I found myself struggling to adapt to Shadow's changes, staring at him in stunned disbelief.
"You... can talk!"
"Of course, Ethan. I have a mouth, so of course I can talk. I could already speak two years ago, when you died. But since you were dead, you obviously didn't know I could talk."
"Get to the point, you idiot."
Yuna Ji's expression shifted, and Shadow immediately shut his mouth. What caught my attention most was the nearly two-meter-long, one-meter-wide black coffin on Shadow's back—inside it lay my corpse.
"What on earth is this...?"
"Lance Quinn helped put it together. Your corpse—he said a few months ago that his boss had lost all emotion and was probably living out his final days, so he wanted to finish the last bit of work quickly."
I glanced at Yuna Ji. I still couldn't let go of the truth about Lance Quinn. The Nether Syndicate now stood completely against me, and what did this Spectral Juggernaut v3.0 before me really mean? Lance Quinn knew he'd soon be my enemy, yet he still helped make the body.
"Let me explain, Ethan."
At that moment, an elderly voice sounded. I looked over to see a hunched old man entering from the apartment building entrance, sporting a white horseshoe mustache and just two tufts of hair left on his head, hanging over his temples.
"You are... The Engineer."
I spoke, and the old man in front of me nodded.
"I can't exactly show up in the living world as just a pile of bones, can I? This Spectral Juggernaut v3.0 has been heavily improved by me, and its power will leave you astonished, Ethan."
I swallowed hard and gave a noncommittal response. No matter what, it was still my own corpse. I had no idea what it had been turned into now. Thinking back to how it looked the first time I saw it, I could only sigh helplessly.
"No time to waste—let's head outside. Let the elites of the ghostly path see just how strong the Spectral Juggernaut really is."
I couldn't help but wonder what was really up with version 3.0.
"Oh, that—Ethan, the one you first saw was version 1.0. During the incident with the Ghostworm Monk, it was probably at 1.5. After several rounds of upgrades, we've finally reached 3.0. It's still not perfect, but as long as I keep improving it, we'll get there."
I turned my head—Mr. Brown and Isabelle Frost looked intrigued. I glanced once more at the door leading to the Lake of Deathbane, then turned back and floated up.
"Let's go."
With a bang, out on the plaza of the Hall of Malice, Shadow set the coffin down. I could never mistake the material—it was Corpse Stone.
"Ethan, the hardness of the Spectral Juggernaut now surpasses even Corpse Stone."
I stared at The Engineer in astonishment as he confidently walked up to the coffin.
"I've added all sorts of alloys to increase the forging hardness. Corpse Stone gets tougher over time, but its flaw is that powerful spells or forces that naturally restrain ghosts or corpses can destroy it. Especially under sunlight—if exposed long enough, the corpse aura dissipates and the stone fails. But the alloys I've mixed in let this body stand in sunlight without any problem."
"Alright, enough rambling, old man. Get started! This is fascinating—Ethan Zhang versus corpse Ethan Zhang."
Redmond couldn't hold back and shouted. I looked at the coffin, and saw The Engineer pull out a black game controller, startling me.
"The Engineer, you didn't do anything weird this time, did you?"
The Engineer shook his head and laughed heartily.
"Relax, Ethan. This weapon is custom-developed for your Deathbane Aura. Besides the main controller, only you can unlock this body's full power by connecting through your Specter Web."
A prolonged mechanical beep sounded, then a robotic voice sprang from the coffin's surface: "Initializing Spectral Juggernaut. Configuration initialized."
A graphical display appeared on the coffin's surface, showing a humanoid figure. Its hands, feet, and head each had a small red circle marked "100%."
With a creak, I stared at the coffin, which looked ordinary enough, but functioned like a machine. A glowing red line appeared across the middle, and then the lid split into two segments, folding up and down.
A hiss of steam erupted, and thick black vapor poured out. I swallowed hard. With a bang, something stepped out of the black steam, its gait firm and steady.
"This..."
