It started to rain.
But it did not rain water.
It rained knives.
Thousands upon thousands of knives fell from the sky, all pointing downwards towards Nathaniel and his squadron. Castle managed to build himself a transparent blueprint shelter before the knives hit. Maya blasted a continuous stream of flames above her head with her hand, melting and incinerating the rapidly approaching blades. Gator threw himself off the building rooftop he watched from and grabbed the ledge of the rooftop, using it to swing himself upside down through a window below. Nathaniel raised one hand upwards and silently muttered a blessing, hardening his skin into golden steel. Only Charlie failed to counter the attack. Dozens of knives impaled her back, causing fiery blood to gush out.
Once the knife-rain stopped the colossal robot sprinted forward, stopping roughly ten metres in front of Nathaniel.
"SURRENDER OR PERISH." resonated an electronic yet vaguely masculine voice from the robot.
Looking up at the hulking behemoth, Nathaniel shouted "Leave now or face the full fury of Seoul and Her Defenders!"
"No," replied the robot in a quieter voice, "I don't think I will" as dozens of slots on the robot's arms, legs, chest and head opened to reveal turrets. Nathaniel immediately recognised them as ArmSys Annihilator-8s - omnidirectional smart gatling gun turrets with individual targeting AI that fired 0.50 calibre rounds. They were so effective in combat that NATO outlawed their usage entirely, even penalising the ArmSys Corporation for evening devising such a weapon of lethal destruction. All turrets suddenly turned and pointed down towards Nathaniel. Then they opened fire.
Immediately, Nathaniel muttered an incantation several times over causing his eyes to burn with a holy golden flame. Leaping forward with impossible speed, spinning his unbreakable relic sword in one hand as a shield while firing at the turrets using his pistol with the other. The robot awkwardly stepped to one side. However the titan failed to completely dodge Nathaniel.
The robot's right forearm dropped to the ground, severed by Nathaniel's blade. Abandoned buildings below crumbled underneath the weight of the dispatched forearm - creating a thunderous boom. Castle quickly constructed a blueprint platform for Nathaniel to land on, while Charlie slashed at the robot's legs with her claws. A deafening shot thundered through the air. A hole appeared in the robot's left eye. [Gator], thought Nathaniel. Suddenly Maya unleashed a barrage of flaming spears. They collided with the robot, causing it to stagger backwards. Alarm bells sounded within the robot and sparks flew through snapped wiring. Nathaniel smiled and lunged at the titan after blessing his blade with golden flames - preparing for the killing blow. The robot spun and turned, catching Nathaniel with its one remaining arm. Nathaniel tried to break free but failed against the machine's superior grip. He frowned, [the robot was not this fast before] he thought as all the turrets fired at him simultaneously once more. This time Castle quickly built a four metre thick wall around the trapped man to shield him. However as every second passed, bullets dug deeper into the fortification creating a spiderweb of cracks.
A cavity opened from within the giant robot's chest. Four ArmSys Predator-4 SmartMissiles shot out, leaving blazing pillars of fire in their wake. Nathaniel's eyes widened in horror as each of the missiles targeted his teammates. Maya was the first to die. She tried to outfly the missile but failed. The Predator-4 fired its rocket propelled harpoon, impaling her through the chest before accelerating into her. Her screams of pain were only silenced by the deafening explosion of the missile.
"MAYA!" roared Nathaniel, before shouting "Imperium: Right Eye Of God!"
Immediately Nathaniel's right eye ignited gold with divine power - blazing like a sun. His left blackened, burnt out and temporarily ruined. He plunged his sword into a segment of the robot's hand, severing its impressive servos and hydraulics. The hand let go and Nathaniel landed on a rooftop below. However he had no time to rest. Desperately leaping and diving towards Gator's hideout before the missile arrived. Nathaniel, for all his blessings and buffs, was not fast enough. Gator tried to snipe the Predator-4 before it reached him, but it was no use. The weapon was simply too well designed, his bullets barely scratched its paint. With a second thunderous explosion, another death weighed on Nathaniel's conscience.
Nathaniel collapsed to his knees on the rooftop in front of the former-building where Gator died. Tears ran down his face as he heard Charlie's screams fall silent through his earpiece. He turned and looked over at Castle who was quickly creating fortifications and catapults haphazardly while fleeing from an onslaught of bullets.
"NATHANIEL," roared Castle through the earpiece, "GET THE FUCK UP AND HELP ME!"
Nathaniel opened his one good eye, staring out at Castle desperately trying to fight the robot. [Castle doesn't stand a chance], he thought, [but I do].
