The Karcist and the Lord
a S.C.P. Foundation Mythos x M.G.E. crossover
Chapter 34: The Armored Fist vs Berina City Guard
1st Mekhanite Gateway Army "Armored Fist of the Broken God" composistion:
5th Colossus "Judgment.": Effigy-type Colossus. Carries a crew complement of six, plus room for twenty Militant-Litigants to defend against intrusion into the Colossus, drive out any enemy that infiltrates into the Colossus, and to perform on the spot repair during battle. Equipped with duel-wielded Sun-ray Gauntlets, Null Field generators, and a Blasting shield to clear off swarms climbing onto it. Designed to act as either long-range support platform, or close-range shock attack transport. Has single Seed Pod with which to carry ten of its Militant-litigants to perform additional combat duties not involving the Colossus.
8th Colossus "The Pyre of Mekhane.": Effigy-type Colossus. Carries a similar loadout and crew to Judgment, with exception of a liquid fire-sprayer for the right arm, and a Caestus Fist on the left. Has an additional Fire-Javelin turret on each shoulder, due to being specialized more for up close fighting and melee then Judgment.
11th Colossus "The Spear of the Broken God": Centaur-type Colossus. Carries a crew of eight, plus room for thirty Militant-Litigants for defensive purposes. Is assigned as Command-Colossus of Magos Litheria, and thus is in command amongst the Colossi. Carries a Spear of the Nucleus, a Shield of the Sun, and facilities to enact repairs on the other Colossi not possible to do on the field.
15th Colossus "The Anvil": Chimeria-type Colossus. Carries a crew of eight, plus room for fourteen Militant-Litigants for defensive purposes. Carries a similar loadout to The Forge, and also carries the facilities needed to fulfill logistical needs, such as munitions, food, and weapon stowage.
The 16th and 19th Colossi, known respectively as the "Purity" and "Vigilance" are Chimeria-type Colossi, with specializations towards carrying the main army of the "Armored Fist of the Broken God." The 6th and 7th Colossi, known respectively as "Executioner" and "Sentence" are Effigy-type which are designed in a manner to that of Judgment, with the 7th carrying an additional ten Militant-Litigants, and two Seed Pods.
Note on Colossi and their crew: When in battle, the crew will link their minds together with their Colossus, making them able to react faster and with one accord, allowing the crew to avoid conflicts arising with each other during battle. This also, for reasons unknown, has the side effect of a Colossus developing a mind of their own, and such Colossi are considered blessed by Mekhane, as they can perform their missions without the crew and Militant-Litigants inside them. This is rarely done however, as this often leaves it vulnerable to infiltration and repairs cannot be done on the field if it is damaged.
"High-Threat Target terminated, scanning for additional Threat Targets..." The 5th Colossus marched through the street, its eyes peering at the formation of Mamono that were in a shield wall. It pointed a finger at the wall, then firing one of its bolts into the formation, which exploded into dust as the Colossus moved on. "No Threats to Colossus detected. Continue with search and purge of The Flesh. Hail the Broken God Mekhane."
"Hail the Broken God!" the other Colossi responded, being connected in thought to allow coordination with each other, which was how the 5th and 8th Colossi were able to defeat one of the defender that managed to hold their ground against the 5th as it marched towards the center building, until The Pyre was able to ambush him with its fire cannon to terminate him. The two Colossi were currently moving to the large fortress that was sighted in the center of the city, with the 5th leading. From the right, the 8th could be seen drawing the attention of the Mamono defenders by pouring its liquid flames on the buildings around it, angling the areas it burned so that the smoke was blown by the wind to cover the 5th as it approached. When it got to the wall, the 5th Colossus was immediately attacked by a hail of spells and artillery from the Mamono who stayed behind, however the force field combined with the smoke screen meant no damage was done, as the projectiles fired at it either missed or blocked by the shield.
"One of them is coming to the castle! Get the Queen and children out of here!" One of the Mamono cried out, not realizing that Judgment was able to hear her even from the distance it was at. Immediately it reported to the other Colossi in the city.
"High-Value Targets identified as 'Queen and Children' being escorted out of the battlefield. Pursue and Destroy?" after a second passed, the 11th Colossus, known as The Spear replied, while the signature green light of it destroying something could be seen in the background amidst the smoke as Judgment finally came out of it within melee range of the wall.
