Nas lunged at the intellectual, Flourish's buff surging through him like fire. His body felt sharper, faster, lighter and stronger than it ever had before. He moved in sync with Alexie, who despite his shattered body blurred across the battlefield, striking with desperate speed. Together, they pressed the attack, one distracting while the other struck.
For the first time, the Intellectual adjusted it's stance. Blows rained down, stones cracking beneath their feet as Nas drove his fist against the suits chest and Alexie hammered from the flanks. The air filled with dust, their movements so fierce it almost looked like they were gaining ground.
But the truth bled through quickly.
The Intellectual's body absorbed their strikes without slowing, it sensors tracking every front, every desperate trick. It swatted Alexei aside with a backhand, leaving him coughing blood, then blocked Nas's heaviest punch with a single arm. Steam evaporated from Nas's body, his muscles screaming under the strain.
Still he refused to stop.
Alexei cried out as the intellectual seized him, choking until his vision blurred. Nas tore forward, rage in his voice, slamming into the suit with everything Flourish's spell has given him. The attack barely staggered it.
"Enough." The intellectual's voice was calm, detached. "You are not enemies. You're data."
Alexei stumbled up from the ground, bones grinding under hardened skin. He met Nas's eyes. Both of them knew, like this, they had no chance.
Nas's teeth clenched. His vision swam, not from exhaustion, but from the choices burning in his mind. He thought of Michael bleeding out, Phoebe barely standing, Alexei on the brink of collapse. He thought of Flourish, tethering his life to their own just to keep them breathing.
If I don't do it now... None of us will make it out of here alive.
As the intellectual raise it's blade, Nas moved, not to strike, but to bite down on something he had hidden all along.
A bitter, acrid taste filled his mouth.
Flourish, froze, a jolt shot down his spine, his eyes widening in horror. He reached for his pouch, it was empty. His heart sank. No... Nas, you didn't.
Nas's body erupted with raw power, muscles straining, veins glowing faintly as if molten fire ran through them. His aura surged so violently it distorted the air, an overwhelming storm of mana and strength crackling off him. For a heartbeat, even the intellectual paused, analyzing the new spike in power.
The Devil's Contract
Flourish knew it instantly. A cursed seed created by the elves centuries ago as a last resort. It could amplify one's physical and magical abilities to their absolute peak, but only for a few fleeting minutes. And when it ended... The cost was always brutal, often fatal, a price that could not be escaped. Banned long ago, it still appeared on black markets, abused by addicts and cheaters in underground arenas.
Flourish's hands shook, his teeth clenched. "He stole it from me. All this time, he knew. And now he's ready to throw himself away."
Nas raised his fist, every ounce of new found power flooding into his strikes. His roar cut through the battlefield as he charged, the Devil's Contract pushing him into the impossible.
This was his ace. His last card. His final gamble.
The Devil's Contract fused with years of brutal training, martial arts so refined that Nas could bend iron and tear bark from trees with his bare hands. Now, with his strength amplified to its peak, he moved like a weapon forged for this single moment.
The intellectual hadn't accounted for this. Its data classified Nas as low threat, its focus locked on Alexei's speed. That oversight was it's undoing.
Nas roared, channeling everything into his fist. He drove it forward with monstrous force, the strike smashing through the armored plating of the suit's chest. The impact resounded like thunder, metal shrieking as his hand punched clean through. His knuckles found what he had gambled on, the core.
The chip pulsed beneath his grip.
With another surge, a second burst of impossible strength, Nas crushed it. The core shattered in his palm.
The intellectual staggered back, sparks bursting from its frame. It froze mid motion, system collapsing, before falling still. The battlefield went silent, save for Nas's tagged breathing.
Peter's voice, hoarse but awes, broke that quite. "I was right... The heart. The core was in the same place as a human's."
The suit slumped lifelessly to the ground, smoke curling from its chest. Nas stood over it, trembling, his eyes burning white, the Devil's Contract still tearing through his body.
The barrier shattered, and the kids, not waiting around to question how long they had, they ran, as fast as their broken bodies would allow them.
Peter hauled Adrian onto his back, Alexei staggered forward with Michael draped over his shoulder, and Nas carried Phoebe in his arms, her blood soaking his shirt. Flourish sprinted behind them, vines dragging across the ground as he tried to summon what little energy he had left while calling the assembly for help.
Flourish's anger simmered as he ran. Damn it, Nas. "You shouldn't have taken that seed."
The Devil's Contract was dangerous even for elves, leaving them wracked with hours of migraines, sometimes even madness. For regular mages, the aftermath was far worse, crippling hallucinations, days of agony. But for a human without innate supernatural gifts? Flourish had only heard stories. None of them ended well. "We need to get you to a hospital before it's to late."
The ground shook.
"An oversight" a cold voice hissed behind them. "It won't happen again."
They froze in disbelief as the suit rose from the rubble, it's body sparkling but fully operational. Then it lunged, the earth trembling beneath its weight as it sprinted after them.
Nas's eyes widened. "I destroyed the core. I felt it break."
