Grey stood suspended in the air, circuits flashing across his pale body. Every line of muscle along his abdomen, back, and shoulders was tightly drawn together, as if forged by some unseen cosmic hand. The circuitry spreading across his flesh shimmered like a star-filled sky, making him appear less like a man and more like a god that had descended upon the mortal plane.

"You broke it?" the Abyssal Mistress's voice rang out, disbelief bleeding into her tone.

"How could that be?"

Her thoughts raced as she tried to grasp the reason behind his sudden surge in power. There was no external amplification, no catastrophic resonance, no forbidden sacrificial technique she could sense. The only visible difference was that the circuit-like patterns across his body had grown sharper, more complete, as if they had finally reached their intended form.

At this moment, Grey no longer looked human. He looked like a cosmic entity wearing flesh as a vessel.

Yet he did not reply.

Because he was far too busy feeling the changes unfolding within his body.

There was no splitting headache tearing at his skull. No violent strain ripping through his muscles, nor was his elixir field trembling on the verge of collapse, as it always did whenever he pushed the Nexus Overclock beyond its safe limits.

And yet, even at a full four hundred percent output, he felt nothing.

The power flowed naturally through his energy streams and pathways, circulating with perfect harmony as it poured into his muscles. The specialized buffers created by the Nexus Overclock, mechanisms meant to prevent his body from tearing itself apart, had been reinforced to an absurd degree, now more than two hundred times stronger than before.

To describe it more precisely, the system was stable.

So was his body.

Suddenly, his mind interface jolted violently. Translucent panels within his vision stuttered as static rippled through the system layer, streams of light fracturing before forcibly reassembling themselves. Unfamiliar symbols surged forward, carving their presence directly into his perception.

[Detected anomaly within construct source: HexCore (T)]

[Integrity verified. Hidden software segment successfully extracted.]

[New components unlocked: Data Archive Expansion. Advanced Navigation Module. Core-Level Body Stabilization Processing Unit: HexCore.]

[Warning: Integration will trigger system-wide recalibration.]

[Proceed with assimilation and function injection?]

"What?" Grey muttered, genuinely dumbfounded.

"It has a software segment?"

Without hesitation, he rejected the assimilation command. The HexCore construct hovering behind him reacted instantly, its activity subsiding as the system locked the extracted module back into quarantine.

Yes, it had stabilized his body. Yes, it had performed subtle modifications that allowed him to reach four hundred percent output without backlash.

But what if it was a trojan?

The voice from before was not something he trusted. And considering that the HexCore had been forcibly implanted into him, that suspicion only deepened.

For now, the rational choice was to end this battle first. After that, he would track down the person who had given him the HexCore construct and dissect its design piece by piece.

Only then would he comprehend its true purpose.

He extended his mind perception outward, sweeping through the surrounding space in search of lingering telepathic frequencies. There was nothing, not even a residual echo.

Whoever that person was, they were terrifyingly proficient.

Still, Grey was not fazed.

'Is there anything I cannot comprehend?'

The answer was no.

Boom!

Nexus energy erupted outward from Grey, space warping as raw power surged from his body like a cosmic tide. The air screamed as pressure collapsed inward, unable to withstand the density of energy flooding the battlefield.

Slowly, he turned toward the Abyssal Mistress. A wide grin spread across his face, circuits blazing brighter as his presence crushed down upon her like an invisible mountain.

"Looks like it's finally my turn for hide and seek."

"Abyssal Mistress. You should start running now."

Hearing his words, the Abyssal Mistress snorted, her gaze turning icy.

"Run from a mere human trash like you?" Her face twisted in pure disgust.

Just the thought that a human was fighting her on equal footing made her stomach churn. Disgust was quickly drowned out by anger, then by fear.

If she lost to a human, would she even be allowed to exist afterward?

No. She would be beheaded without hesitation.

The lord they served valued hierarchy above all else, and humiliation was a crime worse than death.

She could not afford to lose.

Nor could she afford to let the man before her, a walking collection of secrets, escape alive.

'I must end this decisively.'

"Come at me with all you have, human. Because that alone won't be eno—"

Her words died in her throat.

Because a fist was already in front of her face.

She did not see him move.

She did not feel space distort.

She did not even have time to react.

Boom!

The fist connected directly with her face. Abyssal mist exploded outward as her body was driven straight into the ground, the impact detonating the earth beneath her.

But it did not end there.

Grey's spatial perception expanded instantly, his circuits flaring as Nexus energy converged into his lower body. Spatial nodes lit up beneath his awareness, snapping into alignment as if space itself was offering him stepping stones.

In the next instant, he was already there.

Boom!

His foot crashed down onto her abdomen with merciless force, compressed Nexus energy detonating on contact. The ground collapsed inward, forming a deep crater as shockwaves rippled outward.

Man or woman, demon or god, it did not matter.

Anyone who stood against him was an enemy.

And enemies were meant to be crushed.

"There is no gender in my book of enmity."

"Y-You!" the Abyssal Mistress snapped, fury tearing through her shock.

Abyssal energy erupted violently from her body, surging like a tidal wave and blasting Grey backward. The air screamed as corrupt power devoured space itself.

But before the shockwaves could even settle, she moved.

Her figure blurred.

The next moment, she had already descended beside Grey, spear thrusting forward with murderous precision. Abyssal power condensed at the tip, laws of corrosion and annihilation folding inward as the weapon pierced space.

Time slowed.

Nexus energy flooded Grey's nervous system, circuits flaring as his perception accelerated beyond mortal limits. Every movement of her spear unfolded clearly within his mind, trajectory lines and impact points instantly calculated.

His body reacted before conscious thought could even form.

He twisted.

The spear missed by a hair's breadth.

And in the same motion, power converged into his leg.

Golden circuitry ignited, Nexus energy compressing until space itself groaned under the density.

Boom!

His kick slammed directly into her face.

The impact detonated like a localized starburst. The ground below imploded, forming a massive crater as her body was driven downward, abyssal mist scattering violently in all directions.

The battlefield fell silent for a fraction of a second.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.