Chapter 26: The Titan’s Collapse

After all the traveling, Far Sky City finally came into view in the distance.

Towering in the middle of the city stood the giant Mecha Argus they had spoken of, its countless glowing eyes scanning in every direction.

The city lay partially destroyed from Mecha Argus’s rampage, yet the colossus itself was not unscathed—its massive mechanical body was scarred and battered, bearing the marks of a fierce struggle. Clearly, the city had fought hard against Mecha Argus.

Their vehicles came to a halt as they looked back at the city. The villagers were on the verge of tears, but Rachel reassured them, “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with it—stay here and keep safe.”

Rachel then turned to Eldon and Liz. “Let’s go on ahead and come up with a plan.” She jumped into the jeep with them, and together they drove toward the towering giant.

They stopped in the vast open land just outside the city gates. Rachel asked Liz, “How far can your homing shots reach?”

Liz understood what Rachel was thinking and replied, “I can hit it from here with a tank, but the shots won’t be as powerful.”

“That’s fine,” Rachel answered. “I just want to draw it out of the city. If that hero Jax could lure it in, then we should be able to lure it out.”

“I’m going to pull out all of the big weapons and load them into the back of the jeep. You and Eldon keep moving and unload everything you can onto the giant Mecha Argus while I fight it head-on.”

She pulled out the last tank. “Here—let’s get this started.”

Liz hopped into the tank with Eldon so they could reload faster, loading up the first round as Liz’s homing locked in.

BOOM!

The shell struck the giant Mecha Argus square in the chest, forcing it to stumble back a step.

They reloaded again.

BOOM!

This time the shot slammed into its left leg, dropping the colossus to one knee.

But then it rose again, hefting a pile of rubble in its massive hands. It hurled the debris skyward, and as the rubble broke apart, chunks rained down like meteors.

Liz and Eldon barely leapt clear as a collapsing wall crushed the tank. They scrambled into the jeep, shaken but alive.

Meanwhile, Rachel used her energy hook to fling herself out of harm’s way, dodging the falling rubble as each impact carved fresh craters into the earth.

Then the giant Mecha Argus approached at full speed, toppling buildings and crushing everything in its path as it burst through the gate and charged forward.

Rachel pulled her cursed blade free and squeezed the trigger, charging the weapon with a menacing hum of energy.

She gave it four rapid swings, unleashing cursed energy blades that streaked through the air and slammed into the giant Mecha Argus. The blades collided and shattered several of its glowing eyes, carving deep into the colossus’s frame.

All of Mecha Argus’s eyes then focused on Rachel. It kicked off the ground, sending a cloud of dirt and rock flying toward her. She energy-hooked to the side, but shards of debris still hammered against her, denting her armor.

Another BOOM! rang out as Liz fired a stinger missile. The warhead exploded across Mecha Argus’s back, bursting more eyes but doing little else.

Eldon kept the jeep circling the Giant Mecha Argus while Rachel hurled more cursed energy blades, which bit into its arm and burst additional eyes.

The Mecha Argus lashed out with a massive punch, but Rachel hooked onto its arm, moved in fast, and drove her cursed blade hard into its arm with the trigger pulled. Sparks erupted and wires snapped as a massive gash tore across the titan’s limb, all while the constant BOOMs thundered around them.

the fight continued as they did consistant damage but the Giant Mecha Argus would not fall it was just too big that the amount of damage they did didnt matter much.

And then the Mecha Argus raised both of its massive hands high and slammed them into the ground, unleashing violent tremors that split the earth apart.

Cracks raced outward as a choking cloud of dust engulfed the battlefield along with a massive shockwave that sent rachel flying as she bounced across the ground and tumbeling into one of the cracks knocking the wind out of her. Eldon swerved desperately, but the jeep crashed into one of the fissures, the impact flinging him and Liz violently out of the vehicle.

Rachel coughed violently as the dust filled her lungs, and the notification from Zero One only worsened her state with grim news.

Zero One’s voice chimed in: “You have only ten percent power remaining. I suggest we retreat for now and come up with a new plan.”

Rachel pulled off her helmet, wiping blood from her eyes as the curse blurred her vision. She spat blood onto the cracked earth, struggling to steady herself.

“No,” she rasped, “I will finish this. I just have to go about it differently.” Rachel energy-hooked herself out of the fissure and stood before the Giant Mecha Argus once again.

The Mecha Argus was already upon her, trying to crush her beneath its massive foot.

Rachel hooked to its hip, then fired her energy hook into the gaping wound in its torso. She hauled herself inside the giant’s body, carving through components with her cursed blade.

Every so often, she released one of the military vehicles from her mimic’s storage, lodging them within its frame as she climbed higher.

Mecha Argus clawed at its own body in desperation, but Rachel kept slashing and placing vehicles until her storage held nothing but supplies.

She then cut a path outward, activated the beam slash, and struck the largest of the military trucks—a refueling rig. The resulting fiery explosion ignited a chain reaction among the other vehicles lodged inside.

Rachel hurled herself out, energy hooking away as she tumbled across the ground.

Behind her, Mecha Argus’s chest blazed like a flaming wicker man, the searing heat melting circuits and wires until the giant collapsed.

Then the familiar synthetic chime echoed in her mind, the signal she had come to rely on.

Assimilation found. Spectral Sight… Proceeding to assimilate parts…

Assimilation complete. Modifying cursed armor… Modification complete.

Assimilation finished.

When the assimilation ended, Rachel’s helmet was transformed. The crude sockets were gone, replaced by a sleek red visor that granted her a wide field of view. Like her gauntlets, it had fused further with her cursed armor and the mecha’s remains.

Flat on the ground, Rachel muttered, “Just tell me, Zero One. I don’t want to talk right now.”

Zero One cut straight to the point: “This grants you heat and night vision, enhances your range of sight, and allows you to zoom in on distant targets. You also now possess hyperspectral vision—able to perceive what is normally unseen. With this augmentation, the deep dive system should now function properly for you.”

“Good,” Rachel whispered, blood seeping from beneath her helmet. “I’m going to rest now.” Her heavy eyes slid shut.