The bell tolls echoed, dense mist enveloped the surroundings, and a swarm of flies buzzed menacingly. The very earth trembled.
Out of the fog, a colossal figure emerged. Condensation trailed off the curves of its armor, and its deafening roars resounded as it charged towards the plaza.
The lumbering dead were easily overtaken by the sprinting mech, but soon after, the buzzing of flies filled the air. A dense swarm broke through the mist, surrounding the armored behemoth.
By the main road, Sage Kirkland stood beside a barricade, with fire control and calculation systems at work.
"It won't be long, just give me five more minutes," came a familiar voice over the comms.
Data transmission commenced, electric arcs flickered, and the church-guardian troops surrounding the sage opened fire. Under the sage's precise calculations, each shot hit its predetermined mark.
Yet, the onslaught did not target the mech itself. Instead, they struck the swarm of flies surrounding it. The overly dense swarm erupted into flames, and in mere moments, the thick swarm around the knightly mech thinned out.
Seeing this, the swarm behind the mech flapped their wings, ready to fill the void and shield the mech.
However—
"BANG!"
Explosives, previously concealed within buildings by the main road, detonated. Structures crumbled, bricks and dust rained down, obscuring the massive form of the mech.
Yet, in the sage's vision, the mundane building materials had barely scratched the figure. The soft glow of an ion shield flickered through the dust. The towering knightly mech merely stuttered for a moment before bursting out again.
"Keep firing," he knew what to do. "For the God of Machines! For Ohm Messiah!"
Sage Kirkland shouted through the channel, scattering with the guardian troops. Their calculations predicted that the mech's cannon would decimate their defenses at this range.
As expected, the moment the sage and some of the troops retreated, a blast shot from the mech, obliterating their previous cover, scattering shards everywhere.
The once heavily guarded entrance of the main road was now eerily empty. The smooth ground littered with debris from the destroyed defenses.
Those who couldn't retreat in time, or were caught in the blast, groaned on the ground. Some had been blown into large chunks of flesh and blood.
Sparse firefights illuminated the edges of the road, their efforts seemingly futile as mere scratches appeared on the mech.
Seeing the weakened opposition, the knightly mech confidently strode amidst the ruins—
"Boom! BANG!"
The ground, laden with a massive amount of explosives, erupted, creating a pit over three meters deep.
Flames rose, scorching the mech's exterior. Caught off-guard, the knightly mech plunged into the pit. With the soft mud below, the massive and heavy mech continued to sink.
Immediately, the sporadic gunfire around intensified, not targeting the pilot above, but the mech's thinnest joints.
The mech's cannon retaliated, but due to the troops' dispersed positioning, it could only target groups of three at a time.
Simultaneously, the roar of its engine sounded, as the mech tried to climb out of the pit.
It wasn't a deep pit, and it seemed the knightly mech would soon emerge—
"Futile efforts!" Mocked a voice from the mist, the voice of the Rotting One.
Sage Kirkland's computation engine roared; the anticipated visitor had arrived.
Chances of victory wavered. Logic and reason told the sage it was in vain.
But... he could at least stop this one. "For the God of Machines!"
A guardian troop's cry came through the channel—
Suddenly, the raging flames went still, transforming into a beautiful yet silent bouquet of light in mid-air.
The mech's joint went inert, but its prior motion to climb upward persisted. Unresponsive, the mech, under its own inertia, was torn apart at the joint!
The piercing sound of rending metal filled the air!
With its leg joints gone, the knightly mech wailed as it crashed, mud and sparks flying everywhere.
Drawn by gravity, the mech's upper body slammed into the ground. Its black flagstaff struck the ground, snapping many of its densely packed transmission tubes.
A white-haired woman lay silently on the grimy ground, her ion shield flickering, but its protective function now seemed superfluous.
The Rotting One, previously obscured in the mist, now opened its multifaceted eyes in confusion. Within those eyes, thousands of smaller ones flickered.
From the inert joint of the mech, a guardian troop, torn in half, clung desperately to the mech's left joint, tightly holding a grenade.
A stasis grenade!
Though the troop's body was a mix of cables and flesh, the Rotting One recognized him as an enhanced guardian troop.
Feeling deceived, the Rotting One's fly swarm buzzed angrily.
Its gaze was fixed on Hades. Why was he fixing and operating the Obsidian Obelisk?
