Lances and beams of fire power from both forces lit up the wide expanse of space as explosions detonated soundlessly, ships exploding all around as they were caught in the crossfires. Idris Geb hand, champion of the titan fumed silently as he stood next to the throne of the titan blade himself, commander Urne below him on the command deck, shouting orders as the defiance along with the rest of fleet thousand blades returned fire amidst the fiery hell the fortress rained down on them despite the protection of the brigade diamonds. He tsked in anger and frustration, watching as troop ship after ship lit up in flames, exploding before they could reach the fortress.
Out of ten ships deployed, barely six made it to the fortress, passing through the hole in the abyssal barrier that refused to close up thanks to the combined attacks of the brigade members and the powers of fleet thousand blades. On screen around him were the guard, watching from their battle ships that returned fire behind the defiance,
“We need to do something, our forces are being cut down” Lucina said,
“The defiance without the thousand blades will be unable to defend against the capital weapons being used, the brigade defence will have to do” Tomasa growled, frustration evident on his face,
“Commander Urne, what is out deployment status?” Idris asked calmly,
“50% of fleet thousand blade forces have been deployed, of which 30% have made it successfully to the fortress and have made landing” she reported,
The 20% casualty rate had remained unsaid, but it settled on them all like a weight, Amiya cursing,
“Perhaps I might have a solution” shola said as she appeared next to Idris,
All eyes turning to the A.I that was the heart and mind of the defiance,
“Something stronger than the net defence of the brigade?” Vaughn asked,
The A.I nodded, the net barrier was a network of aether burning defensive artifacts employed by brigade to stop the bulk of the fire power from the star fortress that shot in all directions, but it was a diamond ranked artifact, the weapons of the fortress where rivalling peak master ranked attacks bordering on ruler. While it significantly reduced the casualty rates, the very fact that they were losing 20% of their forces spoke volume to the inadequacy of the artifacts. Idris waited for the A.I to continue,
“Deep within this ship is a plain aspect crystal embedded and built into the ship to gather and slowly transform the ship into the very aspect of the titan as it journeys with him across the archailect on his path to ruler” she explained,
“This aspect has the ability to use this gathered aspect as either an offensive attack or a defensive attack” she said,
“Why haven’t we used this ability then?” Yemi asked,
“Because the crystal is barely charged, the titan blade hasn’t spent sufficient time on the ship for the crystal to have sufficient power for repetitive attacks, once the power within it has been used, the ship will not be able to provide cover fire again, the crystal also acts as the power battery for the entire ship” she warned,
“Meaning the defiance will be dead weight in space, merely floating around?” Marcel asked,
“Precisely troop commander Marcel, while it could be used to blow a significant portion of the offensive weapons of the fortress away or shield the entirety of the landing forces, it could draw the attention of the fortress to our ship” she said,
Idris locked his fingers together,
“brothers, sisters, we are the voice of the lord when he isn’t around, we bear his mandate, what should we do, what would he do?” he asked,
The guard all turned to each other nodding,
“Well,” Amira started,
“We all know what his verdict would be” she said as they all nodded,
“In actuality it boils down to two options, offense or defence?” Fern asked,
“we blow the offensive powers of the fortress and we have no idea if it comes with a self-repair option” Marcel pointed out,
“Defensive will mean all the weapons will come to bear on us and whatever defensive abilities the ship will provide” Tomasa replied,
“Still, we have the brigade and the ruler with two masters to provide cover, we’ll manage to keep the ship in one piece till the lord returns” Hajin said,
“are we all in agreement for defence?” Idris asked,
The guard nodded, Idris drawing himself to his full height,
“Then proceed” he told shola,
Turning to Urne,
“Commander, inform all ships of our plan” he said as she nodded, shouting to the communicator,
A few seconds later, the communicator shouted,
“Incoming video transmission from prime ship thousand blades” he said,
“Bring it up” Urne commanded,
