Chapter 57
Termination 2
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The cargo ship and the seas around it shook violently as 2 monsters collided with explosive power.
On one side was Nosferatu in his War Form called a ‘Gheist’ or a large humanoid vampire in layman’s terms. Not only did he looked fearsome, he also had the brutal strength and savagery to back it up.
On the other side was Theo’s golden Terminator Armor in all of mechanical majesty.
On its right hand was a 2 meter long metal sword. This was a replica of the Kin Slayer’s weight, length and center of gravity. Naturally, it didn't have the anti-vampire enchantments of the original.
It’s left hand was heavily armored with thick HF blade finger claws. Theo dubbed this weapon the ‘Fire Claw’ for obvious reasons.
The millisecond Theo’s terminator and Nosferatu clashed, it was immediately clear who had the upper hand.
Obviously, it was Nosferatu.
At the moment of collision, Theo swung his sword horizontally.
Despite Nosferatu’s body size in his war form, he displayed phenomenal agility by ducking underneath the sword swing, followed by ramming into the Terminator’s gutt area.
Nosferatu grabbed hold of the Terminator’s waist and lifted it up in an attempt of a suplex.
This didn't come to pass as Theo violently smashed his Fire Claw into Nosferatu’s exposed back, effectively flooring the Gheist
Before Nosferatu could recover, Theo’s sword smashed into Nosferatu’s face with a golf swing.
Nosferatu was blown back 10 meters before skidding into standing position.
Despite throwing all of the Terminator’s might into each blow, not a single scratch was seen on Nosferatu.
While Theo was expecting this outcome, it was still quite disheartening that he couldn't do any damage to Nosferatu.
“Well color me impressed Young Lorne. I was correct to assume that your new toy was more than just a fancy paint job. It seems that I can go on a rampage a little longer this time around!” said Nosferatu with glee.
“Hey! Don't you dare forget your promise! It took me a good 4 months to make this Terminator! Destroying this will set me back quite a lot!” replied Theo
“Fret not child. I am a man of my word. I will get my fill of excitement without causing irreparable damage to your contraption.”
“And I hope both of you blood crazed fools remember that we’re on a boat in the middle of a sunny day. If this sinks, Nosferatu is as good as dead while Theo’s Terminator will be at the bottom of the ocean! This ship might be reinforced to the highest degree, but it wont last if both of you went all out!” said Jabir through the loudspeakers.
“”Yeah yeah”” replied Theo and Nosferatu half heartedly, much to everyone’s anxiety
Once again, the 2 monsters rushed at each other in a mindless, straightforward charge.
While both were able to fight in a more tactical manner, this battle was never about winning or losing.
This was about blowing of steam with mindless violence against an opponent that was powerful enough to survive their wrath.
As such, both launched themselves into a frenzy
“YOU BASTARDS! IF MY BOAT SINKS, I’LL FIND A WAY TO BRING THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE SO I CAN KILL YOU TWO OVER AND OVER AGAIN!” roared Jabir to deaf ears.
As the 2 clashed, Theo swung his sword and missed.
His lack of mobility was truly an issue.
Something Nosferatu intended to capitalize on.
In order to avoid another humiliating flooring, Nosferatu used his superior speed to get behind Theo.
However, before Nosferatu could strike, the sound of powerful thrusters was heard and a red hot Fire Claw slammed into his chest, forcing him to skid back 5 meters, much to Nosferatu’s surprise.
This was one of Theo’s many improvements to the Terminator Armor.
While he couldn't do anything about its slow move speed due to its weight, he did solve its mobility issue.
The answer was simple: Thrusters
Heavy duty, high performance, extremely durable thrusters were located in various parts of the Terminator’s body. These things were designed to give the Terminator instantaneous, though limited, burst of speed when performing actions that was heavily affected by its weight (turning, stopping, standing up, etc).
This might not allow the Terminator to chase after fast moving targets, but it will ensure it will never be flanked ever again.
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“HAHAHA! THAT’S THE SPIRIT” Roared Nosferatu as he charged back into the fray
Once again, Theo swung his sword at Nosferatu.
However, Nosferatu blocked the blow this time around with an arm and quickly followed through with a punch to the gut.
Theo countered with a Fire Claw into the face and a sword slash to the torso.
From there it devolved into a mindless slugfest.
Devoid of technique, strategy or thought, they fought for the sake of fighting. Unrestrained brutality just for the heck of it.
If even a small distance was formed between them, both will charge back in swinging with greater ferocity
The crew of the cargo ship composed mostly of Jabir’s Hassan-i Sabbah and Nosferatu’s Grave Guards held on to something as the inhuman brawl spiralled out of control.
While it looked like an equal match, a closer inspection revealed that Theo’s Terminator had a slight disadvantage.
