Two minutes earlier.

"Almost there." Natsu panted as they neared the tall obelisk that crashed into the ground, sending tremors far a wide. The chasing aliens, frightened by the strange object, launched several rockets to destroy whatever it was.

Fortunately, Natsu's ingenious run made her much closer to the drop point than any of her pursuers. Before the aliens' projectiles could reach, panels on the rectangular prism fell like a budding flower revealing two Gladiators standing next to each other.

One was a two meters tall, slim obsidian Gladiator with a gigantic guandao, a pole with a long, curved blade hung at its back. Its head resembled a wolf's, and it sported a long tail wrapped around its waist. The second Gladiator had a golden tint. Compared to the first's desolate monster tone, this one had more of a regal aura and was much more humanoid.

"What!?" Before Natsu could wrap her head around the incredulous sight, both Gladiators' eyes shone red as they came online. They dashed out of the obelisk, the golden one grabbing Natsu and Suzuki before escaping the blast zone.

"Natsu, switch!" While the explosion blasted the black container, Suzuki shouted and leapt off her back. Mid-air, he tore off the rope-sling and then fell into the Obsidian Gladiator, which had opened up at some point.

While the black Gladiator swallowed Suzuki, Natsu did not hesitate. She swiftly set the self-destruct timer on her current suit as it opened up, then leapt into the waiting embrace of the golden Gladiator. Due to both trainees' superhuman reflexes, the entire exchange occurred in less than two seconds. By the time the explosions peaked, Natsu and Suzuki, suited in a pair of Berserkers, glared at the surrounding aliens.

"I'll explain later." Suzuki knew that Natsu had a billion questions. But now was not the time to answer them. Within the suit, several needles stabbed into Suzuki's left shoulder, temporarily numbing the pain. "Let's go!" With those words, several thrusters emerged from Suzuki's back. The metallic Gladiator shuddered in response, and a low rumble resonated through the mech as energy surged through its powerful engines. The Gladiator roared to life, its joints flexing and whirring as if in intoxicated anticipation.

Suzuki's eyes narrowed as he assessed the enemy before them. Without hesitation, he took a step forward. Boom! Multiple thrusters engaged simultaneously, unleashing a torrent of raw power. The ground beneath his feet trembled as it surged forward, and the world blurred into streaks of light as he hurtled towards the enemy line. Though slightly slower, Natsu charged behind Suzuki, shamelessly using the latter as a shield from incoming fire.

As Suzuki closed in on his adversaries, the aliens turned their attention toward him. Their weapons buzzed, unleashing a barrage of missiles and lasers that streaked through the air, seeking o bring Suzuki's deadly Gladiator crashing down.

Faced with the crazy barrage, Suzuki snorted as he pushed the Gladiator further. Desperate winds howled around the black Gladiator, rushing air roaring in his ears. Time seemed to stretch as he closed the distance between himself and the incoming salvo, anticipation and adrenaline surging through his veins. As he tore across the compound, Suzuki pulled out the gigantic rod attached to his bag and expertly smacked away any and all projectiles.

Faced with Suzuki's overwhelming strength, once confident in their numerical advantage, the aliens struggled to keep up with his blinding speed.

For his part, Suzuki focused his attention on a giant alien with several mounted weapons and rugged shielding. It stood as the lynchpin of the enemy's attack, a formidable adversary without whom the enemy's long-range capabilities would greatly suffer. He had to be neutralized!

Suzuki's heart beat with a frigid determination as he slid to a stop, pulled back and then flung the glaive with everything he had. Kaboom! A sonic boom exploded as the glaive streaked across the compound in the blink of an eye. Bang! The enemy alien's defences shattered under the precise strike, its armour cracking and breaking as the blade through and skewered the alien within.

Vwiiipp! Before anyone could understand what just happened, Suzuki reeled himself in using a rope attached to the end of the glaive. In a show of extreme force, Suzuki reached the dilapidated mech and launched a devastating punch! The impact reverberated through the air, a thunderous collision that shook the ground beneath them. As the enemy crumpled, its system failing, Suzuki's victorious roar echoed through the battlefield like the bellows of a wild animal.