Standing up slowly, he turned and pointed at the monolithic robot and uttered a single word;
"Yggdrasil"
Instantaneously the ground shook and storm clouds formed. The robot stumbled backwards and fell to one knee, as the first tendril of the world tree burst from the ashen pavement. Cracked asphalt and buildings were ripped apart as the tree emerged from Mother Earth. Countless branches snaked around the great machine, engulfing it almost in entirety. Only the robot's head remained visible and only because it leaned forward at the last moment. The sound of groaning metal filled the air as the tree began to crush the machine. Sparks flew from the holes in the robot's armour and small fires started on the tree - only for the tree to regenerate almost immediately. Finally the flickering lights of the machine died.
Nathaniel stood up slowly, panting and dripping with sweat. With tears in his eyes and a small smile on his face he looked over at Castle. Castle smiled back weakly, eyes filled with sorrow. They had paid dearly to save Seoul but at least everyone was-
A solid beam of crimson red right penetrated Castle through his chest, leaving a gaping hole where his lungs once were. He fell forward. Blood gushed out rapidly. Nathaniel dived to reach his friend. Screaming and shouting, he tried every healing ability he possessed. However it was no use. Castle was already dead. His heart had been incinerated, his lungs vaporised.
Nathaniel paled, his entire body tensing. He stood up mechanically, turning to face the murderer of his best friend.
A humanoid sized robot stood nearby, a glowing reactor on its armoured chest. Unlike the previous robot it was steel grey in colour. Dull red light emitted from its electronic eyes as it rapidly advanced towards Nathaniel. Face darkening, Nathaniel drew his sword. His one golden eye hardened into a furious stare. Suddenly he rushed forward, swinging the sword towards the robot's neck. The robot in turn raised one forearm, blocking the attack with an echoing clang of metal colliding.
"You are stronger than the others," acknowledge the robot, synthetic voice replaced with a human one "however true strength is earned not borrowed."
Nathaniel spun and swung his sword low at the robot's knee cap. His opponent moved with blurring speed, catching the blade and flipping Nathaniel over itself into a headlock. Nathaniel struggled against the strength of the superior servos, only to be forced to his knees. As his vision started to fail he managed to choke out a single phrase;
"Imperium: The Right Hand Of God"
Instantly Nathaniel's left arm blackened and shrivelled in a charred remnant of its former self. He silently screamed in pain as his right arm began to shake violently. Nathaniel's veins turned reflective gold and spiderwebbed up his right arm. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the robot's head and flipped it over him - smashing it into the reinforced concrete roof the pair stood upon. The robot smashed through the roof, landing on the floor below on top of a long wooden table in a conference room. Nathaniel jumped through the nearly created hole, landing down beside his opponent. He swiftly grabbed its neck, holding it up with the right hand of God.
"I will sooner die before a monster like you destroys Seoul." he grunted through bared teeth, golden eye blazing with the intensity of a hundred suns.
"You've never met a monster like me," replied the robot "You never stood a chance."
Nathaniel frowned, his gaze hardening even more.
"What do you mean?" he asked with a voice colder than ice and sharper than knives.
"I have already won. An ArmSys Avenger Missile is less than a minute away from impact in Central Seoul."
"Call it off or I will end you here and now!" demanded Nathaniel, his voice losing some of its edge.
"Then kill me," replied the robot, "kill the great Coinmaster once and for all. You don't have the strength to do it. Not after everything we've been-"
The Coinmaster was silenced by Nathaniel after he snapped the robot's neck, snapping the man's own. He let the body fall limp to the ground as he raced towards Seoul. Nathaniel spinted at his max pace and used every speed enhancing ability he had. However it was no use. He was too far away. In the distance he could see other militia attempting to destroy the Avenger midflight to no avail. The device crashed into Seoul Tower before releasing its secondary missiles in all directions. Knowing he would fail, Nathaniel pressed on regardless. The soles of his shoes shredded as he ran at blinding speed. The secondary Avenger Missiles collided with buildings and streets all across Seoul. It was too late. The devices detonated in an inward spiral towards the primary Avenger Missile. The result was a whirlwind of nuclear destruction which incinerated everyone inside Seoul.
Tears flying from his face, Nathaniel ran away from the blast - only capable of such a feat from his impressive abilities. He attempted to save other teams of militia but failed to reach them before the blast. At the end Nathaniel stood on a street outside Seoul, crying as the sun set on the ruins of humanity's former greatest city. Every building, road, park and person had been decimated. Nothing but ash remained in the hundreds of craters that had once been the city of Seoul.
Nathaniel falls to his knees, on the brink of collapse. His shoulders slouch forward and head tilts down. His characteristic glasses are spiderwebbed with cracks, his overcoat is torn and his shirt is more red than white. Buildings burn around him as he weeps onto the cracked asphalt.
Ten million had died in a matter of minutes all because Nathaniel had not been strong enough.
[End Chapter]
=========================
[Enhanced Appraisal]
Name: Nathaniel Marshall Torres (Flashback)
Title/s: Herald of Hope, Kind King Candidate, Agent Without Agency
Essence: 11,215
Favour: 15,377
Reserve: 9,751
Power Level: 36,343
[End Appraisal]
=========================