CHAPTER 26: DEUS EX MACHINA

XENON WINGATE

2 ½ YEARS AGO

The terrorist leader looks displeased. He is glaring with disappointment on my dragonoid Serena, whom he thought that she will be taken to his side. He should have known that the bond between me and Serena is strong enough to repel any poisonous thoughts injected into her.

“Don’t you dare talk to Zac like that! Totally!” Suddenly, the crimson-haired dragonoid with black ribbons ragefully leaped towards Serena with her photon sword. In the nick of time, Serena parried the blade with her own forged short sword.

“What you’re fighting for is right, but you should know that what you’re doing is wrong!” Serena said as she made a follow up a slash with her other blade.

“Kuh!” The crimson-haired dragonoid was pushed back as she took a slash clean in the stomach. But even though she suffered a direct hit, she didn’t suffer a wound. It looks like Serena purposely created a set of dull blades on her hands so that she won’t hurt any other dragonoid.

“Aleria, Noira. Take care of their dragonoids.” Zac Schneider said as he hid half of his face with his hand. He opened a gap between his fingers, and I saw a red glowing light on his eyes. “I’ll take their dragon knights.”

I tightened my grip on my buster swords, while Alphonse pulled out his chains from his wrists. Meanwhile, Z is already engaging witchcraft battles with the brown-haired dragonoid named Noira. Z kept on unleashing elemental projectiles, while Noira used her bare arms to block all those ranged attacks. Serena and the enemy dragonoid Aleria also started their sword strikes, and I can clearly see that Serena is getting the upper hand even though she’s holding back.

“Fuck off, Zac fucking Schneider,” Alphonse yelled. “We both know that you won’t last a week. The Alterran Army has surrounded this place. It’s just a matter of time before you have your hands in handcuffs. You have no chance against a dragon knight, let alone there’s two of us.”

“I know. But if the dragonoid people see that I can put up a fight, then Arcadia will live on without me. My ideals shall be immortalized, as well as the New Empire of Dragonoids.” Zac held his chest, and his hidden eye glowed again with red as he muttered some kind of technological spell. “Heightened Clearance Authorized. Activate Futuretech Dynamos!”

Suddenly, six floating glass-like photon swords floated from his back. It looked like anti-gravity drones that came from alien movies. Those six photon swords immediately fired bluish lasers towards our position.

I jumped forward to intercept the attack. With the little time I had, I joined my two buster swords to form it back to a shield, and I used it to block the incoming lasers. While I shield the attack of the drones, Alphonse spread out his arms and controlled his chains to chase the drones. He caught all six of them, and smashed it to one another, converting it to shattered glasses.

Zac Schneider frowned. He knew that resistance is futile, but he continued to struggle with future technology spells while still sitting on his throne.

“Maximum Clearance Authorized! Activate Deus Ex Machina!”

A gigantic mechanical rib materialized and encased the terrorist leader. Suddenly, long machine arms spawned from the left and right of the giant steel rib cage, and a giant robotic skull with red glowing eyes grew above. Zac Schneider is now inside a machine that looks like the upper body of a titan’s mechanical skeleton. I can sense magical and technological energy on that horrific robot as if it was alive.

“Rrrrrooooooooooaaaaaahhhh!!!” The giant mechanical skeleton roared with its cybernetic voice. Its jaw dropped, opening its wide mouth and charged a dwarf sun on its gun-shaped tongue.

“Haaaah!” I leaped forward, charging with my blaster shield in front and smacked the head of the giant mech skeleton with full force before he could unleash the attack he’s charging. I pointed the glowing orb of my blaster shield towards the dwarf sun on its mouth and fired a weak blaster with it.

A loud explosion echoes in the area. Chunks of metals and machine parts showered around, and now the Deus Ex Machina is missing its head. I returned back to my position because I was pushed by the blast.

