He turned his head to look down on me. Is it really him? Is it really God himself? I couldn’t help but think about these things as he crouched down to me and put his hand on my chest. Once he did, I could feel that various injuries on or inside my body that were damaged or broken were immediately fixed. Or maybe fixed is the wrong word. It was as if those injuries never existed. Although I was still severely injured, I was doing a lot better than I was previously. I began to get up and tried to thank him, but as soon as he healed me, the warhammer CT enlarged his hammer to twice the size of Hami and began to bring it down on him. In the face of the hurtling hammer, Hami simply looked to the floor and let the attack hit him, disappearing in a plethora of brunnera petals as the hammer was swung into the floor. As quickly as the God of Haustoria came, he disappeared. Everyone in the area was speechless, including the warhammer CT, who was angered beyond any reason. In response to the event that just occurred, he began to walk the opposite direction. Where could he possibly be going? What does he have planned? The book CT snapped out of his trance and began to yell at the warhammer CT.
“Don’t use that move! I know you're pissed, but it’ll use up everything! Even your stem system!”
“Don’t care!” He waved the book CT off and kept walking until he reached the front of the governor’s palace. When he did, he turned around and explained to me.
“I’ll enlighten you with this one piece of information, parasite: it’s the secret to my stemata. My stemata isn’t to simply shrink my warhammer. It’s to shrink my warhammer, but keep the properties of its original size! Remember that small hammer I hit you with? It had bigger properties than the war hammer you’ve seen. Way bigger properties! Allow me to show you…”
He put both hands on his warhammer and it began to grow. It grew past the point that he was using originally and kept getting bigger. It got so big, it was the size of the palace. So that’s why I wasn’t able to beat him head to head. I wasn’t even close to understanding what exactly I was up against.
“This is it. I’ll have to do something about this. Thank you Hami for giving me the strength.” I muttered as I stared at the warhammer that towered over me. That thing reaches up to the heavens. How do I even beat that?
“Arno!”
I looked over to Ori and regardless of her pained expression, she gave me a smile.
“I believe in you!”
I turned around and began to wind my fist back. Right here and now, I’ll go way beyond my limits and save the day!
As the titan-like hammer came plummeting down at me with demonic speeds, I could feel it. My breaking point. Every single piece of my life began to flash before my eyes but paused at one moment. It was something my mother told me a long time ago. Something that helped make me into the person I am today. On that day that seems so far away from now, she embraced me and told me…
“Arno…everyone has a soul. Think of it like a fire. The more brightly and passionately it burns, the more people you’ll naturally attract. Be someone that burns brightly! That way your life will be filled with happiness.”
That’s right. I have to burn brightly and passionately. That’s the only way I can win! That’s the only way Haustorians will escape Holia’s constant harassment. Burn, Arno! Burn more brightly than anyone else! That way, they’ll have no other choice than to pay attention to you! That’s what it means! That’s the secret to activating it!
I gritted my teeth as my vision began to get hazy and I could feel my body giving up again. I slammed my foot onto the ground to keep myself grounded and focused on swinging my fist for the final clash.
“BLAZING SOUL!”
My fist collided with the overwhelming size of the warhammer, creating a shockwave that pushed back all spectators. As it did, the gauntlets began to spark with electricity. At first they were faint flickers, but then they began to erratically spark and sent a shock all throughout the warhammer and onto the CT wielding it. As he was getting violently electrocuted, I could feel that all the bones in my arm were beginning to break. I didn’t even think that his warhammer could electrocute him. I’m certain that if his warhammer was made out of any different material, I would definitely die here but with this, I may have a chance. At this point, it was a battle of attrition and it could go either way.
