Terminal Defense (2)

A golem split into two vertical halves, separating as they fell to the ground. I watched another peel apart, lifeless after my air slices. Several more hovered around me, hesitating now that being shackled by gravity didn’t mean that my attacks couldn’t reach them.

Two more swings of my knives formed white blades that sliced through the air before passing through their intended targets, a silent impact. It was like a gust had blown right through them. But then, the golems split apart like the ones before them.

Projections of mana into ranged attacks were no longer any trouble for me. Though I didn’t need a chef knife to do the trick, it felt strange not holding one. No one would question how a king fought anyway, as the aura I gave off in battle hardly gave foes time to ponder such quirks.

Having demolished another set in an instant, my eyes turned upwards at some ash falling from above. My eyes widened as I saw a phoenix glide through the air, burning the golems to a crisp. Within the fiery bird was a single girl, the powerful Fire magic that she emitted turning her into a mythical beast. Eryn was every bit as fierce in battle as I remembered. Only now, I could enjoy seeing that power as an ally.

With ease, she glided down and extinguished the flames, giving me a nod. The two of us were in charge of the western district, guarding the terminal that held many secrets. We couldn’t let it be destroyed before we had the chance to figure out everything.

Ruins in the middle of nowhere, Electi and Masters gathered, and some daunting enemy – I couldn’t help but wonder if this was where we met our doom in my dream. The destruction I recalled in my dream hadn’t befallen the surrounding area, so likely, a future where we failed tickled my senses. Because of that, I would do everything to prevent it.

“Change the world,” the voice in the dream said to me.

If what we had now wasn’t enough to upheave everything that went against us, then I didn’t know what would. Still, we wanted answers.

The fact that Electi were raised to be heroes in hidden communities created by the Divine Beings, rather than summoned from other worlds – that alone shook up the foundation of what we knew. We were never isekaied. We had always been residents of this world.

But the question was, ‘Why?’

Why did the Gods need to devise such a process? Artificially creating heroes to be summoned seemed strange already. The efforts to establish fake cities to raise them, guide them, and prepare them – in a community full of people that we thought were real – my heart didn’t want to believe it.

My mom and dad, people I cherished deeply in my heart, who made me who I was – seeing them as illusions hurt very much.

But at the same time, I had gone through much in this world already, surprised time and time again.

“You okay, Claude? The next wave is coming.”

Eryn reached out and touched my hand. A simple gesture it was, but even that was enough to remind me that I had a lot to fight for. The past wouldn’t bring me down. It could throw as many what-ifs as it wanted at me. I knew what to do, and the others did as well.

“Just pondering a bit. Hoping that this isn’t the bad end that I’ve been dreaming about.”

I received a hard poke to the face. My eyes darted to an annoyed Eryn who pouted cutely.

“That’s bad luck, you know. Isn’t this one of those ‘flags’ that you talk about that’s a no-no?”

“I see that you pay attention to my drivel sometimes,” I said with a smile.

Her finger left my cheek, and Eryn looked toward the distance where our fight continued.

“You mean everything to me. That much I know for sure. When I consider that, even the dullest of things from you seem tolerable. It seems like a small price to pay to see you truly happy.”

“I appreciate it, but you should look after yourself in the same way.”

Eryn placed a hand on my shoulder, and then, a large amount of mana transferred from me to her. Enough to replenish all that she had consumed so far in her attacks.

“I hardly need to be reminded of that, Claude. I can feel this no matter how far apart we are. So, let’s fight and rid the doubts that you hold.”

The two of us leapt forward together, just as the next set of flying golems arrived on the scene. A flurry of deadly wind and scorching flames obliterated those that tried to approach. We had virtually no issue with these enemies as they appeared to be as strong as the ones I encountered on the Divine Isles.

“I wish these stupid things would just come at us all at once! I’m tired of picking them off in waves!”

“Eryn! Didn’t you just poke me about a ‘death flag’? Why do you have to jinx us?”

“Aren’t you tired of killing mobs? I just want the mastermind to come out already and be done with it!”

Certainly, I was expecting something like that as well. The enemies here were too easy. Everyone had checked in to say that they had no issues taking down their waves. Even Koujiro, who had gone off to the eastern district alone, remained every bit as cheery.

“Why did that doofus insist on going alone?” Eryn asked suddenly.

“Because… he has a mobile suit?”

“You mean, the one that I destroyed?”

“Upgraded but yeah. Also, he won’t be alone for long. Katalina already contacted them.”

“Who?”

“Who else? His harem of fellow mobile suits.”

I pointed upward, where a set of seven dots shone as they streaked across the sky.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Koujiro was a man that impressed his opinion onto others. Everyone had gotten used to it. It was simply how he did things. So when he suggested building not just one, but an entire fleet of mobile suits to boost Macali’s military defense, people went along with it.

