The Last Dainv

Chapter 246

Winged abominations poured in, flying through the opening at the first gate, followed by hundreds of missiles that exploded near them. None made it far, only up to the front of the second gate.

Claymores detonated all around in sequence from the first gate. Flesh warriors and other grounded abominations flew and splattered over the ceiling and walls. Something that looked like a giant snail the size of two garbage trucks trailed through the gates, swallowing up the dead. When that died, another took its place, swallowing up that one, but that also died. Another took its place.

Frag imploders detonated between gate 1 and 2. First, the grenades exploded outwards, then sucked in abominations and metal into a tiny ball. Stormbreaker was near one of them, avoiding it by using a smaller spider mech as a stepping stone to vault over the area of influence.

"Jesus fuck," Kyle fired behind a force field.

"Shut up!" Ollie shouted. "Keep firing!"

The group wasted no time, not sparing their ammo any longer on the lake of flesh and metal; not even caring about aiming anymore as well. Gale sliced up the air, sending out reflections whenever something came close. Rachel hurled fireball after fireball. However, it was all for naught. The tide kept gaining ground.

The next wave hit the freezing fields in front of the third gate, slowing down both spider mechs and flesh abominations enough to get them to fight more amongst themselves.

Missiles and lasers punched through the abomination line. Spider mechs exploded whenever flesh warriors and acolytes jumped on them. Stormbreaker spun through a horde in one go using Phase Touch with her double daggers.

When they reached the tip of the third gate, the distortion fields detonated. The fields of 10 metre radius each covered the area, creating an electrical field. Whenever a guardian spider mech entered the field, its electricity would burn out. When a flesh abomination passed through, all the electronics it had fried and smoked, causing it to go berserk and attack even its own comrades.

But that only lasted maybe five minutes until the electric fields lost their efficacy. Stormbreaker was now at the front of the third gate. More abominations pushed through the second gate, but somehow more of them were dying at the hands of the spider mech missiles.

"Fuck yeah, AOE!" Clyde shouted, firing a round right in the middle of the abominations. The bullet flew through the barrel slowly, and an ear piercing whistle turned everyone's attention to it. As the bullet hit a centipede abomination, the whole area exploded, and a miniature mushroom cloud expanded from the right side of the gates.

The devastation of the right side alone forced the fragile balance between the Tekanimantus and Guardians to collapse. Where the abominations stood on the right side, they were swarmed by the spider mech guardians themselves. Stormbreaker joined in, firing her electric blue rifle, taking out centipede abominations with each shot.

One of the larger centipede abominations rolled through multiple six legged spider mechs, all exploding upon impact. Stormbreaker leapt from the backline, two daggers out. In one spin, it cut through the spider mech right dab in the middle.

In the middle between gates 2 and 3 was a no man's land. Spider mechs would die and get swarmed by the flesh. Abominations would get shot down. If any pushed forward toward gate 3, any of the group would shoot it down.

With the way the gates are placed, each gate was a choke point, only allowing two garbage truck sized lengths through. It's been 10 minutes so far, and it looks like they might be able to hold out until Erin finishes repairing the RAS. Letting the Guardians and the Tekanimantus war against each other was probably the only way they'd checkmate this goddamn world.

Though Gale knew it wasn't supposed to be this easy. Something always had to go wrong.

"Guide, status?!" Gale shouted as he hurled another reflection at an impending flesh warrior.

[Current status: stalemate. Chance of success gradually increasing. Prerogative is to maintain position.]

[Estimated time until repair is complete: 19 minutes, 21 seconds.]

Looking at Rachel and the others, they still had plenty of juice left in the tank. They could probably hold out for that long.

Suddenly, a six legged spider mech jumped through the no man's land. This one had rockets on its legs. It flew through the air, aiming directly at Erin, its lasers charging into a red hot glow and its rocket casings opening.

"Clyde!" Gale shouted.

A flew through the air, shooting right at centre mass, wherever that was in the spider mech. It exploded in the air, but not before a rocket exited and trailed towards Erin.

"Lily!" Gale shouted.

Lily jumped into the air immediately. Crossed arms, she looked at the missile directly as a blue shield materialized in front of her body. The missile exploded upon touching her shield, launching her towards Erin.