But the Rotting One remained calm, having calculated that the fly-covered mech would shred everything before this.
But now—
Annoyed, the Rotting One clasped its whip-wielding hand.
The crowd that once filled the street dispersed in a sacrifice ritual. "Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" Numerous man-sized rotting flies took flight, and amidst the dense swarm, bloated humanoid demons stirred.
However, forcibly summoning before the sacrifice ritual was completed made the Rotting One wobble slightly in its descent.
The dense swarm, blocking out the sun, emerged from the white mist, speeding towards Hades' position.
Stop them, now, immediately! The swarm bypassed the guardian troop's defenses.
With the swarm leading the charge, the Rotting One took flight, cautiously maintaining a sparse density of flies around itself to prevent a repeat of the prior incident.
The first swarm to reach its destination circled the Obsidian Obelisk, raining down venom and spikes.
Most of the rotting flies launched themselves at Hades.
In response to the Rotting One's actions, the sage's engine went full throttle, and with the guardian troops, they rushed to the vicinity of the Obsidian Obelisk, defending against the relentless swarm.
Sage Kirkland, wielding the Axe of the Machine God, furiously slashed at the swarm. Extermination rays were unleashed, and raging flames burnt, evaporating the downpour of venom.
Gold, controlling its servomechanical arms, aided Hades in repelling the forefront of the swarm.
The figure of the Rotting One swiftly approached.
Yet, amidst the frenzied assault, Hades stood atop the obelisk, seemingly detached from the chaos. His servomechanical arms moved swiftly yet faintly within the Obsidian Obelisk.
Almost there. Just a few more connections and it would be enough.
Under his helmet, Hades' dark eyes gleamed. He held his breath subconsciously, his hands moving faster, leaving no room for errors.
He had pushed the obelisk's power to its limit. If things went as planned, the surge of electricity, far exceeding its capacity, would quickly burn out after activation.
But it would be enough.
A dark aura gathered, chaotically shimmering around the Obsidian Obelisk.
At its epicenter, the dense swarm exploded!
"Run! Get away!" Hades' distorted voice echoed through the channel.
The final piece was about to fall into place—
Sage Kirkland instantly ran outward, but on his display, the Rotting One's whip was speeding towards the engrossed Hades.
Nearby, the closest friendly unit was himself.
Without hesitation, Kirkland raised the Axe of the Machine God, striking the whip.
Sensors relayed a sensation akin to slicing through solid gold.
His engine went full throttle in a brief moment, and Kirkland felt his components strain.
But he had successfully altered the whip's trajectory by a slight arc.
That was enough.
Kirkland tried to retreat, but before he could retract, he was flung by the enraged Rotting One's whip!
"No!!!" The Rotting One's shrill cry rang out—
At the swarm's epicenter, the Obsidian Obelisk began to tremble violently, and chaotic black lightning burst forth!
Everything before every soul went black.
Pulled from his total immersion, Hades gasped for air, his brain foggy from the immense computations.
Stiffly, he turned to behold the aftermath.
It was an apocalypse of a different kind.
To Hades, the world seemed eerily silent.
His vision still held the initial scene, but monochromatic flashes intermittently peppered his sight.
The lifeless swarm rained down, their impacts on Hades' power armor making pattering sounds.
Guardian troops who once stood, now lay limp, unable to control their bodies.
In the distance, the advancing rotting army seemed soulless, collapsing into puddles of filth.
The incessant ringing in his ears continued, and without hesitation, Hades jumped down, drew his scythe, and charged at the largest half-fly, half-human figure.
Death was dueling with the exterminator for life.
Death won, granting it its final demise.
The moment Hades' scythe descended, the vibrating Obsidian Obelisk let out a piercing wail, fractures spreading across its surface.
The cracks burst open, and fine obsidian rained down.
The world regained its color.
Hades turned, intending to check on the flung Sage Kirkland—
A beautifully engraved sword pierced straight through Hades' power armor!
"Cough!"
Hades violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
Elegant footwear, grand attire, the newcomer approached effortlessly, silently claiming the stage.
A pale mask with a radiant smile adorned the face.
"Hello."
The newcomer bowed.
In disbelief, Hades stared at the visitor.
Beside him, the sound of Gold struggling to its feet caught the newcomer's attention.
The newcomer tilted their head and shot towards Gold and the direction of Kirkland.