Leila exhaled, her expression hardening as she gripped her staff. "Yeah. Let's survive this. Until we get back to him." She glanced at Leonard. "On me, Leo!"
The Iron Warmachine roared across the battlefield, its treads churning the blood-soaked earth into mud. Ivan peered through the viewing port, his sharp eyes locking onto a haunting blue light looming on the horizon. His usual calm and calculated demeanor wavered for the first time. They had no intel on this enemy, no backup from the adventurers. It is just the two of them inside this steel behemoth against an unknown terror.
The air inside the tank is thick with tension, the faint hum of the engine vibrating through their seats. Ivan could feel Jusis's fear radiating from the loader's seat. The young man was masking it with a forced display of courage, but Ivan could see through it—the way his hands trembled slightly on the controls, the way his breath hitched when the tank jolted over uneven terrain. Jusis was scared. What if he made a mistake? Right now, he is the only one Ivan could rely on to defeat this otherworldly monster.
Ivan took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. The distance between the Iron Warmachine and the approaching entity shortened, and as the tank closed in, he finally caught sight of their enemy.
What he saw sent a chill down his spine.
Unlike the other Cerus creatures—warped beasts transformed into monstrosities—this one is different. It stood on two legs like a man, but it towered at an impossible eight meters, with a hulking frame two meters wide. An eerie blue aura radiated from its body, highlighting its grotesque features: enormous tusks jutting from its maw, sharp jagged teeth, and arms as thick as tree trunks. Its body is muscular, built for destruction, and its legs were just as massive, ensuring an unshakable stance. But the most unnerving part? A glowing crystalline horn protruded from its forehead, pulsating with azure light.
A humanoid Cerus.
It didn't hold a weapon, nor did it need one. It simply stood there, unmoving—until its head turned sharply toward Ivan's charging tank.
"Is that even a Cerus…?" Jusis muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Ivan's grip on the throttle tightened, his knuckles whitening. "I don't think it is." His heart pounded when he met the creature's gaze. Malice burned in those glowing blue eyes, an ancient and intelligent wrath unlike any beast they had fought before.
If Leila were here, she might have classified it for him. But she wasn't—she was somewhere else, fighting her own battle. That left only one option.
They had to take this thing down.
With a sharp twist of the throttle, Ivan accelerated the tank. But before they could get into firing range, the creature raised its arm, and its crystalline horn blazed with intense blue light.
A cold dread surged through Ivan's veins. His instincts screamed danger.
"Jusis, hold on!"
Before Jusis could react, Ivan jerked the controls hard to the left.
At that moment, a massive crystalline spear materialized above the creature's head, crackling with energy. Then, with a deafening boom, it fired.
The projectile tore through the air at supersonic speed, obliterating everything in its path. Goblins and orcs unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast were sent flying in a mist of blood and shattered bone. The ground quaked violently as the projectile slammed into the dirt where the tank had been a second ago, sending a shockwave of azure mist and razor-sharp shrapnel in all directions.
Inside the tank, Jusis barely managed to stay in his seat, slamming against the interior as Ivan steadied their course.
"Jusis! Eyes on the target!" Ivan barked over the intercom.
Jusis groaned, adjusting his helmet and gripping his seat tightly. He fumbled with the controls, his pulse hammering. "M-Mister Ivan, I can't see a damn thing! There's too much mist!"
Ivan's response was immediate. "To the right of the scope, there should be a knob labeled 'Thermal Mode.' Turn it on—now."
Jusis swallowed hard and squinted, the dim interior lighting making it difficult to locate the switch. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he scrambled to find it.
Meanwhile, Ivan kept the tank moving. The thick mist obscured everything, forcing him to rely on his instincts to maneuver. If that thing attacks again, we might not be able to dodge.
Finally, Jusis spotted the knob. "All I have to do is turn this and set it to 'On,' right?"
"Yes. Then check the scope."
Jusis twisted the knob. The screen flickered before shifting to a high-contrast black-and-white display. He scanned the area—then his breath hitched.
