The bunker's shattered doors groaned and collapsed entirely, sending dust and shards of metal cascading across the concrete floor. Karl's armored form of Erevos pivoted, gears clicking, servos hissing, the newly integrated projections spinning faintly above the Drive Regulator like a mechanical halo.
And then the first scream cut through the haze.
A Berserker—towering, muscle-bound, with jagged claws that glimmered under the faint light—lunged from the shadows, eyes burning a crimson hue. Behind it, two Rendracers slithered along the walls, their serpentine limbs writhing unnaturally, while a pack of Nyghouls dropped from the ceiling like dark, winged shadows.
Agnes' voice flickered in Karl's mind, a predatory undertone replacing her usual teasing:
"Lock on~ Lock on~ Lock on~ Locked in~! Vrrrmmm~ Karl… do you feel it? Can you see them trembling~? Let's make them dance~!"
Karl tightened his grip on the cockpit controls, breathing shallowly. "Alright… let's see what you've got." He twisted the ignition dial, and the eight gear projections above Erevos whirred to life, spinning faster. Steam hissed from vents on the shoulders and back, creating a swirling mist that obscured the first wave of attackers.
The Berserker roared, its claws slashing at the cockpit, but one of the spinning gears launched forward, a solid navy-blue disc cutting clean through the creature's arm. Sparks flew as metal met claw, and the creature staggered back, howling in rage.
"Mmm~ yes, Karl~ that's it~" Agnes purred, her tone feral, sharpened with hunger. "Keep spinning~! Slice them~ feel their fear through me~! Vrrrmmm~ ohhh~ yes~!"
Karl twisted another dial, sending two more gears whistling forward. The Rendracers tried to dodge, but the spinning projectiles struck simultaneously, one ricocheting off a wall, the other embedding in a shadowy limb before vanishing into the armor of Erevos, forming temporary gear plating over the joint. Karl blinked in surprise, the integration instinct kicking in even mid-battle.
The Nyghouls swooped from above, sharp talons extended. Erevos' arm whirred as Karl slammed a spinning gear forward, its teeth catching one of the winged creatures in mid-flight and hurling it against the wall. Steel and bone rattled in a grotesque harmony, and a hiss of steam vented from the regulator.
"Faster, Karl~! Push~ push your Vythra~! Spin~ spin~ slice~!" Agnes growled in his mind, her voice almost feral now, the teasing edge replaced with lethal glee. Each of her syllables resonated with the thrum of the Drive Regulator, urging him onward.
Karl ducked as a Berserker swung again, catching it with a quick gear-knuckle melee strike—the spinning cog of his fist biting into its forearm. Sparks rained across the floor. "Alright… alright, keep it moving, don't stop…" he muttered, teeth gritted. Every swing of the gear-fused fists sent a pulse through the integrated armor, steam hissing from the vents, the spinning projections now fully functional as a multi-directional attack array.
Another Rendracer lunged, tail whipping dangerously. Karl sent a gear spinning from the shoulder mount, striking it midair. It clanged, bounced once, and merged into Erevos' back plating—two temporary spinning turbines forming over the spine, whirring with mechanical life. Karl's eyes widened: "Okay… that's new. That's… actually useful."
Agnes' voice dropped lower, purring with the thrill of the hunt:
"Lock on~ Lock on~ Lock on~ Locked in~! Yes, Karl~ keep it~ don't let them touch us~ slice them~ vrrrmmm~ mmh~ feel it~!"
Karl twisted his arm slowly, letting the momentum of the rotating gears carry forward, each impact sending vibrations through Erevos' body. The Berserker staggered again, Nyghouls screeched, and the Rendracers recoiled. Each strike, each ricocheted gear, integrated temporarily, bolstering Erevos' armor even further.
The smoke from the USB port hissed behind them, creating a visual barrier, masking Karl's next moves. His brain raced—every gear strike, every placement, a careful dance of projectile and armor integration. Yet, even in this chaos, Karl knew: they had only scratched the surface of Gearstorm Nova's true potential.
And through it all, Agnes' voice remained, a feral, teasing symphony driving him forward:
"Lock on~ Lock on~ Lock on~ Locked in~! Don't stop, Karl~ don't even think about stopping~! Vrrrmmm~ slice, smash, integrate~! Make them feel us~!"
Karl's lips curled into a smirk, adrenaline hammering through his chest: "Alright… alright. Let's see what else you've got, Agnes…"
Karl's hands hovered over the Drive Regulator, each finger a conductor orchestrating eight solid gear projections. The moment he activated two of them, they shot forward like guided missiles, spinning with precision. One berserker demon stumbled into view, its jagged claws scraping the concrete floor.
Karl's mind raced as he controlled the gears' approach, carefully adjusting the nanites to stabilize their path. "Steady… steady… just enough pressure…" he muttered under his breath, every second of misalignment risking friction damage to the orb itself.
The demon roared, its guttural cries echoing through the bunker, but Karl didn't flinch. He could feel the Vythra surging through him, coursing into the Trinity Core and pushing the gears with an almost sentient coordination. Steam hissed from the Drive Regulator, coiling like smoke tendrils as the nanites smoothed every micro-imperfection along the edges of the spinning gears.
Agnes' voice slithered into his mind, feral and commanding:
"Do it… crush them… let the teeth of the gears rip through everything! Don't hold back, Karl… I can feel them struggling…"
Karl gritted his teeth and leaned into the mental link. "Alright… maximum compaction…"
He pressed the Drive Regulator button harder, and the gears' rotation accelerated, pressing inward. The demon's arms were ripped apart first, then its torso twisted grotesquely as the reinforced nanites sharpened the edges with surgical accuracy. Steam burst from the friction as Karl felt the pressure in his palms, the feedback intense but exhilarating.
The demon didn't even have time to scream before it was reduced to red slurry, the grinding echo of steel on flesh resounding like an unholy hymn. Karl exhaled slowly, wiping blood from a shallow cut across his cheek, impressed by the lethal synergy.