So what now? The plan's already gone sideways...
He looked at the female Rover standing before him, sword raised, murderous intent radiating from every inch of her.
Then at Danjin beside her, blood crystallizing into a blade along her arm, eyes glowing crimson.
Scar hesitated for two seconds.
Then decided: screw it.
Plan continues. If he looked on the bright side, he'd technically "captured" one Rover, hadn't he? A perfect opening, really.
The remaining one, he'd handle according to the original strategy. Persuade first. If persuasion failed, fight. At the bare minimum, he could drive a wedge between her and Jinzhou, sour whatever alliance she'd been building with the local powers.
Because if Fractsidus couldn't have the Rovers, then why should one measly city deserve them?
And if all else failed, he'd grab the one he already had and run.
Drag that Rover back to base, work on him slowly. Once he'd been turned, let him convince the other one himself.
Right. It's decided. That's the play.
With his resolve renewed, a dazzling smile spread across Scar's face. He cleared his throat, organizing his pitch for Rover.
"Well then, now it's just the two... three of us. You, the girl over there. You're a nuisance, but since that Rover chose to keep you here, you can stay. As for the remaining Rover. Allow me to tell you a story about this place, and then, on behalf of Fractsidus, I would like to formally invite you to joi... WHAT THE?!"
He never finished.
Rover had already heard enough. With every ounce of strength she had, she hurled an Originite: Type II straight at his face.
The blade arrived three inches from Scar's eyeball faster than a bullet. He didn't even have time to gasp before his fingers were slamming his skill activation, ripping open a portal.
He managed to redirect the killing-intent-soaked sword a bare 0.01 seconds before it punctured his eye.
"That was close!"
One hand clamped over his still-tingling eye, Scar wore an exhilarated grin, though cold sweat drenched his back.
He'd come a hair's breadth from losing an eye.
But before he could catch his breath, Rover was already moving. The same way she'd fought the Crownless, she channeled the Temporal Mandate to accelerate herself. Time alter, triple accel. In a blink she closed the distance and drove her sword at him.
"She's... incredible!" Danjin breathed, watching it unfold. Worthy of being Rover's counterpart. In a fight, she was absolutely ruthless.
A heartbeat later, the young swordswoman's eyes blazed red and she charged in too.
"Will neither of you let me finish talking?!"
Scar's eye twitched as he stared down two opponents who clearly had zero interest in conversation and every intention of cutting him to pieces.
Rover had one answer for him.
"I don't want to hear it. You don't deserve to speak."
The only thought in her head right now was ending Scar.
She'd been separated from the other Rover for eight straight hours today. They'd finally reunited, and then this bastard had opened a portal and torn them apart again.
Oh, right. She'd almost forgotten about Yangyang and Jianxin too...
Point was, Rover's mood was foul. And since an obvious villain had decided to present himself as a target, he had no right to complain about what came next.
Scar swallowed hard, manifesting his signature cards as blades to parry the onslaught from Rover and Danjin, warping away with short-range teleports whenever the pressure grew too heavy.
He'd miscalculated. Badly.
If he hadn't teleported the other Rover away, along with Yangyang and Jianxin, there would have been room for dialogue. Even knowing he was Fractsidus, Rover would have heard him out. That was her nature. Apart from the other Rover, she trusted no one completely. No matter how convincing someone sounded, she kept her guard up until she could verify things with her own eyes.
But Scar's actions had already proven what he was. And that was all the judgment she needed.
No more words. This enemy dies.
"Echo, resonate with me!"
The moment Scar heard her invoke the time-stop, he didn't hesitate. He tore open a portal behind himself at maximum speed, desperate to create distance.
What he didn't realize was that she was bluffing.
The instant his portal materialized, confirming she'd baited out his ability, a cold, cunning smirk curved her lips. She triggered the Grappling Hook she'd had ready all along. A luminous cord lashed out and cinched tight around Scar's neck.
"No...!"
"Get back here."
He'd made it through the portal, teleporting dozens of meters away, but the hook held. A monstrous, nearly irresistible force yanked from the other end.
Rover hauled him back through like dragging a disobedient dog on a leash.
And she wasn't done.
Mid-pull, her leg was already swinging. One devastating kick connected flush with his face.
The impact thundered across the space.
Scar went flying.
A boot print stamped across his cheek.
After absorbing the Crownless Echo yesterday, both Rovers had gained enough leg strength to crack open a Tacet Field's ground with a single kick. Today she was even stronger. The force had multiplied.
Scar felt like a sledgehammer had caved in his skull. Consciousness blinked out for a few seconds while he tumbled through the air.
It only returned when he hit the ground.
He severed the hook from his neck immediately.
"Cough... cough! You don't mess around, do you, Rover?"
At this point it was getting hard to tell who the villain was.
Scar rubbed the spot on his neck where the cord had bitten in, right where his Tacet Mark sat. The mark's placement was unsettling, a jagged seam that made it look as though his head had been stitched onto his neck. He rolled his head to one side, then the other, producing a series of stomach-churning cracks.
"...That didn't kill him."
Rover's brow furrowed. She hadn't held back. By rights, that kick should have shattered steel.
Yet Scar was barely fazed.
Whatever he was, he wasn't a normal human.
A monster. Has his body been modified? No... this is what happens when someone stays in overclocking for too long. A body warped to match a Tacet Discord's durability. Kicking won't cut it. The sword will do better.
Without hesitation she poured her Resonance into the blade. Golden light bloomed along its edge, and she leveled it at Scar.
The enemy before her was unnatural.
But he could still be killed.
"Ha ha ha! You really are perfect for Fractsidus!"
After having a sword thrown at his eye, a hook cinched around his throat, and a boot nearly caving in his skull, Scar's expression had shifted.
He looked more excited than ever.