Part 9 - Awakening 

Gatao rushed straight at Valkus, his mecha’s boosters flaring to push him faster. 

Valkus cracked his arm bones back into place before he threw himself back into the fold, the faint strand of bronze light flickering around his body.

““Die!”” The two shouted at once as Gatao aimed a slash at Valkus, aiming to slice him in half, while Valkus pushed his speed past his limits, causing another streak of bronze to appear with his silver aura. 

With Valkus’ sudden burst of speed, Gatao missed his swing and allowed the giant dwarf to close in. Valkus rolled his muscles, causing the two bronze lights around him to twist and swirl along his arm.

Feeling the danger to his life, Gatao acted on instinct and smacked Valkus away from him. Valkus took the full force of the hit and flipped through the air before he smashed into the bone floor, only coming to a halt when he cratered into another building. 

Damage to Gornet left armor and hand. Beginning healing procedures. A mechanical voice rang in Gatao’s ear.

The insect did that much damage with a mere graze?!

Gatao quickly skimmed through the damage reports and saw that a few fistfuls of his mecha’s side had been blown off from the glancing hit that missed his cockpit by a few inches. His lower left hand that previously smashed Valkus away had twisted and warped from coming into contact with the giant dwarf, and the system worked overtime to fix the damage.

That insec— no, that little monster managed to deal this much damage to a mecha…? What the fuck is he?

Despite sweating inwardly, Gatao tried to keep his cool.

“Haha! Is that all you have, vermin?! I expected more from you rats, with how much you bastards spread the blood of my brethren.”

If I had all of my hunters with me instead of these loaners, we’d have already wiped the floor with this mecha. Valkus thought as he dug himself out of a bone pile. 

He trembled in agitation and spat a glob of blood on the ground. All around him fox-kin and rat-kin worked along his remaining hunters and the loaners from the 1st Magic Corps were duking it out with the skeletons. 

Ice mages Acar and Rytar were working overtime to pick up the slack from Earth Mage Brick, who had been moved to the frontlines. With Emu out of commission, Blood mage Cero having been reassigned, and Reaver playing communication, Valkus really wanted to punch Ubel in the face.

He had to work with a mostly new hunting team to kill off a mecha, and the pilot was even taunting him after he kept scoring dirty hits off of him. 

Truly, out of all the teams it seemed that his was the most unlucky one.

After all of this is over I’m retraining my hunters and setting some rules about them being taken from my command. Even if it’s for a good reason.  

“You know, I expected you to be spattered from those attacks. What the fuck are you made out of?” Gatao taunted as he stomped across the battlefield, twirling his massive spear for some flair. 

Valkus rolled his shoulders in response, cracking his bones as his muscles twisted and reattached to one another. Smoke rose off his wounds as they healed at a rate visible to the untrained eye. His silver aura flickered with more sparks of metallic bronze that now resembled spearheads, and every last one pointed right at Gatao.

The two stared at each other for a moment as the damage on their bodies healed.

“Born different.” Valkus snorted, filled with coldness as the smoke from his wounds covered his face, causing him to appear like a demon with glowing bronze eyes. 

“Oh? No matter. You’ll die all the same, you fleshy freak!” Gatao stopped twirling his spear and dashed at Valkus, intent on crushing him with a single swing.

“From vermin… to freak… Honored.”

Valkus rushed head-on, cracking and exploding the bone floor below his feet as he moved, his spear in hand.

“Rushing at me again? Fine, I've measured your speed. This time you will be cut in half, you freak!” Chuckling darkly, Gatao brought his spear back for a full-on swing.

Valkus took on the challenge and kept to his course with smoke still running off of his body, his eyes alight as he ran forth full of fury. 

When Valkus came into range Gatao swang with his full might, but even though he had been warned of the swing Valkus made no move to dodge. Instead, he merely held out his left hand, holding it towards where the spear was coming from.

“You really are retarded! I’ll cut through your arm and then the rest of you. Die!”

