'Eternal One'

"Is that... the Indexer?"

Serena watched the Indexer hovering above the cave entrance through the Power Armor's helmet and couldn't help letting out a sigh of amazement.

"Hum~ hum~."

Just then, Sorrowful Solitude hummed a tune as it came before William. Its orange-glowing single eye flickered as it said to him:

"Recycler, what we're seeing before us is the Indexer. With it, we can create entirely new installations, or teleport other installations in the Milky Way Galaxy to our vicinity.

"At the same time, we can use the Indexer to activate the installation sequence and eliminate the Flood in one fell swoop."

Seeing the Indexer delivered right to him, William's lips curled upward behind his helmet screen, revealing a smile that no righteous person should have worn.

Yet he said in an utterly calm tone, "All right. I understand."

As he spoke,

William retracted the Beam Saber in his right hand and hung its hilt back at his waist. As for the four Floating Guns controlled by Serena, they had long since been discarded after running out of energy.

Immediately afterward,

William retreated several steps, gathered his strength, and then charged toward the edge of the cave entrance like a wild horse breaking free of its reins. At the instant he neared the edge, he leaped into the air.

With his [Great Strength], he shot skyward in an instant, charging toward the hovering Indexer.

He took aim.

He reached out with his right hand.

And gripped it perfectly.

Finally, under Serena's control, the jet system on the back of the Power Armor activated at once. The increased thrust carried William across the bottomless chasm.

"Thud! Thud!"

William, clad in Power Armor, couldn't be bothered to land on his toes and bleed off his momentum. Instead, he slammed both feet into