[Chapter 22. Silence]

  As the hours stretched into an interminable twilight, the efforts of the military dwindled to nothing, their futile attempts fading like embers in the night.

  Sharpshooters with their high-powered rifles, tanks rumbling with thunderous might, fighter jets screaming across the horizon—all had failed to even leave a scratch on Searanox's formidable form.

  In his opinion, their best attempt had been the bombing run. They had tried to level the entire city with him still inside it, hoping to bury him beneath tons of rubble and steel. Unfortunately for them, the bomber had only managed to release a handful of payloads before being detected and annihilated by his automated defenses. None of the bombs ever reached the ground, vaporized mid-air by silent energy beams that sliced through the atmosphere like razors.

  That had been a full day ago. Since then, there had been no further attempts to interfere.

  For the last twenty four hours, the city had known no sound of weapons beyond the silent, merciless beams of the drones, which continued their systematic extermination of any remaining resistance. Searanox woke from sleep. For the first time since this had begun, his rest had not been shattered by explosions or the roar of aircraft tearing through the sky.

  Iris was clinging to him nuzzled deeply against his chest, her breathing soft and rhythmic against his armored plating.

  `The military must have realized their futility by now. They won't send any more troops to die.′

  He stood on the rooftop, the morning sun a pale, distant light behind a thick veil of smoke that hung over the city like a shroud. He looked down at the city below. The streets were empty, the buildings shattered, the fires burning low. He felt no remorse, no guilt, no regret. He felt nothing but the steady reward of power rising from the ashes of the dead. He sat back down, the backpack still on the ground next to him, while he pulled out a pack of cookies from it. As he opened it Iris stirred and looked up at him.

  "Will it be enough? I mean will we make it in time?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper as she adjusted her position against his armored form, once again laying her head against his shoulder with a weight that felt both comforting and fragile.

  Searanox looked over the cityscape, a detached observer to the slaughter he had unleashed. "We made good progress so far, we still have half a day left." His voice was steady, betraying none of the calculations running through his mind about the remaining experience points needed.

  `Just half a day left. I just hope level 15 will be enough.′ The thought flickered through his consciousness like a dying ember.

  He closed his eyes and focused on his drones. The city below was a wasteland. But it was not empty. The drones were still hunting, their metallic forms moving with eerie precision through the rubble-strewn streets. They were searching for survivors. They were searching for life. And they were finding it. The experience notifications were a steady stream in the corner of his vision, each one a small pulse of progress, slowly but surely pushing him closer to his goal.

  He spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing; he sat on the couch or lay around, letting the hours slip by as his automated forces continued their grim work. Sometimes he and Iris talked, but in the end nothing happed, that was until.

  Searanox dismissed the cascading blue windows with a casual wave of his metallic hand, the light dissolving into nothingness as his gaze returned to the city below, the fires burning low and sputtering like dying embers, the smoke a thin veil against the blood-orange morning sky.

  "Iris, did you reach level 15 as well?" His voice was calm, almost detached, as he watched a lone plume of smoke rise from a collapsed skyscraper miles away.

  She rose from the couch, her movements fluid and silent, and stood behind him, her hands resting lightly on his armored shoulders. "Not yet," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm still missing less than a hundred exp."

  "Alright," he said, turning his head slightly to catch her scent—faint traces of vanilla. "Tell me when you've got it and what you received as your reward."

  After what was only a couple of minutes, though to Searanox it felt like an eternity of waiting, Iris wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her cheek against his back.

  "I'm now level 15," she said softly, "and I got 7% all stats."

  "Well, we are done here. Iris, let's go." The satisfaction in his tone was palpable, a predator's purr after a successful hunt.

  With a single, decisive thought, he desummoned all of his drones, their metallic forms dissolving into motes of crimson light that vanished into the ether. The city fell into an unnerving silence.

  The incessant red lights, the low humming of machinery, everything that had marked his dominion disappeared, leaving only the smoke, the dying fires, and the countless dead bodies scattered throughout the ruins. He looked at the desolate landscape one last time, a grim smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

  He had done it. He had reached level 15.

  Now he was ready for what was to come. Once again he summoned two travel drones, the disk-shaped constructs appearing in front of him with a soft, melodic hum. They lay down on the nearest one, his body settling into the shallow concave indentation designed for comfort during long journeys. He leaned forward, his hands finding the recessed grips near the front, the cold metal a familiar sensation against his palms.

  North.

  The drones responded instantly, lifting off the rooftop and accelerating northward with a silent hum that vibrated through Searanox's armored form. The city fell away below him, sprawling over the broken earth like a corpse. Concrete husks and shattered glass littered the landscape, charred and silent monuments to his dominance. He was leaving it all behind, but he would never forget it. It was the price of him now.

  A necessary sacrifice.

  At the horizon, the rising sun a pale, distant light, its weak rays struggling to pierce the thick veil of smoke that clung to the city like burial shrouds. He closed his eyes and let the wind wash over him, a symbol of the freedom he had earned, cool against his plating and carrying the faint metallic scent of blood and ash.

  `The Great Labyrinth Core...′

  He dismissed the thought as the drone sliced through the morning sky, its movement so smooth it felt like floating on air.

  After eight hours of uneventful travel, he spotted a beautiful spot that would make a good campsite. It wasn't too far from his former home, but still a good distance away—a perfect balance between familiarity and isolation. After landing, Searanox looked around. A small river flowed close to a clearing, its gentle murmur a stark contrast to the silence of the dead city.

  They descended through the canopy and touched the ground with barely a sound. Iris stood right next to him; all around them was nothing but the forest, dense and alive, its green canopy a vibrant promise of what lay ahead.