ACT 1 - Chapter 9

Return of the machine.

Oda Nobunaga stood up from his cushion and drew the blade on his waist, pointing it towards the attackers that had forced their way past his guards and into his personal chambers. The intruders all looked like walking sets of armor, though the armour did not look like it belonged in his lands, or those far to the west. It was strangely generic, but the being's eyes glowed an unearthly red. "If you brutes forced your way past here through my front door, I can only assume you are here to die, what say you?

None of the three beings said anything but instead raised their sword wielding arms and readied themselves for combat.

"Then silent death it is!" Oda Nobunaga roared as he stepped forward toward the nearest being. It swung its blade down toward him, but such a sloppy move would never hit him, and he dodged it easily. His blade soared though the being's neck, dropping its head to the ground. Before the other two can act Nobunaga stepped toward them and swung his blade once for each, dropping another head off of one, and cutting the third's torso off its legs.

Looking around Nobunaga made sure that no other surprises await him, then picked up the bodiless head of one of the beings and shook it, expecting a head to fall from the helmet. It didn't. He shook it again, and this time looked for blood. Finding none, he tipped the helmet and looked inside, finding only metal and strange wires like bowstrings. "What manner of sorcery is this?" he muttered to himself as he dropped the head and walked over to his armour closet, opening it to allow the light to shine on his prized armour.

Setting his sword respectfully aside, but near enough to grab if anyone neared, he carefully took his armour and donned it. It had been almost a year since he has had to don his armour, or unsheathe his blade. All of Nippon, from the great ocean to the east, to the great mountains to the west, to the jungles of the south, and to the steppes of the north, all was his kingdom, all was Nippon. He had conquered the land, unified its peoples, and established a single government ruled by him and those he trusted. Under his rule since, the land had prospered and grown strong. And now his castle appeared to be under attack by strangely unearthly assailants. Something had to be done, he had to stop this.

Now fully armored Nobunaga picked up his blade and left his room, finding no assailants inside of the castle as he left exited though main doors into the courtyard. In the courtyard stood a small squad of his finest men armed to the teeth, and in their center was his greatest General and most respected friend, Shibata Katsuie. Covered in thick dark green scale mail armour and wielding his great green spear he looked exactly like the name he had earned in battled years ago, the mountain Oni. With a great swing of his spear he sundered the armoured bodies of his assailants, sending pieces of their bloodless forms into many others and knocking them down in the process. One armoured being leapt through the air toward him, its sword high in the air with the intent to strike him down, but Katsuie knew of that foe, and plucked it out of the air with his free hand, throwing him down to the ground, sundering its existence as easily as a man swatted at a fly. He was truly an Oni on the field of battle.

"I see our time of peace has not yet lessened your skills, Shibata!" Nobunaga said with a loud laugh as he jumped down the stairs and kicked one of the armoured beings, crushing its head under his boot before swinging his arm and killing three of them at once.

Shibata looked to Nobunaga and nodded silently, swinging his spear and impaling one being before throwing its body at another. "Yes. I am sorry I allowed three of them past me, I beg your forgiveness, my lord."

"Forgiveness is not necessary. It looks like you have been busy, and three beings with such weak skill would never fell me. Where are they coming from though?" Nobunaga asked as he looked up to see dozens of plumes of smoke lifting up from the city below his castle, telling him the entire city was likely under siege.

"I am sorry but I do not know. I was in the middle of training the guard's not on shift when these strange metal things burst through the main gate, one of them holding the head of the guard captain. More of them keep appearing as well, through the gate as well as over the walls. Their blades are flimsy and their motions easy to catch, but their movements themselves are fast, only our best are holding out."

Nobunaga nodded and thrust his sword behind himself, impaling the torso of a being before ripping his blade from it and beheading another. Looking around, the number of armoured being inside of the courtyard seemed to be dwindling, allowing Nobunaga to walk aside Shibata and motion for him to follow. Stepping into the main gates they found the city below them in frightful flames, hundreds, if not thousands of the armoured being running around, killing at random, and far off in the distance, they could see columns of the being running towards outlying towns and cities. What seemed the most terrifying though was the monstrosity in the middle of the city. A being seemingly made of metal with no visible head, it was as large as a three story building, and its arms seemed to belch blue jets of flame that destroyed all they touched. The monstrosity was held up on four massive legs, and upon its chest was an insignia or drawing of what could only be some sort of skull or face, completely pale blue.

"Shibata." Nobunaga said, his voice strangely calm, yet filled with worry and dread.

"Yes, my lord?" Shibata replied as he watched the monstrosity below them set more building on fire, then grab and crush a merchant in its massive hand.

"Have the gods forsaken our great land. Has Amaterasu declared our end?

"I do not know, my lord. I have never met the gods, and if I did I don't think I would notice, nor would they notice one such as myself."

Nobunaga let out a quick and hearty laugh and then looked at Shibata, his eyes like steel and his face a hard as stone. "I do not know what those things are, nor do I know their goals, but it is clear they are heading elsewhere as well. I will clear my city with my own hands, but I want you to do something for me, something extremely important."

Shibata hefted his spear and smiled, "Merely name it, my lord, and I shall sunder heaven and the underworld both if I must!"

"More important than my life is that the Oda continue, and more important than this land, I wish my Sister Nona to be safe. She should have just returned to our territory from the first negations with those elves. I ask you to find her, and keep her safe, no matter what."

Shibata looked at Nobunaga for a moment and nodded carefully. If there was one thing he had learned in his service to the Oda, it was that his sister Nona was more important to Nobunaga than anything else In the world, even his own pride, honor or life. "Of course, my lord. I shall make sure she is safe and keep her safe."

