"I see them clearly. My core charge is at ninety percent. I need a distraction."

Zen quickly grabbed a severed spider leg off the ground. He spun around, and threw it like a javelin. The sharp metal pierced the glowing eye of the first heavy hybrid, making it stumble backwards.

"Core is fully charged!" Nyx announced. "Firing Omni-Blast!"

A massive beam of pure, blinding purple energy erupted from her chest plate. It vaporized the two heavy hybrids instantly and carved a burning trench right through the middle of the rocky cavern.

"Watch the crossfire!" Zen yelled loudly. He ducked fast under the stray energy beam.

"You have plenty of room to move," Nyx teased him. "Stop complaining."

"I am not complaining! I am trying not to die here."

"I would never let you die."

"Just focus on the Brood-Mother!" Zen shouted. He pointed his sword straight ahead.

The massive boss at the end of the cavern was finally moving toward them. It was huge, covered in extremely thick, black armor. It had a giant, ugly cannon mounted right on its back.

"Armor thickness is roughly four inches of dense magi-steel," Nyx analyzed quickly while floating in the air. "Her back cannon is charging now. Element type is Corrupted Fire."

"What are the weak points?" Zen asked, trying to catch his breath.

"The leg joints are heavily shielded. The only weak point is the cooling vent located directly under the main cannon. But it only opens up when she fires."

"That’s almost the same trick as the last boss," Zen noted.

"Not exactly," Nyx replied firmly. "This one has massive splash damage. If you get too close when she fires, you will burn to ash instantly."

"Then how do we hit the open vent?"

"I will freeze her solid," Nyx said. "Switching my ammo types now."

A loud mechanical clack echoed from her shoulder cannons. The glowing purple light shifted quickly to a cold, icy blue color.

"Cryo-rounds?" Zen asked, sounding surprised. "Since when do you use ice magic?"

"Since I bought a very expensive High A-Rank Cryo-Core yesterday afternoon," Nyx said smoothly. "Get ready to jump high. I will freeze the cannon. You shatter the vent."

"I got it."

"Charging weapons. Three. Two. One. Firing!"

Nyx unleashed a massive volley of freezing blasts. The blue energy slammed hard into the Brood-Mother just as the monster opened its vent to fire its massive fire cannon.

The harsh clash of extreme heat and extreme cold created a massive, blinding cloud of white steam. But the expensive cryo-rounds won the fight. The boss’s cannon froze completely solid in a block of ice, locking the metal cooling vent wide open.

"Go now, Zen!" Nyx shouted loudly.

Zen sprinted forward with everything he had.

Zen activated his Emperor’s Stride skill, gliding effortlessly past the remaining small spiders. With a powerful burst of speed, he leaped onto the boss’s front leg and ran up its massive side before vaulting into the air directly above the frozen cannon.

"Say goodnight," Zen yelled.

He drove his glowing sword straight down into the open, frozen cooling vent. The blade pierced deep into the monster’s core.

Zen twisted the blade hard and quickly pulled it out.

[Critical Hit! Enemy Core destroyed.]

The Brood-Mother let out a pathetic, loud squeal before its massive body collapsed heavily to the stone ground, totally dead.

The remaining small spiders instantly stopped moving. Their glowing red eyes went dark. Without the boss network to guide them, they completely shut down.

[System: Zone Cleared. Threat neutralized entirely.]

[Harvesting C-Rank Brood Core.]

Zen dropped down to the ground. His heavy boots splashed in a puddle of green monster blood. He fell directly to his knees, leaning heavily on his sword to stay upright. He was completely out of breath.

His muscles were burning painfully, and his mana core felt like it was going to crack open again.

"That was... way too close," Zen panted heavily.

Nyx landed gracefully on the ground right next to him. Her exoskeleton folded back neatly into her armor, completely hiding the large cannons and sabers away. The bright neon lights dimmed down to a soft glow.

She didn’t look tired at all. In fact, she looked totally energized.

"You were slightly slow on the final jump," Nyx noted calmly. She slowly paced around him in a circle. "Your left leg favored the right side. Do you have a slight fracture?"

"A minor rib fracture," Zen corrected her, coughing a little bit. "And I am exhausted. I have been fighting monsters all afternoon."

"But you didn’t miss the target," Nyx stopped walking and stood right in front of him. She looked down at him. Her eyes were glowing with a mix of intense pride and a very dark obsession. "You trusted my coordinates completely. You executed the strike perfectly."

"Your math is never wrong," Zen said, looking up at her face. "I would be stupid to ignore it." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Nyx’s breath hitched slightly in her chest. That simple compliment seemed to affect her much more than the entire battle did. She slowly crouched down, bringing her beautiful face exactly level with his.

"You remember," she whispered softly.

"Remember what?"

"Our perfect synergy," Nyx said. She reached out to gently touch the side of his cheek. "No one else moves exactly like you do. No one else understands my battlefield logic without me having to explain it first. You just... know."

"I am just good at following orders," Zen replied smoothly. He turned his head slightly away from her soft touch.

Nyx chuckled. It was a low, husky, and dangerous sound. "You were never good at following orders. You only follow logic."

She stood back up straight, slowly offering him a hand.

Zen hesitated for a second, then took it. Her grip was insanely strong. She pulled him to his feet completely effortlessly.

"We cleared the zone," Zen said, nervously dusting off his jacket. "That is enough fighting for one day. We should get back to the penthouse."

"I agree," Nyx said smoothly. Her purple eyes were wide, dark, and filled with a truly terrifying amount of affection. "You pushed yourself hard today. You definitely need to rest."

"But you will need to shower first," she whispered softly. "You are completely covered in ash, blood, and monster guts. You cannot sleep looking like that."

"Of course," Zen said quickly. He tried to take a step back, but he bumped into the dead monster behind him. "I will take a shower as soon as we get back inside."

Nyx smiled. It wasn’t a friendly or sweet smile at all. It was the exact smile of a dangerous predator who had finally caught her favorite prey.

She reached out and grabbed his waist, pulling him firmly against her armored body.

"I have a much better idea," Nyx purred softly. She leaned in closer until her lips brushed lightly against his ear. "Why don’t we return to the penthouse and have a bath together?"