In that instant, the scene I imagined didn't happen—there was no robot. The Spectral Juggernaut that stepped out looked no different from me.
Its lower body was wrapped in a tattered black cloth with jagged edges. Both hands still wore what looked like barrel-shaped black cylinders, each rimmed with rows of tiny holes. My skin was deathly pale with a hint of violet, my hair black on the left and white on the right—a simple short cut, nothing special.
The body was lean, with bones visible in places, and barefoot. The only real difference was the height—nearly two meters tall. Standing before the Spectral Juggernaut, I was noticeably shorter.
"And through relentless, day-and-night research, I've discovered something fascinating. Many of my earlier ideas have now been realized. The combat data was collected with help from Lord Shenyen and Yuna Ji. Heh, it's really powerful, Ethan. If you're not careful, you could lose."
I swallowed, watching The Engineer's excited, almost manic expression. I drew Belle from my back. The coffin creaked as its lid closed again. Shadow floated over, and I saw he'd had a rack installed on his back. He bent down, and with a creak, the coffin was back on his spine. He quickly carried it away, while The Engineer trotted off. Eyes full of astonishment stared at me and the Spectral Juggernaut.
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A series of beeps came from the Spectral Juggernaut. I hunched forward as Deathbane Aura began pouring from my body.
Suddenly, the Spectral Juggernaut opened its eyes—only the left was red, while the right was a hollow black void.
With a boom, the Spectral Juggernaut suddenly leaped at me. I stared wide-eyed—it moved so fast my eyes could barely keep up.
I gripped Belle with both hands, flooding it with Deathbane Aura, and slashed at the Spectral Juggernaut. Suddenly, it bent its body at an impossible angle to the left, dodging my attack. Its joints creaked as it spun around, then its back foot slammed into my jaw. I watched as a burst of raging Deathbane Aura shot out, and I was sent flying.
Such a simple move, yet the force and angle were perfect. After being sent flying, I found myself completely helpless for a moment.
"Damn."
I couldn't help but curse. The Spectral Juggernaut was already above me, raising its right hand as a piercing mechanical noise rang out.
"This is..."
In an instant, my body was riddled with holes and turned to pulp—nothing left but scraps. Deathbane Rounds shot out from those tiny holes, pouring out ten thousand bullets in just a second.
Within the black mist, I quietly observed the Spectral Juggernaut. It stood motionless, its red eye vacant and dull. But just now, if it had attacked with ghostly force, I'd really be lying on the ground—can't afford to be careless.
The Engineer was snickering on the side, gripping the game controller as if playing a video game, controlling the Spectral Juggernaut. Annoyed, I drew the Spectral Shotgun from my back, ready to try it out. The shells were loaded—high-density Deathbane Aura packed with killing intent.
With a whoosh, I appeared behind the Spectral Juggernaut, aiming the Spectral Shotgun at its head.
Bang—the gun fired. A violent blast erupted, Deathbane Aura exploded, and black light surged. I slid backward from the massive recoil.
As the Deathbane Aura faded, I swallowed hard. The Spectral Juggernaut stood in midair, completely unharmed, staring at me in silence.
The Engineer wasn't bluffing—the Spectral Juggernaut's hardness couldn't be damaged, even by such a powerful blow. The only thing I could think of was a killing strike. Just now, the Spectral Juggernaut really dodged Belle.
"Try every attack you can, Ethan."
The Engineer shouted from afar. I grunted, raised Belle, and in a flash appeared before the Spectral Juggernaut, swinging for its head.
Clang! I stared in shock as Deathbane Aura blasted out to both sides. Belle was caught in the Spectral Juggernaut's grip—an actual hand! I watched in amazement as a pale hand extended from the black cylinder, its thumb bracing Belle, and its fingers clamping down like pincers.
With a creak, I looked at the Spectral Juggernaut's ribs—one rib opened, and a black beam swept out. In an instant, my body split in two. I stared, wide-eyed, at the black beam firing from a mechanical aperture.
"It's Deathbane Aura..."