BANG!
Spark's Power Rifle let out a loud sound. The high-caliber round from it slammed into the Centaur Knight's helmet. With the force of a battering ram.
A sickening CRACK echoed through the chamber. Followed by a shower of arcane sparks. The glowing runes etched into the helmet flared violently. Then dimmed. A spiderweb of fractures spread across its polished surface.
The sheer impact made the Centaur Knight's head snap back. A guttural grunt of disoriented rage rumbling from its throat. It stumbled a half-step. Its massive war hammer dipping precariously.
"Got you!" Spark calmly commented. His werelion eyes were gleaming with savage delight. He didn't wait for a response. Dropping the rifle with practiced ease back into the Technomind Void Space.
He lunged forward. His powerful muscles were bunching and releasing. His claws, now coated in crackling fire elemental energy, swept. Raking across the Centaur Knight's flank in a blur of motion.
The armored hide shrieked as deep gouges appeared. Though it was still not enough to draw blood. The force of the blows, however, was immense. Rattling the powerful creature.
The Centaur Knight roared. A sound of profound indignation and pain. It wheeled. Its massive equine body pivoting with surprising speed. Despite its bulk.
The war hammer was hefted with terrifying might. It swept horizontally. This wasn't merely an attack. It was a desperate, wide-arc clearance. Designed to obliterate anything in its vicinity.
Spark and Lilith found themselves in the immediate path of this assault. Both reacted immediately.
Spark rolled sideways to avoid the attack. And immediately charged forward again when the hammer had passed above him.
Lilith's crestmagic spell, Lightning Speed, flared. Outlining her in a brief, shimmering aura of accelerated movement.
She became a blur. A fleeting afterimage. As she danced through the path of the hammer by inches. The wind of its passage whipping at her hair.
Her arcane handgun spat a volley of bolts at the Centaur's upper arm. Focusing on the newly formed cracks near the shoulder plate. Just like Spark's earlier attack, the bolts gouged the metal. But did not penetrate.
"Master, its armor integrity is still high!" Lilith called out. Her voice was calm despite the danger. "The helmet is compromised. But the body armor remains largely intact!"
Ivy reloaded her grenade launcher with practiced speed. "Master! I'm switching to sonic grenades! It might detect the nexus." She reported.
"Wait for my order!" Spark shouted. "Melody! Serenade! Speed!"
Melody's song swelled into different tone. A vibrant, inspiring melody that wrapped around her allies. Infusing them with renewed vigor and agility.
Spark felt his werelion muscles twitch with eager power. The lingering fatigue from his previous charge was instantly dispelled.
Meanwhile, Serenade's harmonies dipped lower. Weaving a harmonious curse that seemed to subtly vibrate through the very air. Targeting the Centaur Knight. Causing its movements to become just a fraction slower. And its roars turned slightly less potent.
Scarlett didn't just stay and wait. Her gu-insects swarmed around the Centaur Knight like a living, buzzing shroud.
They didn't bite or sting yet. Instead, they buzzed around its eyes. Attempting to obscure its vision. And crawled into the small gaps in its armor plating. Seeking weakness to be exploited.
Her eldritch handgun roared. Firing black bolts of energy that fizzed harmlessly against the reinforced plating. But continued to chip away at the already fractured helmet.
The disoriented Centaur Knight lashed out blindly. It stomped one of its massive hooves. And arcane energy erupted from the ground in a pulsating wave.
Forcing Spark to leap back. Just as the stone floor cracked where he'd been standing.
The creature then charged at Scarlett. Its massive form thundering across the chamber. War hammer held low. Ready to sweep her away.
"Scarlett! Block!" Spark barked a command. Scarlett couldn't evade. Melody and Serenade were behind her.
Scarlett obeyed the order fearlessly. She even grinned in anticipation. She braced herself. Her buckler snapped up. Getting enlarged. Glowing with a faint, purple light.
The Centaur Knight's charge was a direct, devastating assault. And Scarlett used the buckler to partially deflect the impact. The ground shuddering beneath her as she was sent skidding backwards. Her feet carving furrows on the floor.
A low groan of pain escaped her lips. But a flicker of exhilaration seemed to dance in her eyes.
Spark used the Centaur's focus on Scarlett to his advantage. His werelion form turned into a blur of speed. With a powerful leap, he launched himself onto the Centaur's back. Digging his claws into the armored haunches.
The Centaur Knight bucked wildly. It was a creature of immense power unused to such indignity. It twisted and spun. Attempting to dislodge Spark.
