Annika Stormseeker and Lucina blade rain felt the beam of teleportation power tear through the fleshy hide of the carnage striders, depositing them right in the heart of the carnage strider itself. Immediately, both masters unleashed their realms as they felt the psychic strength and aura of the ship immediately hone in on them, its presence, a shrilling scream as they felt it call down its denizens, the Bloodfiends, on their location. Lucina stepped forwards,

“Spadas!” she barked,

Her dull yellow and striped ascenders decked in mithril armor stepped forwards, the promethean guard leading the attack as they unleashed a hail of densely packed intent bullets into the distance, tearing into the Bloodfiends that rumbled their way. Looking like a mixture of hairless red skinned walking goats, the muscular Bloodfiend berserkers carrying both sharp and blunt weapons were torn down in a hail of attacks from diamond rankers, clearing the area for a bit. An ascender with a large two-handed axe and white skin stepped forward,

“My lady” he said to Lucina,

“What is it, Boris?” she asked,

The hulking figure pointed into the distance,

“Promethean scanners indicate there are more inbound, whatever we do, we need to do it now” he said,

“Then it’s a good thing you have us” a voice said from beside Annika,

The guard member and master of the titan blade turned with her pursed lips to the master of the Stormcaller sect and her diamonds that surrounded her in a tight circle. Clad in black and deep blue robes, the five diamond rankers stood with their weapons out and a look of acute concentration on their face as they stared into the distance. Lucina had protested weakly to lord general Idris about the clan leader and her guard accompanying her in the operation. The titan’s champion had summarily short down her protest with a look,

“It is the will of lord titan blade, would you do it for him?” he had asked,

Lucina had felt insulted that her loyalty was questioned, true, she might not be one of the more popular masters among the guard, and her cohort not one with the most accomplishments, but she and her Spadas had bled and lost for the titan. They had become a well-oiled unit, capable of handling themselves in battle, proving themselves over and over in the crucibles that were the Molrik system invasion, however, while she knew and had heard tales of the fabled storm empress and one time lover of the lord primordial, she just wasn’t comfortable with one stormcallers acting as backup for her,

Not when they hadn’t faced just what the rest of the forces did,

The sentinels refused to leave the lords side, acting as self-proclaimed bodyguard to a primordial, a most ludicrous thought when put into play, but Lucina knew for a fact that she wasn’t the only member of the guard who felt a twinge of jealousy at the fact that the sentinels were replacing what they were originally made for, to protect lord titan blade, for they were meant to be the first line of defense when going for him. Still, being made a commander of an entire cohort, a honor among honors for a high ranking member of house titan blade, her only equals being the clan leaders themselves.

They called themselves the Shieldborne, the sentinels charged with the protection of the titan blade in the course of this final phase of the war, they were led by the Valoris, the name given to the regent of the sentinel clan, josh mithril warden. Lucina refused to let the thought of the clans coming out of nowhere to interfere in the running of the war, and if they wanted to witness the horrors of the archailect war, then so be it, far will it be from her to dissuade them. So it was it an impassive expression, that she watched one of those who called themselves the Stormwardens step forwards, clad in deep black and burnished blue armor. He held a large hammer with a single rune of lightning on its side, its very weight heavy enough, that Lucina was pretty sure not even an entire team of golds could lift it.

He marched forwards, his face protected by his helmet, his very nature akin to one of the sentinels with his towering height and pure strength he exuded. With a great cry, he lifted his hammer, raised one foot and bellowed, his voice ringing through the fleshy insides of the carnage strider,

“Thunderous slam!” he said,

Stamping his foot, the same moment his hammer slammed into the pulpy skin below, an explosion of thunder and lightning tore out of the attack, tearing its way in a large circumference around the forces of the Spadas and Stormwardens, the smell of burnt meat wafting from the distance, where the Bloodfiends caught in the attack were cooked beyond recognition. Lucina noted the attack also acted as his call to summon his core realm, a place of unrivaled bolts of lightning crashing all around.

