Zack cursed under his breath, realizing there was no way to avoid the mutated tiger's gaping, bloody maw. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword straight at its mouth. The massive jaws cmped down, but Zack had already yanked his arm back just in time. He activated the leg reflex assist in his nanosuit and yelled, "Thruster!"

  Boom!

  The boosters roared to life, ung Zack upward with explosive force. He rocketed out of the tiger’s grip and smmed into the roof of the tunnel. His sword, however, remained lodged iiger’s mouth. The saw's jagged teeth began grinding furiously against the tiger’s jaw, spewing blood everywhere.

  "ROAR!!" The mutant tiger thrashed violently, shaking its massive head to dislodge the sword. Blood spttered across the tunnel as it growled in pain and fury, but no matter how hard it shook, the on remained lodged.

  Zack dropped back down, nding heavily ounnel floor. His gaze hardened as he barked a and. "Polifiode!" In an instant, the nanosuit’s fibers began to glow faintly red as the internal meisms hummed to life. The artificial spine’s hydrogen battery pumped energy into Zack’s system. The nanofibers in the suit burrowed deeper into his skin, syng perfectly with his muscles.

  "Let’s see what you’ve got," he snarled. Zack’s eyes were bloodshot, his veins pulsing uhe suit’s influence. He ched his fists, and with a single leap, the grouh him cracked and shattered. He unched himself at the mutant tiger like a missile. Despite the overwhelming size difference, Zack’s momentum was devastating.

  Boom!

  The impact was like a onball hitting a drum. The massive tiger staggered, its body crashing to one side. The sight of the paratively tiny Zack f the colossal beast to stumble was both shog and satisfying.

  "ROAR!" The tiger swung its massive tail through the air, the sound of its movement like a whip slig through the wind. The tail smmed toward Zack with terrifying forstead of dodging, Zated his feet firmly and reached out. Snap! His hands cmped around the tail like a vice.

  The impact reverberated through his suit, the red ionized glow rippling across the fibers. The nanosuit’s power mode dispersed the shock throughout Zack’s body, redug the strain on any single point. Even so, Zack slid back several feet, leaving a deep gouge in the ground. "Not bad," he muttered, his lips curling into a smirk.

  The tiger roared again, lifting its tail in atempt to strike. Zack tightened his grip, his muscles tensing uhe suit’s enha. "You’re not going anywhere," he growled.

  The tiger filed, jerking its tail wildly, throwing Zato the air like a ragdoll. Using the tail's momentum, it swung Zack toward the tunnel wall with immense force. At the st moment, Zack let go. Activating his leg thrusters, he kicked off the wall, crag the crete as he unched himself back toward the tiger.

  With gravel and debris flying behind him, Zack curled his fist and drove it straight into the tiger’s jaw. CRACK!

  The blow forced the tiger’s mouth to sm shut, driving the stuck sword deeper into its jaw. The bde tore through the bone, emerging from the underside of the tiger’s head.Blood poured from the wound as the tiger let out a guttural roar of agony.Zack’s lips curled into a cold grin. "Looks like your bones aren’t as tough as you thought," he taunted. Fueled by rage and adrenaline, Zack leaped onto the tiger’s back. His fingers dug into the bloody wound on its spine, g through the flesh.

  "Die!" he roared, his voice filled with uing fury. With his enharength and the suit’s polifications, Zack began to pull. His fingers sank deeper into the wound, gripping the edges of the torn flesh. He g tightly and resumed tearing at the gaping wound oiger’s back. Blood poured out in waves, soaking him pletely. His entire figure was drenched, making him look like a specter rising from a crimson nightmare.

  Finally, his hand brushed against something solid deep within the wound. “Gotcha!” he growled through ched teeth. Without hesitation, he shoved his entire arm into the wound, his fingers searg for the tiger’s spihe beast roared in agony, thrashing wildly in its death throes. Its massive body smmed toward the tunnel wall, attempting to crush him.

  “Not so fast!” Zack bellowed, just as the tiger’s back was about to hit the stone. Summoning every ounce of strength, he gripped its spinal n and yanked with uing force.

  CRACK!

  A k of bone, flesh, and sinew ripped free from the tiger's body. The sound was siing, a wet snap followed by a gush of blood. The mutated tiger let out o tortured roar before its hind legs colpsed lifelessly. It kicked reflexively for a moment before the back half of its massive frame went pletely still. Its forelimbs weakly scratched at the ground as it whimpered in pain.

  Zack dropped to the ground, his breathing heavy but steady. He deactivated the polifiode on his nanosuit, wiping the blood from his visor. The suit's three modes—stealth, polification, and speed enha—were designed for limited use. Overuse could push the human body to its limits, and Zack wasn’t about to test those boundaries.

  But somethi off. “Wait… is the boost mode still on?” Zack muttered, notig his heightened reflexes, sharper vision, and unnatural strength hadn’t subsided.

  “Sir,” came the calm, meical voice of Ego, his AI panion, “using the nanosuit over time optimizes your physical capabilities. Think of it as… a very advanced form of exercise equipment.”

  “Great,” Zack grunted, shaking his head. “Guess I’m stu an upgrade pn.” He turo the tiger, which was still attempting to growl despite its broken body. Blood pooled beh it, and its massive chest heaved in ragged, unevehs.

  “Let’s finish this,” Zack said, striding to its head. Its goldehough dimming, still gred at him with a mixture e and despair. The beast’s mouth hung open, the hilt of Zack’s sword protruding from its throat. He grabbed it and yanked hard, dislodging the on in one swift motion. Blood sprayed everywhere, but Zack barely flinched—he was already soaked from head to toe.

  “Rest easy, big guy,” Zack murmured. Lifting the sword high, he pced it against the tiger’s thied flicked the switch. The bde roared to life with a metallic whihe tiger let out a final, feeble snarl before the saw's teeth bit deep into its flesh. Its massive head toppled to the ground with a dull thud, eyes frozen in a grotesque expression of defeat.

  Zack stared at the severed head for a moment befiving it a light kick. “Might make a good trophy,” he muttered before turning toward the tunnel leading to the Armory.Behind him, the tunnel reeked of blood ah, the massive, headless corpse of the mutated tiger lying in a growing pool of hot, steaming blood.

  Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, chaos erupted. The air was thick with gunfire and the cries of the wounded as a brutal power struggle unfolded. “Team King! Get the others out of here!” yelled a pilot, his face streaked with sweat and grime. “I’ll hold them off!”