Abyss Layer 5 — "Gravity Swamp."

  The air here was as viscous as liquid mercury; every breath required overcoming immense resistance. The ground was a bizarre colloid that sank underfoot and sprang back the moment weight was lifted. But the most terrifying aspect was the gravity—ten times that of the Netherworld, twenty times that of Earth.

  The Slayer was wrestling with an "Abyssal Python."

  The beast was a hundred meters long, covered in jet-black scales. Despite the crushing gravity, it moved like a black lightning bolt, perfectly adapted to its environment.

  The Slayer pivoted, attempting to execute his signature tactical slide to evade the python’s constriction.

  It was a move engraved into his muscle memory, one he had performed millions of times.

  But.

  *Click... Zzzzt...*

  His knee joint didn't bend on time. The Praetor Suit's servo motor let out a muffled whine, like a gear jammed with grit.

  The action was delayed by 0.5 seconds.

  That half-second was all it took.

  *WHACK!*

  The python's tail slammed viciously into the Slayer's flank.

  The massive impact sent him skipping across the colloidal ground for over ten meters. Though protected by the indestructible armor, he wasn't injured, but the hit left him looking ragged.

  The Slayer stood up.

  He didn't counterattack immediately.

  Instead, he looked down at his left leg.

  He tried to rotate his ankle.

  *Creak... Creak...*

  Lag. Significant, palpable mechanical lag.

  It felt like a rusted bearing, or an engine filled with glue.

  On his tactical visor, the HUD interface was flashing frantic yellow warning icons.

  [Environment Scan: Gravity Anomaly.]

  [System Status: Servo Motor Latency +300ms.]

  [Energy Cycle: Efficiency Dropped by 40%.]

  [Diagnosis: Environment Incompatibility.]

  This wasn't a malfunction, nor was it damage.

  It was "Acclimatization Failure."

  The Praetor Suit, forged with Argent technology and Sentinel laws by the Maykrs/Wretches, was a perfect, efficient machine.

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  But it was too "clean."

  In this Abyss filled with chaos, filth, and twisted laws, this precise system was like a germaphobe aristocrat thrown into a pigsty. It was resisting the environment, refusing to intake the air, and even rejecting the ambient energy.

  This rejection caused the system to lock up and efficiency to plummet.

  The Slayer raised his hand and clenched his fist.

  A motion that should have been instantaneous now felt heavy and delayed.

  It felt like being trapped inside a rusted iron can.

  The Slayer showed no frustration.

  He stood still, watching the giant python coil in the distance, flicking its tongue, preparing for another strike.

  He hooked the Super Shotgun back onto his belt.

  Since the armor couldn't keep up with his neural reaction speed, weapons requiring precision handling were out.

  He drew the chainsaw—the one recently awakened with the Tiger Soul.

  The chainsaw revved happily. It adapted well here; it *liked* it here.

  The Slayer raised the chainsaw.

  Then, he did something peculiar.

  He raised his stiff left hand and, with a finger encased in heavy plating, rapped hard twice on the Argent reactor core in his chest.

  *THUD! THUD!*

  It wasn't a repair attempt. It was a warning.

  *Don't you dare choke on me.*

  Then, he stopped relying on thrusters. He stopped relying on servo assistance.

  He relied purely on biological strength—on that god-like physique forged through eons of combat—to forcibly drag this suit of armor, now weighing hundreds of kilograms and acting like dead weight, forward.

  *Thump. Thump. Thump.*

  Every step was heavy. Every step sank deep.

  But he was gaining speed.

  The python lunged again.

  The Slayer didn't dodge. The armor's latency made extreme evasion impossible.

  He chose to tank it.

  He turned his side, leading with his pauldron like a charging bull, and slammed head-on into the python's gaping maw.

  *BANG!!!*

  The python was knocked backward. The Slayer's pauldron groaned under the stress, but he stood his ground like a statue.

  Seizing the moment the python recoiled, the Slayer swung the chainsaw.

  *ZZZZZZZT—!*

  The Tiger Soul roared.

  The python's lower jaw was sliced clean off.

  The fight ended ugly. It was clumsy, heavy, and devoid of aesthetic grace. But it was still a victory.

  Singularity's drone hovered nearby, capturing everything.

  "Slayer... this looks bad."

  Singularity's voice came over the broadcast, thick with worry.

  "Your armor is built on the laws of 'Order', while this place is the ultimate 'Chaos'. The two laws are fighting; they're rejecting each other."

  "If we don't fix this, the deeper we go, the heavier the suit will become. It won't be your protection anymore; it'll be your coffin."

  The Slayer shook the snake blood off the chainsaw.

  He turned to face the drone.

  He pointed to the runes on his body, dim from the poor energy circulation.

  Then he pointed to the python corpse on the ground—specifically, to the layer of scales that remained smooth, tough, and agile even in this crushing gravity.

  Finally, he made a gesture: hands clasping together, pressing down. "Overlay" or "Fusion."

  Though he didn't know the tech, he knew the laws of survival.

  In an extreme environment, to survive, you must become like the environment.

  Since this "imported suit" can't handle the local climate...

  Add some "local specialties" to it.

  Singularity stared at the gesture, stunned for a second, then sucked in a cold breath.

  "You mean... Biological Modification?"

  "Wrap the Maykr metal in the skin of Abyssal creatures?"

  "That... that is blasphemy! It's madness! But... it actually might work?"

  Singularity's eyes lit up with the manic gleam of an engineer.

  [Mechanical vs. Biological]

  "Since the hardware isn't compatible, let's flash some 'Bio-Firmware' onto it."

  The Slayer ignored Singularity's mumbling.

  He grabbed the massive python corpse by the tail and began dragging it toward the portal.

  The plan was set. Execution time.

  Behind him, the once-precise power armor emitted heavy grinding sounds with every step, as if protesting the indignity.

  But the Slayer didn't care.

  As long as it let him keep killing, he didn't care if he had to dismantle the suit to do it.

  *Next Chapter: Implantation of the Demon Dragon Skin. Singularity skins a Flame Demon (or dragon), fusing it into the Praetor Suit. The armor gains the "Self-Repair" trait.