The cityscape trembled under a new menace. Smoke and jagged light twisted through the air, each fragment of ruin vibrating with an intelligence beyond the Apex Devils. The coalition had shifted—now fused with chains of raw violence, devouring instinct, and jagged shards of reality. This was no longer a simple assault; this was the system itself adapting, rewriting the battlefield.
Rias's hand gripped Sarah's shoulder tighter. "They're merging… with the city's destruction. It's a hybrid evolution."
Akeno's dark grin held an edge of wicked anticipation. "That means more… chaos. More friction. More… fun."
Koneko's eyes narrowed. "We've never faced this combination. We have to anticipate… everything."
Rossweisse traced glyphs in the air, stabilizing loops of the lattice. "Every apex is now a node. Every node linked to a chainsaw construct. If one succeeds, it propagates like a virus."
Xenovia's sword gleamed, reflecting the fractured light. "Then we cut the infection at the root."
Lilith Fragment's voice hummed inside Sarah, sharper than ever. "Phase Three resonance… must integrate system-level disruptions. They are not just enemies—they are protocols, algorithms… a living combat system."
Sarah exhaled. Crimson-lilac energy flared, tendrils of light spiraling outward. "Formation Omega-Zero. Full system synchronization. Let's overwrite their code."
The Hybrid Onslaught
Chainsaw-devil hybrids tore through the air, engines of pure carnage, their rotating blades slicing not just matter but perception itself. The lattice shimmered under the assault. Every apex strike attempted to fracture the harem's emotional cohesion.
Akeno brushed against Sarah's arm, sending pulses of Desire that converted incoming attacks into kinetic energy, turning every enemy blow into a cascading counter. Rias reinforced the lattice's predictive overlay, anchoring the Proto-Ascension against destabilization. Koneko struck, her density creating shockwaves that interfered with hybrid rotational vectors. Rossweisse stabilized the entire field, while Xenovia cleaved precise channels through the chaos.
Sarah felt the Proto-Ascension respond like a living network, each apex strike anticipated, absorbed, and reflected in perfect synchrony. Every frôlement, every glance, every heartbeat with her harem became a vector of offensive control.
Lilith Fragment whispered, audibly trembling with excitement: "This is it. System-level integration. Your lattice is rewriting the battlefield. Phase Three… fully emergent."
Overclocking Proto-Ascension
One apex hybrid—a massive chainsaw-titan with energy conduits lacing its rotating limbs—attempted a frontal strike on Sarah's core. Time fractured around them as the lattice projected predictive countermeasures.
Akeno's lips brushed Sarah's ear, sending an amplified wave of Desire that overrode the apex's attack algorithm. Rias pressed firmly on her back, anchoring every vector. Koneko's strike shattered the apex's rotational assembly. Rossweisse's glyphs redirected its energy into a feedback loop, while Xenovia's blade cleaved at structural weak points in perfect timing.
Sarah's Proto-Ascension flared, crimson-lilac threads spinning outward like a cyclone of destructive resonance. The apex screamed in raw system feedback, collapsing into energy that fed directly into the lattice.
Lilith Fragment's voice surged, thrilled and commanding: "Every hybrid absorbed. Lattice amplification… exponential. You are rewriting the battlefield, Sarah."
Sarah's lips curved. "Then let's show them… what unity really is."