Grand Fortress of Gastron, Unified Simestrian nations of Aldurensia, Americia

Year: ???

7,870 years before Divine Emperor Octavio “The Unifier” Augustus established the Augustian Calendar

The Grand Fortress of Gastron. The greatest bastion built by the hands of man, a military and technological marvel forged over the course of 100 years as a bulwark against the giants of the Northreach and the Daemon Kingdom to the East, with its defenses expanded and refined by each successive generation over another 300 years.

It was built strategically in the Valley of Kings, the only path between the “Towers of the Gods”. They were an otherwise impenetrable mountain range whose snowcapped lofty peaks soared so high and into air so thin that only Dragons, the Masters of the Sky, could dream of crossing them.

A gargantuan wall forged of an amalgamation of stone reinforced with Magecite, plated in a compound of steel and mythril and interlaced with countless mana channels, spanned the entire width of the valley. Its imposing height of over 100 meters felt like nothing in the perennial shadow of the “Towers of the Gods”. Springing forth from behind the greater wall was a series of smaller walls, strategically layered to split the valley into further quadrants.

Grand avenues in perfect militaristic grids connected the layered compartments to massive towers, supporting imposing artillery cannons uniformly aimed into the killing fields beyond the walls. Countless troops and mechanized weapons of war moved rapidly through the avenues, executing various minor missions and training scenarios while dozens of engineers hustled quickly around the artillery devices, inspecting the connections and cabling, as well as the gunners’ formations and targeting inscriptions. Scattered throughout the compartments were formidable bastions, housing bunkers connecting the large giant cores to the magical grid powering the fortress. Each core itself was the size of a dozen men, a prize that was the testament to having faced and slain such an enormous and terrifying creature.

The greatest prize, however, was the lesser dragon core powering the central castle, which was the one central connection throughout the entire system. Every compartment was designed for independent operation, and in case of failure, the centralized connection enabled backup support.

*scree!* *scree!* *scree!*

ANNOUNCEMENT IN PROGRESS:

MAIN GATES PREPARING TO OPEN. ALL DUTY PERSONNEL TO SECURITY POSITIONS. MAIN GATES PREPARING TO OPEN. ALL DUTY PERSONNEL TO SECURITY POSITIONS.

*scree!* *scree!* *scree!*

MAIN GATES OPENING. COLOSSUS SUPPORT TEAMS TO YOUR POSITIONS. PROCESSING TEAMS AT THE READY! MAIN GATES OPENING. COLOSSUS SUPPORT TEAMS TO YOUR POSITIONS. PROCESSING TEAMS AT THE READY!

*scree!* *scree!* *scree!*

END OF ANNOUNCEMENT. RESUME NORMAL DUTIES.

The centerpiece of the grand wall and the sole entry into Gastron from the other side of the valley, a titanic solid gate built out of compounded magisteel, Magicite and adamantium that spanned the entire height of the wall. It would arguably be easier to punch through the 20m thick reinforced stone walls than to break through this gate.

Magical energy surged and pulsed through the mana channels cut into the walls and focused on the gate, which slowly groaned and creaked as the massive doors opened outward.

*Thoom**Thoom**Thoom*

The earth shook slightly and the air reverberated through the chests of the onlookers in an even thumping pattern, much as the bass of a heavy drumbeat does during a concert. In perfect step, the Colossus squad marched into the fortress through the gates. Lead first by a dozen horsemen clad in heavy armor, followed by 4 stone colossi in the front and rear standing an easy 55m tall. At the “head” of the Colossi was a relatively open platform filled with magic inscriptions and 3 smaller circles, at the center of each of them was a single man in specialized form-fitting gear covered in further magic inscriptions.

In the center of the formation was the pride of the Colossus squad, the Kyodai Ryōshi, the “Giant Hunter”, standing an impressive 80m tall, its frame nearly filling the full width of the gate. All of the Colossi were covered with enormous amounts of blue blood and chunks of indiscernible viscera. Unlike the other Colossi, the Kyodai Ryōshi was forged from Magisteel and an assortment of other metal compounds, and it included a variety of improved weapons and a vastly improved and reinforced “head” housing the pilots. In tow behind them was a long supply train, carrying an assortment of various monster and giant parts, with the large mana cores of the giants glinting and gleaming in the sunlight.

