Apocalypse Transmigration - The Card Captor System

Just as Ars brought the blood-red sword down—

BANG!

A bullet tore through the air.

The arm holding the sword exploded at the elbow, spraying blood across the ground.

Ars recoiled.

Before he could react, a dark figure blurred across the battlefield.

RATATATATAT!

A hail of bullets ripped through the air.

Ars abandoned his attack on Cyrus with a sharp backward leap. The rounds chewed into the dirt where he had been standing a heartbeat earlier.

His golden eyes narrowed.

Those bullets...

They weren’t ordinary ammunition.

Even a blood barrier might not be enough to stop them.

The dark figure materialized between Ars and Cyrus.

It was the mechanical-armed man who had accompanied the golden-haired man from the Rizen Group.

At first glance, he looked almost entirely human.

His face appeared natural enough, framed by disheveled dark hair. He wore a calm expression, his eyes holding the sharp focus of a veteran warrior.

Only his left arm revealed his true nature.

From the shoulder down, it was an intricate mechanical limb covered in overlapping plates of dark metal. Tiny mechanisms shifted beneath the armor with every movement, while faint blue lines of energy pulsed between the joints.

His mechanical hand had shifted into a rotating gun barrel.

VRRRRRR!

The barrel spun into a furious blur.

RATATATATAT!

Another burst of bullets erupted from the weapon.

Ars twisted his body, dodging the incoming rounds by a hair.

The mechanical man leveled his arm again without breaking a sweat.

CLICK.

The rotating barrel stopped.

KCHUNK! KCHUNK!

The entire mechanism rearranged itself.

Metal plates slid back. The barrel retracted, giving way to a massive cylindrical chamber at the end of his arm.

Within seconds, the weapon had morphed into a heavy shotgun-like cannon.

The man aimed it at Ars.

His voice sounded human, but a harsh edge clung to his words.

”Tell me where your leader is hiding.”

”Do that, and I’ll send you on your way as painlessly as possible.”

Ars scowled.

Blood rose from the ground around him.

It twisted through the air, hardening into dozens of razor-sharp spears.

A chilling smile crept onto Ars’s face.

”You must be from the Rizen Group.”

”I’ll make you the same offer.”

”Tell me where the person leading you is hiding.”

”Perhaps when you die, your wretched corpse will at least remain intact.”

The mechanical man stared at him for a moment.

”I see.”

”You’ve made your choice.”

BOOM!

A high-caliber round blasted from his mechanical arm.

At the exact same instant, the blood spears shot forward.

Ars’s body collapsed into a puddle of blood.

The bullet pierced the empty space where his head had been a moment before.

Meanwhile, the mechanical man’s arm clicked.

KCHUNK!

A section of his forearm opened.

A translucent blue energy shield unfolded from the metal limb.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The blood spears slammed into the shield, sending violent ripples across its surface.

The mechanical man held his ground.

Instead of retreating, one of his eyes flickered.

A faint blue light flashed across his pupil.

He stood like a statue for several seconds.

Then a harsh mechanical voice buzzed from his earpiece.

”Target found.”

His gaze shifted to an empty spot several meters away.

The mechanical arm clicked again.

This time, the weapon transformed once more.

The barrel split apart.

Metal plates folded inward, revealing a long, razor-sharp blade extending from the forearm.

SHING!

The man stepped forward.

His figure vanished into a blur.

He reappeared at the empty spot just as Ars reformed from the blood.

Ars’s eyes widened.

Fast!

He scrambled to retreat.

But the mechanical man was already there.

The glowing blade swept toward Ars’s throat.

Ars threw up his arm to block.

SHING!

The blade sheared through flesh and bone.

His severed arm hit the dirt.

Ars gasped.

He morphed his lower half into blood, gliding backward to put distance between them.

The mechanical man did not pursue.

He held his position, his blade letting off a low hum as blue energy pulsed through the metal.

Ars stared at his severed arm.

For the first time since the clash began...

His features hardened into pure focus.

So this is the Rizen Group...

The mechanical man raised his blade.

His eyes locked onto Ars.

”Come.”

A cold smile appeared on his face.

”Let’s see if your strength can match your arrogance.”

On the other side of the battlefield, Adrian was struggling.

Ever since the cables connecting his suit to the lightning-attracting machine had snapped, the power in his equipment had dropped drastically.

The giant eyeball alien gave him no room to breathe.

Huge chunks of concrete and twisted metal ripped themselves from the ruins, hurtling his way.

Adrian had to dodge the debris while fighting off the approaching zombie horde and the one-horned aliens scattered among them.

BOOM!

Another blast of electricity erupted from his body, tearing through a group of zombies.

Adrian stumbled.

His breathing grew heavy.

I’m running out of energy.

Before he could catch his breath—

RUMBLE!

A massive slab of concrete came hurtling toward him.

Adrian’s expression darkened.

”Damn it!”

He leaped sideways.

The concrete crashed into the ground behind him.

But the moment Adrian landed—

His Danger Sense screamed.

His eyes widened.

Two more enormous pieces of debris were flying toward him from opposite directions.

One from the left.

One from the right.

And there was nowhere to escape.

I’m trapped.

Adrian thrust both arms out.

Electricity surged through his body.

”High Voltage!”

ZZZZZT!

Two powerful streams of lightning blasted from his hands toward the incoming debris.

But his waning power fell short.

The electricity only scorched shallow black marks across the stone.

Adrian turned pale.

Shit.

The two massive slabs were closing in.

If they hit him from both sides...

He would be crushed into minced meat.

There was no time to dodge.

No time to run.

No time to attack again.

Adrian let his arms drop.

He closed his eyes.

A bitter smile crossed his weathered face.

”Ah...”

”So this is how it ends.”

His mind raced through the countless decisions that had brought him here.

All the battles.

All the schemes.

All the years spent manipulating people and planning several steps ahead.

And now...

None of it mattered.

”A life wasted playing schemes...”

He waited for the impact.

One second passed.

Then another.

Nothing happened.

Adrian frowned.

Why don’t I feel anything?

He peeled his eyes open.

His pupils contracted.

The two enormous pieces of concrete were still there.

Only...

They weren’t moving anymore.

They hung suspended in midair.

Frozen.

As if an invisible hand had seized them.

Adrian stared at the impossible scene.

Then a calm voice sounded behind him.

”Telekinesis...”

A pause.

”Interesting.”

Adrian froze.

He turned his head.

Someone was walking up from behind him.