The instant the three rams pierced the Mapmakers' shell, the void throughout Universe-404 seemed to give a dull shudder.
A low resonance rolled through the Ark.
It was as if some giant beast dwelling in the depths of the sea had lazily turned over.
This was no physical impact. It was something deeper.
An invasion of concepts.
The three vicious rams at the Ark's bow were fangs sunk into prey, greedily drawing something from the Mapmakers' energy core.
A shriek of tearing metal scraped through the communications channel again and again, as though forced between clenched teeth. It made everyone's eardrums ache.
Mixed into it was a high-pitched, synthetic wail—
Perhaps this was the first time a creation of the Beyonders had ever tasted fear.
The instinctive tremor of data on the verge of total collapse.
On the bridge, Zero had vanished.
Where he had stood, only a small glow of fading energy remained. Then it, too, faded into nothingness.
Tony's eyes were practically glued to the monitor.
He stared as countless streams of liquid silver metal poured through the wounds torn open by the rams and seeped into the Mapmakers' body.
Those metallic constructs were practically alive!
They flowed without pause, their surfaces gleaming with a slick, cold light as they slipped into every opening.
Energy circuits, rune nodes—nothing was spared.
They spread at a terrifying speed, covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.
"What is it doing?"
Clark's brow furrowed.
His Super Vision showed him the metal spreading rapidly through the Mapmakers' body, like a virus infecting cells.
Every microscopic structure once thought perfect was being mercilessly consumed.
He could even see the exquisitely precise rune arrays dim beneath the silver liquid. Their operation... slowed.
"It isn't destroying it."
Reed's voice trembled almost imperceptibly. The