen before, aside from June, of course, who had seen his fair share of gruesome things since he was born.

The problem, though, was that the four knew Erik was in the middle of all of that death. They were all anxious about Erik.

The group walked, hearing the crackle of electricity from damaged power lines and the creaking of unstable buildings.

Sometimes, these turned into deafening noises and clouds of dust. That happened when the buildings couldn't sustain their own weight anymore.

The Chimaeric Demons remained close to the group to protect them. Their eyes were those of hawks searching for prey. It was just that they were searching for danger rather than something to eat.

The last thing they wanted to happen was for the blackguards to target the four. Erik's closest four. They just needed one of them as prisoner to make Erik do something stupid.

The Chimaeric Demons tried to dissuade them from venturing into the city, but they were determined to help.

It wasn't like they were defenseless, but against people with two brain crystal powers, they were at a severe disadvantage.

June was in a more unstable situation. That made the Chimaeric Demons focus on protecting him rather than the three girls, much to his anger.

It was obvious. June was now the weakest of them all, as he had been created by Erik a long time ago, when he was still in Etrium, when he was still weak compared to now.

"I don't understand," Emily said. "Why would the blackguards make it seem like the Chimaeric Demons were their primary target?"

"It is a diversionary tactic," Mira said. "By focusing their attacks on them, they hoped to draw attention away from their true aim-Erik."

"You are right as always," a Chimaeric Demon said. "Their strategy involves creating multiple fronts to divide our attention," the Chimaeric Demon said. "They've deployed decoy units to simulate major offensives, while their actual strike teams move through less

defended areas. It's a classic feint and strike maneuver."

"Additionally, they're using a tactic we call 'pulse attacks' — rapid, concentrated assaults, followed by quick retreats. This keeps us off balance and makes it difficult to mount an

effective counteroffensive. It also makes it harder for us to understand what they are trying to do."

"It looks like even the blackguards have smart people on their side," Amber said.

"They have..." the clone paused. "In truth, it wasn't like these months ago... They were not as smart... It's like they became smarter all of a sudden."

"Can it be because of their multiple powers?" Emily asked. Everyone understood what she meant. Erik said he got smarter as he got more powerful, so if the neural links they made for their new powers had the same effects as Erik's system, increasing their stats, or whatever they were, maybe they got smarter because of this.

"That's what we believe," the clone said. "For now, we've adapted by implementing a flexible defense grid and using our shapeshifting abilities for rapid response. Our scout units are constantly feeding us real-time intelligence to help us anticipate their next move, but it's not as simple as we believed."

"Anyway," Mira said. "I think this tactic's clever only up to a certain point. I don't think they really thought we would have bought the fact we were their main target," she said. "Not with Erik in the city."

"That's true, assuming they knew about him here, but we can't be certain of this. From their point of view, Erik might not have been here at all."

"How can you say this?" Amber asked. "They are targeting him even now; just this should have been proof they knew about him."

"It's not like you are wrong," Mira said. "The point is that they might have found Erik by pure luck." She paused.

"Think about it. Erik might have sent the Chimaeric Demons here to conquer the city while he was somewhere else, which, if you ask me, is what Erik should do instead of going from battlefield to battlefield. This means they might have come here just to kill the Chimaeric Demons and ended up finding Erik by chance."

"But if that was true, why did they specifically target his car once he left the airport?" Emily

said.

"She is right," one of the Chimaeric Demons said. "If what you say is true, Mira, they wouldn't have attacked his car."

In truth, everything made sense. What Mira said didn't actually mean what Emily, or the clones, said was false, and vice versa.

"I understand you've adapted your strategy, but can you give us more specifics about the current battlefield situation?" Mira asked, addressing the Chimaeric Demons. "How exactly are we responding to their tactics on the ground, aside from the flexible grid?"

"We've taken a multi-layered approach, blending defensive maneuvers with our adaptable strategies. Our primary forces hold strategic points throughout the city, reinforcing bases and shelters with the flexible grid in place."

The Chimaeric Demon paused. "At the same time, smaller units execute swift, hit-and-run strikes on blackguard detachments scattered around the city. These units use shapeshift to reach the places faster and silently. Thanks to our scouts' real-time intelligence, we can also pivot rapidly, but their movements are still trickier than we anticipated."

"We've also established a series of fortified positions along the city's main arteries," another Demon added. "We are trying to funnel the rest of our forces toward the city center, but the fortified positions are there mostly to act as targets."

"We need to breach their defensive line. We're concentrating our efforts on their south- western flank. Once we punch through, we'll have a direct route to their main base of

operation."

Mira listened. "Can't you rush in by shapeshifting into flying thaids?"

The demon shook his head. "Its impossible. The blackguards concentrated a lot of ranged troops in that area. I would even say they are all ranged troops; they are preventing us from approaching. The only reason they are not already doing this against our infantry is because they would kill their own soldiers, and they can't allow that."

Then one of the Chimaeric Demons halted, its head tilted as if listening to something.

"What is he doing?" Emily asked.

But it didn't take long for the clone to say it himself.

"We've just received new orders from the Master himself," the Demon said, turning to face Emily, Amber, June, and Mira. "He's told us to concentrate our attacks on a specific area and disregard the rest of the battlefield as much as we can."

"Where exactly?" June asked, his brow furrowing.

The demon's eyes almost glowed. "The Financial District, specifically the area around the

trade center."

"Do we have an idea why?" Mira asked.

"The master is there. We just confirmed his location. A group of Chimaeric Demons is already there, and they relayed this information to us. The master's orders are clear," the demon said. "We are to use all our ranged attacks and destroy that area."

"Why? If Erik wants to get out of there, we should go help him, right? What does he want to achieve by attacking it this way? Besides," Amber said. "Isn't Starlight Fire's brain crystal power weaker during the day? How effective will that be against the blackguards?" The demon nodded. "You're correct. However, the sheer volume of our attacks will compensate for the reduced power, and the master knows that. It should be enough to achieve

his goal."

Mira shook her head. "What the fuck does that idiot have in mind?"

However, June knew the clones were not telling them something because they ran their hands through their hair, which was something Erik did when lying or contemplating. The Chimaeric Demons, being Erik's clones, had the same quirk, which even he had.

June looked at the Chimaeric Demon's masked face.

"What aren't you telling us?"

The clone, unable to lie to June, told the truth.

"Esteemed elder brother... He... he is here."

"Who?"

Emily furrowed her brow. She glanced at her friends, trying to find out what was happening,

yet Mira and Amber had the same confused faces as her. However, June had a serious look on

his face.

"Is there a key player we're not aware of?" Mira asked.

"Indeed, there is... Erik's main target for his revenge..." June said.

"Erik's main target for his revenge?" Then Amber understood.

"Uncle Benjamin?"

Amber was the only one, among the three women, that knew about him. She even met the

man in question on one occasion.

Erik didn't talk about him a lot, almost never, and he stopped talking about him completely once he learned he was a blackguard and the one responsible for his father's imprisonment.

"Who is Uncle Benjamin?" Mira asked.

Amber sighed. "Uncle Benjamin is Erik's father's best friend and the one who took care of Erik

when Lucius left for Mur. That's why Erik calls him Uncle. He was a respected figure in Frant, always taking part in galas and important meetings... Even my father respected him..." She

paused.

But it was clear there was more to the man than everyone assumed.

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