“ Empty One, ” the Witness greeted the Imperator in a chilling yet calm, echoing voice that sounded at once both male and female. “ The Black Court salutes you. ”
The Imperator lightly bowed his head in acknowledgement, and the Witness turned its attention to the rest of the Jericho crew.
“Daughter of Phyrexia, ” it addressed the High Priestess, “ you are a great distance from home. Your realm beckons for its princess.”
“I will return to that place of death no more,” declared the High Priestess in a calm yet firm voice, displaying tenacity greatly exceeding her short stature. “I’ve abdicated my claim to the throne and will not partake in Phyrexia’s conquests.”
“ The cosmos has a balance, princess. Rejecting our place in it upsets that balance and brings ruin to ourselves.
And you, Silvantyr.”
The Witness turned to Tyri, who shuddered as the pale entity’s gaze met hers. “Silvantyr” was a title that still haunted her and she struggled to forget.
“ We are unmet, but we know much of you. Galaxies still whisper the name of the Demon Warframe with reverence and regret.”
Tyri swallowed her terror to address the Witness in a low yet quivering voice, struggling to keep her composure and remember protocol when interacting with those of the Black Fleet.
“Silvantyr is no more.
I renounce my past and forge my own future.”
“Past, present, future…all illusions, Silvantyr. None may change the future any more than they may change the past.
What was, will be. And what will be, was.
So too did the Guardians of Light struggle against Fate, but eventually would they break before it.”
Something flared within Tyri, her fear melting away beneath the fire of indignance.
“I am nothing like those Guardians. They’ll snap like a bungie before they can step up to my level.
They’re destined to always be second best next to me . ”
She made an effort to keep her tone composed, yet the Witness raised its head slightly at her defiant words.
“ So it would seem.”
“Witness,” interrupted the Imperator, the only one with the power and authority to defy a Dark Lord in such a manner. “What is the purpose of this assembly?”
“ We know he’s here. The one they call the Scourge of Hell.
Knowledge has spread far and wide that the Doom Slayer has returned, and that he resides among the Forsworn. ”
“And why have you come?” Inquired the Imperator.
“ We wish to face him.”
“Then you tempt your destruction,” suddenly replied the Warden as she realized the gravity of the situation. “The Slayer is an indiscriminate, unstoppable agent of violence, opposed to all foreign agencies. He detests xenos and abhors the Void as much as Heaven and Hell. He has massacred our ranks, and he will do the same to yours.”
“You misunderstand. We do not wish to confront him. We wish to commune with him.”
“Talk?” Lieutenant Typhon chuckled, stepping forth to handle the matter. “I think you’re the ones who misunderstand. There is no ‘communing’ with the Slayer. He’s a mad dog, a loose cannon who lives only for slaughter and war. He won’t care for anything you have to say.”
“ Untrue, ” responded the Witness as it stepped across the chamber, chittering gown and effervescent plume trailing behind it and hands still held in front of itself in a pensive manner. The massive Tormentors watched their Dark Lord walk by but did not move. “ Causality yields its thrall. The threads of Fate unfold and untangle to reveal unforeseen timelines.
The Slayer of the present is not the Slayer of the past.”
Behind their commanders, the Jericho ’s warriors cast furtive glances at one another.
“Even if he would, the Slayer is not presently here,” stated the Imperator. “He is on patrol on a combat mission. He won’t return until this assembly is adjourned.”
If the Witness was disappointed, its indifferent pose made no indication.
“ That is no concern.
He will come and see…our shape revealed.
What he does then, unshackled from hope, that is who he is. Because only in the end…”
The Dark Lord slowly turned to face the Forsworn, its midnight eyes boring into their souls.
“ ...will he be free.”
* * *
I continued navigating the Tei Tenga facility which I thought to be strangely uninhabited. Other than the occasional maintenance, utility, and defense droids, the complex was devoid of life. Human or demonic, except maybe whatever swam below in the icy waters.
“Colonel Johnson, this facility was meant for people, wasn’t it? I don’t see signs of presence or even an attack or evacuation. Where’s everybody?”
The Colonel’s cool and distant reply came immediately.
“It was designed for human colonists, but hasn’t been inhabited in almost twenty years. Tei Tenga was abandoned after an insurrection erupted under previous UAC occupation.”
“What happened?”
“ They found something.
Maybe demonic, or maybe from something that used to live on this ice world. It drove the colonists insane, and they turned on each other.
The moon was quarantined and forgotten, until Mixom arrived a few weeks ago. They know it’s out here, and they’re looking for it.”
“Isn’t this moon off-limits? What changed?”
“ The UAC has fallen.”
“WHAT?!”
“ The networks are down. Communications have ceased. No messages are being received from Earth or Mars. A massive attack has taken place.”
I couldn’t believe it. The UAC, the most powerful organization in the solar system, gone?
“I- wha- what attack?! From who?! WHERE ARE YOU?! Are you here on Europa?! Are you with Mixom?! How do you know all this?!”
“I’ll explain everything soon. Keep moving, soldier.
That’s an order.”
Steeling myself in determination, I forced my doubts down and pressed forward. I had a mission to complete, and I wasn’t going to let the Colonel down.
Bogeys on my radar. Two platoons of combat droids from the rear and front, with drone support and Blackwatch Troopers.
Oh, not again.
“There’s no time! Take that porthole! You can take a shortcut up!”
I looked down at the access hatch on the floor. Acting quick, I spun the hatch and swung the door open to find myself standing above icy jet-black water.
“Wha- Are you sure about this?”
“Go! Now!”
The first droid turned the corner, and I hissed as I jumped through the port and sank in the water.
Despite the frigidity, my chassis didn’t register the cold as unpleasant, and my eyes or sensors adjusted for the low light to reveal I was swimming through a cavity between the complex and the ice shelf, though I couldn’t see more of the industrial facility.
“ Take that tunnel ,” Colonel Johnson directed in my head. “ It’ll take you through this ice to a porthole higher up. You can reenter the facility from there .”
Still treading water, I swam towards the dim tunnel before activating my thrusters to see if I could propel myself faster, finding that I could still dash underwater and they carried me a decent distance. I clambered and swam up the tunnel until I reached the other side, coming across a remarkable scene.
I’d entered another flooded chamber beside the Tei Tenga installations, portions of its exterior covered in some type of luminous moss or coral that attracted a number of small alien fish. There were more of those eerie globefish. Odd floating creatures resembling open segmented spheres filtering out those tiny krill. Pulsating seawood dangling from above that I realized was actually a school of luminous jellyfish.
This is amazing, I thought to myself.
“Keep your distance. These aren’t hostile but they’ve evolved to defend themselves. This planet is unforgiving.”
I swam forward again and scared away nearby fish as I approached. I stayed clear of the unblinking globefish and watched the jellyfish above to ensure they wouldn’t descend upon me. The spherical filter feeders provided soft blue glows from their bristles, bright enough for me to guide myself along the cavern towards the indicated waypoint porthole.
