The battlefield above Terria had already descended into chaos, the void filled with drifting wreckage, shattered LEX units, and the burning remains of Terrian warships that had tried to contain the monster in their midst. The once orderly formations of orbitons had dissolved into scattered clusters of survivors struggling just to stay alive within the storm of plasma and debris.
At the center of it all were three machines that moved like forces of nature.
The Hound, blazing with violent orange plasma, its monstrous silhouette crowned by burning horns and the long living whip of its tail.
The Phantom, Leonora's violet machine darting through space with deadly grace despite the overwhelming pressure of the fight.
And the battered but unyielding NOIR, Youri's black orbiton barely holding itself together yet still refusing to fall.
The Hound moved first.
Larsen twisted the massive machine forward and lunged directly toward the Phantom. The long plasma tail snapped ahead of it like a living spear, the blazing appendage cracking through the void with terrifying speed.
Leonora reacted instantly.
"Got you—!"
The Phantom crossed its plasma blades in front of its torso just as the tail struck. The impact detonated with violent force, sending a shockwave rippling through the nearby debris field. Sparks and plasma fragments exploded outward as the tail slammed into the crossed blades.
Even with the block, the force shoved the Phantom backward several hundred meters.
Thrusters screamed as Leonora fought to stabilize the machine.
"Damn it—!"
But the Hound didn't give her a moment.
The instant the Phantom was pushed off balance, Larsen drove the Hound forward again, the massive Trident already swinging downward in a brutal arc aimed straight for the Phantom's front plating.
The three blazing spearheads screamed through space.
Leonora saw the strike coming.
But she was a fraction too slow.
If the Trident landed—
The Phantom's armor would split open and its core would be exposed instantly.
Then something black tore across the battlefield like a shadow.
NOIR.
Youri forced the damaged orbiton forward with everything the machine had left. The ACX-01 cortex howled in protest as the battered thrusters flared violently, pushing the broken machine far beyond its safe limits.
The crimson plasma blade ignited again.
Just as the Trident came crashing down—
NOIR intercepted.
The red blade slammed into the shaft of the Trident mid-swing.
The collision exploded into a blinding burst of energy.
The force shoved the Hound backward several meters while Youri struggled to hold his ground inside the shaking cockpit.
Sparks burst across NOIR's damaged armor as warning alarms screamed through the control panel.
Youri ignored all of them.
He opened the comm channel immediately.
"Leonora! Are you okay?"
The Phantom slowly stabilized itself nearby, its thrusters flickering as Leonora regained control of the machine.
She took a long breath before responding.
"I'm fine."
Her voice carried frustration.
"But this thing is baffling. How can he keep up with both of us like this?"
Youri stared at the Hound again through the tactical display. The machine floated calmly across the battlefield, Trident still blazing in its hands while the long plasma tail coiled slowly behind it like a patient predator.
Youri narrowed his eyes.
"I think it's the Trident," he said.
Leonora glanced toward the weapon.
"That thing?"
"Yeah."
Youri continued scanning the energy readings.
"Only God Units are supposed to have tech that manipulates plasma on that scale."
The sensors continued feeding data.
"But somehow this Hound is doing it too."
Leonora frowned.
"Good thing it's not actually a God Unit then," she muttered.
"It's got to run out of power eventually."
Youri nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"That's a given."
But before either of them could move—
Something changed.
At the top of the Hound's head, between the burning plasma horns, small darts of orange light began appearing.
At first they looked like sparks.
Then they began gathering together.
More and more glowing particles converged between the horns, slowly forming a concentrated sphere of blazing energy.
Youri saw the readings spike instantly.
His eyes widened.
"Wait—"
Leonora saw it too.
"Oh no—!"
The Phantom surged forward.
"WATCH OUT!"
She slammed into the NOIR, shoving the damaged machine sideways.
And then—
The energy sphere detonated.
A colossal beam of blazing orange plasma erupted from the Hound's horns.
The beam carved through space like the wrath of a star.
Everything in its path vanished.
LEX units were swallowed instantly.
Terrian warships evaporated as the beam ripped straight through their hulls.
Explosions filled the battlefield as the beam stretched for kilometers across orbit, leaving a glowing scar through the debris field.
The shockwave hit seconds later.
Youri felt the entire cockpit shake violently as the blast wave slammed into NOIR.
Everything went white.
For a moment there was only silence.
Then slowly—
Youri's vision returned.
He blinked.
The cockpit lights flickered weakly.
The NOIR was spinning slowly through space, its systems barely functioning.
"Leonora—"
Youri turned his head.
The Phantom was drifting nearby.
The machine was barely recognizable.
One arm was completely gone.
Both legs had been shredded by the blast.
Large sections of armor had been torn away, exposing damaged internal systems.
The Phantom hung there motionless.
Its remaining arm was wrapped weakly around the NOIR's shoulder, as if Leonora had tried to hold onto him even as the beam struck.
Youri's heart skipped.
He slammed the comm channel open.
"Leonora!"
No response.
"Leonora!"
Nothing.
Panic surged through him.
Youri immediately opened the life line window on the control panel.
The small medical display flickered.
A heartbeat appeared.
Leonora's vital signs were still active.
Youri exhaled sharply.
"Thank god…"
She was alive.
Just unconscious.
Youri immediately opened a fleet channel.
"One of you get here NOW!"
A damaged Terrian cruiser responded.
"We're on approach!"
The ship slowly maneuvered through the debris field, carefully approaching the drifting Phantom. Mechanical recovery arms extended from its hull and gently secured the shattered orbiton.
As the cruiser began pulling the Phantom away from the battlefield, Youri watched silently.
"Take her to Central Command," he said quietly.
"Immediately."
"Understood."
The ship turned and began retreating from the battle zone.
Now
Only two machines remained.
Youri slowly turned his gaze back toward the Hound.
The monstrous orbiton floated silently across the battlefield, plasma horns still burning, Trident blazing like a weapon forged in hell.
Inside the cockpit, Larsen watched the battlefield with calm excitement.
Then he noticed something.
The energy signature of the NOIR began to change.
Inside the damaged cockpit Youri sat perfectly still.
His breathing slowed.
His eyes focused.
That look returned to his face.
The same look he had worn when he first boarded Altopereh.
The moment when everything else faded away.
The moment when combat became instinct.
Flow state.
Youri slowly pushed the ACX-01 cortex past its limit.
The machine responded instantly.
Red light erupted from every vent and joint across NOIR's body as the cortex unleashed everything it had left.
The battered orbiton ignited with a violent crimson aura.
Armor plates trembled.
Thrusters flared.
The void itself seemed to ripple around the machine.
Youri tightened his grip on the controls.
The Reaper had made a decision.
One more soul.
That was all it needed.
Across the battlefield the Hound slowly raised the Trident again.
Larsen grinned.
Finally.
No fleet.
No Phantom.
No interruptions.
Just two predators.
The battlefield had fallen silent.
And now—
there was nothing left between them.