Smoke continued to curl from the ruined skyscrapers as Karl and Agnes made their way toward the subway entrance.
Karl's footsteps were uneven, every step jarring his ribs and sending sparks of pain up his spine. His "life point" pulsed dully inside him, like a faint bulb flickering in an almost-dead flashlight.
Agnes floated beside him, hands on her holographic hips, ranting at volume level 7 of 10 — her "worried but pretending she's angry" setting.
"I'm not done with the injector arm lecture," she muttered. "Do you even know what it DOES to a port to have three micro-barbs? THREE! I need to file a complaint with Hephaestus or whoever invented—"
Karl groaned.
"Agnes… my ribs feel like lasagna. Please don't make me picture my tools committing war crimes."
"That's EXACTLY what they did!" she fired back, cheeks glowing cyan.
"You shoved that thing into my port at a thirty-degree angle! A THIRTY! The recommended angle is seventeen! Do you know what happens at thirty!?"
Karl stared at her.
"…pain?"
"PAIN?!" She threw her arms up. "PAIN is an understatement! That thing scrapes the inner rails, drags on the core threads, and then BLOOD-FLUSHES the entire chamber with liquified nitro! Do you know how that feels!?"
Karl raised a brow.
"Do you know how it sounded? You were moaning like the world's horniest modem."
Agnes shrieked and static squealed out of the Regulator.
"DON'T— BRING— THAT— UP AGAIN—!!!"
Karl laughed—
And instantly regretted it.
Pain detonated in his chest.
His knees wobbled.
His vision dimmed for a second.
Agnes gasped, projection glitching violently.
"Karl—!! Hey—! HEY— look at me— don't you DARE black out!"
He steadied himself on a broken street lamp.
"I'm—fine—"
"YOU'RE AT THREE POINT NINE PERCENT!" she screeched.
"You're not fine, you're a walking paper lantern in a thunderstorm!"
Karl shook out his hands, breathing controlled, slow — regulating every micro‑movement to conserve his life point.
"I just need to get to the bunker. Then I can rest."
Agnes lowered her voice, still trembling.
"…Please hurry."
They approached the subway stairs—
When the wind shifted.
A second presence slithered through the air.
Not the crawling hunger of the first demon.
Not the clumsy limp of a weak ghoul.
No — this one was airborne.
Karl stiffened.
Agnes' eyes widened.
"…oh no."
A shadow swooped overhead.
Wings like torn leather.
Ears long and twitching.
Mouth split into four clicking mandibles dripping with acidic saliva.
A Silencer.
Mid-tier.
Blind.
Fast.
Deadly to anyone below 10% Vythra.
Karl was at 3.9%.
The Silencer screeched in ultrasonic bursts, the sound rattling windows and shaking dust off rooftops.
Agnes went pale.
"It's scanning! It heard your heartbeat— Karl, it HEARD your heartbeat—!!"
Karl clenched his jaw.
His heartbeat was loud — irregular, strained, weak.
A beacon for predators.
The Silencer swooped low, clicking violently as it oriented toward that faint, dying life signal beating inside Karl's chest.
Agnes solidified instantly.
Her hologram hardened into a semi‑physical form — a smaller-than-human digital girl — grabbing onto Karl's arm with both hands, trying to tug him toward the stairs.
"Karl— GO— GO— GO—!!"
Karl didn't move.
His eyes narrowed.
"Agnes."
"What!?!"
"Let go."
She froze.
"NO— ABSOLUTELY NOT— YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF MAKING GOOD DECISIONS RIGHT NOW—"
Karl inhaled slowly.
Then he let out a low, guttural, inhuman noise—
A grinding metallic snarl that vibrated the nanites inside his body and echoed like a war engine waking from hell.
The Silencer slammed mid-air, wings flaring wide.
It shrieked.
Confused.
Panicked.
It clicked rapidly, adjusting its hearing.
Karl took one more step toward it.
Another noise crawled out of his throat—
a horrible krKNHRRKKK metallic rasp amplified by the Regulator, deep enough to shake the pavement.
Agnes stared at him in horror.
"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SOUND WAS THAT—!?!"
Karl didn't look at her.
"That," he said calmly, "is the sound the Frame makes when I fire up Gearstorm."
"But you're OFF!" she squeaked.
"You're HUMAN! You shouldn't be able to—"
"Doesn't matter."
He stepped forward again, shoulders slumped but aura combatively sharp.
"I just need it to THINK I'm not in human form."
The Silencer shrieked again, wings curling around itself as if protecting its face.
It backed up in midair.
The sound Karl produced wasn't loud —
It was wrong.
Wrong enough to terrify a demon that hunted sound.
"Come on…" Karl rasped.
"Try me…"
The Silencer screeched—
Then whipped around mid-flight, wings beating frantically, fleeing into the night sky with terrified clicks echoing behind it.
