The first automaton rose with a metallic roar, its plated body unfolding like a beast shrugged awake after centuries. Then the others followed, one after another, until the entire hall shook with the rhythm of steel feet.

Noel's body moved before thought. He stepped in front of Selene, Revenant Fang already humming, the cursed weapon vibrating like a predator scenting blood.

[Trait: Harrowed Focus — Activated.]

[Trait: Will of the Forgotten — Activated.]

The world sharpened into lines of clarity. He heard every gear turning, every fragment of stone sliding under their feet. His muscles thrummed with a dangerous surge.

"Stay behind me," Noel muttered, voice low but steady. "I'll cut the path. You handle the range."

Selene's reply was cool, calm—exactly what he expected. "Fine. But don't waste movement. Left flank is thinner. Push through there."

'Cold and sharp as ever. That's good… keeps me grounded.'

The first automaton lunged, spear raised. Noel swung Revenant Fang in a blazing arc. "Ignition Surge!"

Flame erupted along the cursed blade. Steel met cursed fire, and the automaton split clean through the torso, its upper half collapsing in sparks.

A system prompt flashed in Noel's vision:

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 14.63% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

"Next," Noel hissed, already stepping into the gap.

Another construct advanced, but Selene's wand glimmered in pale blue. "Glacial Thrust."

A spear of ice burst forward, impaling its chest and pinning it against a fallen column. Frost spread through the gaps in its armor until it stopped moving entirely.

Noel smirked faintly, shifting Revenant Fang in his grip. "Not bad."

Selene's eyes remained cool, unflinching. "Focus. More are coming."

The floor shook as the second rank of automatons stepped forward.

The second rank advanced with mechanical precision, their steps pounding like war drums. Spears leveled, eyes glowing pale white.

Noel shifted his stance, muscles tight. 'Too many. If we fight head-on, we'll burn out fast.'

The automatons charged. Selene raised her wand in one smooth motion. "Cryo Grasp."

From the floor, icy hands erupted, locking the front line by their ankles. The constructs struggled, metal screeching against frost.

'Good. That's my chance.'

Noel dashed forward, Revenant Fang trailing fire. "Fire Arc." A curve of flame slashed through the air, cutting across three immobilized torsos. Sparks and molten steel burst in showers.

Another rushed from the flank. Noel's eyes narrowed. "Voltage Needle." A piercing bolt of lightning streaked forward, stabbing through its head with surgical precision.

The system rang in his mind again and again:

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 14.93% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 15.23% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

The numbers ticked upward, almost too fast. 'At this pace… my core will advance before I even realize it.'

A metallic roar broke his focus—two heavier automatons pressed through, ignoring the frost. Selene's wand glimmered, her voice flat. "Gravition Hold."

Both slammed to the ground as gravity doubled, their armor groaning under impossible weight.

Noel didn't hesitate. He leapt, Revenant Fang burning brighter, and split one through the head in a spray of fire and shards.

The other strained to rise. Noel landed, twisted, and drove a flaming thrust straight through its chest.

'This synergy… it almost feels natural.'

The tide didn't stop. Even as shattered shells fell, more automatons marched forward, endless and relentless.

Noel's grip tightened on Revenant Fang. 'They'll bury us under numbers if I don't escalate.'

A spear thrust came from the flank. Noel let shadows coil at his feet. "Shadow Step."

Darkness swallowed him. In a blink, he emerged behind the line, Revenant Fang cleaving through an automaton's back, its core splitting with a spray of sparks.

The constructs turned as one, mechanical heads snapping toward him.

Selene raised her wand. "Zero Point Burst."

A sphere of crushing gravity expanded, pulling machines inward. Steel groaned and screamed as bodies collided, locked, crushed together—then detonated outward in a shockwave, fragments scattering across the hall.

Noel didn't stop. Something stirred in Revenant Fang, a resonance deeper than fire, frost, or lightning. His mana bled darker, coiling like smoke.

The blade pulsed, and words tore from his throat:

"Eclipse Rend."

Shadow swallowed the light. Revenant Fang's edge split into afterimages of black, a sweeping arc of pure void cutting forward. The wave didn't just strike—it erased. Metal dissolved into nothing as if devoured by night itself, and the constructs caught in its path collapsed into hollow husks.

The chamber dimmed, air vibrating with unnatural silence.

System prompts flashed violently:

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 15.53% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 15.83% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

Noel staggered. His chest burned, vision edged in black. That… wasn't just mana. That was something else.

Selene's gaze snapped to him. Her voice was cold, but her eyes flickered faintly. "Noel. That spell—what was it?"

He forced a smirk, though his knuckles shook. "Don't know. Don't care. It worked."

The surviving constructs reorganized, heavier and faster than before. The real fight was just beginning.

The chamber shook as the last wave advanced. These weren't the brittle guardians of before. Their frames were heavier, layered in alloy that gleamed under the mana light. Their eyes burned brighter, steps faster, sharper.

Noel steadied his breathing. Revenant Fang still thrummed with residual shadow, its edge whispering with hunger. 'Stronger. Of course the last ones would be stronger.'

Beside him, Selene's wand glimmered like crystallized frost. She didn't hesitate. "Frostfall Requiem."

The temperature collapsed. A pulse of freezing power burst outward, coating the chamber in a storm of white. Wind howled, snow and shards slashing across metal bodies. Thousands of microscopic ice needles tore into joints, gears, and sockets. Automatons froze mid-step, their movements jerky and stiff.

Noel's jaw tightened. 'She's terrifying… even holding back.'

He broke forward. Electricity surged along his arms, arcs snapping across his chest. Revenant Fang vibrated like a thunderclap about to break.

"Stormpiercer."

The hall lit in a violent flash. Noel vanished in a streak of blinding lightning, his body propelled forward in a straight line. Revenant Fang speared through the first automaton, then the second, lightning chaining between their cores. Frozen shells shattered, sparks and ice bursting in the wake of his passage.

The system rang in quick succession:

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 16.13% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

[You have slain Ascendant Automaton (Common – Ascendant). You received 0.30%.]

[Current Core Progress: 16.43% – Mana Core: Ascendant]

He landed hard, knees bending, chest heaving as arcs flickered out around him. Behind, Selene's storm still raged, turning the battlefield into a frozen graveyard of shattered constructs.

For a moment, silence reclaimed the chamber.

Noel lifted Revenant Fang, still humming, and exhaled raggedly. 'Too close. If she hadn't been here… I'd be a corpse.'

Selene lowered her wand, frost melting off her lashes. She didn't look at him, only at the fallen steel. "Efficient enough."

Noel chuckled under his breath, bitter and tired. "Sure. Let's call it that."

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