I suddenly came across a new fish, one the size of my head with a swollen stomach and a long narrow beak pointed at me.
My enemy radar briefly blinked as the fish expelled a stream of cloudy saline that instantly froze solid and encased me in a solid block of ice.
I primed my flame wave spell and broke the ice shell with an underwater blast of Hellfire.
FUCK THIS! FUCK THESE FISHES! FUCK THOSE FISHES!
FUCK EVERYTHING!
I opened fire with my machine guns and tossed Skullfire projectiles at everything in sight, dispelling the various creatures and leaving blast marks in the surrounding ice. The water soon became murky with bubbles and clouds of yellow-green blood and gore.
There was a faint sapphire glow in the distance from around the submerged complex, distinct from the coral or facility lights. A faraway white blip on my radar indicated a bogey at its position.
What is that…?
I fired some final machine gun rounds at the source, but the light flicked away and vanished.
Hmmph.
Continuing up towards the waypoint, I arrived at the porthole and twisted the hatch open before pulling myself back into the facility.
“If the next fishes shoot lightning, I’m gonna fucking blow this place to shit.”
* * *
“My life is perfect, so you believe
Are you that stupid? 'Cause I strongly disagree!
I'm not a martyr, more like a thief
Your rules are twisted, and they don't affect me!”
The Marine plummeted from the exploding wreckage of the interceptor through the storm clouds of the Raging Inferno, wincing from the damaging firestorm until he equipped the Void Heart rune granted by the Imperator and felt the cold nothingness of the Void envelop him. The emptiness threatened to overtake him and consume his heart with darkness, but he drove the slamming heavy metal song played by his Armor even louder and felt his rage, his willpower, his inner fire, overcome the darkness and force it back.
With his powers reduced, Void Heart would be all he could currently equip, but it was more than enough.
“You saw me comin', so why you runnin'?
What's the matter? It's just little old me!
I know your kind, you're fuckin' blind
I give a shit, don't give a shit about anything!”
He maneuvered himself into position with the other four warriors plummeting towards the Hellscape, their own defenses protecting them from the firestorm. Cygnis took the lead with Grimm close behind and Wolf and Tiger taking the rear. The other marine glanced at him and nodded in agreement, and the team prepared themselves as the scorched ground rushed at them.
“There ain't nothin' in this world for free
There's not a man, not a man I believe!
Give a rat's ass what you think about me
I'll dot your eyes and cross your fuckin' teeth!
BRING IT!!”
Cygnis spread his wings and glided to a controlled descent while Grimm and Tiger fired jet thrusters from their battle armors, and Wolf vanished in a wisp of fire and shadow to break his fall.
The Marine didn’t bother and struck the ground like a meteor while rolling to keep his momentum and burst through rock to hit the ground running.
“You're just a trend, it's gotta end
I stand in place while you motherfuckers bend!
You own a clock? Your time is up
You bottom feeders, it's just time to give up!”
The team charged through storm and fire across the Umbral Plains, not speaking or thinking but moving as one, standing beside each other and letting the slamming heavy metal and drumming of their own hearts guide them.
“ Ready to throw down, this is a showdown!
You get the memo? 'Cause it's all about to go down!
I know I'm twisted, I can't resist it!
I give a shit, don't give a shit about anything!”
The group leapt over a crest and seeing the confused jerks of startled demons, immediately opened fire.
“There ain't nothin' in this world for free” BANG! POWW! BOOM! BOOM!
There's not a man, not a man I believe!” CLANG! SWISH! SLASH!
Give a rat's ass what you think about me” “RAAAWWWRRRR!!”
I'll dot your eyes and cross your fuckin' teeth! BRING IT!!”
“WOOOOO!!”
The Marine activated the Argent Metal Armor’s enhanced movement feature and deployed an incendiary force skateboard from the suit’s boots, jumping onto it and cleaving a fiery path of destruction through the demonic horde while blasting blazing rounds from his chaingun. Grimm blasted demons away with his plasma rifle and another chaingun while an agile Tiger in Phoenix Armor leapt left and right across the horde, slashing his wristblades and firing away from his plasmacaster. Wolf slung his arm grapple onto a cracked stone column and slammed into it to bring it down upon a pack of Clawsquids, all while Cygnis maniacally cackled and launched gunfire and spells across the Hellscape.
“There's nothin' in this world for me
I gave away, gave away fuckin' everything!
This is the man that I'm choosing to be
I'll dot your eyes and cross your fuckin' teeth! BRING IT!!”
The team caught sight of a new monster moving towards them, an eldritch Burning Cross whose aethereal body cleaved through the scorched rock and arcane central eye cast a slicing beam through the mob in their direction.
The swift Guncaster shielded his team with his wide wings as the others leapt out of the way and opened fire on the eerie monster. Grimm’s projectiles and Tiger’s blasts passed through the demon’s ephemeral body, but the Marine knew to target the monster’s central shield with the lightning gun to overwhelm its defenses, and then focused chaingun fire to destroy its ocular body.
A burst of rock and fire erupted by the Marine to send him flying, and he turned to find a hulking Volcabus ( or was it Volacubus? ) covered in rocky volcanic armor launching semi-hardened lava projectiles across the battlefield. Behind it, six more Volcabi followed their companion, and a fresh wave of Clawsquids, Burning Crosses, Blood Knights, Blood Pinkies, Velcores, and countless Pyroimps writhed in a black sea
“ALL RIGHT, BOYS! LET’S GOOOO!!” Grimm roared with a BFG grenade launcher in hand and rushed headfirst towards the horde.
“ Hahaha! For a mortal, that man has fire in him!” Cygnis cackled.
But with a heart swelling with pride and exhilaration, a vivid Marine grinned in excitement and drew Taylor’s Hellshot as he followed his brother-in-arms.
THAT’S MY BRO!!
Cygnis unleashed a tremendous battle roar and raised his Augur railgun while Tiger raised a double-bladed plasma glaive and Wolf drew his sword out of a Clawsquid’s corpse and wreathed its blade in resplendent blood.
“Ashes to ashes!
DUST TO DUST!!”
The five men raced across the Hellscape with the fire of battle thundering in their ears and blazing in their hearts. As the Marine cast his eyes upon the Hellscape, at the fellow men beside him and the legions of monsters that would fall before them, he came to a dawning realization.
He never wanted to die.
He wanted to live.
RIP AND TEAR!!
The Marine pulled the trigger and unleashed immolating fireballs from the Hellshot while Grimm cast BFG projectiles and the Guncaster fired bolts of sapphire lightning from his Augur. Wolf was a whirlwind of steel and blood while Tiger’s resilient Phoenix Armor proudly stood its ground, the veteran Yautja fending back demons with blades and bolts alike.