"Negative. Your priority is acquiring any Mamono historical and informational records that are in the center of governance, and compare with the Void Seraphims memories for accuracy of our knowledge of this world. If confirmation of High-Value Target is confirmed, Mark and designate where it is moving..." The Spear said. It was assigned to be in charge of the invasion, due to its success in the field and for the quick thinking the Magos demonstrated multiple times in fighting The Flesh on Earth. "Another Colossus will be given the role of termination duty." The Spear said, as the 5th drew its arm and swept through the top of the castle wall. The Mamono and their weapons on it were then struck aside as Judgments' hand smashed threw the inferior and weak stone, sending rubble and screaming Monsters flying into the city. The 5th then punched through the wall, entering the courtyard through a cloud of dust as Executioner appeared in the background smoke, having been following behind Judgment.
The Mamono that were behind the wall could be seen running into the fortress, to which Judgment used to fire at them with its bolts of sun rays, vaporizing a number of stragglers as Sentence came up to the hole that was made. Once they saw that the Mamono had closed the door on them, the two Colossi stared at each other. Judgment then reached to touch the fortress, then was knocked back by a spell creating a repelling field around it. After examining the field, which appeared as a black and purple aura, the two Colossi reached into their chests, as they both open and pulled out a oblong shaped object, two in the case of Executioner.
**POV SHIFT**
"What are Automatons doing invading the city, and when did they get so large?!" one of the Mamono screamed. The Dark Matters that were creating the energy field to protect the inhabitants of the castle were straining, putting their all into keeping the machines outside.
It turned out to be futile when the room grew dark, and the Mamono inside turned just in time to see three bronze objects smash through the field, and crashed into the castle room, before embedding themselves into the ground on one end. The objects had lines engraved on them such that they formed arches of some kind, and when they started glowing, a number of smaller Automatons around the size of Humans wearing armor similar to the Sparthens of old came out of the objects in three groups of ten, one of which had a bulkier and more heavily armored group. One of them looked at the Mamono.
"Flesh abominations detected. Purify this room at once." the Automatons then began their attack, wielding weapons that the Mamono never knew could exist, and did an unseen level of damage of the kind only the Cultists of Nalka and those of the Order who were turned to their sway became infamous for.
For example, A Vampire charged at one of the Automatons with a rapier, along with a Dhampir who taught her the error of her attitude towards her husband. Said Automaton pulled out a sword of its own that had multiple teeth running along with its left hand, while holding a pistol with its right, which barked as it fired multiple shots without reloading in their direction. Both Monsters blocked and dodged the shots, until the Vampire got hit in the leg from a deflected bullet by the Dhampir, who look back in shock.
Realizing her error, the Dhampir turned upon hearing a loud whirring noise, and then screamed in pain as the Automatons' sword tore into her body with its teeth, blood and gore flying out as she was cleaved in two. The Vampire let out an enraged scream, before charging at the Automaton and cleaving its sword arm off. It fell and clanged, and the Automaton staggered and tried to shield its head with its remaining arm, parts flying off from the beating it received. The Vampire then gasped, feeling something stab her, and looked down to see that a javelin was thrown and struck her in the stomach, giving her opponent the opportunity to shoot her point blank in the head, before leaning on a pillar and sitting down. An opportunistic Witch tried to sneak up on it, only to greeted with the machine hitting her in the face with its pistol, then shooting the Mamono as another Automaton with a repair kit ran over, grabbed the sword and the arm still grabbing onto it, and ran over to the scene.
Another one was wielding some kind of two handed war hammer, which it swung widely at the Monsters around it. Wherever the head struck it, a thunder clap was heard as bolts of lighting shot around the impact point. Currently an Orge was engaged in combat with it, and the two were wrestling for the hammer.
"I thought we converted you all into the Cyberarchy! How did you not get corrupted?!" the green-skinned Monster yelled.
"Flesh worshiping filth!" was all it snapped at her in response, then delivered a head butt that thudded loudly, causing the Monster to let go. As she recovered, the Automaton proceeded to smash the Mamono repeatedly, until a charred and blacked corpse was all that remained. It then saw a Lich, with a number of Skeletons, Zombies, and even Zombie Dragons who saw it beat their fellow Monster to death as they entered the room, along with a number of reinforcements. As they ran towards it. The Automaton grabbed a particularly bulky one next to it, and pointed with its hammer towards the horde. The bulky machine invader then pointed what looked like a musket that built into a device connected to a backpack, and fired out a hail of bullets, the rapid fire of lead tearing apart the Monsters before the Lich as she created a force field. Sparking and whizzing sounds could be heard, as she was frozen in place under the continuous impacts.
