The moment Eli stepped through the other side of the portal he knew he found the Titan’s inner sanctum. An enormous rectangular building towered around him, its vaulted roof coming to a point over a mile above his head. He’d emerged alongside his army in one corner of the building, with the other corner being at least two miles away. Gargantuan floor-to-ceiling pillars were placed at regular intervals in the massive open hall for several more miles, culminating in a back wall that was illuminated by the glow of a half a mile tall crystal that cast prismatic light in every direction as it slowly rotated midair.

As his eyes scanned the room, he realized that every surface of the building was made of the same material – a bluish stone that shone with a metallic sheen. Between it and the floating crystal there was enough light for him to make out several thousand war machines floating through the air, each of them glowing with a sickly green light. His eyes moved down to find a veritable sea of bodies between him and his target.

There have to be millions of them here! He thought to himself as he watched the undulating mass of ratkin, Orryx, mutants, war machines, and other still-stranger forms race towards them.

Thankfully, they’d come prepared. The first troops through the portal were his metal golems, their automated forms cutting a swathe through the ratkin large enough that the second wave wouldn’t be immediately attacked upon entry. He quickly found their battle line ahead of him, their tireless charge through the Titan soldiers barely even slowing despite the numbers arrayed against them.

Eli watched with interest as the first of the golems was taken down by a combined charge from a trio of Orryx and half a dozen ratkin mutants. The golem fought all the way down, taking several of its enemies with it before its chest plate was pried apart and its enchanted glass core was destroyed. A sense of grim satisfaction welled within him as hundreds of nearby and newly-dead ratkin soldiers reanimated all around their former comrades, joining the charge alongside the golems in an inhuman tide of bone and steel.

Surprise, assholes. He grit his teeth.

Behind him, more troops continued to pour through the largest portal he’d ever seen. Attack helicopters soared through and took to the skies alongside harpies, gryphons, and wild wyverns ridden by wood elves. Squads of marines jogged alongside tanks with magical enchantments hastily scrawled onto their sides. Ranks of lizardkin and naga joined with orcs and demons to form a formidable front line, each group eager to wet their blades with the blood of their enemies.

Somehow, there were still more. Even as the front line moved up to fight alongside the golems, elves of every type and description massed alongside thousands of mercenaries. They went about their roles with the kind of quiet professionalism he’d come to expect from the soldiers: the wood elves quickly set up a field hospital, the dark elves began to use their magic to sow confusion in the enemy lines, and everyone else began to lob the equivalent of magical artillery into the Titan’s ranks. Just as they got started he saw yet more marines set up next to them, augmenting their spells with more conventional artillery.

It took almost 30 agonizing minutes before the entire force was through the portal and set up. Fortunately for them they were only met with meagre resistance during that time, allowing them to push deep into the enemy formations despite their vast numerical inferiority. Their relatively few casualties in the opening wave assuaged his guilt over having put so many others in danger, allowing him to wait near the back lines until the last of the troops were through.

“Is that all?” He asked Aria as the admiral himself and a crew of engineers carrying a large spherical object stepped through just before the portal closed.

“What, were you expecting more?” She shot back with a grin.

Before he could respond though, the admiral joined the group. “Bomb is here and armed. Reports are coming in from my squad leaders too, and it sounds like we should be at the crystal in a few hours.”

“We could fly there a lot faster.” Isla muttered.

“I wouldn’t bet on that.” The admiral countered, pointing up.

They were treated to a sight of an attack helicopter firing a missile into one of the floating war machines, causing it to explode. Unfortunately for the pilots they were almost immediately surrounded by 8 more of the machines, each of which belched forth an enormous shot of sickly green magic. The humans darted this way and that way in their maneuverable craft, but the magical bolts seemed to seek them out and find them with unerring accuracy. In the end they had to leap out just before the shots impacted, deploying their parachutes as their helicopter exploded.

