《The Last Old War》
[Edge] The Last Old War Part 1
Violet lights jab at the soldier¡¯s eyes, screaming warnings in coloured flashes. A deep, grumbling voice echoes through the soldier¡¯s head, coinciding with the lights to create pure sensory overload.
¡°Sunblood leaks in the left forearm, voidstone plating on the right arm destroyed¡¡± On and on the alerts went, detailing just how screwed the soldier was. Barely audible above the blood rushing through his skull was the din of battle. To his left the soldier saw friendly bolts of plasma thrust forward through the night sky, the superheated matter screaming with an eerie cry. To his right the soldier saw fireballs and missiles of lightning blast through the darkness with flares of jarring white light.
Too busy piloting his craft to look to the sides for more than a few seconds, the soldier returned his gaze forwards. More warnings flared across the various screens present in the cockpit and through his head.
¡°Oi, Bar-¡± The soldier was cut off as a lance of scouring frost cut through the several outer layers of voidstone and adamantine, reaching the cockpit and blasting the soldier apart atom by atom. The war was lost that day.
¡°You see, I¡¯m not really sure I get this whole ¡®war¡¯ business.¡± Deek pondered. He was sitting on a large armaments crate, long since emptied, looking down at Emb.
¡°What¡¯s not to get?¡± replied Emb, who was leaning on said crate, staring out across the battlefield. The front, such as it was, was composed entirely of slightly churned mud and jutting boulders of salt. It wasn¡¯t called the Land of Mud and Salt for no reason.
¡°Well I mean¡ nothing really happens you know? We¡¯ve been waiting here for days doing shit all. Isn¡¯t it meant to be more exciting?¡± As Deek spoke a pillar of flare spells shot off in the distance, signalling another pointless charge by the enemies.
¡°I¡¯m not sure what you were expecting, we¡¯re waiting for the cataphract to be done. If I recall, you were the one who wanted to pilot the damn thing right?¡± Emb shifted her gaze towards the column of flares blasted by their side, signalling another pointless counter-charge.
¡°I suppose¡ Actually I¡¯ve got a good question. Why does everyone signal what we¡¯re gonna do in an extremely obvious fashion? If we wanted to win, whatever that means, why not be sneaky about like the guys in the Land of Rivers and Knives?¡±
Emb looked up at Deek like he was an idiot.
¡°Deek. You know damn well why we use flares. For one, it¡¯s tradition, and for two, it allows for near flawless coordination.¡±
Deek looked down at Emb with a puzzled face.
¡°It might just be me, but I think the tradition is kind of dumb. I¡¯m also not sure about the second on-¡± The whirring of motors cut Deek off. Turning his head around towards the muddied voidtech bunker, he saw an engineering crew carefully guiding a platform that carried his cataphract.
Like all voidtech structures, the bunker was once made of brilliant white stone that seamlessly flowed into itself, with doors that slid up or to the side, covering up any entrances or exits flawlessly. However due to age the stone had broken in places, replaced with crude metals and most of the doors had been replaced with cheap iron ones. The main bunker¡¯s entrance was attached to a large courtyard that was filled with crates and artillery pieces. One such crate was where Deek and Emb had stationed themselves. To either side of the courtyard was a muddy trench that had been carved out of the landscape. The floors of the trenches often alternated between more of the smooth white voidstone and churned sludge.
In the centre of the courtyard was a large hatch that opened into the extensive underground network of tubes and hangars, although the mechanisms of the hatch and attached elevator often broke down. Considering that they, much like everything used by the Voidborn, used Sunblood made sure that no one wanted to fix them. Thus the engineers approaching Deek and Emb had to painstakingly maneuver the 5-metre cataphract carefully through the fragile inner bunker.
The cataphract itself was an almost unique device, and Deek had only ever heard of a few existing at most. They were positively ancient war machines used by the Voidborn to crush any opposition. While externally a cataphract simply looked like a giant suit of armour, on the inside they were a marvel of voidtech and magitech engineering. The main draw of a cataphract, apart from being heavily armed and armoured mechs, was that they could directly interface with the pilot provided they had an incredibly delicate and invasive piece of machinery inserted into their spine. Originally, such a Fluke would have to be carefully dug up and transported across several Shards, but ever since people figured out the precise mechanics behind Flukes, they could be made at a slightly reduced cost. That was to say, they were still incredibly rare and practically impossible to make.
¡°Is Deek present?¡± one of the engineers shouted.
¡°Present! Is that the cataphract?¡± Deek leapt off the crate and hurried over to the large platform containing his mech.
¡°Sure is. Now we have some orders concerning the rest of the repairs. What you may notice is that Barbatos here is lacking an arm.¡± The engineer pointed to where the right arm of the cataphract should have been.
