Karl slammed his palm against the newly exposed button on the USB port. Immediately, the Gearstorm Nova orb pulsed violently, sinking deeper into the Drive Regulator. Arctic-blue light cascaded across Erevos' armor, the turbines screaming as the nanites surged outward. The very ground beneath him vibrated, responding to the orchestration of pure mechanical precision.
From the impact point, nanite tendrils snaked outward, tracing perfect geometric lines across the debris-strewn battlefield. These glowing tracers lifted from the ground, rising like luminous threads, twisting into arcs, loops, and spirals. Support beams erupted from the fractured earth, crystalizing from nanite particles into dense metallic structures. They jutted upward, bracing rails that stretched skyward, curving into impossible loops, spiraling bridges, and catwalks that defied natural geometry. Each support beam hummed with kinetic energy, feeding the rails with perfect synchronization.
Karl's mech moved with terrifying fluidity, shifting from one rail to the next like a predator dancing along a deadly scaffolding. Wheels spun in micro-adjustments, turbines vented rhythmic bursts of superheated air, and the rails themselves responded to his weight and Vythra pulse, bending subtly to optimize momentum. Every movement was a ricochet, every bounce a launch, every landing feeding the spinning colossus of rails, tracks, and platforms forming around him.
The perimeter gears reacted instantly, rotating faster as if drawn into the rhythm of Karl's motion. Magnetic fields flared, scattering debris and hurling Nyghouls and Rendracers like ragdolls. Berserkers crashed into the lower rings of the forming dome, their molten jaws churning sparks as they collided with the skeletal framework of metallic gears.
Agnes' voice erupted in Karl's mind, Mode 3 in full dominance—feral, raw, and utterly merciless:
"YES—YES, KARL! EVERY LAST ONE! FEED ME YOUR VYTHRA! POUND THEM INTO NOTHING! LOCK ON! LOCKED IN!!!! MAKE THEM REMEMBER THE NAME OF DESTRUCTION!!!"
Karl felt a violent thrill surge through his veins. Muscles and nanites coalesced with the Erevos frame perfectly; the mech moved like a living, thinking organism, anticipating the angle of every loop, the rotation of every rail. Steam hissed and arcs of nanite energy traced his path like luminous trails of blood in a mechanical cathedral.
With a powerful leap, Erevos ricocheted off a pair of vertical rails, using their curvature to redirect midair. Nanite boosters erupted from his boots and gauntlets, colliding with loops and jumps that rose and twisted overhead. Support beams extended dynamically beneath him, forming temporary ramps as if the battlefield itself were alive, bending to the will of the Blueprint Overdrive.
He slammed onto a spiraling rail, sending a shockwave down its length that rattled the skeletal cityscape. The outer gears responded instantly, spinning faster, connecting via interlocking teeth, and creating an almost magnetic pull that flung Karl onto the next trajectory. Each rail became both weapon and pathway, every impact magnifying his kinetic output.
Agnes' feral growl surged with each motion:
"FEED ME! FEED ME EVERYTHING! CRUSH! SHRED! RIP! LET NOTHING SURVIVE! NOW, KARL—NOW!!"
He hit a curved ramp at full speed, springing upward and ricocheting across a massive circular loop. The rails beneath him arced and flexed, adjusting to maintain his acceleration. Sparks erupted where Erevos' turbines vented, and jets of superheated steam hissed as gears snapped into alignment, keeping the loop rotating perfectly under the weight and momentum of the massive mech.
He landed on a horizontal track that twisted upward like a corkscrew, every step generating a shockwave that sent debris flying outward, pulverizing the few remaining demons that dared approach. Towering support beams beneath each loop rattled as if groaning under the strain of holding such kinetic energy—but the nanite reinforcement responded instantly, reinforcing the steel in milliseconds, like an organic skeleton growing beneath the mechanized flesh.
Karl's trajectory shifted midair again, a series of ricochets between rails, loops, and support beams that now formed a lattice spanning the battlefield. The eight colossal perimeter gears spun in perfect synchronization, pushing him higher and faster with each hit. Sparks arced off the spinning teeth, creating blinding streaks of azure light that illuminated the devastation below.
