The Zylaxar Warrior stood a fair distance from her at the end of the hall.

  It gave her time.

  The insectoid was menacing, evaluating her as it tore into the remaining Automatrons.

  It fixated on her swiftly due to the energies she emitted as a super, though it was continuously distracted from the firepower of the opposing Automatrons.

  Similar to her experience in the arena during her final clash with the elemental automatron, the Zylaxar Warrior before her was a genuine E-grade.

  However, contrary to the elemental Automatron, or Test Subject 432, it was an entirely different opponent, leaning heavily towards physical stats, making it exceedingly dangerous to her in a wholly new way, as she could not let it near her.

  Though she had fairly strong physical stats for an Esper of her type and level, she was no specialist, and the Zylaxar Warrior had enough power in its strikes to deal fatal damage in moments.

  It made her wary. And with that, a plan began to form.

  She had one real opportunity to be preemptive and launch an attack destructive enough to limit its mobility by meaningfully injuring it.

  The Zylaxar Warrior is similar to the drones in its underestimation of her, especially as an E grade; the Insectoid likely viewed her as nothing but helpless prey.

  It would pay for its arrogance.

  The Zylaxar are generally vastly superior to the average human at a similar level, especially swarms like this one that had devoured countless without meeting resistance.

  It made them overlook the broader Universe, where humans possess innumerable supers at a power scale that no Zylaxar has achieved.

  Ayna would take full advantage of this.

  The Zylaxar Warrior, alongside some remaining drones, was close to annihilating the last of the Automatrons.

  Ayna knew she had to act fast.

  She could not rely on Cyrokinesis for her first strike. It was not as strong as her maxed-out F-grade Pyrokinesis, and though the Zylaxar were not particularly immune to the cold, they were far weaker to fire.

  Ayna knew she needed to pour everything into this and generate an attack more potent than she had ever.

  She needed to keep energy in reserve, but had recovered much from absorbing energy in her surroundings, and since her clash with the Zylaxar Drones did not take much out of her, she had the reserves.

  Though since she had unallocated stat points, she placed all of them into charm to increase her attack potency.

  She needed to deal as much damage as possible. Ayna knew physical stats would not make much of a difference as the gap was too broad.

  If the Zylaxar Warrior can close the distance, she will die, which makes the margin of error so small in her subsequent actions.

  Concentrating, Ayna began to draw an absurdly high amount of energy, condensing her flames, and she started to conjure the most powerful burst of fire she had ever attempted to.

  It required the utilisation of her willpower and intense concentration to control such a high amount of energy, and she had to ignore the roaring blasts of fire from the Automatrons as they faced the opposing wild, ruthless swipes and swings from the Zylaxar.

  Ayna was barely able to look ahead as the sounds of battle began to grow chillingly silent, as the last of the Automatrons began to fall.

  She met the cold, insectoid eyes of the Zylaxar Warrior, who regarded her apathetically, yet, in its hubris, it failed to grasp the power of the ball of fire that she had condensed over and over to a ridiculous degree.

  It grew so hot that it began to discharge severe heat into her surroundings, and the metallic floor and walls began to glow.

  It finally dawned on the Zylaxar Warrior that it should not have disregarded her so swiftly.

  Ayna smiled as she saw it back up, sensing the power of her attack. Ayna knew it was too late for it to retreat as she launched a blast of fire that depleted a significant amount of her energy reserves towards it.

  Her attack was swift and hit true, slamming into the Zylaxar Warrior, alongside the remaining drones, which were scorched instantly.

  Ayna felt spent after the attack, yet swiftly realised that despite launching an absurdly strong attack at near point-blank range, she had no notification indicating the death of the Zylaxar Warrior.

  Ayna felt a chill at that thought, and soon, in a blur of motion, the large Zylaxar Warrior emerged from the wreckage of flames, charred insect remains trailing behind it as it stared at her with absolute menace.

