Beau and the others had the same survival instincts. They'd also scattered the moment things got ugly.

"What now, Bro Beau?" one of the others asked, breathing heavily. "Dr. Crowe's in danger!"

After just a few days of working together, the group had already started looking to Beau for leadership. But Beau's face was tight with hesitation. His earlier fantasies about impressing Crowe had vanished in a puff of reality.

A battle like this? He'd be turned into paste in seconds.

"Follow me," he ordered, eyeing Axel warily before slinking toward the warehouse.

Axel just shook his head. He couldn't be bothered worrying about these guys anymore.

Inside, the fight was spiraling into chaos.

Crowe was a slippery bastard, darting through the chaos like a loach in muddy water. His army of robots kept growing, each wave more aggressive than the last. Vince and Wesley couldn't land a clean hit.

"You take him—I'll handle the bots," Vince said, frowning. "You're too damn big for this place. It's a tight box—you're making yourself a target."

"Got it," Wesley growled, already shifting his focus.

But just as he turned to go after Crowe, a shiver of danger crawled down his spine.

BOOM!

A shell obliterated the spot he'd just been standing on, filling the air with smoke and shattered metal.

From the haze, another figure stepped out—inhuman.

He looked almost like a man. Almost. His head was still human-shaped, but the rest of him—arms, legs, torso—had all been replaced with sleek, high-functioning machinery. And unlike the other mindless robots, this one moved with terrifying precision.

"No. 5, eliminate him," Crowe barked.

"Yes, Lord Crowe."

Wesley's eyes narrowed, and rage flooded his chest.

He remembered that face. Years ago, the boy had been a rising star in the data sciences. A genius. Brilliant.

And now... a butchered puppet. He really had turned people into machines.

"You twisted son of a bitch," Wesley growled. His voice was tight with fury, but he pushed the emotion down, focusing instead on the threat in front of him.

He'd assumed he could take it down quickly.

He was wrong.

This thing was strong—shockingly strong. Close to a fifth-level awakener, despite being a construct of wires and steel.

While Wesley fought to keep the cyborg at bay, Crowe used the distraction to his advantage. He scrambled toward the dome of ice surrounding the institute, his right arm shifting into a high-powered drill. He slammed it against the ice, spinning violently as he tried to bore a hole to escape.

But before he could break through—

Thunk!

Three icicles exploded from the wall and skewered his legs midair, pinning him in place.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Going somewhere, old man?" came a voice as cold as death.

Rosaline stepped into view, her long coat rippling behind her like a shadow. Her eyes glowed ice-blue.

Crowe let out a choked scream.

"Who the fuck are you people?! Why are you all targeting *me*?!"

His hair was a mess, his face drained of color, rage giving way to panic.

He wasn't worried before. Not really. He thought as long as he stalled long enough, Caroline and the others would sense something was wrong and come back.

But now? Now a third fifth-level awakener had entered the fight.

Rosaline didn't even acknowledge his plea. She raised her hand.

Crack!

A storm of icicles shot toward him like guided missiles, faster than any bullet. Crowe howled as they slammed into him, each hit crumpling metal, bursting circuits, gouging into steel-hard synthetic skin.

Still, he didn't go down.

His body, modified beyond recognition, held firm despite the relentless assault. Dented. Cracked.

Crowe frantically searched for an opening—any opening—to shatter the ice dome. At the same time, he had his remaining robots firing everything they had at the frozen barrier.

"Rosaline, hurry it up!" Vince's voice was low but urgent.

The dome isolated them from outside detection for now, but that wouldn't last. The longer the fight dragged on, the greater the risk of exposure.

"You think I don't want to?" Rosaline snapped, her face pale and drawn. She had arrived late to the battle because forming the dome had drained a massive amount of her original force. If she'd been at full strength, those earlier ice spikes would've been more than enough to turn Crowe into a bloody kebab.

"You think you can actually run, old man?" Her voice sharpened to a blade as her pupils flared a glowing blue.

She surged forward, faster than before. There was no more room for distance attacks—Crowe's modified body didn't have the same vulnerabilities as a normal human. If she wanted to finish this, she had to get in close.

A shimmering blue ice blade materialized in her hand, over half a meter long, and she charged straight at him like a bullet of vengeance.

"Stay back!" Crowe screamed, cornered and wild-eyed, desperation crawling across his face.

Watching from a distance, Axel's senses sharpened—he felt it. Crowe's presence had changed.

The human aura that had clung to Crowe vanished completely.

Axel's blood ran cold. He remembered—the dark-skinned man who died a few days ago had been killed by one of Crowe's clones.

Now he saw it clearly: the ribs on Crowe's body were moving, mechanisms twitching beneath the synthetic skin.

It was a trap. Crowe was baiting Rosaline in close, waiting to grab her—then detonate.

But Rosaline hadn't sensed it. She was too focused, already closing in for the kill.

No!

The ice blade pierced Crowe's chest cleanly—too cleanly. No resistance. Not the sensation of stabbing through metal.

Blood sprayed, crimson splattering across Rosaline's face. Her icy mask cracked, frozen in confusion.

The man in front of her wasn't fighting back. His skin went pale instantly, blood gushing from the wound.

Axel.

Her mind screamed questions, but there was no time for answers.

Kaia's shrill voice cut through her thoughts. "Rosaline, get out of there—NOW!"

Instinct took over. She grabbed Axel and launched backward with everything she had. But she was half a second too late.

BOOM!

The clone exploded with a thunderous roar, the blast blooming into a mini mushroom cloud. The dome shattered with a sharp crack, ice crystals raining down in glittering shards as the force tore through the research institute.

Rosaline hit the ground hard, Axel in her arms.

Her hands were shaking. The young man in her lap was fading—fast. His breath came in shallow gasps, blood pouring from the gaping wound in his chest.

She tried to stop it. Pressed hard. But it was no use.

The blood wouldn't stop.

One thousand meters away, Kaia and Vince watched it all unfold in a live holographic feed.

"Fucking idiot," Rosaline whispered, eyes locked on Axel's paling face. Her voice was raw, her head lowered, hiding her expression from everyone.

Even Vince and Wesley stood frozen for a moment.

If Axel hadn't stepped in, Rosaline would've been the one to die.

Vince's usual emotionless face darkened. A flicker of grief crossed his features, brief but unmistakable.

Rosaline clenched her teeth, her jaw trembling. Then Kaia's voice burst into her mind again—choked, panicked.

"His spirit—it's been transferred! He's in that black robot next to him!"

Rosaline's head snapped up. Her face, streaked with blood, was terrifying in its beauty—like a fallen angel dipped in fire and ice.

Her eyes turned red.

And the force that surged from her body sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Even Wesley and Vince, both hardened warriors, felt it. A cold, suffocating pressure.

"I'm going to kill you," she whispered.

Crowe staggered, disoriented in his new body. His consciousness had successfully transferred, but the transition was rough—and he was furious.

Why the fuck did Axel save him? None of it made sense.

And worse, the woman in front of him—this ice-blooded banshee—was now ten times more terrifying than before. She found him.

"You're dead!" Rosaline screamed.

Shards of jagged ice swirled like blades around her, slamming into Crowe from every direction. Each one hit with surgical precision, tearing through armor and cybernetics alike.

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