"Don't forget about me." Natsu's angry voice came from behind the stunned aliens, who only then recalled there was a second warrior. They quickly turned around, but a pair of metal whips wrapped around the two closest in the blink of an eye. Like a pair of snakes, the whips constricted, shattering the enemy's bones. With a grunt, Natsu lifted and flung the grunts into the enemy formation, scattering their composure. Her thrusters burned, and she dashed into their midst, whips snaking around two aliens' necks. Hundreds of tiny blades 'grew' out of the whips this time.

The desperate aliens clawed at the whips around their throats, but Natsu showed no mercy.

With a snort, she pulled hard! The serrated blades cut deep into the aliens' necks, eventually sending heads flying high into the sky.

BAM! Suzuki crashed into the aliens' midst while they remained stunned, glaive swinging. Like a maelstrom of death, the glaive dices several aliens into pieces, machinery and purple blood mixing into the flowing waters.

The panicked aliens attempted to rally a counter-attack, but it was too late. Suzuki's momentum had reached its peak. He and Natsu blasted in and out of their numbers, continuously cutting them down before they could form an organized front.

Suddenly, Natsu, who had been monitoring the entire battlefield, jerked up and looked toward where the main force was fighting. "Suzuki! Go! They need help; I've got this!"

"Got it." Suzuki flung the glaive, skewering several aliens in the process. He then crouched and, using himself as an anchor, grabbed the connected wire and spun the halberd. The rigid wire tripped up the aliens, sending many tumbling to the ground. Taking advantage of the opening, he flung the glaive so it stabbed several meters away from the encroachment and reeled himself in.

Suzuki zipped past the unstable aliens, picked up the glaive, and dashed off in the blink of an eye!

Several aliens got up, eager to chase, but a pair of metal whips tore these guards in half, causing the rest to turn their attention back to Natsu, who glared right back. "Die obediently like the trash you are."

While Natsu kept the grunts occupied, Suzuki quickly reached the main battlefield. He quickly glanced at the several damaged Gladiators and understood the dire situation. Then, he noticed Cassia overpowering Kimuri and raising his leg to crush the lazy smoker.

Cold fury burned in Suzuki's eyes. With a low guttural roar, a set of bladed wheels sprung out under his feet as he ignited the thrusters on his back. Black flames exploded like fires from hell. From within that hellish blaze, a single black line zipped past the waters in a flash. Then it appeared under Cassia with a glaive held out to prevent the monster from stomping Kimuri.

Bang!

A powerful shockwave sent the waters flying as metal struck metal in defiant force. Suzuki's crouching terrible black frame reflected within the many droplets, its outstretched metal glaive suspending Cassia's foot inches above Kimuri's head.

The obsidian berserker frame raised its wolf-like head, with bloody-red eyes flashing as it glared at Cassia. "GET—" Several thrusters exploded behind the frame, sending it upward alongside Cassia's foot. "—THE FUCK—" The newcomer roared as he spun in place and delivered a crunching kick against Cassia's chest.

The stunned alien caught off-balance, could do nothing as the blow sent him crashing into his destroyed mech's giant helmet.

"—Off. My. Teammate!" Surrounded by rain, the Berserker's 7-foot glaive captured the moon's light, reflecting the monster it had sworn to cut in twain!

Rather than press his brief advantage, Suzuki stopped to look at Kimuri. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kimuri groaned as he got to his feet. He reflexively raised his hand to scratch his head but paused when he recalled he was wearing a helmet. Instead, he sighed and reported, "I need five minutes. That overdrive overheated my systems. Can you handle it?"

"Five minutes?" Suzuki looked at a timer running at the top-right corner of his vision at 4:50 and reducing. "Yeah, I can handle five minutes. Rest up. Natsu should join us by then."

"Alright then." Kimuri lazily leaned against a broken chunk from a wall and waved Suzuki on. "Go on; I'll be cheering for you."

Suzuki shook his head at Kimuri's lazy demeanour. It was hard to tell which was Kimuri's real persona: the current lackadaisical man or the desperate man with boundless willpower from earlier. The sound of falling concrete buried Suzuki's momentary curiosity. He turned to see Cassia rising from the pile of rubble.

Suzuki did not need to see the alien's face to know Cassia was furious. The air trembled from the rapidly unstable gravity pulses bouncing off the enraged alien.

"YOU!" Cassia roared as he engaged his thrusters, dashing toward Suzuki like a calamitous storm.