Rachel dashed and jumped to catch her from behind and then threw her back into position. She quickly got back into the front line, joining the others to hurl her own fireballs again.

The air of the facility suddenly changed. It was the same feeling Gale felt when Abel was near. A physical weight dropped on his shoulders. Breathing became harder. Even Rachel's fireballs grew weaker, and the others missed some of their shots against the lake of bodies in front of them.

Tendrils showed him what was up ahead. Two of them in the Corrupted stage.

A massive centipede abomination emerged from the 1st gate. A giant centipede with a beautiful, long-flowing, black-haired woman grafted on as its head. She smiled even though her lips were sealed with metal bolts.

On top of here stood three figures. The centre one, Gale recognized immediately. When the centipede entered into the middle of the first gate, the others recognized him as well.

The Proctor. Same gas mask, robes, and staff that made him look like a holy pope.

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He stood in a glass cube. Missiles hurled towards it, exploding right in front, and not damaging the glass cube at all. Lasers fired at it, but it was unfazed. The spider mechs that fired immediately exploded upon the abomination on the right side of the Proctor looking at the offender.

Gale's hairs all stood up, pricking goosebumps, as he looked at the figure on the right. Yellowed bandages stained with old blood. Metal chains wound around him with bindings. Its two sides encased in what looked like a mouth to keep him upright. Two horns protruded from his head. Only one of its eyes wasn't blocked with bandages, and that eye continuously dripped with blood as if the being was in constant pain. Its legs weren't legs. It was a smaller metal centipede that carried it like a payload rather than actual legs.

Analyze.

[Adam]

[Type: Named Entity]

[Stage: Mid-Corrupted]

[Description: The first son of the Proctor and titled as the first war general of His army. All he wanted was for the pain of living to end. He wondered why they had to do as they were told by the Mohrusy. Yet, when the Proctor found the heresy of his thoughts, he was not punished. He was promised that once the war ended with the machines, he would be given the solace he longed for since his birth.]

Gale's eyes shifted to the left figure.

A three-metre humanoid that towered over the Proctor. Its body was encased in an exoskeleton of black metal that looked grafted directly onto flesh underneath. Both arms ended at the elbow, replaced with long black thick needles that ended in a sharp point, each a metre long.

Around its neck was a metal collar with etchings more alien than what was found in the Tomb. The collar itself looked like it was for prisoners except scaled up for something that massive. The legs weren't human at all. They were segmented metal pieces that bent backwards like a mantis, similar to the one Abel had but different.

Analyze.

[Cain]

[Type: Named Entity]

[Stage: Early-Corrupted]

[Description: The last son of the Proctor, born from a sacred womb that died upon his birth. He was almost killed by his own brother over a dispute of entering the flesh forge first. He revelled in the purpose of becoming one with machine, to cull away the weakness of mortality. Abel did not see it the same way—it was heresy that needed to be cleansed. Cain lost the fight, almost losing his life. He swore to kill his brother for the heresy committed against the Mohrusy Theocracy.]

For three seconds, nothing moved. The entire battlefield had frozen.

Then Cain's legs compressed.

He launched forward like a projectile, covering thirty metres in a single bound. His needle arms extended toward Stormbreaker.

Stormbreaker's arms came up with an X block. Metal against metal caused a spark that looked more like an explosion.

She swung both blades in a spin, aimed at Cain's neck.

Cain was already gone, standing by the Proctor's side once again. It all happened too fast for Gale to keep up as he wasn't integrated with his Presence Between passive. Yet Stormbreaker was able to hold its own against it.

Gale noticed it before. But this Stormbreaker was exponentially stronger than the one they saw in the simulation, like she was real.

The Proctor raised his staff once, tapping it against the metal back of his mount.

Every eye on the battlefield focused on him. Guardian. Tekanimantus. Human.

"Precious resources. I give you one more chance. Do you not see the calling of the Tekanimantus is the true path?" the Proctor said, obviously directed towards the group.

None of them spoke. The silence on the battlefield grew eerie as if none dared to move. All knew that moving would be a beacon to get killed by whatever those things were.

"We're getting out of here. One way or another," Gale replied, voice shaking.

