Chapter 10: Into the Heart of the Titan

About an hour after they left the city, a scout spoke up, his tone uneasy. “We’re here… and this isn’t good. It’s way closer than expected.”

Rachel stepped forward. “Where is it?”

The soldier pointed ahead. In front of them sprawled a colossal mecha goblin, its head was massive and its body towering like a mountain. It lay motionless on the ground while countless mecha kobolds dropped metal and machinery into its gaping mouth, tirelessly feeding the mecha goblin king.

Rachel’s eyes widened. “That’s a big goblin… what is it?”

The captain of the group answered firmly. “We call it the Mecha Goblin King. It’s a massive goblin factory, a fortress that the mecha goblin queen uses to move around as they create more goblins from within.”

Rachel frowned. “But won’t it kill us before we even get close?”

The captain shook his head. “No. When they are not moving, the Mecha Goblin King lies dormant so its core can generate power for the goblin queen. Our mission is to enter it, kill the mecha goblin queen, and destroy the Mecha Goblin King’s core. If we succeed, we’ll eliminate a serious threat to this region.”

They descended cautiously, sneaking through the trees and keeping out of sight of the kobolds. As they drew closer to the titan’s head, the grinding of metal grew louder and harsher.

Rachel whispered, “So how do we enter?”

The captain pointed toward its ear. “We’ll enter there. Inside, you’ll find a maze of tunnels running through the Mecha Goblin King’s body. We must make our way to its heart—that’s where the king’s core and queen will be.”

One by one they slipped inside, moving through the ear passage until they reached the throat, where the grinding was deafening. A massive conveyor belt roared, hauling shredded heaps of scrap deeper inside.

Curious, Rachel craned her neck upward toward the titan’s mouth. Her breath caught—the entire chamber was packed with thousands of spinning blades, endlessly tearing apart everything that was fed inside.

They traveled through the passage, but unknown to them, something was watching. A red glowing eye opened from behind, silently observing their intrusion.

Then a signal was sent, and all the mecha in the vicinity began rushing into the Mecha Goblin King as the group silently traversed the winding tunnels in search of its heart.

A metallic clang's erupted from every direction, the clanking growing louder and louder.

The captain called out, “We’ve been found out—draw your weapons!”

The soldiers snapped up their guns and rifles while Rachel activated her mecha claws.

Cursed energy seeped from her fingertips, elongating them into razor-sharp talons. She turned back toward the oncoming echoes and shouted, “Push on ahead—I’ll deal with the enemies from behind!”

The captain responded, “Roger that. We’ll clear the path ahead—don’t take too long to catch up.”

In front of her surged the ravenous mecha kobolds they had seen outside, pickaxes and shovels clutched in their hands as they came charging at her down the narrow passage, while the sharp crack of gunfire echoed from behind.

Rachel drew her cursed blade, knowing it would soon hinder her, but she chose to use it for the initial strike. As the mecha kobolds came within range, she thrust forward, piercing the first one in the chest. Its energy core burst, red light fading from its eyes.

From the side, another mechakobold sprang off the wall, its pickaxe swinging.

Rachel released her cursed blade, now useless in the tight quarters, and stepped back just in time as the weapon narrowly missed her face. The instant it landed, she struck with her clawed hand, tearing into the kobold’s head. Sparks flew as its eyes flickered before it collapsed.

There was no pause. A shovel swung down at her, slamming into her and knocking her off balance. As the mecha kobold raised it again for another blow, Rachel grabbed the haft with her left hand and slashed downward with her right, shredding its metallic head like a paper shredder. She backed up against the wall as more mecha kobolds poured into the tunnel.

Then ZeroOne’s voice blared in her helmet: “Watch out above you!”

Rachel looked up to see a pickaxe descending from a tunnel above. She twisted but was not quick enough, as it scraped across her helmet and bit into her pauldron, driving into her shoulder.

She roared and slashed , severing the mecha kobold’s metallic arms. Blood leaked from her wound as she wrenched the pickaxe free and swung it back, embedding it in the armless kobold’s head. Its body twitched and sparked before falling still.

More came, recklessly rushing her, swarming over her body with claws, teeth, and tools. Rachel twisted and thrashed, ripping into them one by one with her claws. Metal screeched, sparks showered, and fragments littered the ground as she fought through the horde.

One mecha kobold clamped its jaws onto her right hand. She drove her claws into its skull until it went limp.

ZeroOne’s calm voice followed: “Your right glove is damaged. The mecha claw is no longer functional.” Her gauntlet reverted to normal, the cursed aura fading.

Rachel gritted her teeth, switching to her left hand. She tore through the kobolds, her damaged right gauntlet grappling and holding them in place while her left claw ripped them apart. When the last fell, the tunnel floor was piled with broken machines. Her armor was scarred, punctured in places where thin lines of blood seeped through.

Then it happened—her left gauntlet forcefully reverted back to normal, the cursed power dissipating.

“ZeroOne, what happened?” she asked, confused, trying to reactivate the clawed form.

ZeroOne echoed in her helmet, “Your energy reserves have run out. That form can no longer take hold.”

She frowned. “But doesn’t it use my cursed power to function?”

“Not entirely,” ZeroOne explained. “The cursed power alone cannot sustain the armor. Its strength comes from both energy and your curse. You need more assimilations. They will boost your armor’s energy reserves.”

Rachel muttered, “I see… so I just need to—”

Before she could finish, one of her curses started to affect her. The Curse of Silence, sealing her voice completely. She tried to speak again, but no sound left her lips.

ZeroOne’s voice cut in, concerned. “You just went quiet. What were you about to say?”

Rachel only responded with a determined thumbs‑up, pressing forward without a word.

Rachel turned, following the echoing gunshots as she stepped over the countless broken mecha goblins that littered the narrow tunnel.

She soon reached the heart of the Mecha Goblin King, where the soldiers were cornered. Hordes of mecha goblins charged them, gunfire shredding metal bodies, yet the numbers never thinned.

Behind the swarm loomed the massive goblin queen. She sat upon a throne, endlessly devouring piles of metal scraps. With every glow of her eyes, her swollen stomach split open like an elevator door, spewing out fresh mecha goblins that crawled forth to join the onslaught. Looming just above her throne pulsed the beating core of the Mecha Goblin King.

ZeroOne’s voice rang in Rachel’s helmet: “This doesn’t look good. The soldiers’ weapons will run dry soon. We must stop the Mecha Goblin Queen from producing any more goblins.”

Rachel unsheathed her cursed blade and began cleaving through the goblins in her path, carving a bloody trail toward the Mecha Goblin Queen.

Each swing of the cursed weapon tore through clusters of enemies, sparks flying as she forced her way forward. At last she broke through the horde and rushed the queen, swinging with all her strength at the giant’s foot. The blade struck, but only skidded off, leaving nothing more than a shallow scratch.

ZeroOne’s voice echoed sharply: “Her armor is too strong. You must strike her weak points—aim for the eyes!”

The Mecha Goblin Queen rose to her full height, her stomach gaping wide as another batch of mecha goblins spilled out.

She reached for the massive sword beside her throne, towering over Rachel with mechanical eyes glowing crimson and a menacing grin carved across her face.

Rachel gripped her sword tightly, steeling herself to do everything she could to stop the threat before her. Sparks hissed from the queen’s blade as it dragged across the metal floor, the entire chamber trembling beneath her weight.

The soldiers behind Rachel held their breath, knowing the true battle was about to begin. Rachel raised her cursed weapon high, her eyes blazing with resolve as the monstrous mechanical queen let out a metallic roar that shook the tunnels, heralding the clash to come.