On the side of a mountainous volcano, full of flowing lava streams, toxic fumes and balls of fire belching from every crevasse, the humanoid armour-clad robot continued to march forward as it saw the monster standing in wait with its fiery sword in hand. The robot’s eyes shifted, as it zoomed in on the opponent. It was a nightmare of a creature, born out of the lava-rock that it stood upon, with glowing veins pulsating red as it flexed bulky arms.
“Who dares to challenge the might of Volcanus?” The beast spoke in its booming, deep voice. “No man dares to enter my realm. The heat alone would do them in, the poisonous air would kill them instantly, and to confront me with this blade would be the signal of their pending doom.”
The robot drew closer, keeping its eyes on the creature, and stepping carefully over the cracks and heated rocks with precision. Volcanus snickered at this poor combatant. This metallic being was in a dulled silver armour, far too big for its own original frame. The sword it bore was just as slender as its own skeletal arm. The blue cape it had draped over the left shoulder was tattered, burned, and smattered with blood.
“Halt, I command!” Volcanus thumped his sword to the ground. “Or you shall die where you step!”
The robot obeyed and remained at a distance.
“I am Argus, I come to complete my master’s quest.” It spoke to the volcanic being. Its electronic-toned voice crackled slightly, as the heat and magnetic activity interfered with its circuitry. “You sent your minions to destroy his village, his family, and left him for dead on the shores of Prius. As his creation and loyal servant, I must claim the right of vengeance in his stead.”
That made the mighty lava-being laugh heartily. This robot dares to come to his mound and face him alone? It was comical, insulting, and a waste of his precious time. He dismissed the artificial being, giving a wave of his hand and turning around.
“Be gone from my sight.” Volcanus mocked. “When you get a new human master, bring him or her to challenge me, and spare me your false sense of honour. You are a mere machine, unworthy of my attention…”
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The robot flung his sword while Volcanus was distracted, it thrusted into the side of the being’s arm, causing him to drop his flaming weapon. The pain caused him to scream, and turned about in fury. His eyes glowed red, with flames shooting out in anger. The robot wasted no time and dashed forward with great speed. The volcanic being was astounded by it. In less of a second, the robot was a few feet away, the next, he was right in front of him.
“You shall burn!” Volcanus exploded.
He swung his fist at the robot, his fist turning to fiery flame, but the Argus was quick again, and dodged it successfully. The sword was still lodged in the giant’s arm, which Argus took hold of and pushed further in. That caused the being to cry in pain again, and desperately tried to snatch the robot with his other hand. Argus gripped the sword, and lobbed off the creature’s arm as he swung in a circular motion. The being’s arm dropped to the ground as the molten lava-blood pooled out.
Volcanus, enraged, wounded, and swinging about, managed to strike Argus, sending the robot to hurl back a few feet. Argus recovered, and stood with his sword in hand. The blade was white hot, the metal pitted with holes as it deteriorated, and the robot’s own armour was smelted and scorched.
“I will not be defeated by a mechanical toy!” Volcanus screamed. “I will melt you back into the fires from which you were forged, you cretin!”
“You shall fail,” Argus stated back. “I must complete the quest for my master.”
“Why?” Volcanus glared, with frustration and agony, as he held on to his oozing wounded shoulder. “For what reason? Your master is no longer alive! You serve no one, why do you persist?”
“I do it for the code. Not just for the code honour, but because of the code written in my programming,” Argus dropped his sword, and arched his back. “I must comply with his last instruction given to me. One that I will gladly execute on his behalf…”
From out of Argus’s chest, a large build-up of energy started to form, a bright blue ball of plasma, that gathered quickly as he continued to arch his back. Volcanus was mesmerized by it. Such power he’d never seen in his life. But as he gazed at the dazzling spectacle, Argus twitched as the energy drew out of him. His synthesized voice started to falter as he spoke his last words.
“To end your tyranny… no matter the cost.”
The ball of energy, crackling with raw power and a blue-white light, shot from Argus straight at Volcanus. The impact of the explosion caused the being to disintegrate instantly. Nothing was left of him, only a huge smouldering crater surrounded by molten rock and burning ash. Argus collapsed to the ground. The robot was out of power and offline. Scorching heat from the ground ignited his cape, the flames licking at his armor, causing it to soften and droop. His eyes flickered momentarily before dying out completely.
“For the code…”