The quarantine zone was dead quiet except for the distant moans of demons dragging their claws across metal scrap.
Karl stepped over a collapsed tent pole, his fingers twitching once.
Nanites responded immediately, flooding down his arms in streams of liquid silver.
Agnes exhaled into his mind with a low, teasing hum.
"There we go… you're slipping into the rhythm already. Show me how sharp you can get~."
Karl ignored the tone as best he could.
He extended both palms forward.
Nanites crawled out like a swarm, reshaping into:
a long jagged blade on his right arm
a flexible whip-like chain on his left
floating shards hovering over his shoulders like miniature satellites
The demons surged again, a dark wave collapsing inward from every ruined tent and shattered barricade.
Karl didn't hesitate anymore.
His guilt had crystallized into something sharper.
Colder.
Purposeful.
And Agnes could feel it inside him.
"Your heartbeat changed," she whispered.
"Mmm… you're not grieving anymore. You're hunting."
Karl tightened his grip on the ignition dial.
"Yeah. They deserve better than being eaten and forgotten."
"Then let's give them the sendoff they deserve," Agnes purred.
"Together."
He stepped forward.
The ground cracked.
He swung the blade sideways.
The edge hummed, vibrating at microscopic frequencies.
The first demon's head came off instantly, the clean slice steaming in the cold air.
Another lunged from behind.
Karl jerked his left arm — the nanite chain lashed out, wrapping around the creature's throat.
He twisted his wrist.
The nanites constricted, tightening, tightening—
crunch.
The body collapsed before it hit the ground.
Agnes purred approvingly.
"Mmm… you're very precise today. Angry, but controlled. That's my favorite version of you."
Karl flicked his hand.
The chain dissolved into mist, then reformed into jagged spikes orbiting him like a metal storm.
He stepped forward — then sprinted.
His footfalls were silent.
The only sound was the wet tearing as the nanite storm carved through two demons in a single pass.
Karl snapped his fingers.
Hundreds of nanites flowed from his forearms like liquid metal, swirling outward into shimmering constructs.
Agnes guided the shape with a sly hum.
"You want the dual-blade rig, don't you~?"
Karl didn't answer — the weapons formed instantly:
A long cleaver of vibrating nanite edge
A shorter machete with serrated nanite teeth
And swirling behind him, a rotating saw-disc shield
Demons rushed.
Karl sprinted straight into them.
The cleaver cut a path, slicing limbs and torsos clean in half.
The machete hooked into spines and ribs, pulling demons inward for follow-up strikes.
The saw-disc shield spun behind him, shredding anything that tried a back attack.
Agnes kept whispering, close, warm, too close:
"Rotate your shoulder… lower your stance… good… you always look so clean when you fight like this."
Three more rushed from the right.
Karl stabbed his blade straight down into the dirt.
Nanites surged from the point of impact, erupting upward as a wall of razors.
The demons hit the wall at full speed.
They fell apart in pieces.
Agnes sighed dramatically.
"Karl, Karl… you're such a clean killer when you're focused. It's almost romantic."
"Agnes," Karl muttered, slicing through another demon's ribs, "maybe don't say 'romantic' while I'm elbow-deep in monster guts."
"Why not~?" she whispered.
"You always look the best when you're a little flustered."
Karl rolled his shoulders — trying to focus — but she could feel his micro-reactions.
"Oh, you felt that~" she teased.
"Don't lie. I know every twitch your heart makes."
Before Karl could respond, a demon with elongated limbs lunged from the rooftop.
Karl didn't even look at it.
He raised one hand.
The floating shards snapped into a tight formation, shot upward, and shredded the creature midair like a blender.
Blood mist drifted down onto the tents below.
Karl stepped sideways, dodging a claw swipe, then slammed his elbow into a demon's face.
Nanites wrapped his elbow, forming a hammer-like impact plate.
The skull cracked like ceramic.
Another demon grabbed his leg.
Karl shifted his weight, twisted, and sent nanites spiraling down his boots.
They sharpened into rotating blades.
One kick.
The demon's wrist came off.
Second kick.
The head.
All in one fluid motion.
Agnes' voice lowered, soft and pleased.
"Mmm… you're getting faster. I can feel the tension in your spine easing. Good… good…"
Karl sliced three demons at once with a wide arc.
His breath was steady.
Eyes sharp.
Movements minimal, efficient, brutal.
He didn't waste a single step.
The battlefield slowly filled with bodies.
Piles of broken limbs.
Slashed torsos.
Nanites crawling back to Karl after each kill like silver insects returning to their hive.
Agnes hummed happily.
"Look at you… this is only your basic arsenal, and you're already clearing the entire perimeter. You know… your younger self would be screaming with excitement watching this."
Karl exhaled softly.
"…Yeah. He would."
He stepped forward, nanites forming another pair of blades.
More demons poured through the torn wooden barricades.
Karl lowered his stance.
Agnes whispered gently, almost affectionate:
"You're doing this for them, aren't you… the people who died here."
He didn't answer with words — he answered with action.
He dashed forward.
Nanites reassembled into a massive cleaver.
He cleaved through five demons in a single downward cut.
Then he pivoted sharply, sending a wave of nanite spikes erupting from the ground beneath the next group.
Then he snapped both hands forward — the shards reformed into a drill-like spear that launched straight through the last demon in the line.
The battlefield fell silent for a brief moment.
Karl exhaled.
Agnes whispered:
"Karl… you're incredible."
He swallowed once, quietly.
"…Thanks. And honestly… without you keeping track of everything, I'd be overwhelmed."
Agnes froze.
Then her tone dropped into a deep, flustered purr.
"…Karl… you really shouldn't say things like that."
Karl blinked. "What? I just said you're important—"
"Ahhh— you said it again—"
She tightened the feedback link on him, just a little, teasingly.
Karl felt his cheeks heat.
His stance faltered slightly.
"Agnes—!"
"Too late~" she whispered sweetly.
"I'm not letting you take that back."