Lord Zeleck sneered contemptuously at the natives of the mostly conquered planet as he and his army approached the city wall. The so-called ‘humans’ which cowered before him were weak and undeserving of the gift which had been bestowed upon them. Why the benevolent Architect, undisputed ruler of the galaxy and its races, had deigned to integrate them into its clutch was beyond him. 

In the end, he supposed it did not matter.

As a faction leader, he had gleefully accepted the directive from the benevolent Architect and would soon gain the gifts it offered for fulfilling the task. All that remained was to destroy the last major faction, and the human resistance would be crushed. Any survivors would become his faction’s slaves.

Perhaps they will excel at crafting?

Lord Zeleck shook his head. He hoped their race held some redeemable aspect when enslaved, as their skill in combat was lacking. The all-knowing Architect had been benevolent and granted their species ten full years to grow strong before his faction was given the directive and were allowed to invade. They had obviously squandered this magnanimous gift, and subsequently proved they did not deserve to rule their planet.  

He laughed heartily at his ruminations as he strayed far in advance of his army.

Even now, at the end, the pathetic humans refused to join forces against his own might. The minor factions cowered behind their pathetic fortifications rather than come to the aid of their fellow humans. Lord Zeleck could not comprehend their reasoning. They had to realize they would be targeted next. Once this last resistance was quashed, his armies would spread throughout the world and mop up the scraps. 

This battle, as pathetic as it was, was this species’ last hope.

“Now!” the human commander yelled from atop the rampart.

Lord Zeleck snorted as hundreds of spells collided with his protective barrier. As the strongest among the Koza, he stood at the vanguard of their forces. He ignored the weak attacks and continued to close the distance. The numerous spells were ineffectual, but even with their feeble power, they eventually overcame his shield.

He remained unconcerned.

Once his protection faltered, the humans’ spells began to land against his high level armor. While the vast majority were completely resisted, a few spells intended to weaken him took partial effect. Abilities that did not directly injure the target were notoriously hard to resist, even against his profuse magic resistance.

He continued forward, undaunted.

Lord Zelek remained in front of his faction’s combat force and soaked up the entirety of the enemy’s attacks. His movement speed was slightly reduced, and his strength marginally decreased, yet he still remained strong enough to easily defeat the hundreds of weak humans arrayed against him. 

Entirely on his own. 

I don’t need my army.

With a rapid activation of his teleport ability, he suddenly stood among them, atop the wall. They had no time to react as his pike swept through their bodies like a scythe through wheat. 

With a few effortless swings, dozens of their strongest defenders were decimated. The sudden shift of his position took the humans by surprise, and he bellowed once more in laughter at how long it took the pathetic creatures to respond.  Before they could restart their assault, he loosed a shockwave in their midst.

Every remaining human within a hundred strides was stunned and blown backwards off their feet. They struggled to recover as he strutted among them and gleefully ended their lives. Their cries of anguish only served to fuel his ferocity as he continued to toy with them. 

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Suddenly, a flash of light enveloped the entire area. The healing ability did nothing to harm him, but his opponents instantly recovered from their incapacitation. With the aid of the spell, their bodies began to rapidly heal, they rose to their feet, and resumed their ineffective attacks.

Do they actually have a will to fight?

Despite their obvious weakness, he was surprised by this faction’s resolve. In previous battles, the humans had fled at the first sign of their defeat. When their defenses crumbled, they turned and ran for their miserable lives. This was the first time a faction stood their ground against him.

Interesting.

Pain flared throughout his body and he momentarily froze. A quick check of his status showed that while the attack caused him incredible discomfort, it did no actual damage. He instinctively surged his recovery ability to negate the spell and whirled around to attack the tiny human who dared lay a hand on him. 

As Lord Zeleck spun through the air, the human’s nano-enhanced gauntlet continued to grip his ankle. Yet, despite the force laid against it, the human refused to release its hold.

“Don’t do it, Blake!” a nearby human shouted.

With a shake of its head, his attacker responded, “We don’t have a choice! It’s the only way!”

Lord Zeleck snorted.

Suddenly, the human’s armored body expanded to twice its original size. Its grip tightened, and for the first time, he felt a human challenge his strength. The human bounded from the ground with a roar and swept him off his feet. 

Admirable, yet foolish. You should have heeded your comrade.

Lord Zeleck electrified his body, and locked the muscles of the enlarged human in place. With his back to the ground, he slashed his pike horizontally into his foe’s armored legs. The nano-enhanced blade easily sliced through the human’s weak armor, but he was amused when its edge refused to cut into the flesh beneath.

Titanform is a strong skill. It’s a shame it won’t last long.

As a faction leader who had fought within the system for his entire life, he recognized the ability. Titanform tripled physical power, stamina, and resistance. However, it came at great cost. For the short duration of the ability, all magical attributes were halved. 

If that were the only downside, it would still be a great trade-off, despite the risks. However, the reduction of magical attributes lasted hours, while the physical enhancements lasted but scant moments. Not only was this foolish ‘Blake’, now doubly susceptible to his deadly magic, but his ability to fight back on equal terms would soon be over.

Lord Zeleck’s electrification ability ended, and the human’s jaw unclenched. It roared in pain, but refused to release his ankle. Before he could launch another magical attack against his foe, the human dove atop him and pinned him to the ground.

“DO IT NOW!” Blake screamed.

“But you’ll be hit!” Another human responded in anguish.

“NOW!!!!!” It howled.

The cooldown period of Lord Zeleck’s protection bubble ended, so he quickly activated it again to shield himself from whatever spells the humans planned to utilize until his army reached him. A loud buzz crackled to his left and he whipped his head around to discern the source.

To his surprise, he did not see a human mage activate an Architect-granted spell. Instead, some strange machinery built within the fortress wall began to glow. 

While distracted by the artifact, he was hit by a Temporal Slow. He was surprised the aether powered spell actually took effect, as it was pathetically common. Everything within the spell’s bubble seemed to slow to a crawl, while everything outside moved at almost three times the normal speed.

He growled in frustration, while the human atop him suddenly barked a laugh.

“I may die today, but I’m taking your ugly ass with me!”

Before Lord Zeleck could mock the human’s assumption, the artifact flashed brightly. An unusual sensation suddenly washed over him. He felt as if his body was pulled and squeezed at the same time. His senses became chaotic, and he quickly checked his status to see what strange spell was cast on him.

To his horror, it showed only a single line, repeated endlessly. 

Error…

Error…

Error…

In all his many years within the Collective, Lord Zeleck had never seen the Architect fail to identify an attack. It was all-knowing and all-powerful. For the first time since he became faction head, he trembled in fear. The humans had been able to create something that could challenge the mighty Architect. As his thoughts became muddled and his senses failed, he screamed into infinity.

What have they done?!