¡°Barbatos huh, did an outworlder name it?¡± Deek looked around the platform.
¡°Yeah. An Outworlder from Terra was on the team that unearthed it. Barbatos apparently means ¡®bearded¡¯ or something, which makes sense.¡±
The cataphract was a behemoth of a machine. Even in a seated position it dwarfed Deek and had an imposing presence. Its limbs were predatory and thin, with its one hand tipped with wicked claws. The torso was slightly bulky in order to accommodate the pilot, but the plating was sleek and layered in such a way as to completely enclose the cockpit. The most striking things about Barbatos however were its helmet and spine. Jutting out of its spine was a long metal spike that looked like a curved spur with gold inlays. Its helmet was strange, as its face was covered in layers upon layers of slightly phosphorescent metal shards that gave it the appearance of having a beard. Barbatos¡¯ eyes were a dark purple in colouration, with several lenses hidden underneath the slightly opaque glass casing. Finally, crowning the cataphract¡¯s head were several thin spines that were made of the same substance that composed the ¡®beard¡¯ surrounding Barbatos¡¯ face.
¡°Anyway, to fix Barbatos you¡¯re going to need to take it through to the next bunker over that way,¡± the head engineer pointed towards the trench on the left of the courtyard. ¡°Now because we don¡¯t want to be accused of treachery, only you and,¡± the engineer glanced at his clipboard, ¡°Emb are allowed to go. Luckily you only have to go behind our lines so you shouldn¡¯t expect any combat.¡±
Deek stared at Barbatos for a moment longer before returning his gaze to the engineer.
¡°Wait how are we going to carry the platform over ten kilometres of fucking mud?¡±
The engineer simply stared at Deek.
¡°Just pilot it over, again you¡¯re not going to face any fucking mages or anything. Once you get to the bunker they will have the replacement arm. From I know the power they put into that thing should be enough to end the war.¡±
¡°Great, so how do I get into the cataphract?¡± Deek glanced upwards at the enclosed torso of Barbatos.
The head engineer barked a few orders and another technician who had a tablet hooked into the machine tapped his screen a few times. In seconds the smooth plating slid open without a single hiss, revealing a stark black interior that seemed to suck up the midday sun. Deek hopped up onto the platform to get a better look inside the machine, and saw dozens of screens wired into the back wall of the cockpit. He could also make out a thin seat that had a sharp needle jutting out in the place his Fluke would naturally sit when he got into the mech.
The technician tapped a few times at his tablet and a rope descended from the internals of the cataphract, which Deek grasped. With another tap the rope ascended and Deek settled into the set. He found two jutting hand grips that were connected via thick tendrils to the inner workings of Barbatos. When he placed his hands on the grips he found that they had several triggers he could push.
Comfortable with the state of the cataphract, Deek settled back into the seat and found the cold needle pressed against his Fluke. The sensation of the metal pressing into a node that fed directly into his spine was an uncomfortable one, but Deek pushed further back and found the needle slot easily into the Fluke. He made an involuntary spasm as the link connected to his spinal cord.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
In an instant the cockpit sealed back up and a dull violet glow filled up the dark void as all of the screens lit up simultaneously. A whirring sound filled Deek¡¯s ears and suddenly a bright pain seared its way through his body as the cataphract parasitised his central nervous system. He opened his mouth but couldn¡¯t scream as Barbatos linked his mind and the machine¡¯s, however he could feel several spurts of blood shoot out of his nose. Deek¡¯s hands tightly gripped the controls, and he felt them move of their own accord. The cockpit rumbled slightly, before finally all of the screens turned fully on. Most of the screens were diagnostic trackers and various bits of information, but the large central screen that dominated the front of the cockpit gave Deek a view to the outside world. Almost immediately he noticed that the rumbling he had felt earlier was the cataphract stumbling around as the two minds merged.
Deek was then hit with the surreal sensation of dwelling in two bodies at once. While he could easily move around in the cockpit, he also felt the rumbling power of Barbatos at the corners of his mind. Indeed while his hands controlled the cataphract proper, the machine itself used Deek¡¯s nerves to adjust for all the little things a normal person didn¡¯t usually worry about. Balance, energy flow, optical focus, all maintained by the machine¡¯s mind, which was composed of a plethora of magical circuits and inscrutable devices. This was also not to even mention the dozen of messages Deek received notifying him of the feats and level ups he had achieved just by plugging himself into Barbatos.
¡°Are you okay in there?¡± Deek managed to reorient himself at the sound of Emb¡¯s voice.
¡°Uh, yeah. Sorry it¡¯s kind of weird being in two bodies at once. But hey, I got a feat just for plugging into the robot!¡± Deek saw Emb recoil at his voice, but thought nothing of it.