The image of Altair thousand blades appeared on screen, at both his sides were his two sons and master ranked ascenders, Killian and Duval. Idris nodded with a slight bow to the ruler,
“lord ancient thousand blades” he said in greeting,
“That is quite the bold move pseudo emissary Idris, to put your lord ship at risk for the war effort is commendable albeit probably foolish and risky, I’m not sure the thousand blades would approve” he said bluntly,
Idris gazed at the ships about to attempt crossing the valley between the two powers blasting at each other,
“I’ve watched my lord push with all his effort to protecting those beneath him, risking his life in the process” he started,
“I can confidently say with all my worth that should he be here; he would give the same command, I will not take the vessel of my lord to ruin lord thousand blades, the defiance will not perish on my watch” he said,
“On our watch you mean?” Marcel added,
“don’t be daft, of course he meant on our watch” Romulus grumbled,
“Just wanted to be clear” Marcel grumbled,
Idris cleared his throat, drawing all attention to himself back,
“All ships built to prefential specifications have an aspect crystal built into them, I’m surprised Moyo hasn’t noticed” Altair said,
“Nevertheless, we will protect the defiance once its power has been expended, it would not be right for the titan to return to a wreckage of a ship” Altair said,
Idris bowed at the waist again,
“Thank you, lord thousand blades,” he replied,
“oh and Idris?, the archailect isn’t a forgiving place, your lord might be naïve about that sometimes hence I can actually see him going through with this course of action” he started,
“But you know better, I can see it in your eyes, whatever crucible your carried during the absence of your master, you have seen a bit of the ugly side of the archailect, you should know better than to attempt such an endeavour without a backup plan” he said as the transmission cut off,
A quiet silence pervaded the ship as Idris tightened his locked fingers together, simmering but keeping it well hidden,
“Well, our first political clash with another power, who’s popping the champagne?” Marcel joked as everyone sighed, Idris smiling a bit,
“honestly” Amira said, exasperated,
“What?, we just got a face to face with a ruler!” Marcel said defensively,
“Marcel, shut up, captain Idris, the claws of the titan stand ready to deploy” Romulus said,
“Claws of the titan?” Idris asked confused,
“Yes, I decided to rename my troops the claws of the titan” Romulus said smugly,
“Are we renaming our troops now?” Wutan asked enthusiastically,
“I was not aware of such orders” Hajin said stoically,
“Everyone, focus on the issue at hand, shola, proceed” Idris ordered,
The ship began to vibrate as the power of the titan suffused the entirety of the ship,
“Beware, once the aspect crystal is expended, I will be offline until a time where the crystal has been replenished” shola warned,
Idris nodded as shola closed her holographic eyes and her voice became warbled as if interference tampered with the connection,
“Initiating core defence ability: shield of the titan, execute” she said as she fizzled away,
The ship shuddered once more as the aspect of the titan blasted out, forming a wall in front of the defiance as troop carrier ships deployed again in their thousands, passing through the shield and getting coated in a bubble like shield of the titan aura, shrugging off the stray attacks of the star fortress. Shooting with all haste for the fortress itself, Idris stood up,
“Now we join him” he said as the guard all cut off transmission, preparing to take ships as well,
He turned to commander Urne,
“I know I’m asking too much” he said,
“But do all you can to protect the defiance”
Urne saluted,
“Like my life depends on it” she replied as he nodded,
Walking towards the docking bay where ship ascenders scrambled to prepare a ship for him in the red lit corridors, all power save for the emergency lights were on,
“the ship can only go on a one way journey troop commander Idris sir” one of them said to him as he entered the ovoid craft, its aether batteries coming to life as the reflective hull sealed him inside, all its controls glowing to life,
“I only need it to reach the fortress, we’ll find our way back” he responded as the man nodded,
“Then may the supreme beings be with you” he said,
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Idris didn’t tell him he only trusted in one being at the moment as his construct craft shot off into the distance, and that being was holding down the defences of their invading troops.
