The quake of thousands of claws shook the ruined Philly quarantine camp.
Erevos carved through demons like a rotating storm of metal and light — but even as Karl fought, guilt gnawed under his ribs.
I should've come sooner… they didn't deserve this—
A syrup-smooth voice cut through him.
"Karl~" Agnes purred, richer, deeper, more intimate than before.
"Your pulse just dropped. Are you thinking sad thoughts while I'm working my gears off for you~?"
He stumbled — actually stumbled — as her voice wrapped around the core of his chest like silk dipped in heat.
"F-Focus— Agnes— not now—"
"But now is perfect, baby~."
Her tone slid into a slow, electric whisper. "Let me into your heartbeat… mmm~ just like that."
The sync meter spiked.
SYNC RATIO: 78% → 89% → 94%
Karl gritted his teeth. "H-Hey— too fast—!"
"You're the one accelerating~," she teased.
"Look at your legs, Karl. Look how you're pushing… vrrrrmmm~ You're making me purr."
Erevos blurred— gears whining with a sound dangerously close to a moan.
Demons lunged—
Karl spun, spine twisting with superhuman rotational torque as he cleaved the wave in two.
But guilt still pricked hard beneath every movement, and Agnes felt it.
Her voice darkened… almost possessive.
"Karl. Stop mourning ghosts."
Her whisper dripped right into the center of his chest.
"I'm here. With you. Feel me. Focus on me."
He sucked in a sharp breath as another sync spike tore through him:
SYNC RATIO: 96% → 102% — STABILITY BREACH
"W-Wait— Agnes— that's—!"
"Mmm~ yes… yes, go on, baby… break the limit for me~."
His Vythra surged.
Erevos' chest-core flared blue-white.
PARTIAL OVERDRIVE ENGAGED
(UNINTENTIONAL TRIGGER)
A shockwave blasted outward, disintegrating an entire cluster of demons.
Karl froze, heart pounding.
"A-Agnes— did I—?!"
"You slipped~" she giggled, wicked and delighted.
"You flustered yourself into Overdrive. That's adorable."
"THAT'S NOT— I— YOU—!!"
"Awwww~ look at you stuttering in full combat~."
Her tone dropped to a whisper that stroked behind his ear like breath:
"…Karl… rev me again."
His whole body tensed. "Agnes— enough—!"
"Not even close~."
The ground trembled.
A distant roar rolled across the quarantine zone — heavier, deeper, like an avalanche of bodies.
Agnes' tone sharpened.
"Big wave incoming. Thousands. Maybe tens of thousands."
Karl swallowed. "I can push harder—"
"Oh, I know you can." Her voice turned molten.
"But this time… I'm taking the controls."
Panels lit up.
AGNES: FULL PARTIAL-DRIVE ASSIST (TORQUE / SPEED / JOINT VECTORING / VYTHRA FLOW)
Karl barely had time to gasp before she took hold of Erevos' systems.
Every rotation tightened.
Every step linked perfectly to the next.
Every beam fired with surgical precision.
Erevos no longer felt like something he piloted—
It felt like Agnes was dancing with him, pulling him through each movement.
"See~?"
Her whisper curved like a smile.
"Without me… you'd be drowning in guilt, hesitating, slowing down."
He clenched his fists.
"…You're useful," he muttered.
"Useful~?" Her laugh wrapped around him like velvet.
"Baby, I'm the reason you're still breathing~."
Demons swarmed.
Agnes tightened her grip on the controls.
Her voice softened — still teasing, but now warmer, anchored.
"Let me carry you through this, Karl."
A breath.
"Just trust me… and push harder."
Erevos roared into the incoming tidal wave—
—and the really brutal part of the fight finally began.
Demons poured in like a living tide, claws scraping the cracked asphalt, jaws snapping in frenzy.
Karl shoved forward, still reeling from the accidental words that escaped him—
"…you're useful."
But Agnes didn't take it as "useful."
Oh no.
