Chapter 240 Cybernetic Return

"Hoh! I can see you're raring to go already–well, your opponent has already been decided," the chancellor said.

"They have?"

"Why, yes," the grand chancellor's scarlet eyes honed on him, "Another like you has been brought here–a powerful prospect from your world who has also been chosen as a candidate for the spot amongst the Twelve."

"Well, I'm ready whenever!" Ajax chuckled.

It was a welcome surprise to the sly chancellor, who nodded his head with a smile of his own, tucked his hands between his luxurious sleeves.

Perfect. I've found a candidate that surpasses all; it's not just strength, either, Chancellor Li thought, he didn't bat an eye when I told him he'd be fighting one of his own brethren.

–

Without any time to waste, the bout for the position of one of the Twelve was set. A royal colosseum awaited Ajax, who was waiting in the corridor just before the arena floor itself; it was forged of black steel, and thought it was a colosseum, he couldn't hear the sounds of a crowd beyond the hall.

Ajax stretched his limbs casually, making sure he was ready as he held a confident smile on his lips before sliding his goggles down over his eyes.

"Alright, I'm ready!" He announced.

Just like that, the steel door, designed with the face of a dragon, was hoisted up by a mechanism, allowing him to enter the arena itself.

It was vast in size; larger than any he'd seen before, but spectators were few and far between, though he could see a figure that was clearly the "Great Emperor", surrounded by an entourage.

Small objects, as tiny as a grain of sand, observed Ajax from the arena walls; minuscule, digital drones that recorded his information before moving subtly.

–

In the opposing hall, the other candidate was "stretching" in a different form, instead checking the setting on the cybernetic armor that he was clad and fused in.

Crawling in through the small gap beneath the door, the rice-sized drones returned to the figure.

"Upload your findings," the man said.

The drones blinked as the information was seamlessly uploaded directly into the mind of the cybernetically-enveloped man.

"...'Ajax'? 'Nuclear System'? That could be problematic. I'll have to play this one out carefully," he said.

The candidate held his wrist up as the black-steel of his advanced armor shifted, revealing a digital screen that projected from his forearm. He tapped a few prompts, with each press, the onyx, cybernetic armor that was one with his flesh, reconfigured itself.

[Reminder: Current mission objective: Obtain information on the Yinlong Empire | Gather intel on their war strategies and combatants.]

"Don't need to remind me. I'm not here to play at being some 'Winged General'," he said.

A light propulsion of steam left between the grooves of his armor as nanomachines gave room for alternate enhancements.

It became slightly bulkier, adding further depth to his muscles which were outlined through the skintight carbon layer across the parts of his body not clad in the armor itself, running electrical veins through his body.

"Alright…" The silver-haired man with luminate, blue eyes muttered to himself, "Locked and loaded. We're ready to go."

[Yakeru | Level 41]

With the barrier to the entryway of the arena opening, he made his move as his metallic boots resounded with each step.

As he entered the stadium, his eyes laid on his opponent; the light-blue iris of his adjusted, honing in as it, too, was cybernetic.

From his perspective, his vision was filled with information, supplied to him by digital text and metrics that analyzed the blonde-haired, goggle-wearing opponent set for him on the opposing side of the battleground.

[Enemy Identified…]

[Ajax | Level 43 | Nuclear System]

[Unpredictable | Unstable mentality | Not able to be reasoned with.]

"Woah!" Ajax smiled, "Are you like an android or something? Totally rad, man!"

As the system fed him information, he tapped the metal plate covering his ear to tuck away the analysis before responding, "Cyborg, actually."

"Oh! Still–that's awesome! Sadly, looks like I'm going to have to put you down, though," Ajax smiled.

He didn't reply, only drawing his katana from its sheath as it released a click, exuding steam as the fresh, electrical-enhanced blade was unsheathed.

From the balcony up above, the illustrious emperor, safeguarded by the visible barrier that sat around the arena in the inevitable destruction to come on the ground floor, spoke out:

"Both of you stand as the representatives of a new history for Yinlong; through your strength, conviction, and willpower will the victory be decided through combat," Emperor Jiao-Long said, "Let the dragon's ferocity flow through you and with your own two hands, take the mantle of one of the Twelve. This is a battle to the death; let nothing be withheld. Fight!"

The very moment the beginning of the bout was ushered in, it was the cybernetic warrior that took the initiative; the armor on his calves compressed and released a blast of steam as he launched forward with swiftness that overtook sound.

It hissed; the vibrating, all-black blade bent the air around it, heating it up with the coil of electricity as it was swung right for Ajax's neck.

"--!"

Yakeru was shocked to find that even through his speed and precision that acted on the foremost initiative, the goggle-wearing adolescent managed to duck beneath his vibrating katana.

"--Almost got me there!" Ajax smiled brightly, rearing his fist back, "We're kind of similar, ya know! I use energy, too! Though mine is…!"

He could see it with his digital sight; the computer instantly analyzed the fist that was being thrust towards him.

[Massive quantity of energy incoming | Enemy is manipulating their internal energy; amplifying their kinetic force | DANGER: Evade incoming attack]

Just as the fist was thrown forward without any form or grace, he managed to evade by flipping up in the air, reconfiguring the soles of his boots on the fly to be able to walk on the ceiling of the colosseum.

From up above, the shock wave of the punch could be seen, having released a devastating contortion to the air as the metallic structure they fought in groaned.

Ajax looked up after having missed his attack, "--Looks like I missed."

He opted not to reply, only acting with haste as he spoke to his internal computer, "Ready the net shot. Let's kick it up to max potency–we've got a big fish to fry here."

[Affirmative | N.E.T V4 Shot loaded | Ready to fire.]

As he ran across the ceiling while upside down, like an adhesive insect, Ajax laughed out, releasing pollen-sized volatile spheres that exploded, but managed to be contained by the protective barrier around the arena.

"Ha-ha! You're good!" Ajax grinned.