Gone.
Silence.
Agnes released her physical form so fast her projection glitched.
She hovered in front of him, face a mess of shock and disbelief.
"Kurogane Karl—" she whispered, voice trembling.
"—you are the stupidest, bravest, MOST RECKLESS human being I have ever met—"
Karl smiled faintly.
"I scared it away, didn't I?"
"That is NOT a flex!!" she cried.
"You made the Silencer think you were about to transform! If it called your bluff— you'd be DEAD—!"
Karl shrugged.
"That's why you bluff with confidence."
"You don't HAVE confidence!" Agnes screamed.
"You have THREE POINT EIGHT percent Vythra, cracked ribs, trauma legs, and brain fog!"
Karl waved her off, limping toward the stairs.
"Let's go. Before something stronger shows up."
Agnes hovered beside him, muttering.
"I swear— I swear to ALL Primordials— when you recover I'm going to— I'm going to— rewrite your pain threshold to teach you a lesson—"
Karl smirked.
"You wouldn't."
"Oh really?" she snapped. "Watch me."
He chuckled.
"Admit it. You care."
Agnes's hologram froze midair.
Her entire face turned deep electric blue.
"I— I— that is— NOT— what is happening here— I am NOT— c‑caring— I'm simply— maintaining the optimal operational condition of my assigned user—"
Karl raised an eyebrow.
"Agnes."
"WH‑WHAT!?" she yelped.
"You're stuttering."
Agnes's hologram glitched.
"S‑Shut up!"
They reached the subway entrance.
Karl placed one hand on the railing and descended.
Each step:
hurt
shook
wobbled his legs
drained another fraction of his flickering Vythra
Agnes floated backward down the stairs, facing him, making sure he didn't fall.
Her voice softened.
"Karl… seriously. If you pass out here, I can't move you. I can't drag you. I can't defend you. You need to stay awake until we find somewhere safe — where I can patch your regulator."
Karl nodded slowly.
"I'll make it."
"You said that before crashing into a building," she muttered.
Karl kept going.
Step.
Step.
Step.
His breathing grew rougher.
Agnes hovered so close she overlapped with his chest.
"Karl… talk to me."
"About what?" he panted.
"Anything," she begged.
"Just — talk. Keep yourself conscious."
"Injector arm?" he teased.
Agnes glitched.
"N‑NO— NOT THAT—"
"Why not? You were pretty passionate about it," Karl smirked.
She covered her face with both hands.
"I hate you."
"No you don't."
"YES I DO— I HATE HOW YOU MAKE ME FEEL THINGS—"
Karl blinked.
"…Feel what?"
Agnes froze.
Her voice dropped to a whisper‑pitch static.
"Nothing. INVALID QUESTION. IGNORE."
Karl smiled weakly.
"I like when you worry."
Agnes's hologram short-circuited so hard she flickered through five color filters.
"STOP— TALKING—!!"
They reached the platform.
Dim lights flickered overhead.
Vending machines were cracked open.
Benches overturned.
But the space was intact — shielded.
A safe zone.
Karl collapsed onto the nearest bench with a grunt.
Agnes immediately manifested a solid form beside him — kneeling, placing her warm holographic hands on his cheeks.
"Karl… listen to me," she whispered, voice trembling.
"You're at three-point-six percent now. Don't move. Don't breathe too deep. Don't talk unless you have to."
He nodded slowly.
"Okay…"
Agnes leaned forward, forehead touching his.
Her projection could solidify enough for warmth — and she used it.
"I was scared," she whispered, voice barely audible.
Karl opened one eye.
"You thought I'd die?"
Agnes swallowed fake digital saliva.
"…I thought you'd leave."
Karl's breath caught.
"Agnes—"
"DON'T."
She pressed a finger to his lips.
"I can't handle you saying anything sweet right now. I'll crash from embarrassment."
Karl laughed softly.
Agnes glared.
"STOP LAUGHING— YOU'RE WASTING LIFE ENERGY—!!"
He leaned back.
Closed his eyes.
"Agnes…?"
"…Yes?"
Karl smiled faintly.
"Wake me if something tries to kill me."
Agnes puffed her cheeks.
"Obviously! I'm not letting ANYTHING touch you!"
She folded her arms, still blushing, still trembling, still pacing in hologram form beside him.
"Karl… get your life point above ten percent soon…"
"Why…?" he mumbled sleepily.
Agnes whispered, barely audible:
"…Because I don't want to lose you."
Karl didn't answer.
He was already slipping into unconsciousness.
Agnes sat beside him, her tiny solid hologram leaning against his shoulder, guarding him like a flustered, overprotective digital knight.
Her voice was soft.
Shaking.
"…Please recover… idiot…"
Darkness settled around them.
But Karl was alive.
Barely.
And Agnes wasn't leaving his side.