He could no longer produce armor or munitions via the Praetor Suit’s fabricators, but the Argent Metal Armor’s probability engine allowed the serendipitous discovery of the necessary resources across the battlefield, keeping him in the battle as he shot, blasted, and ripped and tore through Velcores, Pinkies, and Blood Knights atop his Armor’s force skateboard. He found bullets, shells, soul caches, bits of metal plating and even natural crystallized Argent deposits that healed him. He could no longer Blood Punch but after his training with the warrior monk, his basic punches had doubled in strength and he crushed most demons with single strikes, even greatly knocking back Blood Knights with just one punch.
He moved the Hellshot to storage to preserve its soul munition and the horde thickened once more, but without stopping the Marine grinned and drew his new heavy Spitfyre flamethrower.
BURN IN HELL!
FWOOOOOOOOOHH!!
The Marine had previously wielded flamethrowers in other battles. They were short-ranged, volatile, or simply exceedingly impractical, requiring the user maintain the fire to do any damage and running out of munition within seconds.
Not the Spitfyre. The flamethrower’s stream extended so far into the firestorm that it faded among the dust and smoke, the telltale ember glow through the haze indicating that the stream had struck its mark. The weapon’s ammo counter ticked steadily but moderately down, thanks to its expert draconian making, and its arcane phlogiston ordnance blazed with ravenous hunger upon the terrain and writhing bodies of agonizing demons, their screeches, crackling of tissue, and popping of bodies reaching the Marine like the most pleasant of melodies.
BURN! BURN!
BURN, MOTHERFUCKERS! BURN!!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Volcabi were relentless and pelted the warriors with lava fireballs while casting searing beams from their single glaring eyes. But unstoppable, the Marine kicked up a bombshell and punched to launch it across the Inferno and leveled twenty demons and a Volcabus with the thermobaric blast. Six left.
“ TASTE MY IRONBLAST!!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Guncaster plummeted into the pack and fired his thunderous shotgun one, two, three times, vaporizing a Volcabus with every blast. Three left.
Holy fuck-ing SHIT, that shotgun is strong!
Not about to be outgunned, the Slayer kicked up three bombshells in rapid succession and spin-kicked in the air to launch them at the Volcabi in three different directions, their detonations erupting like suns on the horizon. The explosions didn’t kill the demons but forced them back and blasted their thick rocky armor from their bodies.
Hey, slick! Bet you can’t do that!
“Nah! I got you one better, big guy!”
Grimm rushed past him and crouch-slid to a halt while aiming a peculiar rocket launcher-type weapon that appeared of alien design, with gunmetal casing and a bizarre purple gyroscopic core.
“Trust me, everything looks better in BLACK!”
ROOOOOOHHHHHHWWWWRRRR!!
The soldier pulled the trigger and released a howling black vortex from his weapon onto the hellscape, a dreadful whirlpool of amethyst energy that tore through the terrain, siphoned every screeching demon in its path, and even tore a roaring Volcabus to shreds before the vortex detonated with a resounding violet shockwave. Two left.
What the- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT??
“A dark matter gun!” Yelled a smug Grimm as he holstered the cooling cannon. “You don’t have one of those?”
Are you even supposed to have that?!
“Jealous much?”
…Hmmph. That toy ain’t no BFG.
“ ROAAARRR!!”
One of the last two Volcabi roared in fury and released thrusting jets from its cannons, soaring into the air with tremendous power before plummeting back down like a meteor towards the men.
“INCOMING!!” BOOM! The Marine tackled a careless Grimm to safety while Cygnis shielded Tiger from the Volcabus’ fiery shockwave with his wings, but Wolf swiftly rushed between them.
“This one is mine!”
“ ROAAARRR!!”
The Volcabus launched groundspike waves and fiery boulders at the shinobi, but he nimbly leapt over the spikes and sliced through an incoming boulder clean in half with his katana. With a demonic roar, the Volcabus charged its cannons to launch a lava wave, but Wolf reached for the red longsword on his back that he’d received from the Warden, and in one movement drew it to slash a howling crimson blade that seemed shrouded in ink and blood. It was less a sword, more a pen that wrote the bearer’s divine intent onto the world. With one brushstroke, the Volcabus and twenty other demons caught in Wolf’s slash perished in ash, and Wolf returned the Gracious Gift of Tears to the scabbard on his back with only the faintest glint of red.
“The Red Mortal Blade,” explained Cygnis to an awestruck Marine. “One of two divine swords bestowed upon the Elemental Warden.”
I had a cooler one! Interjected the Marine.
“ AAAAAARRRRRWWWWWRRRR!!”
Through the firestorm, a colossal snaking shadow flashed in the clouds trailing tentacles behind it. The snake-like demon with a flat crested head drove its scythed arms into the terrain, permeating the battleground with its magic as its roar echoed across the Hellscape.
The remaining demonic horde screeched and fled in fear of the larger behemoth, but the five men stood their ground and drew their heaviest weapons in the monster’s arrival, a ten-meter-tall monstrosity which the Marine did not recognize.
And what, pray tell, is this fresh meat?!
“That’s a Manticore, a recent evolution of the Caco breed!”
THAT’S a Cacodemon??
“ The bigger they are, THE BIGGER THEY FALL!!” Yelled the Guncaster with his gleaming Golden Emperor cannon.
“ ROAH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH!!”
BOOM!! The Manticore’s head was thrown back by the force of the explosions that erupted against it. Golden fireballs that erupted like suns, howling black vortexes that tore at its armor, explosive harpoons that took out its eyes. The Manticore cast down a barrage of lightning bolts but Wolf leapt into the air to catch a bolt with his sword, blocking the men from it before returning it to the Manticore to paralyze it.
The Marine set his sights for the last Volcabus and, as an idea formed in his head, suddenly bolted towards it.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Keep shooting at that Manticore! I have an idea!
“ ROAAARRR!!”
The demon launched lava fireballs at the Marine but he strafed left and right to avoid them. The monster cast a surging wave of lava in his direction but he deployed his Armor’s force skateboard and soared over the attack as he equipped Taylor’s Hellshot.
RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!!
The howling fireballs launched by the Helltech rifle bypassed the Volcabus’ thick armor and seared at its body and spirit, but the Marine was not done.
RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!!
The demon roared in agony and blindly launched fireballs as the Hellshot’s attacks built up an eldritch miasma around the demon, until this reached critical levels and the Marine electrified the Volcabus with a stun bomb.
GO NUTS, FATSO!
He triggered the Hellshot’s alt fire and released a Blood Spirit at the paralyzed Volcabus, who roared as the ghostly entity and crackling energy were absorbed into the writhing Volcabus which radiated with sinister crimson energy as the Blood Spirit possessed it.
The restored Volcabus was now more durable, faster, stronger, and driven incomprehensibly mad.
“Big guy, what have you done?!”
The Marine lowered the Hellshot and raised two middle fingers at the Volcabus and Manticore.
Something REALLY COOL!