Without stopping, the hulking figure drew his hammer back with one hand as easily as wielding a piece of stick, and then with one glance at Annika who nodded,

“Be my hammer Gaius Ironthorn” she commanded, arms folded,

“By the will of the empress” the deep voice of the Ironthorn rumbled out of his helmet,

The diamond was a blur despite his shape, the claps of thunder coming from the distance as he pushed back the forces of the Bloodfiends, mostly berserkers anyways. Lucina glanced at her side, one of her commanders, a tall ascender in heavy armor stepping forwards, a large rifle in her hand, a weapons user,

“My lady” he rumbled,

Lucina nodded, a smile on her face,

“Spadas!” she shouted,

Drawing the attention of the Stormseeker and her wardens, she spoke,

“Show the Stormseeker and her Stormcallers how the cohort of the titan’s legion do battle!” she roared,

A loud roar echoed behind her as the promethean guard pushed forwards, followed by her commanders, diamond all. One of them held a shard, a glowing purple and gold thing that pulsed with the very aspect of the titan, purifying their surroundings and keeping the archailect functioning without the use of an aether resonator, something they couldn’t plant in a living being. The aspect of the titan, like all true primordials, despite the fact that the titan hadn’t ascended to the position of a true primordial, could now protect and power ascenders under his purview, and the force of the titan pushed forwards unabated, trusting in the presence of their lord’s aspect.

Master and diamonds pushing down the bowels of the carnage strider, they met Gaius Ironthorn in the distance, well far from his core realm around his empress, hammer swinging with blurring speed as he exploded berserkers by the dozen. Lucina was about to give him space when she saw a new set of foes manifesting from bloody pathways, these were lithe where the berserkers were bulky, thin and sharp looking black bone blades adorned their hands and where the berserkers resembled horned goats and skinless abominations, these new foes were armored in bloodred armor with sharp edges. They gave a shrill scream and moved with dizzying speed towards their location, tearing through their own allies as well. Lucina barked out an order,

“Prometheans, shield formation, Spadas, lay into those bastards coming!” she ordered,

Her four commanders, diamonds all, turned their attentions to these new foes she knew from the update given by the archailect to be Bloodfiend blades. Gaius paused, then he spoke a soft word, activating his skill,

“Iron fortress” he said,

Lightning arced through his armor and form as the already hulking figure grew larger, muscles and armor getting bulkier as Lucina watched with pure astonishment as the Ironthorn shot forwards like a comet into the first Bloodfiend blade. The creature moved with prenatural speed, turning with speed to rival a diamond and putting up two blades to block the attack of the Ironthorn, the Bloodfiend was fast, but it lacked the strength of a diamond ranked body aura and lightning user. The creature exploded into gore and red mist, Gaius coming to a stop as his began swinging his hammer in a large circle, using it as an impossibly fast shield to deflect the attacks of the blades that turned their entire attention at him.

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It was a stupid mistake, not when Prometheans were barreling down on them, arm guns blasting rounds after rounds of exploding intent into both the forces of the remaining berserkers and blades as well, tearing flesh from bones in explosions before pushing into the near infinite hordes that poured out from tens of pathways that opened up. Lucina watched her diamonds enter the fray, cutting down the ten or more Bloodfiends with a swing of their weapons and skills, lighting up the insides of the blood-soaked strider, but Lucina frowned, glancing skywards as she narrowed her eyes, the hairs on her skin rising up cautiously.

