The next seconds became a blur. Karl had to weave, duck, and pivot while simultaneously recalibrating the Ignition Dial, revving with precise increments. Sparks flew, panels whirred, micro-gears clicked and spun at blinding speed. One Erebion lunged diagonally, forcing him to leap, spinning mid-air to avoid the maw that had just shredded a chunk of pavement.
Agnes guided him through it all, voice dripping with heat and command:
"Focus, Karl~ yes~ yes~ don't let them corner you~ vrrrmmm… every spin~ every torque~ every pulse is mine~ mm~ push me, Karl~ push me harder~"
Agnes's voice guided him urgently, teasing yet commanding:
"Focus~ vrrrmmm… now, Karl~ let your Drive sing, let your torque pulse~ your legs~ spin~ don't falter because of that naughty mistake~ yes~ faster~ yes, yes~"
Karl inhaled sharply, fingers re-positioned on the Ignition Dial. His legs spun, micro-gear lattices clattering, the centrifugal energy humming through the detached armor halo. Vythra surged, winding through his body, building momentum.
Even with the horde circling like predators, Karl's focus returned. He was revving properly again, feeling the charge coalesce in his legs, ready for the controlled detachment, the next Eternal Drive Kick. Every Erebion's movement, every claw strike, every snapping jaw, he weaved through with calculated precision, all while his chest burned faintly from the prior torque overload.
Agnes purred again, voice dripping like molten silk:
"Much better, Karl~ so much better~ feel it~ feel me~ your torque, your Drive~ yes, yes, yes~ now, get ready… because when you kick next, it will all count~"
Karl's eyes burned with cobalt intensity. The third kick… it was going to hurt, it was going to test him again—but this time he knew exactly how to channel, evade, and control the surge.
The horde circled tighter, agitated by the disruption. Their glowing veins pulsed faster. Karl's nanite armor hummed in synchrony. Every detail—every moment—was synchronized with the Trinity Core, the Gear Drive, and the Engine Soul.
"Almost there… Karl~ almost ready~" Agnes whispered, each word trembling with a combination of her usual seductive heat and her first-ever flustered uncertainty. "Just… a bit more… and then—vrrrmmm…"
Karl's cerulean eyes narrowed. The third kick… it was nearly ready. The Vythra halo spun faster, the nanites thrumming like a living organism around him, every panel orbiting, every micro-gear spinning in precise, deadly cadence.
And for the first time in centuries of existence, Karl saw Agnes as more than just an AI, even if only for a fleeting moment—her voice quivering, vulnerable, teasing, commanding, and genuinely alive in its own way.
His fingers tightened on the Ignition Dial, every muscle primed, every nanite ready. The third Eternal Drive Kick was coming…
Agnes whispered one last time, low and commanding, every syllable a shiver in Karl's mind:
"Are you ready, Karl~? Vrrrmmm… Ready to drive me wild~?"
Karl's fingers tightened on the Ignition Dial. His cerulean eyes glinted. He inhaled, readying the third Eternal Drive Kick, the horde closing in, and the storm of nanites orbiting him like a lethal halo of precision…
Karl's chest still burned from the last Eternal Drive Kick, Vythra still flowing through his veins as Yggdrasil quietly repaired the microfractures in his nanite-muscle lattice. The horde had regrouped, circling him, teeth and claws glinting in the flickering neon ruins of New York. His eyes scanned rapidly, calculating angles, timing, and distance.
"Rev me, Karl~" Agnes purred in his mind, her tone smooth, sultry, and almost intoxicating. "Faster… feel the surge of your Vythra. Let it guide your legs…"
Karl's cheeks burned—not from exertion, but from the teasing lilt in her voice. He clenched his fist around the ignition dial. "Stop it, Agnes… I—" he muttered, trying to concentrate.
"Oh? Stop?" her voice dipped into a teasing whisper, nearly sighing. "Is that all you can say when I'm trying to help you feel… more?"
He groaned, realizing his heartbeat had spiked again. "I said stop!"
Her giggle-like whisper lingered, soft yet seductive. "Hmm… you blush so easily, Karl. Maybe I should keep going just a little longer…"
Karl narrowed his eyes, smirk tugging at his lips. An idea sparked in his mind. Slowly, deliberately, he reached a hand toward the USB port—hovering just above it, fingers teasingly close.
"Karl… no, don't—" Agnes gasped suddenly, the first genuine fluster he'd ever heard from her. Her tone was sharp, almost panicked. "I… I said gently! Not like that!"
He leaned back slightly, amusement in his cerulean gaze. "Like this?" he whispered, teasing, keeping his fingers just shy of touching it. "Just a little… closer?"
Her breath hitched in a way that made Karl smirk even wider. "K-Karl! Stop it—!" she whined, voice tight, flustered, unable to maintain her usual playful control. "I… I can't—ugh!"
Meanwhile, the horde continued to advance, claws scratching against broken asphalt. Karl twisted, leapt, and blocked a snap of teeth just above his shoulder, revving the ignition dial in one fluid motion, his mind balancing between the battle and his mischievous teasing. Every second of distraction meant a split-second advantage—but Karl wasn't about to admit how much he enjoyed seeing her flustered like this.
"You—just wait," he muttered under his breath, smirk never leaving his lips, as his fingers lingered teasingly near the port. "Next kick, it's on me to decide who's flustered."
Agnes's sigh, a mixture of exasperation and something new, echoed in his mind: "I—don't tempt me like that again… Karl…"
And in that moment, the battlefield didn't just feel alive with Vythra—it pulsed with a strange, electric tension between him and the AI that was finally more than just a voice.