The moment Chaos Mode stabilized, the void itself seemed to recoil.
For a fraction of a second, nothing moved.
Then—
They vanished.
Altopereh surged forward first, its massive frame tearing through space with impossible acceleration, gray plasma blade extending into a colossal arc of death. The vacuum around it warped under the pressure of its movement, leaving behind a distorted wake as if reality itself struggled to keep up.
The Hound met it head-on.
A sonic crack echoed through the battlefield as Larsen propelled the Hound forward, Chaos Mode igniting fully. The Trident burned in his grip, its three prongs stretching outward like the fangs of a god, while the thirteen white plasma swords behind him spun into motion—tight, controlled, deadly.
Impact.
The first clash detonated like a star being born.
Gray and orange plasma collided in a violent explosion, shockwaves ripping through nearby debris fields and sending shattered hull fragments spinning into the abyss. Energy surged outward in layered rings, distorting light and bending trajectories of distant projectiles.
Neither yielded.
Altopereh pressed down, its raw power forcing the Trident back inch by inch—but Larsen twisted the Hound's frame, redirecting the force. The tail snapped upward from below like a striking serpent, its segmented blade glowing white-hot as it lashed toward Altopereh's core.
Youri reacted instantly.
Altopereh released the blade lock and pivoted mid-air, bringing its armored forearm down to intercept the tail. The impact rang like a bell forged in hell, sending sparks and molten fragments scattering in all directions.
And then—
The counterattack.
Altopereh's chest panels flared open.
A barrage of micro-singularity rounds erupted outward.
Tiny black spheres—each no larger than a fist—launched at impossible speeds, distorting the space around them. Wherever they passed, light bent inward, matter stretched, gravity screamed.
Larsen's eyes widened—
Then sharpened.
"—Move."
The Hound exploded into motion.
The thirteen plasma swords disengaged from their orbit and spread outward, forming a rotating shield. One by one, they intercepted the incoming singularity rounds—colliding with them in bursts of violent distortion. Some deflected. Others detonated prematurely, creating pockets of collapsing space that twisted and folded before stabilizing again.
One slipped through.
It grazed the Hound's shoulder.
And for a split second—
That section of armor ceased to exist.
Not destroyed.
Erased.
Larsen gritted his teeth as warning signals flooded his interface—but he didn't slow down.
He accelerated.
Closing the gap again, the Hound spun the Trident in a wide arc, its plasma extending outward into a sweeping crescent that carved through the void. Altopereh raised its blade to block—but the moment of contact triggered a secondary surge.
The Trident split.
Three prongs separated, each extending independently—snapping outward like jaws.
Altopereh took the hit.
One prong slammed into its shoulder plating, cracking the outer armor. Another scraped along its torso, carving a molten line across its surface. The third was intercepted—but barely.
Youri felt it.
The impact.
The resistance.
And something deeper—
Excitement.
Altopereh roared.
Not in pain.
But in recognition.
The battlefield erupted again.
Altopereh retaliated with overwhelming force, its back-mounted arrays igniting as a storm of high-intensity laser beams flooded the space between them. The beams cut across multiple angles, intersecting, overlapping—turning the battlefield into a grid of lethal light.
Larsen didn't retreat.
He advanced through it.
The Hound's tail whipped around, deflecting beams with precise, almost surgical movements. The plasma swords reformed into a rotating barrier, absorbing and redirecting incoming fire. Shoulder cannons unfolded and roared to life, launching concentrated bursts of orange plasma that collided with Altopereh's beams mid-flight—explosions chaining one after another like a collapsing constellation.
Then—
They closed again.
Closer this time.
Too close.
Altopereh dropped its blade and drove forward with raw mass, slamming into the Hound with enough force to send both units spiraling through space. Larsen stabilized first—twisting the Hound mid-spin—and unleashed a point-blank cannon blast directly into Altopereh's chest.
The explosion engulfed them both.
From within the fire—
A shape moved.
Altopereh emerged, armor scorched but intact, its systems compensating instantly. Youri pushed forward again, driving the unit into overdrive. The gray aura around it intensified, bleeding into the void like smoke from a dying star.
"Faster…" Youri muttered.
And it obeyed.
This time, even Larsen struggled to track it.
Altopereh blinked across space in violent bursts—appearing, striking, disappearing. Each movement was followed by a devastating blow. A slash across the Hound's flank. A heavy strike to its back. A kick that sent it crashing into a drifting cruiser wreck.
Larsen coughed, blood trickling from his lips inside the cockpit.
"…Good."
The Hound rose again.
Chaos Mode flared brighter.
The crown above its head pulsed—and the thirteen plasma swords responded.
They shot outward.
Not defensively.
Offensively.
Each blade became a projectile—controlled, guided, relentless. They darted through space at extreme speeds, attacking from multiple vectors simultaneously. Some targeted Altopereh directly, others curved around, anticipating its movement, cutting off escape routes.
Youri's eyes narrowed.
"Predictive control…"
Altopereh spun, deflecting several with its blade, dodging others—but one grazed its leg, slicing through armor. Another struck its side, embedding briefly before detonating outward.
For the first time—
Altopereh was being pushed back.
The Hound surged forward to capitalize.
Trident raised.
Tail coiled.
Cannons primed.
All at once—
Everything fired.
The Trident struck from above.
The tail pierced from below.
Cannons unleashed a barrage from mid-range.
And the remaining plasma swords converged from all directions.
A perfect kill formation.
Youri didn't hesitate.
Altopereh stood its ground.
Its core flared—
And space bent.
A pulse of gravitational distortion erupted outward, disrupting trajectories, slowing incoming attacks just enough—
For Youri to move.
Altopereh surged upward, slipping between the collapsing vectors. Its blade ignited brighter than ever before as it drove forward in a single, decisive thrust—
Straight toward the Hound's core.
Larsen saw it.
And smiled.
At the last possible moment—
The tail snapped forward.
Intercepting.
Not to block—
But to redirect.
The blade pierced through the tail segment—
And missed the core by inches.
That was enough.
The Trident came down.
It struck Altopereh squarely across the torso.
The impact was catastrophic.
A shockwave tore through the battlefield, sending both units flying in opposite directions. Altopereh crashed through a field of debris, shattering metal like glass before finally stabilizing. The Hound skidded across space, engines screaming as Larsen forced it back under control.
Silence followed.
Brief.
Heavy.
Both units hovered.
Damaged.
Burning.
Alive.
Youri wiped the blood from his face, breathing steady despite the chaos.
Across from him, Larsen leaned forward, eyes blazing.
No words.
No taunts.
Just understanding.
They launched again—
And the void itself trembled in anticipation of what came next.