As the spear closed the distance, time seemed to slow down for Valkus as a memory flashed through his mind.

A house burning down, his mother drenched in her own blood and clutching her stomach. All around him were corpses of men wearing metal and villagers holding pitchforks. He himself was covered in the blood of those around him, but rushed to his mother while wrapped in an aura of bronze that rolled like a sea of spears.  

He held his mother's hand as she smiled at him, “You really are like your father, my son. Go live your life how you wish Valkus. I will always be with you…”

Valkus’ eyes went wide, full of fury and hatred. His silver aura which previously had only flickered with bronze, rapidly transformed. A sea of bronze overtook his aura as little spears rolled along his body, twisting around him like serpents.

“So what if your aura changes? I’ll still cut you down! I’ve accounted for your speed bursts, I won’t miss this time! Di—”

Suddenly, mid swing, a feeling of overwhelming death washed over Gatao like a tidal wave. Sweat drenched his body as he felt a choking sensation, his nerves standing on end.

“I NEED TO GET AWAY! OH GOD, WHAT IS THIS?! GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Gatao grew so hysterical that he stopped focusing on his spear swing and tried to get as far away as he could from Valkus, but the dwarf was ready for that. He dug his feet into the ground for another burst of speed and closed the distance as Gatao tried to turn his thrusters to the left to dodge to the right.  

Eyes wide, Gatao watched as the monster reached out and grabbed his spear, at the same time sending its spear aura into the ground around it. Gatao felt so much fear that he had pulled his thrusters with his full force in an attempt to get away. Despite pushing the mecha to its limits however, he was unable to escape Valkus’s hold. 

“GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY, YOU MONSTER! SOMETHING LIKE YOU SHOULD’VE NEVER BEEN BORN!”

“Too bad I was.” Valkus' voice resounded as he raised his spear to the sky.

Before Gatao could even think of releasing his captured weapon, the dwarf threw his own aura cloaked spear forth.

The spear moved faster than Gatao could let go of his weapon. The spear covered in miniature bronze spears hit the mecha’s arm socket, not only severing the mecha’s arm but also exploding, eating a good chunk out of the mecha’s chest armor before Gatao finally sped away only to smash into a nearby building. 

What magic would have created such a monster? Gatao thought in horror.

“Thank you.” The monster spoke loudly as it walked towards the mecha frantically digging itself out of the rubble. 

“Thanks to you smacking me around, I remembered a few things.”

Unlike his usual broken speech, at this moment the large dwarf’s speech sounded clear and concise, “Now. I’m going to enjoy my time breaking you for making me remember the bad ones.” 

Having dug himself out of the collapsed building at last, Gatao stared at the monster before him and couldn’t find the words for his utter fear.

Valkus was now covered in wiggling bronze spears that came together to form an armor with the appearance of muscles. The bronze spears even slowly began covering the large spear that Gatao’s Master had personally created from him. 

Crunch Crunch Crunch.

The spear was being eaten by the bronze energy, turning smaller and smaller until the bronze snakes eventually receded, leaving behind a dark bronze spear with intricate engravings. 

“Let me hear you scream.”

A small step towards Gatao broke the floor behind Valkus, sending massive chunks of bone and earth flying off behind him. Two such steps had launched the dwarf right on top of the mecha. With his new spear in hand the dwarf tore through the left side of the machine, his snake-like armor ripping and tearing through the bones like paper, eating the pieces and adding them to the spear. 

Gatao tried to launch his escape pod only to find that his mecha had been powered down at some point in time. 

What happ— N-No, no way. That’s impossible. 

The snake-like spears had pulled out the mecha’s power core and began to feast, consuming all the power inside and adding it to Valkus’ spear.

“Thanks for the appetizer,” Valkus said as he licked his lips. “Now, for the main course.”

“No. NO! I CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS! WE MUST HAVE OUR REVENGE, YOU CAN’T KILL ME YOU DEMON!”

Switching to emergency power. The mecha’s voice resounded in Gatao’s ears.