He brought both gestures together and united them with a psionic link, and immediately the Manticore and Volcabus turned to face one another and roared. The Manticore was considerably larger and more naturally powerful than the Volcabus, but the latter had been empowered by a maddening Blood Spirit that made it stronger and destructively aggressive.
“ROAAARRR!!”
“ROAH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH!!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The Volcabus and Manticore tore the plains asunder with the force of their battle, leveling the smoldering battlefield with meteors, lava, fireballs, and lightning bolts. The other four men retreated away the violent confrontation, but the Marine charged forward while drawing a crackling green weapon.
“ROAAARRR!!”
The Volcabus thrust itself upward with its cannons and soared unto the Manticore’s head, slamming the larger demon’s face before firing its volcano cannons point-black into the Manticore’s eyes, striking at its fangs, and releasing a lava wave directly into the monster’s throat. The Manticore released a horrendous deafening screech as glowing lava ran down its neck and melted through its flesh, crumbling to the ground as the Marine crouched into a slide while aiming the BFG-9000.
Say hello to my little friend!!
FSHEWWW BOOOOMM!!
The miniature green sun erupted from the weapon and illuminated the smoke and haze with its emerald glow, speeding towards the two mortally wounded demons and washing them both in a blinding explosion.
When the detonation faded there was nothing but scorched rivulets and a smoldering crater in their place, and a still sliding Marine spun to a halt and held his BFG-9000 over his shoulder.
DAMN, I’m good.
* * *
“Damn, not this again.”
Romero and the other two stood at the bottom of a stairwell, the corridor beyond flooded in shin-deep water with no rubble or dry spots. The ceiling lights sputtered weakly and the still water reflected ominously black.
“SAM says this is the quickest route, but there was no way to tell it was flooded. We’re gonna have to make a run for it,” Elena apprehensively urged.
“And if that thing comes again? What if there’s more?”
As if on cue, Skullhacker switched his burst rifle’s ammo type and stepped into the water.
“Let’s hope there isn’t.”
Romero frowned and primed his own vortex rifle, activating the X-Glass scope and placing a hand on Elena’s shoulder.
“Stay close.”
Skullhacker led the trio with Elena in the middle and Romero covering the rear, the bounty hunter passing his X-Glass left and right as he searched for nearby entities. If the cloaked creature was also invisible to his scope, they were in dire trouble.
Something splashed as it slid into the water, and the three froze in shock. Romero swept forward with his X-Glass and quickly brought it down. Elena could sense his fear through his helmet.
Back, he signaled. Go back.
Too far ahead to retreat along the same route, the three hurriedly waded around an unilluminated corner and aimed their weapons at the shape that drifted by, a bright red humanoid torso with a writhing tentacled mane swimming through the pool.
The Striga paused at the threshold of their hiding spot, gazing ominously into the darkness with snake-like tendrils sniffing the air, but didn’t seem to detect them and sloshed onward.
Romero let out a quiet sigh. He was grateful for Elena’ presence, and shuddered to think what might have happened to the group of survivors had they not found her.
He only wished it’d been enough for Taylor.
“Hiro…” Elena whispered quietly.
He forgot she could read his mind. “I’m sorry, I’m fine. I’m-”
“No. You’re not.”
She raised a hand at his cheek, but he grabbed it and held it down.
“I’ll be okay.”
Splash! “...grrr…”
The three spun around as a familiar growling echoed from the flickering darkness behind them. They were almost knee-deep in water with no hiding spots, and their motions sent ripples directly towards their stalker. Romero looked through his X-Glass to find a hulking quadrupedal shape sputtering in the display, sniffing the disturbed water before looking up directly at him.
“Run.”
“ RAWWWRR!!”
The three spun around and rushed through the knee-deep water as rumbling splashes rushed towards them, but Romero tripped on a submerged piece of debris and he fell on his knees.
“AAAAHH-!”
“ RAAWWW- HNFF!”
The bounty hunter looked up to find an invisible shape dripping water and thrashing in confusion as it floated suspended off the ground, and a strained Elena beside him held her hands out with faint wisps of energy visible in her palms.
“It’s really heavy! I can’t…hold it long!” She exclaimed with sweat forming on her brow.
“Elena!” Romero pointed as he rushed to his feet. “Throw it up at the ceiling lights!”
With a yell of exertion, the scientist cast her hands up and forced the monster into the sparking lights, electrifying the shrieking invisible shape with searing arcs of energy.
PEWW! Skullhacker determinedly stepped forward and fired an incendiary round at the suspended monster to reveal its form with thrashing hellish flames, unextinguished by the water as a strained Elena dropped it. The creature thrashed and roared as it tried to extinguish the flames, but the Blackwatch Trooper continued forward and switched ammo.
POWW! POWW! POWW! The airburst rounds exploded in the monster’s vicinity and shredded large chunks of flesh and gore against the white walls, prompting the monster to roar and charge them again.
“Elena, run!”
Romero helped the scientist through the hall as Skullhacker slung his rifle and he and SAM charged the creature. There were flashes of light and crackles of electricity, and Skullhacker appeared moments later riding the invisible burning shape like a rodeo bull, his form shimmering amidst the flames.
“ RAWWWRR!”
The blind monster slammed against the wall in an effort to throw the trooper down, but this kept his grip and drew his Neural Knife before driving it into the creature’s back.
“ RAAWWWRRR!!”
Successful strike, though a critical hit was hard to land on the thrashing invisible beast, and the Skullhacker pulled the knife out before thrusting it again, but the hellish flames had already extinguished.
“ RAAWWWRRR!!”
“ AAAARRGGHH!!”
Skullhacker swiftly looked up and phased towards a startled Romero and Elena to suddenly tackle them both down. The two survivors had a brief glimpse of a red tentacled mass soaring through the air before it landed on the injured invisible monster and began enveloping it with its crimson body.
“ Arrrfff…Urrrrggh!”
The blind monster snapped and splashed desperately, but the Striga had seized it and brought its half-torso above the creature to raise a bony red arm up and drive it through something hard, the survivors wincing at the sounds of cracking bone.
The bizarre demon then seemingly appeared to collapse. The writhing red mass consisting of the two monsters shrank into itself and dove into the water, leaving nothing but a dark red bloom floating above the surface.
“What…what just happened?” A bewildered Romero asked.
SAM flashed the answer on her screen.
“The Striga transported the monster into its pocket dimension,” Elena translated. “It’ll feed on it for several hours, leaving us alone for the meantime.”
“Hmm. Two birds with one stone.”
“A-choo!” A water-soaked Elena sneezed.
“You’re drenched!” A concerned Romero exclaimed, but Elena waved him off as she wiped her nose.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
The scientist turned to him and smiled.
“I’ll be okay.”
Skullhacker stepped forward to offer the lying bounty hunter a helping hand. He looked up at the trooper before taking it and standing up.