Her master ranked sight began to notice the pattern being drawn, with the essence of the Bloodfiends being killed into a runic circle,

‘Something is coming’ she thought grimly,

Fighting through scores of abyssal creatures had taught the blade rain a valuable lesson, trust your guts, it was as simple as that. And with a flick of her wrist, her aspect and the aspect of the titan within her answered her call, intent shimmered around her as blades made of forged reflective crystals took shape, burning with pure power as it made her a one-man beacon, then with one finger, she pointed them skywards, and then she spoke,

“torrent” she commanded,

The blades spun with greater speed, gathering a storm of sharpened intent along the way before tearing into the uppermost fleshy part of the strider where the runic circle had been forming, the storm of blades drawing in the Bloodfiends around her, berserkers and blades alike into the meat grinder, spraying gore and blood around her. Soon enough, her commanders and the Ironthorn began blowing pathways up, thinning the forces of the Bloodfiends pouring into their surroundings. Still staring at the fleshy ceiling that now bore hundreds of scars and the strider squirming in pain, she extended her perception behind her, towards where the storm shield still held despite no use for it, and then she frowned,

The Stormseeker and her remaining Stormwardens had vanished,

A moment of fear trickled into her mind as she had the dread that some unknown force had spirited them away or even worse, wiped them out. Then she turned to the Ironthorn who shot through the air, hammer swinging as he twisted and landed at her side,

“Never fear o lord master of the Spadas” his voice boomed,

“The empress goes to hunt for the heart of the foul beast we currently reside in, that and the powerful malevolent force within this strider that controls the Bloodfiends’ he finished,

Lucina felt a moment of pure irritation as the audacity, but she quickly tamped it down, the thought of the frown on lord Moyo’s face bringing her mental clarity,

“Why, why would she split our forces that way?” she asked,

“The forces of the Khemetian dominion are pushing harder into the strider and will rendezvous with our forces within the strider, hopefully towards the heart” Gaius said,

“I’m aware Gaius Ironthorn” she retorted,

The Ironthorn was about to reply when a pathway opened up and a being stepped through, clad in blood red robes, dripping globes of blood floated at its sides, pulsing with red light. The second thing Lucina noticed was the fact that the red robe was infact actual congealed blood, and as it raised a blackened finger, a black mask with a red rune of carnage glowing on it, Lucina shouted for her commanders to fall back to her. With speed of diamonds they did, surrounding her and the Ironthorn, they watched grimly as the aspect of Vusal raged through the air, the Bloodfiends exploding in a rush of gore and blood, the Bloodfiend sorcerer, a name given to this particular form of Bloodfiends spoke,

“Accursed souls!!” it shrilled,

The commanders of Lucina winced from the power coming from the scream, their only saving grace being the shard of titan’s aspect that shielded them to an extent, Gaius Ironthorn rested on his hammer, grimly staring ahead in silence,

“You have trespassed into the realm of Vusal, the realm of his chosen elite, the great Gorefang and the chosen disciple, Lirien Darkheart, lady of blood and sorcery. Your deaths are nigh, prepare, for she comes!” he boomed and with a clap, the globs of bloods at his sides exploded in a circle behind him, the force blasting at them as Gaius stepped forward with a roar, lightning exploding from his body as he shouted,

“Thunderous slam!”

The force and explosion of lightning shattered the force of the attack coming towards him, dispelling the force of the attack, while it spared them from the attack, it gave the sorcerer the time to summon the same being Lucina had destroyed its first summoning circle. From the pathway stepped out a tall bone white creature, bloodshot eyes, two staffs of bloodred crystals floating at her side and no legs from beneath her bloody robes, merely tentacles made of blood. Her eyes had two thin lines of blood running down at both sides.

The being turned its attention to them, and Lucina felt the aspect of blood and carnage settle on them, forcing her diamonds to their knees, she grunted as she growled, flaring the aspect of the titan, its protective aspects shielding them from the worst of its powers, and then it spoke,

“The servants of the anathema, you have arrived” it said, a chuckle coming from its throat,

It sounded like the wails of those who died an agonizing death, one of bitterness and malice and as she continued speaking, Lucina began gathering her powers,

“Your kin and ilk ended our brothers and sisters of the mutation and decay, but your end comes here, for you are in the realm of lord Vusal the conqueror, your skulls will adorn his halls and your bloods will fuel his bathe, now prepare yourselves” she said,

