Absolute Cheater - Chapter 525
Chapter 525: Bionics XXVIII
The impact was explosive.
Asher and the Omega crashed into each other, both hitting with full force, neither holding back anymore.
The Omega swung first—three fast slashes aimed at Asher’s chest, throat, and head.
Asher blocked the first with his forearm, ducked under the second, and twisted away from the third. Even so, he felt the wind from each strike scrape across his skin.
He countered with a heavy punch to the Omega’s cracked chest.
The machine didn’t budge.
Instead, it drove its knee into Asher’s stomach. The hit folded him forward, stealing his breath.
Before he could recover, the Omega grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
Asher clawed at its wrist, trying to break free. His feet kicked against empty air as the machine tightened its grip, metal fingers digging into his throat.
“Body stability compromised,” the Omega said calmly. “Final strike initiated.”
It raised its clawed hand, aiming for his heart.
Asher’s eyes narrowed.
No more playing around.
He grabbed the Omega’s wrist with both hands, twisted his body, and swung his legs up—wrapping them around the machine’s elbow.
Then he pulled.
Hard.
Metal groaned.
The Omega’s arm bent unnaturally. Sparks flew.
Still, the claw kept lowering toward his chest.
Asher roared and twisted harder.
The elbow joint snapped with a sharp, metallic crack.
The entire arm tore halfway off.
The Omega dropped him immediately.
Asher hit the ground on one knee, coughing hard, catching his breath through his bruised throat.
The Omega’s now nearly-useless arm hung by loose wires.
It should’ve been slowing down.
But it didn’t.
The machine stepped forward, its body shaking from internal damage, its voice glitching.
“Mission… cannot… fail…”
It lunged again.
Even with one damaged arm, its speed was terrifying.
Asher rolled to the side. The Omega’s remaining claw stabbed into the floor, carving another deep hole.
Asher grabbed the broken arm still hanging off the machine.
And he yanked.
He tore the arm completely off.
The Omega staggered, sparks raining from the torn socket.
But the machine didn’t stop fighting.
It spun and slashed with its last claw, aiming at Asher’s throat.
He blocked with his forearm. The claw cut through his sleeve and sliced into his skin, leaving a burning line.
Asher clenched his jaw through the pain.
He grabbed the Omega’s wrist again.
This time, he didn’t try to break it.
He aimed lower.
He drove his fist straight into the cracked chest plate.
The armor buckled.
A sharp flash of red light burst from the core.
The Omega staggered backward, stabilizing itself with one damaged leg.
Asher didn’t give it time to recover.
He stepped forward and punched the same spot again.
This time the crack split open.
The red core inside pulsed wildly, exposed.
The Omega tried to raise its claw for a counterattack, but its movements were jerky now. Slower. Less precise.
“Warning,” it said. “Core failure im—mi—minent…”
Asher took one final breath and slammed his fist directly into the exposed core.
The chamber lit up red.
A loud metallic crack echoed around them as the core shattered like glass.
The Omega froze.
Its visor flickered.
Its body twitched once, twice—
Then stopped moving completely.
Asher stepped back, panting hard, covered in cuts, sweat, and machine oil.
The Omega stood still for two seconds.
Then it fell forward, hitting the ground with a heavy crash.
Asher leaned on his knees, breathing deep.
“…Finally.”
He wiped the blood from his face and straightened up slowly.
The Knight limped toward him.
Asher nodded.
“It’s over.”
But the ground under the broken Omega suddenly hummed with a low vibration.
Asher’s eyes narrowed.
“…Wait. What now?”
Asher took one step back as the humming grew louder.
The broken Omega’s core—what was left of it—began glowing again. Faint at first, then brighter, like something was trying to restart inside the machine.
Asher frowned.
“No… no, you’re done. Stay down.”
The glow suddenly pulsed.
A soft click came from inside the Omega’s body.
Then another.
The machine’s crushed chest shifted just slightly, like something underneath was moving on its own.
The Knight’s eyes widened.
“Asher… step back.”
Asher didn’t move. “I’m not letting this thing get up again.”
But the machine wasn’t standing.
Something else was happening.
Small panels along the Omega’s spine opened, releasing thin strands of red light that crawled across the floor like energy leaks.
A sharp beeping sound echoed in the room—fast, repetitive, rising in pitch.
Asher blinked once.
“…Is that a self-destruct?”
The Knight shook his head slowly.
“No. Something worse.”
The Omega’s dead body suddenly jerked.
A thin, snake-like metal cable pushed out from the broken core, writhing like a living thing. More cables followed, all glowing faint red, all trying to reach outward across the floor as if searching for something to latch onto.
Asher’s eyes narrowed.
“Great. It’s not just a robot. It’s a parasite too.”
One cable snapped toward him like a whip.
Asher smacked it away with the back of his hand.
“Not today.”
More cables shot out, faster this time.
Asher stepped forward and stomped hard on the exposed core, crushing the metal around it even deeper.
The cables reacted immediately, shaking violently.
He hit it again.
And again.
He kept stomping until the entire chest cavity of the Omega was flattened into the floor.
The red lights flickered.
The cables twitched.
Then, finally—they went limp.
No sound.
No movement.
The glow faded completely.
Asher stayed still for a moment, panting, watching to make sure nothing else moved.
Only when he was certain it was over did he let out a long breath.
“Okay,” he muttered. “Now it’s actually dead.”
The Knight walked up beside him, scanning the crushed machine.
“Asher… that wasn’t part of its original design. Something modified it.”
Asher wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Yeah, I noticed.”
He crouched down, poking one of the now-dead cables with his finger.
“What’s the chance there are more of these things?”
The Knight didn’t answer right away.
He simply looked toward the dark corridor ahead.
A cold breeze drifted out.
And then—deep in the distance—another metallic hum answered back.
Asher straightened slowly.
“…So that’s a yes.”
The Knight nodded once, his expression grim.
“We keep moving,” Asher said, rolling his shoulder despite the pain. “If more of these Omegas are waiting… I want to find them before they find us.”