The air was tight. Dry. Ready to split open.
The mining yard stood still, silence weighing heavier than the smoke. Across the clearing, Brakka cracked her knuckles one by one, her sharp teeth showing in a crooked grin.
Varrex stood opposite her, motionless in his Iron Crown suit. The armor hissed softly as steam curled from his shoulders. His flail uncoiled at his side, a long segmented chain humming with magnetic energy.
Brakka didn't wait.
She charged forward.
The ground split beneath her bare feet as she surged across the yard. Her greatsword rose high over her head. She swung straight down, a brutal vertical slash aimed directly for Varrex's helmet.
He sidestepped.
Metal screamed as her sword cleaved into the ground, slicing through steel and stone like butter.
Varrex countered instantly. The Regal Chain lashed toward her head, a blur of motion aimed to split her skull.
Brakka twisted under it. The chain snapped past, missing by inches but as she moved, she noticed something: the chain wasn't recoiling.
It was still connected.
Her eyes shot down.
The chain had wrapped around Varrex's leg.
He wasn't just attacking, he was launching himself.
With a roar of motion and weight, Varrex rocketed forward, his whole body aimed like a battering ram for her chest.
Brakka didn't flinch.
She jammed her greatsword into the ground at an angle and used it like a springboard. Her feet struck the hilt and she vaulted high into the air, just as Varrex tore past beneath her.
Dust exploded from the impact he left behind.
She twisted midair, blade spinning with her.
She came crashing down, greatsword over her shoulder in both hands, aiming to crush him from above.
Varrex rolled.
Just barely.
Her blade shattered the ground where he'd been, splinters of stone and sparks flying.
But she didn't stop.
Before Varrex could finish his roll, Brakka was already in front of him. She stepped forward and swung horizontally at his neck.
CLANG!
He barely raised his arm in time, his kinetic shields absorbed the hit, but the force was monstrous. It lifted him clean off his feet and sent him flying backward like a broken cannonball.
He smashed through a metal beam and tumbled, bouncing along the dirt before skidding to a stop in a heap.
Kaizer, still seated on the boulder, gave a slow clap. "Impressive."
No one else spoke.
Kyra stared, wide-eyed, frozen in place.
Sylthea's mouth opened slightly, no words forming.
Korrak grunted. "She's playing with him."
Across the yard, Varrex groaned.
He pushed himself to his knees, one hand clawing at the dirt. His suit's plating sparked at the seams.
Then...
A shadow.
He looked up...
WHAM!
Brakka dropped from the sky like a stone, her heel crashing into the back of his neck. The blow smashed him flat into the dirt. A burst of stone and dust erupted from the crater her kick left behind.
Brakka landed softly beside him.
She stared down at the motionless body.
Then, with a tilt of her head and a frown:
"I thought Exterminators were supposed to be the strongest warriors in the world."
She gave him a sharp kick in the head.
THWACK.
His armored body rolled and bounced across the ground again, eventually coming to a stop against a metal post.
Groaning, Varrex rose to one knee, slower now.
Inside his helmet, blood ran down his nose. His systems blinked warnings.
He turned his head slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of Kaizer still sitting, still watching.
Still silent.
But Varrex could feel it.
Disappointment.
The kind that wrapped around your ribs and squeezed.
He clenched his fists and stood up fully.
No more lazy confidence. No more assumptions.
Just cold anger.
Brakka raised an eyebrow. "Finally woke up?"
He didn't answer.
He just lifted his hand and triggered the pressure.
The Iron Crown suit's back plates expanded with a clank, and gravity slammed into the battlefield like a wave.
The air warped.
Brakka's feet sank slightly into the ground, her shoulders tightening under the invisible weight. The rocks beneath her cracked and groaned.
From the sidelines, Kyra yelped, grabbing Korrak's arm.
"What's he doing?!"
"Gravity field," Korrak muttered. "Trying to pin her down."
Brakka's breath came heavy, muscles straining.
But she was still smiling.
She didn't try to run.
Didn't scream.
She just rolled her shoulders, teeth showing.
"Alright," she muttered, eyes locked on Varrex. "Now it's getting good."
Varrex didn't wait.
He dashed forward, the ground buckling under his boots as he accelerated, then whipped the Regal Chain toward Brakka's head in a lethal arc.
She barely brought her greatsword up in time.
CLANG, THOOM!
