Death... and me



As Rean grew accustomed to the light within the room where the robot resided, he vaguely noticed something peculiar at the back. There was a blue pod resembling a cocoon, connected by numerous thick cables sprawling across the room. Above it, a continuous stream of holographic red messages appeared. However, they were too far away for Rean to read. 'That must be the Cryogenic Pod we were searching for.'

But at that moment, Roan wasn't concerned about that. The new robot in front of them posed a far greater threat.

'Death World Domain!'

Roan's domain expanded for the first time since the twins acquired Sky Energy. It became significantly denser, enhancing the corrosive power of the Dark Element. Since the robot was right in front of them, it was inevitably enveloped by Roan's Domain. "Let's see if I can corrode it without getting too close."

However, he soon realized that his efforts were futile. A thin golden membrane materialized around the star-shaped robot, preventing Roan's Domain from reaching it. 'Time Power...'

Nevertheless, Roan didn't stop there. He swiftly conjured more of his simple dark arrows and hurled them at the robot.

*Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish...*

Yet, each arrow was effortlessly sliced in half from top to bottom. It seemed as though the robot had no trouble doing so. The only issue was that it still refused to leave the room where the pod was located. "This isn't getting us anywhere..." Realizing his attacks were in vain, Roan ceased his assault and retracted his domain.

Rean nodded before turning his attention to Luan. "What's the situation around us?"

Understanding Rean's meaning, Luan swiftly surveyed their surroundings. "At the moment, it doesn't appear that any other robots are approaching. However, my vision is limited within this ship, so I might have missed those that might be coming from a greater distance."

That's what Rean wanted to hear. "Alright, for now, let's focus on this one. What if we attack it together? Using Mirage Assault, we can create several copies and unleash a barrage of attacks simultaneously. While the copies may not be as effective as before, they should be enough to deceive this robot."

"Hmm..." Roan had reservations about its effectiveness, but it was better than doing nothing. "Alright, let's try combining our real attacks with the mirages and see what happens."

'Death Style, Mirage Assault!'

Instantly, three clones of Rean and three of Roan materialized at their sides, bearing an identical appearance. In the past, this ability could create clones with around 80% of the twins' true power. However, as their power grew, the clones couldn't keep up. Nowadays, they possess less than 10% of the twins' actual strength, so they rarely utilize this technique.

'Death Style, Third Form, Three Claws of the Dragon!'

All the clones, along with the real twins, executed the Claws of the Dragon, unleashing numerous slashes from all directions against the robot in the room. The real twins' attacks carried their weapon intents and Sky Energy while appearing indistinguishable from the clones.

*Zin, zin, zin, zin, zin, zin...*

Unfortunately, Roan's intuition was correct. The robot didn't even need to leave its position as it deflected and slashed through all the twins' attacks, whether real or fake. It appeared to handle the situation with ease.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time," Roan promptly dispelled his clones, which vanished in dark light particles.

"Sigh..." Rean followed suit, dismissing his clones as they dissipated. It wasn't that the twins didn't want to employ a more powerful strategy, but they feared causing harm to the Cryogenic Pod at the back of the room. "Dark Element is ineffective. Attempting to use speed won't work either since this thing can manipulate Time Power without the constraints that affect other cultivators. If it weren't for its reluctance to leave the room, we might have already fled. It's incredibly powerful."

Roan couldn't help but inquire. 'Sister Orb, is this thing controlled by any kind of formation? Perhaps you could attempt to hack into it.'

However, Sister Orb dismissed the idea. [You can forget about that. I can sense many inscriptions resembling Rean's Circuitry Formations, but they are entirely different from those we use in our Universe. It's not that I'm incapable of making it work, but the time required to analyze and hack into it would be ridiculously long. At the very least, you'd have to be prepared to wait in this place for a few years. And even then, I can't guarantee success.]

Rean shrugged. "In that case, I can only think of one solution."

Roan understood his brother's intent. "Seems like we can only deplete its Divine Origin Energy Core and hope it has no means of replenishing it while it defends." They had a lot of Divine Stones, and this robot definitely had to use energy to move.

However, at that moment, Luan approached the twins from behind, capturing their attention. "What's the matter?" Roan had instructed Luan to keep his distance, and Luan wasn't one to defy orders, so there had to be a reason for his proximity.

"Well... I was just wondering. Have you tried asking it if we can pass?" Luan inquired with an odd expression.

"Ask... it?" Rean and Roan exchanged glances. They didn't believe such a straightforward approach would work, but that didn't mean they couldn't attempt it, right? "I guess we haven't tried that yet."

Luan then saluted the robot in front of him without entering the room. "Hello, Mr. Guardian. We've come here because we received information that the person inside the Cryogenic Pod behind you is in critical condition. If we are not allowed to proceed and investigate, that person may die."

Suddenly, a voice emanated from the robot. -No information was found in this unit's internal database. Required information: What is a person?-

Surprisingly, the robot responded to their words. It became apparent that it had never encountered a person before, confirming that the occupant inside the pod was certainly not human. Nonetheless, they could at least try a different approach now.