  Ayna was unnerved as she began backing up swiftly. The Insectoid was clearly injured, its mobility hindered somewhat as it clambered towards her with fury.

  Instantly, she drew her pistol and began firing shots towards it. She had already prepared it and loaded it with full ammunition, and, despite its terrible state, it refused to die. Ayna hurriedly shot at it, but the bullets were far less effective than her power. Despite its chitinous exoskeleton being blackened and damaged from the intense flames, it was still an E-grade, physically oriented being, and her bullets proved ineffective to stop it from marching forward.

  Worryingly, she found the Insectoid was gaining ground on her far too quickly.

  Ayna knew a typical human at a similar stage of power would struggle to emerge alive from the force of attack she threw at it, yet the Zylaxar Warrior was still far from being brought down.

  It was then that Ayna felt it was an opportunity to conjoin her Cyrokinesis with Pyrokinesis.

  Combining extreme heat and cold may be more debilitating to the Insectoid. With her limited energy reserves, Ayna sneakily raised her hand as the Zylaxar Warrior who was nearing her felt a sudden blast of chilling cold.

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  Ayna could not believe the sight before her. The Zylaxar Warrior suddenly slowed, its tough chitinous flesh becoming fragile, and it eyed her in complete and utter shock as its body began to crumble and shatter before her eyes. Ayna had slain another E-grade opponent just like that.

  Ayna breathed a sigh of relief. It worked; she spent most of the remainder of her energy there, and the effect of combining both powers was likely more effective than blasting it with another burst of fire. She did not have the reserves to mount a second attack like the first and was forced to resort to a drastic measure.

  The notifications came pouring in.

  You have dealt fatal blows!

  You have killed Zylaxar Drone {Lvl 16} x7.

  You have killed Zylaxar Warrior {Lvl 34}.

  You have gained experience towards [Esper (Novice)] and [Soldier (Novice)]

  [Esper (Novice)] has levelled up.

  Lvl 16 > 18

  Energy +10

  Intelligence +4, Willpower +2, Charm +2.

  You have received 4 attribute points.

  [Soldier (Novice)] has levelled up.

  Lvl 14 > 16

  STR + 2 END +2

  You have received 2 attribute points.

  Your main class skill [Ice Affinity] has advanced to level 3.

  She received a good deal of levels from the encounter, though she was extremely fortunate that the Automatrons gave her a chance to charge up such a powerful attack.

  Espers with powers like Pyrokinesis were always extremely explosive in damage, especially against the Zylaxar, who were weak to fire.

  Yet she was only able to demonstrate this because she was allowed to. If the Zylaxar Warrior focused on her from the start, she would have been in far more danger.

  None of her class skills levelled apart from Ice Affinity, though even that was generous. However, she supposed it was due to the much higher level of the Zylaxar Warrior that must have given additional experience.

  She assumed athletics and weapon proficiency just weren't utilised enough to level.

  Though now the way to the escape pods was cleared. She gingerly walked through the charred remains and thick black smoke from the burnt Insectoid bodies. Her body was highly resistant to heat; it did not bother her.

  Making her way to the blast doors, she found the panel to open the doors strangely unlocked.

  It was then that she noticed a deceased guard in gleaming armour near the door; he was clearly an officer of some sort, with specialised armour similar to that of the Elite Guardsman.

  His ID card was nearby, and she figured he was in the process of unlocking the door before meeting an unfortunate end.

  Either way, it benefited her, and she opened the blast doors straightforwardly.

  Escape pod units like this one were commonplace in space facilities. There would be units containing them on multiple sections of the space facility.

  They were a necessity: self-contained emergency crafts designed to rapidly evacuate personnel in the event of a hostile incursion by murderous insectoids.

  Stormflash informed her she had no chance of making it to the heavily guarded hangar. This was her best bet. Despite the pods prioritising survival over comfort or having long-term craft capability, it was her only means of getting out of here, as hijacking a space shuttle would be next to impossible.