The flail smashed against the blade with a thunderous pulse. The magnetic detonation erupted against her guard, sending Brakka flying into the sky like a ragdoll shot from a cannon.
The gravity field around her collapsed, Crownhold deactivated.
Brakka spun midair, body twisting as she righted herself. Her sharp eyes locked on Varrex below, and her lips stretched wide in a feral grin.
Blood streaked from her shoulder, but she was laughing.
Varrex launched himself upward, spinning the flail as he ascended toward her like a spiraling missile.
Midair, he swung the Regal Chain again, this time aimed for her face.
She saw it coming and raised her greatsword—
But...
He activated Crownhold again.
The sudden spike of gravity jerked her blade off course mid-swing. The flail smashed into her shoulder with brutal force, detonating another magnetic pulse.
CRACK, BOOM!
Brakka was blasted downward, hurtling toward the earth in a spiral of smoke and blood. But just before impact, she twisted, landed on both feet...
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath her from the force, dust rising in a ring around her crouched form.
She stood slowly.
Blood dripped from her shoulder, soaking the strap of her armor. But her eyes sparkled with joy, breath coming hard.
She looked up at Varrex still falling through the air, and grinned.
"So," she said between pants, "that little trick only lasts four seconds."
Varrex landed across from her with a heavy thud. His visor flickered, jaw clenched. "Who cares if you understand it," he said coldly, "you won't be able to stop it anyway."
He activated Crownhold again but this time used it on himself.
The field yanked him forward, flinging his armored body at supersonic speed directly toward her.
Brakka didn't move.
She just smiled.
"All I have to do..." she said, lowering her stance, "... is overcome it."
Varrex became a blur of steel and spinning chain, Regal Chain winding through the air toward her face.
She swung her greatsword in a wide arc to meet it.
Then...
He triggered Crownhold again at the last second.
The gravity slammed down on her blade, trying to throw it off.
But this time, she didn't buckle.
Brakka roared, muscles bulging, heels digging into the stone.
She kept swinging.
BOOM!!
Steel met steel in midair.
A shockwave rang out as the greatsword and flail collided in a brutal stalemate. Sparks sprayed between them. Varrex pushed. Brakka pushed harder.
The second Crownhold timed out.
And that was the opening.
Brakka's blade sliced through the flail's momentum and kept going.
CRACK!!
Her sword collided with Varrex's chestplate, and the sheer force sent him rocketing backward through the air.
Brakka didn't wait.
She launched herself into the sky, pursuing.
Varrex tried to recover midair, spinning the chain again, and managed to wrap it around her sword.
He pulled.
But her grip didn't budge.
Instead, she pulled him.
In one sudden jerk, she yanked him directly into her range.
She let go of the sword, letting it fall between them.
And with both hands free...
CRACK! A right hook to his stomach.
CRUNCH! A left into his ribs.
Varrex folded, choking on air.
Then...
THWAM!!
Brakka raised both fists and hammered down onto the back of his helmet as he began to fall.
The impact rocketed him toward the ground.
BOOOOOOOM!
He slammed into the ground with explosive force, the crater swallowing him whole. Dust billowed like a smoke ring from the impact zone.
Brakka landed moments later, feet cracking the earth.
She picked up her greatsword without a word and began walking toward the crater.
Inside, Varrex struggled to rise.
His armor was shredded, chunks of the Iron Crown suit torn apart. Blood poured from his mouth. The flail sparked on the ground, broken in half.
He tried to push himself up.
Failed.
He only made it to his knees.
Brakka stopped in front of him, blade in hand, blood on her cheek, joy in her eyes.
"That was fun," she said softly, the words floating like a compliment.
She rested the flat of her greatsword against his neck.
Then she looked up.
"Kaizer," she called. "Aren't you going to save him?"
Varrex coughed, wheezing. "P-Please…" His voice was choked. "Kaizer… help me…"
Kaizer stood slowly.
But he didn't step forward.
He stared, cold, unmoved.
"He doesn't deserve to live," Kaizer said. "Not after losing to a monster."
Brakka's smile widened.
SCHLNK!
With a clean swing, she decapitated Varrex where he knelt.
Blood splattered across the ground.
The head bounced once, then rolled to Kaizer's feet.
Brakka straightened and stared at him.
Then slowly raised her hand and gestured.
Come on.
Kaizer stepped off the boulder and let out a slow breath.
His voice dropped to a calm murmur.
"It isn't going to be that easy."