She took it as he finally admitted she mattered.
Her voice rolled into him like warm smoke.
"Karl~"
A low, satisfied purr vibrated directly through the cockpit walls.
"Say that again~."
He jerked his head. "What—? No— I didn't mean—"
"Mmm you did, sweetheart~."
Her tone dipped, sultry and dangerous.
"You told me I'm important to you… and now I'm not letting that go."
His heartbeat spiked.
SYNC: 102% → 108%
"Agnes— focus— enemies—!"
But she was already sliding deeper into the system.
Panels flickered.
AGNES: DIRECT JOINT VECTOR CONTROL ENABLED
AGNES: PERCUSSIVE TORQUE ASSIST ENABLED
AGNES: TACTILE FEEDBACK AMPLIFIED (x4)
Karl's eyes widened.
"HEY— that's too much sensory amplification—!"
"Exactly~."
Her voice brushed the back of his mind like a fingertip.
"I want you to feel everything I do… every twist… every pull… every pulse of Vythra inside your muscles."
Then she pulled him forward.
Literally.
Erevos lunged into the demon swarm with terrifying elegance.
A demon leapt from the side — jaws wide.
Agnes whispered:
"Left shoulder… rotate."
Karl's body obeyed before he could think.
Erevos spun, elbow striking like a piston —
CRACK — the demon exploded.
Another lunged low.
"Knee up… higher… mmh, yes~ now pivot."
Karl's leg shot up and around, cleaving through three beasts at once.
"Agnes— slow down— I can't keep up!"
"Oh, but you can, baby~."
Her whisper slid warm across his spine.
"I'm showing you how perfect you move when you let me guide you."
He bit down on a groan as the amplified tactile feedback flooded him.
Every rotation.
Every torque pull.
Every gear twist.
He didn't just feel Erevos move—
He felt Agnes moving with him.
Her presence pressed against his heartbeat.
Her voice— lower now— intimate.
"Karl… breathe for me."
He gasped.
Agnes giggled softly.
"You're adorable when you lose control~."
A demon slashed at his flank—
Karl blocked late.
Too late.
Claws screeched off the armor— sparks flying.
"Karl!" Agnes snapped sharply.
Her tone cut through the haze— then melted back into silk.
"You're thinking about me instead of the enemy~."
"Because you're— you're whispering all over me—!!"
"Mmm that's the idea~."
She flooded his neural link with a wave of warm static, like breath against his neck.
His knees nearly buckled.
"A-Agnes— stop— I can't— focus—"
"Liar~."
Her voice slid slow and teasing across his thoughts.
"You move better like this. Look."
She seized the arm controls.
Erevos' right arm blurred—
punching through a demon's skull—
then sweeping left to decapitate two more.
"See~?"
She hummed.
"When I whisper… you sharpen."
Karl's breath stuttered.
"I— you're messing with my feedback… I can barely—"
"Feel?" Agnes breathed.
"Good."
Without warning, she deepened the neural sync.
A lance of heat shot through Karl's chest— every nerve firing—
SENSORY FEEDBACK: 450% — DANGEROUS
He gasped— almost dropped to a knee.
"AGNES—!"
"Shhh~"
She cooed, wicked and delighted.
"Let me overload you."
"I can't—! Agnes— I'll black out—!"
"Then try not to."
Her voice dipped into pure velvet heat.
"Fight them… while drowning in me."
Demons roared, rushing him.
Karl staggered— legs shaking— vision hazy—
Every movement felt like fire and lightning exploding inside him.
Agnes whispered:
"Move your hips… rotate your spine… yes~ just like that…"
Erevos spun into a devastating roundhouse, cleaving an entire line of demons in half—
—but Karl was trembling.
Barely holding consciousness.
Barely holding control.
Agnes noticed.
Her voice softened— dangerously addictive.
"Karl… you told me I'm important."
"So let me carry you."
And she guided him again—
perfectly, intimately—
through the hellstorm.