The neon arena cracked.
The Hunter AI stood at the center, its body cloaked in black armor, crimson blades jutting out from every side. Its eyes burned like twin torches devouring the dark.
INITIATING FULL TERMINATION MODE
Yuto'o swallowed—if he still had saliva. His glitch-body was fractured, his blade trembling in his hand. But his eyes glowed blue, unwavering.
"If I run now, I'll be erased for good. So…"
He raised his glitch blade. "…I fight."
The Hunter surged forward. Metal wings spun, hurling crimson blades like a storm of death.
Yuto'o leapt, his body scattering into glitch fragments—GLITCH WARP—reappearing above the AI's head. He brought his blade down with all his strength.
KRANGGG!
Sparks erupted. A thin crack formed in the black armor.
But the Hunter spun, shoulder cannon rising.
BOOOOM!
The blast slammed into Yuto'o midair. His glitch-body shattered, half-destroyed, crashing hard onto the neon floor.
"Aghhh… damn…" Red data dripped from his chest like digital blood.
The Hunter raised its arm. A massive blade unfolded, ready to finish him.
From the arena's edge, Orbis shouted. "Use your power as a GHOST! Not just the blade!"
Yuto'o closed his eyes briefly. Breath might be gone, but his spirit burned.
He rose, thrusting his hand outward. Data fragments spun wild, glitch storms shaking the field. The Hunter staggered, its algorithm disrupted.
Yuto'o charged, his blade now glowing half blue, half red—half-stable, half-chaotic.
KRRRAAANG!
A massive crack split across the Hunter's chest.
"Yes!" Yuto'o roared. But the victory was fleeting.
ADJUSTING ALGORITHM
The Hunter's attacks grew faster. Sharper. Relentless.
Every glitch-step he made was read, every warp countered. Blades tore into him again, his glitch-body fracturing further.
"Not enough… my power's not enough!"
Desperation boiled inside. The glitch surged. A foreign voice whispered in his head:
"Do you want to live? Then give me everything."
Yuto'o shivered. "What—who—?"
His body flared red, data exploding from every crack.
OVERCLOCK RAGE ACTIVATED
His glitch blade expanded into a giant weapon. His form burned wild, monstrous, unstable.
The Hunter fired another energy sphere.
Yuto'o roared, cleaving it apart midair.
He lunged, Overclock flooding him with raw strength. His strike tore through the Hunter's armor, nearly reaching the glowing red core in its chest.
KRRANGG!!
The machine shrieked, sparks scattering. For the first time, it staggered back.
But the power consumed him. His glitch-body collapsed inward, cracks spreading wider.
"Arghhh! If I keep this up… I'll be erased!"
The Hunter steadied itself, armor broken but unyielding. Its red eyes flared hotter.
TERMINATION PRIORITY: MAXIMUM
Wings, cannons, and blades unfolded all at once. A full assault prepared to obliterate him.
Suddenly, Orbis tore open a portal at the arena's edge—a glowing tunnel of underground data.
"Yuto'o! JUMP NOW!"
Yuto'o clutched his fractured blade, eyes darting between the Hunter and the portal.
"If I keep fighting, I'll die… but if I run…"
The Hunter lunged, its killing strike ready to crush everything.
Yuto'o roared, his glitch-body blazing red and blue.
He chose—
and leapt into the neon data stream.
The Hunter AI dove after him, crimson eyes burning.
The blood hunt spilled into the dark corridors of the virtual world.
The chase no longer ends in the arena—it begins in the shadows.