The golden veins of Nioh's mecha suit pulsed furiously—blinding streams of molten light streaked along his frame, as if threatening to burst from the pressure building within. The circuits, now swollen with gluttonous energy and layered sound, quivered with unstable potential. But something deeper stirred beneath the red and white—a third hue, unfamiliar yet undeniable. A new beginning. A catalyst born of fusion, planning, and sacrifice.

His knees buckled. He hit the ground with a snarl, his body convulsing as the last remnants of Hellenergy slammed into his chest like a divine strike, momentarily sending his aura spiraling into chaos.

And then—

A hiss.

Without warning, a stealth module deactivated just behind him.

The cloaking veil peeled away in strips of flickering light, like surgical incisions through reality. The assassin emerged. No hesitation. No emotion. Just cold execution.

Her hand morphed into a plasma blade mid-step, and in a flash of brutal precision, she drove it into Nioh's back—a violent thrust that impaled him cleanly, the blade sizzling through metal and flesh.

His blood splattered across the ash-covered ground, turning the air metallic with heat. A gasp tore through the crowd watching from beyond the barriers. Their cheers twisted into horror.

"Noooooooo!!"

Akron's voice shattered the silence.

In one leap, she was halfway there—her second landed her with a seismic boom beside Nioh. Her body shifted mid-flight, metal snapping into place, transforming into her full mecha form: sleek, powerful, with earth-forged armor and spiked protrusions rising like thorns from her back.

With fury that split the sky, Akron threw a punch charged with pure kinetic hatred.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

But the assassin danced back, effortlessly dodging the blow with a predator's grace. Akron caught Nioh's falling body, gently cradling him like a fallen star—his light flickering, blood still pouring.

The rest arrived in unison.

Aquila, Neil, Lithaa, and Magnus landed like divine guardians, forming a protective front around Akron and the wounded prince. They radiated fearsome determination, their presence alone warping the tension.

Nioh remained unconscious in Akron's arms, his breath ragged, blood trailing from the wound—but his aura still burned. Faint. But burning.

"Incredible," the assassin said with a voice like silk wrapped in poison. "He actually did it. I had my doubts… but this will make a **fine addition to my collection." Her eyes gleamed with greed as she stared at the five charged cubes, still humming with power, and the spinning formation of infinity needles, suspended and crackling like relics of a forgotten god.

Then—

A portal ripped through the sky behind her, slicing the world open like fabric. Two figures stepped through:

Aphrodite and Hermes.

The air thickened immediately. A wave of dread passed over the field.

Aquila tapped her comms, her voice tight.

"I've ordered all support ships to fall back. Immediately. This is… beyond protocol."

Standing before them were two Warden-grade corebinders, infamous members of Intra, and an unknown-level threat who had just stabbed their prince.

"This was supposed to happen three months from now," Magnus muttered, his biocore igniting with golden light.

"Then we're just ahead of schedule," Lithaa said, twirling her hammer with a grin that masked steel.

"We stick to the plan."

Akron didn't speak. Her focus never wavered.

The traitor assassin raised her blade again, but Akron was already moving.

"I've got her."

The ground cracked beneath her as she lunged forward—no mercy, no hesitation. The reckoning had begun.

—

"That is a dangerous weapon," Hermes remarked, eyes fixed on the infinity array—its crystalline needles still spinning with volatile lightning arcs. Cracks of power shimmered around it like thunder trapped in glass.

"Thank the stars you infiltrated early," he continued, his voice calm but edged with tension. "Being surprised by something like that… even if we escaped, the damage would've been catastrophic."

"If we can retrieve it," he added, tilting his head, "it would be a historic achievement. Althea—or should I say, Hephaestus?"

"Call me whatever you want," Althea replied, her gaze locked on the five heirs now preparing for war. Her eyes narrowed. "But if you underestimate those kids… you'll regret it."

There was no warning—just motion.

Akron blurred forward first, her mecha fist burning with kinetic energy. With a roar, she smashed the ground where the trio of terrorists stood.

BOOM!

The earth shattered beneath the impact, erupting into dust and stone. A crater exploded outward, separating the enemies into three fronts.

Aquila and Neil flanked Hermes with precision—calm, coordinated.

Lithaa and Magnus stepped up to face Aphrodite, hammer and core blazing.

That left Akron. Face to face with the traitor.

"Althea!" she growled. Her voice shook the air. "I'll kill you, you fucking traitor!"

Akron lunged again, fury coiled into her blow. This time, Althea didn't dodge—she met the punch head-on. Her arms morphed mid-strike, reforming into dual plasma blades that clanged against Akron's gauntlet.

BOOM.

They clashed—metal rang like a bell, the shockwave rippling outward.

"Call me Hephaestus," Althea hissed, her eyes gleaming. "And if you hesitate again, you'll never defeat me."

With a sudden twist, she slammed her forehead into Akron's, forcing space between them. The gong of colliding cores echoed like a war drum.

And then—

Her biocore erupted. The signature of a full Seven-Star Corebinder seared through the battlefield. The air turned sharp. Electric.

Her body shifted, grotesque and powerful. Mechanical limbs unfolded from her back, six in total, each armed with a different weapon:

A laser machine gun, whirring to life

A plasma cannon, humming with deadly heat

An electric coil gun, already arcing sparks

Twin missile pods, etched with old symbols

And a final energy blade twice the length of her arm

She stood there—a goddess of war forged in betrayal and ambition.

"I had fun playing house with you, the past few months" she spat, voice now distorted by the crackling feedback of her overclocked systems.

"But make no mistake—you all must die.

His ambition demands it."

The ground trembled under Akron's feet as her fist clenched tight, fury coursing through every circuit of her mecha form. Her eyes didn't waver from Hephaestus—not even as dust and heat churned around them from the chaos of battle.

She raised her arm high into the sky—

Not a gesture of surrender, but a summons.

Her biocore surged, glowing with violent intensity as five-star energy burst from her chest like a star going nova. A beam of light lanced down from the heavens, brighter than anything the battlefield had seen. It struck the earth just behind her—

BOOM—

The ground split open, shattering into a thousand smoldering fragments. The shockwave blew debris in every direction, but Akron stood untouched, unmoved.

From the crater rose the Altar.

Carved from obsidian and overgrown with ancient roots, it was the same altar she had laid upon when she left Shurima—

The monolith pulsed, and then melted, transforming into a viscous, bioluminescent green liquid. It twisted in the air like a living serpent, answering the call of her biocore.

It coiled around her left arm, hardening into an organic vine-armguard, fused with crystal bark and pulsing with unnatural life. The air around her hissed. Her aura exploded outward—

Her biocore energy spiked.

Five stars became six.

Steam hissed off her armor as the surge coursed through her system. Her hair flickered wild, her breath heavy but defiant.

"If I have to die…" she growled, voice raw with rage and resolve, "then I'll take you with me—

You dirty terrorist."

The ground beneath her cracked as she launched forward, the vine-armguard glowing and stretching with her momentum.

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