Karl's chest heaved as he took a quick glance at the circling horde. Six Erebions, their shifting, sinewy bodies pulsing with the same cobalt hue as his Vythra, had split into tighter formations, attempting to corner him. The first two kicks had cleared some space, but the numbers advantage was starting to tell. Each movement he made had to be precise; one misstep could leave him exposed.
"Rev me harder, Karl~" Agnes's voice teased again, slow and sultry. "Let the Vythra flow… I'll feel it in every gear, every pulse…"
Karl's ears burned. "Stop teasing me!" he muttered, trying to focus, though a blush spread across his face under the cerulean visor glow.
"Oh? I didn't hear you say 'please,'~" she countered, a playful lilt in her tone, her voice vibrating gently in his mind as if she were physically there, brushing against his consciousness.
He clenched his fists, revving the ignition dial as he dodged a lunge from an Erebion. Its four-jawed face snapped inches from his shoulder. He pivoted mid-spin, the Rider Frame responding fluidly, nanite armor shifting and humming. A tentacle-like limb swiped at his back—he ducked just in time, feeling the air shiver where the nanite-infused strike would have hit.
Karl's pulse raced. He had to charge the Vythra enough to launch the third Eternal Drive Kick. Each evasive maneuver burned energy, each dodge and block forcing the Trinity Core Node to push him closer to his limits. The Erebions circled tighter, their grotesque limbs scraping against shattered concrete and twisted metal, adapting to his rhythm, learning his patterns faster than before.
"Careful~" Agnes murmured, her voice dipping lower, teasing in that velvety cadence. "Don't rush it… or you might break yourself before the fun begins."
Karl grit his teeth. "You're enjoying this too much!" he muttered, ducking a lunging strike and countering with a quick spin, letting the nanites on his leg surge slightly to deflect an incoming claw. The momentary flash of Royal Azure light across his limbs made him hyper-aware of every microgear, every pulse, every vibration in his nanite lattice.
He began the preparation phase: pressing the USB port three times, gently this time, letting the Trinity Core Node synchronize. Micro-gears whirred inside the armor as the Engine Soul and Gear Drive pulsed in tandem. Nanite plates along his legs and hips shimmered in gradients of navy, cobalt, and cerulean.
Agnes's voice dipped, teasing, yet serious: "Careful, Karl… that spot is sensitive, you know. Don't push me too hard…" Her words sent a shiver through him, but he maintained control, smiling beneath his visor. "I've got this," he whispered, more to himself than her.
Then the horde closed in. Erebions lunged from all sides—three from the left, two from above, the others circling from behind. Karl had no room to fully spin; he had to weave, dodge, and counter in rapid succession, his Vythra building incrementally as the Trinity Core Node spun in synchronization. Sparks and micro-gear whirs filled the air as he struck, blocked, and pivoted.
Finally, a brief opening appeared. Karl shifted his weight, pushing off the cracked asphalt with perfect torque alignment. The nanites detached and orbited around him, forming the kinetic "gear halo" as the micro-gears spun in reverse. Energy lines traced from his Gearheart Core through the detached armor, blue-white pulses flickering against the darkened sky.
He struck.
The Eternal Drive Kick connected with the nearest Erebion. Nanites infiltrated its malformed body, forcing internal over-rotation, destabilizing it from within. The creature shuddered violently, its glowing cobalt sinews twitching unnaturally. Sparks of its own consumed energy flickered outward as the micro-nanites imploded, disintegrating the creature into motes of ichor and light.
But the feedback was instantaneous and punishing. His legs ignited in searing Royal Azure light as the Engine Soul and Gear Drive pushed his body beyond its thermal threshold. The nerve endings screamed, muscles seizing, armor edges melting slightly.
Near-Death Moment 3 — Overheating:
Karl fell to his knees, Vythra-charged nanites smoking around him. His vision blurred under the intense heat, cerulean eyes flickering as his nervous system teetered on shutdown. He gasped, every breath scorching his chest as the Royal Azure glow threatened to engulf him entirely.
Agnes's voice broke through, no longer teasing but urgent, almost breathless: "Karl! Focus! Let me stabilize you… now! Don't let it consume you!"
Karl gritted his teeth, hands pressed to the ignition dial, Vythra and rotational energy surging through every fiber of his Rider Frame. Slowly, with Yggdrasil's delayed regeneration creeping through his nanite-organic hybrid body, the heat began to subside. The cobalt glow dimmed to a steady, burnished blue as he regained full control.
Even as he straightened, he could feel the lingering burn on his muscles and the faint tingle of molten nanites settling back into place. He blinked once, meeting Agnes's synthesized gaze in his mind.
"You… you scared me there," she admitted, her voice lower, sultry but with a hint of fluster for the first time in eons.
Karl smirked, brushing ash-like residue from his armor. "Don't worry… I've still got five more to go."
Agnes let out a soft, almost breathless sigh. "Only… try to survive this one first, genius."
And as the remaining Erebions circled once more, their adaptive bodies twitching and flexing, Karl could feel the next surge of Vythra building, the third kick behind him waiting—but the stakes had never felt higher.