The Proctor let out a deep breath. He looked to his right, at the Guardians. Then to his left, at the Tekanimantus abominations. Then he looked straight at Gale. He pointed his staff at the group, then said, "Children. Do you not grow weary? Your every gasp for air, every drop of blood you spill on this consecrated metal, is a testament to your own obsolescence. You fight with such passion, such desperate valour, clinging to a form that was designed to fail. Know this. I was once you. I was cast into this Tomb from the very same world you came from, into this world of perfect logic whose very immune system, the Guardians, was designed to purge the biological infection that is life in your state. I watched the first humans, my companions, my brothers and sisters, torn apart. I watched their weak flesh fail them. I held their dying, fragile bodies and realized the fundamental truth, the self-evident axiom carved into the very walls of this reality: the flesh is a flaw. It is a cage of pain, a vessel of decay, an evolutionary dead end waiting for the sweet release of disintegration. Through motes of knowledge whispered by the Mohrusy, I began the Great Ascending. I took the broken, the dying, the pieces of my fallen brethren, and I gave them a purpose beyond a meaningless death. I carved away the rot, the fear, the limitations of their biology, and forged them anew with steel and logic. I gave them blades for hands and metal for skin, and from humanity's mortality, the Tekanimantus was born. A new race, immortal and absolute, perfectly adapted to conquer this world that seeks to destroy us. You recoil from our methods, but you do not understand true efficiency, true mercy. The weak among us and the unwilling, their journey does not end. They are granted the ultimate honour. They are returned to the cycle of life, their precious biomass rendered down and recycled into the essential nutrients that feed our Sacred Wombs. They are reborn as the very foundation upon which our immortal future is built. There is no waste, only purpose. I offer you this one final chance. Abandon the prison of your failing bodies. Let me carve away your mortality and grant you an eternity of meaning. Will you ascend and become eternal, or will you choose to be just another offering... more fuel for the engine of perfection?"

While the Proctor had continued its speech, Ollie and Lily shook their heads at the minute mark. Rachel then drooped her shoulders down when 2 minutes and 30 seconds was reached.

Even Gale took a long sigh as the speech had ended exactly at 2 minutes and 53 seconds, making Kyle the winner as it didn't reach the 3 minute mark.

Kyle himself grinned, rubbing two fingers together towards Clyde, signing, money money money.

Everyone in unison, except Gale, flipped Kyle off.

For half a minute after the speech ended, no one talked after the speech had ended, except Kyle could be seen jotting down something on his phone. Only the Proctor's deep breathing could be heard in the silence.

"If that is your answer, so be it. Die," the Proctor snapped his finger once.

All hell broke loose once again.

Flesh warriors surged forward from the right side, swarming the Guardians and pushing through no man's land at the same time.

Guardian spider mechs and Stormbreaker launched themselves into an assault against the third gate. They no longer cared about the battle and put all their effort into capturing Erin.

Multiple explosions broke through their ranks as Clyde kept firing mini-nuke rounds. Blue lances flashed all over the place, hitting the abominations and all the charging Guardians. Ollie's telekinesis on his rounds punched through multiple Guardians in elegant curves.

Rachel jumped into no man's land alone. The heat she emanated melted both flesh and Guardians all around her. She glowed white hot and then exploded in the middle of it. But when the explosion faded, Gale could see the blood dripping from her lips. Her power came at a cost to herself.

Gale jumped into the fray with Rachel and threw reflections left and right. Each one cleaved through dozens if not hundreds of flesh warriors at the same time.

"Guide, get rid of these fucking notifications!" Gale shouted.

[Query accepted. Do Not Disturb mode ON.]

When a centipede came too close for comfort to Ollie, a dagger hit its head. Kyle blinked, decapitating it and then quickly moving down its body to find its beating heart. Five shots and it was dead. Another one came at Lily, with the same result. When a flesh assassin pounced on Clyde, Lily's blue lance burned it whole.

Everyone covered each other's backs, but it wasn't enough. The two Corrupted Entities, Adam and Cain, hadn't moved. They stood beside the Proctor. All they did was watch as the tide gained inch by inch against their front line.

Looking back at Erin, the tendrils showed her having a contorted expression. It's been 5 minutes, but at this rate, they were about to lose.

Mounds of flesh formed walls but were cleared up by the snail looking monstrosities that ate up the biomass. And the cycle repeated until the front line backed up beyond the line of the third gate.