“Get a few harpies and gryphons up there.” Eli turned to Zee. “See what you can do about recovery of those pilots.”

“On it.” She promised.

“Air defenses are substantial.” The admiral continued his report. “There’s some sort of anti-air guns closer to the crystal as well. As much as I don’t like it, it sounds like our best bet is to make a push along the ground for now.”

“Our pace will slow along the ground too though.” Nyxie cautioned while Eli translated for the admiral’s benefit. “It’s unlikely that the Titan forces were expecting an assault here, so we managed to catch them off guard. They’ll rally though, and soon they’ll put up a more meaningful resistance.”

“And we should expect a Titan to show up. Maybe even more than one.” He added at the end.

Behind them, the front line lit up with a purple glow as another golem was destroyed. Eli watched as hundreds more undead ratkin charged into their former allies, causing the cowardly Titan soldiers to break and run. They were mowed down by the dozens by the combined might of rifles and the magical artillery before they could make it too far.

“So what do we do in the mean time?” Aria asked as Zee returned.

“If it’s all the same, I’d like to get in there.” Naz offered. “I can’t let the clan have all the fun.”

He took a moment to look each of his women in the eye, ensuring they were on board before turning to the admiral. “Can you head over to that tent? The rest of the field commanders are there. A few of them speak English. I need you coordinating with both them and me. Send us wherever we’re having trouble, and we’ll figure it out.”

“Just you lot?” He questioned.

“I promise we can handle it.” Eli nodded as he triggered a transformation into his Nephilim form.

With a final unsure glance, the admiral ran off. Deciding actions would speak louder than words Eli led his bond mates forward towards the battle line. Ziran and Sira joined him moments later alongside Freya’s sisters, a half-dozen wood elves, and several guards taken from each of their allied factions.

Less than 5 minutes later, Eli heard the admiral’s voice over the radio in his ear. “Ratkin are massing their war machines just beyond the left side of the battle line. It looks like more than they can handle.”

“We’re on it.” Eli replied before leading their march towards the front.

They reached it just in time to see a formation of Titan soldiers charge towards their front-line infantry en masse. There were dozens of crazed contraptions: chariots with spikes all over them that dripped with poison pulled by feline creatures that Eli knew as ‘greypelts’, monowheel-cars with the driver in the middle firing bolts of green magic, and ponderous airships that descended from above while firing their main cannons. To make matters worse crude catapults began to launch enormous projectiles at them from far away, with each one exploding violently on impact.

They’re killing as many of their own as they are us. Eli noted as he summoned his mana. And they don’t seem to care.

“Snámh Objet! Trahere! Ventilabis Retro!”

The trio of spells caught one of the oncoming projectiles midair, bringing it to a halt. A moment later it reversed course, shooting back towards the artillery teams. Fortunately for them Eli put slightly too much mana into the spell, causing it to miss and crash into the ranks of ratkin beyond them.

Seeing his idea, Aria repeated his trio of spells a moment later. Her power and precision proved to be much better than his though, causing the missile to slam into the catapult it came from and detonate its store of explosives. She turned to the group with a satisfied smirk as a chain reaction set off behind enemy lines, each blast flashing green light across the battlefield.

Suddenly, the advance of the oncoming ground vehicles sputtered and stalled. Eli turned a moment later to see Zee and his retainers creating magical puddles of quicksand under their wheels, sucking them down and robbing them of their momentum. A moment later their crews were mobbed as dark elves materialized in the shadows behind their machines, murdering them with quick and efficient stabs before disappearing just as quickly.

“How’s that for elven power?” Aratessa grinned before fist-bumping both Aria and Zee.

“Isla.” Naz growled.

Slightly surprised, the dragoness turned to the orc. “Yes?”

“I believe we’re being taunted.”

“So it would seem.”

“Want to give me a lift to those airships?”

“Happy to.” She grinned.

