Zero didn't give them a chance to recover. He punched through the first one's chest, feeling ribs crack and organs burst under his fist. The sensation was gross and visceral, but also weirdly thrilling. The second tried to run, but Zero grabbed its leg and pulled until the joint popped out with a wet tearing sound.
*Two down. The venom's wearing off, but that weird feeling isn't going away completely. I need to focus.*
The bug-things moved as a team, their shells crackling with electricity. They tried to surround Zero, mandibles clicking like they were talking to each other. The sound was like factory machinery, a rhythmic clicking that set Zero's teeth on edge.
*They're working together. Still smart even after mutating. Interesting.*
Zero let them get close enough to strike, his body tensing in anticipation. As their mandibles opened to shoot electricity, he moved impossibly fast, a blur that closed the distance between them instantly.
His hands found their heads at the same time, fingers sinking into their hard shells. The extra-strong bones in his arms absorbed their electric attacks, the pain sending jolts of that strange pleasure through his body. Zero gasped, his grip tightening as he crushed their heads like eggshells.
Bug guts splattered across the biomechanical walls as their bodies twitched and went still. Zero stood panting, his body shaking from the mix of pain and pleasure.
*Four down. Two to go. But that feeling... it's getting stronger every time. What's happening to me?*
The monster-mash approached last, its multiple arms weaving hypnotic patterns in the air. It seemed to study Zero with more intelligence than the others, its many eyes focusing on him with a creepy intensity.
*Smart one. This one's different. More dangerous.*
The creature made sounds—not words, but noises that carried meaning through Spark-enhanced vibrations: "New... thing... strong... test... worthy..."
Zero tilted his head, surprised the creature could communicate at all. "You can talk?"
"Change... like us... but... different... controlled..." The creature's voice sounded like grinding glass, each word painful to hear but clear enough.
The creature's tentacles shot forward with surprising speed. Zero dodged three strikes but the fourth caught his shoulder, lifting him off the ground with impossible strength.
Pain. Real, horrible pain as the tentacle's barbs dug into his shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle. Zero cried out, his vision going white from the agony.
But under the pain, that dark pleasure surged like a wave, overwhelming his senses. Zero gasped, his body going limp in the creature's grip as ecstasy rushed through him. His eyes rolled back in his head, a moan escaping his lips as the pain and pleasure mixed into something beyond description.
*Oh god... it's never been this strong... I can't... I can't think...*
The thought surfaced through the haze of agony and ecstasy, a small part of his brain still working despite the overwhelming sensations.
Zero smiled through the pain, a weird, ecstatic grin spreading across his face. "Is that all you've got?"
He grabbed the tentacle holding him, his fingers sinking into the fleshy appendage. With a surge of strength, he started climbing toward the creature's main body. More tentacles struck at him, barbs tearing through his flesh and sending waves of agony and ecstasy through his body.
Each wound brought fresh pain, and with it, fresh pleasure. Zero laughed as he climbed, blood streaming from countless injuries. The world narrowed to the feeling of pain and pleasure, to the thrill of fighting and the ecstasy of his body's strange reaction to getting hurt.
When he reached the creature's torso, Zero drove both hands into what looked like its main nerve center. The tissue felt like wet concrete mixed with electrical wires, giving way under his attack but resisting more than he expected.
He pulled with all his strength, his muscles straining, his body screaming with pain and pleasure. The creature's vibrating scream shattered crystal growths throughout the hallway, a sound of pure agony that vibrated through Zero's body and intensified his own strange ecstasy.
The creature's death throes threw Zero against the wall with bone-crushing force. Multiple ribs cracked from the impact, sending fresh waves of agony through his body. Zero gasped, sliding to the floor as darkness threatened to take over his vision.
But under the pain, that dark pleasure surged to new heights, overwhelming his senses and sending him into convulsions of ecstasy. Zero curled into a ball, shaking and moaning as his body experienced sensations that went beyond pain and pleasure, mixing into something entirely new.
The analytical thoughts surfaced through the haze of sensation, small pieces of his mind still working despite the overwhelming experience. Zero lay among the carnage, his body shaking with aftershocks of pain and pleasure as his enhanced body started healing itself.
*Six monsters down. Fight lasted about four minutes. My souped-up body works great. But this reaction to pain... it's new.*
Zero pushed himself up, his body protesting with every movement. He looked more closely at the monster-mash's corpse, his analytical mind taking over despite the lingering feelings of pleasure. Its body showed signs of controlled evolution—not random mutation, but something planned. Someone or something had been experimenting down here.
*People are still doing experiments in the Underscape. I need to check that out.*
As if answering his thoughts, new sounds echoed through the hallway. Footsteps. Human. Moving purposefully toward him. Zero checked his body's condition, assessing the damage and guessing how long it would take to heal.
*I did great in the fight, but now whoever's watching knows what I can do. Time to get out of here.*
Zero collected samples from the dead creatures, his hands still shaking a little from the aftermath of the fight and pleasure. He slipped deeper into the biomechanical maze, his hearing tracking the approaching humans—different from the group at his chamber. These moved like predators themselves, with purpose and skill.
The Underscape had just gotten a lot more interesting.
*Combat testing: Phase one complete.*
*Next up: figuring out how to fight humans.*