"Please do. I do not know how strong that monstrosity is, but I believe it leads these other things. I will challenge it and fell it. And if I cannot, lead Nona to safety eternal." Nobunaga stated as he ran down the stairs and into the city square where the metal monstrosity stood, burning all around it. "Monstrosity of metal, I am Oda Nobunaga, ruler of this city and land. You must have a death wish to challenge my power so openly. If you can speak, do so now that I may know the name of what I am to kill!"

The massive monstrosity turns to Nobunaga, its four large metal legs crashing to the ground heavily with each step as it turns its entire body. After looking at him for a moment the skull logo on its chest seems to disappear, and a red, almost ghostly and skeletal face appears in its place, moving as if it was a live being somehow on the monstrositie's chest.

"Oda Nobunaga!" the strange red face said with a laugh, its voice eerie and artificial, "your name is one that I know, and I know much! You live without being killed by your own and shall die by my hand instead. Oh, such a wonderful idea!"

"What, what are you, creature?" Nobunaga demanded, readying his blade as he noticed dozens of the humanoid beings gathering on nearby rooftops, yet not attacking like before.

The being's face laughed again, seeming impossibly human, and yet horrifically not as it did. "I am the Computer Assisted Biologically Augmented Lifeform, I am CABAL! With this Core Reaper I am reborn with the knowledge of this new and tainted world, and with it, I shall bring about a new age of perfection!"

"You seek to usurp the gods will? I shall strike you down in their place! Prepare yourself, monster!" Nobunaga roared as he ran up to Cabal's body, and swung his blade at its nearest leg. His blade dug into the metal plate, but did not cut through and before he could pull away the leg flicked out, sending him flying into a nearby building with a heavy crack.

"Hahahaha. Such is human imperfection. Humanity is at an evolutionary dead end, and that can only be rectified by having humanity serve a new purpose, disposable labor for the new world order. My order!"

Nobunaga pulled himself out of the indented wall, noticing small sections of his armour fall off in chips. Not giving up he let out a roar and ran to the side, quickly rushing up a nearby overturned cart onto the roof of a house. With the height advantage Nobunaga leapt off of the roof and landed on the top of CABAL's nearest leg, then ran up to its main body and began slashing with his sword.

CABAL could not strike where Nobunaga was, but the armored body of his Core Reaper was far too tough to be cut by a measly sword. Grabbing one of his automated soldiers off a nearby roof he threw it toward his own body, and the soldier tackled Nobunaga onto the ground. "Did you really think such a simple idea would work on one such as I? Though I suppose you cannot truly fathom what you fight." CABAL said with a chuckle as he turned to Nobunaga.

"Anything can work with enough will and strength!" Nobunaga said as he threw the damaged minion off of himself and stood up, shaking his now battered and useless helmet off of his head and onto the ground. "If the bird will not sing I will kill it, and if you will not die, I will make you!"

"Just as history makes you out to be, you are quite the reckless and violent one aren't you, Nobunaga the fool!"

"I am no fool. I am the Lord of Nippon, the man who has defeated every foe that has come his way. I have brought unity to Nippon, and will do so to the rest of the world so that peace reigns supreme!" Nobunaga yelled as he ran toward CABAL again.

"Just as expected," CABAL said as his entire torso turned at high speed, allowing him to sweep his arm across the ground and snatch Nobunaga up into his iron grip. "Your skills are impressive, but against one such as I, they mean nothing."

"You damn monstrosity, release me at once and fight me as a warrior!" Nobunaga demanded as he squirmed in CABAL's grip, slamming the edge of his blade against CABALS arm with his free hand, hoping to damage something, any part of him and gain freedom from CABAL's grasp.

Cabal held Nobunaga and looked him over as he squirmed, quickly becoming bored with him. "The history of both worlds shall know you as the fool, and I have no need for fools!" Before Nobunaga could say anything the Black Obelisk Lasers built into the Core Reapers hands opened fire on him, heating its own fingers to the point of glowing orange, and disintegrating Nobunaga's body completely.

Shibata Katsuie could not believe what had just happened before him, but he had no choice to. His lord had been killed before is eyes, and he could do nothing about it. But he had his final orders, and he was going to see them through, no matter what. As he prepared to run down the stairs and past the monster called CABAL he noticed a glint in the dirt below it, Nobunaga's sword, somehow untouched and whole. If his Lord's weapon still existed, it was his duty to return it to Nona as well.

Rushing down the stairs Shibata ripped a spear out of the nearby ground with his free hand and hefted it, throwing it towards CABAL. The spear flew true and struck CABAL's far shoulder, causing him to turn in that direction, away from Shibata for a moment. And a moment was all he needed.

With speed surpassed by barely a handful he reached Nobunaga's sword and snatch it up, while simultaneously swinging his spear at one of Cabal's legs. With his massive strength the spear's tip broke through the metal on the legs joint and tore its way through. He hadn't hit the joint head on, but the damage he did do to it was sure to cripple its movement.

Rushing forward he dashed into an alley, swinging his spear in broad arcs whenever a metal minion neared him so he would not have to slow down. He had his orders, and he would fulfill them. As he ran through the city he heard CABALs voice ring out, as if amplified by everything around him.

"Your skill and power are impressive, but humanities time is through! My forces will sweep across the world and turn all to the perfection of steel. The time of the machine has come!"

End of ACT 1

Authors note: yes that happened, and yes a CABAL is inhabiting a body that is a cross between a Cyborg reaper and a core defender, shudder to imagine one fighting a hexapod.

And yes this is the end of the first act, but things are just getting started, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Till the next one!