¡°Damn, anyway while you were having a¡ whatever was going on in there, I got some shit for the road.¡± Emb held up an elegant rod that was composed of the same voidstone craftsmanship that all voidtech was made of. The Sunblood ¡°veins¡± that flowed through the device and the subtle trigger pointed to the rod actually being a type of gun. Emb also had an earpiece and a military backpack.
¡°I thought we weren¡¯t going into combat.¡± After speaking Deek noticed that all of the engineers had vacated the courtyard, and the battlefield was silent once more.
¡°Well, not directly. But as a numbskull you might not have remembered that behind our lines are the old mage trenches. Our lines haven¡¯t remained static for millennia.¡±
¡°Shit, true. So are golems on the table?¡± Deek flexed his fingers and tentatively made the mech stand up. Surprisingly there were no balancing issues, in fact it felt as natural as his own body.
¡°Probably not, it¡¯s been thousands of years.¡± Emb hitched up her backpack and secured the voidtech rifle behind it. ¡°Anyway, ready to hit the mud?¡± Emb pointed towards their destination.
Deek began effortlessly walking towards the back of the trenches. The Fluke wasn¡¯t the only thing that provided excellent balance, as Deek moved thrusters on Barbatos¡¯ legs and back flared to life and began correcting his motions.
¡°Sure am. Let¡¯s go win the war,¡± Deek smiled in his cockpit and gave a thumbs up using Barbatos¡¯ clawed hand.
As it turned out, the landscape about a kilometre behind the void shard battle lines were just as interesting as the rest of the shard. Which was to say they weren¡¯t very interesting at all. Emb surveyed the landscape for any points of interest, and was sorely disappointed. For miles the only sight was dirt and salt rocks.
Deek however, was having the time of his life. While there wasn¡¯t much to do inside the mech, simply piloting a behemoth of war like Barbatos was immensely exciting. Every jolt Deek felt as Barbatos¡¯ feet slammed into the mud below reminded him of the vast power the cataphract held. Much to Emb¡¯s chagrin, Deek occasionally picked up balls of mud in Barbatos¡¯ hand and threw it as far as he could.
¡°Deek.¡± Emb stopped and looked up squarely at where Deek was sitting.
¡°Yes Emb?¡±
¡°Stop throwing mud balls. What if an enemy scout spots you? We could lose this war on accounts of treachery.¡±
¡°The fuck does that even mean, ¡®treachery¡¯,¡± Deek surrounded the word ¡®treachery¡¯ with one-handed air quotes, ¡°I mean how is that a thing? Is this not a war in which two sides mercilessly brutalize the other in a display that traumatizes entire generations?¡±
¡°No Deek, it isn¡¯t that kind of war. Honestly you¡¯ve been reading too many foreign books. Also fuck no I¡¯m not going to explain treachery, I know you know exactly what I¡¯m fucking talking about.¡± Emb began glaring at Deek. ¡°Also switch your audio output to radio rather than loudspeaker. Your voice is infinitely more grating when it¡¯s backed up by massive fuck-off speakers.¡±
Deek tapped the various screens in Barbatos¡¯ cockpit while leaking a string of expletives.
¡°Shit sorry, got it now. Is that better?¡±
Emb held a hand up to her ear and pressed on the earpiece.
¡°Much.¡±
¡°So anyway, as I was saying, uhhh¡ Oh right, so what makes these wars different from the ones in say, the Land of Cold and Dark?¡±
Emb began smirking at the sight of Deek subconsciously trying to replicate his wild gesticulations he normally did in a conversation with only one arm and in a cataphract.
¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple really. If you look at the records, most of these wars only last for a year or two max and, according to the census from the last war, about a dozen people die per war.¡±
¡°On our side or?¡±
¡°Both sides in total. It¡¯s actually pretty insane how few casualties occur on both sides, and most of them are due to accidents or whatever. But something about this one is a bit different. For starters, we now have you and the magic shard guys have some insane mage that has been decimating the battlefield.¡±
¡°So you¡¯re saying shit might get violent?¡± Deek couldn¡¯t help the slight tone of excitement that leaked through his voice.
¡°Possibly. The land dispute this war is based on is also a bit more violent that the previous ones. The new lord of the magic half of this shard is more¡ direct than the previous lady. So right now we¡¯re hoping you can act as a sort of stabilizer so things don¡¯t spiral more out of control.¡±
Deek stopped and looked down at Emb.
¡°Since when did you know all of this shit? You¡¯re the same fucking rank as I am!¡± Deek sounded incredulous.
¡°You¡¯re technically a different rank since you¡¯re a pilot. As your ¡®handler¡¯ I guess,¡± Emb performed air quotes around the word ¡®handler¡¯, ¡°I have more detailed instructions regarding your overall mission.¡±
¡°Cool I guess.¡± Deek faced Barbatos forward again, and continued walking forward.
