System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)

The bear thundered after him, and Ethan followed, launching bolts of lightning and Qi-blasts to harass the fleeing Commander. The helicopters banked overhead, their chain guns raking the ground around Boris, but the man was desperate.

As he reached the water’s edge, Boris didn’t sink. The moment his boot touched the waves, a small fragment of the sea flash-froze, creating a platform of ice. He sprinted across the dark Arctic waters, the ice forming beneath his feet with every step.

The Great Bear skidded to a halt at the shoreline, letting out a frustrated roar; it was too heavy to follow onto the thin ice. Ethan stopped beside it, his chest heaving as he watched Boris retreat into the mist of the open sea.

Two small, violent cyclones of ice and wind erupted from the water behind Boris, buffeting the helicopters and forcing them to gain altitude to avoid a stall.

”He’s out on the open water, sir. He’s creating snow cyclones to mask his signature. We can’t get a clean lock. Give us instructions,” Falcon 2 said.

Ethan watched the white-haired silhouette disappear into the grey horizon. ”Maintain your positions and stay on high alert. The situation is controlled. Let him run... he won’t get far with his chest hanging open,” Ethan said.

Ethan’s men moved with efficiency, dragging the regenerating Khriscar soldiers into the back of reinforced tactical trucks. Even Leager, the once-terrifying barbarian, lay pinned to the frozen ground, his limbs shattered beyond immediate repair and his head hanging low in defeat.

Ethan turned his gaze toward the massive icebreaker ship looming over the docks. Its black hull looked like a jagged tooth biting into the shoreline.

”Let’s see what secrets they’ve tucked away in that cargo hold. Jason, with me,” Ethan said.

Jason signaled to a squad of specialized recovery soldiers. They checked their weapons and fell in line behind Ethan as they marched toward the ship’s massive boarding ramp. Ethan glanced back at Kira, who remained by the shoreline with the Great Spirit.

”It’s better if you stay out here. That bear is a bit too big for the corridors of a ship,” Ethan said.

”There is no problem. The Guardian will watch the perimeter,” Kira said.

The giant bear sat back on its haunches, huffing a cloud of frost into the air as if it understood every word. Its intelligent eyes remained fixed on the horizon where Boris had vanished.

Ethan and his team boarded the ship. The interior was a labyrinth of cold steel and flickering fluorescent lights. They began search, m-oving through the crew quarters—which were eerily empty—until they reached the lower decks.

The atmosphere shifted from a standard maritime vessel to a high-tech nightmare. The hold was filled with rows of massive, glass cylinders pulsing with neon-colored fluids. Inside the tubes, faint silhouettes of biological matter drifted in the preservative liquids.

”What the hell is all this?” Ethan said.

”Looks like a mobile factory, Boss. They weren’t just transporting soldiers; they were growing them on the way,” Jason said.

”Sir! We have something in the side laboratory!” Falcon 6 shouted.

Ethan followed the voice to a reinforced steel door at the end of the corridor. Through the small, thick glass window, he saw two men in white lab coats. They had barricaded themselves inside, their faces pale with terror. They had clearly expected Boris or Leager to win; once they realized their ”gods” had been defeated, they had missed their window to escape via the emergency lifeboats and had chosen to hide instead.

Ethan tapped on the glass, signaling for them to open up. The doctors inside shook their heads frantically, waving their arms for the intruders to go away.

Ethan let out a cold, amused smile and turned to Jason. ”Do you think this door is too tough for us?” Ethan said.

”It should be, sir. It’s reinforced naval-grade steel,” Jason said.

”Steel is just a conductor,” Ethan said.

Ethan extended his hand, pressing his palm flat against the center of the door. He didn’t use a punch or an explosion. Instead, he funneled a concentrated, high-frequency electrical current into his fingertips. The metal began to glow cherry-red, hissing as it reached its melting point. Like a welder’s torch, Ethan carved a jagged hole through the steel, reached his hand through the molten gap, and unlatched the heavy internal mechanism.

The heavy steel door creaked open, revealing the two scientists cowering behind a laboratory table. The moment the seal was broken, they didn’t reach for the intruders; instead, they fumbled with small, sleek pistols, pressing the barrels against their own temples. Their eyes were bloodshot, filled with the fanatical terror of men who feared their employers more than death.

”Gun!” Jason shouted, snapping his rifle up to his shoulder.

Ethan was faster. He didn’t even draw a weapon; he simply flicked his wrist. Two thin tendrils of purple electricity snaked through the air, striking the doctors’ forearms. Their muscles seized instantly, their fingers locking up as the pistols clattered harmlessly to the floor. The scientists slumped over, their bodies twitching in a state of total neural paralysis.

”Take them. We’ll have plenty of time to talk once they can move their tongues again,” Ethan said.

”Understood. Get them to the transport! Watch for hidden cyanide pills!” Jason shouted to his men.

Eventually, Ethan stepped back out onto the main deck. The biting Arctic wind whipped his hair as he looked out over the dark, freezing expanse of the sea where Boris had disappeared. The sheer scale of the power Boris had displayed—the absolute molecular defense—remained burned into Ethan’s mind.

Jason walked up beside him, his breath visible in the air. ”We’ve secured the cargo and the prisoners, Boss. We’re ready to move out on your command. Do we track the signal back to their main hub?”

Ethan stood silent for a long moment, watching the horizon.

”No. We’re not ready for that yet,” Ethan said.

”Sir?” Jason asked, surprised.

”If they have more commanders like Boris... we’re dead. That man wasn’t just a soldier; he was a walking natural disaster. My lightning barely touched him, and your missiles were like toys. If I hadn’t had the help of that ’Guardian,’ I might be a frozen corpse right now,” Ethan said.