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Cyberpunk Edgerunners: Demon Cyborg Genos [21]
🕑 Added 2025-01-19 15:39:02 +0000 UTCThe immense driving force behind Oda’s thermal mantis blades propelled them forward with terrifying velocity.
Even with Ethan’s enhanced perception, all he could see were two flickering afterimages, barely tracing the path of the blades as they stabbed toward him.
Oda’s explosive close-range acceleration was monstrous—so fast, so lethal, that it could tear straight through a lightly armored tank.
Yet—
Ethan didn’t move.
He didn’t dodge.
He didn’t even block.
Instead, he stood his ground and let Oda’s full-force attack hit him head-on.
He was curious.
Curious if one of Arasaka’s finest assassins could actually damage him.
The result?
Disappointing.
The twin mantis blades slammed into Ethan’s abdomen—only for their immense force to send him sliding backward by two steps.
That was it.
No piercing.
No cutting.
No devastating cyber-ninja death strike.
At most, Oda’s signature attack had left two microscopic dents in the alloy plating of Ethan’s abdomen.
It was as if the blades had struck an immovable wall.
Oda’s expression twisted into sheer shock.
“Impossible…”
His voice carried an undercurrent of disbelief as he stared at Ethan.
His mind reeled.
“What kind of cybernetic soldier are you?! What corporation built you?!”
Ever since Arasaka had installed these multi-million-eurodollar thermal mantis blades, Oda had become unstoppable in close-quarters combat.
He had never failed a kill.
Not once.
Even fully armored combat vehicles had been ripped apart under his assault.
Yet this man—this unknown entity—had just shrugged off his strongest thrust like it was nothing.
No—not nothing.
Oda’s most lethal piercing attack had left two barely visible marks on Ethan’s cybernetic torso.
To anyone else, that might seem like a sign of damage.
But to Oda?
It was an insult.
A mockery of everything he prided himself on.
His face twisted in rage.
He refused to accept this.
With a snarl, Oda lunged forward again—this time, with a relentless flurry of slashing attacks.
He wasn’t holding back.
His mantis blades whipped through the air at blinding speeds, boosted by his rotor acceleration mods.
The slashes came faster and faster.
A blur of glowing blades.
Even the air itself trembled—small sonic booms popping from the sheer velocity of his strikes.
Oda’s precision was surgical.
His mantis blades landed with pinpoint accuracy—striking every vital point on Ethan’s body, each attack carrying the full lethal intent of a top-tier corporate assassin.
Each strike should have cut deeply.
Each hit should have pierced through armor like paper.
Yet—
Sparks flew.
Every single impact sent tiny bursts of embers scattering through the air—but nothing else.
Ethan didn’t flinch.
He didn’t counterattack.
He didn’t even raise a hand.
He just stood there, letting Oda unleash his most devastating assault.
To anyone watching, it would have looked like Oda was overpowering him.
But in reality—
Oda was the only one fighting.
And Ethan wasn’t even trying.
Seconds passed.
Then—ten.
Then—fifteen.
Finally—after nearly twenty seconds of relentless cyber-enhanced slashing—
Oda’s body locked up.
His breath hitched.
His movements halted.
His arms trembled.
His **cyberware—overheated, strained to its absolute limit—**was forced into emergency cooldown mode.
His lungs burned.
His stamina was gone.
He had hit his limit.
His body, drenched in sweat, refused to move.
And then—
Oda looked up.
And his entire world shattered.
Ethan was still standing.
Untouched.
Uninjured.
His body was covered in dozens of faint, almost imperceptible scratches.
That was it.
Oda felt his chest tighten.
His mind couldn’t comprehend it.
His most powerful, relentless assault…
Would have crippled even Adam Smasher.
Would have reduced a normal cyber-soldier to ribbons.
Yet against this man…
It didn’t even break the skin.
For the first time in his life, Oda Sando felt something foreign.
Something alien.
Something he had never once experienced in all his years as a cyber-ninja assassin.
Fear.
Pure.
Crippling.
Fear.
His lips trembled. His hands, still gripping the mantis blades, shook.
His eyes, which had always been filled with nothing but pride and cold efficiency, now reflected one emotion only.
Terror.
Then—
Ethan finally spoke.
His voice was calm, indifferent.
“That’s it?”
He exhaled, almost disappointed.
“That was just like getting scratched.”
Ethan hadn’t meant to mock Oda—he had merely spoken the truth.
Yes, he was a cybernetic enhancement monster, but he could still feel pain.
Just… not much.
His cyber-body had dulled his pain receptors to the point where even Oda’s full-force assault had felt like nothing more than a light tickle.
In fact, if Ethan was being honest—
It actually felt kind of good.
A disturbing thought crossed his mind.
“Does this mean I could use artillery shells as a massage?”
He quickly shook the idea away.
That was a dangerous line of thinking.
Meanwhile, Oda’s mind had shattered.
His once unshakable pride, confidence, and composure were gone.
All that remained was pure, animalistic survival instinct.
Without hesitation, he turned and ran—sprinting toward Night City with everything he had.
But this wasn’t the calculated, tactical retreat of a warrior.
This was sheer desperation.
Oda wasn’t just running—he was fleeing.
He activated his Sandevistan cyberware, accelerating his body to inhuman speeds.
Over and over.
Faster.
Faster.
Even as his mind screamed, “The company will send reinforcements! They’ll save me!”
But deep down—he knew the truth.
Arasaka didn’t save failures.
They erased them.
Still, he pushed himself harder.
However—the backlash was inevitable.
Sandevistan was not meant to be abused this recklessly.
An average human could barely use it two or three times a day before suffering catastrophic consequences.
Oda?
A cyber-ninja, modified beyond normal limits?
He could handle ninety activations in a single day.
But in the last few seconds alone…
He had activated it twenty-seven times.
And on that twenty-seventh activation—
His body shut down.
His limbs locked.
His vision blurred.
His breath caught in his throat.
Then—
He stopped.
His body froze mid-stride on the desolate highway leading into Night City.
His eyes widened in horrific realization.
And then—
Blood.
A torrent of crimson streamed from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
His cybernetic nervous system collapsed.
His heart ruptured.
He fell to his knees.
His vision darkened—his last sight being the neon-lit skyline of Night City.
