Previously on Protector’s of Worlds:
Calem and Arui’Kotamu just survived a battle against the Drone Automatons! Not only that, Calem was able to summon a sword that he used to protect her! After all that, Calem decided to tell Arui’Kotamu about what happened to his world.
What will happen next? Let’s find out, shall we?.........
X Dark Humanoid’s Castle X
In an unknown room with a wall covered by 10 monitor screens, a dark singular robot about 8ft tall and the giant were watching the battle between Calem, Arui’Kotamu, and the drone automatons coming to an end with Calem killing the last one with his newly acquired sword. The doors suddenly slid up as the dark humanoid walked in, causing the giant and the robot to bow before him.
“Well? What’s the outcome?” The humanoid said as he looked at the screen.
“No good, my lord.” The giant said. “The two drone automatons we’ve sent have been destroyed. Not only that, the gauntlet’s wielder has now been able to use his weapon.” The giant said which made the humanoid nervous.
“That’s not good.” The humanoid said with worry. “If he’s able to use the weapon, then that means he's close.” He said as he turned his face to the computer robot. “Where is he now?”
“He’s moving east with his companion, my lord.” The monitor robot said.
“Keep following them and mark their exact location.” The humanoid said as the monitor robot bowed its head to him. “When their location is found, send in the battle automaton, Himoloki. I'm sure the big guy will take care of them easily.” The humanoid said to the giant as it bowed its head to him as well.
“It will be done, my lord.” The giant said as it, the monitor robot, and the humanoid watched the screen, seeing Calem helping Arui’Kotamu walk to the bunker.
X The Bunker: Cafeteria X
Calem was just explaining to Arui’Kotamu what happened to his homeworld. How he experienced strange flashback’s when he put the gauntlet on, how an army of killer robots invaded every continent in his world, and…… the warning from the stranger.
When he finished explaining to her, Arui’Kotamu leaned her back against the chair with a speechless look on her face as she covered her mouth.
“C-Calem…...I-I-I don’t have…...the words to say after all that,” Arui’Kotamu said.
“I don’t blame you,” Calem said.
“So, let me get this straight. You found the gauntlet in your basement that your father clearly told you had a warning of not putting it on or else a great evil will be released.” Arui’Kotamu said, which made Calem feel uneasy.
“Uh-huh….” Calem said as he looked down and started tabbing the table with annoyance.
“And yet, you put the gauntlet on which released the evil which in turn resulted in the death of your world!” Arui’Kotamu said.
“I’m aware of that…..” Calem said with greater annoyance as the tabbing got faster.
“So why’d you do it?! You knew about the warning and yet you ignored it, so why?!!” Arui’Kotamu shouted which caused Calem to grit his teeth with anger.
“Because I didn’t think it would happen!!” Calem yelled as he jumped from his chair with anger and frustration in his voice, which made Arui’Kotamu back off a bit. “I didn’t think it would be real! I thought it was just some story created by superstitious people, believing the gauntlet to be haunted or cursed or whatever! In my world, I didn’t think such things existed: aliens, killer robots, gods, demons, or mystical weapons. All of that was in fairy tales, video games, and storybooks!” Calem stopped for a sec before looking at the gauntlet with a disheartened look on him. “.......but after putting this thing on…..my entire world changed.” Calem said, which made Arui’Kotamu look worried.
“My curiosity got the better of me…….and that resulted in everything I’ve ever cared about……...gone, reduced to ash, forgotten by all…...except me,” Calem said as he walked out of the cafeteria, which made Arui’Kotamu concerned.
X
Outside of the bunker, two Gareberia are fighting with each other. The two behemoths were kicking, headbutting, slamming, biting, pushing, and digging their tusks into one another.
The right Gareberia swings its head and hits the other hard, enough to knock some teeth out and lose consciousness as it collapses to the ground. With its opponent down, it raises itself before slamming its feet on the other’s head, crushing its skull as blood gushes out and some eyeballs pop out. It does this repeatedly until the other's head is like minced meat.
It stops and backs off as we see that the other Gareberia’s head is completely disfigured with blood everywhere, eyeballs crushed and popped out, and jagged bones pierced through the pulverized flesh. The one standing lifts its head up and lets out a victory roar.