¡°Hey Deek?¡±
¡°What?¡± Deek said without looking down.
¡°Can you give me a ride? It¡¯s going to be a long walk and I don¡¯t want to tire myself out while you get to just sit there.¡±
Deek let out a deep sight.
¡°Sure, hop on.¡±
¡°Wait here Deek.¡± Emb hopped off Barbatos¡¯ back.
The duo had been walking for several hours, and the sun-like shard that lit the surface had gone from the centre of the sky to a flickering wisp on the horizon. However, in the dying light Emb had sighted what looked like a wall of stone men. At some point the two had found themselves entering a canyon, in which the only forward was either through the wall of figures or a nearby entrance that led deep into one of the ravine walls.
¡°Emb?¡± Deek¡¯s tired voice echoed through Emb¡¯s radio.
¡°Yes Deek?¡±
¡°Golems?¡±
¡°Shit, probably.¡± Emb¡¯s frustration was clearly audible through her earpiece.
¡°I¡¯ll let you handle it then, don¡¯t want to wake them up. If they are golems though it¡¯d probably be best that we just go through the tunnel.¡±
¡°I can look from here using my gun¡¯s scope¡ annnnnd, yes they are fucking golems. They must never have been deactivated because they¡¯re just kinda¡ staring... blankly.¡±
¡°Fuck it, we¡¯re going through the tunnel then.¡± Deek grumbled through the intercom.
For all of Deek¡¯s gaps in knowledge, there was one thing he had an extremely solid grasp on: the interactions between voidtech and magitech. As expected of two directly opposed elements, the two tended to mess with the functionality of each other when in proximity. This sort of short-circuit however was what allowed the relatively mindless golems to detect their ¡°nemeses¡±. Provided Barbatos or any other piece of voidtech didn¡¯t approach the golems, they would stay deactivated.
Not knowing how far the golems could detect his presence, Deek slowly walked over to the tunnel entrance. Before he could enter the tunnel, he heard the hissing of his cataphract¡¯s radio.
¡°I¡¯ll go in first Deek, just in case there¡¯s more golems or other shit still left in there. It looks like an old mage bunker.¡±
¡°Got it. I¡¯ll just sit outside and wait for the all-clear.¡±
As Emb scuttled into the bunker, Deek simply sat outside of the entrance and let out a sigh. The tunnel¡¯s entrance was actually much lower than it appeared, so he would have to enter stooped low to the ground. Deek pre-emptively unhooked Barbatos¡¯ spinal spur so it wouldn¡¯t scrape against the ceiling. Looking towards the wall of golems he saw that indeed they were still in a semi-active state, as their eyes glowed with an unearthly yellow light. Over the years their armour had worn away, laying bare the intricate spirals and jagged angles of the mana circuits that gave the simple lumps of stone life. Before Deek could finish marvelling at the ingenuity of magecraft, he heard his radio crackle to life.
¡°FUCK DEEK GET IN HERE!¡± Deek heard the screaming sound of a plasma rifle firing.
Twisting with unnatural grace into a running position, Deek leapt into the dark corridors of the mage bunker.
[Edge] The Last Old War Part 2
Using all of the thrust Barbatos had to offer, Deek tore through the tunnels towards the sound of plasma rifle shots. The darkness was briefly illuminated either with glaring blue light that almost echoed throughout the corridors, or with harsh bursts of whiteness that threatened to blind Deek with every flash.
Within seconds Barbatos skidded to a halt as Deek entered a large chamber which must have been a storage area. Broken wooden crates lay scattered around the room, while the ceiling was high enough that Barbatos could stand up, albeit with its head bowed.
Also present in the room was Emb, who was liberally using her mana in order to avoid a hailstorm of magic bolts. As Deek entered, Emb had stuck herself to the top right corner opposite of the entrance and, while upside-down, fired off a plasma shot before leaping to her next firing position. Although there were only five golems left, the amount of firepower stored within their roughly humanoid frames was impressive, or would¡¯ve been if not for their advanced age. Like all things the golems¡¯ integrated weaponry had worn away and lost much of their power, although each missile was still more than enough to turn Emb into a red smear.
Locking onto the nearest golem, Deek threw Barbatos¡¯ spur, which arced through the air and hooked into the golem. Grasping onto the cable that connected spur and machine, Deek gave it a rough tug, ripping the golem apart. The glowing ¡®blood¡¯ of the golem splashed against one of its comrades, distracting it enough for Emb to blow its head off with a plasma shot.
The other golems, sensing a greater concentration of Sunblood turned to face Barbatos before unleashing a nightmarish salvo of mana bolts. Lifting his one arm up, Deek was surprised as the magic projectiles simply washed over the voidstone plating, not even jolting the mech. While not strong by any means, the voidstone was more than enough to negate the weak mana bolts of the golems.