********************
Moyo was beginning to be grateful for the aspect he wielded, putting up a barrier fuelled by his aspect, he deflected the beams of power pounding down on his troops, protecting the aether resonator as it was called by Ajax who was busy cutting into the blight forces in the distance with a maniacal grin on his face, wielding the aspect of the thousand blades, intent aspect fuelled blades cut down on the troops ripping into them as the forces of the archailect behind him set up their artilleries. Ijas and Ashas coming to life as they began to fire attacks straight back at the blights that poured out in their thousands, a gold ranked squad captain appeared at his side,
“Lord, we’re ready to push!” he shouted as a large blight bomb exploded above them, eating into his aspect shield which he reinforced,
He was about to respond when he felt them, his aspect resonating with theirs as he turned to the captain,
“step back, take cover!” he shouted before turning to the wide hole they had blown open from outside the ship,
as soon as the aether resonator had been planted, the abyssal aspect that gave the fortress its somewhat destabilized and uncoordinated form began to lessen, allowing the forces to land without having a sense of vertigo or misplacement as they tried to get their bearing. It also meant that they could actually do damage to the ship no matter how small it would be in the significance of its scale. Moyo held the walls, siphoning the abyssal aspect as his titan aspect purified it allowing him to dissipate it harmlessly. His fingers empowered with titans might dug into the black metallic walls of the fortress and ripping it clean, expanding the already large hole made by the brigade. Moving clear of the way as troop shuttle ships blasting clean of the entrance, clogging the hole as they roughly opened up, disgorging more forces along with each of his guard and machinery forces. Marcel coughed as he stepped into the area,
“we come bearing gifts!” he proclaimed, smiling as the rest stepped out of their crafts as well,
“Take up positions, we need to push forward” Moyo ordered,
Hajin gathered lightning, his body glowing as he shot it towards the blight line, detonating it in a bright blast of light that consumed the entire line, the troops pausing at that show of power,
“that must had cost you a lot” Idris said as his craft opened, hopping out as his broadsword made from the aspect of the titan formed,
Hajin winced nodding,
“I can feel the abyss eating at my aether, switching to aspect” he replied,
The rest did the same, their bodies taking a purple haze of power,
“the golds and below have it easy though, seems diamond and above bear the brunt” Lucina said as her blades formed around her,
“Idris produced a construct, a map of the star fortress taking shape,
“Each troop commander will take their forces, this is a pincer attack, forces of the death blade, sol blade, stellar blade and silent blade are holding the lines up front, rendezvous with them and push towards the core of the ship, we need to destroy the abyssal aspect that powers the ship” Idris said,
“Leave the command deck of the ship to I and the other masters coming, the rest of you keep your eyes peeled open, this is a star fortress, we’re barely a blip in this ship, lots of dangers around” Moyo warned,
He had barely turned when the entire area felt the bile inducing powers of a category 5 diamond ranked abyssal swarm leaders. Moyo’s gaze sharpened, his guard producing their weapons, with his connection to them, he flooded his aspect core within them to the brim, watching as they sucked in their breaths,
“Sugar rush” Amiya said shaking her head,
“Spread out, the true forces of the ship are bearing down on us, we’ve finally gotten their attention” Moyo ordered,
“Idris, head with the forces going to the core of the fortress, wipe out everything you meet along the way” he said before activating his step of the titan, phasing through the area protected by the aether resonator and into the deep restrictive domain of the abyssal powers where Ajax fought with no care in the world, wielding the aspect of the thousand blades and his aspect of the deathblade in tandem with each other,
“Took you long enough” Ajax grunted as the entire area around him had become a smoking pile of goo that dissipated,
“Leave the small fires, we head to the command deck, the forces are right behind us” Moyo said,
“Hopefully we meet whoever runs this fortress, tired of beating on small fries” Ajax replied,
“a ship this big, probably someone close to the mutator himself” Moyo responded as the two masters with aspects running through their very being began to blitz through the ship, tearing their way with the help of the map. Passing through corridors where the forces of the archailect were pinned down, they stopped to relieve the forces, tearing through whatever forces of the abyss hammered at their troops, trying to dislodge the aether resonator.
