...The chase was over... now, it was time for the feast...
The Ferrocarne crawled forward, the light from the fallen drone glinting off its jet-black carapace. Its massive pincer, slightly chipped from the last attack, was raised slowly, ready to crush everything.
S-81 pushed his battered body to its feet. The metal-clad right arm was covered in visible fractures. Pain from his ribs shot through his body, but the fear he once had... had now been forged into a singular will to survive.
Ava's voice was trembling, but filled with focus.
S-81 understood instantly... he was now the impromptu "tank," and he had to hold its attention for as long as possible.
"Shit!" S-81 rolled to the side just in the nick of time as the Ferrocarne's nano-crystal mandibles snapped shut on the spot where he had just been standing. The sound of metal grinding against rock was horrifying.
He used the opening to slam his left hand onto a large, ruined steel pipe nearby.
S-81 didn't hesitate. He rushed at it from the side, using his smaller size and greater agility to dash under its pincer. He swung the iron pipe in his left hand with all his might against the rear leg joint!
CRANG! The sound of metal on metal echoed. The carapace in that area dented slightly and a crack appeared!
SKREEEEEE!!! The Ferrocarne shrieked in pain. It whipped around in a fury, its pincers scything in a wide arc!
A desperate battle had truly begun. It was the coordination of four lives... two humans and two AIs...
Ava and Frau acted as the "eyes and the brain." They analyzed every movement of the Ferrocarne through the camera of the damaged but still-functioning drone. Every piece of data... from the twitch of a muscle, the frequency of its breathing, to the smallest crack on its carapace... was continuously sent to S-81.
S-81 and Sora acted as the "body and the instinct." Sora took the data from Ava's team, processed it, and converted it into the shortest, most concise commands for S-81. While S-81 used his power creatively. He didn't just turn his arms to metal, but also absorbed the properties of sharp wreckage to use as temporary weapons, turning his hands into blades or spears to attack the points Ava indicated.
But it was a battle fought at too great a disadvantage... S-81 was growing tired, his wounds were reopening. His Rank G power couldn't withstand the violent impacts for long. His metal-clad right arm had been shattered in the last defense.
he thought.
The Ferrocarne raised both its pincers high... before slamming them down onto the ground with all its might!
BOOOOOOM!!!
The tunnel floor shook so violently that S-81 lost his footing. Rocks rained down from the ceiling! "Argh!" He was struck squarely in the back by a large chunk of rock. Pain shot through his entire body, and he almost lost consciousness... Ava's voice was filled with panic. He tried to get up... but he couldn't... his body wouldn't obey his thoughts...
The Ferrocarne walked towards him slowly... it could sense its prey was finished. It raised one pincer... ready to crush him into pulp...
And in that final moment, between life and death...
S-81, on the verge of blacking out, heard the voice like a call from the heavens... He used his last ounce of strength... reached out his good left hand to touch the sharp, shattered piece of the PDC drill head lying next to him...
KRRRRRRRSSSSSHHHHH!!!
His entire left arm transmuted into a jet-black metal that shimmered like diamond crystals! It was the absorption of the strongest material he could touch!
In the instant the Ferrocarne's pincer was about to come down... he used all the strength he had... twisted his body around and thrust the arm that had become a diamond spear... upwards with all his might!
SHHUUUUNNNKKKK!!!
Silence fell...
The diamond spear had pierced through the unarmored underbelly of the Ferrocarne... penetrating its biological energy core with perfect accuracy...
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Ferrocarne let out one final, agonizing shriek. Its colossal body convulsed violently... before going still... and crashing down beside S-81's body...
S-81's left arm, which had become a diamond spear, shattered and reverted to normal flesh... Blood gushed from the wounds all over his body... his consciousness faded to black...
A data window appeared in Ava's HUD... <...Emergency signal received... Searching for nearest high-level personnel...> <...Target found... Sending coordinates and rescue mission data...> <...Help... is on the way...>