Grinning, Deek charged forward and held his arm out to pick up the dropped spur. Using the momentum Barbatos had built up, Deek spun around and pierced one of the golems with the spur, causing it to careen into another one just beside it. Deek yanked the spur back into his hand and prepared to cut down the golem, although a plasma bolt through its chest finished the job. Instead, Deek threw the spur at the last remaining golem and crashed the magitech creation into one of the walls, causing specks of dust to fall from the roof.
Deek surveyed the wrecked room and saw that Emb had stopped to rest in the centre of the chamber, bent over and breathing heavily from exhaustion. Before he looked away Deek saw Emb¡¯s arms let off a burst of orange dust.
¡°You must have used a shit ton of mana. Will you be all good to go on?¡± Deek began moving towards the exit.
Emb stood up straight and stretched her legs, causing more plumes of spent mana to emerge from her exhausted mana circuits.
¡°It¡¯s fine, the point of my class is using as much mana as possible. It should regenerate in a few minutes.¡± More mana leaked from her body, though only in small bursts, signalling that her body had almost removed all of the excess magic.
¡°I mean, aside from your fucking insane mana usage those golems were surprisingly easy to kill.¡±
¡°Fuck off Deek.¡±
¡°What?¡± Deek, who was bent over and halfway through entering the exit corridor, turned to face Emb who was strolling over to the open tunnel.
¡°One of those missiles could¡¯ve turned me to paste, and before you arrived it was pitch fucking black.¡±
¡°Oh¡ Forgot about that. Actually that¡¯s a great segue into my next question.¡±
Emb let out a pained groan.
¡°Oi. Anyway, why did no one tell us about the abandoned mage bunker filled with active war golems?¡± Deek sighed as he tried to not scrape the roof with Barbatos¡¯ head spikes.
Emb ran out to be in front of Barbatos before resuming a normal pace.
¡°Probably because no one knew. These bunkers haven¡¯t been touched since they were taken over. In one of the previous wars we must¡¯ve stormed the place and then moved on, found the voidtech bunker and never touched this place again.¡±
¡°Did we have teleportation rings back then?¡± Deek could see in the distance the faint light of the moon-fragment.
¡°I¡¯d say so. These golems are what, two, maybe three hundred years old tops? We probably had teleport tech back then, although it¡¯d be brand new.¡± Emb began running towards the exit, and Deek followed with a hasty crouching walk.
¡°Well I guess that¡¯s one more thing to report when we get to battlefront eh?¡± Deek stepped outside into the crisp night air and instinctively stretched Barbatos¡¯ back, and was greeted with the sound of creaking metal.
As night turned to day a swarm of black flares were fired off by the void shard soldiers.
Emb could only stare as the black smoke arced into the sky and slowly burnt out. Deek however, was much more spirited in his response.
¡°FUCK!¡±
Everything was silent for what felt like hours. The extremely faint sound of battle had gone quiet, instead replaced by howling winds that swept from the far-off ocean. Deek beckoned for Emb to get on Barbatos, extending its straight arm. Emb scurried up the arm with held breath. Her form was backlit by the extreme, harsh light of black flare spells. While the black flares simply left dark smoke illuminated by a white light, black flare spells left a glow that seemed to suck all other light into itself yet still leave its impression upon the eye.
Deek dropped his jaw, and Emb clutched at her head.
¡°So this is it eh?¡± Deek chuckled slightly and buried his head in his hands.
¡°The glove¡¯s off, so let¡¯s get this thing to where it¡¯s needed.¡± Emb pointed towards their destination.
¡°Hold on, I¡¯m going to turn off primary limiters so we can go as fast as possible.¡± Deek began flipping various switches behind the monitors in Barbatos¡¯ cockpit and tapping at his screens.
¡°Whatever you need to do, Deek.¡±
Deek grimaced as he felt whatever consciousness that lived in Barbatos stir, driving itself further into his mind. He felt a slight wetness around his nose, and without checking assumed it was blood. Whatever Barbatos was doing, his body rejected. Ignoring the disturbing train of thought, Deek gripped the controls until his knuckles turned white, and boosted forwards.
Within seconds Barbatos had gotten to its top speed, or at least as fast as it could go without causing Deek to become comatose. Salt and earth churned in Barbatos¡¯ wake, and Deek could no longer see clearly the rushing landscape. He heard Emb squeak in terror as the wind resistance tore at her body.
With every millisecond that passed the din of battle grew louder and louder. Far off wails became earth-shattering screams as voidtech artillery fired, and distant sounds like glass shattering became waves of cacophony as mages cast grand spells. Also heard were the inevitable cries of men and women shot and crippled. Amongst it all were strange noises that scratched the conscious mind and ripped into the unconscious.