“Hey. Thanks,” he told the skull-faced trooper as he clapped him on the shoulder. The Skullhacker nodded and returned the gesture.
“Are you okay, Skull?” Elena asked. “You’re not hurt from that fire?”
Skullhacker looked at her before flexing his arm and slapping his bicep.
The survivors were stunned at the surprisingly smug gesture.
The Blackwatch Trooper gestured that they move forward, leaving a confused Romero and Elena behind to glance at each other.
* * *
“So this is it, the Burning Sea of the Raging Inferno.”
The group of hunters had reached the eye of the firestorm, standing on a cliff overlooking a colossal ocean of smoldering lava broken up only by occasional rocky crags and islands stretching as far as the eye could see. The ocean churned and boiled in fury, towering waves of molten rock clashing and striking against the shores and each other.
“God, this is astonishing,” whispered an awe-struck Grimm. “What a spectacular sight. I could stare at this fore-”
Okay, I’ve seen enough. Interrupted a bored Marine.
“Big guy, aren’t you at least a little fascinated by this endless sea of lava in front of you?”
Rock, fire, lava. Seen em once, seen em all. Let’s keep moving.
“ Slayer’s right,” Cygnis spoke up. “ Hellions like to burrow into this sort of volcanic rock. With luck we’ll pass without disturbing any, but they can jump out with no warning like-”
SCREEEE!
A giant demonic centipede the size of a man leapt through the ground at the Marine’s feet and struck him, knocking him back before curving down and burrowing into the rock once more.
“ Oh! Like that, actually!”
Tiger reached out and helped an irritated Marine to his feet, but the Yautja was thrown back by another leaping Hellion that surged from beneath him.
“ Hellion frenzy!” Yelled an excited and unconcerned Cygnis as he drew forth a smoldering longsword and slashed left and right at the demonic centipedes erupting from the ground.
Slick! Rocket launcher!
The Marine and Grimm equipped their rocket launchers and fired upon the Hellions surging between their companions.
“ Boys! Use blades, not explosives!” Yelled the Guncaster.
“It’s cool, your totems protect us from crossfire!”
“ Crossfire, yeah! But not self-da-!”
A Hellion surged from the ground at the critically low-health Marine’s feet and he pulled the trigger out of reflex.
BOOM!
When the Marine rematerialized moments later among the warriors, desperately trying to hold in their laughter, he felt his burning face was as red as theirs, still covered in his blood.
You know, people accidentally kill themselves with their own splash damage all the time… He sheepishly explained. It’s not a big deal-
A final Hellion leapt up from beneath Grimm’s feet and the startled soldier carelessly fired his rocket launcher, likewise splattering himself all over the team.
LOOK AT STUPID! HAHAHA!
HE JUST KILLED HIMSELF WITH HIS OWN SPLASH DAMAGE! FUCKING DUMBASS! HAHAHA!
When Grimm rematerialized moments later, through the glowing Dragonheart Totem that Cygnis had granted him, he deviously squinted at the guffawing Marine.
With his own splash damage, hahaha! What a retard- OWW!
Grimm had picked up a small smoldering rock and tossed it at the Marine’s helmet.
Okay. ALL RIGHT, slick. Is that how it’s gonna be?
A smirking Grimm held his arms out in a challenge, and the Marine grinned too.
In that case, he kicked up another smoldering rock and grabbing it, lobbed it at the soldier’s chest. DODGE THIS!
Surprisingly, Grimm dashed out of the way of the projectile, which struck the armored Tiger behind him and threw the startled Yautja back with the force of the impact.
“ Rahhwwwrrr!”
Ah shit…
The snarling Yautja rose back to his feet, deploying an arm mounted sligshot and placing a small pebble inside before aiming it.
PEWW!
The Marine rushed before the pebble had even fired to avoid its trajectory, which headed directly for an unwary Wolf who deflected it with his sword without even looking back.
Free-for-all!
“WOOO!!”
The guffawing men promptly picked up armfuls of volcanic rocks and started lobbing them at each other. Their defenses protected them from actual damage, but they still howled in surprise whenever a stray rock struck them in the gut.
“Hey, Grimm!” Cygnis suddenly exclaimed. “ Ever heard of Infernal Run?”
“No! What’s that?”
Oh no, you don’t! Exclaimed an excited Marine as the Guncaster kicked up a gouged Hellion eyeball, still lazily blinking at the men, and wound back to launch it.
“Oddball but in Hell! GO LONG!!”
The dragonoid tossed the “oddball” in Grimm’s direction and the Marine swiftly rushed to intercept, but Grimm fired his jet thrusters and snatched the grotesque projectile from the air.
“Sorry, big guy! I have double jump now!”
Fuck! He’d completely forgotten to give the Argent Metal Armor a jump pack.
“Hey Cygnis! Catch- WOAH!!”
“ HRAAHH!”
Grimm suddenly yelled as a dark shape dived out of the clouds and snatched him up in its claws, carrying him over the Burning Sea with the chargeball still in hand.
GRIMM!! The Marine ran in alarm to the cliff’s edge before he caught sight of the soldier fighting against the flying creature’s grip, a gangly dragon-like beast around ten meters long, of no demonic origin familiar to him.
“Huh! Yahh!”
Grimm?
Unexpectedly, Grimm freed itself from the creature’s grip and climbed up onto its back, situating himself at the base of its skull and taking hold of its horns until he was riding the shrieking dragon.
The chargeball was still in his hand.
“New rules, fellas!!” The soldier yelled out from atop the thrashing dragon. “We’re taking this match to the air!! First- WHOA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”
Grimm punched the struggling creature’s head which shook in pain and surprisingly snarled in submission.
“First team to get this chargeball to that island wins!”
Grimm pointed to a mountainous ridged island in the distance as Cygnis cracked an excited grin and the Marine simply stared in perplexment.
What the fuck is happening-
“I’m with Cygnis! Tiger, you’re with the Slayer! Wolf, you call the winner!”
“What-?”
“GO!!”
With a forceful thrust, Cygnis took off into the air after Grimm as the two flew over the ocean, leaving the other three stunned men behind.
Hey, wait! We’re not ready!
“Move it or lose it, big guy!” Grimm's voice echoed in the distance.
That’s against the rules!
“THERE ARE NO RULES IN HELL!!”
“ HRAAHH!” “HRAAHH!!” More of the strange slender dragons shrieked overhead in a pack headed in the direction of the ridged island. The stunned Marine watched them fly by as howling shrieks drew his attention to three dragons dropping from the pack and diving towards them.
Are we actually doing this-?
Tiger stepped forward and slammed his plasma glaive into the ground, releasing an echoing roar at the dragon headed towards him in a clear challenge.
I guess we are.
“ HRAAHH!” The passing dragon snapped at the Yautja but this leapt atop the great beast and clutched its back, climbing up to its head and driving his glaive into its skull to electrocute and tame it.
