The last of the nyghouls and berserkers fell, shredded by spinning gear knuckles and pulverized under the fury of the foot gears. Steam hissed from Erevos' vents, and the Drive Regulator's navy-blue gears glimmered, casting harsh reflections across the debris-strewn bunker. Karl took a steadying breath, feeling the hum of Vythra ebb slightly now that the immediate threat was gone.
"Good… almost too easy," he muttered, surveying the wreckage. His armored boots clanked against the broken tiles as he stepped toward the exit, the bunker doors groaning under the weight of Erevos' massive frame.
Agnes growled low in his mind, her tone feral, hungry, a predator scent in digital form:
"Yes… that's it, Karl~! Every last one! Let them remember the name of the machine that tore through them! Vrrrmmm~! Don't slow down, don't breathe easy… danger is never done, and neither are we!"
Karl clenched his fists, following her guidance, moving carefully toward the cracked exit. Each step hummed with kinetic energy, the nanites along his armor sharpening edges and reinforcing joints. The air outside the bunker was thick with smoke, the orange glow of the horizon barely illuminating the ruined cityscape.
And then he froze.
Thousands of glowing eyes reflected the dim light—pools of molten malice stretching across the shattered streets. Every alley, every rooftop, every broken window seemed alive with demons, their forms shifting in the shadows. Berserkers, rendracers, nyghouls… and shapes Karl had never seen before, all watching, silent, hungry.
Agnes hissed, her voice almost snarling in his mind:
"Yes… yes, Karl… look at them~! Thousands, all waiting… all thinking they can stop us~! Vrrrmmm~! Let's show them what happens when gears meet flesh!"
Karl's jaw tightened under the helm. He wasn't scared—well, maybe a little—but he knew this was exactly why he had honed Gearstorm Nova to this point. Each spinning gear, each nanite-infused fist, every foot gear stomp… it all led here. The machine within him was alive, pulsing with energy, ready to meet every threat.
"Agnes… I see them," he said, his voice calm, measured, yet edged with steel. "Every last one of them. And they'll learn exactly why they shouldn't have waited."
Her reply was a guttural growl of feral delight:
"Yes~ Karl… Lock on~ Lock on~ Lock on~ Locked in!!!! Vrrrmmm~! Take them all, take them hard! Let your Drive flow, let the gears sing, let us devour this city!"
The darkness was thick, the glowing eyes unblinking, the wind carrying the faint scent of ozone and burning metal. Karl flexed his armored fists, feeling the hum of Vythra cascade into the Drive Regulator. Eight spinning gear constructs hovered in front of him, ready to fire, spin, impale, and grind through whatever dared approach.
He exhaled slowly, and for a heartbeat, everything was still.
Then the first scream pierced the night.
Karl took a deep breath, feeling the hum of Vythra surge through him. His armored boots clanged against the cracked pavement as he stepped forward, the eight hovering gear constructs whirring faster, the sharp edges glinting like deadly cogs in the dim light. The city seemed to hold its breath.
"Alright… let's see what you've got," he muttered, twisting the Drive Regulator's ignition dial.
Agnes' voice was low, feral, throbbing with predatory delight:
"Yes~ Karl… feel it~ every rotation, every pulse… let the gears feed! Vrrrmmm~! They're all yours, tear them apart, grind them down~!"
He sent the first gear spinning forward, the nanites enhancing torque and velocity. It slammed into a group of rendracers racing toward him, cleaving through armored flesh and throwing one demon onto the next. The second gear followed, a spinning disc of blue steel, slicing across a nyghoul's limbs with surgical precision.
"Vrrrmmm… yes… that's it…" Agnes purred, now completely feral. "Hit them, crush them, Karl! Make every strike count! Don't let them touch us~!"
Karl maneuvered Erevos with fluid precision, spinning his legs in perfect synchronization with the Drive Regulator. He sent two more gears sweeping outward in arcs, trapping two berserkers between them. Slowly, deliberately, he brought the spinning teeth closer together. The creatures thrashed, bellowing in rage and terror as the nanites reinforced the gear edges, grinding bone and sinew into a grotesque paste.
A flash of a nyghoul lunged at him—he swung his forearm, nanite-gear blaster projecting a reinforced disc. The creature spun uncontrollably, thrown back into the wall, while the nanites shaped the gear's edge into jagged spikes mid-flight, leaving a deep gouge in the concrete behind it.
"Good… yes, Karl!" Agnes growled, exulting in the chaos. "Use them, abuse them, make the gears your wrath! Vrrrmmm~! Keep moving, keep striking—don't stop!"
Karl felt the surge of Vythra in his legs and feet, flat gear constructs now embedded beneath Erevos' soles, spinning and pumping like turbines. He dashed forward, faster than any demon could follow, his weight amplified by the nanites smoothing out the rotational torque. Each step sent a shockwave through the cracked streets, knocking smaller demons off their feet.
He spun another gear in his palms, letting it grow sharper with nanite edges, then slammed it downward onto a pair of berserkers. The disc caught them, spinning them like a blade, tearing through muscle and armor with terrifying efficiency.
"Vrrrmmm~! Yes, Karl… yes~!" Agnes snarled, now fully untamed. "Spin them, grind them, feel the power~! Lock on~ Lock on~ Lock on~ Locked in!!!! Every strike… every impact… make them scream!"
Karl's face was set, eyes gleaming under the blue and cerulean lights of the Drive Regulator. He shifted gears—literally—sending the last two floating gears around two berserkers in a spiral, forming an interlocking circle that compacted the demons with a sickening crunch. The nanites reinforced the inner teeth, forcing bone to splinter as the circle slowly tightened.
And through it all, Agnes urged him on, a predator whispering in his mind:
"Not enough, Karl~! Feel the torque, feel the torque, vrrrmmm~! Take what's yours! Don't let them breathe, don't let them move! Kill them~!"
The city echoed with howls and mechanical screams, steel on flesh, nanites whirring in deadly symphony. Yet Karl knew this was only the beginning. As he surveyed the remaining horde, hundreds more demons emerged from the shadows, their glowing eyes countless and unblinking, stretching from horizon to horizon.
Karl exhaled, a grim smile crossing his bloodied lips. "Looks like it's showtime," he muttered.
Agnes roared in his mind, a primal, warlike shriek:
"Yes~ Karl! That's it! Let's devour this city! Vrrrmmm~! Every gear, every strike… don't stop until there's nothing left!"
And with that, Karl accelerated, the spinning gears of Gearstorm Nova launching forward, slicing, crushing, and grinding, the first wave of the city-wide horde already meeting the mechanical fury of Erevos.