It was about to walk away from its dead foe till it heard the sounds of trees breaking, like something big was stepping on them. It then sees a giant shadowy figure standing right in front of it. It looks to be around 23ft tall and has orange eyes.
The Gareberia let out a roar and charged at its new foe. The shadowy giant then swings its fist at it and lands a punch, sending teeth flying and dislocating its jaw. The Gareberia tried getting up with blood coming out of its mouth but couldn’t since its legs were wobbling and stumbling around. The shadowy giant grabs the giant herbivore by its back, lifts it, and throws it aside, tossing it far and hitting the ground, causing it to break and shatter
The giant then grabs it by the neck and with great strength, twists its neck in a 180 turn, breaking into a disturbing position. The beast collapses to the ground, twitching and coughing blood. With the creature dead, the giant looks forward and see’s the bunker's door in the distance.
X
Calem is in his room, lying on his bed with his legs crossed, his right arm around his head while his left arm is in the air, holding the gauntlet in his hand. He was thinking about what he said earlier to Arui’Kotamu, how his curiosity led him to wear the gauntlet and resulted in his world being destroyed. If he hadn’t put on the gauntlet a few months ago, everything would’ve been fine.
The gauntlet would’ve still been in his basement, gathering dust as he spent the rest of his days in peace, but then he realized if he didn't find it, his family members would’ve and the destruction would still happen anyway.
All this thinking was giving Calem a headache as he got up and sat at the edge of his bed, facing the wall. He hears knocking at the door which opened and revealed Arui’Kotamu, who crossed her arms and leaned against the door with her shoulder.
“Hey, feeling any better?” Arui’Kotamu said, wanting to see if Calem was okay.
“I am. Thanks.” Calem said. “Listen, about earlier……... I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry.” Calem said to Arui’Kotamu.
“It’s alright,” Arui’Kotamu replied. “I thought about what you said……..and I think you’re right,” Arui’Kotamu said, which caused Calem to turn to her.
“About what?” Calem said, wanting to know what she meant.
“You were right about being curious,” Arui’Kotamu said, answering his question. “If I was put in the same situation with the gauntlet, my curiosity would’ve filled my mind until I put the gauntlet on. I would’ve done the same thing you did.”
“True,” Calem said. “Curiosity can be both a wonder and a danger at the same time, huh?” Calem said.
“No question about it,” Arui’Kotamu said as walked in front of Calem. “I……..hope you're not upset about what I said earlier, are you?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Calem replied. “How about you?”
“Oh, please. Of course not.” Arui’Kotamu said, reassuring him. “This might sound weird, but it felt……...nice being yelled at. It’s been a long time since I've been in an argument.” Arui’Kotamu said which made Calem confused but after a while, he started chuckling before laughing. Arui’Kotamu noticed this and started laughing as well.
While they were enjoying the moment, they suddenly felt the ground shake, causing the beds to move and items to fall off.
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“What’s going on? An earthquake?!” Calem asked.
“I have no idea!” Arui’Kotamu replied.
They braced themselves when suddenly the ground stopped shaking. As they got up and wondered what happened, the ceiling was torn off as the giant looked down at the hole it made, seeing Calem and Arui’Kotamu together. The giant lets out a mechanical growl then quickly reaches its right hand towards them and grabs Arui’Kotamu.
“Bastard! Let her go!” Calem said as he grabbed onto the giant's hand. The giant shakes its hand around, trying to shake him off. It succeeds as Calem is thrown aside, crashing into some beds. The giant pulls her up as it turns and runs away, but Calem quickly recovers and climbs out of the hole.
Calem then jumps up high, summons his sword and plunges it into the giant's back, and grabs the handle with both hands, holding on as the giant runs. The giant comes to a stop which causes Calem and his sword to let go and stumble upon the ground. As he got up and picked up his sword, he got a good look at the giant that was sent to kill him: Himoloki!
Himoloki was a giant mechanical robot that stood around 23ft tall, had an orange and vermillion color scheme, blue lines on its arm and blue spots on its legs, three fingers, orange eyes, tiny red horns on its head, and an axe blade in the middle of its head.
The giant robot turns towards Calem as its grip on Arui’Kotamu tightened, causing her to yelp in pain.
“You son of a----! Let her go, now!” Calem screamed out.
Himoloki then lets out a roar as it pounds the ground before letting out another roar, challenging him.
