Roy's so-called "magic" was to store Elita in his inventory. He'd never tried putting a living, intelligent being in there before.
Even if Elita was a silicon-based lifeform, far less fragile than carbon-based ones.
After checking with her, Roy first tested it with her drone, storing it in the inventory and pulling it out. No issues.
Then, he tried it with Elita herself.
"How's it feel?" he asked.
Elita's voice was dazed. "Weird. Like I lost a chunk of time, but I can't remember how."
Looked like storing a Transformer in the inventory was fine, just not for too long. Roy figured extended storage might cause system errors for her.
He'd sneak her out once they were topside.
Down here, a sudden intelligent robot would be tough to explain.
"Elita, hang tight. I'll get you out soon."
After storing the purple unicycle, Roy returned to the work area and sealed the safety door.
The red fungi in the cave might grow back, but with the door closed, the safe zone's temperature would stabilize.
Having dealt with the spatial portal and the safety door for the Russians, Roy felt he'd done his part. He headed back to the elevator to return to the surface.
But when he hit the switch, the doors didn't open.
What the hell? Did Anya and the others ditch him?
Frowning, Roy forced the elevator doors open. Designed to withstand tons of pressure, they tore like tape in his hands. Inside, he saw Anya on the floor, Mikhail pointing a gun at her.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Mikhail's eyes were wild with panic when he saw Roy rip the doors open. Anya's face lit up with relief.
"Roy, you're okay?!"
Roy stalked toward Mikhail, who, looking guilty as sin, swung the gun toward him.
With a ghost wolf burst, Roy closed the gap in an instant, landing a punch to Mikhail's gut that made him taste pain again.
Mikhail's gun clattered to the floor. Roy kicked it aside and helped Anya up.
"Anya, what happened?"
Anya glared at Mikhail, teeth gritted. "This jerk thought you were gone too long and might be in trouble, so he wanted to take the elevator back up. I disagreed and entered the wrong code twice to lock it here."
No wonder the switch didn't work—the elevator's safety system had kicked in.
Roy gently patted Anya's shoulder, then turned to Mikhail and the Russian soldiers.
"Didn't I tell you there'd be no next time?"
Even without a translator, Mikhail seemed to get the message, babbling something—probably begging for mercy.
Roy didn't speak Russian and didn't care to hear "my dad's important" nonsense.
"Too late."
Without hesitation, Roy pulled his M629 and blew Mikhail's head off.
Anya flinched at the sudden shot, her eyes shifting with unease.
Roy turned the gun on the six remaining Russian soldiers.
"Anya, translate. Ask them if they know what to do."
After Anya translated, the soldiers nodded frantically.
They knew they couldn't fight Roy. To prove their loyalty, each fired a shot into Mikhail's body, then carried it out of the safety door and tossed it into the cave.
By the time anyone saw Mikhail again, the red fungi would've dissolved him completely.
With that done, the soldiers were in too deep to snitch. They'd have to cover up Mikhail's true cause of death.
But the elevator was still locked due to the safety system. Climbing the 6,000-meter maintenance shaft would kill Anya and the others.
Luckily, Anya found a radio in the work area and contacted Grigoryev, who fixed the elevator.
After a three-hour wait, the elevator finally started ascending.
Back on the surface, a crowd of workers sprayed Roy's group with dry ice mist.
Their hazmat suits and the elevator likely carried fungal spores, so a low-temperature disinfection was necessary.
Dry ice (solid CO2) worked as a coolant, not as effective as liquid nitrogen but cheaper and good enough for a quick fix.
Grigoryev noticed two people were missing, including Mikhail, and likely pieced it together.
The elevator's safety system didn't trigger for no reason—someone must've entered the wrong code three times.
But he didn't ask about Mikhail. He clearly wasn't a fan of the entitled jerk either.
"Mr. Black, what's the situation?"
Roy was helping Anya out of her hazmat suit. The suits weighed over ten kilos and were a pain to remove.
Anya looked relieved to be free of it. Hours in that gear underground was like a high-intensity workout.
"Let's talk in the office," Roy said.
Grigoryev realized he'd been too eager. "Fair enough. I'll wait for you there."
Minutes later, Roy and Anya entered Grigoryev's office.
Roy briefed him on the 6,000-meter work area, skipping the 3,000-meter events since the soldiers could fill that in.
He left out Elita, saying only that he found the safety door open, encountered a demon, defeated it, and sealed the portal.
Hearing the hell portal was closed, Grigoryev sighed in relief. The base could resume operations, and he'd likely get more support from Russia.
"Mr. Black, thank you so much!"