Oh thank god, I can escape this demon.

He immediately clicked on his console to reveal a red button, which Gatao smashed in a flurry. In a flash his cockpit disconnected from his mecha and launched out. 

“Hm? You're not escaping that easily.”

Valkus moved faster than the pod shooting through the sky however, and grabbed out of the air before throwing it down to the ground. The cockpit exploded upon contact as pieces of it dug into the twitching, broken form of Gatao. 

“This is the end. Devour.”

Valkus twisted his body a full three hundred and sixty degrees before sending his spear down from the heavens. A swarm of bronze spears eagerly followed after it to consume the trembling Gatao.

The spear impaled his chest, making him cough up black blood, before he started screaming as the snakes devoured every last piece of him and added his power to the spear.

It was a long and brutal process, yet the sound was sweet music to Valkus’ ears. Gatao’s screams didn’t stop until his head was overwhelmed by the bronze snakes. The large dwarf watched with a smile on his face as the snakes slithered back to him returning to their armor form before fading back into his body.

It was a good hunt. 

Valkus turned his gaze to his men only to see that the skeletons had fallen to pieces after Gatao had died. He didn’t have much time to think of what to do next when a wolf came over and drew an X on the ground, signifying the battle here was finished. 

To the main battlefield then. 

Part 10 - Call for Revenge

With so many controller skeletons unexpectedly finished off with lightning speed, the dwarfen alliance capitalized on the opportunity. The earth mages worked overtime to collect the injured and dead warriors while the other mages focused on helping Helga and her summoned angel Balsker fight against Ritter’s dual wielding mecha.

The molten angel picked his leg up off the ground and placed it back in its socket as his jaw zoomed over and cracked into place. Balsker was better off compared to Ritter, who was constantly being pelted by spells, disrupting the regrowth of his mecha’s lower arms and right leg, causing them to grow twisted and warped But they were still usable. 

Within the mecha, Ritter felt exhaustion creep up on him after constantly dodging highly dangerous spells. Sweat poured down his face as he checked his mecha’s damage reports. 

Ritter was reaching his limits. and needed to end this battle as soon as possible. With Urist’s flames spreading across the battlefield, devouring the bones his mecha needed to repair itself, and the immense amount of mana required to fully restore his mecha, Ritter couldn’t afford to make complete repairs. Instead, he was forced to utilize what little he could in order to bring this damn angel, it’s summoner, and those pesky mages down. 

Helga huffed as blood leaked from her nose and sweat poured down her face. Her brain felt like it was cooking within her skull, yet she still sent her mana and concentration towards her summoned creature, allowing it to remain fighting.

I can’t... last much longer… Need to... finish this…

Helga bit her lip hard enough to draw blood in order to keep focused. Her eyes slowly grew wide and bloodshot as she continued to push herself, not only keeping her summon active but also meticulously studying the dual wielding mecha’s moves.

The mecha barely had any openings, and the closest they came to killing him was when Balisker cut his legs off. Now that the mecha had regenerated its legs, it was able to fight Balisker to a standstill.

As she watched the fast paced combat, time seemed to slow as a memory abruptly rose up within her mind.

Master… How do I win against an opponent who is stronger than I am?

You’re a little slow Helga, but you’re not dumb. Just take the time to figure out a way and you will be fine. Now come, summon our guardian and face me once more.

“I’ll show you… That my master was right…”

Helga waited for the two to take distance from one another before she spoke a spell.

>Full Control<

Helga’s body dropped like her strings were cut the moment the words left her mouth. Thankfully a nearby mage caught her before she hit the ground.

Heat. Blazing hot heat. That’sall Helga felt as she gripped the sword of judgement echoing the song of her people. The melody bolstered her determination, causing her to grip the weapon with strength. 

The sword called to her, tempting her with power, but she didn’t lose herself in the desire. Helga took the stance her master had repeatedly drilled into her. Ritter noticed the change when Balskar held its ultra greatsword like a warrior, unlike the madness beast it was before.