Soon, several of the attackers reached the Dark Matters, one of which joined the fray and began a counter-attack on the mechanical and genocidal attackers on her own. She created a number of tentacles, causing the Automatons to turn and run back before they came within range for her to grab them. One of the more bulkier ones hefted a mini-cannon of some kind on its shoulder, and she could see a little beam of light fixate onto her girl-half, before firing a missile of some kind which screamed at her while a burning fuel of some kind propelled it. The Dark Matter caught it with a tentacle and smirked at the machine. It responded by pulling out a pistol, and shot the missile, making it explode and kill her as the shrapnel and blast wave sent the physical part of her flying in pieces. Upon seeing their sister get killed, the other Dark Matters reacted with fear, as it turned the shoulder cannon on them. The Mamono then found themselves being pushed back, the Automatons overwhelming firepower turning the castle into a slaughter house, retreating deeper into the castle. Upon seeing this, one the Automatons looked around and examined the infiltration force.
"Centurian team 1, you stay here and guard the Seed Pods. Hoplite teams 1 and 2, enact search and purge procedures in the upper half of the fort. Hoplite team 3 and Centurian team 2 will take the lower half. Hoplite team 4, follow me." With their orders given, the Automatons spread out, taking multiple directions to clear out the castle.
**POV SHIFT**
as the Mekhanites in Hoplite team 1 ran up a flight of stairs, they saw a Minotaur charge from down a hallway, axe in hand as she screamed. The one was in front immediately saw her before the others.
"Incoming!" Arious, the Mekhanite whose arm had to be reattached yelled to the others, and the team parted in two just as the bovine Mamono jumped down to their part of the stairs, missing them as she smashed her axe into the ground. When she turned to attack them, the team leader, A Litigant named Demetar jumped on top of her, and wrestled with her, before tripping the Monster by hooking and pulling out one of their legs and throwing the warrior down the stairs. The Minotaur felled and rolled down, making several crashing noises before violently slamming into the wall at the bottom. When the dust cleared, she was visibly bruised and bloody, with a leg bent awkwardly. Demetar raised her fire-javelin, and shot the Mamono in the head to confirm the kill.
"Good catch. Lets move." she said, and then team of five Mekhanites continued on. After coming up and taking positions around a door, they kicked it down, to find the area was a library of some kind, but none of the Mekhanites could see there was any Mamono. So Demetar proceeded to switch to several vision types, first to heat vision, then x-ray, before going back to normal. "No Flesh abominations detected in this chamber. Move on." she ordered as the Mekhanite Hoplites filed out and move to the next room.
After some time passed, one of the Mekhanites looked back. The others stopped, since they could see it go on the alert.
"Spacial anomaly detected." he said, pointing a finger behind them. When the Mekhanites looked back, they found themselves back at the top of the stairs, and also saw there was no Minotaur. The Mekhanites, now realizing they were being affected by an illusion of some kind then form into a circle, their backs against each other. Demetar then pressed a button next to her ear, and began speaking.
"All units, report. This is Demetar of Hoplite team 1. We have been caught by a reality distortion spell. This is not a drill, we have encountered a trap or Flesh worshiper that is manipulating reality and has trapped us in the stairwell into the upper parts of the building." She said in a worried tone. after a few seconds passed, a response came as they got a response.
"Confirmed reality distortions, sending reinforcements to your position. Hold position until help arrives." at that, the Mekhanites looked at each other, before Demetar replied.
"Will do." she said, then spoke in a cold tone to the others. "Do it." they then all turned their fire-javelins on each other and fired. Then they found themselves facing outwards, in the positions they assumed upon first realizing what was happening at the bottom of the stairs. Upon hearing a gagging sound, the Mekhanites turned and saw another Dark Matter, this one holding her neck, which was leaking blood through and around her hand onto the velvet rug while she was lying sideways on it. As her Demonic Energy sphere sputtered and faded away in the air, she spoke.