“ HRAAHH!” Wooosh! A second dragon tried to seize the shinobi, but Wolf vanished in a gust of smoke and teleported behind the creature, grappling and instantly slinging atop its neck to ride it.
The Marine gazed at the last dragon rapidly charging towards him.
Ugggh, he thought as he took a wide stance and braced for impact. This is gonna hurt.
CRASH! The creature snapped and seized him within his teeth in a furious burst of sparks. The dragon’s teeth and scales were composed of a biometallic crystalline matter, which sparked and screeched against the Marine’s Argent Metal Armor. It bore the signs of Hellish corruption, but didn’t seem to originate from Hell itself.
“ HRAAHH!”
NUH UHH! YOUR ASS IS MINE!
The Marine punched the dragon’s temple to stun it and pulled himself from its jaws, slinging to the base of its skull and viciously pummeling the thick crystalline skull in front of him. The creature thrashed and plummeted towards the lava in an effort to throw him off, thrashing fins and glints of teeth revealing the shapes of lavasharks far below, but he formed a psionic link to the creature and brought it under his control.
YOU’RE MY BITCH NOW!!
Leveling out before they crashed into the lava, the Marine brought his dragon mount - Servum! I’m calling it a Servum! - and flew off into the Burning Sea of the Raging Inferno. Crimson lightning flashed above and the churning sea thrashed beneath, but the five men swerved and soared through the air atop their strange metallic Servums. Except for Cygnis, who navigated the Hellscape on his own wings.
The Marine swiftly charged to flank Grimm and drive him off-course from the target island, but the soldier spun his mount around and tossed the chargeball in Cygnis’ direction. The Guncaster reached out to catch it but a flying Tiger swooped in and snatched it in mid-air.
KA-POWW!
An infernal lightning bolt struck Tiger’s Servum and caused him to drop the ball. The Yautja quickly regained his bearings and flashed a thumbs-up, his mount’s biometallic composition seemingly resistant to the lightning, but Grimm dove after the ball and caught it.
“Sorry, big guy! It’s not you, it’s me!
Don’t feel bad, I’m just OVER YOU!”
Grimm rushed past then soared straight up to avoid a tremendous lava eruption that blazed directly in front of the Marine’s flight path.
WhooOAAAA-!
The Marine and his Servum were bombarded by the dense wall of molten rock, the beast shrieking and tumbling in disorientation as its crystalline shell began to heat and crack. His own Void Heart rune protected him from thermal damage, but not humiliation. He hissed in frustration and leveled out his flight before following after the men.
The five men were roughly halfway to the target island but Cygnis and Grimm were still in the lead. The Marine spotted Wolf some distance above, leisurely surveying the race while taking care to avoid the lightning.
He suddenly had an idea. A stupid, ridiculous, insane idea.
And it’s gonna be really fucking cool.
He kicked his Servum and drove it to fly upwards.
Moments later, Cygnis spotted the Marine atop his Servum in an attempt to flank him. The Guncaster flicked his Augur and landed a perfect shot on the Marine, but this dissipated as the holographic drone was vaporized by the railgun bolt. The riderless Servum shrieked in alarm but the Marine was nowhere to be seen.
“ Huh?”
YEEE-HAAAWWW!!
A divebombing Marine suddenly crashed into Cygnis, the two plummeting towards the lava as they struggled for possession of a screeching chargeball.
“ Didn’t expect you to be this forward, Slayer!” The Guncaster shouted sarcastically as he wrestled the chargeball from the struggling Marine. “ Why the fascination with poor old me?!”
Ugh! Don’t flatter yourself!
The churning lava loomed closer, demonic lavasharks thrashing and snapping within, and the Marine seized the chargeball but was quickly enveloped by Cygnis’ wings, fully restrained by the dragonoid as the two fell to their demise.
“ Till death do us part, Slayer!”
You wish! The Marine dialed up his Argent speakers to maximum volume, which crackled and pulsated with dangerous energy.
I’m breaking up with you!
BZZZTT!! “HRAAAGGGHHH!!”
The audiopsionic shockwave blasted Cygnis off the Marine and sent the electrocuted dragonoid crashing into the lava, toppling across its solid surface before sinking into the red-hot sea with lavasharks swarming him. Prepared, the Marine up-righted himself and fired his force skateboard to slow his fall, glancing at the tell-tale shadow fleeting through the clouds before his Servum returned and he leapt atop to ride it once more.
“Raaawwwrr!” Tiger roared overhead, celebrating the Marine’s successful maneuver.
Here! Take it to the island! The Marine yelled out and tossed the fleshy chargeball at the soaring Yautja who blazed off ahead. Make it a touchdown, brother!
“ ROAAARRRR !!”
The ocean of lava suddenly erupted in a skyward surge as the Deadmaker Guncaster rose from its fiery depths, a colossal draconian figure awash in fiery lava that reached out and struck the flying Yautja in mid-air, whose chargeball fell out of his hand and plunged towards the scalding lava.
WhoawhoaWHOAA- Crash! The Marine tried changing course but his Servum flew into the Deadmaker’s wing and threw him off. The dragon screeched in agony as it was swallowed and incinerated by the lava dripping off the wing, and though the Marine’s Void Heart rune protected him, it could not stop the sheer weight of the molten rock pulling him down. He desperately clawed and tore at the fleshy wing, peeling back a sizable strip of fleshy membrane, but fell off and without further means of flight, crashed into the sea.
The Deadmaker suddenly roared as its spine split open and Cygnis shot out to capture the chargeball and rushed towards the island. He called down at the Marine who ran to avoid sinking into the lava, the strip of wing membrane still in hand.
“That was cool, I’ll grant you that, Slayer! But NOT COOL ENOUGH!!”
BOOOMM!!
The crumbling husk of the Deadmaker corpse impacted the lava and unleashed a tremendous shockwave as if the Hellscape itself had erupted over the Burning Sea. The ocean of lava rose in a monstrous tidal wave that scattered the other men beneath the howling winds.
The Marine had lost. He’d lost his only means of flight and with the Hellscape becoming so unstable, he’d never be able to avoid the lava wave, let alone traverse it.
If you can’t catch a wave, then you’re never gonna ride it.
He blinked in sudden surprise at the strange thought that suddenly sparked in his mind. The wave, his force board, the wing in his hand…
Don’t think, he recalled himself saying. Heavy metal isn’t about thinking, you have to FEEL it.
Closing his eyes, the Marine breathed in and let his mind be free as his heart beat to the thrum of his armor’s heavy metal.
Acting quick, he activated his force skateboard and he wove a simple spell to produce two fiery ropes between his hands, binding the ropes to the board and then to both sides of the wing membrane in hand, only realizing what he was doing as he instinctively let his newfound powerkite rise and watched the wind catch it.
WhoooOAAA YEAA!!