“Preposterous!” Gaius roared as his body clapped with thunder and lightning, the runes on his armor lighting up with blue light,

The being known as Lirien turned to the Ironthorn who stood up under the aspect of the conqueror,

“you call this doom?, you seek to make me cower?” he roared,

“I, Gaius Ironthorn of the Stormwardens, lord of Ironthorn, I serve the empress of storms, I serve the lord of Gaia, I serve the lord of Ibere, I serve the greatest of masters, the greatest of rulers soon to join their ranks, I serve the great lord titan blade, and I would sooner die than cower before the likes of you, for the titan protects!” he roared,

The crystal shard containing the aspect of the titan flared as if invoked, Lucina felt the aspect of the titan within her resonate with the resolution of the Ironthorn and she stepped forwards, Lirien who seethed if the look in her eyes were anything to go by,

“You face me, Lirien, I am Lucina blade rain, one of the ten guard of the lord titan blade, commander of the Spadas and I will show you why and how we handled your useless kin in the realm of mutation” she said,

Lirien gave a shrill scream as pathways opened up, spilling more berserkers and blades into the area, a never-ending flood coming for them. Lucina raised her blade as she gave a roar,

“For Spadas, for the titan blade!” she said,

“FOR THE TITAN BLADE!” Gaius and the other commanders roared as they jumped in the meet the flood,

The iron thorn went for the blood sorcerer who had summoned Lirien, hammer swinging with crackling lightning, the sorcerer raising blood clones to defend against the Ironthorn. Lucina however went for the sorceress herself, blade and aspect glowing as two masters clashed, aspects boiling as the aspect of carnage and blood sought to overwhelm her, Lucina fought back, eyes glowing as she tapped into her fledgeling aspect and that of the titan to bolster herself, both sides carving a literal path of destruction through the strider that was slowly being torn to shreds from one part.

It was a testament to its strength and size that it still breathed, but they had been warned by the jades that it would take the total eradication of the heart of the carnage striders to end its existence, therefore whatever damage they did to it was entirely superficial. Therefore when Lucina called on the aspect of the titan as she felt her blood being twisted within her, she gave a sigh of relief, watching as the previously bloodred reality she was slowly finding herself within lighten up, the power of Vusal retreating from her immediate surroundings.

Blade flashing, Lirien summoned blood clones after blood clones, commanding the blood in the air to poison her very being, and Lucina gulped down three rare elixirs of healing and vitality mid-fights, trying to recuperate lost strengths as she pressed on her attack. She grabbed her intent, summoning her realm of a vortex of blades as she growled,

“Echostrike” the hundreds of blades that surrounded them began to explode in proximity to Lirien, shards of deadly intent tearing through the shield the sorceress put up to protect her before Lucina gripped her legendary weapon with both hands and swung it, another command in her lips,

“Phantomblade!” the blade fazed away before appearing behand her, stabbing straight through her body,

Lirien the sorcerer gave a shrill scream as the aspect of the titan and the blade rain tore into her, exploding and burning her to cinders in a flash, she watched as a small shaped creature popped out of existence just as the last of her body burnt away. Eyes glancing down, she watched Gaius step on the weak and pummeled sorcerer, hammer raised as the creature spat and cursed,

“Vusal curse you, may he rend your b- “was all it said as Gaius brought the hammer crashing down, its body exploding in gore and bones,

The entire pathways available shut down, trapping the remaining Bloodfiends with the commanders and then the great purging began, skills and abilities burning the creatures to nothing. Then it was over, the forces of Spadas and the Ironthorn stood victorious, Ironthorn raising his hammer up as he roared,

“For house titan blade, for the titan blade!” he shouted,

The commanders roared along with him, Lucina smiling to herself,

She was sure Lirien escaped, for whatever that thing was, she was sure it had carried a piece of the sorceress along with her, but she was sure they would meet again, for now, they had a strider to destroy,

“For the titan blade” she said with a smile,

Perhaps the stormcallers and their seeker weren’t so bad afterall.