Before he could protest, Isla triggered a transformation into her draconic form. Her hands and arms turned to into scaled claws that dropped to the ground to support her quickly-growing bulk. Naz scrambled up her side as her wings unfurled, and a moment later the pair was airborne.

He debated chasing them for a moment, but was interrupted when several more golems collapsed on his flank. While the newly-created undead quickly charged in to fill the gap, Eli saw that they were no match for the squad of Orryx charging towards them. With a grimace he turned and raced towards the new threat, his hammer held low as his wings carried him just above the ground.

Their eyes went wide when they saw him, distracting them from the vines and roots that writhed at their feet. A moment later they entangled the four-armed elite Titan soldier’s legs, holding them in place. Even as they tried to hack at the living manacles though, they were quickly covered in a thick layer of ice.

The fact that they were both distracted and immobilized from the knees down made them easy targets for Eli. His first hammer went from low to high, connecting with the head of the lead Orryx. Despite all its armour the magically-enhanced blow took its head clean off, sending it sailing through the air and into the crowd of Titan soldiers behind them.

The other Orryx didn’t fare much better. Eli easily danced through the air out of range of their four-armed melee attacks, bringing down his hammer whenever he saw openings. Beneath them the field of ice and vines continued to grow, discouraging anyone else from joining the fray. By the time he’d finished off the last of the soldiers the nearby ratkin were in full retreat, terrified by the fact that their commanders had been so easily defeated.

Eli used the respite to back off from the front line, allowing newly arrived reinforcements to surge through the gap. He looked up just in time to see a screaming Naz leap from Isla’s back several hundred feet in the air, her axe held high above her head. His heart caught in his throat with worry as she connected with the nearest ratkin airship, the blade of her weapon tearing into the bloated craft’s side. She held fast to her axe as it pulled downwards, the fabric coming open like a lady’s dress unzipping.

When she finally neared the bottom of the blimp she leapt back into the air only to be caught by Isla’s waiting claws. As the air rushed out of the flying war machine the dragoness loosed a gout of flame on it, causing it to fall back to the ground in a burning wreck. The pair followed soon afterwards, landing next to Eli with smug looks of satisfaction on their faces.

“That still only counts as one.” Freya protested.

“Are you guys keeping score?” Eli asked incredulously.

They were interrupted once more when an enormous grey-furred creature roared out a challenge and leapt on top of a nearby tank. The thing was easily 15 feet tall, with 5 ratlike heads that spewed acid on the armoured vehicle below it. Welded into the end of each arm was a rusty metallic spear, and attached to the end of its tail was a set of dangerous-looking spikes.

“Is that…a hydra?” Lilly asked incredulously. “I’ve never seen one with rat heads though...”

“Study it later! Kill it now!” Naz replied.

In response, Isla loosed another inferno on the creature. Her attack burned brightly enough that they had to avert their eyes, losing sight of it for a moment. When it faded though the creature was still on the tank, its fur smoking but otherwise unharmed.

“Nyxie what the fuck is that thing?” Eli demanded.

“I don’t know! The ratkin are always coming up with new horror-creatures!” She replied tersely.

“Fine.” Eli grunted, summoning his mana once more.

A moment later he fired a lance of pure golden light into the creature’s chest. He jerked it upwards and to the side as it connected, ensuring it would cut through most of its inner organs. The second it was done he cut the spell off, his wings slumping in exhaustion as he did.

“There we go.” Eli grunted as he watched the creature fall, only to drop to his knees as well.

“Eli!” Nyxie shouted in alarm.

“I’m fine.” He waved her off, shaking his head as his bond mates converged on him. “That just…takes a lot out of me.”

From one of the many pockets in his armour he pulled out a mana potion, unscrewing the lid before knocking it back. The foul-tasting substance made him grimace as he quickly swallowed it, restoring his strength. He slowly got to his feet and surveyed the battlefield around him once more only to see an explosion of fire erupt from the opposite side of their battle lines.

