chapter 6:

Among the shattered landscape, Eliora drifted motionless with her fractured body barely distinguishable. Her skin displayed a burnt hue with deep fissures like tree bark, while split patches revealed the dying tendrils of her former plant companions. A small number of flowers emerged on her arms andshoulderss which appeared weak and vulnerable with their petals in partial decay and their stems dried out. Their efforts to safeguard her could not overcome the extensive injuries that had been inflicted.

The most distressing sight came from the golden lifeblood that drifted as shimmering stars through the vacuum from her wounds. Each drop of this vital substance emerged from her body through the injuries in her torso and legs and throat to carry the final traces of her life force.

Vitalis tried to grasp her, but his hand only reached her broken body. The void consumed the strangled noise, which combined both sobs and screams from his throat. Her once peaceful expression became unrecognizable due to severe burns across her fa,ce while her lips showed signs of calling out for him during her final moments.

"ELIORA." He shouted once again

He rushed to her, cradling her body in his arms. Tears began forming in his eyes, but he refused to cry. 

Suddenly her chest heaved, and her eyes opened weakly. Turning to face Vitalis. She lifted her hand, gently cupping his face, she looked into his eyes, a gentle smile creeping up on her face. A line of golden blood drifted to the side.

"vI..ta….liss…" She said weakly. 

Vitallis, seeing this took surrounded her with his mana, putting her in his subspace, preserving her. He would finish this battle and tend to her injuries.

The silver figure stared at this. It hadn't stayed idle, it had refreshed its ammunition, that series of attacks had nearly drained it of all its weaponryy, and caused the ship's anti-matter drives to dangerously heat up. Now it was restocked, its chances of victory assured. Without the healer, this battle would be an easy win.

Vitalis grabbed onto his halberd once more, now tighter than ever. It had seen the destruction this foreign enemy was capable of without mana; he couldn't let it get to Valtheer. He pointed his halberd at the figure and rushed instantly instantly clearing half the distance, quickly closing the rest.

But the silver figure was prepared. 

Millions of tiny mines the size of marbles were released in a ring around the ship. Vitalis paid them no mind, something that small couldn't harm him, he thought, but he was so wrong.

Their cores activated in sequence before releasing a crimson glow that spread through the space. The power between them surged to form a lethal network that linked every mine into a single dangerous electrical system. The final result was a dynamic ring of lightning that produced dangerous electrical waves directed toward a central location known as Vitalis.

His central position trapped him,s so he experienced violent spasms while 460 billion kilowatts of electrical power burned through his body. The entire system vibrated with intense pain signals. His muscles became completely rigid while the armor surrounding him transformed into a white-hot pain source. The current prevented him from making any movement to resist it, which turned his entire body into a conductor for the destructive force.

The figure began its attack.

The weapon started its operations when its magnetic coils charged through a low-pitched humming sound. The barrel of the weapon made small movements to position itself against Vitalis' immobile body. 

The railgun was fired

A 5,000-ton tungsten projectile reached relativistic velocities before launching toward the target. The space environment offered no auditory cues because only the silent force of a projectile designed for battleship destruction existed. The projectile reached its target without any delay.

Vitalis's eyes shut tight.

Impact

The pure kinetic explosion generated a destructive white-hot annihilation that vaporized the lightning ring instantly. The mines in the area transformed into melted slag as the remnants dispersed throughout space. The ship's shields activated instantly, the power of that attack to great, the escort ship wasn't made to handle such a weapon.

The silver figure ignored the warning message immediately. The situation did not create any reason for alarm.

The extreme levels of destruction made it impossible for any organic lifeform to endure the incident.

Suddenly, an alarm rang

< Unidentified bio-forms detected.>