Rather than separating, he moved with the golden-haired comrade right beside him, descending down another level. As he led the way down the steps that descended towards the waist of the metal colossus, he couldn't help but still feel it felt a bit unbelievable.
"Do you think this thing will be able to fight against the Fulminare?" Seven asked, reaching the base of the steps, arriving on the platform.
There was practically a maze of tubes running in the air above, constantly funneling electricity as the walls vibrated. It felt the longer he stayed there, the higher the chances of the facility completely breaking down would happen.
Alexander looked up towards the black-steel giant with a laugh, "You tell me. If I'm betting money though, I'd take the skyscraper-sized robot being able to handle a Fulminare or two."
Approaching one of the metal anchors, he pulled on it as Alexander lended a hand, bringing it to easily disconnect.
"Phew."
"Hah."
As it popped off, the grating of metal echoed through the vast chamber.
"That's another one! We're going to see this thing wake up soon enough, ha-ha!" Alexander breathed out.
"Yeah."
Hurrying through each floor, the two quickly tore off each hold that kept the dormant creation bound. One by one, the monumental weapon was closer and closer to being unbound. It was at the very bottom of the chamber at the base that the two men discovered the feet of the colossus.
There were two anchors on each ankle of the construction, with a series of cables running across the ground, humming and sizzling with unbound electricity.
"//Careful, you two,//" Haoyu's voice buzzed into the earpiece. "//I'm noticing there are loose power sources on the bottom floor. The amount of power funneling out–one touch could put either of you out of commission."
"Noted," Seven responded quietly.
One look at the ground as sparks were flung into the air by the unkempt wiring, a den of snakes awaited.
Alexander glanced over at him, standing at the top of the steps with some hesitation in reaching the unruly flooring, "Ever play hopscotch?"
"Err…Yeah?"
"I guess just think of it like that! Only if you mess up–"
"I know," Seven said with a sigh. "I don't need a reminder."
He led the way, taking the first step as his boots touched the floor, immediately watching a wire convulse in front of him as it spewed bright-blue sparks. Right behind him, the giant followed, though he was worried about just how softly a man his size could walk.
Seven glanced back, watching Alexander tiptoe around the unstable connectors, "Y'know, if you get zapped, you're probably going to bump into me and get me electrocuted, too."
"Woah! Hey, now! You're speaking like it's certain that I'm going to–" Alexander retorted.
Between the two, a wire suddenly lunged up, flinging side-to-side as a crackle of lightning left out of its open end. The interruption brought both men to pause for a moment, only letting out sighs of relief after a second.
"...Well, let's just keep moving, yeah?" Alexander suggested."
"Agreed."
With careful steps, the way was found to the front anchor placed on the colossus' left foot. He grabbed a hold of it from one side, having to reach over his head somewhat, while Alexander was tall enough to only hold his hands out in front.
"One, two…!" Alexander counted out.
In unison, they pulled, parting the vice grips and letting them drop down to the ground with a heavy "thud." A bit of navigating led them to another grip, pulling it off as only one more remained.
With one final pull by both men–it was freed. A hum emitted from the dormant colossus as purple lights buried within the grooves of its sleek, black frame lit up.
"//It's online–I can connect with it now!//" Haoyu's voice displayed some emotion for the first time. "//Hold on!--Reading…nearby!//"
The voice became distorted, leaving a buzzing in his earpiece as the words of their comrade were completely cut-off by the unstable feed.
Alexander shouted, "Haoyu? Haoyu?! The hell was he talking back?"
While there was confusion split among them, a vibration in the air, incurring a slight rumble to the walls coaxed his attention elsewhere. It was a feeling he couldn't mistake; a sense that made his blood run hot in his veins.
The very same as the hammer-wielding warrior he encountered; the laughing Fulminare that brought him to the edge of death, multiple times over; the air tasted the same on his tongue.
"It can't be," Seven mumbled, looking upward.
"Huh? What is it? Talk to me, Seven–" Alexander asked worriedly.
"It's coming!" Seven shouted hurriedly.
Without any time to explain, or to even think, he moved; using the foot of the steel colossus, he ascended, racing up its chin as he hoisted himself like a rock climber.
"Hey?! Seven–! What're you doing–hey!" Alexander shouted from the ground.
There wasn't time for so much as a single word as he breathed in and out with quick, uneven breaths, gripping onto the ledges built into the frame of the slumbering giant. With a single movement, he flung himself upward several meters, repeating as he ascended halfway within moments.
'It's here, I know it. I have to confront it first, I can't let it reach them–' He thought.
Just as he climbed his way to the shoulders of the colossus, the entirety of the resting chamber emitted a purple light, paired with blaring alarms that sounded nothing but terror–
"//CODE VIOLET! CODE VIOLET! CODE VIOLET!//"
The alarm signalled as he stood on the giant shoulder, looking around, holding himself ready for wherever it may appear–CRACK. From the left, he heard the steel wall split open, looking over just as a blurred figure pierced through the air.
He tightened his core in an attempt to brace himself, only for the presence to collide with him, bringing him through the air. Without any time to free himself, he was slammed through the next wall, breaking through.
All that laid beyond the interior of the facility was the depths of the ocean itself, bringing him within the boundaries of the sea.
"Mmgh–" He struggled, finding no oxygen to breathe as only water infiltrated his body.
[…Respiratory functions compromised. Adapting to new environment…]
As his feet touched the sand of the ocean's depths, he looked ahead towards the tower of black steel he came from.
"//Seven?! Are you alright?! The facility has been breached—a FULMINARE is detected in the area!//" Haoyu's voice rang through the earpiece.
While his lungs ached, he moved his arms, swimming upwards to the glimmer at the surface. Any attempt to reach the top was halted, feeling an impossibly dense anchor on his ankle.
Looking down, he found a golden-skinned figure grabbing onto him before throwing him through the depths.
"Mmmrgh!—"
He struggled, only exhaling bubbles as his lungs throbbed, yearning for air. As he caught himself on the floor of abandoned shells and rusted steel, a change occurred within his body—
On his ribs, flaps opened that granted him existence beneath the waves:
[Genetic evolution integrated: "Water Breathing Gills"]
'I can breathe?' He thought.
As he found the panic in his body subsiding, standing across from him, dozens of meters below the surface, the golden figure stood.
[Fulminare registered.]
[Classification: High Superhuman, Stage Five | Threat Level: Disaster Magnitude 7.8]
A slender frame, dressed in black cloth that resembled the uniform of a tai chi uniform, only decorated with drapes of silver fabric. The humanoid figure looked at him with light-blue, crystalline irises, standing amidst a frost that swirled beneath the waves.
'7.8…That's definitely stronger than the one I fought before. Even worse, I'm underwater. I can breathe, but fighting is a different story,' he thought.