Looking up from the centremost monitor, Deek saw that they had already reached the trenches, and in the distance he could see the bunker. In but one hour total war had consumed the previously peaceful front. Against normal magics, the ancient trench walls had held, but something new had caused vast rents in the land. In the distance, Deek saw a single mage stand ahead of the lines, and with a grimace the caster sent out a sickly cyan tendril that whipped against the trenches. The obvious gestures that were used in whatever strange casting style the man used gave everyone on the void shard side enough time to avoid the deadly tentacle.
Skidding to a halt (and making Emb slam into Barbatos¡¯ head), Deek charged directly towards the back of the bunker, and lept over into the courtyard. Landing the heavy cataphract caused the whole structure to shake and groan, and several of the soldiers nearby yelped numerous expletives at the sight.
Emb gracefully jumped off Barbatos while Deek was trying to figure out which switch opened the cockpit. Eventually he found it, and the opened hatch revealed an army of engineers, two of which jumped into the cockpit to remove Deek.
¡°Move your head a bit, either direction works,¡± one engineer said as they typed at a screen and pulled out a connected plug.
¡°I can¡¯t, there¡¯s a needle connected to my skull.¡±
¡°It¡¯s attached to a cable, move your head down and out, should pop out just fine,¡± the second engineer commented while running through several diagnostic checks on another tablet.
Deek tried moving his head, and found the spine connecting his Fluke to the mech popped out of the seat while still remaining in his Fluke.
¡°Shit, that¡¯s neat,¡± Deek quietly mumbled to himself, then a bit louder added, ¡°why do I need you guys to detach me from Barbatos?¡±
The first mechanic had hooked his tablet to a small panel behind where Deek¡¯s head was sitting a moment ago, and replied, ¡°it¡¯s so you don¡¯t have your mind stuck in the mech. You need to be properly disconnected.¡±
¡°I see¡¡± Deek shivered at the thought.
The second engineer piped up. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Good to go, minimal damage to the arm¡¯s plating and motors. We should hook up the other one soon.¡±
¡°Agreed, let¡¯s get you out of here.¡± The first engineer pulled out their tablet, and Deek found the connecting spine retract from his Fluke. He stood up and stretched, and jumped down onto the courtyard floor.
Deek ran over to where Emb, who was sitting on a fold-up chair. She was drinking chocolate milk with added mana stimulants and an energy bar.
¡°Here, catch,¡± she threw Deek a milk bottle and an energy bar. He sat down on the floor next to Emb.
¡°We finally made it and now we have a full blown conflict going on. Fuck me.¡± Deek sighed.
¡°Luckily for us, there¡¯s only one mage that¡¯s causing the trouble. Kill him and the other magic users should be easy to neutralize.¡±
¡°The trick is killing him though right?¡± Deek took a long sip of his chocolate milk. Instead of mana stimulants his was loaded with temporary Endurance boosters that increased his resilience and stamina.
¡°Yup. You saw those tendrils right? Well so far no-one has a fucking clue how he¡¯s doing it. There¡¯s no spent mana release either, so the fuck is somehow casting that without using mana. Earlier on he was apparently causing fireballs and shit using the same method.¡±
¡°Some hidden class or something?¡±
¡°Maybe. Allegedly he¡¯s a merc or something so we have no records on him.¡± Emb crunched into her energy bar, causing the brittle food to let out an unappetizing snap.
The two ate in silence until the central elevator opened up, revealing Barbatos¡¯ arm. Unlike the relatively plain construction of Barbatos¡¯ original limb, the new one was a bright crimson in colouration and looked to be made of dozens of overlapping crystals. The fingers were like talons and the elbow had a large spike coming from it, seamlessly blending into the forearm of the crystalline limb.
¡°No fucking way, Emb are you seeing what I¡¯m seeing?¡± Deek dropped his milk and ran over to the cataphract.
¡°Is that¡ Sanguine? Where the fuck did they get that much?¡± Emb began running towards Barbatos as well.
When Emb got to Barbatos, Deek had already hopped into the cockpit and was, although Emb couldn''t see it, flipping various switches in preparation for melding his mind with the machine''s. A large crane had been wheeled over to the new arm and a legion of engineers were trying to connect the various cables to Barbatos.
The machine jolted as Deek successfully connected, and he switched the audio options back to loudspeakers, though he turned the sound down slightly.
¡°Everything''s all clear in here. You should be able to connect the arm without any issues.¡±
When Deek finished speaking, the engineers had all of the cables linked up, and was slowly moving the arm into its socket.
¡°Okay, preparing for connection in 3¡ 2¡ 1¡ LINK!¡±
A groaning noise resounded as the crystalline clicked into place, and for a split second the speakers of Barbatos flared to life with an unbearable scream, before Deek managed to switch the audio settings to radio. Emb clutched her ears as Deek''s wails echoed through her skull.