"You recognize me?" Suzuki's brows rose with interest as he engaged his thrusters to meet the storm.

The flooded, desolate ruins were poised for a clash of epic proportions as the two maniacs met at the centre.

BOOM!

As Suzuki's glaive struck Cassia's massive fist, a colossal clash parted the waters. Suzuki's eyes narrowed as he examined the energy pulses from the crash. Why was his blade stopped a few inches from the actual armoured hand?

Unaware of Suzuki's confusion, Cassia bowed his head and growled, "I'll recognize your detestable aura anywhere!" Bang! Cassia's large frame ultimately overpowered Suzuki, sending him skidding backwards.

Suzuki frowned as he slowed his speed by stabbing the glaive into the ground. Realizing he was working with outdated information, Suzuki leapt back when Cassia jumped and punched his previous location. As the ground erupted, he quickly connected to Ayumi. "Yumi, what's with his shield?"

Rather than provide a lengthy explanation, Ayumi forwarded the files Jade sent. "Careful. He's the real deal."

With cautious steps, Suzuki quickly scanned the information while circling Cassia. He studied the alien general's movements, seeking to understand the rhythm of Cassia's attacks and find the weakness within his seemingly impenetrable defences. Genaco's genetic manipulation proved its use as Suzuki digested the document within a few seconds. Having finished his studies, a glint of determination sparkled in Suzuki's eyes as he planned his strategy.

Tired of Suzuki's constant dodging, Cassia unleashed a gravitational field, slowing Suzuki's movements to limit his agility.

However, having expected this, Suzuki was not caught unawares like the others. "AI, calculate the energy needed to offset his gravity." Suzuki slapped Cassia's arm away with the glaive, increasing their distance. At the same time, his thrusters fired, resisting the gravity and keeping him upright.

But then, just as he got used to the gravitational field, Cassia changed the field's intensity. Suzuki's AI did not react in time, causing him to overshoot into the air.

"Got you!" Cassia roared as he punched the airborne Suzuki. A massive gravity well pooled around the general's fist as he delivered a deadly blow to the young man's exposed chest. BOOM!

Suzuki felt like he had been struck by a ten-ton truck! Even with the suit's force dampeners, he felt like someone had taken a meat grinder to his insides. It took everything he had not to throw up. The blast should have sent him flying back, but Suzuki stubbornly stabbed his glaive into the ground, used the momentum to spin around and launched a rocket-powered kick to Cassia's exposed head!

BANG!

Cassia slid several meters backwards, cracks forming on his helmet.

Suzuki, meanwhile, dropped, wobbling from the immense pain. Gripping his glaive, he kept himself upright as he glared at Cassia. Fuck that gravity manipulation! No, this would not do. The AI's reaction was too incongruent with his. The difference between life and death was as thin as adjusting faster or slower than intended.

"Damn it!" Suzuki's eyes turned red with rising anger. "I'll make you pay for this." With those words, he took a deep breath, calming his emotions and then muttered. "Kashi, come out."

A few meters away, Cassia shook his head. Suzuki's kick was much heavier than he thought. It actually temporarily broke through his shield and rattled his brain. He would have suffered a concussion were it not for his insane physique. The general raised his head and glared at the young human across from him. Damn it, if he were in a mech, this battle would not even take a second. 'Hm?'

Cassia's brows rose when a sharp aura spiked suddenly spiked around Suzuki. Most people could not see it, but as an ace pilot, he was susceptible to a living being's life force. Not only was Suzuki's aura suddenly boosted, but he also sensed a foreign aura that wasn't there before mixed. Eyes narrowed, he growled, "Who are you?"

Across from him, Suzuki lifted the glaive. Ignoring Cassia's question, he whispered, "The suit's yours."

'Heh. You broke your own rule for this. Don't worry, Suzu. Rest easy and slap that big guy up.'

The faintest hints of smiles tugged at the edges of Suzuki's lips. "I plan to."

BOOM! Black and blue flames exploded as Suzuki exploded across the compound in the blink of an eye. Ignoring his injuries, the young man swung the glaive over his head and struck down like divine judgment.

"You never learn!" Cassia roared as his gravitational field spread once more. A terrible gravitational field pressed down on Suzuki, threatening to crush him to the ground.