The clash continued for God knows how long. It became harder to breathe with each second and it felt like time was going to a standstill. It felt like the very weight of the world was being brought down on me. But this final clash began to come to its conclusion when I realized it became easier and easier to fight back against the warhammer. I began to gain more and more height against it until I was able to send it going the exact opposite direction. Instead of crushing me and a portion of the rebels, it went flying in an arc back into the palace and reduced a third of the building to rubble. I glanced over at the CT and could see his singed, burnt body as he lay dead on the floor. I did it…I won…now I just have to take of the other CTs—
I made my step in the direction of the other two CTs and fell to the floor. I was once again in a state in which I was at my limits. I couldn’t move a single inch of my body as I lay helplessly on the floor. Not only that, but my vision began to get darker and darker. Is this it? Am I going to die this time? I can barely hear anything. Only Ori’s voice as she rushed to my side. I’m sorry, Ori. This is the best I could do. This is all this weak partner of yours can do…
Ori
“Arno!” I rushed to his side and checked his vitals. What the hell’s the point? I just saw him get beat senselessly and almost crushed to death!
I knew about the true properties of the warhammer along with how as soon as Arno used his stemata, he would’ve been a natural counter to it. I knew, but I had no other choice but to not tell him. It was do or die. If he couldn’t break past this barrier he was facing…if he couldn’t use that stemata here and now, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself! If I had to make the choice all over again, I would! But with these wounds…he’ll die.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” The book CT said as he laid eyes on the situation. “A mere trainee…a parasite trainee…was able to beat him?! What a joke! And what was going on with that man in the costume?!”
“Actually, he was from the hit comic series ‘Holy Power Force-’”
“NO ONE CARES! We’ve done things his way, now it’s time to do things my way!”
“I told you about interrupting me!” The baggy pants CT mumbled.
The book CT’s stemata began to glow as the pages flew out in a storm to form origami birds. If we don’t find a way out of this, we’ll surely die. Think, Ori! Arno did enough! He always does more than enough for you! What can you do to pick up where he left off?! Can I use that girl’s stemata? No, I would have to figure out how it works and I have no time to mess around with it! Can I run away fast enough? No! Especially not while trying to carry Arno!
The book CT’s origami birds came flying at us and I couldn’t do a single thing but hold Arno close to me and brace for impact.
And in that life or death moment, a meteor came flying in front of the rebels and even myself and intercepted the flock of origami birds. I braced for all of the dust this meteor created in its wake and pulled Arno close so he didn’t get hurt any more than he already was. I only looked up when the dust settled and when I did, I came across a familiar sight.
“I’m sorry I took so long, Ori. I told that foolish prince not to give me so many tasks in a single day.”
“I…I…” I began to tear up when staring at the back of this person that came to save the day. The only CT that I respect. The Terror Crusher: Terrance Campbell. Once more, everyone in the governor’s square was speechless. It’s to be expected. First, the Holy Red impersonator, and now, the number one counter-terrorist is here. Arno, you may just be the luckiest man alive.
“I think we used up all of our luck before our career even started.” I whispered to him with a smile on my face. He probably couldn’t hear me. I more so said it for my sake.
“Let it be known, Baxton. The BCT has deemed you and everyone associated with you terrorists! This is due to the irrefutable proof found that you had plans to overthrow the king along with the inhumane way you’ve been treating your people!”
Governor Baxton looked helplessly as the Terror Crusher stared at him and told him how this situation would play out.
“W-wait…no! You can’t do this to me! Where the hell is your proof?! You’re lying!”
“The basement says otherwise, Baxton.” Terrance said. This immediately made Baxton purse his lips and stay quiet. It was like he knew he was caught red handed and had no rebuttal. Terrance continued with his statement.
“Because of this, I have been ordered to put you and the CTs that have defected to your side to death!”
As TC crossed his arms and continued on, another familiar face emerged from the entrance of the governor’s square floating on a bunch of spherical drones. It was the CT with the title of “Health Maiden,” Olivia Terabon.
“Geez, it’s almost as if you guys purposefully put the relay crystal as far away from the governor’s square as possible.”
As she approached Arno and I, the drones began to do their magic and fix the damage that was caused to the square. Not only did they do that, Olivia crouched down and began to use her stemata to heal Arno.
“We gotta stop meeting like this, kiddies.”
“I don’t accept this…” The book CT began to shake with anger. To be fair, I would be pretty pissed too if all my plans were about to be crushed by the strongest opposition possible.