Spark clung on with one hand on its back. His other powerful arm struck the helmet on its head again and again. He could feel the latent energy thrumming beneath the armor.
"Ivy! Now!" Spark roared.
Simultaneously, he jumped off the centaur's back and rolled on the floor. Covering his ears with his huge furry hands. The other women did the same. For good reason.
Ivy launched the specially designed alchemy grenade. The sonic grenade. Not for damage. But for analysis. It exploded in a burst of multi-vibration sound that disoriented them. Even after they had covered their ears.
"Master!" Ivy shouted after a few seconds. "The primary nexus is on the side. On its right rib. Just a handspan beneath its right armpit. It's shielded, but the energy flow is most concentrated there!"
"Melody! Strength! Serenade! Slow it down!" Spark commanded. He jumped back on the still-dazed Centaur's back and wrestled its humanoid neck and arm.
The music intensified even more. Melody's lute sang a melody of accelerated strength. It was pouring into Spark. Making his already formidable grip feel like iron clamps.
Serenade's harmony, meanwhile, became a dirge of heavy, viscous energy. Clinging to the Centaur Knight. Making its every thrash and buck feel like wading through thick mud.
The Centaur was previously moving with incredible agility. Now it labored hard, its mighty muscles straining against the unseen magical resistance.
"Lilith! Strike!" Spark roared another command.
Lilith unleashed a volley of arcane handgun shots at the Centaur's exposed lower part – the equine half. These were less heavily armored than the torso.
And while the bolts still didn't penetrate fully, they stung. Forcing the Centaur to shift its weight. Creating further moments of imbalance.
Immediately, Lilith used Spatial Blink. Appearing directly on the right side of the Centaur. A cursed dagger appearing in her hand.
With a lightning-fast movement, she plunged the dagger. Into the little crack point below its armpit. The blade pierced the crack.
Lilith twisted the blade and pushed it deeper.
The Centaur Knight shrieked. An alien, screeching sound that grated on the ears. The cursed dagger had found a direct pathway to the weakened protection array. Black, viscous ichor, not blood, began to ooze from the wound.
"It's working, Master!" Lilith yelled.
She pulled back instantly with another Spatial Blink. As the Centaur lunged its free arm at her.
Spark seized the opportunity. He flipped down the Centaur Knight's side. Planting his feet firmly on the ground.
His powerful werelion fists were drawn back. Crackling with raw lightning elemental energy coating. Enhanced further by Melody's song.
"DIE!" Spark roared and charged. Unleashing a barrage of punches as he fluidly moved around the monster. It was a furious, devastating assault.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Each blow landed with concussive force. Shaking the very ground. Cracks began to spiderweb across any part struck by Spark's fists.
The Centaur, despite the pain, counter-attacked. It brought its war hammer around in a wide arc. Aiming to flatten Spark.
Spark knew he couldn't stop. He needed to completely break through the monster's defense. He channeled more power. Eyes narrowed in fierce determination. The very air around his fists distorted with the raw force.
To evade the incoming hammer, he slid below the equine part of the centaur. On the other side, with a roaring defiance, he twisted his body and punched.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Spark's blow, concentrated and brutal, met the equine body of the monster. The werelion form, coupled with Melody's enhancement, allowed him to severely damage the enemy.
"The secondary nexus is exposed!" Ivy yelled. Her voice was urgent. "It's vulnerable, Master! The center of the chest plate!"
Spark could see the crack in the mentioned place. He maneuvered his werelion form to the best position. A coiled spring of brutal power. He dropped to all fours.
Then launched himself at the Centaur's chest. A living missile of muscle and fury. His claws were still coated with lightning elemental energy. Combined with his sheer physical might, they were aimed at the weakened crack.
It wasn't a series of punches. It was a single, devastating strike. A focused strike. He slammed his entire body weight. Channeling all his augmented strength. Into the pinpoint crack.
The armored chest plate shattered with a sound like a thunderclap. Shards of glowing, runic metal exploded outwards. Showering the chamber. A blinding flash of arcane energy erupted from the Centaur Knight's chest. Momentarily engulfing Spark.
When the light faded, Spark was standing over the Centaur Knight. His chest was heaving. His werelion form was still shimmering with residual energy.
The massive creature was on its knees. Its powerful equine legs were struggling to hold its weight. The hole in its chest pulsed with dying light. Its eyes, previously burning with ancient rage, were now dull. Lifeless.
The Centaur Knight gave a final, shuddering gasp. A sound like grinding stone. It toppled sideways. Its massive body hitting the ground with a resounding thud. A sound that shook the entire chamber.
They won.