The Marine skipped and windsurfed cross the fiery ocean, the infernal winds catching in his improvised powerkite and propelling him faster and faster. He pulled and released the ropes to maximize propulsion and avoid the choppy surface and snapping sharks that swarmed across the surface, letting the wind and sea carry him instead of trying to fight them. He surfed an ocean of infernal lava, with crimson lightning shattering the Hellish sky and heavy metal hammering in his ears, and couldn’t help but grin in elation. A rocky dorsal fin charged him from ahead, and by kicking his board up and firing his jets downward, the Marine soared through the air and jumped the shark.
He spotted Cygnis up ahead, flying at a low altitude as he ducked and dodged towering lava twisters. Grinning, he turned his powerkite to glide atop a rising lava mound and soared towards the Guncaster, reaching out and swiping the chargeball from his oblivious grip.
I’ll take this!
“Wha-!!”
The Marine ducked back down into the roiling sea as he raced towards the target island and caught sight of a pass between two rocky crags.
GO LONG!!
Zoom! BOOOM!!
A nuclear shell soared past his helmet and struck one of the two rocky plates, exploding in a blinding flash of blue flame and radiation, but it was too late. The punted chargeball had soared between the pass moments before the shell struck it, and the panting Marine skidded to a halt atop the rocky island as the other men arrived after him and the Servum pack circled above.
He’d won.
“ WOOOOHH!!”
YEEEAAAHHH!
“That’s what I’m talking about, big guy!”
“Raaawwwrrr!” The Marine high-fived an ecstatic Grimm and chest-bumped a proud Tiger.
“I hadn’t had a blast like that since before Mars!”
“ We haven’t had fun like this since the Warden showed up!”
Never thought I’d say this, but it feels good to be back in Hell!
“ Raaawwwrr!”
“Rooaaaarrr!”
“ RAAAAAAHH!”
RAAAAAA-!
“ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”
The five men quickly drew silent and glanced around in startlement as the colossal roar echoed through the air and rumbled through the ground.
“...Cygnis, please tell me that was your echo…”
“ Nah dude, wasn’t me.”
“ Rrrrrrr…”
A blue glow drew their attention. The rocky crag the dragonoid had recently shot with a nuclear shell was casting a sapphire glow through luminous channels in its surface that almost appeared organic. As the men watched, the series of these along the lengthy but thin island they stood on ignited in a similar fashion, from small nearby outcrops to colossal crags in the distance, all of them flat and bearing a bioluminescent glow.
They weren’t rock outcrops, they were dorsal plates.
Ohhh…shit.
“ Everybody HANG ON!”
“ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”
* * *
“Ooof!”
The team swiftly grabbed hold of the nearest dorsal plates as the colossal creature they had once thought was an island began swimming through the lava. It moved in a crocodilian pattern, accumulated rock and ash cracking away to reveal a natural armor of dark blue scales.
“Guys, what’s the plan?!”
“Hang on! This thing’s swimming out of the Burning Sea! We’re going along with the ride!”
If we stay back here, we’re gonna get thrown off! Let’s move up to the head!
“You’re right! Follow me!”
The Marine ignited his force skateboard and rushed up the gigantic creature’s back towards the head. Cygnis soared over the spines and the others leapt, grappled, and warped through these in the same direction. Boulders, lava splashes, crystal shards and even snapping Servum flew past them, and the men swerved around these to avoid damage or avoid being knocked off the creature altogether.
“ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”
… Uh oh.
The monster began to stand up. Its dorsal plates crackling with bioelectric energy and its body red-hot and dripping lava, the colossal monster growled and slowly rose to its feet. It was over six hundred meters tall, with two giant legs supporting its weight, two smaller clawed arms, and a reptilian head oddly reminiscent of terrestrial wildlife, its two eyes glaring with ancient power.
“Whoa…”
That’s not a demon, the Marine realized as a great arc of shimmering energy rose up the monster’s body and a halo emerged atop the creature’s head.
WrrrrRRRR…
“IT’S A FUCKING KAIJU!”
FWEEEEEEOOOOHH!!
A blinding beam of energy burst from the focal point on the monster’s face. With a thunderous BOOM and an echoing ringing, the attack opened a precise rift through Hell’s reality. The Marine thought he spotted a vague distant glimmer in the portal as the creature entered the swirling vortex, the five men on its back screaming all the while.
The kaiju was simultaneously falling but also propelling itself through the dimensional stream with its tremendous energy field. The pack of Servum followed the great beast and snapped at them, but they bounced off a shimmering shield surrounding the kaiju. The Marine opened fire from behind the shield but his attacks were also absorbed.
“ We’re caught in its defensive field! I don’t think it knows we’re here! Just hang on and enjoy the ride!”
“ROAH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH!!”
A pack of Basilisks swam through the slipstream towards the kaiju, and as the men gripped firmly onto the dorsal plates, the beast focused power into its mouth and breathed a thunderous torrent of nuclear hellfire.
WrrrrRRRR “ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”
With dying screeches, the Basilisks crumbled to ash and their scorched remains were swept away by the dimensional streams.
An exit portal formed at the end of the rift. Focusing on the Hellscape visible through the gate, the Marine’s stomach sank when he saw the floating battle-fortress on the other side.
“The Jericho ! It’s headed for the Jericho !”
* * *
Tyri heard the faint tone of the comm line ringing in her ear as the other commanders discussed with the emissary from the Black Court. It was the men, something must have gone drastically wrong.
Keeping a neutral expression and calm demeanor, she discreetly strolled to the back of the assembly and casually donned her helmet to accept the call.
“ Tyri! Tyri, listen to me!”
“Cygnis,” the anxious Operator whispered from the corner of her mouth. “This better be life or death.”
“ We ran into a bit of trouble! We woke up something big-!”
“If it’s a demon just frickin’ kill it!” Tyri struggled to keep her voice down, but Typhon turned around and shushed her.
“ It’s not a demon! It’s a Godbeast and it’s headed your way!”
“It’s a wha -?”
“ It’s in the slipstream! We’re riding it and IT’S HEADED FOR THE JERICHO !”
Her heart beat climbing, Tyri maintained her composure as she stepped towards Typhon and placed a hand on the Lieutenant’s arm.
“Commander, the scouting team called in. They’ve woken up a-”
“Tyri, this is really not the time!” Typhon turned around to quietly hiss between clenched teeth at the Operator.
“This is an emergency. The team has woken up a Godbeast and it’s headed for us.”
“What-?”
Cygnis yelled in her ear as the Hellscape thundered through the Jericho ’s viewport.
“WE’RE RIGHT ON YOU!”
“ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”
The roar echoed through the Hellscape and drew the attention of the entire assembly to the viewport, beyond which the swirling vortex and rocky terrain manifesting from empty space were visible.
The great beast burst through the portal, a mountain of rage and thunder, rampaging through the rocky terrain several kilometers away as it charged for the stationed citadel.
