The GODBREAKER came hurtling into the battle like a meteor.
The civilians on the ground who witnessed the sky diving mecha would have sworn it was the end of days. Not only was a giant mass of flame and metal tearing through the sky toward them, but they were already in the midst of being assaulted by a giant bipedal reptile kaiju.
The beast was as tall as a mountain, but was by no means as stationary as one. The speed at which it had emerged from the nearby Ohto Sea was frankly absurd. The fishermen stationed in the waters hadn’t even been able to detect the massive monster’s presence until they were thrust into the air, spinning around in circles.
The kaiju seemed to have a destination in mind, as it wasted no time emerging from the ocean, clawing its way across the coast, and stomping up and over the hills. Perhaps it had set its sights on the nearby city of Redvein. For what purpose was completely up in the air, as the giant reptile was incapable of speaking, and even if it were able to communicate with the ultranians, with how angry and violent it was, it didn’t seem like it would have been in the mood to resolve things peacefully.
The Redvein Militia had not been prepared for the attack, but really, would anyone have been ready for it with how suddenly it had occurred? Kudos to them for rallying as quickly as they did, though, diverting the kaiju’s attention away with volleys of railgun shots, all while providing cover and escort back into the city’s walls to the civilians who had been outside traveling to and from the beach.
But the railguns weren’t going to cut it. They stalled the beast long enough for emergency vehicles to race out and load the civilians into them, but not enough to stop the kaiju entirely. In fact, once that diversion had ended, the beast seemed to be even more motivated to put the smackdown on the city of Redvein.
Color the giant green kaiju surprised when it was instead tackled by a giant robot descending from the heavens.
As the two monstrous combatants fell to the ground, the entire coastline shook. Trees from the nearby forest split open, the walls encasing the city rumbled, and many glass fixtures within the homes of Redvein exploded into bits.
The kaiju, now heavily confused on top of already being heavily angry, flailed its reptilian arms out in an attempt to strike out at the mech that had tackled it. However, it was not to be, as the mech was able to get to its feet, free from the lashing arms of the monster.
The robot was almost as enormous as the kaiju, but while the monster was seaweed green with lots of rounded shapes to its physique and a coating of wetness and slime that communicated exactly how organic and fleshy it was, the mech was its polar opposite. It was blood-red from head-to-toe, every edge and angle shimmering in the sunlight. It was humanoid in shape, albeit with two extra arms sprouting out from its sides, crafted from blocky metal parts.
But while the body of the giant robot was a marvel of advanced technology and clean, sleek mechanical design, its face told a different story. It had been built like a monstrous demon, sculpted to portray a permanent rage, as though it were declaring its intent to not only brutalize you in battle, but to then cannibalize you afterwards.
Even the kaiju, once it stood back up on its feet, was immediately stricken with a hesitation as its eyes settled on the mechanical opponent who had tackled it into the ground. But its violent rage returned it to its senses soon afterwards, and it propelled the kaiju forward to strike down this new foe so that it may continue on its quest to destroy Redvein.
The mech was able to grab hold of both of the kaiju’s arms, holding them out and preventing them from attacking properly. The robot’s other two arms took full advantage of this situation, laying in powerful punches into the now-exposed face, throat, chest, and stomach of the kaiju.
After one particularly meaty right cross, the kaiju pulled back and whipped its tail into the mech’s side, buying itself time to create some more distance between the two.
The kaiju lowered its head slowly, the spines on the back of its elongated neck rising up like the hairs on a crouching cat. Its eyes locked onto the angry face of the GODBREAKER robot, waiting for its next move.
* * * *
ULTRA ROCK
* * * *
Inside the cockpit, Rocky Roran huffed out an unimpressed breath from his nostrils. The screens and lights of the control modules bathed the cockpit in a thick sheen of neon red, although Rocky’s gray, stoney hide refused to be washed over by any other color.
“Ah this thing ain’t even fun to fight,” Rocky muttered, releasing his hold on the controls. He tucked his hands behind his bald head, kicking his boots up onto the dashboard as he leaned back into his chair. Though the motion had been light and casual, due to his gargoyle biology, propping his stone feet up onto the metal dashboard produced a booming sound. “I’m gonna take a nap. You got this, Rakshasa.”
A low, cyberized voice flooded into the cockpit from all directions.
[BAH! FINE.]
The GODBREAKER, Rakshasa, pounded both of its right-side fists into the palms of its two left-side fists. The sound of the popping knuckles reverberated around the area louder than cannon fire.
The kaiju remained perfectly still. Until Rakshasa suddenly dashed into him with a charging headbutt.
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The giant reptile nearly toppled over backward, but was able to catch its footing with a manipulation of its tail. As soon as it recovered, however, it immediately caught two quick jabs to the snout, along with a meaty uppercut to the side of the stomach.
With a frustrated roar, the kaiju belted out a spray of acid from deep within its throat.
Rakshasa, being far too close to avoid the sudden deluge of bright-green discharge, hopped backward the instant he was struck.
[WRETCHED ANIMAL….!]
Three of his four arms were coated in the stuff, and it was beginning to eat away at the surface of his armor, producing an uprising of steam.
With a growl, he flicked his arms out to the sides to remove as much of it as he could. This gave the kaiju an opportunity to turn the tides of the duel as the monster hocked another spray of green amidst its forward charge.
Rakshasa predictably stepped to the side to avoid the incoming acid, and ate a claw to the chest for his troubles.