Compared to Nosferatu who was completely fine, the Terminator was riddled with scratches and the golden paint was torn off in some areas.
Internally, the Terminator was working perfectly.
Using the data from their previous engagement, Theo made significant improvements to the Terminator.
The metal muscle fibers was made exponentially stronger.
The metal gears were hardened to its physical limits
Every layer of his armor have been insulated and was mixed with conducting materials in order to produce a printed circuit board-like effect that carried power from his archon batteries to all of his systems and weapons without using a single cable.
Speaking of his armor, it was created with heat resistant, shock resistant alloy that was bound in a way that would diffuse impact instead of absorb it.
All in all, it was man made monster that could go toe to toe with equally monstrous individuals.
For all its improvements, it had one very big flaw: it drained power like crazy.
Since Theo still couldn't figure out how to make a genuine miniature Archon Reactor, he had no choice but to rely on the less efficient Archon Batteries to power his tech.
His first Terminator was powered by 3 Archon Batteries the size of a human head. This new one was powered by 12 to compensate for the gas guzzling movement thrusters.
As such, if Theo used 100% of the Terminator’s functions without holding back, it would take a mere 30 minutes before it completely drains and destroys the Archon Batteries.
This could be avoided by simply not using its full might, but there will come a time that such a choice was not possible.
As such, Theo had a few Archon Batteries in reserve.
He wasn't going all out on Nosferatu, but he can't match the progenitor in an endurance battle.
But most importantly, Nosferatu was also holding back.
If he went all out, even the full might of the Terminator mk 2 wouldn't last a minute.
Nevertheless, this battle was a boon to Theo.
The data from this battle will help Theo many times over in the future.
As such, he kept attacking just to see how far the Terminator’s physical capabilities could go.
A seconds of mindless bashing was interrupted when Nosferatu was able to land a powerful uppercut that knocked the Terminator off balance.
Nosferatu capitalized by grabbing both legs and performed a WWE giant swing. He spun twice before throwing it into the air.
Theo smashed painfully into the ground 20 meters away from Nosferatu.
Slightly dazed and disoriented, Theo recovered as quickly as possible.
And just in time, for it barely took a second for Nosferatu to cover that distance.
Before Nosferatu could unleash his blows, Theo caught the progenitor arm with his Fire Claw in a vice grip so strong that surprised both of them.
Without missing a beat, Theo mashed Nosferatu into the ground like a rag doll, then followed through by raining sword blows at him.
Despite in an awkward position, Nosferatu fought back by kicking, but the Fire Claw’s surprisingly unbreakable grip prevented him from doing more powerful moves.
Nosferatu struggled desperately to escape the grip for a few more seconds, but it turned into a one sided beatdown with Theo raining steel at every opportunity.
In a desperate attempt to escape, Nosferatu turned into mist and reappeared about 20 meters away from Theo.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Nosferatu didn't charge back in.
The progenitor adopted a cautious stance as he slowly paced towards Theo.
In a fight Nosferatu dominated completely, this was the first time he has ever went on the defensive.
Was being unable to free himself from the Fire Claw's grip that humiliating?
Theo wasn't sure.
Either way, Theo was going to keep attacking.
He fired up his boosters and rushed towards Nosferatu.
By 'RUSH' he meant the Terminator maximum running speed AKA Brisk Walking.
It's pitiful but such was to be expected when you strap a few tons of armor into a bipedal walker.
In response, Nosferatu let lose an earth shaking roar before charging full speed at Theo.
Before they could smash into each other in what would be a titanic collision, a chorus of explosion from what seemed to be grenades erupted all around them.
Thick green goo engulfed the 2 and restricted their movement.
While both could rip through the goo with a bit of effort, it slowed them quite a bit and made them realize that the master of the boat has something to say.
“ARE YOU TRYING TO SINK THE DAMN SHIP?!” roared Jabir over the loudspeaker.
Theo and Nosferatu snapped out of their blood frenzy and noticed the state of the ship.
The once solid looking metal floor was bent, punctured and ripped apart.
Quite a bit of equipment fell off their fixtures
The crew and the Grave Guards were clearly rattled by the inhumane brawl.
“Oh my... it seems that we may have been a little too energetic with our spar.” said Nosferatu
“Yeah.... we were a little violent, right?” replied Theo
“Indeed! Just a little !”
“”Ha ha ha ha ha!”” the two laughed little heartedly
“YOU TWO! ON YOUR HUMAN FORMS AND KNEEL!”
For an hour or so, the crew and the Grave Guards bore witness to a once in a lifetime event
One of the most powerful vampires in the world and the creator of an inhuman killing machine bowed their heads in shame as they knelt in front of a furious Jabir who hurled insults that would impress a sailor.
The very sight of the 2 holding back their tears as Jabir's words tore them apart was bizzare scene indeed.
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