Grigoryev didn't mention Mikhail, just kept thanking Roy.
"No need for thanks. I didn't just do it for you—I did it for humanity."
If a Hell King found that portal, they could use it as a springboard to Earth.
Luckily, demons were selfish. They'd exploit a portal for personal gain, not share it. The demons that came through, including the mind flayer, were affected by the fungi and never made it back to report the portal's location.
Powerful demons could enter Earth non-physically and revive after death. But those that came through physically? No resurrection. Those demons were gone for good, taking the portal's secret with them.
Grigoryev was still thrilled. "Mr. Black, you're a great warrior with an internationalist spirit!"
That was the second time he'd given Roy that title.
Their chat was cut short by Anya's yawning.
Underground, the danger kept her alert, masking her exhaustion. In a safe environment, it hit her hard.
Grigoryev smiled at her. "You two must be exhausted. Get some rest. Mr. Black, when do you want to head to McMurdo Station? I'll arrange it."
Roy thought for a moment. "Tomorrow noon. I've been here long enough."
"Alright, I'll arrange a transport helicopter. As long as the weather holds, it'll pick you up at 12 PM. For now, you should rest."
Grigoryev winked playfully.
Roy grinned, then led a drowsy Anya back to her dorm.
After washing up, Roy held Anya as they lay in bed.
"Anya, sleep."
"Mhm."
Anya was wiped out and closed her eyes quickly.
A few minutes later, her breathing steadied. Roy slipped out of bed, found a secluded spot outside, and released Elita.
Her system glitched briefly upon exiting but self-corrected.
Roy arranged a way to stay in touch and had her transform into a motorcycle to head to McMurdo Station first.
Sure, an unpiloted Harley-Davidson Buell Firebolt in Antarctica was odd, but less conspicuous than a unicycle.
With that done, Roy returned to the dorm.
But when he entered the bedroom, Anya's eyes were open.
"Anya, why aren't you sleeping?"
She looked like she was forcing herself to stay awake, which puzzled Roy.
"Roy, I'm scared I'll wake up and you'll be gone."
That was it.
Roy lay beside her, pulling her into a gentle embrace.
"How about coming to America to live with me?"
Anya's eyes widened. "I… can I?"
"Of course, if you want to!"
Anya beamed, her face glowing with happiness.
"What would I do in America?"
"I could buy you a lab. You could build a team, lead a project…"
As Roy painted a picture of her happy life in America, Anya drifted off to his words.
She was out cold, even snoring softly.
While she slept, Roy opened his system panel to check the new rune triple-choice.
[Telepathy: This rune lets the Leviathan Axe's wielder sense danger.]
Basically Spider-Sense. Kinda useless since Roy already had Assassin's Heart, which gave him a similar danger-sensing passive.
[Mind Blast: This rune lets the Leviathan Axe periodically unleash an attack that directly harms the enemy's mind.]
Probably the mind flayer's blackout ability. Decent, but Roy already had Fear Incarnate and Desire Incarnate, both of which hit the mind harder than Mind Blast ever could.
[Mind Link: This rune lets the Leviathan Axe's wielder communicate mentally with others.]
Roy's eyes lit up. Talking directly in someone's head? That was cool.
It'd be great for coordinating with teammates or messing with enemies.
No hesitation—Roy picked Mind Link.
Now the Leviathan Axe had three runes: Mimicry, Acid Erosion, and Mind Link.
Mimicry was the most practical, Mind Link next, and Acid Erosion the weakest—only chosen because the alternatives were worse.
After selecting, Roy closed his eyes to catch some sleep. Time was dragging otherwise.
In a hazy dream, Roy saw his close buddy being kidnapped.
The kidnappers were brutal, using waterboarding to break him.
Waterboarding was a nasty interrogation tactic—tying someone with feet elevated, covering their face with a towel or paper, and pouring water to simulate drowning. No visible marks, just terror.
The CIA often used it in secret detention sites.
In the dream, Roy's buddy was enduring this torture, nearly spilling secrets.
Finally, Roy jolted awake, feeling something wriggling.
No surprise—it was diligent Anya.
Roy exhaled, relaxing his tense body.
Anya quickly noticed the shift and doubled her efforts.
Soon, the buddy who resisted torture in the dream cracked under Anya's "interrogation" in reality, spilling secrets.
Anya, ever responsible, took in all the secrets before emerging from the covers.
"Up already?" Roy teased, ruffling her hair.
Anya rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I just don't want to waste time."
Roy checked his watch. 5 AM. Seven hours until the noon pickup.
"You're right. No more wasting time!"
With that, Roy flipped over, pinning Anya and diving back into "battle."
Anya…