Maybe, the Duke (1)

"Then fire at it!" I spun Cerviel toward Asbestos. The boosters kicked against my back when I pressed the button inside my glove.

"What do you think we've been doing?" Command's voice sounded strained. "The demons keep sacrificing themselves to protect the Duke."

"What about the missiles?"

"There are over a hundred demons still out there. I'm not risking our last volley on something that might not work."

"Then make sure we don't get swarmed, or there's not going to be a lot of Asbestos left," I said.

"I think there might not be a lot of Asbestos left after this in the first place."

"That's what I've been saying since the start!" I sighed. "Where's Valoel?"

"He made it back, thank the heavens. He's standing outside the repair bay."

"Why isn't he going in?"

"He can't do it on his own, and Nova is still unconscious."

"Have him join the missile launcher if he has some missiles left."

"That's not a bad idea."

"Cerviel, how far is the Duke behind me?" I asked.

"Thirty seconds." Cerviel opened a blue window inside my visor. I didn't see much other than its immense size. The thought of fighting against it terrified me. The feed showed two streaks of light racing toward the creature, but two red dots intercepted the blast. The Duke plowed through whatever residuals remained.

"Any ideas, Cerviel?"

"I would prefer not to become non-functional."

"That makes two of us."

"I see." I glanced at the counter. A hundred and eleven demons remained. While less than before, it was more than ten times the number of demons I could comfortably fight on my own. Command, I hope your missile launcher works one more time...

"Landing in five seconds."

The pressure against my back eased as Cerviel slowed her boosters. We landed at the southern end of Asbestos. Dozens of red stars dotted the sky, all clustered around a larger one. Small fires burst from its figure as it bore through the exosphere. I felt the thud-thud of the plasma cannons, but the blasts flew past the incoming threat.

"Here we go..." The Duke landed in an explosion of rock and dust. The shockwave alone made us stumble for footing. "Cerviel, shield." The blue shield deployed when she raised her arm, and my sword was poised to strike. Protecting myself against falling rocks was only part of the reason. I didn't know what kind of attacks the Duke could deploy. I'd hate to be killed due to not being prepared.

Thud-thud.

Thud.

"What... was that..."

Thud.

My eyes doubled when the Duke stepped through the dust cloud.

"Command..."

"I see it, Vega." Her voice was somber. "We all are."

"I can't fight that."

"I... I..."

"Command. I... can't... fight... that..."

"I... don't know what to say."

The demon emerging from the dust cloud towered over me. Its height was at least seven times Cerviel's size and rivaled that of the domes themselves. Two cloven hooves shook the ground as the demon stepped forward. Nails curved from claw-like hands large enough to cover Cerviel's head. A goat-like head from which a single horn protruded crowned its body.

Say hi to the unicorn for me.

"This is the thing Seir spoke about," I said more to myself than anyone else. "Command? Please tell me you have something."

"Firing all our missiles at it might work, but..."

"That would leave us exposed to the demons behind it. The pulse cannons?"

"Maybe it's tall enough? I'd have to check."

Thud-thud.

Thud.

"Cerviel, do you see anything?"

"Creatures of this size tend to be slower, but their attacks will carry more force. I doubt I will survive a direct blow."

"So you want me to attack it via close-range attacks."

"Without getting hit," said Command.

"I don't have a good record in that regard."

Command didn't reply.

"I'm going to die here. I'm going to die, and you're all going to follow."

"We knew that was a possibility."

Thud.

The ground shook when the Duke took another step. A class seven, I thought The fives and sixes could use magic. I doubt this one is limited to its claws.

Still, I had no choice but to press the button inside my glove. The boosters spattered twice before they came to life.

"Firing missiles at the other demons in three minutes," said Command.

I didn't reply.

Thud-thud.

Thud.

Where do I strike? I wondered. The head? The shoulders? The chest is out of the question, maybe the legs? Or... I tightened my grip around Cerviel's sword as my gaze locked onto my target. "Let's go, Cerviel."

"Pilot Vega, do you have a plan?"