There, sprinting straight toward them, was the massive humanoid.
"Mister, it's right in front of us—it's charging!"
Ivan slammed the throttle into reverse. The tank jolted backward just as the creature lunged, its colossal fists crashing into the ground where they had been moments earlier. The impact sent a tremor through the earth, shaking the battlefield.
Jusis stared at the scope, watching in horror as the beast rose from its crouch. "It's getting back up—it's going to attack again!"
"I know. Hold on tight."
Ivan reversed the tank once more, his mind racing. Their 20mm autocannon is out of ammo. The 120mm main gun needed to be reloaded. Without Leonard, reloading in the middle of combat is going to be a nightmare.
"Jusis, listen carefully. If that thing is still in front of us, use the third trigger."
Jusis hesitated. His finger hovered over the third trigger—the M2 .50 caliber machine gun mounted above the main barrel.
He swallowed his fear and peered into the scope again. The creature was standing, bracing itself.
"It's in sight. Should I pull it?"
Ivan's voice crackled over the intercom. "Did I not just tell you to shoot?! Hit it!"
Jusis squeezed the trigger. A barrage of .50 caliber rounds tore through the air, slamming into the creature's massive frame. It staggered, shielding itself with its thick arms.
"How's the damage?" Ivan demanded.
"It flinched, but—wait, it's gone!"
Jusis frantically scanned the scope. Where did it go?!
Ivan gritted his teeth. "Stay sharp! I'm rotating the tank—tell me when you spot it!"
The left tracks rolled forward while the right reversed, making the tank spin clockwise. Jusis kept his eyes glued to the scope, scanning frantically.
Then he saw it—circling them at blinding speed.
"There! It's moving around us!"
Jusis fired again, and a round clipped the creature, forcing it to stop. But instead of retreating, it crouched—its glowing horns flaring brighter.
Another attack is coming.
"Mister Ivan—!"
"I see it!" Ivan twisted the controls, reversing the tank at an angle.
A second energy spear blasted forward. It struck the ground beside them, sending another blue shockwave rippling through the battlefield. The tank rocked violently, its thick armor shielding them from the worst of the impact.
The creature tilted its head, seemingly puzzled. Why was this thing still alive?
Inside the tank, Ivan and Jusis were rattled. Sparks flew from the interior, and Ivan felt the numbing dizziness of a mild concussion creeping in.
No time for pain. No time for hesitation.
"Jusis, are you alright?!"
"Y-Yeah, I'm good," Jusis groaned, clutching his side where he'd slammed into the console.
"Good. Then listen up. Have you seen what Leonard did earlier?"
"Sort of, but—what do I do first?"
Ivan's gaze hardened, his voice steady despite the chaos. "You're reloading the main cannon. Now."
"First, get to Leonard's station. Move fast—I'll try to evade the incoming attack!" Ivan barked.
Jusis swallowed hard, his pulse hammering in his ears. Thanks to his lean frame, he was able to maneuver through the tight space inside the turret. Leonard's station—the loader's position—was on the left side, but reaching it required squeezing past the massive gun breech. It would have been easy if they were stationary, but they weren't.
Ivan's senses sharpened further. He had to anticipate where the next attack would come from. His hands danced over the controls, making the tank lurch into a series of rapid evasive maneuvers—reversing, turning, surging forward—anything to keep the enemy from encircling them. No. He would be the one to encircle it.
Inside, the violent zigzagging sent Jusis bouncing against the interior, his head knocking against the metal walls more than once. Gritting his teeth, he finally reached the loader's position. "I'm here! What now?!"
"In front of you, near the main cannon's breech, there's a lever. Pull it down."
Jusis found it and yanked it downward. The breach slid open with a heavy clunk, revealing the empty chamber waiting for a new round. "Done!"
Ivan, still focused on dodging the Cerus' projectiles, responded quickly, "Behind you—that's the ammo rack. To open it, look for a green button. It should be there somewhere."
