Chapter 57 The Titan Awakens

The Tier 6 mutant let out an earsplitting roar, louder and more guttural than before. Its body tensed, muscles bulging unnaturally as its wounds began to bleed.

“It’s enraged! Fall back!” Aria shouted, but it was too late.

The mutant leaped into the air, an impossible feat for a creature of its size. The sight of its colossal mass ascending above them was almost surreal, but reality crashed back when it came down with devastating force.

Its massive fists slammed into the ground, reshaping the battlefield in an instant. The impact was cataclysmic, like a meteor strike, throwing up a cloud of dust and dirt while the ground buckled and cracked. A massive crater formed where the mutant had landed, sending shockwaves rippling through the cavern.

The Combelt IV mechs, despite their advanced stabilization systems, were knocked off balance. Aria’s mech toppled sideways, sliding across the uneven terrain. Lisana’s mech stumbled into a jagged rock formation, sparks flying as her armor scraped against the stone.

Ewan and West were the first to recover, their mechs regaining footing just as the mutant charged again. Desperation set in as the two pilots coordinated a risky counterattack.

“Ewan, on my mark!” West shouted.

“Overcharge the railgun! We’ll hit it with all we got! We’re taking this bastard down!”

“Hell yeah! I'm on it!” Ewan shouted back.

They urged forward, closing the distance with the mutant. Vallen particle railguns overcharged, glowing an intense, searing blue, particles crackling and sparking around the barrel.

“Fire!”

The railguns unleashed twin-shot, a beam of energy so bright it temporarily lit the cavern like daylight. The blast streaked across the space, aimed squarely at the mutant’s chest.

But the Tier 6 moved with a speed that defied its colossal bulk. Its massive arm shot forward, intercepting the beam mid-flight. 

KAAAAAAAAA-BOOOOOOOOM!

The railgun blast exploded on its forearm, searing through flesh and bone, but the creature didn’t even flinch. Instead, it powered through the hit, its fist glowing with the residual energy of the railgun blast.

“Shit, it’s still coming!” Ewan yelled.

The mutant’s massive fist collided with their tank mech before they could react. Ewan instinctively crossed the mech’s arms in a desperate guard position, the servos whining in protest, but it wasn’t enough. The sheer force of the impact rippled through the mech, sending chunks of armor and shards of reinforced plating flying like shrapnel. The left arm of the mech was torn clean off, and the right dangled uselessly by a few sparking cables.

The force of the blow sent the mech hurtling across the cavern, crashing into the crater’s edge. The mech slumped forward, smoke rising from its shattered torso. Inside, Ewan and West were unresponsive, their status monitors flashing red.

“West and Ewan down!” Lisana screamed.

Enzo and Lisana got up next firing another overcharged shot directly into the mutant’s face. The blast hit its mark, blinding one of its glowing eyes, but the mutant barely flinched. Instead, it turned toward them, its remaining eye burning with fury.

“Enzo! Lisana! Get out of there!” Aria shouted, her voice desperate.

But the mutant was already on them. It swiped at their mech, sending them flying through the air until their tank mech slammed into the wall, blowing a crater in the wall, critically damaging the Combelt IV, and injuring pilots.

Back in the base, Dyar turned back to the monitors, his jaw tight. The seismic activity was increasing; the cavern was becoming unstable under the weight of the mutants' movements. Aria’s beacon was still moving, but others were flashing red.

He whispered under his breath, “God damn it, please, make it out of this alive.”

Outside the locked control room, muffled voices echoed in the hallway. Someone knocked on the door.

“Major Dyar! We need an update!”

 It was one of the HQ commanders.

Dyar ignored it. He checked his wrist display, where a single, ominous button blinked: Manual Detonation - Payload Armed.

David’s Combelt IV groaned as it rose to its feet, the joints straining against the shifting, uneven terrain caused by the mutant’s devastating attack. Sparks flew from the ground as his mech’s stabilizers compensated for the loose footing. He glanced at the motionless Combelt IV piloted by Ewan and West, its shattered remains.

“Damn it…”

Sierra’s and Jacob’s mechs remained slumped nearby, struggling to recover from the shockwave that had rocked the cavern. Their status indicators flickered erratically on his HUD, showing both pilots were disoriented but still alive.

David's voice crackled through the comms, “Sierra! Jacob! Get it together! I’m going in to draw its attention! Cover me when you can!”

Without waiting for a response, David launched forward, his Combelt IV's thrusters roaring as he aimed to close the gap between himself and the Tier 6 mutant. The beast had turned its gaze toward the other downed pilots, black blood dripping from its maw as it let out a low, guttural growl.

“Not so fast, you ugly bastard!” David shouted, firing his mech’s particle rifle. Blue beams seared through the air, streaking toward the mutant.

The shots struck home, peppering its massive shoulders and torso. The Tier 6 staggered slightly, letting out an enraged snarl, and swung its massive arm toward David. But he anticipated the move, sidestepping with the agility that only a Combelt IV could offer, the mutant’s fist smashing into the cavern floor just inches from where he’d been standing.

“Come on, big guy!” David taunted, firing another volley directly into the mutant’s face. The blasts scorched its skin, momentarily blinding it. 

“You want me? Let’s go!”

The mutant roared, charging at him with terrifying speed for its size. David boosted backward, his mech’s thrusters straining to keep him just out of reach. He fired again, this time aiming for its knees, trying to slow it down.

The Tier 6 suddenly leaped forward, its massive bulk casting a shadow over David's mech. He tried to dodge, but the cavern floor shifted beneath him, throwing off his balance. The mutant's fist came down like a sledgehammer, slamming into his mech’s left shoulder with enough force to shear off the entire arm. Sparks and shrapnel rained down as the Combelt IV reeled from the impact.

David gritted his teeth, pain shooting through his body as the cockpit’s safety harnesses strained against the violent jolt. Alarms blared, and his HUD was a sea of flashing red warnings.

“I’m not done yet!” he growled, forcing his crippled mech to its feet with its remaining arm. He overcharged his particle rifle, the weapon glowing brightly as it consumed a dangerous amount of Vallen particles.

The Tier 6 seemed to sense the threat, lunging toward him just as he fired. The shot exploded out of the rifle, slamming into the mutant’s chest. The force sent it skidding back, black blood spraying from the wound.

But the recoil from the overcharged shot destabilized David’s mech, which toppled backward. It lashed out with a massive fist, slamming into David’s mech with bone-crushing force.

The Combelt IV crumpled under the blow, its chest plate caving in as it was hurled into a cavern wall. The mech slumped to the ground, motionless. Inside, David’s and his partner's vitals flickered faintly on Aria’s display, showing he was alive but critically injured.

“David’s down!” Aria shouted, “Sierra, Jacob, move! We need to finish this, now!”