The horizon shook again as Karl's knuckles clenched, Vythra thrumming like a pulse in his veins. Every servo in Erevos hissed to life, every nanite in the Drive Regulator stretching, calibrating, ready. He flexed the armored arms experimentally—spinning cogs on the chest and shoulders whirring in perfect harmony, responding to the tiniest impulses. The floating gears, now fully attached, hovered with a faint cerulean glow, orbiting in precise paths dictated by the Trinity Node Core.
Agnes purred low in his mind, predatory and urgent:
"Now, Karl… no more tests… no more waiting… feed me your Drive… every rotation, every beat, every strike… feel it… yes~ feel the power, make it scream!"
Karl pivoted Erevos mid-air, torque in the joints pushing him faster than a conventional human could conceive. The mountain's jagged cliffs tore past him as he twisted, Blueprint Overdrive rails flickering beneath his boots and forearms, guiding every movement with mathematical precision. The demon's gaze followed, massive fists clenched, its passive now fully awake.
The first strike came like a meteor—one fist smashing into a jagged cliff edge. The vibration rattled Erevos' servos, but Karl was already spinning, chest gears pivoting outward, deflecting shards of rock with a calculated pulse of rotational energy. The floating gears reacted autonomously, spinning to intercept debris and redirecting massive boulders that would have crushed him.
"Not fast enough~!" Agnes hissed, her voice vibrating through the Trinity Node Core. "Adjust torque! Spinal cogs forward! Legs torque reverse! Spin through the cliff gap! Move, Karl, MOVE!"
Erevos twisted midair, limbs coordinating in perfect synched motion. One spinning arm gear slammed into the demon's forearm as it swung again—impact transmitted through the nanite-reinforced skeleton, force amplified by the rotational spin. Sparks erupted across the cerulean plating, the nanites reinforcing edges mid-impact, slicing deep grooves into the demon's dark flesh. It roared, staggered, but barely flinched.
Karl gritted his teeth. This was what he had been waiting for. Every evasive maneuver, every measured strike had been a test, a stalling tactic to buy time while Erevos recalibrated fully. Now the demon was serious, and so was he.
The next move was surgical precision: he launched himself off a cliff face, Blueprint Overdrive rails extending along jagged edges, creating a looping arc. Floating gears whirred into protective orbit, deflecting falling rock as he aimed the chest-mounted gear cannon at the demon's torso. Nanites reinforced the gear edges, compressing kinetic energy into each strike. The gear slammed into the demon's ribcage with a metallic crunch amplified by Vythra torque, staggering it back—but still alive.
Agnes purred, feral and hungry:
"Yes! Yes~ Karl! Torque them! Spin them! Feel it, feed me the Vythra! Every cog, every rotation, every beat of your drive! Make them scream!"
Karl gritted his teeth, spinning on the cliff edge midair. The leg gears propelled him upward, simultaneously spinning, slicing rock and debris, and creating a vortex of centrifugal force. He swung a spinning arm-gear in a wide arc, connecting with the demon's massive shoulder. Sparks, bone, and Royal Azure energy flashed. The demon roared in fury, its fists now moving with calculated force, aware that its earlier casual attacks were insufficient.
"Your… honor… fight… tested… me… fully… chosen… no one… pushed me…" it growled, voice ragged but reverberating with raw power. "Now… pay… respect… remember… name…"
Karl felt the Vythra surge, pushing the nanites through Erevos' frame like molten lightning. Every rotation of the chest gears, every pulse through the spinal cogs, every spin of the floating orbits amplified his strikes. The demon's blows, though devastating, were met with torque-driven evasions, spinning blocks of energy, and reactive gear strikes that reinforced Erevos' plating mid-contact.
He twisted, pivoting off a cliff's jagged edge, slamming a knee-gear down in turbo-spin mode, launching a spinning chain of force toward the demon's chest. Nanites along the edges sharpened mid-rotation, slicing through layered muscle and reinforced skin. The demon staggered, staggering backward but recovering instantly, every movement now a lethal threat.
Agnes hissed in anticipation:
"Now! Chest rotation full torque! Spinal cogs forward! Floating gears strike diagonal! Do not let him predict your movement! Feel him… feel his power… counter it with ours!"
