"Okay... that one hurt."
The Knight re-entered the fight, charging with its sword raised.
It swung downward, aiming for the Enforcer’s shoulder.
CLANG.
The blade bounced off.
The Enforcer didn’t even look at the Knight. It simply grabbed the sword by the flat of the blade and yanked it, pulling the Knight off balance.
Then it drove a fist into the Knight’s chest.
The Knight flew across the chamber again.
Asher wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and glared.
"Alright. Enough throwing my partner."
He rushed in again.
The Enforcer threw a wide punch—Asher ducked it, moved in close, and hamred three straight hits into its torso. Hard, fast, focused.
The tal dented deeper this ti.
The Enforcer reacted by grabbing him with both hands and trying to crush him again.
Asher twisted his body and slipped out of its grip at the last second.
He grabbed the Enforcer’s wrist and slamd his elbow into the sa dent he just made.
Once.
Twice.
A third ti.
A crack ford.
The Enforcer’s blue visor flickered as if annoyed.
"Structural damage detected," it rumbled.
"Good," Asher said. "Get used to it."
The Enforcer roared—an artificial, echoing sound—and swung both arms forward. The energy coils lit up, charging another shockwave.
Asher didn’t wait this ti.
He sprinted straight toward it.
The Enforcer fired.
A massive blast of compressed force tore across the ring—but Asher dove to the side, rolled, and ca up running again.
He closed the distance fast.
The Enforcer tried to swing—
Asher jumped, grabbed its arm, and used his montum to swing himself up onto its shoulder.
The Enforcer stumbled, trying to shake him off.
Asher clamped down with both legs, gripping its neck plating.
"Stop moving!"
He slamd his fist down on the Enforcer’s head.
The first hit dented the helt.
He hit it again.
A deeper dent.
The Enforcer jerked violently, trying to reach him—but its arms were too large to bend back that far.
"Asher!" the Knight called out, finally standing again.
"I’m fine!" Asher shouted back.
He raised both fists over his head.
"Stay still!"
And he hamred down with all his strength.
The Enforcer’s headplate caved in with a sharp tallic crunch.
Sparks shot out from the visor.
The machine’s steps turned erratic.
Asher didn’t stop.
He hit it again.
And again.
The Enforcer’s balance collapsed.
Its legs buckled.
It staggered, crashed forward, and slamd into the ground with Asher still sitting on top of it.
The giant machine lay face-down, twitching.
Blue lights flickered across its body.
Asher climbed off and stepped back, breathing hard.
The Enforcer pushed its hands against the floor, trying to rise one more ti.
Asher looked down at it.
"No," he said simply.
He drove one last heavy kick into the back of its head.
The light in its visor died out instantly.
The massive machine went still.
Silence filled the chamber again.
Asher wiped sweat and tal dust from his face.
"Three machines in a row," he muttered. "I need a vacation after this."
The Knight limped to his side and stood straight again, sword planted in the floor like a support.
Asher glanced at it.
"You good?"
The Knight gave a slow nod.
Asher turned toward the far end of the chamber as another wall panel slid open.
A staircase descended downward, leading into darkness.
Asher groaned.
"...Of course. Not done yet."
He started walking.
The Knight followed.
"Alright," Asher muttered. "Let’s see what’s next."
Asher and the Knight walked down the staircase, each step echoing into the dark space below. The air grew colder the deeper they went. The walls here weren’t clean tal like before—they were older, rougher, covered in scratches and faded warning symbols.
Asher rubbed the side of his neck.
"Three fights back-to-back... this place better have sothing worth it at the end."
The Knight gave a faint chanical hum, almost agreeing.
At the bottom of the stairs, the hallway opened into another chamber—this one long and rectangular, lit by dim red lights along the ceiling. Rows of inactive machines stood on both sides like statues, all facing forward. So missing limbs, so damaged, so intact.
Asher slowed down.
"Uh... Knight? Tell these things are just decorations."
He waited.
The room stayed quiet.
He let out a breath of relief and kept walking.
Then—
BZZZT.
The lights flickered.
Asher froze.
"Don’t you dare..."
The machines on the left side twitched.
The ones on the right side twitched too.
Their heads turned toward him one by one, glowing red eyes activating in a wave through the chamber.
Asher pinched the bridge of his nose.
"...I hate this place."
The first row stepped off their platforms with a synchronized tallic stomp.
The Knight took position beside him, raising its dented sword.
Asher cracked his knuckles.
"Fine. Let’s do this."
But before the machines fully charged—
the floor suddenly shuddered.
A grinding roar ca from below.
The machines all halted mid-step.
Asher frowned.
"What now?"
The platform beneath the rows of machines split open, and the statues dropped straight down into the darkness like trash being dumped into a pit.
Asher blinked.
"...Okay? I’ll take that."
But then the ground in front of him opened too—just a small section.
White steam rushed out.
A circular platform rose from the gap.
Sothing stood on it.
Not a Titan.
Not a Specter.
Not an Enforcer.
Sothing different.
A tall humanoid figure—sleek like the Specter, strong like the Enforcer—but with smooth black plating and a glowing red core in the chest. Its arms were shaped like normal arms, but its fingers ended in sharpened tal claws. Its head was narrow, with a single horizontal red slit for eyes.
It radiated more danger than all the previous machines combined.
Asher imdiately tensed.
"Great. A boss version."
The machine raised its head.
A cold, layered voice spoke:
"Designation: Prototype Oga Unit."
"Purpose: World-tier combat testing."
"Status: Activating."
Asher stared.
"...World-tier? Seriously? Who builds this stuff?!"
The Oga Unit lifted its hand.
Its claws extended with a tallic click.
The Knight stepped forward to guard him.
But the Oga spoke again:
"Warning: Companion unit integrity—low."
"Solution: Remove obstacle."
In an instant, it dashed forward—faster than the Specter, heavier than the Titan, precise like the Enforcer.
The Knight swung its sword—
The Oga didn’t dodge.
It caught the Knight’s sword mid-swing between two claws.
Then it crushed the blade.
The Knight tried to retreat.
The Oga grabbed its head and slamd it into the wall.
Asher’s eyes widened.
"HEY!"
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