  Ayna inspected the launch bay; numerous pods filled the room, with over a dozen hatches leading to each.

  Bright, gleaming grey and orange metal adorned them with hazard stripes to make them easily identifiable in deep space, alongside the Helixas Corporation logo on the front.

  There is a release panel on the side with multiple panels that are already non-functional, with the pods appearing to have already been dispatched.

  Ayna felt a sense of urgency to get out of here, yet her thoughts flickered to Stormflash.

  Should I leave him behind? What should I do? He did save me.

  Ayna felt puzzled at that moment, yet she suddenly heard movement.

  At first, she was already leaping to an escape pod, thinking of the worst, that it was a hostile such as Earthbreaker, yet miraculously, she saw a wave of blue hair as she saw the figure of Stormflash at the end of the hall, limping towards her.

  Ayna felt astonished as she regarded the once majestic, ruggedly handsome man.

  Half of Stormflash's face was melted, exposing bone; his right arm was missing entirely, and his outfit was torn, melted into his flesh in numerous places.

  The only reason she recognised him was the flash of blue hair on the left side of his head. Yet, he bore a terrifying visage, and Ayna believed the only reason he was alive was the astonishing vitality granted to a C rank super.

  Stormflash's voice was weak as he shouted, “We need to leave now! Earthbreaker!”

  “What about Viper?” She asked questionably.

  A strained smile appeared on his face as he replied, “Dead. He won't be bothering us anymore. But we will join him soon if we don't leave. I stand no chance against Earthbreaker in this state. She is a bad match-up for me in the best of circumstances; she is extremely resistant to lightning and elemental attacks in general.”

  Ayna nodded at that. Earthbreaker seemed to enjoy her flames, and though she was nowhere near her in power, she believed from Stormflash's words that she boasted absurd resistance in most things.

  Probably weak to mental attacks, though. Perfect for Dr Xavier to command and utilise as a puppet.

  Not delaying any further, Ayna and Stormflash activated the panel of one of the remaining active pods.

  Once the pod was primed to eject from the console, the hatch swiftly opened, revealing a minimalistic, yet sleek, functional enclosed capsule. It was spherical in design, made for atmospheric re-entry.

  “One moment,” Stormflash said, closing the blast doors behind them, and smashed the console behind him at a good time, as they heard thundering steps closing in fast.

  “Earthbreaker!” Ayna voiced in panic, her memories of being helpless as the giantess recently grabbed her, fresh in her mind.

  “Let us leave, the doors won't hold her for long!” Stormflash said with concern.

  Despite being absurdly thick and strong, the blast doors were designed to withstand a ridiculous amount of punishment. Nonetheless, Earthbreaker was astoundingly powerful, and they may prove inadequate to hold her back for long.

  Ayna found it challenging to dent the doors herself, yet Earthbreaker could likely do so effortlessly.

  C grades were the start of true power in the Universe.

  They both swiftly entered.

  “Strap yourself in, now,” Stormflash said as Ayna secured herself in one of the seats.

  A control panel sat at the front of the pod, featuring simplified controls and a holographic display with the commands.

  Stormflash quickly primed the pod, and in good time, as the blast doors behind them were torn open by thunderous fists, the furious giant form of Earthbreaker tore her way through layers and layers of thick steel like it was nothing.

  “YOU DARE…” Earthbreaker said angrily as she approached the pod hatch.

  A door of hard steel closed behind them, and the escape pod was released promptly. Before she saw the form of Earthbreaker tear that open too, the vacuum of space behind her, the immense pull and pressure of space seemed a breeze to Earthbreaker, who just stood watching them with unabashed anger.

  Ayna found herself finally slumping back in the chair against the comfy material of the seating in the pod.

  Finally, she had escaped.

  Notifications occurred, the completion of two quests and more, yet Ayna found herself dismissing them for now; she wanted to take this in for a bit more.

  Ayna just felt her mind switch off as the pod drifted through space in a tranquil manner, the massive space facility left behind.