The first guardian lunged, its limbs clanging against the ship's steel floor. Jonas fired, the rifle's crack echoing through the hollow corridors. The bullet sparked against its plating, barely slowing it down.
"Too thick!" Jonas shouted. "Their cores are shielded!"
Mara spun her daggers, slicing at another as it swung an arm like a blade. Sparks flew as metal scraped metal, but the guardian didn't falter. "Then we find the gaps!" she snarled.
Selene thrust her staff, a burst of white flame bursting outward. One guardian staggered back, its chest plates cracking to reveal the pulsing glow inside. Liora cried out and pressed her hands to the crystal core of the ship, channeling her energy into it.
The vessel trembled, its lights flickering brighter. "I can hold the wards," she shouted, "but not fight them off!"
Eris stumbled forward, his chest still aglow with the residue of the Heart. His vision blurred, the world swaying—but when the nearest guardian lunged for Mara, something inside him snapped.
His body convulsed, and a wave of crimson energy surged outward, slamming the guardian back into the wall with bone-crushing force. The others staggered, their movements faltering.
Everyone turned to him. His veins glowed brighter now, his skin cracking faintly as if the power was burning through.
"Eris," Selene warned, "you're overloading."
"I know," he rasped. His voice was raw, but his eyes burned with determination. "But it's either me—or them."
He raised his hand, and energy burst outward again. Two guardians shattered instantly, their cores sparking as they crumpled to the floor. The others hissed, mechanical voices screeching in unison, and surged forward faster than before.
Jonas swore. "You've pissed them off!"
Mara leapt to cover Eris, deflecting a strike aimed for his chest. "Then we finish this before they tear him apart!"
The corridors shook as battle erupted—Selene's staff blazing, Jonas firing at weak points, Mara darting like a shadow, and Eris unleashing unstable surges that threatened to consume him with each strike.
Through it all, Liora chanted at the ship's core, sweat dripping down her face as she poured her energy into reawakening the vessel. The crystal glowed brighter, faint hums filling the air as systems flickered back to life.
But the guardians weren't retreating. If anything, more shadows stirred deeper in the ship, red eyes flickering in the dark.
Selene glanced at Eris, her face pale. "If we don't stop them now, this ship becomes our tomb."