The GODBREAKER brought his lower arms up to form a defense while the uppermost arms focused on trying to get in a few more jabs. The maneuver worked, bringing the two massive combatants back to an even neutral standing.
Inside the cockpit, an annoying beep began to echo around the room, stirring Rocky from his nap. He flicked his black, featureless eyes over to the screen to investigate the source of the noise.
“Oi, Rak! You’re at 60%! What the hell’s going on out there? Are you losing?”
Rakshasa ducked beneath a swiping claw, then slammed his knuckles into the underside of the kaiju’s jaw.
[OF COURSE NOT! DO NOT INSULT ME, MORTAL! THE VILE THING SPEWED ACID IS ALL!]
A yawn escaped from Rocky’s own jaws. “Sure….”
The GODBREAKER let out a defiant growl, blocking another scratch from the reptilian beast before smashing the monster’s face with a right cross.
[DO NOT TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME, MORTAL! I WILL DEVOUR YOU!]
Rocky flicked the video feed on, allowing him to once again see the battle from the perspective of Rakshasa’s eyes. He watched as the GODBREAKER lunged forward and backhanded the monster across the face. “Just finish it off already.”
Having built up another reserve of acid, the kaiju prepared its throat for launch, but Rakshasa was ready this time. The GODBREAKER aimed two precision punches right for the chest, directly above where the monster stored its acid.
The kaiju gagged out a half-cough, half-depletion of air reserves, stumbling backward with its eyes wide.
Rakshasa, seeing the opportunity to clench victory, threw all four of his arms out wide, howling madly into the heavens.
[I WILL END YOU!]
Four red halos of light spread out from his chest, gliding along the lengths of each of his arms. As the halos reached his hands, he brought them all together, palms facing the kaiju.
A red ball of bright light formed in the space his hands met. Then, following a skull-rattling, high pitched wail, the ball transformed into a massive beam that jetted directly to the reptilian monster.
As the beam shot forward, the front of it transmogrified, taking on the shape of a roaring face whose jaws were lined with sharp fangs.
Even if the kaiju had been physically able to attempt to dodge the attack, there would have been nowhere to go. The red laser became so massive so quickly that the entire space the monster had to work with was suddenly erased from existence, consumed by the hungry jaws of the beam.
The entire landscape was swallowed in a red light for several seconds afterward. Even the people of Redvein who were safely stationed in their homes on the far side of the city found their rooms swallowed by the afterglow, and were forced to shield their eyes.
But soon the red light died down. And when that light died down it revealed the outcome of the battle.
Rakshasa stood alone. The kaiju was no more. The ground where the kaiju had been standing was no more. The ground for miles behind where the kaiju had been standing was no more. The coast at the edge of that miles of ground was no more. Even the waters of the sea on the other side of the coast was no more. At least, not for a few moments, before the ocean surrounding that empty space came to realize that the empty space now needed to be filled in order for things to make sense once again, and washed over the gap to restore normality.
Observing the handiwork from within the cockpit, Rocky nodded his head. “Nice.”
* * * *
ULTRA ROCK
* * * *
The sun had already begun to set by the time Rocky and Rakshasa found their destination: the Rosso Woods on the complete opposite side of Redvein.
It was a thick ocean of forest for miles around. The leaves, flower petals, vines, fungus, and even puddles were all varying shades of red, making it a far more refreshing sight to behold than any old run-of-the-mill forest, that was for sure.
After the battle with the kaiju, Rocky had spent the next few moments scoping out the area in search of the Rosso Woods, but when it didn’t appear in view, he had ordered Rakshasa to head to the walls of Redvein to ask for directions.
Of course, the Redvein Militia had not been immediately receptive to the sudden approach of the giant GODBREAKER, but they refrained from laying fire on the mecha long enough for Rocky on speaker to ask for directions to the woods.
It turned out to be a few miles on the opposite side of Redvein, so Rocky thanked the Militia before directing Rakshasa towards their destination. As the two left, the Militia sent out scouts to keep an eye on the pair.
Within a few minutes of exploring the woods, Rakshasa was able to find a large clearing, just as Rocky had commanded him too. It was shaped similarly to a half-circle, lined with trees around the entire perimeter, with not much in the way of debris on the floor, just a soft blanket of crimson grass over scarlet soil.
[HERE.]
With a yawn, Rocky took a look around the clearing before nodding in approval. “Looks good to me.”
Rakshasa let out a snort, but chose not to say anything back. The two of them were exhausted and ready to sleep for the night, and bickering would just be another obstacle on their path to rejuvenation.
The GODBREAKER’s body suddenly let out a spray of exhaust from several vents that had been built into him. Inside the cockpit, the computers beeped in the usual pattern signifying the cooldown and beginning of the sleep sequence for the machine.
Rakshasa slowly folded his body closer to the ground until first he was seated, then second was lying on his back. He tried to be gentle with it, but there was only so much a giant machine could do to keep quiet when collapsing to the floor.
The red lights of the cockpit died down in sync with the gradual shutdown of the computers until only the natural light from the setting sun outside remained. Rocky reclined his chair back even further, grabbing hold of his jacket and tossing it over himself as a makeshift blanket.
“Nighty night, Rak.”
[DO NOT SPEAK TO A GOD IN SUCH A CHILDISH WAY, MORTAL.]
“I wasn’t talking to a god, I was talking to you.”
[SLEEP!]