The first puppet lunged.
Ezekiel ducked, his body moving on instinct. The air above him split as the attacker's arm sliced through empty space—faster, stronger than a normal human should be. He shifted his weight, driving a sharp elbow into the puppet's ribs.
It should have staggered. Should have reacted.
But it didn't.
The impact barely slowed it down before it twisted unnaturally, striking again.
Ezekiel cursed, sidestepping at the last second.
"They're durable," he muttered.
Avery was already moving, weaving between the attackers with precise, controlled strikes. A kick to the knee sent one collapsing, but even as it fell, it reached for her ankle—fingers grasping, unrelenting.
"They don't stop," she snapped. "We need a real plan."
Ezekiel exhaled sharply.
Plan or not, they weren't getting out of this without a fight.
A System-Controlled Army
The alley was tight. Limited space. The system had chosen this battleground deliberately, forcing them into a bottleneck with nowhere to escape.
The puppets pressed forward.
Their movements weren't human.
Not chaotic, not untrained—just wrong.
Like something was calculating every action in real time.
Ezekiel shifted his stance. Fine. If the system wanted efficiency—
He'd break it.
His foot drove into the ground, launching himself forward. One puppet reacted, swinging an unnatural punch—
He caught the arm. Twisted.
A sickening crack echoed through the alley as the limb snapped. But there was no pain, no hesitation. The puppet's head turned toward him, blank eyes glowing.
Then, it kept moving.
Ezekiel scowled. It didn't feel pain.
He adjusted immediately, shifting tactics. Breaking bones wasn't enough.
Destroying the system's control—
That was the real target.
The Fight Shifts
Avery caught on fast.
"Disable, don't damage," she called, sweeping the legs out from under another puppet. Her foot drove down—not on its body, but on the ground beneath it.
A pulse of force cracked the pavement.
The system-controlled figure twitched, its glowing eyes flickering erratically.
Then, for a brief second—
It stopped moving.
Ezekiel grinned. "Perfect."
He grabbed the closest puppet, shifting his grip. Instead of aiming for its body, he slammed it into the nearest wall—hard.
Not to destroy it.
But to disrupt the system's hold.
The impact sent a tremor through the alley. The puppet spasmed, its interface flickering wildly.
And then—
Its body collapsed.
Not dead. Not unconscious.
Just…gone.
Like a machine losing power.
The system's control had been severed.
Avery's eyes flicked toward him, realization clicking.
"That's how we win."
A Calculated Response
They moved fast. Targeting weak points—not the bodies themselves, but the connection between the puppets and the system's control.
A hard strike to the ground near their feet. A sudden shift in momentum. Anything to force a break in the control link.
One by one, the puppets began failing.
For the first time since the fight started—
The system wasn't adapting fast enough.
Ezekiel smirked. "Guess you're not all-knowing after all."
Then—
The system spoke.
[ Recalibrating. ]
A pulse of energy rippled through the city.
The remaining puppets froze.
Then—
They changed.
Ezekiel's smirk vanished.
So did Avery's.
Because whatever the system had just done—
It wasn't simple.
And it wasn't something they were prepared for.
The System Evolves
The puppets twitched.
Then, as one—
They moved.
Faster. Stronger. Smarter.
Ezekiel barely dodged as the nearest attacker vanished from sight—then reappeared directly in front of him. A fist slammed into his ribs, sending him skidding back.
His breath hitched. The force was completely different.
These weren't just controlled humans anymore.
The system was rewriting them.
Avery swore. "It's adapting!"
Ezekiel clenched his fists. "Then we adapt faster."
But even as he spoke, he knew—
This fight had just changed.
And the system wasn't going to let them win this time.
---
The alley was collapsing into chaos.
The puppets no longer moved like broken marionettes. Their movements were fluid now—too fluid. Like the system had finally decided to stop holding back.
Ezekiel barely dodged as one blurred toward him, its fist slicing through the air where his head had been a second before. He twisted, lashing out with a brutal kick—only for the puppet to catch his leg mid-strike.
His instincts roared. Faster. Stronger. More precise.
They weren't just enhanced anymore.
They were optimized.
A New Threat
Avery was already reacting. Her foot slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave rippling through the alley. The force disrupted the nearest puppets, throwing them off balance—but only for a second.
They adjusted instantly.
She swore. "It's running a new protocol."
Ezekiel yanked his leg free, flipping back as another puppet lunged. "Any ideas?"
"Yeah. Don't get hit."
"Not helpful."
Avery's expression darkened. "We have to break its control before it rewrites them completely."
Ezekiel exhaled. Fine.
Then they'd have to do it the hard way.
Pushing Beyond Limits
He darted forward. The closest puppet reacted, its enhanced reflexes tracking his every move. Its fist shot toward his ribs—predicting his dodge before he made it.
But that was the mistake.
It was still predicting.
And Ezekiel didn't fight in patterns.
At the last second, he stopped—letting the puppet's strike pass an inch from his skin. Before it could react, he twisted, driving an elbow into the side of its neck.
The momentary disruption made its entire body glitch.
Avery caught on immediately. "That's it! Hit them before they can fully adjust!"
Ezekiel didn't hesitate. He moved faster, striking the weak points before the system could recalibrate. His fist snapped into a puppet's jaw. A kick sent another skidding backward.
For the first time—
The puppets weren't adapting fast enough.
The System's Last Move
[ System Override Protocol: Engaging. ]
The message echoed through the air.
And then—
The puppets stopped.
Ezekiel tensed. Something was wrong.
Their bodies twitched unnaturally. Limbs contorting. Flesh shifting.
And then—
They spoke.
A single voice. Cold. Hollow. Not human.
"You are an error."
Ezekiel's blood ran cold.
The system was speaking directly through them.
Avery's grip tightened. "That's not good."
Ezekiel clenched his jaw. "No. It's not."
Because now—
The system wasn't just watching.
It was here.
---