"They summoned Atmohim. This is the end for that Golem. Victory will be ours." The man who spoke those words wore resplendant armor and even his horse was decked out in steel plates and lavish colors.

"Yes, Marshall Thomas. Our diversion worked perfectly," a person mounted next to the Marshall said. "When Atmohim defeats that Golem, Astoria will surrender and become our subjects. All the soldiers we lost today will be replenished."

"Mm, that's right. The sacrifice of our men will be remem-"

[Audio feed interrupted.]

You know, Somnus, I thought you were bad, but what they did is probably even worse.

[Variable "bad" undefined.]

I guess, humanity created you and you are only executing their will.

[Manufacturer: Fubuki Heavy Industries.]

That is not what I meant. I am saying you shouldn't be considered evil if all the things you do is a result of your programming. You are not a vessel of sin. You are the sin itself.

[Variable "evil" undefined. Variable "sin" undefined.]

Forget it. Just kill that dragon and let's go home.

[Acknowledged.]

All the cannons and CIWS pointed at Atmohim. The vertical launch tubes all opened their hatches. Somnus bristled with violence like a sword brandished and ready to use.

[Threat a.s.sessment: 0.]

Atmohim landed and the ground under him cracked. Each step created tremors as his ma.s.sive form advanced towards Somnus. He had black, glossy scales and each one of his four arms ended with sharp claws. On his back, fin-like protrusions extended all the way to his tail. Antler-like horns sat like a crown on his head, as he released a piercing roar. Although the audio receptors were disabled, the loudness of the sound could be measured. When Atmohim roared, the sound became a shockwave and water vapor appeared in the air, dispersing shortly after.

[Sonic weapon detected. Threat level updated: 1]

Atmohim beat his wings and gale force winds blasted the area as he took another step forward. Light sparked between the tips of the antler horns, it was purple and gold.

[Heat source detected.]

A golden and purple sphere appeared in the middle of his horns and grew to a diameter of 20 meters within seconds. Violet electricity arced over the surface.

[Attack incoming.]

Somnus moved in a way that defied common logic. His ma.s.sive, supposedly slow, form moved with the vigor of a lightweight sportscar. With two hops it cleared a distance of a hundred meters within two seconds. The G-force meter displayed 9 Gs at one point.

The sphere nestled in Atmohim's crown collapsed and a ma.s.sive beam bombarded the area where Somnus stood moments ago. It swept towards him, carving layers off the hill until nothing but molten rock remained in its wake. The beam had a diameter of 30 meters and it struck Somnus, and a series of explosions cascaded over the armor.

[Critical damage to armor. ERA triggered. Temperature exceeding 1,000,000K. Purging armor.]

[Section A - J purged.]

A hiss accompanied the purging of the armor as the Theta Superalloy all but disintegrated under the beam.

[Video feed lost.]

[Armor a.n.a.lysis: Delta superalloy armor plates efficiency: 100%. Attack nullified.]

[Video feed restored.]

The image came back into existence just as the beam disappeared - the cause of visual interruption. The entire left side was a gleaming silver color. Gone were the ERA covered plates of Theta superalloy.

[Charge detected in Delta superalloy armor. Delta superalloy armor compromised.]

[Threat level updated. Threat possesses Ion Beam weapon. Threat level: 6.]

Coming to a swift halt, the war machine skidded several dozens of meters as it turned its body towards Atmohim. More importantly, its railgun.

[Theta superalloy penetrator loaded. Draining armor charge. Railgun ready to fire.]

[Delta superalloy armor restored.]

[Deploying anchors.]

An arc of lightning emitted from the tip of the railgun barrel as stabilizing anchors shot from its eight appendages and burrowed into the ground. The powerful magnets inside the barrel attracted the metallic objects on the ground, even the ferrous particles in the dirt.

A defeaning explosion blanketed the area as the railgun expelled a 45 kg slug at 12 km/s. In an instant, a ma.s.sive hole appeared in Atmohim's chest.

[Railgun: Loading HE sh.e.l.l. Railgun ready.]

[Battery at 78%.]

A hiss heralded the release of thermal energy from the previous shot, as the thermal vents opened up.

Atmohim had not even realized what happened when the next railgun shot shrouded its upper torso in a ma.s.sive fireball. The shockwave caused tremors on the ground as the fuel-air mixture ignited into a secondary explosion.

When the dust settled, only Atmohim's lower body was visible. It was blasted into a b.l.o.o.d.y mess and charred all the way through.

[Weather radar: Anomaly detected.]

Golden chains descended from the heavens and wrapped around Atmohim's lower body. They dragged the creature's corpse back into the swirling clouds.

[Audio feed restored.]

Cheering enveloped its sensors. It was far too loud.

[Audio feed normalizing.]

"Retreat!" a voice spoke through the waves of chants.

The camera focused on the enemy troops. Their ranks were in disarray and in full retreat.

[Powerplant: Turbine #1 output: 1 GW. Turbine #2 output: 1 GW.]

[Battery charging.]

[Laser supercharging...]

[Laser supercharged. Cla.s.s upgrade: Ion Beam -> Uranium-Mercury Particle beam.]

The twin laser batteries began to glow with a dull red light and progressively s.h.i.+fted to a more luminous, purple light. A devastating hum cascaded of the two laser emitters, as deep underneath the armor the accelerators prepared the beam of deadly energy.

[Firing in 5... 4... 3...]

The enemy forces ran towards their tents in a semi-orderly fas.h.i.+on. They were in full panic, but at least they did not trample over each other to escape.

"Surrender denied," Somnus' mechanical voice boomed at decibels a jet fighter would produce.

Pulsed flashes of violet light vaporized the enemy troops. The superweapon dug trenches into the ground where they stood - tunnels hundreds of meters long within which the walls were turned to gla.s.s and molten slag.

Only a few enemy survivors would bring reports of the battle home.

The forces of Astoria ceased their cheering and instead of jubilation an atmosphere of gloom settled on them. Only now did they understand the kind of force they were allied with. They felt fear.