“Want to fight? Okay, so be it!” Calem said right before the two charged toward each other. Himoloki throws its left fist towards him, who proceed to dodge as it hits a boulder, creating a huge crack that splits the boulder in two.
“Damn, that’s some destructive power! '' Calem thought to himself as Himoloki threw another punch, this time causing him to roll forward beneath Himoloki and get behind it. He climbs on another boulder till he’s above Himoloki’s height. He then jumps, holding his sword with both hands, aiming it at the giant's head.
“You’re mine!” Calem shouted when Suddenly, Himoloki’s entire upper body rotated, turning its attention to him.
“What?!” Calem said right before he was swatted away like a bug, crashing to the ground before rolling across. He then plunged his sword deep into the ground, stopping the momentum and leaving a big mark.
“Great, now I gotta worry about that. If I don’t do something soon…….” Calem thought to himself as he saw Arui’Kotamu coughing up blood.
X Dark Humanoid’s Castle X
The humanoid, who now has his helmet off, holding it with one hand, revealing he has greyish skin, watches the screen, observing the battle between Calem and Himoloki while drinking red wine.
“So that’s him, huh?” The humanoid said before taking a sip of the wine. “The one who wields the gauntlet now…..”
“Yes, my lord.” The giant said. “Himoloki with its great strength should be able to take care of him.”
“True, but we can’t take any chances.” The humanoid said as he turned to the monitor robot. “Get the drone close to him. I wanna have a chat with him........."
X Arusatora X
Back to the battle, Calem is getting tossed around. Despite his great powers, he couldn’t fight back against Himoloki’s strength or surprise it because of its upper body rotation. As he was about to attack again, he suddenly heard a voice….
“Hold it right there, slugger.” The voice said which caused him to stop in his tracks.
“What the-----? Who said that?!” Calem said as he looked in all directions, checking the origin of the voice.
“Right here, pal.” The voice said again as a small drone with three blue eyes flew towards Calem, facing him as it hovered about. “Hiya. It’s nice to meet you.”
“W-Who are you?” Calem asked, wanting to know whose voice was coming from the drone.
“That’s not important right now.” The voice said.
“W-Wait…..Don’t tell me you're the one who……” Calem tried to say before getting interrupted.
X Dark Humanoid’s Castle X
“As I said, that’s not important right now.” The humanoid said as he was holding a microphone close to his face. “What’s really important is your girlfriend’s survival, am I right?”
“Y-Yeah……...And for the record, she’s not my girlfriend.” Calem said from the screen.
“Right, uh-huh.” The humanoid said. “Now, mister uh…….Can you tell me your name?”
“C-Calem,” Calem said as he replied.
“Mister Calem, you look like a nice guy to me.” The humanoid said with a cheerful voice. “You seem like the type of guy who generally cares about his friends. Someone who has a loving heart to see that no harm shall fall upon them. Am I right?”
X Arusatora X
“What are you getting at?” Calem said, wanting the humanoid to get to the point.
“I want you to do a few favors for me.” The humanoid said from the drone. “Do them and I’ll have Himoloki put down the girl.”
Calem stood silent for a few moments before replying. “What do you want me to do?”
“First, I want you to take off your gauntlet and throw it far away.” The humanoid said. “Second, I’ll have Himoloki hit you, and all I ask………” The humanoid stopped for a moment before the drone moved a little closer to Calem’s face. “Is that you take the full force of the hit.”
Calem didn’t say a word for a few minutes as he was deciding on what to do. He didn’t want to see Arui’Kotamu get hurt but if he did what he was instructed to do, how can he be sure that the humanoid keeps his word?
After much thinking, he did what he was told: he first took off the gauntlet and with great force, throws it as far away as he could, possibly a few feet away.
“Well done, Calem. You did the right thing.” The humanoid said as the drone turned to the giant automaton. “Himoloki, if you would please.”
Himoloki chuckles before nodding and lets go of Arui’Kotamu, dropping her as she recoils in pain. The giant robot then walked towards Calem who just stood still. It reared its leg back and hit Calem with a powerful kick, sending him soaring through the air until he crashed into part of the broken boulder, creating a small crater on it. He falls off, hitting other smaller boulders before lifelessly hitting the ground with both arms and legs broken, his eyes blood red and vomiting blood.
