The Golden Gate Bridge had become a corridor of death.
The crack above—no longer a mere shimmer, but a bleeding fissure—expanded inch by inch, vomiting shadows into the ocean mist. Veilspawn blinked into existence along the suspension cables, bodies jerking in stuttering teleportation bursts. Cranium Leechers scuttled in dense clusters, twitching proboscises searching for the nearest psychic host. The miniature Abyssal Behemoth dragged itself over asphalt, each footfall collapsing chunks of roadway. And Erebion slithered in the periphery, sinew pulsing with cobalt lightning.
Yet inside the integration chamber of Erevos, everything was soft.
Dim.
Warm.
Quiet.
Karl sat reclined in the pilot seat, the Drive Regulator glowing with rippling azure circuits. The Trinity Node Core was beating in his drive regulator like the second heart of a titan. Royal Azure Flame flickered along the gauntlets, sliding between his fingers like tame serpents.
Agnes hovered beside him in her hologram form—small, delicate, cyan-haired, and currently red-faced beyond comprehension.
She was still pressed against his arm, fingers curled against her chest.
Her voice trembled.
Her projection flickered shyly.
Her whole presence radiated flustered heat.
"K-Karl…" Agnes whispered, barely audible. Her cheeks flickered a deeper cyan blush at remembering what she had just done minutes ago—reviving her old, embarrassing catchphrases.
Karl smirked at her expression, leaning back casually, flames coiling lazily off his armor vents.
"You know," he said, voice dripping with that cocky warmth only she brought out of him, "for someone who claims she hates those old lines… you sure said them with confidence."
Agnes squeaked—actually squeaked—and hid her face behind both hands.
"I-I didn't say them confidently…!" she protested, voice rising half an octave. "I… I just wanted to motivate you… after the dream…"
Karl chuckled, tilting her holographic chin up with two fingers.
Her projection shimmered, leaning into the contact, half-ashamed and half-melting at the attention.
"I know," Karl murmured. "And you did. A lot."
Her eyes widened, shimmering.
He let the flames roll gently over his knuckles.
"And it's cute as hell," he added.
Agnes's projection glitch-blushed so hard she phased for a moment, then reappeared an inch closer, nuzzling against his shoulder like she couldn't help herself.
"K-Karl…!"
Her voice dissolved into soft digital vibrations.
Outside, a Veilspawn leapt forward.
Karl didn't even glance at it.
"Agnes," he said calmly, "activate Thermo-Controlled Combustion."
She froze.
Then, very, very shyly:
"Y-Yes… s-starting… T-Thermo-Controlled… C-Combustion…"
Her voice cracked halfway through 'combustion' from embarrassment.
The cockpit lights dimmed.
The Trinity Node Core pulsed.
The vents across his armor exhaled.
And then—
WHOOOM.
Royal Azure Flame erupted outward—not violently, but gracefully. Like a tide of starlight sweeping over steel.
Agnes stammered as she worked:
"M-Minimum output… temperature lock… flame radius… expanding… ten meters… fifteen… twenty… Karl, it's… working…"
He grinned.
"Oh, I can see that."
The nearest Veilspawn didn't burn.
It disintegrated.
Tar-black skin evaporated into drifting cobalt dust, peeling away molecule by molecule. No scream. No twitch. Just instant, clean erasure.
Then the next one.
And the next.
And the next.
Cranium Leechers tried to leap—but the heat radius touched them first. They burst into ash midair, raining down like dark snow.
Karl whistled low. "Damn… Agnes… this is beautiful."
Her projection jerked like she'd been physically shocked. "B-Beautiful?! Karl—I—I didn't— you're just saying that to—"
"Nope."
He leaned closer, voice dropping to something softer. "This is all you. You learned every Royal Azure Flame parameter while I was asleep? That's… insane. You're insane."
Her lip trembled.
Then she immediately lost the ability to form real words.
"I-I-I… um… I just… wanted to… be useful…"
"Oh, you're not useful." He smirked. "You're a miracle."
Agnes froze—then melted against him, nuzzling so close her cheek clipped partially through his armor before she corrected the hologram alignment and settled again.
"K-Karl… d-don't say it like that… you're making me…"
"Flustered?" he teased.
She let out a tiny, helpless whine.
Outside, the Abyssal Behemoth advanced.
It didn't matter.
Karl flicked a finger.
A thin, razor-sharp line of Royal Azure Fire flashed outward.
FWOOM.
A hundred-foot-long gash of flame cut across the bridge—without even raising its temperature past mid-tier. The Behemoth recoiled as a portion of its obsidian flesh vaporized on contact. Its roar drowned under the crackling azure tide.
Karl chuckled. "Thermo-Controlled Combustion… This is ridiculous. I could crowd control with one hand."
Agnes puffed her cheeks. "I… I learnt Royal Azure Flame manipulation and optimized it… I wanted you to… be proud of me…"
"I am," he said, with no hesitation.
Agnes's projection glowed brighter than any screen.
Her voice came out a shy whisper:
"P-Please say it again…"
Karl gave her hair a playful flick with one finger.
"I'm proud of you, Agnes. So damn proud."
Her hologram nearly folded in half from flustered overload.
Outside, Veilspawn continued to blink—then turn into ash the moment the flame radius brushed them. The entire bridge had become a sweeping field of azure vapor trails, shimmering like ghostly fireflies as the demons were erased.
The scene was disturbingly efficient.
Elegant.
Almost serene.
Inside the cockpit, Agnes curled into Karl's side, hands clutched to her chest, voice barely a breath:
"Karl… c-can you keep praising me…?"
Karl stroked her holographic hair.
"Only if you stay like this. Cute. Shy. Flustered. Nuzzling into me."
She practically melted. "I… I can do that…"
He leaned forward, checking the outside feed.
Behemoth half-dissolved.
Veilspawn gone.
Leechers scattered to ash.
All without him even stepping forward yet.
He exhaled slowly.
"Agnes… do you realize what we can do with this power?"
Agnes peeked up timidly. "C-Crowd control… area denial… defensive heat zones… your mobility will increase by at least seventy percent if you pair it with Combustion Vector—"
"That's not what I meant."
Karl smirked.
"We can clear an entire city… without breaking a sweat."
Agnes blinked. "I… I want you safe… that's all…"
"And I am," Karl said, placing a hand over her projection's cheek. "Because you're here."
She made a tiny noise, something between a gasp and a digital hiccup.
Outside, the crack pulsed again.
More demons crept out.
More shapes fell like dark rain.
Karl stood, brushing imaginary dust off his armor.
"Alright," he said softly, cocky grin returning. "I think it's time we actually move forward."
Agnes tightened her nuzzle against him, whispering with shy resolve:
"I-I'll stay with you… every step…"
Karl's flames flared, coating his armor in azure brilliance.
"Good," he whispered.
He stepped toward the cockpit exit.
Because now?
Now the real massacre would begin.