A conversation had taken place among the three before the decision to move forward.
"Now it's time," Ashlem said after the trio had rested enough to proceed.
"Let's go!" Singla replied, already running toward the door, which had a blinking red light as if the object were about to explode.
Tony said nothing, only running to join Singla and open the door, something that was easy for Singla before anyone could move.
The door was open, and the other side was enveloped in an unsettling silence. The three looked at each other in disbelief, but it didn't take long for the atmosphere to fill with tension when soldiers, imposing and well-trained, began to emerge from the corners of the room, which resembled a torture cell. Their uniforms were heavy, equipped with advanced technology, but nothing seemed to stop the intensity of the impending battle.
"They’re coming!" Tony warned, looking at the soldiers approaching with heavy footsteps.
Singla stepped forward, her eyes glowing unnaturally. She knew that to defeat them, she would need to harness all the hidden power within herself. With a fluid motion, she began to mutter words in an unknown language, and soon a dark aura surrounded her, a whirlwind of necromantic energy.
Tony widened his eyes and then looked at Ashlem suspiciously.
The soldiers advanced, firing rifle shots and throwing grenades in their direction. Ashlem, with his agile body, dodged and evaded the attacks, while Tony stood firm, wielding his sword with skill and cutting down the soldiers that approached.
But Singla... Singla was different. She raised her hands, drawing the soldiers' life energy as if she were a supernatural magnet. With each touch, a red glow emerged from their bodies, and their vitality began to drain slowly. The transformation was brutal: their faces turned pale, their energies vanished as their bodies began to shrink.
Tony watched the phenomenon in bewilderment but continued fighting, knowing it was necessary for the three of them — but especially the two — to escape that prison and fulfill something greater out there.
"Do you feel this?" Singla asked in a low, seductive tone. "All your energy is being stolen."
The soldiers, stunned and weakened, tried to react, but they couldn’t. Their movements became slower, their bodies more fragile. Each attempt to resist only accelerated the process. Singla’s eyes glowed with a red light, and her smile widened as she absorbed more and more vitality from her enemies.
"This... is insane!" Tony exclaimed, watching the scene with a mix of horror and fascination.
Ashlem, on his part, kept his eyes alert, always ready for the next attack. He felt that while Singla was dealing with the soldiers, their strategy should be to keep moving and not let the enemies counterattack.
With every passing second, the soldiers fell to their knees, their eyes losing their shine, their bodies skeletal and weak. Singla danced between them, elegantly always collecting more power. It was as though she was in a state of ecstasy, feeling each fragment of energy drain into her.
With a final sigh, the last soldiers collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted and with no strength left to rise.
Singla, now more powerful than ever, looked at her two companions, still panting after the battle.
"They were nothing compared to what’s coming. But for now..." She looked at the battlefield. "We won."
Ashlem and Tony, still trying to catch their breath, realized how vital she had become as an ally.
In the distance, the sound of more heavy footsteps could be heard. More enemies were on their way. But for the first time in a long while, the three felt they could face anything that came their way.
Singla prepared herself for the next battle, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
"We’re ready for whatever comes," she said, her voice now darker.
While the memories of previous battles still reverberated through the zone, the horizon offered no relief. The three were tired. The sound of heavy footsteps was drawing closer, and this time, something darker was coming. The air compressed, charged with a palpable tension, even the space itself prepared for a greater confrontation.
Singla, looked at the two with a calculating gaze, as if she already knew what was coming. Her red eyes glowed with a frightening intensity, every cell in her body was imbued with the power of those drained lives. She smiled slightly, without losing her composure.
"Come, come. They are not as weak as those soldiers. Get ready," she said, her voice soft.
Ashlem and Tony exchanged a look, the tension between them growing. But it was too late to hesitate. Another door opened, but this time much larger, revealing the outside, and the three began to appreciate the view.
Suddenly, the earth trembled. A low, deep roar sounded through the ground, and then a shockwave shook the air. On top of a hill, a gigantic figure appeared. It was a massive creature, more imposing than any being they had encountered before. Its eyes, like two spheres of fire, fixed on them with a predatory intensity.
It was one of Nero’s beasts. And it was stronger than anything they had faced.
"What is that?" Tony asked, his voice tense.
Singla, with her heightened senses, realized the creature was fueled by a much darker energy than the soldiers she had destroyed. This was an  impossible force to control.
"This is what Nero calls the 'Guardian of the Zone.' A being he forged, fueled by the energy of lost souls and the power of darkness," Singla explained, her eyes analyzing the creature, already beginning to focus.
The beast lifted its powerful paws and charged with breathtaking speed. The earth cracked beneath its feet as it approached, and the winds howled around it. The weight of its presence suffocated the environment, making the air dense and hot.
"Watch out!" Ashlem shouted, already preparing his SURNATOY strike.
The creature advanced, its sharp teeth like blades ready to tear apart. But Singla moved with supernatural agility. She leaped forward, her body floating for a moment before landing on the ground. Her hands extended toward the beast, and soon a wave of vampiric energy formed around her. She pulled with force, draining the creature’s vitality.
The impact was immediate. The beast let out a deep grunt, and a dark aura began to pour into Singla, who smiled with pleasure. The creature’s energy was immense, but she absorbed it as if it were her favorite food. However, it wasn’t without cost. The beast reacted violently, swiping its claws through the air, trying to reach Singla, but she continued draining its energy, feeling its power weakening.
"This... won’t last long," Singla said, her tone one of concern. The beast’s energy was stronger than she had anticipated.
Ashlem, seeing the situation becoming unsustainable, stepped forward. He activated his ability, focusing all his strength into the SURNATOY. His fist glowed intensely, and with a powerful shout, he charged at the beast.
"Now, Singla!" Ashlem shouted.
Singla, pushed all the energy she had absorbed from the beast out of her body. The power was released as a shockwave that shook the air and made the earth tremble. The beast, already weakened, was pushed back, the impact causing it to lose its balance.
Ashlem wasted no time. With a quick move, he delivered the SURNATOY strike directly to the beast’s stomach. The punch was so strong that the sound of the impact echoed throughout the Zone. The creature let out a horrible scream as its flesh began to tear around the point of impact. It fell to its knees, its eyes losing their shine, and in one final effort, it tried to launch a claw at Ashlem, but failed. With a final roar, it collapsed to the ground, dead.
A silence settled.