“Hohoho, no matter how many times I see it, the sight of the Kesseki’s returning always fills me with a sense of awe. Especially now, with our newly developed giant hunters, we may finally be seeing the dawn of the age of man! Just look at the scale of the haul they brought back with them this time! What do you think, Johannsen?”

A large old man with a thick grey beard, and a sharp marine haircut dashed with wizened grey hairs chuckled to himself, his deep baritone voice reverberating softly throughout the room. His uniform was a simple yet crisp green and brown, with a single gold lapel over his shoulder to indicate his rank. As usual, he watched a spectacle he had seen a dozen times before from his office window atop the central castle of Gastron. Today’s march was particularly inspiring, as the long shadows cast in the falling evening sun made the Colossi feel all the more imposing.

The room was austere, centered on a singular proud oak desk hosting several perfectly organized reports, an inkwell and quill, a box with numerous and well organized awards, and a small stack of unmarked paper with envelopes. The only possible excess the one could claim would be the small bookshelf, fully stocked with various literary books on the art of war and the musings of leaders long past. Even the walls were unadorned, decorated only with scattered images of areas around the fortress and castle entrance updating magically like security cameras.

“Indeed, General Patton. With the vast increase in giant core acquisition, we can adequately replenish our stocks of Kesseki Colossi, which should allow us to more effectively gather the Dragon core fragments needed to build more Kyodai Ryōshi. Perhaps we may still see your dream of an armored company of Giant Hunters before you pass away, sir.”

Lieutenant Johannsen snapped to attention, immediately and formally responding. He was a young, slim man with sharp eyes and pristine black hair that complemented his blue and red uniform. The shine of the buttons on his blouse and dress shoes emphasized his attention to detail.

“Hahahaha! It is always nice to dream, but I am not foolish enough to expect such a thing even in my lifetime! Unfortunately, I feel as if I may have been born in the wrong era. The times are changing, Johannsen. Mark my words, fortresses like these will be one day rendered completely obsolete.”

General Patton’s voice quickly became somber, as his eyes glistened, still watching the Colossi parading down the avenue to their storage and repair facilities.

“General! You shouldn’t say such things!” Johannsen quickly and sharply retorted, “Gastron hasn’t fallen once in the 400 years since we started building it! Never once have we missed an opportunity to upgrade it either! Here, we have repelled countless attacks from the giants and the daemons! With the firepower housed here, we were even able to defeat the dragon used to build our countries Giant Hunters!”

“Aren’t you forgetting one small detail, Johannsen? That one, singular, solitary dragon nearly brought down our entire fortress! It took nearly a decade to repair the damage it caused! The fortress was brought to the edge of ruin and there are still some parts of the wall that may still be structurally weakened. If it wasn’t for the fortunate timing of the last succession war in the Daemon kingdom, that old monster would have surely taken the opportunity to break through!”

“Possibly, sir. But Mendicus Dagon is no more, and considering how many children he has had, including our own covert efforts within their kingdom, they won’t be mounting any kind of war effort any time soon. By the time they stabilize, we can easily make Gastron greater than it ever was! There is no place in all of Americia that is as great as Gastron, as strong as Gastron, or as effective as Gastron!”

Lieutenant Johnannsen beamed proudly as he spoke, his voice reverant.

“You are simply blinding yourself by refusing to look at the bigger picture. You may be my aide de camp, but clearly you haven’t taken my guidance on carefully analyzing the world at large.”

Finally turning away from the window with an audible sigh, General Patton locked eyes with Lieutenant Johannsen, and nodded slightly towards the table.

“Sir?”

“Most of the information contained in these reports is top secret so I am sure you know better than to speak of any of this, but anyone with a good pulse on current events can figure out what is contained within them. The gods haven’t told us yet, but we have seen a clear and vast increase in the number of dragons sighted and encountered across Americia. There are more dragons showing up than should be possible, considering how rare they were historically. That alone does not add up. Furthermore, considering that Ishtar has declared that Dragons must be cleansed, and that all the other gods have followed suit, you would expect the number of Dragons to be in further decline due to their holy war. Worse yet, the appearances all appear to be of older and older dragons, and there have even been rumors of one so large it can single handedly fill the borders of a small town.”

