Chapter 33: Flames of Vengeance

She raised her sword toward Jax, but his hands disappeared into portals. Rachel dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the thrusts of his swords.

Suddenly, something slammed into her—the mecha minotaur crashed into her side, sending her tumbling to the ground. But Rachel, enraged at the sight of Eldon, dug the mecha claw into the ground to stop her momentum. She forced herself back up, pulled the trigger, and swung the cursed energy blades at Jax—but they were intercepted by the mecha chimera, acting as a shield to protect him.

This gave Jax the chance to leave, and he ordered the mecha chimera and the mecha minotaur to kill Rachel. Mounting the mecha manticore, he flew north as the vehicles in the area rumbled to life and drove away under his control, all heading toward the undead wastelands.

rachel now standing infront of the mecha minotuar and whats left of the mecha chimera was

Enraged, Rachel watched Jax flying away and charged toward the mecha minotaur. As she closed in, she fired her energy hook between its legs, using the pull to fling herself toward the mecha chimera.

She pulled the trigger on her cursed blade and swung hard, severing its front leg as she slid past. But then she thrust her mecha claw into the ground, she shifted her weight and spun, thrusting the cursed blade into the chimera’s side. The impact made its frame explode as the cursed beam carved through where her sword hadn’t, splitting the machine into two separate pieces.

But the minotaur was already upon her, slashing down with its mighty axe. The blow shattered the cursed blade in half, rendering it useless.

Rachel jumped back as the mecha minotaur pressed her relentlessly, its massive axe sweeping in a horizontal arc.

She dove to the ground, barely avoiding the strike, only to see the creature’s hoof crashing down toward her. Rachel activated both her mecha claws, digging them into the sides of the minotaur’s hoof, straining to hold it back from crushing her chest.

Rachel then activated the energy burst in both her hands. Straining with all her strength, she fought to keep the minotaur’s hoof from crushing her chest as the armor creaked under the pressure.

At last the charge was complete, and she unleashed both energy bursts into the mecha minotaur’s hoof. The blasts collided and surged upward through its leg, while some of the energy backfired into Rachel’s armor, tearing apart the left side of her chest plate.

The explosion shattered the minotaur’s leg, sending the massive machine crashing to its side.

Rachel crawled up from the ground and conjured a giant energy hammer, ready to crush the mecha minotaur to pieces.

Then she was engulfed in searing flames as the half destroyed chimera unleashed a torrent of fire. Her armor grew blisteringly hot, the visor on her helmet began to melt until she could barely see, and through the broken plating the flames licked at her flesh, making it boil.

But Rachel did not stop. She turned and hurled the massive energy hammer at the chimera, the weapon smashing into its fire-breathing maw and breaking its jaw until it collapsed shut, unhinged and shattered.

Staggering forward, she activated a powerful healing spell, using the last of her magic to seal her wounds. Then she loomed over the chimera and drove her mecha claw into its head, the impact bursting its eyes in a spray of sparks as Rachel heard the announcement:

Assimilation found...Nano-Stim Canisters… Proceeding to assimilate parts…

Assimilation complete. Modifying cursed armor… Modification complete.

Assimilation finished.

then rachel turned to the mecha minotuar as it was on its knee already swingign down onto rachel again she dodged to the right and shot the energy hook into its shoulder as she formed an energy lance and probelled herself full force athe the mecha minotuar piercing its head wit hthe energy lance and then another notification rang in rachels head:

Assimilation found...Back Thruster… Proceeding to assimilate parts…

Assimilation complete. Modifying cursed armor… Modification complete.

Assimilation finished.

Once that notification was over, she rushed over to Eldon and removed her helmet. “You’re going to be okay,” she whispered, her anger melting away as tears streamed down her face.

Eldon, barely holding on as he coughed up blood, spoke: “It’s fine… just make sure you save the children. We hid them in a shelter just below us. Keep them safe—and make sure you kill that son of a bitch.” He weakly coughed again.

