I Merged with a Forbidden SSS-Rank Nanosuit After Being Abandoned-Chapter 88 - Titan-class Ship?!

Seconds crawled by in Zion’s eyes, his fingers digging into the armrests as the glow brightened in front of him.

[Their railgun is nearly done,] Uriel suddenly said. [Trajectory analyzation complete...]

Zion swallowed.

The thrusters on the side of the ship roared to life.

Then, a bright light swallowed his vision.

Everything seemed to slow down as a massive ball of energy soared toward them. Vibrations shook the entire ship, slowly growing more intense as it got closer.

Suddenly, Uriel activated the barrier on their ship.

The entire ship shook as the energy projectile barely scraped by them, only damaging the barrier with residual energy.

[Evasion complete,] Uriel said, voice light. [I’m ending the fight now.]

Their ship glided sideways from the energy blast, lining each weapon system perfectly with the enemy ship.

Without hesitation, Uriel fired every single system at once—light rounds, heavy rounds, it didn’t matter.

In a split second, the bullets crossed the distance to the lance-class ship.

At first, they were blocked by a forcefield.

But that quickly stopped protecting them after dozens of bullets slammed into it one after another.

Zion watched in awe as the bullets finally passed through and struck the enemy lance-class ship again and again.

Until its hull gave out.

The front window lit up in a fierce red light as the enemy ship exploded into dozens of tiny pieces.

’Amazing,’ he thought.

He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling relief spread through his body.

As Uriel steered the ship away from the debris and back toward Planet Heliax, Zion opened his eyes again.

"Thanks a lot," he said. "Don’t know what I’d do without you, Uriel."

[Don’t thank me, Host,] Uriel replied, its voice soft. [Just... take care of Koru now.]

Zion froze.

’Koru?’ he thought.

Then his eyes widened. ’Right—Koru!’

He hadn’t heard a single peep from him since the start of the fight.

Zion immediately spun around, his eyes stopping on the chair beside him.

Koru lay there, completely unconscious, a horrified expression still plastered across his stone face.

"...Seems like he didn’t like all the turning and shaking," Zion muttered, shaking his head lightly.

A small smile formed as he turned back to the window in front of him.

For a moment, he fell completely silent as he stared at the stars outside.

Then, he unclicked his straps and stood up. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What’s the status of our ship?" he asked, stretching lightly.

[We didn’t suffer any damage,] Uriel replied, a hint of disappointment in its voice. [Though I did lose 28% of our ammunition and 32% of our energy during the fight.]

Surprise flashed across Zion’s face.

"We lost that little?" he said, unsure if it was even real. "And you’re disappointed?"

[Affirmative,] the AI replied, its voice low. [I could’ve done far better... as I have in the past.]

Zion fell silent, completely speechless.

He turned toward his room, shaking his head lightly.

"Well, at least it’s over now," he said, walking toward the door.

Just as he was about to open the corridor door, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the entire ship as it began shaking violently.

He quickly grabbed hold of the wall, his heart pounding as he spun around.

[Host...] Uriel said quietly. [We have a problem.]

"What was that?" Zion asked, walking back toward the front of the control room.

As he reached the window, he froze in place, his eyes wide with disbelief.

A ship nearly four times as large as theirs hovered in the distance, dozens of weapon systems actively aimed at them.

"Fucking hell!" Zion cursed, slamming his fist against the glass. "What am I supposed to do with this?!"

Before he could say anything else, a sharp chime echoed through the control room.

[Incoming transmission,] Uriel announced, its voice turning cold. [They are requesting direct communication.]

Zion’s jaw tightened. "Put it through."

Another chime echoed as a small hologram popped up in front of him.

The entire room fell silent for several seconds.

Then, a cold female voice came through from the other end.

"No-name mercenary group," she said. "Two members, led by D-rank Zane."

Zion’s expression darkened slightly.

"That’s me," he replied, his voice low. "Who are you, and why have you aimed your weapons at us?"

He clenched his fist and closed his eyes, hoping they were just investigating the fight.

"You have two options," the female voice continued, completely ignoring his questions. "Surrender the young Verdant Sentinel on board and leave alive, or die trying to protect it."

Zion gritted his teeth, pain flashing across his face. ’So they were here for him...’ he thought.

He was certain they had followed him from Planet Yalqe and lost him after his rapid takeoff.

’They must’ve been nearby and picked up the energy from the fight,’ he thought, slamming his fist against the wall again.

His eyes darted to the still-unconscious Koru, his mind racing. ’What do I do now?’

[We won’t win a fight against that ship,] Uriel said, its voice low and somber. [That ship is a full two grades above ours—a Titan-class ship.]

’A Titan-class?!’ Zion thought, his face draining of color. ’I thought it was only a good fighter-class.’

[It’s on the smaller side and rather weak for a Titan-class,] Uriel said after a pause. [But it is... a Titan-class.]

Zion fell completely silent, every plan he’d thought of vanishing instantly.

His gaze returned to Koru.

’I will never sell him out,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ’Even if it’s the last thing I do.’

Sell out Koru for his own safety? He’d become just like his former friends if he did that.

And there was no way in hell he would ever be like them.

"Mercenary Zane," the female voice pressed. "What is your choice? Option one or two."

Zion’s mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.

Suddenly, Uriel’s voice echoed through his mind.

[I may have a suggestion,] it said. [I doubt they will destroy the ship since they want Koru alive.]

[It’s a gamble, but we could try to fight it out on Planet Heliax.]