“If I’m just gonna die anyway, I’ll take those damn rebels with me!” He turned all of his pages into arrows and shot them at the rebel crowd. As the pages flew past TC like bullets, he simply gave them a side glance and deployed his counter to the book CTs last ditch effort. One of his massive metallic shoulder pads had a cartridge fly out behind him, shoot past all of the arrows, and expand into a forcefield that encompassed all of the rebel force. The thing about this forcefield though, is that it didn’t just block the book CT’s attack, it completely absorbed it. Once it did, it returned to the size of a cartridge and went flying back to his shoulder pad.
“You won’t be hurting anyone on my watch.”
In the very next moment, the heels of TC’s boots began to glow blue and he closed the distance between the book CT and him within milliseconds. The moment my eyes registered that this happened, was the moment right before TC had his giant hand over the book CTs head and began gripping it like a baseball.
“That’s the second stemata he’s used. How many does he have?” I couldn’t help but wonder. Does every piece of armor on his body have a dedicated stemata? If so, how many are defensive and how many are for offense? Wait, how is he even able to use multiple stematas in the first place?
“That’s a secret!” Health Maiden winked at me and looked onwards. “I’ll tell you what though, the title ‘Terror Crusher’ was his idea. Not the king’s. He thought it sounded ‘way more hero-like.’ The king wanted to give him the title ‘The Walking Armory.’ And the reason he’s able to use so many is because of a mutation in his DNA. He’s a one-of-one. The only person in the world that can use multiple stematas without destroying himself in the process.”
The walking armory…in that case, he must have a lot of stematas. It goes without saying though, to use multiple stematas must take vast knowledge and experience to know what to use at what moment.
TC had the book CTs head in the palm of his hand, now lifting him off of the floor. He continued gripping and squeezing his head until his head exploded in a mess of blood and brains. The other CT and even I looked on in horror. It’s just…I knew that he fights this way to send a message, but this is a lot.
“NO! DAMN IT! I’LL KILL YOU!”
The final CTs veins began to glow a vibrant blue all throughout his body as he grew to be three times the size of even Terrance himself. It was almost like he was going face to face with a monster. Regardless, he didn’t move an inch from his position or flinch. Even when the beast of a man sent a punch straight to his face that resulted in multiple shockwaves coming out from behind him, he stood tall and proud. That’s when the muscle CT’s face grew pale.
“That was a good hit. Now it’s my turn.” Terrance winded his fist back for a punch and genuine fear struck the muscle CT’s face as he was punched and sent flying at immense speeds into the sky. As he flew away, one of TC’s gauntlets glowed blue and transformed into a cannon that shot out a blast of energy at near light-speed. It was a railgun. Out of the many stematas the terror crusher had. There was even a railgun…
The blast engulfed the last CT in a wave of blue light and reduced the man to nothing but ash. With those two taken care of, he walked over to the warhammer CT, the one that Arno defeated, and crushed his head with the sole of his foot. He continued this until the warhammer CTs head was turned into a red paste on the floor. With little to no effort, the overwhelming opposition that the rebels faced was dispelled by the Terror Crusher.
“I-I…um…” Governor Baxton looked helplessly as he tried to process the sudden disappearance of his military power. TC simply turned around and closed the distance between him and Baxton step by step.
“S-stay back! Do you hear me?!”
Ignoring Baxton, TC kept closing the distance. When Baxton got the message that he wasn’t going to stop, he revealed a pistol he was hiding in his suit jacket and fired it off against Terrance. To his dismay, it had no effect. After all, he was wearing a suit of heavy armor.
“I SAID STAY BACK, YOU MONSTER!” Baxton screamed as he emptied the rest of his clip into TC, each bullet ricocheting off of his chest piece.
When TC heard Baxton scream out that last bit however, he stopped in his tracks right in front of him.
“Monster? You’re not the first to call me that.” TC said as he grabbed Baxton by the skull and lifted him off of the ground. Baxton’s entire body began to dangle as he tried to free himself from TC’s grasp. But it was too late. TC crushed his skull with no regard or remorse like he did with the book CT. When he did, Baxton’s headless body dropped to the floor and blood began to pour down the steps of the governor’s palace. So this is it…this is the gruesome and ruthless nature one has to have to earn the title “Terror Crusher.”
Terrance turned to everyone and said with absolute authority “This coup is over! This zone is yours to command!”