But something was creeping up behind Rachel from the broken debris—it was the last VR headset Jax had meant to use on Eldon. It crawled up the rubble and lunged straight for Rachel’s head as its cables streched out towards her. As she focused on Eldon, she didn’t notice it.

But Eldon noticed as it appeared right above her. With the last of his strength, he pushed Rachel out of the VR headset’s path. Doing the last and final thing he could to protect her.

Then the VR headset, its cables and wires ready to pierce Rachel, struck Eldon instead. It squirmed up his body and latched onto his head. The headset shattered his mind, turning him into a mindless puppet. His body, now controlled, swung wildly at the shocked Rachel.

Rachel threw him off and stood, tears streaming down her face as she looked at the man who had been Eldon. She formed an mecha claw, steeling herself. But then she heard the all-too-familiar whisper in her ear: “If you can’t do it, I will do it for you. I will do you this one favor.”

Rachel, tears streaming down her face as she rejected the offer: “No… I must do this myself. He would want that.”

The mind-broken Eldon leapt like a ravenous beast toward Rachel. She thrust her mecha claw at the VR headset, gripping it hard until it cracked and fell apart, and then Eldon’s body collapsed into Rachel’s arms.

Rachel gently closed his eyes, allowing him to finally rest. She whispered softly, “Rest now. I’ll take care of the rest—just watch me from above. I’ll take you someplace nice to rest, so wait a little longer.” As he was no longer among the living, she placed Eldon into her Mimic’s storage.

Now Rachel stood with no time to rest. She ran on, passing hundreds of bodies torn apart by the mechas, until she finally reached Liz’s place, praying she was safe.

The workshop door stood wide open, and mecha parts were scattered everywhere—as if Jax had come looking for her. Finding no clues, Rachel stepped back out, her determination hardening.

She would kill Jax, no matter what it took. Calling out to Hex, she drew the half-regenerated cursed blade and ordered, “Drain every corpse we come across. I want your full power before we confront Jax.”

At once, the blood from the nearby corpses began flowing toward the cursed blade as she made her way to where she had left Jill. On the way, she spoke to ZeroOne.

“What are my new assimilations?”

ZeroOne echoed in her helmet “On the back of your armor is a thruster that can push you in any forward direction you wish, allowing you to move quickly in a straight line."

Then there are the Nano-Stim Canisters—two different types you can use.

Type I: Healing nanites. These will enter your body and travel through it, repairing damage. It’s not as efficient as your magic, but it will get the job done, just at a slower rate.

Type II: Overdrive nanites. These boost speed and power, pushing your body to its absolute limits. But it comes at a cost—it will damage your body and could cause death if pushed too far. I suggest you only use this as a last resort, because afterward your body will be completely wrecked.”

She returned to Jill, still tucked away in the SUV, and brought her to the shelter Eldon had mentioned. Forcing the door open, Rachel stepped inside.

There she found Lilly with the other children, all huddled in a corner. Rachel descended the stairs with Jill by her side, and the children’s faces lit up with relief.

Lilly looked up, eyes wide with hope. “Did you defeat the mechas?”

Rachel nodded with a reassuring smile. “Yes, I did. But I have to leave for a while, so I need you to watch over Jill for me.”

Lilly’s expression turned worried. “Okay… but can we leave this place now?”

Rachel shook her head. “No. I’ll leave you all with food and water. Stay here for about two weeks. If I don’t return, take the rest of the supplies and escape to the closest village.”

Then Lilly asked softly, “Where are all the adults?”

Rachel’s smile faded, and she lowered her gaze. “They’re all gone. I’m the only one left. Stay strong and protect them, just as you’ve been doing.”

Lilly straightened, gripping Jill’s hand tightly. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep them safe. Just… make sure you win, like the heroes in the stories always do.”

Rachel forced a bright smile and gave her a thumbs-up. “You can count on me.” But as she turned and closed the door, her expression hardened.

She began gathering blood and anything else that might help, storing everything she could in her Mimic’s storage as she prepared to head into the undead wastelands and confront Jax.