Arui’Kotamu watched in horror as Calem was kicked and fell like a ragdoll before tears ran down her face as she saw no signs of life from him.
“C-Calem…….No….” Arui’Kotamu said with a depressed voice as she wept for her friend.
X Dark Humanoid’s Castle X
Back to the humanoid’s castle, the giant, the monitor robot, and the humanoid laugh in celebration with malice and cruelty in their laughter, thinking that they've won the battle.
“Excellent work, my lord.” The giant said to the humanoid.
“Thanks. That’s one problem we’ve taken care of. Now, we just have to find the other two.” The humanoid said.
“M-Monster…….” A saddened voice was heard which caught the attention of the dark humanoid.
X Arusatora X
The drone turns and faces Arui’Kotamu who has a look of anger on her face with tears coming down.
“Y-You’re a murderer……...a m-monster……” Arui’Kotamu said.
“Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart.” The humanoid said as the drone circled around her. “He won’t be alone, he’ll have his family and friends with him in the afterlife.”
This only angered Arui’Kotamu even more as she clenched her hands with great anger, wanting to kill the bastard/
“If you want……... I can send you to him and you’ll be together……..forever.” The humanoid said with a cold-blooded and cruel voice, which made Arui’Kotamu’s eyes widen with fear.
“Himoloki!” The humanoid shouted which caused Himoloki to move towards Arui’Kotamu. She tried escaping but wasn’t fast enough as the giant grabbed her with its left hand and began crushing her. Arui’Kotamu groaned and whined in pain as Himoloki’s grip around her becomes more stronger and painful. Suddenly, the sound of bones cracking and breaking was heard…………
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
As this was happening, Calem who miraculously survived but was still in critical condition heard Arui’Kotamu’s screams. He slowly looked forward with blood-red eyes and saw her being crushed to death by Himoloki. He reached his broken hand with mangled fingers towards them.
“A-Aru…….A-A-Arui……..I-I-I’m….s-s-s-sorry.” Calem weakly said as he coughed blood, knowing full well he was incapable of saving her.
In the far-off distance, the gauntlet that Calem threw away started moving and levitated in the air as sparks of electricity formed around it. The sparks started to get bigger as the gauntlet shot into the air like a missile, causing a big flash of light. The gauntlet reaches the sky, causing storm clouds to appear and surround the entire area.
The drone watches as clouds start shrouding the sky as Himoloki looks up, loosening its grip on Arui'Kotamu.
“I got a bad feeling about this.” The humanoid said just before lightning started showing up. It was fierce and frequently appeared, striking everything within the area and creating small explosions.
The lightning then hits Calem but instead of hurting him, it seems to be healing him, fixing his broken limbs and body. Several more strikes hit him which caused him to levitate. The final strike causes his entire body to be covered in electricity before letting out a small explosion, covering him in smoke. As the smoke died out, Calem stood in the middle just before dashing towards Himoloki and pierced right through its hand, grabbing Arui’Kotamu and leaving a big hole. It then lets out a roar of pain as huge amounts of oil leaked from the hole in its hand
Arui’Kotamu coughed as she slowly opened her eyes to see Calem carrying her……..only something seemed very different about him.
He was now wearing some sort of armor that had a kingfisher blue color scheme, jade lines on his chest, shoulders, arms, and legs, and a visor lens with a cerulean blue color and mouth guard.
“C-Ca…..Ca-a-a….lem.” Arui’Kotamu weakly said before passing out. Calem then gently placed her on a rock before clenching both fists in anger.
“Oh, no…...oh,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no…” The humanoid said from the drone.
“I’ll never forgive you…….” Calem said silently before turning and facing Himoloki. “I’ll never forgive you!!!”
“Himoloki, kill him! Kill him quickly!!” The humanoid shouted, ordering Himoloki to finish the job.
Himoloki lets out a roar before charging toward Calem. Calem does the same and the two clash. The giant throws a punch with its right arm which Calem dodges and runs on its arm to its head. He then summons his sword and slashes at Himoloki's face, creating big marks on its face as it stumbles backward.