Just when I thought that the giant mecha is dead, I realized that the two giant robot arms are still moving. With rapid speed, it prepared a double hook punch, ready to smash me like a tin can from both sides. There may be a way to block those two fists, but I’ll sure be converted to paper if I get hit.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Alphonse used his chains to wrap the gigantic left and right wrist and pulled it. Doing that, he misdirected the attack and it only caused the giant fists to smash the floor. Then, he coated his chains with fire magic to melt the steel and water magic to fry the circuit boards of the robot arms from inside.

I split my shield into two again, turning it back into twin buster swords. I jumped forward and put my weight on those swords as I smashed it to the giant arms as soon as I land. Now that the giant arms have been severed, there is nothing left but the ribcage of the Deus Ex Machina.

“Tsk.” Zac Schneider frowned. He coughed two times, unleashing small droplets of blood from his glowing red-eye and lips. It seems that using such future tech spells are taking a toll on his body.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Those were the shouts of two girls. When we glanced to the other part of the battlefield, we saw Z and Serena victorious on their own battles. The two enemy dragonoids was put to the ground without much effort. Seeing that horrific scene for the terrorist leader makes him spark with rage.

“Noira… Aleria… How dare you hurt my precious girls!” Zac shouted. Then, he pulled out a pill from his royal jacket and shot it straight to his mouth. He chewed it immediately, and we noticed a sudden rise of magical energy.

“Fucking druggo!” Alphonse said. “Shoot him!”

I pulled out a silenced pistol on my jacket, Serena forged a bow and an arrow, and Z created fire elemental balls on her side. With my bullets, Serena’s arrows, Z’s projectile bombs, and Alphonse’s long-range chain whips, we attacked the terrorist leader who is currently under his drug session.

Our attacks failed to penetrate his defenses. The giant metal ribcage is unleashing an invisible barrier that prevented any of our attacks from doing any damage. The forcefield only disappeared when Zac finally swallowed the chewed pill.

And then, Zac smiled as he held his chest.

“Activating Vesryn Pulse! Dracaryx! Activate Crimson Dragonfly!”

Suddenly, the two fallen enemy dragonoids had their body engulfed with white light. They became light orbs that levitated in the air and swirled around the terrorist leader, dancing upwards until it reached the top of the hall. When the two light orbs collided, everything was eaten by a white blinding light.

The next time we know it, everything was crumbling. There are falling debris everywhere, and the floor became a slanting platform. We could no longer see the throne, Zac, or his two dragonoids since there are smoke and bricks flying around. We need to focus on surviving this collapsing castle.

Alphonse, Serena and I slide downwards, evading all obstacles in the way. Z is not accustomed to this kind of chaotic skiing, so she had her dragon knight Alphonse carry her on his waist. 

“We’re going to fall!” Serena shouted as she soon sees the ground approaching. We came from the top floor of the castle. If we don’t do anything, the four of us will be splat.

Alphonse held his own chest, and I did the same on my own as we shouted our magic. “Activating Vesryn Pulse!”

Z transformed into an Elemental Dragon, and Serena transformed into a Nexus Dragon. In the nick of time, we jumped towards our giant flying lizards and flew out of the collapsing mess.

Gaining altitude, we had ourselves take a look at the chaotic scenery of Amnesia City. There are flames on almost every three blocks that light up everything even though it’s already midnight. There are smokes everywhere. If only I’m not exposed to white phosphorus earlier, I should be smelling burnt rubber and dead rotting bodies again, just like back in Vanilla City.

“Senpai, look,” Serena told me telepathically. Since she’s on dragon form, she won’t be able to speak normally like a human, so we resort to psychic abilities to communicate. It is one of the powers of the Vesryn Pulse.

When I gazed above, I saw a horror that I witnessed six months ago. A gigantic dragon with fifty meters in height, covered with nigh-impenetrable future tech metallic armor has finally made its reappearance. It’s back spawned four crimson cybernetic wings that resemble those of a dragonfly. Its red menacing eyes glared at us with the intent not to kill, but to annihilate our very existence. It is the Monolith Dragon.

“RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” It’s deafening shout is powerful enough to make the whole city suffer low-magnitude earthquakes.

Seeing it for the first time, Alphonse muttered a curse.

“Fuck me. That’s the Crimson Dragonfly.”