As I flew around punching and kicking Honkai around, I thought to myself 'Am I really doing this'.
Of course the only answer was Fucking yes.
I always imagined what having a Rider suit, a real one, would feel. The power? The speed? The sheer amount of damage they can do? Yeah it is all that and so much more. And this is just the prototype. Holy crap, just how good are the main riders that all this power doesn't get to their heads?
Another Chariot got near me, so jumped and dropkicked it in its 'head'. The thing began dissolving and the little droplets went to the collar around my neck.
[ZEA Notification: Power at 12% for minimum threshold activation.]
This. Turns out that the S2 engine I had put into my build had spent all its energy into shielding both me and the surroundings from the landing. That's why it was on empty and only got me the Cycloneriser. Also why this world isn't bathed in firestorms from the impact that should have killed the world twice over if what Zea tells me its accurate.
Okay, so, these two. Where to begin?
[ARK Proposal: Route for maximum efficiency in threat elimination]
[ZEA Proposal: Route for maximum efficiency in energy recovery]
Even if the stuff that drove Ark crazy in the show is replaced with something else, it was one hell of a bloodthirsty AI. Zea was more concerned about 'our' safety, but her suggestions nonetheless were also quite good at destroying Honkai around us.
Ark somehow still had Soreo Hiden's combat data from his time as Ichigata, so part of the destruction we were causing on the horde was recorded data, another part were there calculations provided by the two AI currently sharing my noggin, and the unfortunately smallest part were my suit piloting skills.
Turns out jumping from a mostly sedentary life to performing high speed maneuvers and anime style fighting is murder on the joints. But I was slowly getting better at toku-style fighting. And the Honkai around me sure as hell didn't appreciate it.
Another undead got its brains punched out of its head, what once might have been a beautiful face got turned into paste and then became more motes of Honkai energy.
As long as there were enemies around, I could get energy to fuel progress on getting better weapons and finding out where in the world I am.
The city seems promising, and I heard distant gunfire, but that was hours ago and these things. Just. Keep. Coming.
Another Jumped to try and turn me into paste, I met it in mid air and made my boot violently make its face meet the ground.
What once was a flat deadland with a curious crater inside a crate was not littered with smaller holes where the energy from rider kicking or punching these things into oblivion went. And I hadn't even used a finisher yet!
Huh seems like they're retreating… back into the city? Suddenly there is louder gunfire and I swear I hear mortars or even tanks.
Ah shit, must have finally figured out that I'm too mush trouble and went back to killing squishy humans.
Fuck that.
[ZEA Notification: Energy threshold reached. Attache-Series Weaponry available for construction]
[ARK Notification: Mass Production Shotriser available for construction]
[ZEA Notification: Progrise key Available for Construction]
Finally! Just don't use my eyes to print them this time!
Pvt. Tyler was a wreck, no way around it. The thunderstorm had been raging for three days and just as many he'd found himself holding the line against former inhabitants of this blasted city and monsters that didn't have the decency of getting killed when shot. Nagazora burned from the lightning strikes that were powerful enough that they left craters where they hit. Unfortunately, that would be wherever humans got too close together and tended to result in either casualties or more zombies rising.
Or both. Mostly both.
Of all the time to no have taken those unused vacation days!
The legions of the undead and the occasional monster kept coming until a few hours ago, when they had seemingly stopped any major incursion and allowed for some supplies to get in and a much needed break for the soldiers guarding the shelter entrances or the decoy targets.
Tyler was grateful that he didn't get assigned to a shelter garrison, since at least the decoy targets had more artillery support when the storm lulled a bit. So now after finally getting some Z's back on him courtesy of military narcotics and a full 3-piece meal, he was back on his little lookout spot on the third floor of what probably was once an apartment building.
He probably had killed the former residents on the way up. His team, Watchpoint-2 now had the dubious honor of being an early warning system in case the horde came back for a second round.
Looking down his scope, he looked at the corpses that had begun arriving from the city outskirts, whatever had held them up probably gave up the ghost after giving them enough time to rearm and redeploy.
He prayed those poor fuckers had saved at least one bullet for themselves. No one should die by the way of becoming chow for a dozen corpses.
The undead crowd had begun shambling back into his sights until the turned and began their trek in the opposite direction. Away from them. Huh, guess someone else picked up the slack on the decoy protection?
His jaw dropped as he saw what had caught the attention of corpses.
It looked like a man, covered in bluish armor, currently zipping around the horde blasting n' slicing its way through. A sword and a handgun somehow were taking down monsters that took tank shells like champs and more corpses lay truly dead on its path that he though he'd seen in the last days.
Just what the hell was going on?