“Ohhh…”
“EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN LIFTING!” The Warden yelled as the present Forsworn warriors, the High Three - vanished in swirls of flame and teleported outside the fortress to confront the creature. “ACTIVATE AUTOMATED DEFENSES AND MOBILIZE CRITICAL PERSONNEL TO BATTLE STATIONS!”
Alarms rang throughout the ship and the four great Tormentors entered combat alertness and stood guard before their master, and even the dark tetragonal pyramids of the Black Fleet mobilized and turned towards the attacker, but the two Dark Lords stared calmly at the unfolding scene. The Imperator stood indifferently with his arms behind his back, but the eerie Witness stepped forth and placed a hand upon the calamitous viewport.
“He is here.”
* * *
“Guys! We have to do something!”
“ The Slayer and I will help! You three should evacuate!”
“You sure?!”
“ The High Three are on their way! This’ll be way easier without you guys in the crossfire!”
“Alright, you got it!” Tiger and Wolf nodded in agreement with Grimm.
“ Tyri, warp these guys out of here! The Slayer and I will help!”
“ Gimme a sec!” Came the reply over the comm as the eerie tetragonal pyramids near the Jericho turned to face the monster and activated running lights along their edges, just as swirling blue auras appeared around Grimm’s, Wolf’s, and Tiger’s bodies.
“Good luck, guys!”
Fwoosh! BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The three men teleported away moments before arcane beams of violet energy erupted from the Black Fleet and detonated in crackling vortexes upon the great beast, but these were negated by its energy field and the roaring monster continued without even slowing down.
WrrrrRRRR PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!!
The creature once again focused power through its great sapphire dorsal plates, but to the men’s surprise, this time it fired a barrage of resplendent energy streams from its back that arced through the air and sought out the pyramid ships of the Black Fleet, vaporizing an entire score in eruptions of flame and shadow in a single volley.
What?
The Marine observed a peculiar detail in the destruction of the nearest pyramid ship: the attack site crumbled away to reveal the inside of the ship, a hollow structure filled with a fractal honeycomb lattice, but no machinery or crew.
An empty construct.
WrrrrRRRR… A vortex of sapphire energy began swirling in the Godbeast’s mouth, this time aimed for the Jericho.
“ OH NO, YOU DON’T!!” Fwoosh BOOM!
“ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”
Cygnis had leapt down from the beast and launched a flaming meteor punch at the creature’s temple from point-black range, the nuclear firebreath pummeling at the citadel’s shields and burning away another great swathe of the sinister pyramids. The Marine skated atop its surface and fired away with his rocket launcher and Gauss Cannon from behind the shield, but the beast’s scales were far too thick and his attacks didn’t even scratch it.
The High Three arrived and likewise joined their assault against the Godbeast, but their long-range attacks were ineffective against its shield and their short-range attacks did little to its armor. The creature swiped at the warriors with its great claws but continued charging for the Jericho.
This thing is way too strong for a Godbeast! Cygnis, can’t you turn Deadmaker and kill it?!
“Sorry, Slayer! But I need forty-five to an hour and a smoke! Deadmaker’s on cooldown!”
I’m low on ammo and out of BFG! We won’t be able to kill it before it reaches the Jericho !
“Not kill it, but I think we can stop it!” Cygnis suddenly yelled as he opened a summoning circle to reach into his personal storage space and manifested a thick golden chain inscribed with ethereal runes.
“ Godtamer Chains! Courtesy of our old Godkiller friends!”
With a great thrust, the dragonoid whipped the lengthy chain which tied itself around the great beast’s snout, tying it closed before whipping back and being caught by the Guncaster. The Godbeast howled through its nostrils and tried to tear at the chains, but these withstood even its great claws.
Will they hold?!
“No! YOU will hold them!”
WHAT?!?!
“ You can form psionic links with big creatures, right?! You can ride them!”
I’ve never ridden something this big before-!
“It’s not about size, Slayer! It’s about TECHNIQUE! WOOOOO!” A grinning Cygnis called out before releasing the chains and spectacularly leaping off, another Godtamer Chain manifesting in his grip.
AaaaaaHHH-! The Marine frantically rushed to catch both ends of the Godtamer chain flailing about the monster’s head as Cygnis tied another one to the beast’s arm and began swinging around it. Running lights and great cannons rose from the Jericho ’s perimeter, and as these opened fire and projectiles erupted across the beast’s body, joining those from the Black Fleet, Cygnis’ voice echoed throughout the Hellscape.
“Let it be known THAT HELL IS FOR HEROES!!”
The High Three leapt onto the Godbeast far below the Marine. He could see the Guncaster manifest an additional three Godtamer Chains which the other warriors seized and began tying around the great monster, binding its arms, its tail, its legs.
There was the distant glimmer again. A metallic glint of sorts. Had it come from the Jericho ?
The dorsal plates crackled and a shimmering aura rose along the beast’s body.
FUUUUUCK!!
With a great thrust the distracted Marine pulled the chains and drew the Godbeast’s head aside, but the howling energy beam overloaded the Jericho ’s shields and penetrated the ship entirely.
FWEEEEEEOOOOHH!!
As the Godbeast’s head swayed sideways by the Marine’s pull, the howling beam tore its way through the entire side of the citadel and incinerated another portion of the Black Fleet.
The beast was almost upon the Jericho, and although the fortress was several times larger than the Godbeast, the Marine was certain it wouldn’t come to a complete halt before reaching it even if its rampage stopped.
“All right, boys! PULL!!”
HUHHHH-!!
With all his strength, the Marine pulled upon the great golden chain and cast his psionic power through the aetherial bindings, struggling to force the beast to stop as the other warriors below anchored themselves upon the ground and likewise pulled.
- AAAAAAAAAA-
“Rooooaaaarrrr!” The Godtamer chains tightened around the beast and halted its attack, causing it to groan as it lurchingly toppled over to crash and slide upon the Hellscape.
- AAAAAAAAAA-
The four men beneath were likewise struggling to force the beast to stop. The Godtamer chains held but the ground was shattering at their feet and even upright, they were being dragged along through the terrain.
The Jericho and Black Fleet had ceased firing. There was a single dark figure standing motionlessly on the ground in front of the Jericho. It was the Imperator.
- AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!
With a great lurch, the Godbeast came to a complete halt mere centimeters from the Imperator’s face, washing the immobile warlord and fortress with a great gust of infernal wind, but neither made any movement.
The Marine panted in exhaustion as even the four warriors beneath dropped their chains and buckled to the ground. Cygnis threw him a weak thumbs-up from beneath, but feeling a piercing gaze bearing upon him, the Marine turned to find a glaring Imperator standing with his arms crossed staring directly at him.
Ah shit.
A hiss echoed from above and a distant yellow figure leapt down from the Jericho gate.
“All right, I’m here!” A half-asleep Master Wan called out from beside the Imperator. “Who are we fighting?”
The monk realized the mountain in front of him was a living breathing creature, and his eyes widened in shock.
“ Oh. It’s this guy.”
* * *