Small sweat droplets began to form across Johannsen’s forehead as he listened to the General continue.

“Then there are the actions by those fools in central command. Those “covert operations” you have so much faith in. We are involving ourselves into the internal matters of monsters known for their deceptiveness, their violence and extreme brutality. They are doing this because they are afraid, Johannsen. They are afraid of the Dragons, of what might be coming, and of the Daemons themselves. Of all the Daemon kingdoms that existed across the world, only two remain. Do you know why that is, Johannsen?”

“Sir, isn’t it because they have territory that nobody else wanted?”

“You are only half right. The Daemon Kingdom ruled by House Harklid maintains itself in the frozen wastes north of the giant’s territory. However, the Kingdom to our East is settled on prime lands. Yet in spite of the violent history of daemons and their constant infighting, not a single race or nation has ever taken a grain of sand from House Dagon. Worse yet, we get more and more concerning reports that the heirs of Mendicus are showing signs of the greatest potential seen amongst their kind to date.”

Johannsen couldn’t help but nervously lick his lips as his mouth was starting to turn dry.

“Even so, our fortifications have been restored, and if they don’t know the layout of our fortress, no matter how good they may be, they will not be able to break through it! None of the princes would dare to risk the losses of attacking us either, as the other Daemons would surely take advantage to claim the weakened prince’s territory!”

“Do you recall the catastrophe with the Saintess?”

“What? Sir? What does the Saintess kidnapping have to do with this?”

Johannsen stopped short, his eyes blinking nervously in confusion.

“It’s the greatest cover up in our history, known only to the top brass. Even then, most of the actual details are unclear. For the past decade, we have been without a king.”

“WHAT?!”

Johannsen reeled back in shock, his voice quickening radically.

“Without a King? That’s not possible! He came to visit here on a parade just last month!”

“It was nothing more than just basic illusion magic to keep everyone calm and orderly.”

Johannsen was barely able to keep up with the shocking revelation, but he slowly began to put together what General Patton was telling him.

“Sir… so you mean to tell me… that the Saintess had something to do with the King’s death?”

The General finally cracked a small smile.

“You’re catching on. It had happened just before the dragon attack that struck Gastron. One of the Daemonic Princes had been defeated and captured by the Saintess, Holy Protector Arctinus, and some of the best knights and mages in our army. The cost… was severe. However, they managed to bring their prize back to the capital to present to the king. Nobody left alive knows exactly what happened in there, however the King, his heirs, and the heads of the kingdom… all had been slaughtered that night. Fearing a mass panic, central command stepped in and took the reins of the country.”

General Patton slowly paced across the room, his eyes growing weary and somber.

“Ten years ago, I was here at Gastron. I had just made Major and led the recovery effort after the devastation left by the Dragon attack. What I saw… I can never forget. One thing I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, the Saintess was never kidnapped. I saw her willingly following that Monster as he tore through Gastron and what remained of our defenses like they were paper. Through sheer power, he broke out of our country. Whether we were at full strength or not, I couldn’t shake the feeling that nothing we could have done would have been able to stop it.”

The strength fell out of Johannsen’s legs as he collapsed into a small, wooden chair next to General Pattons desk.

“So they know about Gastron… they know what has happened to our Fortress… but… why are you telling me this? What more is going on that you would tell me something this dangerous? What are you expecting to happen? If this is exactly what it looks like… wouldn’t central command just kill me for knowing it?”

“Without a shadow of a doubt, they wouldn’t hesitate for a moment. Still… I am proud to see you have a good enough head on your shoulders to recognize as much. It’s why I picked you as my aide, so that you might have a chance to witness the world I wanted to see.”

General Pattons voice began to quiver, tinged with concern and a hint of fear.

The conversation fell silent for a while, Johannsen waiting for the General to find his words as the last rays of the sun began to die out over the tops of the mountains and darkness fell upon the valley. Without missing a beat, the lanterns across the fortress began to light up with the power from the mana grid.