¡°You alright in there?¡± one of the mechanics inquired, staring at where Deek would be sitting in the cockpit.
¡°Just fine thanks,¡± Deek said before realizing his audio output was only on radio frequencies. Emb heard him grumbling as he swapped back to loudspeakers once more. ¡°I¡¯m fine. That really hurt, the fuck is this thing?¡±
Barbatos stood up and Deek flexed the new crystalline arm. It seemed to operate even smoother than the original arm, flexing and moving in almost perfect synchronicity with Deek¡¯s motions in the cockpit.
The head mechanic spoke up, ¡°it¡¯s made of specially tempered Sanguine. Not only will work better than the other one in terms of strength and latency, but the Sanguine¡¯s been made to be near immune to magic. Mana should wash against it like waves on a rock.¡±
¡°Neat. Actually, I can feel some sort of cavity in my arm. It feels weird.¡± Deek punched the air with a clawed fist, causing the air to swirl around the ridiculous force of the blow.
¡°The palm of the hand has a projector that releases more of the small mana-immune Sanguine crystals. Just be aware it consumes Sanguine and power like a mother-fucker. It also won¡¯t protect against anything stronger than say an Empowered fireball.¡±
¡°So it¡¯s like a broader shield for protecting smaller targets?¡±
¡°Exactly.¡± The mechanic turned to the rest of the crew. ¡°Okay everyone, pack everything up. We¡¯re needed to clean up the-¡±
Deek let out a guttural warning cry as he saw a massive tendril of cyan light race towards the bunker. It whipped back and forth, causing explosions of salt and mud with every metre and the air recoiled from its presence. Emb too turned to look at the speeding bolt of magic and activated all of her mobility skills, trying to jump behind Barbatos.
Deek turned to face the tentacle of mana and assumed a wide stance with his new arm held up towards the tendril. He clutched the arm with his other to stabilize it and with a click of a button began to project the field of nullifying crystals.
In a split second the tendril met the shield of crystal. And shattered it.
Cyan energy whipped all around Barbatos, scarring the stony bunker and stripping any bones of its flesh. The crystal barrier broke into a red dust storm, while the arm projecting it shattered into pieces. Metal buckled and Sunblood splattered the courtyard. The blood vessels in Deek¡¯s own arm strained the surface of his skin and burst. Deek howled an unearthly scream and began biting into his other arm to muffle his cries. Only when he tasted more blood did he let go.
Breathing shakily he looked around the courtyard, seeing only devastation and crackling bolts of cyan energy that remained after the crippling blow.
¡°EMB! EMB WHERE ARE YOU?!¡± Deek¡¯s voice was choked with tears as he desperately looked around for any sign of Emb.
It was only when he looked down that he found the answer. Against the pale grey voidstone plating of Barbatos¡¯ legs, Embs bright red blood was incredibly conspicuous. It wasn¡¯t the magic attack that killed her however, but instead the force generated from Deek¡¯s deflection. With her already impressive speed that had been built up, the gust of pure kinetic energy had pushed her against Barbatos¡¯ legs with enough force to crack the plating.
Deek could only let out choked cries. But through his tears he saw something in Barbatos¡¯ visual feed. The mage, standing in the middle of the battlefield. His dead expression belied no hatred, merely the feeling of someone squishing a bug. Deek roared in rage and jerked forward as he felt something enter his mind from the intelligence inside the cataphract.
Foreign feelings of hatred and joy swirled together in Deek¡¯s mind. Hatred, for the prey that dared to raise its hand against the hunter. Joy, at finding new prey after centuries of dormancy. Deek felt more emotions rush into him, and he saw in a reflection on a screen in the corner of the cockpit that his right eye had filled with a golden light.
Soon the emotions turned to words, and the words were simple:
¡°Kill... Kill... KILL. KILL ALL MAGES! PURGE THE GHOSTS FROM OUR SIGHTS!¡±
The rising tsunami of Barbatos¡¯ emotions flowed through Deek freely. With his right eye now fully golden, Deek smiled.
¡°Hey Barbatos. Give me everything you can! Hold nothing back!¡± With those words he flipped off all of the limiters, and saw his left eye fill with blood. With a cough of gore, Deek grasped his cataphract¡¯s controls and charged towards the enemy caster.
In an instance his crippled arm rushed out to grab the now useless control tendril that used to command the Sanguine arm. Instead, as soon as his hand grasped the handgrip Deek felt Barbatos¡¯ spinal spur detach and began whipping around Barbatos like a spiked tail. Apparently the cable that connected the spur to the cataphract was in fact mechanical muscle, adamantine filaments laced with Sunblood veins that had enough strength to rip apart a golem in milliseconds.