Left foot forward, both hands on the sword’s grip, and the blade leaning on the shoulder.

A simple stance that forwent defense and put everything all in on attacking. 

Ritter smirked inwardly. I don’t know what changed but such an honest stance… IS NAIVE!  

Ritter, seeing an opportunity to destroy this hated foe at last, rushed straight at Helga.

I bet he’s thinking I’m naive...

Time seemed to slow down as Helga waited. Agonizingly waited for the moment he stepped into her range.

The second he did, she threw her ultra greatsword forth with all her might, sending it flying through the air with streaks of golden blood scattering across the sky.

Ritter roared as he moved to the side, dodging the attack with grace, “You think I would die to such an honest attack!?” 

But… It’s anything but honest...Helga thought as she used the force of the throw to hide her hands. 

“YOU WISH I WAS THAT EASY TO KILL! NOW DIE!”

Ritter aimed his sword to decapitate with a smile on his face. Finally, he was able to kill one of these detested invaders that murdered his brothers and sisters. 

As he was about to land the blow, he found that his mecha had stopped. He momentarily wondered why his momentum stopped before he found himself coughing up blood. Ritter felt a burning inferno spread from his back and rush through his chest. He looked down, blood sliding down the side of his mouth, only to see the blasted angel’s sticking out from right in the middle of his ribcage.

“Wha…”  He choked out between bloody coughs as his mecha dropped its swords and staves, fell to its knees and held onto the greatsword’s blade. 

Helga stood upright, revealing golden strings flowing along the ground, connecting to the greatsword. With a flick of her finger the greatsword pulled itself out from the back of the mecha. 

“Sorry… A warrior like you… Shouldn’t die to such a… Trick.”

Helga held the ultra greatsword up to the sky, and Ritter, instead of feeling rage, hate, or despair, oddly still had a smile on his face.

Helga would never know why however, as she brought her blade down and cut his cockpit in half.

“>Full Control Release<.”

She whispered and the world around her turned black.

...

“Ritter! No!” Robert cried, seeing his brother-in-arms be cut down.

“Hey, don’t forget about me. You don’t have your annoying army to protect you anymore!”

Shifting from speed mode to iron defense, Snorri sent a sucker punch at the distracted Robert before following up by grabbing the cracked mecha’s face to gain leverage and threw herself upwards to set up an axe kick, smashing the mecha face first into the ground. 

She wanted to continue the attack combinations, but had to shift back into her speed mode to dodge out of the way of a massive hand that tried to grab her.

“Come on, is that all you got? Is this all that your resolve amounts to? Pathetic!”

Snorri taunted Robert as she smashed his mecha left and right, cracking the bones that it was made of faster than they could heal. Snorri figured it would only take a minute or so before she cracked into his mecha and smashed her opponent’s head apart.

“You don’t know me! You don’t know what we fight for! I’ll show you my resolve, BITCH!”

“>Transform<!”

Aura exploded forth from the black gorilla mecha, launching Snorri away. Snorri, instead of rushing back in, stood with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips, “Go on, power up. It won’t be fun if you’re not at full power when I kill you.”

“You're going to regret that decision.” Robert ominously bit back, filled with bloodlust and rage.

The mecha’s large metallic hands partially liquefied and began to flow back along its body, gradually being absorbed into it. The mecha seemed to slim down, stand taller, become more muscular, and its previously gigantic hands sharpened, turning into a pair of deadly blades. 

“I’m going to be honest, this doesn’t seem much of an improvement. Come on, let’s see what you got.” Snorri chuckled as she taunted Robert with a come hither gesture.

“I’ll show you the power of the Norkin race, you insect!”

“Please, I insist.”

Green flames appeared in the air around the black mecha as it made a quick step forward, causing the flames to explode and scatter, hiding the mecha from sight. Snorri’s eyes widened as she activated her speed mode and leaned backwards at a ninety degree angle.