But the Intellectual was gaining ground.
Peter's voice cut through the panic. "Then, it must have more than one. Most suits only have a heart core, but this one..." He swallowed, glancing back at the looming figure "the backup would be it's head. A brain core."
The group's pace faltered. Flourish was already drained, bleeding mana into the injured just to keep their hearts from stopping. Alexei's body was beyond its limit, barely holding together under his hardened skin. That left only Peter and Nas to face the monster again.
But this time was different, the intellectual would no longer underestimate them. It had logged every move, every strike, every surge of strength Nas has shown. The element of surprise was gone.
And this time, it was ready.
Nas's voice tore through the panic.
"Flourish, use what's left of your mana. Make a shield. As strong as you can muster."
Flourish's face twisted with despair. "I don't have enough. The spell won't hold..."
"I know"
The single reply froze everyone. They knew what he meant. They knew what he was planning. And none of them could stop him.
He glanced at the unconscious Michael, a faint smile across his face. "Make sure to keep him safe."
Before anyone could argue, he tossed Phoebe into Peter's arms. She stirred weakly, just conscious enough to see what was happening, and terror filled her eyes.
"Nas...!"
But it was too late. Flourish's roots erupted from a single seed, weaving together a massive orb, encasing the team in living wood and soil. The shield trembled with strain, barely holding.
Nas turned facing the Intellectual alone.
"I can feel the Devil's Contract slowly fading away. I've got only a few seconds left. Let's make it count"
The suits red glow pulsed, it's voice a hiss of static and malice.
"I know your strength. Let us see how you fare against your own attack."
The ground quaked as the intellectual launched forward, its fist blazing with stolen force.
Nas braced himself. Muscles tore, veins bulged like cords across his body as he caught the punch with both arms. His feet dug trenches into the earth as he slid back, but his eyes, burning with stubborn fire, never wavered.
"Not... this time."
With a roar, he twisted, driving his knee up and snapping a kick at the suit's chest. The strike landed clean, yet the Intellectual caught his leg mid-air, swinging him down like a ragdoll.
CRACK
The earth shook as Nas's body slammed into the ground, dust exploding outward. He coughed blood, but forced himself upright, staggering into stance just as another punch screamed toward him. This time he slipped past it, rushing behind the intellectual, arms locking tight around it's waist.
"Move... For me!" He snarled lifting with every ounce of his strength, initiating a sumo slam.
For a heartbeat, it looked like the giant would fall.
But the suits hand shot down, bracing against the earth, halting the motion. Then, slowly, inexorably, it threw it's full weight backwards.
BOOM
The Intellectual crashed down on top of him, crushing him into the dirt, all its mass grinding into Nas's body.
Inside, the root orb, Phoebe's eyes flew open, completely awake now. She screamed, tears streaming her face as she clawed at the barrier, her voice breaking.
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! NAS...!"
Peter and Alexei held her back, their own faces twisted in horror, as a sound of the struggle outside shook the ground beneath them.
Nas caught the next punch with his left hand.
CRACK.
Bone splintered. He didn't let go.
The Intellectual swung it's other arm. NAS caught that too, his right hand screaming in pain, but his grip never loosening. His feet dug deeper into the ground, legs locked like iron stakes.
Through gritted teeth, he dragged the suit closer. His eyes flared an eerie blue, at the roots, his hair simmered gold.
Then —WHAM!— he smacked his forehead into the suits visor. Blood streamed down his face, but the impact sent the Intellectual skidding backward. It twisted midair, landing in a crouch. Energy swirled at its palm, condensing into a glowing sphere no larger than a golf ball.
"You really are something" it hissed, static crackling through its voice. "Oh, son of iron and fire..."
Peter's scream cut through the dust. "NAS... RUN"
Phoebe's voice tore the air, high and raw, as she saw Nas's faint smile.
Then the orb hit.
The world went white. The explosion ripped the earth apart, blowing the root shield to splinters and flinging the kids like rag dolls. Flourish grabbed Phoebe, knocking her unconscious before she could rush out to Nas, and they bolted under the cover of the dust.
When the smoke cleared, Nas was still standing. His skin was scorched black, smoke rising from his body. The intellectual lay crumpled before him. He exhaled once, then collapsed onto his back.
The Devil's Contract had done it's work. The price has arrived. His body convulsed, pain roaring through every nerve. One seed was supposed to mean only hours of agony, but that didn't count surviving an explosion.
Still his friends escaped. That was all that mattered.
The suit stirred. It rose slowly, it's right side gone, the ground behind it melted like lava had run through it.
"That was unexpected" it said "what magic did you hit me with?"
Nas couldn't answer.
"You missed... By this much." It pointed to the exposed sliver of it's head where the core sat, half destroyed. A little further and Nas might have ended it. "The repair will take some time. Your friends can't have gone far."
It turned to leave.
"NO!"
A voice split the sky.
Victor descended like a comet, rage flaring. With a snap of his finger, a crushing force pinned the intellectual into the ground, grinding the suit into a flat sheet of scrap. The second core shattered. Silence fell.