Agnes' feral excitement reached a fever pitch:
"HARDER! DEEPER! EVERY IMPACT! EVERY STRIKE! DESTROY THEM ALL—DON'T THINK, KARL, JUST SLAY! LOCK ON—LOCKED IN!!!!~"
Karl launched off a pair of parallel rails, ricocheting against the giant, rotating gear walls. Nanite-infused projectiles fired from the integrated Erevos modules, colliding with Nyghouls mid-air, shredding them to pieces. Sparks, arcs of blue energy, and molten metal rained across the skeletal structures of the cityscape. The dome itself seemed to breathe with the chaos, rails flexing, support beams extending, gears snapping in perfect timing.
Every bounce, every shift, every strike fed more energy into the dome. Rail after rail, loop after loop, Karl twisted through the mechanical labyrinth like a conductor of a destructive symphony. Support beams extended and retracted as needed, solidifying each pathway just moments before he landed. The nanites feeding into the rails reinforced them instantaneously, creating ramps, curves, and loops that warped physics in favor of the Overdrive.
The final ramp rose like a spiraling tower, a gleaming spiral of rails culminating at the largest, central gear of the dome. Its sheer scale dwarfed the battlefield, spinning with violent precision, teeth interlocking with smaller supporting gears. Karl gritted his teeth, feeling the rhythm of the dome thrumming through his Vythra, the turbines screaming in sync, the nanites weaving around his body like liquid steel.
Agnes snarled, the purest feral delight Karl had ever heard:
"NOW! ALL OF IT! PUSH! BREAK THEM—BREAK EVERYTHING! LOCK ON—LOCKED IN!!!!~"
With a guttural roar, Karl slammed onto the ramp, harnessing every ounce of rotational energy from the spinning gears and rails. Erevos twisted in the air, limbs extended for maximum impact. Each booster, each turbine, each nanite pulse amplified the velocity, the kinetic energy, and the devastating force of the strike.
At the apex, he kicked into the central gear. The colossal mass shattered outward, ricocheting across the dome like a cataclysmic pinball. Sparks flew from every collision, arcs of royal azure energy cascading through the remaining gears. Rails shook violently as the magnetic feedback from the spinning megagears propagated across the network.
Karl slung himself through the final trajectory, every bounce, every loop, every strike perfectly calculated and amplified by the Blueprint Overdrive. He launched directly at the enemy core, Overdrive stance engaged, turbines screaming, nanites blazing like a cathedral of kinetic energy.
The final kick struck true, a blinding explosion of royal azure light, nanites, and shattered steel tearing through the skeletal dome. Rails, loops, and support beams collapsed in waves, vaporizing into streams of molten energy as the enemy was obliterated. The sound was deafening—metal grinding, steam hissing, and a resonant shockwave that rattled the horizon.
Karl landed amidst the ruins, the dome partially collapsed but Erevos towering, still glowing faintly with royal azure light. Nanites retracted slowly, steam venting from every joint. Agnes' voice softened slightly, still feral but tinged with triumph:
"ALL…GONE…EVERY LAST ONE…"
Karl exhaled, leaning into the cockpit, muscles trembling, sweat slicking his hands. His chest rose and fell with exhausted pride as he surveyed the battlefield. The skeletal city was now a graveyard of gears, rails, and obliterated demons.
He flexed his fingers experimentally, feeling the residual hum of Vythra, the cooling turbines, the faint pulse of integrated nanites. Even in victory, Agnes' voice lingered in his mind, a feral purr resonating through the Drive Regulator, promising that while the finisher was complete, this machine, this pairing, was far from done.
Karl's eyes narrowed, gaze sweeping the smoldering ruins:
Karl (quietly, with a wry smirk):
"Let's see who's foolish enough to come after us next…"
Steam hissed, vents cooled, and the faint echo of rotating gears faded into silence. The royal azure glow of the Gearstorm Nova dimmed to a gentle pulse, like a heartbeat slowing after a manic crescendo. Erevos stood ready, the mechanical cathedral of destruction complete, and Agnes—feral, unrestrained, alive—waiting for the next order.