Not even a second later a bladed hand pierced through the spot where her chest used to be. 

Snorri moved quickly, pressing off of the ground to create distance before the mecha’s other bladed hand could bisect her.

Even in my Iron defense state, I would’ve been injured by that attack. I can’t exchange blows with this guy like I did before.

Tsk. How annoying. I have to get used to his new speed quickly.

Though Snorri felt that it might be troublesome, anyone could see the wide smile on her face.

“Good. Good! This will finally be some fun!”

...

Nearby, Urist and Mo dashed around Lexie’s mecha, dodging the swings from her great battleaxe and her shots of magnum fire. They aimed for the mecha’s joints, and Urist used his strikes to implant origin flames within the mecha to eat away at the bones.

With the surrounding battlefield basically devoid of bones with origin flame still eating away more of them, it took longer and longer for Lexie’s mecha to recover. Each strike that the pair landed caused Lexia to move slower and made the sticky fire spread further along the mecha.

Despite the damage her mecha was sustaining, Lexie was so enraged that she didn’t even notice the danger. 

Nor would she have cared.

As long as she struck down these two insects then she could at least face her brothers and sisters in the next world.

She could tell them that she brought honor to her brothers and sisters, that she killed those that trampled on their dream. 

Lexie cried tears of black blood, screaming at the top of her lungs as she slashed, hacked, and shot at the pair of murderous ants whirling around her. Yet she couldn’t land even a single hit as the pair of dwarfs tore into her mecha, dismantling her with their strikes and setting her ablaze to the point that she became a raging inferno. Finally, the two cracked into her chest plate and revealed her figure. 

Although she was burning up in a hellstorm of flames and her mecha disabled, Lexie was eerily calm as she stared up at Urist, who stood on her mecha. One of the demons who brought her people down. How she wished she could cast her magic from within her mecha,  or use one of the knives in the compartment, but sadly her hands had already been burned to dust.

“My king will avenge me,” She hissed bitterly.

“He’ll join you soon enough,” Urist scoffed.

“Fuck you.”

“Goodbye. Rest in peace.”

Urist drove his spear through Lexie’s forehead, killing her instantly.

“Devour.”

The spear chomped down, consuming Lexie’s body and soul, yet leaving the mecha be.    

As the spear swallowed, Urist sucked in the flames on the mecha and turned his gaze towards Snorri’s battle.

“Let’s finish this, Master.”

“I could use a rest after this.”

“Same.”

...

With Urist and Mo joining the battle, the previously balanced fight brought upon Robert’s transformation was broken. While Urist’s flames couldn’t melt the metal, surprisingly its sticky properties worked extremely well on the mechanical gorilla. The flames seeped into the cracks and weakened the black mecha, but it only seemed to cause a minor hindrance. 

Robert thought that he could still turn the tides as his speed was only minorly crippled. Until Valkus and Joy joined the battlefield, that is. Valkus’s shocking new form and Joy’s lance skills allowed them to tear Robert apart, cutting away his limbs and leaving him bruised and bloody once he left his cockpit. 

The dwarfs stood around him, ready to pounce upon the necromancer.

Black blood leaking from his eyes, bloody dagger in hand, Robert stood stoically as origin flames ate away at his body.

“I will die here today, but my brother will avenge me. Avenge our people. You will all die by his hand. I only wish I could see his rise as he made our dream become reality.”

Robert laughed madly as he took the dagger and repeatedly stabbed his own chest, causing his black blood to scatter through the air and pool at his feet. 

The dwarfs didn’t know what was happening and just stood there with wide eyes as the madman killed himself.

It didn’t take more than half a dozen stabs before Robert stopped laughing and fell over, letting the flames consume him.

“Now... to kill the big bad boss, right?” Joy questioned as she looked over to Urist.

Before Urist could even open his mouth to reply an enormous green beam blasted into the heavens from the main castle as an inhuman screech filled with pain shot through the sky.

“ROOOOOOBBBBBEEEEERRRRTTTTT!!!!”