Maneuvering around the edges of the great steel sea they managed to reach the heart of the beast. A multi-layered sphere floating above an island just off the coast of the northernmost landmass of this world. It had been completely subsumed by the liquid metal being produced by it. The metal poured out of the central sphere while two layers of spheres moved around it in a synchronized fashion. A pale red glow emitted from the center sphere.
“Kaguya. Does this look familiar to you,” Sam asked.
“Indeed. It appears to be similar to the device that created the Curse of Eternal Night. The level of Abyssal energy is weaker than our last encounter.”
“Considering there appear to be no guards. This device may be of sterner stuff than our last encounter,” Gareth commented. “Assuming this is not just being used as a distraction.”
“That or Daimos is confident the metal monster would consume anyone that gets close,” said Sam. “We'll find out later right now I have to get up close to that device so I can destroy it.”
“I might have a solution to our problem, Sir Warden,” said Peace. “With Merlin's aid. I might be able to disrupt signals in their computers. Allowing you to get close in order to destroy the device.”
“There is another solution,” interjected Gareth. “Use me as bait. With the plasma thrower inside my hammer. I can cause the mass to see me as a threat. Meaning you three can focus on the device.”
“One of us should.” But before the Princess could finish. Sam interrupted.
“No. He'll have to go alone. This is crunch time and we have no idea what defenses this thing has. The more of us that can fight it the better.” Sam turned to the elven knight. “You better ride like the wind. Got it?”
“I have no intentions to die here. It would be foolish to let you live without a voice of reason after all.”
Gareth gave a rare full smile causing Sam to laugh and pat him on the back.”Just get back here in one piece.”
“Good luck, Sir Gareth.” Kaguya placed her hand on his shoulder. He returned a nod.
With the admittedly slapdash plan in place Sam, Kaguya, and Peace took to the skies as high as possible. Gareth took a deep breath and fired a ball of plasma from his hammer. Impacting the mass and causing a static screech to fill the air. A hole was created in the entity. A hole that did not reform, perhaps it could not. Gareth fled the scene with the gooey creature in hot pursuit.
The
island was drained of all metallic influence revealing a barren
state, if the island had any life on it the metal had consumed it.
The central sphere shifted and spewed a new batch of liquid metal.
The Warden didn't waste this chance to get in close and summoned a
thunderous burst of speed from his rockets. Drawing Dawnbringer from
its scabbard he swung it at the sphere. The outermost sphere moved to take the blow losing one of its plates in the process.
The second
layer unveiled a battery of guns. The flying knight only evaded its
beams at the last moment. Peace unfolded a weapon from his back: a
two-handed rotating particle cannon. Firing beams at a rapid pace melting the
guns of the second later. The large machine shifted itself to the
left revealing another battery to return fire. Kaguya's protective
magic ensured the fire was futile.
Far from this battle, Gareth was still fleeing for his life. Firing
plasma in a wide arc to keep the great metal blob away from him. It
had a good effect as it did not reform from each blow and neither did
his attacks dull like others had. Unfortunately, it moved ahead of him
trying to get him to split his attacks. Gareth made his bike leap up
above the mass and landed ahead of it. But the mass anticipated this
and tried to surround him by cutting him off. Another blast of plasma
cleared the way for him, but there were only a few inches between him
and certain doom.
The Warden could not see these events but
he acted with haste all the same. He launched a flurry of slashes
that the machine easily avoided. It weaved around his attacks with a
skill no human could possess. Sam switched tactics and fired his
fusion canon but again the machine frustrated him with its great
agility. Peace leaped into the air and gripped the sphere slowing its
movement. Kaguya followed up by crafting a chain of light arresting
its momentum entirely.
The cyborg punched the gun ports on the second layer causing the energy to build up and explode. This damage exposed the third sphere which fired demonic energy onto Peace. He was sent flying back to the surface and rendered unconscious upon impact. Lubricant and other liquids bled from his body.
Fortunately, his sacrifice gave Sam enough time to thrust Dawnbringer into the core sphere. Its destruction terminated the command signal causing the metallic sea to become inert matter and began to break down. Sam and Kaguya ignored the victory as they focused on moving Peace onto his hoverbike. The Princess was chanting in celestial tongue to prevent any damage to Peace's soul that exposure to the Abyss may have caused. While Sam magnetically attached Peace to the bike and activated its auto-pilot.
Merlin
spoke up urgently. “Energy spike from the upper atmosphere.
Evacuate the area at once!”
The dark cloudy skies lit up with orange bursts of energy. Bolts of accelerated particles rained down and razed the beautiful landscape. Precious crystal was turned to liquid then vaporized in rapid succession. Sam, with Peace on his back, drove the bike through the unceasing barrage of energy. By his guess, this orbital bombardment came from either a war rocket or one of Daimos's planetary defense guns.
Kaguya's barrier was taking many glancing blows and a few direct hits. The strain on her body was clear from her twisting face and strained breathing. But she stayed strong keeping pace with Sam while maintaining the defense. Sam contacted Gareth and informed him of the situation at hand. The response was cut off by Kaguya's scream as the shield shattered.
In
that brief moment, a particle bolt landed
inches away and flung Sam and Peace from the bike. They survived but the bike did not. Kaguya managed to stand and raise a new barrier. Screaming her lungs out as she endured multiple-degree burns while blood ran down the side of her head. More bolts began to land in and around her position with increasing precision.
It would not be long till the automated weapon systems re-calculated their firing solutions for their now stationary targets. Sam reached over and took Kaguya's hand lending all the magical energy he could summon from his blade. Husband and wife looked at each other for what could be their final moments.
Fortunately, today would not be their last. A Bifrost gateway opened up before them. Merlin confirmed it was from Gareth. He had attempted to inform them that he arrived in Altea before them. Grabbing Peace, the Knight and Princess passed through the gateway, once again escaping the jaws of death.
One does wonder how fast Kaguya can heal her own wounds.
ReplyDeleteIt's easier when she's not under fire.
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