Karl responded instinctively. Erevos spun on its axis, floating gears ramming into the demon's fists as it tried to smash him, each contact creating sonic vibrations that reinforced his armor. Nanites reshaped edges mid-strike, creating razor-precise impact zones that crushed and redirected force simultaneously. The demon roared, staggering again, but the fury in its eyes was pure—this was no longer a test, this was a fight to the death.
He pivoted in the air again, Blueprint Overdrive rails glowing, guiding his rotation, while chest and shoulder gears whirred in perfect opposition. Torque-fed punches connected with the demon's torso and limbs, not to finish, but to gauge, to force it to commit fully to every strike. Each blow sparked Royal Azure energy, glowing streaks marking every impact.
"Do not underestimate him now, Karl~! Every step, every spin, every rotation counts! Vrrrmmm~ torque, torque, torque! Make him bleed~!" Agnes growled, voice now a predator's roar.
Karl's jaw tightened. The demon was powerful beyond anything he'd fought before, and the risk of a single misstep could end him. Still, the surge of Vythra pulsed through him, syncing with every gear and nanite. Erevos was no longer just a machine—it was an extension of him, of Agnes, of raw will and Chosen determination.
The demon leapt, fists smashing down in twin meteor strikes. Karl pivoted, chest gears spinning forward, arm-gear blocks intercepting with reinforced nanite edges. Sparks, rock, and Royal Azure flared in a blinding arc. The floating gears rotated at maximum RPM, slicing boulders and intercepting debris while Karl twisted mid-air, Blueprint Overdrive rails glowing as they redirected force into counterstrike momentum.
"Feel it! Every strike, every rotation, every step! Vrrrmmm~ Karl, we are alive in this! Take it all, give it all, now~!" Agnes' feral voice pierced the noise.
Karl's hands danced across the Drive Regulator, orchestrating floating gear rotations, chest torque, spinal cogs, leg and knee torque, Blueprint rail arcs—all in a fluid, brutal ballet of destruction. Every strike he landed, every evasive maneuver, served a purpose: survival and preparation. Erevos' systems were now humming at full synchronization; the Trinity Node Core feeding nanites and torque into each gear, each strike sharper, faster, more lethal.
The demon roared again, swinging with unparalleled speed and precision. It smashed a jagged cliff into a dozen pieces in a single motion, trying to catch Karl mid-spin. He pivoted, feet spinning, knee-gear amplifiers boosting jump height, floating gears intercepting falling boulders. Chest and arm gears rotated in a perfect spiral of defense and offense, clashing with the demon's blows, diverting some energy, absorbing some, and redirecting the rest into counter torque.
"Now, Karl… NOW! Full rotation, full torque! Don't falter… make every movement your ally!" Agnes purred, almost vibrating through the Trinity Node Core.
He leapt, pivoted, spun, struck, ducked, and smashed. Fifteen minutes of constant evasion, measured force, and buying time had passed. Erevos had fully stabilized; the spinning gears and nanite armor had synced, torque flows at maximum capacity, Blueprint rails positioned perfectly for offense.
The demon's eyes widened—it had realized the full extent of what Karl could do, even in this moment of preparation. Its earlier playful attacks were over. It was ready to commit to the clash of full power. Every punch it threw now carried destructive intent, every step could collapse mountains, every roar shook the air like a warhorn.
Karl tightened his fists, Vythra flowing at near-limit levels. Gearstorm Nova whirred in anticipation, spinning cogs shimmering with cerulean light. Blueprint rails snaked along his armor, ready for evasive arcs or brutal counter-assaults. He exhaled, steel in his voice.
"Erevos… it's time," he muttered, teeth gritted. "Show him what happens when a Chosen pushes back."
Agnes growled, feral, confident:
"Yes, Karl… all in. Torque, spin, nanites, Vythra… unleash everything. This is our moment—show him the fury of a Chosen!"
The air thickened, tension coiling around them like a live wire. Dust swirled, rocks trembled, Royal Azure energy flared in streaks. The demon's fists clenched, ready to meet him head-on. Erevos bristled, every gear, every cog, every nanite alive and poised.
And in that suspended heartbeat before the clash of unstoppable force against unyielding power, Karl's mind was calm, focused, ready. The storm of Gearstorm Nova, Royal Azure, and raw Chosen determination was about to descend.
The demon's eyes locked onto Karl. Its roar split the horizon. Its first full-strength swing descended.
And the battlefield trembled beneath the promise of annihilation.