The boss staggered on bent legs, sparks flying from his chest. His jaw twitched, metallic screeches replacing words. He tried to form a sentence—but only static and fractured robotic growls spilled from his throat.
Henry smirked, his fists trembling with battle rage.
Henry: "Not so talkative anymore, I see."
The Boss's single glowing red eye flared. With a guttural roar, he hurled himself forward, fist raised like a battering ram.
Henry sidestepped in a blur, his own strike slamming into the boss's ribs with the force of a sledgehammer. The Boss crashed to the ground, steel plating denting.
He rose instantly, fury in his movements, and swung his arm through the air. A bubble-slash tore through space, hissing violently toward Henry.
Henry braced, crossing his arms just in time. The attack ripped across his skin, carving bloody furrows, but his limbs held.
The Boss froze, disbelief in his robotic eye. Those slashes should have severed him completely—yet Henry still stood.
Desperation overtook him. He charged again, punches wild, mechanical limbs slamming with brutal force. Henry weaved through them, countering with lightning-fast blows. One, two, three—each strike dented the boss's frame further. Sparks exploded, and plates buckled.
Henry roared, his fists a storm of blue-shining fury, pounding until the boss's endoskeleton was a mangled wreck.
And yet—the Boss did not fall. His chest glowed violently, energy pooling in his palm. His last reserves condensed into a final crimson beam.
Henry: "Not this time."
He sprinted forward, the beam firing straight at him—
—but at that moment, his entire body erupted in radiant blue. His outline shimmered, his form blurred—until in a flash, he vanished. A glowing trail of blue energy marked where he had been, his body reappearing instantly behind the boss.
Henry's eyes widened, heart racing. He didn't understand it—but his instincts screamed. Now.
Henry: "I'LL END THIS!!"
His fist, cloaked in searing blue energy, smashed down onto the boss's skull with godlike force. The impact cracked the earth, shockwaves shattering pavement and windows across the street. The boss cratered into the ground, debris raining down.
Henry stood above him, panting, sweat dripping.
The Boss twitched. A mangled laugh—half static, half hollow—escaped his ruined throat. He sat upright, pieces of plating falling away. Slowly, with jerking motions, he shoved a finger into his throat. Sparks flew—then a broken voice rasped back into function.
Boss (robotic): "Truly… wonderful. This feeling of… hopelessness. Truly… wonderful."
Henry scowled.
Henry: "You want more?"
Boss: "No… no. I lost. Even with… my upgrades. Even with… my bubble Awakening."
He tilted his head, eyes flickering.
Boss: "Tell me, boy. Why… did my attack… not cut you?"
Henry shrugged.
Henry: "I don't know. Maybe my endurance is just that high."
The Boss stared, then shook violently, laughing in spasms.
Boss: "No… no! I know the answer. I know it. It's truly… wonderful!"
He staggered upright, jittering, his metallic body sparking, his laugh rising in pitch.
Boss: "The answer… is easy, when you think about it. It is because you—"
—SHHK!
A fog blade erupted through his chest, piercing his core. His glowing eye dimmed instantly.
Henry's mouth fell open.
Henry: "…Big sis…?"
Behind him, Emilia stood trembling, her arm formed into a blade of fog. Her entire body shook, her eyes wide with shock.
Emilia: "I… I killed him."
The boss's body collapsed to the ground with a crash, sparks flickering once before silence.
Henry's voice cracked.
Henry: "Big sis… What have you done…?"
Emilia: "I… I…"
Her legs gave way. Blood loss overtook her, and she fell unconscious.
Her eyes opened again—not in a hospital, but in endless fog. White mist stretched infinitely around her. Her wounds were gone, her body light, but a chill pressed against her soul.
Emilia: "Where… am I?"
A voice echoed through the haze.
???: "Emilia…"
She spun, heart racing.
Emilia: "Who's there?!"
The fog parted. A silhouette emerged—familiar, dreaded.
The Boss. But not the twisted cyborg. Not the metal horror. His human form, smiling faintly, approached.
Boss: "Emilia."
Her breath hitched. She stumbled back into a stance, fists raised.
Emilia: "Y-you…!"
Boss: "Relax, child. Don't be afraid. I lost… to your brother. And you—you killed me."
Emilia: "Then what do you want? To haunt me? Crawl into my dreams forever?"
He chuckled, his voice softer than she had ever heard it.
Boss: "Can't an old man say goodbye to his lovely niece?"
Emilia's eyes burned with fury.
Emilia: "Don't give me that crap. You never saw me as family."
Boss: "But I did. I loved you like my own. It broke my heart… when I had to use violence against you."
Emilia: "Love? You don't even know what that word means."
Boss: "I know. I took you in, remember?"
Emilia: "Yeah—and made a fifteen-year-old girl work your dirty underworld jobs."
Boss: "To strengthen you. And it worked."
Emilia: "Spare me your garbage. What do you really want, old man?"
For the first time—she saw something new. Sadness etched across his face. Real, not fabricated.
Emilia: "What…? You look almost human. Does it hurt, knowing you're gone?"
Boss: "I wasn't lying. I just came to say goodbye. You're not dead—not yet. That depends on the doctors. But… I wanted to thank you. For releasing me from what I'd become."
He exhaled softly, stepping back into the mist.
Boss: "Now that I'm gone… I see it. I gave up my humanity for nothing. That was never a strength. It was weakness."
Emilia blinked, stunned.
Emilia: "Old man… that's… deep. Never thought I'd hear you say something like that."
He laughed once more, waving as the fog began to consume him.
Boss: "You were my masterpiece, Emilia. Make me proud."
Emilia: "Go to hell, old man. Rot there."
She raised her middle finger, her voice shaking.
The Boss's silhouette vanished.
Silence.
Then—another voice, softer, but stronger.
???: "Emilia…"
She froze. Her lips trembled.
Emilia: "I… I know that voice."
???: "Emilia…"
Her heart leapt. She shouted into the fog:
Emilia: "Henry!?"
The world of mist cracked open like glass—
And she awoke in a hospital bed, drenched in sweat, tears in her eyes.