I moved Damian near the entrance, propping his unconscious form against the fractured wall.
The sterile hum of GAIA's warning system began to pulse in the background, its red flashes dancing across my HUD like a countdown.
Each second felt heavier than the last, the pressure of the looming surveillance pinning me down.
Before the alert could escalate into something more destructive, I called on my hidden system, Codebreaker.
Codebreaker Override pinged with a satisfying ding, quelling the invasive intrusion with the deftness of a thief silencing a security alarm.
System Cloaking slid into full effect, a second skin of invisibility wrapping around us, muting our presence to GAIA's watchful gaze.
[GAIA Surveillance disrupted]
[Masking Surveillance Data]
A sharp breath escaped me. A moment of peace, a small victory in this chaotic mess.
But I knew better than to relax.
GAIA's eyes had been tricked for now, but that didn't mean we were safe.
The battle was only beginning.
"I need to destroy that damn portal," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.
The words tasted bitter on my tongue, laced with the weight of my failure to stop it sooner. The battlefield before me felt eerily still, but I couldn't shake the sensation of something lurking in the shadows.
Something worse than what had already come.
The portal stretched wide open, a gaping maw of violet light that pulsed with a life of its own. The longer I stared at it, the heavier my gut became, as if it were a portal to something worse.
A portal to the end.
And then, just as if to confirm my thoughts, something stepped through.
It wasn't another Serak sentinel.
No, this was something much darker, a presence so powerful that it made the ground beneath my feet tremble with anticipation.
A sinking sensation twisted in my gut as the creature fully emerged, towering over me with the quiet grace of a predator. The ripples in the air around it made my nerves tingle, but I held my ground.
The creature was no longer humanoid—it was something far worse, something alien.
It stood at least twice my height, its lilac skin gleaming under the Tower's sterile artificial light, and its four arms—each an intricate network of muscle and sinew—were so precise they seemed almost mechanical.
A warhammer, as massive as a tank, rested over its shoulder, gleaming under the light like the weapon of an ancient god.
The massive figure stopped dead in its tracks, its glowing yellow eyes narrowing at me. The moment its gaze locked on me, it was as if the entire battlefield held its breath.
This was no ordinary foe. This was a force of nature.
One of my drones buzzed forward, its sensors whirring as it scanned the intruder.
[Detecting Intruder]
Name: Arvoc Ishmel
Class: Berserker
Rank: S
Race: Durant
Origin: Serakis Planet, Denith Cosmos
"Shit," I hissed under my breath, tightening my grip on the plasma blade at my side. "The Seraks were just appetizers. This is the main course."
The creature grinned, sharp fangs glinting as it hefted its warhammer with effortless ease, shifting the weight of the massive weapon like it was a toy. Its voice was a low, guttural growl—like something ancient, primal.
"Well, well, well," Arvoc rumbled, the sound of his voice reverberating through the air like thunder. "Look what we have here."
The translation clicked into my ear—GAIA's system, always the helpful guide. But the irony wasn't lost on me. I was facing something that wasn't going to be dealt with by code or tricks.
"Are you the warrior of this planet's Tower?" Arvoc asked, his voice dripping with disdain and curiosity, like a hunter inspecting prey. His yellow eyes gleamed with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
I didn't answer immediately.
My mind was reeling, pulling the threads together. I couldn't show weakness. He was fishing for information, and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction.
But his question… it was something I needed to understand. The implications were too vast to ignore.
"What's a Durant doing here?" I asked, voice steady, but internally I was on edge. "Why invade this Tower?"
Arvoc's laugh was so loud it shook the very air. "Invade? Oh, how quaint."
His massive body shifted, one arm sweeping out to indicate the portal behind him. "This—" he gestured grandly, "—is just the way of things. The Towers of GAIA exist to be destroyed. You destroy ours, we destroy yours. The strongest planet survives. You must be... what's the term? Ah, yes. A newbie."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My head spun as the truth of it settled in.
The Towers, the ones GAIA claimed were a test… they were battlefields. Interplanetary arenas.
GAIA was a god of war, and we were pawns.
I clenched my jaw, forcing the anger down. This was bigger than me, bigger than any one fight. But I couldn't back down now. Not with everything at stake.
"Are you alone?" I asked, trying to buy time, to assess the full scope of the situation.
"For now," Arvoc replied with a smirk, his massive frame shifting with unsettling ease. "Though it seems you've already dealt with my minions."
