[IC] TTG Chapter 4: Greed

[Sutoratosu]

There was a brilliant burst of crimson, as the demon screamed, hands clawing, tearing at the air as it's query escaped. Ragnorok hurtled itself after the fleeing pilot, its form barely recognizable, just a shining disc of electric fury that barely made it a few meters before it fell to the earth and shattered into a million radiant shards. The Armor encasing the demon's body did exactly the same, a burning silhouette of a man as it clutched what might've once been it's head. The rubble continued to pile around it, bit by bit as the sky fell. Ton after metric ton, slamming down upon it, burying the construct of hate.

 

Bury, but not extinguish. For the fires of hell burned hottest for those who already knew they were damned, fires that even now, blossomed acrossed scattered rubble with unrivaled radiance, scalding light mixing with dust and sediment as the rest of the cavern finally gave in. An avalanche, a deluge of stone, sure to end the miserable beast that had been born from the union of man and devil.

 

And in that moment, as that union unravelled and man and devil became separate once more, the burning man looked up at the raining rubble, his armor flaking off his very flesh like so many pieces of of brittle flint, eyes of pure scarlet gazing upon their incoming demise. Eyes that shifted between reason and oblivion, heaven and hell, staring into the abyss and held frozen as it stood back.

 

Eyes that beheld the crossroads of life and death.

 

Spoiler

 

And at those crossroads was a stranger, naught but a cloak and a mask. And when he spoke, he spoke with the voice of a Goetic Prince-

 

"SOLOMON!" he cried. Yet still, the burning man did not hear him 

 

"MOVE, DAMN IT! RUN, GO!" still, nothing. And at last, it becomes clear why- the wall. The final wall, clear as crystal, shimmering in the moonlight. The last wall to separate them. The last to prevent him from breaking back in. 

 

The wall that would divide them in those dying moments.

 

A wall that Asmodues reeled back with every ounce of power he could muster within the rapidly failing mech, and in a nigh suicidal determination smashed with everything he is, everything he could be, and everything he once was. Once, Twice, Three times, over, and over, the cracks spreading more and more, until at long last, what may have passed for an arm or other appendage had rent the facade in twain.

 

And the last thing the Burning Man saw was the Cloaked man pulling him through.

 

In times long since past and forgotten, there might've been tales of Revenants... rotting bodies of the damned who refused to accept their fate, arose from their graves each night to make war upon the living, seeding death and destruction wherever they went, bearing strength, speed, and power most unnatural. Mindless, Soulless killing machines, born of vengeance and fueled by rage, unstoppable by all but a second death. A death so utter and complete that there would be nothing left of them.

 

And the Revenant that was once Solomon Ryke was no different. 

....

....

....

 

But the Revenant that was now Asmodeus was a different beast entirely. 

 

Streaks of crimson gave wave to shades of grey, bursting forth from the sea of expanding rubble as it fell. Pure favor, formless, quickly collapsing in on itself even as the Goetiac Servant fought to retain what little control he had gained, Raw favor, Favor the likes of which he had never handled before but for the sake of another would handle it as best he could even it destroyed him. 

 

Favor that in those last, fleeting seconds before the end came upon Solomon, the Artificial Life he had created used to fling him clear of the disaster area. Nothing but a hurtling ball of pure, sepia light, colliding into the wall farthest from the epicenter of the cave's collapse, its radiance fading further with passing second as it tumbled down a small rocky pile that had formed there and came to a rest atop the rubble that already settled. 

 

And when it finally did fade completely, there was the Mechanic from pride. There was the boy David Ryke had tried to make strong, the boy Sharai Braixong had decided she wanted nothing to do with. The boy who Tesla Ryke had entrusted all she had left to. The boy who had given life to that which was never alive to begin with for her. The boy who had for so long defied a changing meta for her. The boy who had clawed his way to first seat for her. 

 

The boy who only in the moments of his imminent meeting with death had realized when and where he had lost his way for her. The boy who had been saved by the Machine. The boy who lived.

 

Lived only because he still had one last mission before he could die.

 

[Komodojoe]

Strider vs. Libra

 

"..." Morgan gazed upon the damage caused to Libra's wheels... or lack thereof, really. After all that, and only one of Libra's wheels was broken. She thought she could at least pick off a couple if not the whole set. But she didn't. Instead, she just busted one of them and the others hardly have a dent.

 

... Just how tough is this armor of Libra's, anyway?

 

Not like she had time for an answer, as Libra was already winding up for another attack. Morgan watched as the sling fired another hunk of metal. A small, person shaped... wait a minute...

 

Morgan was thrown off by the fact that Temperance just launched herself with that sling of hers, enough to make a very slight hesitation and limit her options. She put one of her fists up to throw a punch at the girl as she accelerated towards her, which, to be honest, she had no idea if she would even have the time to do so. She had to try though, since she had already passed the point of no return. One thing was for sure: if Libra managed to hit Strider, and there was a good chance she would, she would deal quite a bit of damage. And if she hit her mark on Strider's right shoulder, there's a good chance Morgan will start spinning upon impact.

[Shamitako]

Libra vs. Strider

 

Morgan's delayed reaction proved a fatal mistake. Well before her punch had a chance to connect, Temperance's hammer slammed into her shoulder. A storm of fire and sound erupted from the point of impact. The hammer was backed by the cheers and excitement of hundreds of spectators; the force of that energy fed into its explosive swing. Strider and Temperance were both sent flying away. Strider smashed through several rock formations before slamming into the wall. She collapsed in a mangled heap, the mech's arm completely absent and many of its other systems destroyed. Temperance, who had been expecting to be sent flying, managed to use her hammer as a shield while she smashed her way to the wall. It actually ended up with one head stuck in the wall, with Temperance perched atop the other. She waited to make sure Strider didn't get up before dispelling her mech and exiting the battlefield.