He landed safely on the ground as Himoloki shook its head and growled with anger before showing off another ability. It suddenly extended its neck out and swung its head towards Calem, who dodged as Himoloki’s head, using the axe blade, was able to slice some trees and rocks. It continued to do this but Calem used his agility to jump and slide over the attacks, having Himoloki slice nearby objects. Just when it was about to bring its head back, Calem jumped up high and plunged his sword deep into its neck. The giant then tries its best to get him off, but Calem held on as he pulled his sword down, creating a huge and deep wound on the neck, causing oil to spray out, covering Calem as he jumps off.
Himoloki returns its neck to its original position as it covers its neck wound, trying to prevent more oil from coming out. Calem then summoned a lightning bolt from his hand and threw it at the giant, hitting it in the right eye. The eye was cracked and flickering before dying out.
The battle went on with Calem controlling the entire battle, using his newfound armor and powers to overwhelm Himoloki. A few minutes passed and Himoloki was badly damaged, with oil leaking from every part of its body, burnt marks, big sword wounds on its chest, missing some fingers, and one of its horns sliced off. Knowing that it was on the brink of defeat, Himoloki resorted to its last technique.
It extended its arm out as its upper body started spinning. Its spinning starts getting faster and faster as Himoloki forms a tornado from its body. The tornado started sucking in everything in its range from rocks to trees to branches. Calem held his ground and dug his sword deep into the ground, but looked back and saw Arui’Kotamu get pulled into the tornado.
“No!” Calem shouted out as he let go of the sword and got sucked into the tornado. He searched all over the tornado while avoiding debris before seeing Arui’Kotamu floating in the middle and starts making his way toward her. He jumped from various debris, getting closer to her until he was able to grab her leg, pull her in and carry her.
He then jumps out of the tornado, lands on the ground far away from Himoloki, and places Arui’Kotamu on the ground. He then runs back to Himoloki and jumps into the tornado. After reaching the middle of it, electricity start’s forming around his arms as he summons bolts of lightning from his hands and throws bolt after bolt at Himoloki, hitting it repeatedly which caused it to slow down.It suddenly stopped spinning after taking many hits, which caused the tornado to dissipate.
Calem makes a safe landing as Himoloki groans in pain from the barrage of lightning bolts. With the giant automaton weakened, Calem then raised his arms in the air, allowing his hands to absorb numerous bolts of lightning. After absorbing enough lightning, they formed into a sphere of energy. He fires a beam of lightning from it, aiming it at Himoloki. The beam hits Himoloki and electrifies it, causing it to roar in great pain as both eyes explode. The beam dissipates as we see Himoloki smoking and power down. It falls on its back as it lets out a massive explosion, destroying the automaton once and for all.
With the battle over, the drone flies near Calem who seemed exhausted after the long battle as they both watch the carcass of Himoloki go up in flames.
“Well….that was quite a predicament, huh?” The humanoid said from the drone. Angered, Calem quickly grabbed the drone and crushed it in his hand like it was nothing.
Thinking about his friend, he runs to check on her and finds her in the place he left her. He takes off his helmet and brings her up before placing his head on her chest, listening for a heartbeat. When he heard one, tears ran down his face as he lifted her up and carried her back to the bunker.
“Come on, Arui! Hang in there!” Calem said in a sad voice as he ran as fast as he could to the bunker.
“Don’t die on me……...please.”
X Dark Humanoid’s Castle X
The screen turns to static as the humanoid drops the microphone and remains silent for a moment. He sighs and shakes his head before exiting the room, leaving the monitor robot and the giant behind as they look at each other with concern.
The doors open to the throne room as the humanoid enters, putting his helmet back on. He sat on his throne and leaned his head on his fist.
“You seemed distressed.” A voice said, which had a gentlemanly tone and sounded robotic. A dark figure then appeared from the shadows.
“You’re right about that….” The humanoid said.
“It’s about the one who wields the gauntlet, isn’t it?” The voice said again
“Yep, that’s the one…..” The humanoid said.
“Did he…...unlock it?” The voice asked once more
“As a matter of fact, he did.” The humanoid said as he got up from his throne. “He was able to use it to destroy my battle automaton, Himoloki. If he’s able to join forces with the others, they’ll not only be a hindrance to my goal.............but all of yours as well.”
As he said this, three other dark figures appeared behind the first one
“So, what shall we do?” The voice asked.
"We wait…." The humanoid said. "We look for the others and when they're all together…..We kill them all!"
What happens next? Will Arui’Kotamu be okay or will she die from her injuries? Find out in the next chapter!!