He flicked his eyes toward the remnants of the Serak sentinels scattered across the battlefield like broken toys.
He eyed the Tower Guardian behind me, its crystalline form flickering weakly.
"Ah, that must be your Tower's Guardian," he mused, his voice dripping with contempt. "Pity it's not much of a fighter. But why bother smashing that when I can smash you first?"
Before I could react, his body blurred.
One moment, he was at the portal's entrance; the next, he was in front of me, his warhammer coming down with a crushing speed that I couldn't have predicted.
I barely had time to raise my shield. The impact sent me crashing backward, my feet scraping against the floor as the force rattled my bones.
Shit. He's faster than I thought.
Arvoc's laugh was savage. "Nice suit. It'll look better on me."
"Not happening," I grunted, pushing myself upright, recalibrating my stance. The Mecha Suit hummed with energy as the plasma blade flickered to life.
The battle had begun in earnest.
Arvoc surged forward again, faster than I could track. His warhammer swung like a mountain crashing down, and I barely managed to sidestep in time, the shockwave from his blow splitting the floor beneath me into jagged shards.
"Fast for a guy built like a truck," I muttered, spinning to create distance.
"Fast enough to crush you, human," he snarled, his massive arms swinging with alarming precision.
I deployed the Drone Swarm, sending them zipping into the rafters, positioning them around the battlefield. Each drone locked onto a target, ready to respond to my commands.
[Drone Swarm: Active]
[EMP Barrage available for deployment]
"Nice toys," Arvoc taunted, his voice dripping with mockery. "Too bad they won't save you."
"Yeah?" I shot back, adrenaline surging through my veins. "Well, let's see if you're as tough as you look. Name's Khaos. Let's make this quick—I've got places to be, and you've got... a grave to dig."
I raised my arm, triggering the EMP Barrage. A wave of electric blue energy exploded outward, shorting out the lights and sending Arvoc's armor sparking and hissing. He faltered, stumbling back, but then he straightened himself, his fury intensifying.
[Electronics disabled. Effect on target: Partial.]
"Tricks?" Arvoc spat, his voice filled with rage. "You rely on tricks?"
"Nope," I said, my voice steady. "I rely on skills."
The battle became a whirlwind. Arvoc's warhammer struck with bone-crushing force, but I was faster, my suit enhancing my reflexes, giving me the edge. My drones fired relentlessly, disrupting his every move. But then, just as I thought I was gaining ground, the portal flared again.
A second wave of Serak sentinels poured through the breach, their spindly forms skittering toward the weakened Tower Guardian.
"Great," I muttered, a bitter laugh escaping me. "Because one existential threat wasn't enough."
[Multiple hostiles detected. New priority: Protect Tower Guardian.]
The drones immediately shifted, creating a shield around the Guardian. But it wasn't enough. The Tower Guardian was on its last legs. The clock was ticking.
"You're starting to understand, aren't you?" Arvoc taunted, his grin widening. "This is just the beginning. Your Tower is a prize—one of many in a game far beyond your comprehension."
"What game?" I demanded, slashing at his armor.
He parried with a laugh. "The game of survival, of course. Your planet's Tower stands only until it's conquered by another. And then? Poof. No more Tower. No more planet."
My pulse quickened. The truth of it all—GAIA's cruel game, where we were mere pawns—stung. But there was no time to think. There was only the fight.
I deployed the Electromagnetic Barrier, absorbing his blows as my drones eliminated the remaining sentinels with deadly precision.
The Tower Guardian's crystal flickered one last time, its core nearly spent.
I surged forward, activating the Electrostatic Pulse. The shockwave tore through the battlefield, crackling with energy. Arvoc roared, his armor finally failing as his body convulsed with electricity.
"Now or never," I whispered, my heart racing.
With one final strike, I drove my plasma blade into the core of his warhammer, sending it exploding in his hands.
"Yield," I growled.
Arvoc, panting with rage and defeat, glared up at me. "You think this is a victory? This is just one Tower. One battle. You'll never stop what's coming."
"Maybe not," I said, leveling my blade at his chest. "But I'll keep trying."
With that, I delivered the final strike, disabling him. The portal behind him flickered and collapsed, sealing shut.
[Tower Mission Completed]
[Distributing Rewards…]
[Bonus Mission Completed]
[Distributing Rewards…]