"H-h-how did you s-see through my illusion, and why willingly risk destroying yourselves?" she choked out. Demetar simply raised her hand lighter.
"One, you never spoke in code. Two, we purged ourselves of emotion. Three, our own weapons can't harm us. Four, our commanders would never just throw more troops without getting proper information of the situation." then she pulled the trigger, shooting it in the head. Upon death, the Demonic Energy Sphere finally dissipated, confirming the Mamono, and thus the illusion spell cast on them died. With their problem solved, the Hoplites ran up the stairs, and continued sweeping the castle rooms.
**POV SHIFT**
"Hurry up, they're coming!" a Dark Witch named Dabiel cried out, helping escort the royal family, along with a force of the best of the army of Berina. She was working for Queen Annabelle when the Automatons appeared, and began killing the people here. Damn, first me and Hans left the swamp to not get killed by the Cult, and now Automatons are burning the city. The witch thought. When the possibility arose of flying being dangerous, the took the underground route of the city sewers, where the Bubble Slimes and other such Monster were now helping escort refugees to safety.
Currently, a trio of Goblins were trying to calm Annabelles' three Dragon daughter Erza, who was around a year old. The Queen was on her knees and crying, having felt her King die screaming in pain. Now knowing Grangerial was dead had caused some of the other Monsters to feel similar feelings, as he has rebuffed many of the Orders counter-attacks over the centuries after Berina became a Demon Realm, and actively passed laws to ensure it did not end up in a filthy mess like Lescatie due to neglect. At first the Mamono were annoyed with this, but seeing the comparison of how beautiful their home was compared to others would ensure that they followed his laws. Now the city above them was burning to the ground, while the stomping of boots attested to where the vile invaders were located.
As Annabelle finally calmed down, she stood up and leaned against the stone wall. "I am fine now." she said. "We must leave at once, and save as many as we can. And get a bath after wards." then a rapid fire banging sound could be heard somewhere, echoing in a manner that made hard to tell what direction it came from.
"The smaller Automatons that we got reports of emerging from their larger brethren must found out about the refugees! What do you we do?!" a Goblin yelled, tugging at Dabiel, skirt, while Hans simply looked down the way they came with his musket.
"Ladies, we got something." he said in a thick accent, and the Mamono paused and turned, now hearing a stomping and whirring sound from behind. A blue light could be seen at the end of the hallway. The group them went into one of the side paths of the corridor they were in. After a few seconds had passed, the blue lights swung around to where they were just now, and fear and panic caused the group to freeze. A Bubble Slime then appeared at the other path way across from theirs, and began crawling towards the light. Hans and Dabiel along with a Bapthomet named Bethane tried to wave at her not to go into it, but the Slime didn't listen, and when she came into view, the light focused on her, blinding the creature as she looked away.
"Flesh abomination detected..." the Slime girl widen her eyes in shock, before a beam of light struck her, killing it by evaporating the entire Monster right there in front of them. "..and exterminated." With that, the Automaton that killed her left, its foot steps fading away as the light turned another way. Hans left out a breath he did not know he was holding in, same as the others.
"Lets go." he mouthed. As the group left the tunnel and began moving down their intended course however, they turned upon hearing a rapid stomping, and saw a silhouette of the machine had turned the corner again, turning a lantern hanging at its hip making a blue, chilling light which caused them to run in terror.
"I found you..." it snarled, the anger and hate it gave off clear in its words, before it gave chase. A clanging sound could be heard, as the lantern banged and smacked into the mechanical monster chasing them.
"Keep going!" Bethane yelled, before stopping and summoning a dozen of so familiars in the form of Imps and Fairies. "I will hold it off!" the others kept running, knowing she was not going to give any second thoughts to her actions. She then created a set of claws made of purple Demonic Energy, and waited for the Automaton chasing to appear around the corner.
It did not immediately fire its weapon, meaning it likely has to either has a certain range it has to get within to fire. Has to wait between shots, or is limited in the number of shots it could make. I'll have to keep me distance, and wait for an opportunity to turn it in one go. The Bapthomet thought. When the stomping noises began to grow louder, she tensed up. The Imps and Fairies were also prepared, having sensed what was happening. When it came around the corner, they all shot a volley of Demonic Energy bolts, catching the Automaton in surprise. The machine man screamed as the mana they sent into it began to work on it, before it suddenly began to charged an electrical field of some kind as it grew deafening roar that echoed throughout the entire sewer complex and caused Bethane to feel vibrations on the ground.
