"Seventy‑eight thousand," said Seraph.

"With the post‑redistribution weak point." Alex evaluated. "Before, with the original pattern, we were causing fifty‑two thousand at best per exchange."

"Fifty percent more damage per exchange." Seraph calculated. "But the chain cost you twenty‑four thousand damage when it broke."

"And my HP doesn’t have the margin it did twenty‑two minutes ago."

Seraph looked at Alex.

Looked at his crimson eyes with the specific proportion that hadn’t changed for twenty‑two minutes — 95% stable corruption, the F1+F4 synchronization holding the threshold.

"How much longer can you sustain the synchronization?"

"As long as both Fragments agree to cooperate." Alex. "If the damage rises too fast, F1 will start offering again on its own, and the synchronization will break."

"And if it breaks?"

"Corruption hits one hundred percent. The Harvester takes over."

Seraph processed that.

"Then we don’t take that kind of damage anymore."

"The chain will break every time I use it to fix the creature in place."

"There are other ways to fix it." Seraph looked at the corridor. The cracks. The stone blocks from the collapsed ceiling. The debris from the earlier fight with Davan piled up on the left side. "The corridor has structure I can use."

"Can F2 anchor to physical structure?"

"It can create cuts on the spiritual plane that act like walls — the creature can’t cross them without becoming desynchronized." Seraph evaluated the debris. "If I create two cuts on the flanks using the debris as anchor points, the creature will have to move toward the center." A pause. "Toward you."

"Toward where I need it to be to reach the weak point."

"Exactly."

Alex processed the plan.

The creature forced to move toward the center by F2’s cuts on the flanks — unable to use its spiritual limbs to flank because the cuts would desynchronize them if they tried to cross.

Alex in the center, in direct contact, with the left rear weak point accessible.

Seraph attacking the weak point from the angle the flank cuts created.

"It works if the cuts hold under the pressure of a creature with 1,015,600 HP," said Alex.

"They’ll hold long enough."

"How long is long enough?"

"As long as we need."

---

The creature charged at both of them — not at one specifically, at both simultaneously, as it had learned was more efficient.

Seraph moved toward the debris on the left flank.

[F2 — cut on spiritual plane — anchored to debris — left flank]

The blue‑white line materialized from the debris to the corridor ceiling — not physical, on the spiritual plane, visible to Alex and Seraph but not to anyone without plane perception.

The creature’s left spiritual limb touched the cut.

Immediate desynchronization — the left spiritual limb lost coordination with the physical body for 0.8 seconds.

Seraph to the right flank.

[F2 — cut on spiritual plane — anchored to wall crack — right flank]

Second blue‑white line.

The creature’s right spiritual limb touched the second cut.

Desynchronization — 0.8 seconds.

The creature in the center of the corridor with both spiritual limbs desynchronized simultaneously for the first time in the fight.

Alex already moving toward the weak point.

[Blood Weapon — crimson sword — channeled via F1+F4]

[Necrotic Burst — concentrated into the blade]

The sword toward the left rear joint.

The Burst collapsing inward at the moment of impact.

[First creature — damage: 89,200]

[First creature HP: 1,015,600 → 926,400]

The creature tried to use its spiritual limbs to respond — both still desynchronized, the attempt producing the uncoordinated movement of something trying to use a tool that temporarily wouldn’t respond.

Seraph took advantage of the incoordination.

[F2 — direct cut — left rear joint — same point as Alex]

[First creature — direct F2 damage: 71,600]

[First creature HP: 926,400 → 854,800]

One hundred sixty thousand eight hundred damage in one exchange.

Both repositioned before the desynchronization ended.

---

"One hundred sixty thousand," said Alex.

"Yes." Seraph evaluated the flank cuts — still active, the debris and the crack holding them. "The cuts will hold for one more exchange before the creature learns to avoid them."

"How does it avoid them?"

"By not crossing the flanks. By attacking the center directly." Seraph. "When it does that, the flank cuts become useless because there will be no spiritual limbs trying to flank."

"And the weak point will still be accessible without the cuts?"

"If we find another way to fix its position."

The creature at 854,800 HP processed the two flank cuts — evaluating the new variable, searching for the response its learning system returned.

Alex saw it in its behavior.

The creature stopped orienting toward the flanks.

It oriented toward the center.

Toward Alex.

"It’s already learned," said Alex.

"In forty‑five seconds." Seraph looked at the flank cuts that the creature would no longer try to cross. "Faster than before."

"The redistribution improved its learning system too."

"Yes."

The creature charged — straight to the center, no spiritual limbs on the flanks, all 854,800 HP of mass in a straight line toward Alex.

Alex with 261,200 HP.

No chain available — the cooldown was still active.

No flank cuts useful.

Corruption at 95% and both Fragments evaluating whether the situation required them to offer again.

[Corruption: 95% → 96%]

F1 offered.

It wasn’t a whisper. It was a direct statement — the corruption level crossing the reserve threshold that the synchronization had maintained for twenty‑two minutes.

F4 offered simultaneously.

Both. At the same time. With more urgency than any previous time because 854,800 HP of creature charging straight and 261,200 HP of bearer in its path was the exact situation the Fragments had been waiting for.

*Let us. Now. You’ve already proven what you could do. Now let us.*

Alex pushed back.

[Corruption: 96% → 95%]

It cost more than any previous time.

Seraph between Alex and the creature before the second blow arrived.

[F2 — emergency barrier — spiritual plane]

The barrier wasn’t meant to stop. To deflect — the creature’s mass shifted four degrees off trajectory, enough for the impact to pass thirty centimeters from Alex instead of hitting directly.

The wind from its passage displaced Alex one meter sideways.

[Alex HP: 261,200 → 238,800]

Twenty‑two thousand four hundred damage from displacement.

Corruption responded.

[Corruption: 95% → 97%]

F1 and F4 more urgent.

*Now. Next time you won’t be able to push back.*

Alex pushed.

[Corruption: 97% → 95%]

Both Fragments yielded.

For now.

---

The creature against the corridor wall — F2’s deflection had changed its trajectory enough for it to hit stone instead of open corridor space.

It used the impact to brake and reorient.

Three seconds of reorientation.

Seraph beside Alex.

Looking at him.

"The corruption."

"I know."

"How much margin is left?"

"Less than there was two minutes ago."

Seraph evaluated the creature reorienting. Evaluated the corridor. Evaluated Alex’s HP, which F2 let her partially perceive on the spiritual plane.

"The creature still has 854,800 HP." Seraph. "With the current pattern — one hundred sixty thousand per exchange at best — we need six more exchanges."

"Six more exchanges of accumulated damage to the bearer."

"Yes."

"I don’t have six exchanges before the corruption reaches the point of no return."

Seraph didn’t answer immediately.

Not because she had no answer. Because the answer required saying something she hadn’t yet said in the fight.

"F2 can do more than what I’ve been using."

Alex looked at her.

"More how?"

"The cut on the spiritual plane doesn’t just desynchronize." Seraph oriented the scythe toward the creature, which was finishing its reorientation. "At maximum intensity, it can separate the spiritual limb from the physical body completely. Not for fractions of a second — permanently at that point."

"What does it cost?"

"All of F2’s available output at that moment." A pause. "I can’t use it on more than one point per recharge cycle."

"If you permanently separate a spiritual limb—"

"The creature loses thirty percent of its attack system on that vector." Seraph. "And the energy it was using to sustain that limb gets redistributed internally — increasing the interior’s vulnerability to direct damage."

Alex processed that.

"It makes the left rear weak point even weaker."

"Significantly." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"How much?"

"Enough that a direct combo on that point will cause damage we haven’t seen yet in this fight."