"To kill it? No. But hopefully, we won't die within ten seconds." We flew so close to the ground I needed to watch for sudden rises. Here we go... I aimed slightly beneath the Duke's knees. He watched as I made my charge, so I expected an attack. I figured his knee would telegraph the direction of any incoming strikes, and I had been right. The Duke started to raise his foot as I came within range. I dodged. While an opportunity to strike at the moving leg presented itself, one I used more as a token of resistance than anything else, it wasn't my intended target. That lay past its knee and was higher above the ground.

"Cerviel, up!" I spun around as Cerviel adjusted our trajectory upward. I struck seconds later by burying Cerviel's sword in the Duke's back. I doubted whether it would do much damage to a creature as big as the Duke. Its howling suggested it was at least painful.

"Cerviel, back!" I pulled the sword free before the Duke swatted its back. Its speed surprised me. It took a blast from the afterburner to ensure my safety.

The Duke stepped forward with another swipe. We dived underneath the blow as we headed for its legs. A dust cloud arose when the Duke slammed a hoof into the ground. 'Low visibility' warnings appeared as the haptic suit irritated my skin. C'mon... A clawed hand awaited my acquaintance when I broke free from the dust cloud, one that I barely dodged.

"Seems like I pissed it off..." I adjusted my trajectory before landing at the top of its neck, where I struck.

Thud-thud.

"Command, do you have anything for me?" I tried to wiggle the sword inside the Duke's neck. "I feel like I'm performing acupuncture here."

"Try aiming for a softer target."

"Like what, it's eyes?"

"Seems as good as anything unless you want to get swallowed."

"Give me something, Cerviel."

"I can't detect another weak spot," Cerviel said.

"I don't want to strike its eyes. The Duke might start rampaging if we blind it."

"Then you might need to consider an internal attack."

"I'm not letting it swallow us."

"You do have one missile left."

I glanced at the gigantic head. "You're kidding me."

"I don't know how to make jokes."

"You're suggesting that? And Command says I'm the reckless one."

"I'm based on your personality."

"Guess I should give myself a stern talking to."

I activated the booster when the Duke tried to swat me away. Its focus never left me as I flew straight up. "Are you ready, Cerviel?" I killed the boosters once I was above the Duke's arm range.

"Missile has been loaded."

Thud-thud.

It took an extra few seconds for gravity to overcome Cerviel's momentum. Dozens of red stars littered the sky above me. Some were already surrounded by flames as they penetrated Asbestos' exosphere. Leave those to Command. Focus on the Duke, I reminded myself.

I felt weightless for the briefest seconds before the tug of gravity started to pull me back. I used this momentum to turn Cerviel around.

"Down we go..." The boosters kicked to life when I pressed the button inside my glove. "Get ready, Cerviel. We're only getting one shot at this."

"Waiting on your mark."

The Duke roared when it saw me approaching. As powerful as it was, it was slow. It started to raise its arms in anticipation of my attack, but they would not arrive in time.

"Impact in five seconds..." Cerviel commented as the Duke's head grew.

Please let this work. My eyes met the Duke's as I continued my downward trajectory.

"Three seconds."

"Cerviel, brakes!"

I felt the counter boosters kick in. They would never stop my dive in time, but that wasn't the goal.

"One second."

Thud-thud.

I tightened my grip around Cerviel's sword and struck. The attack buried the sword deep into the demon's nose when we slammed against it.

The attack worked. The shaking nose beneath my feet told me what was to come. "Cerviel, now!" The sword came free when Cerviel activated her boosters. Below me, the Duke opened his mouth to protest against the attack.

Exactly what I hoped for.

"Cerviel, now!"

"Firing." The last missile burst from its tube and disappeared into the Duke's mouth. It would blow as soon as its tip touched something. I wondered what that would be. Its mouth? Its throat? The Duke was looking straight up, so maybe it would be its neck?

I didn't need to wait long. The Duke's eyes briefly widened before the back of its head burst outward. It moaned a last time before its eyes rolled to the back of its head. The ground thudded as its knees slammed against it before the rest of its body landed in a large dust cloud.

The counter decreased by one.

"Did... did you actually do it?" Command asked.

"I don't know." Only now did I notice how heavy my breathing was. "I can't imagine it's this easy."

"Maybe your god has your side today."

"I hope so." I looked upward. Dozens of red stars still rained down on Asbestos. "Weren't you going to fire your missiles?"

"I just received the final go-no-go. Launching missiles-" An explosion cut off anything Command wanted to say.