Instability
If only there was enough light, she would have been able to see the color drain from their miserable faces.
Static churned in the air. At first, it was barely noticeable, but it quickly grew into an overwhelming force. It felt like lightning was about to strike, yet the power in the air continued to grow.
[ Requirements met ]
[ Beginning Greppen system expansion ]
The glowing sword held by the machine began to crackle as arcs of mana jumped from the blade like electricity. Some of the arcs lept to the ground, causing flames to immediately dance from dried leaves. The machine took a menacing step forwards.
One word surfaced in the woman's exhausted mind: Danger
The machine seemed to be defending her, but the way it approached the men gave her chills and made her want to run, yet she couldn't take her eyes away. The five men reacted in different ways. The first one immediately turned around and ran while two opened fire. Sparks flew as metallic bullets bounced off the armor, rebounding in all directions. The machine ignored the gunmen and drew a sleek throwing knife with it's free hand. It then lifted its arm high over its head and in one motion, employed its whole body to transfer maximum momentum to the knife.
The blade soared through the air at incredible speeds, turning in a half spin. The two men who opened fire flinched in response to the knife and tried to shield their faces with their guns, but the knife wasn't aimed at either of them. It shot past them and sunk through the lower back of the first man who ran away.
Crack!
The blade shot through his spine and burst out from his stomach, running the man all the way through. The first man collapsed with a horrible scream. He was effectively paralyzed and would soon bleed out.
One of the two shooters turned to see the first man's condition.
Zzpuff!
Turning back, he caught a glimpse of his second companion falling to the ground in two pieces. Before he could make sense of what had happened to the second man, a mechanical hand closed around his neck with a python's grip. The machine lifted the man by the neck and viciously threw him with one arm. The man's neck was probably already broken from the machine's grip alone, but if he survived that, he certainly didn't survive the following impact. His body was crushed against a tree head-first.
Three down.
The machine slowly turned its head towards the last two. They were currently running away in a panic, horror strewn across their faces as they stumbled over the forest floor. The lights in the machine's eyes crackled. It seemed the mana within was trying to burst from its mechanical prison. The machine wore no expression, yet the eyes exuded pure hatred.
You dare to run from me?
[ WARNING ]
[ Mental state: Extreme ]
Ignoring the warning, Cayce took aim with his modified Lancelot magi-rifle. Five unstable, glowing rings ignited along the length of the machine's rifle, illuminating the dark surroundings and casting sporadic shadows about the armor. The rifle's mana rings were normally smooth and composed, but this time, the rings were made of jagged lines that rapidly shifted in a way that made them look like electricity.
The surrounding shadows appeared to be demons dancing around the machine as the rifle's mana rings grew even more chaotic.
Bang!! Bang!!
Static and heat surged through the air as two projectiles of raw power shot forward from the rifle, one shortly after the other. The projectiles screamed through the air and tore into their targets in a manner that made them seem to be ripping out the very souls of their victims.
Silence then claimed it's place in the forest and not even the crickets made any sound. The only sound Cayce could hear was his own breathing and the alarm that accompanied the warning he had yet to clear from his HUD. The last two men each laid face-down in the dirt, smoke rising from jagged, gaping holes in their torsos.
The machine stood motionless as Cayce stared at the flashing warning on his visor.
[ WARNING ]
[ Mental state: Extreme ]
His mind trembled with fury. These men are the scum of the Earth. They're irredeemable, unforgivable, wretched scum who deserve to be eradicated from the very plane of existence! If people like these didn't exist, my family...
Thunder rumbled in the distance as mana crackled uncontrolledly about the machine's surface.
"... I need to control my emotions."
The machine stood there in silence as the mana's crackling subsided and rain began to fall.
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A young boy sat anxiously by the window as rain fell from the sky in heavy sheets. His mother went out yesterday to visit a market in the next town over and she had yet to come back. She was only supposed to be away for a few hours. What happened to her?
As the boy stared out the window, two faint lights gradually appeared in the distance. The movement made his eyes widen.
"... what is that?"
The rain was too heavy for him to see clearly. He focused his eyes on the gently bobbing lights, trying to make sense of them. As they came closer, a large, humanoid silhouette formed around them... Those glowing lights were eyes.
Realization set in and the boy ducked below the window. It's one of those war machines! What is it doing here?!
The boy remained hidden under the window sill. He didn't dare even peek. His heart pounded in his chest and he began to sweat, fearing the machine might come to his home. One of those machines could wipe out an entire city on its own, he wouldn't stand a chance if it came after him. He remained hidden and prayed the machine would continue past without noticing him.
Time passed slowly.
The sound of his mother's keys rattling in the door's lock awoke him from his fearful thoughts. He knew that sound well, mother had finally come home!
"Mother!"
In his excitement, the young boy shouted and ran to the door to welcome his mother home. He arrived just as it opened to see his mother's bright smile. But as the door continued to open, he also saw a hulking, black machine with grey eyes standing just behind his mother. It stood there like a monster would stand behind its prey in a horror film. The young boy's face switched from delight to frightened shock in a heartbeat. He froze at the doorway, too afraid to move.
His mother ran forward with a blissful smile to embrace her child. "William, I've missed you so much!"
The young boy, "William" as she called him, continued staring past her in shock. Was she not aware of the metallic beast standing just behind her?! This was the end for both of them!
However, the machine didn't attack, it simply stood there, watching Will's mother embrace and prattle over her child. It didn't move at all. Rain flowed down the sides of its face and dripped from the machine's chin. The metal face was expressionless, there was no way to tell what it thought.
After watching the reunited family for a moment, the machine turned and simply began to walk away. Hearing the movement, Will's mother turned around and quickly called out to the machine, "Wait!"
Will looked at his mother with disbelief. Surely mother had lost her mind! That thing was going to leave but she made it turn back to them again!! The machine's glowing eyes shone in the dark rain. It was listening.
"...Thank you for protecting me!" The woman gave a deep bow, her hands folded at her waist. William was dumbfounded. It protected mother?
The machine hesitated before giving a light nod and turning away again. William and his mother watched as it walked back into the darkness. Soon, it was enveloped by the rain and disappeared entirely.
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Cayce couldn't help but sigh in relief. The woman and her child were safe. Regrettably, he couldn't stay to protect the town in case more men came back to harass them... However, although his original target was only one man, he could do just a little more "work" to ensure this town's safety.
Lightning flashed through the sky, illuminating a dark machine as it approached the Jelena alliance research facility. Cayce wore a crooked smile as he pulled out a mana cell from an internal compartment. Yet this mana cell looked different. It was silver instead of black and it was thinner than the other cells. It was as if...
As if this mana cell had been stripped of its armor...