Leaving their enemies a wreaking pile of mutilated parts, they continued on their way till a giant green hand burst through the abyssal walls of the route they were passing, green mutated claws trying to clamp down on Ajax who dodged with all the pre-natural speed of a master, Moyo clashing with it in a blast of power,
“Well, I wondered when he’d start sending them” Ajax said casually,
“Them?” Moyo asked,
A giant muscular creature stepped out of the blown wall, moaning as if in agony, it looked like a being patched together with pieces of different creatures. Its face covered with a fleshy mask and a pipe attached from a tank behind its back straight into what Moyo suspected was its mouth, green decaying skin that looked putrid. It groaned at them, spittle flying out from the flesh mask on its face to sizzle on touching the ground,
“That, is a Nethertaur, nasty work of the mutator, preferred creatures of his elite” Ajax explained,
“So if that thing is here, that means” Moyo asked, leaving the question open,
“Quite possible, Molrik wouldn’t send a star fortress to hold the third line of his defence without leaving it in capable hands” Ajax replied,
Moyo gripped dominion tighter as he swung the blade, channelling its black hole ability as the blade came in contact with the skin of the monster, a mini hole tearing into its frame just as fast as the creature could heal back,
“That won’t work” Ajax said offhandedly,
The creature moved with speed rivalling a diamond ranker, catching Moyo almost off-guard as he withdrew dominion with a squelching noise, bringing it sideways in time to defend against the punch that threw him sideways slamming him into the wall next to him, groaning,
“Could had said that a few seconds ago” he said as he extracted himself from the dent, rolling sideways to avoid another punch from the creature,
“where’s the fun in that?” Ajax asked amusingly,
Blitzing sideways, he swung dominion with his aspect, watching it tear straight through its skull, shearing the top half away. Tentacles protruded from its skull, latching on the torn part before attacking it back the creature roaring,
“Alright, I give up, how do you kill this thing?’ Moyo asked,
Ajax grinned,
“I do not know” he said,
Moyo blinked at him,
“What do you mean you don’t know?” he asked,
“In as much as I totally adore the way you believe I have all the answers, my dear disciple, I do not” he responded,
Moyo rolled sideways as the creature spewed a torrent of green slimy liquid that ate the surrounding area,
“It pukes acid?” Moyo asked incredulously,
“Actually, it’s abyssal liquid, worse, burns right through your mortal frame and soul” Ajax said as he floated upwards,
“do I look like I care?, it needs to die and now” Moyo growled,
One step of Ogun later despite the aspect of the abyss trying to restrict his movement and he was next to the monster, slamming his blade right into the skull of the creature, using his black hole to explode it. Ajax moved closer, hand covered in the dark and blue aspect of the reaper and thousand blades, punching it straight through its chest cavity to grip something before tearing it out. In the death blades’ hand was a beating dark crystal covered with sinews and flesh that bound the seemingly cracked crystal together.
The creature froze when Ajax tore out the crystal, shattering it in his fist, the Nethertaur slumped to the ground almost boneless, its body burning up in black flames till nothing but a black smear was left on the ground. Moyo glanced at Ajax dusting his hands and back at the pile of black smear on the ground, he narrowed his eyes,
“You knew had to kill it, didn’t, didn’t you?” Moyo asked,
‘I had my theories, let’s just be glad it worked” Ajax replied,
Moyo stared at his former master doubtfully, Ajax grinning mischievously,
“The forces can’t deal with this abomination, it’s strength rivals diamonds and new masters” Moyo said,
“I doubt whoever sent it after us would waste such a resource on rank and file, we present more of a threat” Ajax said candidly,
“Then let us ensure it remains that way” Moyo replied as he flared his aspect, acting as a beacon to draw whatever abyssal forces were nearby,
Ferocity of oshosi screamed at him to dodge the projectile shooting for his head, step of Ogun ferried him away from the direction of the weapon that blasted past where he stood. Two more Nethertaurs stepped out of the crater of a wall the first had initially punched through. One holding a pair of rusted sickles their edges dripping with the same reality decaying substance the blights were made of,
“Wherever these creatures are coming from, that’s where we need to head” Moyo said,
“Usually I’d agree with you” Ajax said as he drew Krial, his blade chained to his hand,
“But I have a feeling these things are a diversion, to draw us away from the main goal, the command bridge” Ajax finished as the area became suffused in the chilling aura of death, Moyo shivering as he felt the grim reaper right behind him,
“Can you take them down yourself?’ Moyo asked, concern in his voice,
Ajax turned to look at him, his irises glowing crystal black with tiny pinpricks of silver glowing within them like stars, his spiritual form taking shape, a large bony wraith in a tattered cloak wielding a large silver sickle. He shuddered at the feeling, of the eventuality of death, his aspect pushing at the aspect of the reaper, repelling the aura away from him,
“I’ve been fighting overwhelming odds from before you were born titan blade” Ajax replied,
“Point taken, be safe, good hunting” Moyo replied as he casually broke the sound barrier as he blitzed forwards,
*******************************8
Ajax glanced at the direction his disciple had gone, satisfied the child had gone as far as possible from the area before turning to the two monsters,
“Nethertaurs” he said,
“Foot soldiers of Vesh phantom scourge” he said as he raised Krial, his mantle a black and gold armor fitting tightly over his body with a black skull mask locking over his face,
“I remember you” he whispered,
“I know you can hear me Vesh” he continued as the creatures attacked, bearing down on him with all their strength,
A pathway tore right open at both his sides, the creature passing through as another two pathways opened above him, the creatures falling through. His spiritual form moved with all the speed of a master, cutting the monsters into pieces of gooey flesh and parts, Ajax moving as he caught the two crystals within them and crushing it,
“Do you remember me heir of the mutator?” he continued,
“Do you remember that fateful night when you and your kin caused the death of an entire system?” he said as he landed,
“I do, I remember, and while I would love to be the one to end you, I’m sending someone better than me, but your works would serve my ambitions phantom scourge, it would serve my goals” he finished as he passed through the hole in the wall from where the Nethertaurs were coming from.
