Chapter 14: Relentless Skies

As they were driving, Eldon noticed something and told Rachel to stop.

As they exited the truck, there it was—the mecha orc warlord's body. Its legs were blown off, and it was laying in a crater with its head full of bullet holes.

Eldon spoke after looking at it. "Well, now we know what happened to the warlord. Seems someone took it out."

Rachel climbed onto its back and noticed an open hole that was not caused by combat but looked like it had been taken apart.

She then asked ZeroOne, "What does this look like to you?"

ZeroOne echoed in her helmet. "From my analysis, this was taken apart carefully by someone, and it seems they removed its energy core and other components for some reason we do not know."

Eldon then spoke up. "Well, we better get moving. We need to make it to the safehouse before nightfall."

They jumped back into the truck and slowly moved toward the city with the towering buildings ahead.

Around half an hour later, they reached the city, and Eldon spoke. "Now move the truck slowly. This is mecha harpy territory—we don’t want them to notice us, so let’s make it safely to the safehouse."

Rachel let her foot off the gas as the engine quieted down, and they moved throughout the streets, weaving around rubble and abandoned vehicles.

As the harpies started to notice and circle above them, Eldon spoke. "Make a right here."

Rachel turned down a narrow street, and then Eldon spoke again. "You see that building across the street? That’s where we’re headed. I’m going to get out here, sneak across, and open the garage for you, so be ready."

Rachel replied, "Alright, stay safe. I will wait for your signal."

Then Eldon left the truck, closing the door as quietly as possible. He snuck around, keeping low and taking cover where he could, before disappearing from sight.

Rachel then spoke to ZeroOne. "Is there any way for you to fix my mecha claws on my right hand? It's getting annoying that I can't use my right mecha claw anymore."

ZeroOne chimed in. "No, I do not have that capability, but that may be possible in the future if you can find a good assimilation."

All of a sudden, the garage door opened and Eldon waved Rachel to proceed.

She then drove the truck into the garage where Eldon closed it.

There he spoke, "We should be safe for now. Let's gather our supplies and be ready. From here on we will have to travel by foot. So go get some rest—there are plenty of rooms in this place."

Rachel nodded then spoke, "I will do just that."

She lifted her bag from the truck, brought it to her room, set it down, and rested her head on the soft pillow. As she relaxed, her eyes slowly grew heavy and she entered the world of dreams.

The next day Eldon and Rachel were packed up and ready for the day ahead as Eldon spoke up during breakfast

I will be carrying all the food and supplies, so you will just have your armor to worry about.

When we leave here, follow my lead—we will be sticking to overhangs and keeping out of sight of the mecha harpies.

Rachel swallowed and asked, "Are the harpies that dangerous here?"

Eldon replied, "Yes. They have many nests up in the tall buildings above, and there are thousands of them. If they call the others, we will be swarmed, so we must stay quiet and out of sight."

They left the safehouse and snuck through the city, heading for their destination: a massive bridge that stretched over the lake, connecting both parts of the city together.

From the shadows, a mecha kobold scavenging in the area noticed them but did nothing. Its piercing red eyes stared as they began blinking rapidly, sending its sighting of the heroes to the harpies in the vicinity.

Then it happened—a mechanical screech as harpies dove down and grabbed Rachel by the backpack, dragging her skyward.

"Damn!" Eldon shouted as he pulled out his rifle, took aim, and fired—hitting the mecha harpy in the wing that had a grasp on Rachel.

The harpy lost altitude and spun out of control, crashing through a glass window of an office building.

Eldon then took shots at the remaining two mecha harpies before rushing to Rachel's aid.

Rachel and the harpy crashed to the floor as they tumbled to the ground. Rachel got to her feet and unleashed her cursed blade.

The harpy glared at Rachel with its menacing eye as energy started to pour into its right wing, while its left wing hung limply at its side.

Then the harpy lashed out with its good wing. A pressurized blade of air blasted from the fine lines in the wing.

Rachel barely raised her cursed blade in time to block it, the collision sliding her back several feet.

The harpy lunged forward, trying to grab her with its talons and shred her skin, but Rachel quickly slashed forward, severing one of its legs and the talons on the other.

The harpy swung its good wing at Rachel again, but she ducked under it—unhindered without her armor.

The sharp wing cut through the air above her and dug deep into the wall behind, getting stuck.

Rachel took the opportunity to thrust forward, piercing the harpy’s chest. It twitched and sparked, then slumped to the ground.

Rachel pushed the harpy’s limp body aside, removed the sword, and then she heard it.

Assimilation found. Beam Slash… Proceeding to assimilate parts…

Assimilation complete. Modifying cursed Great Sword…

Then the cursed blade fell from her hand, hitting the ground as it went through a transformation.

Eldon yelled, "Rachel, we have to go now! The horde of harpies is coming!" as she heard shots fired from below.

She rushed over and tossed her bag out the shattered window, causing the empty bag to hit the ground as the cursed armor equipped itself onto her.

She then activated the mecha claw and jumped from the window, using the claw to slow her fall as it sliced its way down the side of the building until she landed safely and picked her bag up.

Eldon fired a few more shots off and turned to run as Rachel followed beside him.

As they were running, the harpies were catching up and just about to grab hold of them.

Then ZeroOne echoed loudly in her helmet, "Duck!"

Rachel grabbed Eldon and they dove to the ground as the harpies missed their mark.

They stood up.

Now with two harpies in front and hundreds closing in, Rachel asked ZeroOne, "Have any ideas?"

ZeroOne responded, "Run it's the only way out—with no guarantee of survival."

Then two shots rang out—bang, bang!

The two harpies in front had their heads blown clean off.

A yell came from a small cave a few hundred feet ahead, where someone stood up and shouted, "Over here! Quickly, I will cover you!"

Eldon and Rachel glanced at each other and nodded, then sprinted toward the cave.

Constant gunfire cracked past them, each shot felling a harpy as bodies rained from the sky. Luckily, they made it—diving into the cave and finally finding safety from the harpies’ relentless chase.