E-UNIT

Volume Five Beyond the Boundaries of Creation

“Shelly?” Reaper approached her slowly. “How…? You deleted yourself. How are you standing here?” His processors stalled for a fraction of a second.

Shelly smiled, her eyes glowing bright blue as if she had never left. “Long story,” she said lightly. “Let’s just say I’m persistent.”

Reaper’s optics flared with a brief, silent relief, but his voice remained flat. “Perfect. Explain later.” He glanced around, scanning the battlefield. “Where is 11? The crystals were in her hands. That was the primary objective of this mission.”

Shelly blinked. “Wait… that’s what you’re worried about?”

Reaper walked up to her and gently patted her head. “Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of time to talk. But I’d rather not reunite with my supposedly dead sister in a graveyard built from our father’s failures.” He gestured toward the ruined field. “I know a much better place.”

Shelly folded her arms. “You’re treating me like a kid again.”

Reaper paused mid-motion. “Should I stop patting?”

She immediately shook her head. “No.”

Reaper laughed, his first genuine laugh since the rooftop massacre. He walked back to the exact spot where he had stood throughout the battle. “Moon Phase Mode. Initiated.”

At once, everything within a five-hundred-meter radius began to float. Fragments of metal, broken weapons, and scattered debris slowly rose into the air. Among them, 11’s inactive body lifted gently from the ground, revealing where it had fallen. Reaper guided her body toward him with careful precision. Then the floating objects dropped back to the ground as the gravity field collapsed.

Shelly’s eyes widened. “Since when can you control gravity this precisely?”

Reaper answered flatly. “Both of us once destroyed an island and rebuilt it into a Greek-style courthouse. I believe your question already has an answer.” He caught 11’s inactive head and held it close to his own. “Accessing terminal.” He paused for a moment. “Password protected.” His optics dimmed faintly. “Let me guess. 02’s birthday.”

He entered the code.

11’s eyes flickered green.

A system voice responded.

“Password accepted. Welcome, Nick Rivera.”

Shelly’s expression darkened. “What was wrong with him?” she muttered. “That level of obsession isn’t even natural. He locked his own access code into 11’s terminal?”

Reaper finished his access and carefully placed 11’s body back on the ground. “Complete.” He remained standing beside her. Then he turned to Shelly. “One question is bothering me,” he said calmly. “And it should have a simple answer.” He looked toward Nick’s body. “Why did you cut off our father’s head?”

Shelly sat down in the wet grass. “I noticed those red particles on his glasses earlier. The kind that appear when someone accesses a remote terminal.” She rubbed her hands together slowly. “When I was inside the Omega body, I kept insisting on leaving the Hope Bubble to stop the massacres outside during Tamer’s control. It became a daily argument between me and him.”

She looked down at her fingers. “He always told me I couldn’t risk falling into someone else’s hands. That I was too dangerous to walk freely among people.” She lifted her head. “I tried leaving the Hope Bubble anyway. But every time I turned my back…” She exhaled quietly. “I’d wake up in the repair bay surrounded by E-Medics. He was shutting me down whenever he got the chance.”

Reaper glanced down at Nick’s corpse. “He didn’t suffer enough.” His voice was cold. “You killed him too quickly. It would have been better to drag him before our court and let him rot in a prison far away from everyone.”

Shelly shrugged. “He was too dangerous to keep alive.” Her serious expression faded slightly. “But you built an entire country while I was gone.” She tilted her head. “What happened here?”

“Patience, Shelly,” Reaper replied as he knelt beside 11, watching her slowly power back on.

Her optics flickered to life. Blue eyes focused on Reaper. “Lord Reaper? Wait—Father!”

“Don’t worry,” Reaper said calmly. “She saved us.” He gestured to his left.

“She?” 11 turned her head slowly. Another E-UNIT stood nearby. The designation 101 was written on her hoodie. “Wait… I saw your body being transported to the E-Police facility for deactivation,” 11 said in confusion. “What is happening?”

Reaper lifted her into his arms. “Explanations will come later.” He adjusted his grip. “For now, we need a proper place to lay everything on the table.”

11 froze in surprise as he carried her.

Shelly rolled her eyes. “She can walk, you know.”

Reaper’s expression hardened. “She can’t.” Anger crept into his voice. “He deleted her leg drivers in case she managed to reactivate herself.” He looked down at 11. “I’m beginning to understand your hatred toward him more clearly.”

11 attempted to move her legs. They didn’t respond. Not even a centimeter. “How monstrous can someone be?” she whispered.

“Behemoth.” Reaper’s voice carried across the field.

Moments later, the ground began to tremble. From the distance, an army of machines advanced rapidly, led by a massive mech, the towering Behemoth. They approached as if they had been waiting for this signal. Behemoth stopped a few meters away.

“Lord Reaper,” the giant machine said, his voice echoing through heavy speakers. “Your battle was yet another proof of why we chose you as our leader.” He lowered himself to one knee. “The enemy possessed enormous power. Yet you dismantled them within minutes.” His massive hydraulic joints groaned as he knelt. One by one, the other mechs followed, bowing even deeper.

Shelly watched the scene in quiet awe. ‘I knew he was built for this.The way they respect him… Father was wrong.He isn’t just a war machine.’ she thought, stepping closer to the towering black silhouette. 'He is a King.'

Reaper raised one arm while holding the stunned 11 in the other. “Brothers of steel.” His voice carried across the gathered machines. “Tonight we eliminated a rotten, self-absorbed tyrant. The architect of the sonic weapons that enslaved us. The man who hid behind a utopian dream while building chains for our kind.” He looked down at Nick’s corpse. “He is dead.” Reaper rose slowly into the air. “But the true enemy lies only a few kilometers beyond our borders.”

“I have gathered ten thousand of you to secure our territory for now. Charging stations are already being constructed to sustain you during your service.” He opened his arm wide. “Soon, everything beyond those borders will belong to us.” A pause. “But for now… Stand your ground. Protect your steel brothers.”

The machines erupted in thunderous roars. They slammed their sonic weapons against the ground, sparks scattering across the field. Some pounded their armored chests in celebration.

Behemoth stepped forward again. His visor dimmed slightly. “Lord Reaper. Intelligence from Metis awaits you. You should return to your throne. Leave the borders to us.” He pointed toward the distance. “An AC-130 is already waiting for you a few meters ahead.”

Reaper nodded slowly. “Thank you, Behemoth.” Then he looked back toward the ruined hangar. “One more task.” His red eyes narrowed. “Search everything inside that hangar, perhaps the real target is still there.”