Seeing several enemy knights charging towards him, lances outstretched, Deek willed Barbatos to jump and allow his tail to shred them to pieces. The cataphract almost gleefully complied, and soon the spur snaked through the air and pierced through one knight, slamming her into the other. With a twist Deek pulled the spur out and beheaded the other knight. In a flash Deek dodged to the side as a bolt of cyan burst across the battlefield towards him. An opportunistic soldier tried to take advantage of Deek¡¯s momentary imbalance, however Deek reorientated himself by sticking the spine into the ground and swinging himself upright. Using the newly found momentum, Deek twisted to grasp the soldier in his clawed hand, and threw the hapless man towards the tentacle-summoning mage. A quick burst of energy turned the man into chunks.
Grimacing, Deek continued his one-man charge with Barbatos¡¯ predatory consciousness egging him on. With every whip crack of Deek¡¯s tail, another head rolled and with every twist of his hands, the mage caused another rent in the landscape. Even moving at top speed, the battlefield was difficult to navigate and needing to dodge the destructive bolts cost Deek time. Barbatos groaned with the strain, and Deek bled more with every movement, but the two had become a whirlwind of fury that would drag their prey into the depths of hell.
After ducking another whipping tendril of energy, Deek stopped to pause. He was breathing heavily, blood dripping from all of his orifices. From the outside, Barbatos appeared hunched over in a predatory stance, head hanging low as if it was processing its anger. All of the soldiers had stopped fighting, jaws dropped in awe of a true demon. With a great groaning noise, Barbatos¡¯ bearded jaw began to open, ripping off hidden plates and restraints. The silence of the temporary ceasefire was replaced with a pure scream of hatred. Deek¡¯s anger caused him to begin crying, however in the recesses of his mind he wondered if this hatred was truly his own.
In response to this display, the hunted mage held his hands in a praying position with only his index and middle finger outstretched. In between the fingers was a small chain that contained a tiny censer. With eyes closed in concentration, the mage began casting a spell. In dead silence he focused, and the intricate mana circuits on his arms began glowing with a blue radiance that scorched the ground around him. To the soldiers around him, all that was audible was a deep drumbeat that grew louder with each second. The glowing on his arm too grew brighter and brighter, and the focused expression on the prey-mage¡¯s face was replaced with one of pain. With a mighty roar of agony the mage¡¯s left arm exploded into irradiated chunks of magic. However, as that happened tentacles of light rose from the ground, and the mage threw open his arm with a clawed hand, veins and arteries close to bursting with the raw energy flowing through his skin. His eyes had become filled with radiance, and soon larger tentacles began rising all across the battlefield.
Deek saw the tendrils rising and in a single burst of Barbatos¡¯ thrusters he charged towards his prey, clawed arm outstretched and tail raised to strike. Mud was evaporated under thruster and tendril alike, until Deek was but a hundred metres away from the mage.
With a twisted raised arm the mage threw forth a writhing lance of a dozen tentacles. Too fast for even Barbatos to dodge. Deek twisted Barbatos¡¯ torso in a desperate bid to avoid death, yet still the beam shredded through the cockpit and Deek¡¯s lower half. Barbatos crashed into the mud on its side.
¡°Uhhh¡¡± Deek groaned, hoping that he had woken up in a field hospital. Instead all he saw was the battlefield on its side. He was still in Barbatos, and lacking a lower half. Deek couldn¡¯t speak, or even scream as he felt his viscera fall out onto the mud. The only thing keeping him suspended off the ground, and still conscious, was his Fluke. Looking down he saw that hovering above his heart was a glowing golden orb filled with milky white fluid, which slowly drained with each second.
Painfully looking up towards where Barbatos¡¯ head would be, Deek thanked whatever power lived in the ancient machine. Turning his focus towards the battlefield, Deek would¡¯ve recoiled in pure horror at what was happening, if he could¡¯ve moved. The mage had become shrouded in a dome of tentacles, and thousands of the tendrils had sprouted from the mud and were aggressively seeking out life, regardless of allegiance. Deek watched a magic shard soldier get stabbed by the construct of cyan light. But instead of falling over, the corpse continued moving with unnatural movements. The soldier screamed, a horrifying sound that could only be made by one in true despair. After only a second of wailing the soldier¡¯s mouth closed and the body shook before continuing its stilted walking.
Seeing that the orb was nearly out of fluid, Deek channeled all of his remaining strength to say one last thing:
¡°Bar...ba...tos. Don¡¯t,¡± Deek hacked up more gore, ¡°let me die¡ like¡ that. Plea-¡± Deek coughed up more blood, and the golden orb shattered. Life left him soon after.
Despite this a tendril rushed towards the fallen pilot, yet before it could reach him a golden figure with broad wings and a helmet-covered head grasped the tentacle. In one move it crushed the construct with a clawed fist and let out one final cry.