✨ CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE — SSS BREAKPOINT: TRI-FACTOR RESONANCE ✨
The rooftop quaked under the escalating clash.
The three SSS enforcers stood in formation now—spears raised, gauntlets humming, their metallic frames glowing with synchronized intent.
Aiden could feel it in the air… the shift.
Phase One wasn't ending.
It was evolving.
---
The Coordinator's Voice Echoed:
"Tri-Factor Resonance: Initiating."
Silver streams burst from its gauntlets, linking the speed and force enforcers like a living circuit. Their bodies tightened, their posture sharpened, their killing intent multiplied threefold.
Maya gasped.
"No—no, that's their resonance mode. They triple their efficiency. Aiden, this is Phase One's real form."
Dara stared at the glowing lines, his hands trembling.
"Tripling?! Wasn't one of them already enough to kill us three times!?"
Aiden stepped forward, aura blazing bright gold.
"Then we break their resonance. Maya—give me everything."
Maya bit her lip, then nodded.
"Starlight Overdrive… activating!"
Her barrier expanded, forming a dome that shone like a second sunrise. The glow flowed into Aiden's aura, the gold shifting into a hotter shade—white-gold, vibrating with lethal intensity.
The wind howled from the power spike.
---
The Speed Enforcer Moved First.
One blink—
Then another—
And suddenly it was everywhere.
Afterimages circled Aiden, each one landing lightning-fast attacks. Sparks blasted off his reinforced aura like a storm of tiny suns.
Aiden gritted his teeth.
"Maya—don't break the link!"
"I-I won't!"
The force enforcer followed, slamming its fist into the ground.
BOOOOM—!!!
A crater exploded beneath them. Dara was flung backward, rolling across concrete, yelping.
"I AM NOT BUILT FOR THIS KIND OF LIFE!"
Aiden blurred forward, intercepting the force enforcer's next strike with a glowing palm.
The air rippled violently.
"You're strong…" Aiden said, pushing back, "…but not unbeatable."
He twisted, driving a knee into the enforcer's torso—
CRACK—!!
A panel dented inward.
The coordinator instantly reacted, tightening the silver circuits.
"Adaptive Reinforcement."
Both remaining enforcers struck in perfect unison—
A spear thrust for Aiden's heart from the right—
A shockwave punch from the left.
Aiden blocked one—
Maya reinforced the other—
But the impact still sent him sliding back.
Dust exploded around them.
---
Dara, shaking but breathing, rose unsteadily.
"Okay… okay… I need to help… somehow…"
He grabbed a fallen signboard, lifted it like a shield, and sprinted clumsily toward the coordinator.
"HEY METAL HEAD! YOU LOOK LIKE A GLITCHY FRYING PAN!"
The coordinator actually paused.
Its glowing eyes flicked toward him.
Aiden blinked.
"…That worked?"
Maya whispered, almost stunned,
"It disrupted their synchronization for 0.4 seconds…"
"That's enough," Aiden growled.
He vanished in a burst of white-gold light.
---
Aiden's Attack Landed.
He flew past the speed enforcer, fist blazing.
The punch struck its chest—
dead center.
THU—BOOOOM!!!
The enforcer shot backward like a cannonball, smashing through a ventilation shaft.
Aiden exhaled, fists trembling with raw power.
"One down."
Maya corrected softly,
"Not down. Just injured."
The coordinator stiffened, sparks forming around its limbs.
"Resonance destabilized. Switching to direct termination."
The force enforcer roared, energy exploding outward like a shockwave tsunami.
---
Aiden stepped forward slowly.
His white-gold aura burned hotter and hotter, licking upward like celestial flame.
"Maya," he said calmly,
"Synchronize with me. Fully this time."
Maya stared at him, heart pounding.
"That could overload your body—"
"I trust you."
Those three words locked her breath in her chest.
She extended her hands.
Silver threads flowed—
Gold light rose—
And the two merged into a blinding vortex.
---
SSS-RANK STELLAR DRIVE: ACTIVATED.
Aiden's aura became a miniature sun.
Dara shielded his face.
"Bro… I can't even see my own shadow anymore!"
The enforcers braced, their systems recalibrating frantically.
Aiden launched forward—
faster than the speed enforcer,
stronger than the force enforcer,
and unpredictable enough to break the coordinator's algorithms.
He struck—
Once—
Twice—
A third time—
CRACK! CRUNCH! SHATTER!!
All three enforcers staggered, sparks spraying from their bodies.
The rooftop glowed with golden heat.
Aiden landed, panting but standing tall.
Maya fell to her knees, exhausted but smiling faintly.
"You… you broke their Resonance Mode…"
Dara limped up beside them, hair smoking.
"And I helped! I—I think!?"
Aiden grinned despite the burns on his arms.
"You did, Dara. You really did."
The SSS enforcers struggled back to their feet—damaged, flickering, but still active.
Their voices echoed together:
"Phase One… Complete.
Phase Two… Initializing."
Aiden's smile faded.
Maya grabbed his arm.
"Aiden… they're not done."
He nodded slowly, breath steadying.
"Good.
Neither are we."
Phase Two was coming.
And this time—
Aiden intended to break through everything.