Suzuki's thrusters burned, resisting the fall as he neared the enraged general. Just then, the gravity suddenly lightened.

Cassia drew his arm back, ready to grab Suzuki once the change threw him off balance.

However, that did not happen.

To everyone's shock, Suzuki's trajectory remained intact, as his thrusters 'happened' to change their direction and pressure simultaneously as Cassia's gravity switched.

"What!?" Cassia barely raised his arm in time. BANG!

Suzuki's glaive struck true, sending sparks flying far and wide. Cassia's shield shattered again, allowing the blade to cut a deep gash into the monster's left hand.

Cassia roared in pain and anger but ignored his pain to grab the glaive's shaft. Holding the glaive in place, he reached out to grab Suzuki.

But, just then, the spry youth's thrusters burned, sending him spinning around the shaft's axis, dodging the alien's arm. Not satisfied, Suzuki quickly travelled down the shaft and launched devastating kicks to Cassia's skull.

Having learned his lesson, Cassia wrapped a dense field around his head, protecting him from the strikes. Unfortunately for the alien, the strike caused him to lose his grip on the glaive, allowing Suzuki to retrieve the weapon while Cassia slid back.

***

James excitedly munched on his popcorn in the real world as he exclaimed, "Haha! That silly brat finally broke his nonsense Parallel rule."

Seki frowned. "Do you understand what's happening?"

"Isn't it obvious?" James chuckled as he pointed at the screen. "That brat called Kashi to help him control the suit. He can't control the suit and pilot at the same time, but another 'him' can take care of that burden. With their seamless interaction, he isn't so much giving orders to the suit as it is now an extension of himself."

Seki's frown deepened even further. He turned to look at Taiga. "Isn't that—"

"—What the implant AI was supposed to achieve?" James maintained a vague smile. "Why do you think I've paid attention to Suzu-chan for so long? It's like he was born to become a pilot."

"Maybe. But that won't be enough to beat Cassia."

"No." James' eyes gleamed with sadistic delight. "No, it won't."

***

At the destroyed compound, Suzuki and Kashi seamlessly cooperated as they attacked Cassia with everything they had. With Kashi wresting control of the Gladiator suit from the AI, Suzuki could move as he wished without needing to relay commands to the suit. The absence of that split-second relay propelled Suzuki to unimaginable heights as he peppered Cassia with relentless attacks.

The young man's movements were fluid and precise. Anticipating Cassia's attacks, he expertly dodged or parried them with the glaive. Cassia, however, was no slouch. With his immense strength and gravity cannons, he launched devastating punches from both close and at a distance.

With every exchange, Suzuki's resolve grew stronger. His glaive became an extension of himself, each strike calculated and deliberate. Suzuki's martial skills merged seamlessly with Kashi's control of the suit and his understanding of his glaive, enabling him to unleash swift, deadly slashes.

Pressured by the attacks, Cassia's blows became more erratic and destructive. Expertly alternating the gravity field around him, Cassia forced Suzuki to overclock his thrusters to compensate.

Suzuki was forced to accept some blows he could have dodged to prevent his suit from overheating. Lacking Cassia's aura shield, Suzuki's armour began fragmenting under the relentless assault.

Among the onlookers, doubt began to creep into many minds.

Yet, just when the battle seemed to peak, Suzuki and Cassia suddenly separated many meters from each other and stood there.

"What's going on?"

A trainee muttered in question, but no one answered them.

Suzuki broke the terse silence a few seconds later after regulating his breathing. "The way you're fighting. You could go all out, but you're conserving your aura as if to buy time." Glancing at the orbital elevator, he questioned, "Reinforcements?"

"Heh. You're intelligent for a hairless monkey." Cassia's helmet turned transparent, revealing the mocking grin on the alien's face. Pointing at the orbital elevator, he stated. "As we speak, five expert mechs are coming down that elevator. Ah, that would be Decanus mechs, by Terra speak. You put up a good fight for a Terran, but it's useless. This fight is over. Surrender, and I'll let you live. The galaxy pays well for gladiators like you."

"What did he say?"

"Decanus? What's that?"

"A mech? Five of them!?"