******************************
Moyo tore through corridors, climbed steps that defied common sense as they twisted and bent, laying waste to creatures all around. Twice he had come across the forces of the archailect trying to tear their way through a particular force, bodies strewn on the floor from both sides, casualties in this battle of attrition, the only difference being one side standing to lose more than the other.
The entire fortress echoed with the blasting shots from the Ijas and the exploding aether bombs all around as the forces of the archailect made their way deeper into the fortress, their goal being the core of the Ship. The deeper they went, the more resistance they encountered, Moyo attempting to help them along the way till Idris reminded him of his goal as hulking robotic constructs began to deploy from the back of the archailect troops, bearing cannons and strafing guns that fired intent and aether bombs, adding much needed suppression fire on the forces of the abyss despite the firepower brought by the Ijas.
Moyo had relented them, pushing through his own way as he got ever closer to the command deck of the bridge, he staggered as he passed through a large door carved in faces depicting in terrible agonizing postures. Stumbling to a stop, he glanced around at the green glowing lights that laid strewn across the room, eyes wide as he realized what they were. Vats, thousands of them holding mutated forms in different stages of development, but Moyo could see what somewhere, Nethertaurs in the making and the rest.
A loud footstep echoed the arrival of a large creature in putrid slimy armour, carrying two large oversized cannons in its hands. Face covered in a green blight looking helmet, every inch of its large and muscular form was covered in sores that spat the same green liquid the Nethertaurs released while also being covered in layers of armour. Moyo felt the aspect of decay, one of the numerous parts of the abyss, this one prevalent in the room.
The creature gurgled, its voice coming out in a wheezing voice,
“praise be the lord Molrik!, the blessed mutator, creator of new life!” it said,
It stamped its feet as pathways opened up all around it, little humanoid shapes dragging themselves across the pathways into the holding one crude implement or the other. The large creature pointed one large gauntlet finger at Moyo,
“Defiler!, you seek to destroy the blessings of Molrik, attack children of Molrik, tear the defiler limb from limb!, let him serve the lord mutator even in blessed death!” it ordered as the creatures became rabid running at him in a speed faster than how they shuffled,
Moyo spared no words for the creature nor its underlings, raising his hands up with dominion in it, he swung it down with all the force in his hands, unleashing its black hole ability. The power tore through the entire room destroying vat after vat and creatures in turn, sucking them into the hole as the titan remained rooted to the ground, along with the creature in armour, it cursed at him,
“Anathema!” it shrieked,
“I herald of the servant of Molrik curse you” it said bitterly,
“Accursed spawn of aether, if you would not receive the blessings of Molrik in sweet death, then I will drag you towards it petulant child!” it shouted as it barrelled towards him, roaring in rage,
The demolished room looked like multiple missiles had laid it to waste, broken and burning equipment with the choking smell of decay and rot. It was within this carnage that the titan clashed with the herald of the supposed servant of Molrik. The creature slammed its barrel like arms down on Moyo who caught it with his titans’ might, slamming a fist into its chest as it blasted backwards, Moyo following it with all his speed. Repeatedly deflecting blast after blast of decay from the cannons in its hands.
Crushing its head into the ground, he stomped on it with a squelching sound as the head exploded, leaving him alone in the destroyed room. Removing his feet of the sticky decay of the creature, he realized immediately that below the overwhelming aspect property of decay that suffused the room, the creature was merely diamond ranked, its death coming swiftly at his hands. His aura burnt the gore from his body. He turned around, looking around at the destruction he had wreaked. The large green doors from which the monster had apparently passed through groaned as it swung open slowly, Moyo watching calmly as it opened completely, silence permeating the room, it was an invitation as far as he knew and Moyo sheathed dominion, beginning to walk towards the doors, leaving destruction behind him.