After all, it wasn’t the worst idea from him. And his wives agreed that piloting a large robot wasn’t merely a boy’s dreamy fantasy. There were plenty of technicians in Macali working on augmented fighting with magical machinery. Koujiro’s idea was simply larger than normal, but it held a uniqueness that only the Electi of Proficiency could pull off.

Several beams struck Koujiro’s machine, Raiden, but he made signature poses of his favorite characters as the attacks merely bounced off the white glow around it before striking the landscape. The resulting explosions added a bit of flair to his presence. Something that he proudly nodded as the Champion’s Cowl ability protected not only him, but whatever he rode upon.

Feeling the euphoria of being all-powerful, Koujiro brandished a giant sword and cleaved a golem in half, continuing to ignore the beams that pounded against his back. They were nothing compared to the strikes that Eryn Faulkner did to him before. And with the design upgraded and made more resilient, he could barely feel a thing inside. At worst, it was like an arcade game where the chair moved side to side to add more impact.

But after two waves of enemies had been slain by a man who flagrantly danced around without a care, his intercom buzzed right at his ear.

“What part of protecting the city did you not understand? You dolt!”

“Ouch, Liruru… I’m in a big freaking machine. There’s bound to be collateral damage anyway!”

“Isn’t it your home?”

Koujiro looked around, the buildings having been destroyed in the area where he fought. Tokyo was a fragile city, as expected of it being constantly demolished in Godzilla films and what not. He looked up to the sky where his wives had arrived on the scene with their respective mobile suits.

“It’s fiiiine! There’s nothing here but offices and stuff for this district. I guess Disneyland is too, but I never cared one bit to go. Besides… home is with you gals!”

Koujiro waved toward the approaching mechs, completely ignoring the few golems hovering around him. Thinking that they would join in the fight, he saved a couple of foes for them to test out their new gear. But instead of breaking out of formation, a set of seven metal legs came crashing down upon him.

“That still doesn’t make it okay.”

“It’s a relic of the past!”

“Show your respect!”

Seven voices simultaneously admonished him, as Raiden crashed straight into the ground. His Champion Cowl wasn’t strong enough to overcome a combined hit from his wives. With him being benched for the moment, Liruru and the others brandished their weapon of choice, getting to work on beating the golems with minimal added damage.

Meanwhile, Koujiro shook his head from the sudden impact. His machine was lying on its back, embedded in the asphalt. He watched as his wives nimbly dodged the golem’s attacks and delivered coordinated strikes of their own.

As they didn’t possess any kind of Electi blessing, it was their natural combat ability that led the way. Each strike was far weaker than Koujiro’s, but more focused and deliberate. It wore down the golems, chipping at their health until it finally expired.

Koujiro’s communicator suddenly rang, which he answered.

“Katalina told me to tell you that she saw that. And you deserved that ass kicking just now.” The voice of Claude chuckled at his situation.

“Can you blame me? I just had a little bit too much fun with the revived Raiden here.”

“And that results in you getting tossed to the curb while the girls clean up after you.”

“Yep, gotta love them though. They certainly know how to wear down an opponent much tougher than them.”

An awkward moment of silence followed to which Koujiro felt like making another joke, but Claude suddenly beat him to it.

“I guess they had enough experience of that with you.”

“You forgot, ‘in bed’,” Koujiro said smugly.

Another awkward silence ensued.

“You know… your comms are set to public…”

“WAIT, WHAT?”

The communicator shut off at that moment, Claude not waiting to see the results of the snafu.

Koujiro saw the shadows of a few mobile suits converge around him. If he could see the pilots riding them, he was sure that they wouldn’t be thrilled.

“Dear… don’t make us castrate Raiden,” Liruru pointed her spear right at the machine’s crotch.

Despite it being only his machine that they threatened, a chill went down his back, nonetheless. The girls were the true rulers of Macali, with Koujiro as the muscle that posed as king. Even the recent years hadn’t changed him too far from that role. But he was happy with it. The harem life that he wished for was at a balance, despite how easily things seemed to tip one way or the other.

A hand was extended to him, and then, others joined as well. He allowed them to help him back onto his feet. Their expressions had noticeably softened, even though all he could see were shiny metal frames.

“Just, follow our lead, okay?” Liruru said.

“Alright, Big Boss. That’s why you are so named.”

“Snake, Gray Fox, make sure he stays on task.”

“Yes, Big Boss!” The two mechs next to him chirped.

Koujiro chuckled as Liruru’s Big Boss dashed away to bash her spear against something that truly needed it.

“Yep, gotta love them,” Koujiro whispered.

Even when chained down by his wives and ordered to behave, he could still do things like this. He would enjoy all of life’s little pleasures and accept how things rarely went his way. After all, this was what life with a family meant. And Koujiro was living his fullest – not just for himself, but for all those who extended a hand to him.

“Alright! The Kou train is coming for all you golems!”

“Easy there, King. Save a bit of yourself for the rest of us.”

Relia, piloting ‘Snake’, could only bring a hand up to chuckle at Lailah’s comment.