Everyone breath a sign of relieve as there are no explosion after the warning to brace for it has been issued. The same however cannot for Lord Applegate who is leading his contingent of Avatar Frames (AFs) who are in combat with the monster which has its new form emerging from its cocoon.
“All avatars form up on me, suppressive formation!” Lord Applegate rallied the remaining mechs under his command.
Immediately, all of them reorganised into two line formation where 4 of them will be in the front to suppress its movement while 3 of the will be at the back to attack by range attacks.
These 3 avatars proceeded to sheath their swords at the scabbards at left side of their waist & proceed to arm themselves with energy pistols which are kept in the holster at the right side of their waist.
The avatar which had lost its tower shield, unlike the rest of the others instead armed its left hand with the energy pistol. The pilot had decided that it is now going on a full offensive to deal with the monster once & for all.
“Moon Wind, are you still able to keep up?” Lord Applegate asks that avatar armed with pistol & sword of her condition.
“Yes great master, I’m fine.” She assured her commander.
“Captain, the monster has evolved.” The science & arcane officer of the Celestial Sanctuary informed Captain McDonald.
Looking at the formation that their mechs made in the field combat display monitor, the captain understood what is the great knight is planning to do. He is going to suppress & slay the monster where with that formation & at the same time, limit the area of combat to allow the knights & guardians on the ground to ample time evacuate to a safe place, which is their fleet of an Orbital Assault Ship (OAS) & 3 Orbital Mission Ships (OMS).
“Mr. Skystrider, I want a detailed scan on that beast, tell me everything once it is done.” The captain ordered his science & arcane officer who are manning the ship sensors.
“Aye sir, begin scanning the beast now.” His officer complied & begins his work immediately as ordered.
Back on the ground, the monster is howling with the mechs surrounding it ready to engage it with every contingency they had with them. The ships they had with them are on standby to provide support fire should the situation demands it, at the moment, they are holding back as ordered by Aspire due to concerns of friendly fire.
Vivelka, the Goddess of Plunder is being escorted to one of the shuttles to be transported to the OAS which will be holding them for the duration. Both she & the guardians who had arrested her had survived the explosion earlier due to the timely deployment of the “Protection Sphere” by Cosmos.
Hearing the howl from the monster which the mechs are fighting, Vivelka realised that it was Carnelia, who are now a deranged monstrosity in front of her. She may not recognise her beloved servant, but deep in her heart, she knew that it was her archangel which is now being tormented by the state of pandemonium she is in.
Her captors nudged her, urging her to quicken her pace. They walked a few more paces, reaching a nearby shuttle & seeing the one at the entrance of the shuttle makes her fume with anger & anguish.
“You!!! You tried to kill me!!!” Vivelka accused Cosmos the moment she set her eyes on her.
“I am here to arrest you little girl.” Her enemy rebutted her.
“Then why must my servant have to die?”
“Grow up girl, this is a warzone. A juvenile goddess like you won’t easily die & afflicted by energy hazard unlike those infant ones.”
“But why did she do it?”
“I don’t know. It is her choice to make not yours. What we can do now, is to put her to rest.”
Hearing what Cosmos told her, Vivelka struggled, trying to break free from her shackles & the guardians holding her. At her state which is still weak for now, she is quickly subdued & brought into the last shuttle waiting for transport them. Nothing can be done except to relish in anguish for her.
The scans at the greater giant by the Celestial Sanctuary have revealed its entire characteristic to Skystrider, the science & arcane officer of the OAS. The monster, which is initially a mindless beast, had evolved into a monster with minor intelligence.
Changes with its physical form had allowed it to be nimble & able to perform a variety of attacks & movements that it is unable in its previous form. With its new found strength, the task to subdue it has become even more challenging but not all is lost for the forces which are working to exterminate it.
The new nature of its form is, allows it to tap the energies from its surroundings. To do it, an organ which is known as the energy core is needed to perform such feat. Such core is formed from the convergence of various energies which condense into a crystalline object in various shapes & sizes.
There is only one function it perform, which is to facilitate the flow of energies from its source to its sink, where the source are the energies from its surroundings & the sink are the attacks & movements that it is making. It is both strength & weakness to the monster, as its destruction will rob the monster all its source of power, allowing it to be slain easily.
“Captain, scans on the beast is complete. We now have full data on our target now.” Mr. Skystrider informed his captain.
“Good, relay it to all our forces.” His commander instructs him.
“Aye sir, relaying analysed tactical data now.”
With new combat information being relayed to the whole fleet & the squadron of mechs on the ground, new battle plans are being formulated by the respective leaders leading them.
Lord Applegate, who is now sensing victory, commanded the avatars under his command to go on the offensive while the ships readied their weapons for a combination of torpedoes & support fire attacks.
“All avatars, force multiplier ordinance are on the way to your position, take cover.” Aspire warned all the avatars through their coms.
“Aye milord will do.” The great knight acknowledged & proceeds to relay to what is left of his peers to the incoming attacks.
Only 5 avatars left to engage the monster on the field when the torpedoes hit with deadly precision, indicating another two more AFs have its function ceased by the monster which is classified as a Pandemonium Beast.
They have been recalled from the battlefield for the recovery of their pilots & engineers are busy working in the avatar bay of the OAS to extract the wounded pilots in those mechs.
The volley of torpedoes which was guided by the ship weapon guidance system made the monster to be stunned & confused, giving the much needed guns on the ships to aim their fire in anger, dealing much damage to the creature.
Support fire from the ships had exposed the energy core of the monster. With the dazed & disoriented state it is experiencing now, Lord Applegate concludes that it is time to land the killing blow to it.
“Brothers & Sisters! To Victory!” He cried & at the same time leading the charge towards the monster.
The creature, sensing its doom is near attempted to cover its exposed energy core at its chest with its hands. It is however prevented from doing so by the AFs which is still in range attack configuration, where they shot its hands off to keep the core exposed.
As Moon Wind did not carry her tower shield with her anymore, she is able to move her avatar faster than the rest of her team members. Firing a shot from her energy pistol, it hits the core, disrupting the energy from being channeled properly.
With a heavy slash from her sword, she split the beast into half along with the energy core, ending its miserable existence once & for all. The monster’s lifeless body fell, lying on the ground motionless, as it had finally earn the sleep that it will never be awaken again.
The mechs on the ground surrounded it, ever vigilant on guard to ensure that it is a clean kill before declaring victory over the challenge they had faced today. Premature victory will always lead to disastrous defeat that is why they never let their guard down till it is full assured.
After much battle at the auction house, Cosmos & Aspire had managed to get the situation under control there. There are casualties on both sides, however they purpose that they came for has been achieved. Spending some time to mop up & confirm that all objectives have been completed, they then return to their base in the celestial realm to bring these criminals to justice.
Poor Carnelia. First, she sacrificed herself and was reborn as a monster right to be viciously killed. Maybe even overkilled to ensure nothing crawls out of her.
Well.... the universe is inpredictable.