"So you're the one being tested this time."
Maine lowered his stance slightly, staring at Oblivion with a grave expression. He still had no idea Roland was inside.
But just standing face to face with it already felt wrong.
From what he could tell… did something like this even need testing?
"Heh. Testing? You'll soon find out what kind of battle this really is."
Oblivion's signature voice carried a sharp edge of mockery. Maine's temper flared for a split second before he forced himself calm, carefully observing the beast before him.
There were quite a few structural similarities between them—shared design concepts, familiar components—but also subtle differences.
When he attempted to scan Oblivion's system data, he found nothing.
No response. No readable output.
It was like staring into a data black hole.
That body rejected all external detection, completely immune to outside data interference.
"Interested in my data? Don't worry. You'll experience it firsthand."
The moment the words fell—
Boom!
The ground collapsed into a circular crater. A white shockwave blasted outward, sweeping away the surrounding sand. Oblivion appeared beside Maine in an instant.
Whoosh—Boom—
Maine's danger sensors screamed. He twisted aside just in time.
A split second later, a devastating explosion erupted where he had been standing.
Sand filled the air—but only briefly. A stronger shockwave followed, clearing everything.
The ground where Oblivion had struck was now riddled with cracks. The entire section had sunk as if the land itself had collapsed.
Roland grinned inside the frame.
Apocalypse's speed excited him.
His foreclaws dug into the earth. His hind legs coiled—
Then he shot forward like an orange meteor.
Maine's pupils contracted.
Without hesitation, he activated Apocalypse's Carnage Mode.
This wasn't something he could handle with manual control alone.
White steam vented from Apocalypse's back—cooling measures triggered by energy overload. Orange energy flared across its body, compressing tightly around the frame.
"ROAR!!!"
Apocalypse lunged.
Boom!!!
The two collided.
At the point of impact, a white dot flashed into existence—then a visible shockwave tore outward.
Within hundreds of meters, dust and sand were blasted into a ring. A second later, an even more violent energy detonation engulfed everything around them.
Neither paid it any mind.
Orange and blue light intertwined. Claw met claw. Fang met fang.
This was no tactical duel.
This was a beast fight.
Thud!
As Apocalypse snapped toward Oblivion's neck, a massive hand burst through the dust and seized its skull.
Apocalypse immediately struggled.
And then—
It felt it.
The strength was completely different from before.
"I have to admit… this is the most satisfying fight I've had."
Roland's grin widened.
"Now let me show you Oblivion's full power."
He hadn't realized before how deep his own violent instincts ran.
Without another word, he lifted Apocalypse and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!
Apocalypse retaliated instantly, claws raking at Roland's arm. At the beginning of the fight, it might have torn through the armor.
But now—
Oblivion was in red rage.
A faint orange-red aura coated its body.
The attack didn't break through.
Roland's arm felt like forged iron—no, harder than iron—as it pinned Apocalypse to the earth.
Then came the brutal rhythm.
Lift.
Slam.
Lift.
Slam.
Again.
And again.
After some time, the rage within Oblivion finally burned itself out.
Roland stopped.
He looked down at Apocalypse—and his mouth twitched.
He quickly set it down.
They say copper head, iron bones, tofu waist.
Now Apocalypse's once-solid skull was covered in cracks. Its claws were mangled. Carnage Mode had been forcibly knocked offline, leaving Maine unconscious.
Meanwhile, Oblivion had only a few shallow cuts—already repairing themselves through nanotechnology.
"…I should've held back."
Roland sighed.
Because who was going to repair Apocalypse?
Him.
And PROJECT Corporation currently didn't possess full restoration capability for Apocalypse. He'd have to purchase components from the System.
And they weren't cheap.
Still—the test results were extremely satisfying.
It lived up to its reputation as something that could go head-on with Iron Man. At full power, he didn't even need weapons to overwhelm Apocalypse.
It wasn't that Apocalypse was weak.
It was just… half-finished.
Even the version Roland had redeemed was incomplete. With his current technological level, he couldn't elevate it to Oblivion's tier.
He arranged for Maine to be transported back.
At that moment, Mudor's communication request came in.
"Boss, should I arrange transport to bring you back?"
Roland was about to agree when he remembered—there was still one ability he hadn't tested.
"No. Not yet. Send a team to monitor from a distance. I want to try that form."
Mudor's scalp tingled.
He knew exactly which form Roland meant.
"And have our people stay far away. I'm not sure I can control my attack impulses in that state. Monitor everything closely. If necessary, sever my control link and shut Oblivion down."
"Understood!"
Roland rose to his full height, waiting as the personnel withdrew.
Mudor stared at the monitors without blinking.
"Come on."