With only dim lighting, Jusis struggled to find it. Meanwhile, Ivan monitored the battlefield through the tank's external cameras. His eyes locked onto the faint, eerie blue glow of the alien creature, its movements swift and calculated. The tank rocked as he executed more evasive maneuvers, zigzagging to avoid the deadly ranged attacks.
"What kind of ammunition should I use?" Ivan muttered to himself. With no precise and skilled gunner on board, Sabot and High-Explosive rounds would be risky at this range. He needed something devastating at close quarters—something that turned his tank into a giant shotgun.
"There it is!" Jusis finally found the button and pressed it. With a mechanical hiss, the ammunition storage door slid open. "It's open!"
"Good! Now find the round marked with a 'C' and pull it out!"
Jusis scanned the storage and spotted it—the M1028 Canister Round. A 120mm shell packed with thousands of tungsten balls. A tank's answer to close-quarters combat.
He gripped the round and attempted to pull it out, but his arms nearly buckled under its weight—22 kilograms of sheer destruction. Gritting his teeth, he heaved it free. Just as he did, Ivan's focus wavered for a fraction of a second.
That is all the Cerus needed.
The alien warrior launched another projectile with blinding speed. Ivan barely had time to react, yanking the controls hard to the side. The tank veered violently—only a meter away from a direct hit. The projectile detonated upon impact with the ground, sending a concussive shockwave rippling through the air.
The tank held.
Ivan's stomach dropped as he glanced up at the external camera. The Cerus was already preparing another strike. He had no way to dodge this one.
"Damn it!"
Thinking fast, he did the only thing he could—he turned the tank to face the attack head-on.
The most heavily armored part of the M1 Abrams is its frontal armor. He could only hope it would hold.
Then, the strike came.
A cluster of razor-sharp crystalline shards slammed into the turret's cheek plate. The impact was deafening. The Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA)—an additional defense modification—detonated on contact, disrupting and redirecting the attack before it could breach the actual armor beneath.
It worked. The projectile deflected, but the force of the blast still rocked the entire tank.
Inside, Jusis lost his footing. The massive 780mm-long shell slipped from his grasp, clattering against the steel floor with a thunderous crash.
Ivan's heart pounded. "Jusis! Jusis, do you copy?!"
Silence.
"JUSIS!"
He twisted in his seat, straining to listen. Nothing.
Then, through the intercom, a faint murmur.
"But… I want to sleep now… It hurts… Father…"
Ivan's grip tightened on the controls. "Hey! Get a grip! Don't fall asleep! We're in danger, and I need you to stay awake!"
"But… why?"
"Why?! Because if you don't stand up, we'll die! And not just us—more people will die!"
Silence again.
Then, a whisper. "Stay… awake…"
Something clicked in Jusis' mind. A flash of memory—his father waking him up, just like this. His breathing became shallow.
"I… I need to wake up…"
"That's right! Now load that round—NOW!"
Jusis fought through the haze of pain. Blood trickled down his forehead, partially blinding his right eye, but he forced himself up. He reached for the massive cylindrical round and struggled to lift it again. The battle outside was relentless— the tank was locked in a brutal contest of strength against the Cerus.
He fought against his own trembling arms and finally, with a determined shove, pushed the round into the breech. "It's in!"
"Raise the lever! All the way up!"
Jusis yanked it back into place. The chamber sealed shut.
"Now get back to the gunner seat—FIRE WHEN IT'S IN THE CROSSHAIR!"
Jusis carefully but quickly returned to the gunner's station. When he peered through the scope, his eyes widened in shock—the creature was incredibly close, as if it were right in front of him! However, there was a major problem—the gun barrel is positioned to the right side, and because of the Cerus's extreme proximity, it had already overshot past the monster's body.
"Mister, the crosshair isn't on the Cerus!"
Ivan already knew that. He immediately tried to reverse the tank, but the M1 Abrams had lost traction—it wouldn't budge.
"This is bullshit!" Ivan cursed.
He needed to force the Cerus to back off, but how? Then, a bold idea formed in his mind.