The battlefield above Terria had grown strangely quiet.
Where moments ago hundreds of Terrian units had filled the void, only drifting wreckage remained. Broken LEX machines rotated slowly through space, their dim lights flickering like dying stars. Pieces of destroyed cruisers glowed faintly as molten metal cooled in the cold vacuum. Far away, the surviving ships had retreated to a safe distance, their sensors locked on the two remaining signals at the center of the battlefield.
Two machines.
Two pilots.
The Hound, burning with violent orange plasma, its horns blazing like the crown of a demon. The Trident in its hands pulsed with unstable power while the long plasma tail swayed behind it like a living weapon.
And opposite it—
The NOIR.
Youri's battered orbiton floated motionless for a moment, its black armor cracked and scorched from the relentless battle. But now the machine burned with a different light. From every joint and vent along its frame, crimson energy poured outward in slow waves, wrapping the machine in a dark red aura.
The ACX-01 cortex was no longer holding back.
Inside the cockpit Youri's breathing had become slow and steady. The alarms that had screamed moments earlier had faded into the background of his mind. The pain in his shoulders, the sweat running down his face—none of it mattered anymore.
Everything had narrowed to a single point.
The Hound.
Across the void, Larsen leaned forward slightly in his seat, eyes wide with anticipation.
"There it is," he muttered.
"That look."
The Hound raised the Trident slowly.
The NOIR lifted its crimson blade.
And then—
they vanished.
The first clash happened faster than the sensors of the distant Terrian ships could properly track.
A streak of red and a streak of orange collided in the center of the battlefield with a violent explosion of plasma.
NOIR's crimson blade slammed into the Trident's blazing spearheads, the collision sending spirals of energy twisting outward into the debris field. Sparks scattered across the void like fireworks as the two weapons locked together for a brief instant.
Then both machines broke apart and moved again.
It no longer looked like combat.
It looked like a dance.
The Hound spun the Trident in a wide arc, the three blazing spearheads carving glowing trails through space as Larsen drove the weapon toward NOIR's torso.
Youri tilted the machine sideways just enough for the spearheads to scrape across NOIR's shoulder plating instead of piercing through it. The impact tore away another chunk of armor, but the machine kept moving.
NOIR twisted mid-flight.
Two red beam lasers ignited along the orbiton's forearms and fired simultaneously.
Twin crimson beams ripped across the battlefield toward the Hound.
Larsen reacted instantly.
The Hound's thrusters burst to life as the machine flipped backward, the beams slicing past its chest by mere meters. One beam grazed the Trident's shaft, causing the plasma around it to flare violently.
"Nice try," Larsen murmured.
The Hound's shoulder cannons opened.
Bright orange light gathered inside their barrels.
Then they fired.
Twin plasma blasts shot toward NOIR like miniature suns.
Youri didn't dodge.
Instead, he accelerated straight through them.
NOIR twisted its body sharply, one blast skimming past its side while the other struck the damaged armor along its lower torso. The explosion rocked the machine violently, but Youri used the momentum to propel the orbiton forward.
The crimson blade came down again.
The Hound blocked with the Trident, the weapons colliding with another thunderous shockwave.
The two machines pushed against each other for a split second.
Then the Hound's plasma tail struck.
The blazing appendage lashed around NOIR's leg and yanked the machine sideways with brutal force.
Youri spun the orbiton mid-pull, firing the forearm lasers again at point-blank range.
The beams slammed into the Hound's chest armor.
The impact forced Larsen backward several meters, fragments of molten plating spinning away from the machine.
For the first time in several minutes—
the Hound had taken real damage.
The Hound surged forward again, horns blazing brighter as it accelerated. The plasma tail snapped outward like a whip, striking toward NOIR's head.
Youri leaned the machine back just enough for the tail to skim past the cockpit.
At the same time—
NOIR's shoulder cannons opened.
Two red particle beams fired upward toward the Hound's horns.
Larsen twisted the machine aside at the last second, the beams carving glowing scars across one of the horns.
The Hound retaliated instantly.
The Trident spun in Larsen's hands like a hurricane.
Three blazing spearheads came down in a rapid sequence of strikes.
First.
Second.
Third.
Each blow carried enough force to tear an orbiton apart.
But Youri moved with unnatural precision.
NOIR deflected the first strike with the crimson blade.
The second he avoided entirely by twisting sideways.
The third he blocked with the reinforced forearm shield.
Each motion flowed seamlessly into the next.
The machines circled each other like predators locked in a deadly ballet.
Red light.
Orange fire.
Every clash produced another burst of energy that illuminated the battlefield.
From the distant Terrian ships, the watching pilots could barely believe what they were seeing.
One whispered over the comms.
"They're… dancing."
And it truly looked that way.
The Hound lunged forward again.
The Trident shot out like a spear aimed straight for NOIR's core.
Youri rotated the machine sideways and grabbed the shaft of the Trident with NOIR's left hand.
The armor screamed as the plasma burned into it.
But Youri held it.
Then he fired the forearm laser directly down the length of the weapon.
The beam blasted straight toward the Hound's chest.
Larsen reacted instantly, releasing the Trident and boosting backward as the beam tore past him.
The Hound flipped backward once, catching the Trident again as it drifted through space.
The machine landed lightly on a drifting piece of cruiser wreckage.
The plasma tail curled behind it.
Across from him—
NOIR floated silently.
The red aura around the machine had grown even brighter.
Inside the cockpit Youri's eyes were completely focused.
Larsen tilted his head slightly.
"You're good," he admitted.
Then the Hound's horns flared brighter.
The Trident ignited again.
"Let's see how long that body of yours can keep up."
The battlefield trembled again.
And the dance of monsters resumed.