Blood ran slowly down Youri's forehead, a thin red line slipping past his eyebrow and dripping onto the edge of the control console. One of the earlier shockwaves had slammed his head against the cockpit frame hard enough to crack the inner padding, and the impact had left the world ringing inside his skull.
But he didn't feel it.
Or rather—
he no longer cared.
Pain had become distant, muffled, like a sound heard from underwater. The alarms screaming across the cockpit had long since blended into the background noise of the battle. Warning messages flashed endlessly across the panels in front of him: structural damage, power fluctuations, actuator failures, cortex overload warnings.
None of it mattered.
Youri's eyes were locked on one thing.
The Hound.
The battlefield around them had become a graveyard of machines and ships, drifting wreckage spinning slowly through the void. But inside the storm of debris the two orbitons continued moving with impossible speed, their battle carving violent arcs of light across the darkness.
The NOIR burned crimson.
The Hound blazed orange.
They collided again.
The Trident slammed against NOIR's plasma blade with a shockwave that rippled through space like a thunderclap. The impact shook the already battered frame of NOIR violently, sending cracks spreading across the damaged armor.
Youri forced the machine forward anyway.
NOIR twisted sideways and fired both forearm laser beams simultaneously.
Twin crimson lances tore toward the Hound.
Larsen rolled the machine sideways with precise control, letting one beam pass harmlessly beneath the Trident while the second scraped across the Hound's shoulder armor. Molten fragments scattered into the void, glowing briefly before fading into darkness.
Sweat dripped down Larsen's face. His breathing had grown heavier, the strain of controlling the Hound at such extreme output slowly catching up with him.
But the excitement burning in his eyes had not faded.
The Hound lunged forward again.
The plasma tail snapped outward like a living spear.
Youri saw it coming.
NOIR spun backward just enough for the tail to graze the machine's chest plating instead of piercing straight through the cockpit. The strike still carried enough force to send the orbiton tumbling through space.
Youri recovered instantly.
Thrusters roared as NOIR stopped its spin and accelerated back toward the Hound.
The crimson aura around the machine pulsed violently as the ACX-01 cortex continued pushing beyond its safe limits.
"Come on…" Youri whispered under his breath.
The two machines clashed again.
The Trident spun through the void like a blazing storm of blades, each swing powerful enough to shatter warship hulls. NOIR answered with rapid bursts from its shoulder cannons and forearm lasers, weaving through the Hound's attacks while striking whenever an opening appeared.
To the distant Terrian ships still observing the battle, it looked less like combat and more like two cosmic forces colliding over and over again.
The battlefield flashed constantly with bursts of crimson and orange light.
Youri blocked another strike from the Trident and countered with a close-range laser blast that struck the Hound's torso armor. The explosion pushed Larsen backward several meters.
Youri followed instantly.
NOIR surged forward and drove its blade down toward the Hound's shoulder joint.
Larsen twisted the machine at the last possible second.
The blade carved deep across the armor instead of severing the joint completely.
The Hound retaliated immediately.
The Trident slammed into NOIR's chest plating with brutal force, sending cracks spreading across the already weakened armor.
Inside the cockpit Youri coughed as the shockwave rattled the machine.
Still—
he didn't stop.
NOIR fired its cannons again.
Red beams tore through space toward the Hound.
The Hound dodged one—
blocked another—
and then launched forward again with the Trident aimed directly at NOIR's core.
The two machines collided again.
And again.
And again.
Minutes passed like seconds as the battle raged on, each strike pushing both machines closer to their limits.
Inside the Hound cockpit Larsen wiped sweat from his face with the back of his hand.
NOIR should have fallen long ago.
Its armor was shattered.
Its systems were failing.
Its pilot was clearly injured.
And yet—
it kept coming.
Every time Larsen pushed the Hound forward, NOIR met him head-on again.
Relentless.
Unyielding.
Like something that refused to die.
Then—
space rippled.
A massive distortion tore open behind the battlefield.
Youri noticed it first.
Larsen noticed it second.
And within moments the colossal warship emerged from the distortion once again, its massive shadow stretching across the battlefield as it stabilized behind the Hound.
The hull panels along its sides slowly opened, revealing rows of massive cannons.
A familiar voice cut into the comm channel.
"Alright, Larsen."
Dellor.
"You've had your fun."
The voice carried calm amusement.
"But the mission's done. Time to come home."
Inside the Hound cockpit Larsen exhaled slowly.
He glanced one last time at the battered NOIR floating across from him.
Then he chuckled.
"Guess that's the end of it."
The Hound slowly drifted backward toward the open docking bay of the massive ship.
But Youri saw it.
And something inside him refused to accept it.
"No…"
The word came out as a whisper.
Then—
NOIR moved.
The machine exploded forward with everything it had left.
The ACX-01 cortex screamed as Youri forced it to maximum output one final time. Crimson energy erupted violently from the orbiton's frame as the thrusters ignited at full power.
NOIR shot toward the retreating ship like a blazing meteor.
The warship's cannons fired instantly.
Massive plasma blasts tore across the void toward the approaching orbiton.
The Hound moved to intercept.
The Trident swung toward NOIR's path—
But Youri didn't slow down.
He twisted through the incoming fire, one blast tearing away what remained of NOIR's left shoulder armor while another struck the damaged leg assembly.
Still—
he pushed forward.
NOIR passed the Hound.
Straight toward the massive warship.
Youri fired everything.
Forearm lasers.
Shoulder cannons.
Every weapon the broken machine still had left erupted at once.
Crimson beams slammed into the warship's shield barrier, lighting the void with violent explosions.
The shield flared brilliantly as it absorbed the barrage.
Behind him—
the Hound returned.
Larsen boosted forward and slammed the Trident against NOIR's side, knocking the orbiton away from the ship before it could fire again.
The two machines collided once more.
But this time—
NOIR was too damaged.
The Hound spun the Trident aside and struck with its plasma tail.
The blazing appendage shot forward like a spear.
Youri tried to move.
But the cortex had reached its limit.
The tail pierced straight through the cockpit armor.
The burning spike stopped just inches from Youri's chest.
Inside the cockpit metal screamed as the armor cracked open, revealing the shattered interior of the machine.
The ACX-01 cortex finally failed.
The NOIR's systems died instantly.
The crimson aura faded.
Youri's vision blurred.
Blood ran down his face as the cockpit filled with smoke.
His hands slipped from the controls.
And the world went dark.
NOIR went completely still.
The broken orbiton floated silently in space, impaled by the glowing plasma tail.
Inside the warship's control room Dellor watched the scene on the main display.
For a moment he said nothing.
Then he leaned back slightly in his chair.
"...Indeed."
His voice carried quiet admiration.
"He truly is a monster."
Behind him the docking bay doors closed as the Hound slowly entered the ship.
The massive warship began to glow again as the warp distortion returned.
Moments later—
space rippled.
And the vessel vanished into the darkness.