Despite being unfamiliar with the term Decanus, the trainees knew what it meant for something to be called a mech. For all its fancy parts, their Gladiator were ultimately 'suits', not 'mechs.' If this Decanus was anything like a Centurion—even if it was only half as strong, the trainees did not stand a prayer of a chance!

***

"Hahaha! That's it! That's the colour of despair." James erupted in loud laughter as he observed the trainees' scared faces. "Yeah. They must feel at least this much despair to take their training seriously."

Akari stepped a few feet away in disgust. "I disagree with your taste, but I suppose it is necessary. The kids have done well so far. We should prepare a psych debrief to ensure it doesn't leave any lasting damage." Taking out his phone, he was about to dial a number when something made him turn to look at Taiga. Considering the magnitude of their bet, he expected to see Taiga with a tight frown. To his shock, Taiga wore a loose smile. Confused, he could not help but ask, "You don't care?"

Taiga revealed a toothy grin as he pointed at the screen. "The boss isn't scared. Why should I be?"

Chills sped up Akari's spine. "Impossible!" He quickly turned around and searched among the various 'cockpit screens.' Sure enough, somewhere in the centre, he saw Suzuki. Contrary to the many despairing faces everywhere, his was calm—coldly, oppressively quiet!

***

Amidst the wails, Suzuki glanced at the timer at the top-right corner of his HUD. 00:10

Entering a stance with his glaive held in front of him, Suzuki whispered, "You're going to regret that."

"Is that pride talking? You, humans, don't learn until you're beaten." 00:08

"You should have gone all out from the start." 00:07

"What are you talking about?" Cassia's brows furrowed, sensing Suzuki's strange mood. That was not the behaviour of someone clutching for miracles at the depths of despair. "What are you banking on? Do you have reinforcements of your own?" 00:03

Suzuki's grip tightened around the glaive's shaft. "Too late." 00:00

****

In the space station above, an alien routinely inspected the materials brought from the earth's surface. Due to the flood, they had to delay the inspection for a few minutes as they scrambled to prep mechs to send down to the surface.

As the alien cautiously opened the crate, a sense of foreboding suddenly washed over him. His skin tingled with unease warning him of imminent danger. Before he could utter a word, a blue light enveloped the container, pulsating with malevolent energy.

In an instant, the room erupted into chaos. The device Natsu planted detonated with an earth-shattering blast, unleashing a cataclysmic force that could level a small town, unleashing Terra's fury upon the cosmos.

However, the alien designers had prepared for such an eventuality. The space station's sophisticated defence systems kicked into high gear, responding with lightning-fast reflexes. Mighty robust blast doors descended, sealing off the cargo bay and containing the devastating energy within a confined space.

Yet, trapped within the confines of the sealed area, the explosive force immediately sought an outlet to unleash its fury. It surged with unimaginable pressure, battering against the space station's walls, seeking a means of escape. It soon found its only outlet—the orbital elevator shaft's relatively weaker doors connecting the space station to Terra's surface.

The explosion's raw power smashed through the door into the interior of the elevator shaft with an unstoppable force. The once-secure passageway became a conduit of destruction as the explosion cascaded downward, thousands of electrical and mechanical equipment disintegrating in a storm of searing heat and blinding light.

Within the confines of an elevator descending the shaft, five mechs, brimming with power and purpose, were caught in the path of annihilation. The explosive shockwave raced through the elevator car, tearing its structure apart. Metal groaned and buckled under the immense pressure, and the mechs within were enveloped in a tempest of destruction. The pilots did not get to process their impending doom before Terra's fury consumed them, disintegrating armour, machinery, and flesh alike.

At the bottom of the shaft, the remnants of the elevator doors offered little resistance to the explosion's wrath. The doors shattered, blown away by the irresistible force. A colossal gust of wind surged, roaring through the flooded military base. The strength of the explosion sent ripples through the stagnant water, creating a surge that tore through the remnants of the military base. The powerful gusts cleared away debris, toppling structures and sweeping away the remnants of the once-proud facility.

In the aftermath of the catastrophic explosion, what little remained of the elevator rained down upon the compound as the elevator slowly toppled over with a loud deathly groan.

Amidst the roiling winds, uncaring of the surging waters, Suzuki held onto his glaive, whose blade reflected the untold apocalyptic scene, and Cassia's stunned, wide eyes. "I told you. You should have gone all out."