"They're heading underground," Lin Ming said into his comms, his voice sharp with urgency. "They knew about this passage. This was their objective all along."
Quynh Nhu (comms): Underground? There are no tunnels on any city blueprint beneath the library. That place is a structural dead end.
Minerva (comms): She's right. Official records show nothing. But... the old energy trails I detected earlier... they all converge on that exact spot. It's not a dead end; it's the heart of the anomaly. This 'Tu Thu Dien' must be a place shielded from modern technology.
Pham Tuan had just finished untying the unconscious archivist and was checking his vitals. "He's stable. Just mentally exhausted." He looked at the dark staircase with trepidation. "We go after them?"
It was a question directed at Lin Ming. In that moment, the command structure of Task Force Chimera was solidified not by a directive, but by instinct.
"We go," Lin Ming confirmed. "Quynh Nhu, hold your position. Be ready for them to emerge from an unexpected exit. Minerva, do what you can to find any historical references to this place. Anything. Pham Tuan, you're with me. Watch your step."
With a final, shared glance, they plunged into the darkness. The stone staircase was steep and narrow, spiraling down into the earth. The air grew cool and damp, thick with the scent of ancient stone and dormant magic. Their flashlights cut feeble beams through the oppressive dark.
After descending for what felt like a hundred meters, the staircase opened into a vast, circular chamber. The room was breathtaking. The walls were not made of brick, but of a seamless, polished black stone that seemed to absorb the light. In the center of the chamber, four massive stone pedestals stood arranged in a square. Resting on three of them were what looked like books, but they were unlike any books Lin Ming had ever seen. They were thick codices bound not in leather, but in materials that defied description.
One was bound in a substance that looked like petrified wood, pulsating with a faint, green, earthy energy.
The second was bound in something that resembled solidified water, a shimmering, translucent blue.
The third was bound in a cover that looked like hardened magma, glowing with a dim, orange embers.
The fourth pedestal was empty. And standing before it, examining a slot where a book should be, was the Madakaros leader. Its two guards stood ready.
"They haven't found what they're looking for yet," Pham Tuan whispered.
The Madakaros leader seemed to sense their presence. It turned, a triumphant and mocking sneer on its three-eyed face. "Too late, children of Earth," it said through its translator. "We couldn't find the 'Key', but your little heirloom will serve just as well."
It pointed a clawed finger at Thuan Thien. "This hall is a power source. A library of elemental principles left by your infantile gods. Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal. But it has been dormant for eons. It needs a catalyst to restart it, a 'key' of significant power. The Sword of Heaven's Will is a perfect substitute."
The two guards charged, one towards Lin Ming, one towards Pham Tuan, a clear tactic to keep them occupied. The leader turned back to the empty fourth pedestal and raised its hands, beginning a strange, alien chant.
Pham Tuan roared, activating his full Juggernaut ability. His skin became like granite as he met his opponent head-on, their battle a clash of brute force, shaking the ancient chamber.
Lin Ming faced his own opponent. He moved with a newfound grace, his Foundation Establishment physique making him incredibly nimble. Thuan Thien was a blur in his hand. He didn't need to kill; he just needed to be fast. He parried, sidestepped, and with a swift, disabling strike, shattered the alien's knee joint, sending it crashing to the ground with a howl of pain.
But the leader's chant was reaching its crescendo. The alien's plan wasn't to fight them; it was to stall them.
Minerva (comms): Lin Ming, I found a reference! A heavily redacted Blacklight file from the 1990s! 'Tu Thu Dien' isn't just a hall; it's a machine! An atmospheric and geological regulator built on principles we don't understand! The four 'books' are its control modules! Earth, Water, Fire, and the fourth is Metal! That machine has a direct link to the city's... the city's entire tectonic and atmospheric stability!
A cold dread filled Lin Ming. They weren't trying to steal a book. They were trying to hijack a planetary control system.
"If he uses that sword's energy as a key," Minerva's voice was now frantic, "he might not just activate it. He could overload it. The resulting feedback loop could trigger... seismic events. Earthquakes. Volcanic fissures under the city. He could sink all of Hanoi!"
The Madakaros leader laughed maniacally. "Your own ancient defenses will be your doom! A magnificent offering for our ascension!"
It finished its chant and slammed its palm onto the pedestal. A beam of dark energy shot out, not at Lin Ming, but at Thuan Thien. It was an energy siphon, trying to forcibly drain the sword's power and channel it into the machine.
Thuan Thien pulsed violently, resisting the pull. But the leader's cultivation was high, likely late-stage Foundation Establishment or even higher. Lin Ming felt a powerful tug, as if the sword was trying to leap from his hand. He had to pour his own Fairy Qi into the blade just to hold onto it.
He couldn't move. If he let go, the city was doomed. If he held on, he was a sitting duck.
He saw the second guard—the one whose knee he had shattered—raise its one good arm, an energy pistol forming around its wrist, taking aim directly at Lin Ming's head.
"Checkmate, hero," the leader sneered.
Quynh Nhu (comms): Ming, I can't get a shot! I've lost you completely! What's happening down there?!
This was it. A situation with no escape. Pham Tuan was locked in a brutal melee. He was trapped, holding the line.
At that moment of absolute despair, something new awakened within him. The Dragon's Seed in his dantian, sensing its master's mortal peril and the threat to its homeland, began to pulse with a furious, ancient heat. It wasn't just a seed of armor; it was a seed of a Dragon's pride. And a Dragon does not stand by while its domain is threatened.
A powerful, primal roar echoed not from his throat, but from his very soul. It was the roar of Lac Long Quan.
Crimson and gold light exploded from his body. Scales, far more real and intricate than the simple bracers from before, erupted across his skin. They flowed over his chest, his back, his legs, locking into place with a series of satisfying clicks. A draconic helmet, complete with a flowing golden mane of pure energy, formed around his head.
[Mortal Danger has triggered Ancestral Bloodline!]
[The Dragon's Seed has forcefully bloomed!]
[HUYẾT RỒNG GIÁP (DRAGON'S BLOOD ARMOR) - FULLY MANIFESTED!]
Lin Ming was no longer a boy in a jumpsuit. He was a warrior clad in the legendary armor of a Dragon Prince, gleaming crimson and gold. He felt an invincible, absolute defense settle over him.
The guard fired its pistol. The beam of energy, powerful enough to vaporize steel, slammed into his helmet.
And simply... dissipated. It fizzled out against the draconic scales like a raindrop against a furnace, leaving not even a scorch mark.
Everyone in the room—Pham Tuan, the guards, and the leader—froze in utter shock.
Lin Ming, now encased in impenetrable armor and holding the Sword of Heaven's Will, looked at the Madakaros leader. The siphoning beam was still latched onto his sword, but he now had the strength to resist it and move.
He took one, heavy, resounding step forward.
"My city," he said, his voice amplified by the helmet into a deep, commanding tone. "My people. My home." He took another step, the chamber trembling with his power. "You are not welcome here."