“Getting reports of something they’re calling a Titan.” The admiral’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Tell our forces to pull back from that front! I’ll deal with it!” He said before turning to his bond mates. “I’m going after the Titan. Get over there as soon as you can! Keep each other safe!”

Without waiting for them to respond, Eli flapped his wings and shot up into the air. He changed course a moment later, skimming above the battlefield in a blur of black feathers and steel. Shouts of alarm and stray projectiles whizzed by him as he flew, but he was moving far too fast for any of them to catch him.

It took under 10 seconds from the time the admiral radioed to the time that Eli found the Titan. The task wasn’t hard – the creature was hovering midair over the battlefield and glowing like a second sun as it continuously hurled spells at the armies below. Bullets, magic, and projectiles seemed to ping off its black armour harmlessly as it fought, serving only to highlight potential targets for it to hit next.

A pit formed in Eli’s stomach as he neared and saw exactly how much damage the Titan had done in the 10 seconds it took for him to get there. The entire battle line had collapsed, killing almost a thousand soldiers and routing several thousand more. A continuous stream of spells vaporized, incinerated, or otherwise destroyed groups of fleeing soldiers at will as a harsh barking laugh rang out over the battlefield.

[“Little troublesome insects. Scamper before me!”]

The voice sounded in Eli’s mind more so than his ears. His body glowed gold a moment later, warning him that it was naturally fighting off some sort of spell. Looking down he saw thousands of soldiers on both sides suddenly collapse, and the radio in his ear was suddenly filled with cries of agony.

That thing is toying with us. Eli realized, his eyes going wide. And even then we’re losing.

Flapping his wings faster, Eli charged towards the Titan mid-air. He reached wide with both arms as he neared, only to swing and miss when the Titan suddenly disappeared. It reappeared several hundred feet away and turned to face him before speaking once more.

[“Leech! Thief of my lifeblood! You will die!”]

Eli braced himself for the incoming spell, only to be surprised when the Titan instead levitated hundreds of ratkin from below and tossed them at him. He darted up and over the initial flying swarm only to be surprised when a second group followed almost immediately after. His form’s agility was put to the limit as he dipped and dodged the furred mass as best he could, using his hammer to blast away any that he couldn’t avoid. Each ratkin screamed at him as it sailed through the air, slashing and thrusting at him with crude metal weapons when they neared.

“Eli that Titan’s opened a portal!” Minerva warned him over the radio. “There are a lot more reinforcements coming through!”

Realizing that he had the creature distracted enough to pause its psychic attack, Eli redoubled his efforts. He summoned his mana once more, the tattoo on his arm glowing gold with power. His hand shot out in a practiced motion as he roared an incantation.

“Graviteh Palla!”

A pure black singularity appeared in front of him, pulling the stream of flying ratkin into its orbit. With a grunt of effort Eli pushed the spell towards the Titan, catching more and more of the soldiers as he did. Before he could do any more though, the spell suddenly faltered – causing dozens of crazed ratkin to fall to their deaths over top of their own army.

The Titan ahead of him glowed with magic as it pointed at Eli. [“I am a god! Your powers mean nothing to me!”]

"Síl!”

Rather than responding with words, Eli disappeared and reappeared behind the Titan. Before it could teleport away again he shoved his hands into the breaks in its armour and started to drain its mana. His ring started to glow brighter and brighter as the creature’s limbs went rigid, forcing him to close his eyes to shield them. For a full three minutes they remained suspended there above the battlefield, glowing like a newly formed star.

When it was finally over Eli let go of the armour and allowed it to crash to the ground. As he magically healed his hands and flew back to their battle line he saw that the Titan forces were in full retreat for a moment, terrified by the creature that could kill one of their leaders. Reports of his army’s renewed advance streamed in over the radio as he landed in front of his bond mates.

“That was a lot harder than the last time I killed a Titan.” He remarked.