"They're a hell of a lot stronger than the ones we fought back then!" Glenfire cursed as he traded punches with Darklops.
He had sparred with Zero plenty of times. In theory, fighting Darklops Zero, modified using Zero's data, should have been relatively easy for him.
But reality was nothing like that.
Bang! Glenfire's flaming leg slammed into Darklops Zero's kick, sending sparks flying.
"You've got some moves!"
When Darklops Zero lashed out at Glenfire with another roundhouse kick, Guren did not counter with a kick of his own. Instead, he ducked down and caught Darklops Zero's incoming leg in both hands.
He had once used this move to throw Zero, sending him crashing down headfirst.
But Darklops Zero reacted lightning-fast. The instant his leg was caught, he sprang into the air and drove power through it, throwing Glenfire off instead.
Back in the Esmeralda universe, every member of the Zero Guard except Jean-nine had fought mass production models like Darklops to some extent. They were not exactly easy enemies, but the team had at least developed some useful tactics against them.
Yet those tactics proved useless against the Darklops standing before them now.
"They've figured out all my moves!" Mirror Knight dodged the Darklops Beam, looking for an opening to strike back.
Earlier, he had tried to confuse Darklops Zero with mirrors, using them to reflect his Mirror Eye Beam toward his opponent. But Darklops Zero had immediately located his real body and fired Light Bullets without hesitation, interrupting the attack and forcing Mirror Knight onto the defensive.
The other two Darklops Zero units held their own in their individual battles against the Jean Brothers as well. Each unit alone could withstand the overwhelming strength of its robotic opponent.
"This guy hits harder than Zero!" Jean-nine grabbed Darklops Zero's