Phantom Unit 1 Arrives
The spears were so dense they obscured nearly all sightlines.
The look of alarm in Luke's eyes flashed and was quickly gone. He murmured in a voice only he could hear,
"The deeper the love, the deeper the hate. I know you resent me, but the problem is my heart is too vast for just one person. So, I can only apologize."
BOOM!
The wall behind him exploded. A pitch-black, humanoid battlesuit, covered in blue electrical energy across its limbs, burst through the rubble and stood forcefully in front of Luke.
The spears struck the armor, making a sharp clanging sound, then fell harmlessly to the ground, like wooden arrows striking a steel fortress.
A flicker of surprise crossed Star Sapphire's eyes; she clearly hadn't anticipated this.
The black armor stood between the two figures, its back splitting open to reveal a human-shaped cavity. Luke stepped forward, merging with the armor.
BANG!
An invisible force field rippled outward, kicking up dust that hung in the air for three seconds before settling.
Luke clenched his fist, the mechanical eyes flashing red as he stared intently at the sexy woman above him. He spoke with unwavering certainty,
"Hold on a little longer. I'll free you soon."
With that, he shot straight up into the sky, flying away at extreme speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Star Sapphire: "..."
She stood in place, utterly confused. After ten seconds, confirming that the guy was genuinely just running away and not pulling some trick, the cold face she had worn the entire time was visibly and rarely twisted into an expression of unconcealed rage. Her eyes and mouth twitched violently, flickering with uncontrollable fury.
Under the immense mental shock, Carol actually broke free of the Star Sapphire's control and regained command of her body.
"Luke, you bastard! You scumbag! I will never let you get away with this!"
After that furious shout, her expression returned to cold indifference, though her eyes now held a hint of humanity.
She shot into the air, manifesting jet thrusters on her back to give chase at a high speed, exceeding Mach 1.5, in the direction Luke had disappeared.
In this moment, she was Star Sapphire, but also a scorned lover consumed by vengeance, yet conflicted by her emotions.
An Unconventional Fight
Luke had zero interest in becoming a superhero. The purpose of building the Phantom battlesuits was only to protect himself and fulfill a small Iron Man fantasy.
Therefore, he would never be like The Flash, constantly cleaning up the police's messes, or like Superman, engaging in world-shaking battles in Metropolis.
Fighting was fine, but the location was crucial.
A densely populated city like Coast City was clearly a bad choice. Secluded, dark hills were his preference, like the little hillside before him—sparsely populated and quiet. It was the perfect spot for "fighting and flirting."
Luke stopped on the hill, quietly watching the purple light streaking toward him from the distance.
The violet light moved incredibly fast, reaching him in the blink of an eye.
Compared to before, "Carol" seemed to have changed slightly. Her face was still cold, but her eyes held a trace of anger. She was no longer a machine, but more like a living person.
Moreover, she hadn't manifested the spears; instead, there was a jet thruster-like device on her back.
Luke frowned slightly, hesitant.
"Is that... Carol?"
"Die, you scumbag!"
A purple Gatling gun appeared in Carol's hands. She gripped the handles and began to wildly spray bullets, raining down purple energy projectiles.
Luke's expression was strange; lost in thought, he made no move to dodge, allowing the bullets to strike the armor.
The ding-dong sound of impact became a continuous line.
The armor's defense was extremely high; the only fate for the projectiles was to be deflected.
Since the Gatling gun was useless, Carol tossed it aside. She placed her hands on her shoulders, and a rocket launcher appeared out of thin air.
BANG!
The rocket, trailing fire from its rear, flew quickly toward Luke. He still did not move.
With a deafening BOOM, the rocket exploded. Flames shot into the sky, and the released shockwave buffeted the trees, causing the leaves to rustle loudly.
When the flames cleared, Phantom Unit 1 stood perfectly intact in place, clean and without a speck of dust. The blue light on its limbs was, in fact, brighter.
Carol: "..."
A rocket failed to work?!
Then she would try something more powerful! She refused to believe he couldn't be blown up.
Purple energy surged around her body, and the outline of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile began to take shape between her hands. Unfortunately, she was too slow in manifesting the construct. Luke waited a few seconds and, seeing the missile still not fully formed, simply raised his right hand.
BANG!
A beam of energy shot out, blasting the half-formed missile into a cloud of purple light particles.
Luke shrugged and chuckled,
"I can tell you're a novice. You don't know how to use the energy inside you at all. Since that's the case, stop trying new tricks. Let's return to basics: hand-to-hand combat, just like before."
"Bastard!"
Carol was mortified and enraged. With a thought, purple spears emerged from behind her, one after another, densely packed, as if endless. The purple light flickered, staining the night sky a deep violet. By this visual, there were easily several thousand spears.
Luke shook his head, his tone full of frustration.
"I know your biggest regret is not becoming a javelin thrower, but you don't have to take it this far!"
Carol paid him no mind, focusing all her attention on controlling the spears. She refused to believe that ten thousand spears couldn't pierce this scumbag!
Honestly, ten thousand spears suspended in mid-air was a breathtaking sight. Though Luke pretended not to care, he was very anxious.
"Ava, assessment?"
"If the battlesuit is continuously hit by the spears, it is highly likely to sustain damage over time."
"Understood."
Luke drove his legs into the ground, blasting out a circular crater as his body shot toward Carol like an arrow. She quickly flew to one side. Just as she moved, dozens of spears rained down on the spot where she had been.
"Everything goes through a process from unfamiliarity to mastery. It's best not to overuse abilities you don't understand well. Just like those spears in the sky—they look spectacular, but they're useless."
"I don't need you to teach me!"
Carol shot back angrily. After speaking, she reverted to her cold, emotionless state. While dodging Luke, she moved her fingers. The purple spears circled in the air and shot toward the black battlesuit from every direction.
Luke wasn't willing to test the feeling of being impaled by ten thousand spears. He decisively activated Ranged Mode!
The armor contracted inward, two cannons appeared on the shoulders, and eight spider-leg-like firearms emerged from the back.
Under Ava's precise control, every energy projectile fired from the cannons and guns struck a spear, destroying it. Spears continuously flew in and were continuously shot down. Not one of the two thousand-plus spears managed to penetrate the fifty-meter zone around Luke.
Seeing this, "Carol's" face finally showed a change. Throwing caution aside, she unleashed all the remaining seven thousand-plus spears at once.
The dark night sky was instantly replaced by violet.
Countless purple lights streaked across the sky like a meteor shower descending from the heavens. The light was dazzling, illuminating the world and dyeing even Phantom Unit 1 a deep violet.
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