Bethane and the others jumped back, and the Automaton somehow nullified the Demonic Energy by firing a counter blast. The entire group then looked on in shock as the blue light shone through a cloud of dust, and they realized that the machine had somehow negated the Demonic Energy.
"What?! That's not possible!" she yelled. "Nothing can resist being corrupted!" she yelled.
"Such is the purity of my soul. Now burn." it snarled, before a gout of flame flew towards Bethane, who created a barrier which blocked it. A couple of Imps then tried to swing up and over, only to be swatted aside when the machine stopped and swung an arm that smashed them both against the walls of the sewers. When they both faded away Bethane then realized that she could see its clearly as more then shadow when she rushed it. She hesitated, as what she thought was an Automaton was actually a Human, with mechanical clockwork parts somehow growing out of him and apart of him at the same time. When he looked at her, at least half his head was machine, and what skin she could see was almost pale and dead, like that of a Zombie.
"Master, look out!" A Fairy screamed, but was too late as the Human drove a knee into the stunned Bapthomets' face. She cried out from her nose breaking from the impact, then tried to scream as she suddenly felt something like a sword cut her in half, as her familiars all faded away from losing their connection with her. As Bethane tried to look up, she felt a claw of some kind that was the size of her head grab both sides, then begin crushing it. The Bapthomet tried to scream, but was unable to breathe, causing the Monster to realize her diaphragm was cut. Just as she felt the bones in her skull begin to give, the Human suddenly let go and cried out, then started to shake violently, a number of electrical devices spewing bolts of electricity. Bethane then turned, seeing a Gremlin and a Lich approach the Human. As she died on the spot, the Lich grabbed a hold of the Bapthomet, and took away both parts. The Gremlin turned and watched the two leave, then turned back to the seizing Human. As she readied the two mechanical arms on her back for battle, she snarled in anger, brushing a lock of her dark green fur out of her yellow and blue eyes.
"You little bastard. You don't deserve to-" suddenly, the Human grabbed and ejected all the parts that were malfunctioning from his body, and the Gremlin then saw the parts that were non electrical, leaving all the augments and parts that could be from that 'steampunk comic' a friend of hers started writing some time ago. As he got up, the Gremlin threw the first punch at him, which missed as it struck next to a small round object the invader tossed at her before running away.
Being a Gremlin, she knew by her races ability to know how a device works and what it does that it was a small explosive called a grenade just by touching it. Like the Human who got away from her, it was not affected by her second racial trait of making electrical technologies and magic fail and glitch out, meaning it was going to explode no matter what. It also had an adhesive that stuck it to her robot arm.
"Ah bugger me." she muttered before she turned on a personal force shield, then the grenade detonated, blowing the arm off and sending the small tinkerer flying down the tunnel and into a wall. As she got up, the Gremlin saw that a bright dot was pointing towards her, and dodged rolled as a beam of some kind melted the area she came out of. As the molten rock landed in the sewage and sent foul-smelling steam into the air, the Gremlin took off running. When she turned and saw the Human run around the corner carrying a musket of some kind, she ran toward him, dodging a second beam. After seeing he missed, the Human then ran away from her again, causing the Mamono to curse.
He's keeping his distance, now that he knows most of his weapons will be rendered useless if I get close enough. Looks like discretion is valor for now. She realized, before running back around through a side tunnel and taking the chance to disengage and link up with the refugee caravan before she gets left behind...
**POV SHIFT**
From a forest overlooking the destruction of Berina, a number of the Cultists of Nalka were watching the city burning, having been drawn to the smoke. One of them, which took on the form of a horse with a human torso and head attached to it, the horse head of which turned to look at another, who resembled a centipede with a womans face and arms instead of legs. As he spoke a Colossus could be seen, which blared out its anger and hate while firing on some unseen crowd.
"Milord Karcist, what shall we do now? We're supposed to take the city, not the Heathens of the Broken God." it said from the Human head. The Karcist twirled to look back at her servant.
"We fall back and retreat to the Kiraak. One Colossus is already cause for retreating. Fighting multiple Colossi in the same general area without any Behemoths or Leviathan support would be useless and pointless suicide." she said, crawling away along with her forces.