“I told Central Command that it was reckless to send in covert operatives to try and influence a succession crisis in the Daemon Kingdom. I argued against it fiercely, and that if we were to do such a thing, it would be far wiser to marshal all our forces for a full scale assault. However, due to the threat of the Dragons, they unequivocally denied my pleas. They wanted to support a Daemon Prince to become King, and in return convince them to help us fight the dragons together. I did not trust Central Command and sent my own spies into the Daemon Kingdom, solely to observe. Of the Daemon Princes, Harkonnen Dagon was their best bet as the eldest brother and being over 1000 years old, he should have unquestionably been powerful enough to become and remain king. He accepted their offer. He was able to execute his sister and primary rival Belladonna with our material aid. For a little while, it seemed my distrust of Command’s plan was misplaced. I was almost relieved to have been wrong.”

At this point, General Patton’s voice had lowered to a near whisper.

“Then, this morning, and finally just a couple hours ago I received the last reports from my spies. The Daemon Prince, Sendrien Dagon… he was the one who had taken the Saintess from our country. We had believed him to be a recluse… uninvolved in the succession disputes raging in their Kingdom. Not once had anyone entered his court or his lands with their spies. All who tried disappeared without a trace. Even the reports of observers couldn’t be trusted. Where one once found a village… the next found ash. He was never seen to be allied with or enemies of his three remaining brothers and four sisters. Yet Harkonnen had found evidence that, should Belladonna have taken the Throne as Queen, Sendrien would have supported her.”

The General had slowed down greatly as he spoke, his words almost getting stuck in his throat, holding Johannsen’s rapt attention.

“Harkonnen viewed that as a threat and a betrayal, and had managed to kidnap the Saintess this morning to lure out Sendrien. However, the Saintess wasn’t brought alone… she had a child with her, no older than 8 years old. We even got her name. Almas Lexiana Dagon. A half-demon.”

“That… that shouldn’t be possible! Different species… they cannot… they cannot have children together! What could even come of such a thing?! This is madness! This is sheer madness!”

Johannsen couldn’t hold himself back anymore, as he dropped his head into his violently shaking hands, his fingers flexing tightly around his face.

Patton waited for a moment to allow Johannsen to regain his composure.

“The final message that I received a few hours ago came to me in two parts. First, was that Sendrien Dagon had shown up exactly as Harkonnen expected. There was no battle. It was a one-sided massacre, and that when Harkonnen tried to use the Saintess and the child as a shield, to threaten and stop him. Sendrien… he… stabbed through both of them to ensure he was able to kill Harkonnen. Shortly after that… I received the second part. It was only a single line. It said… It had said… I am coming.”

Johannsen sat in silence as he absorbed what the General had said, as an eerie wind began to pick up and blew through the Valley of Kings. The sound of the wind felt almost as if it were a slow wail.

Johannsen finally broke the silence, his voice soft but firm.

“Sir… why haven’t you told central command yet? Why haven’t you alerted the troops? How long until his army gets here?”

“I did inform Command. However, as someone who had doubted and challenged them at every turn, it would appear they didn’t accept my message. Their only reply was to await their delegation and to “temporarily” hand control of Gastron to the vice base commander. While they weren’t bold enough to try and have my own subordinates arrest me for insubordination, they did accept the order for a change of command. Johannsen, I have only one standing order for you to follow. Live. Live and bear witness, as I fear that the end of an age is coming, and unfortunately our world will play host to what’s coming.”

As he spoke, Johannsen and Patton both suddenly noticed something and turned to look at different displays.

“Sir! This… I cannot accept this burden! The delegation is already here… but… but if we move now, I can get you past them! We have to tell everyone! We can’t let things end like this!”

The General smiled wryly as he looked at his screen of the main gate, a small distortion flitting around the screen.

“It doesn’t matter… they are already too late… he is here.”

As if to mark his very words, the buildings vibrated and shook violently as the sound of a titanic impact reverberated across the fortress, followed shortly after by a thunderous crash.

One of the two massive gate doors was lying in a cloud of dust and rubble hundreds of meters away from the gate, and nearly immediately the sounds of sirens wailing blasted across the fortress. His body shook reflexively, unable to forget what he bore witness to long ago.

“Well then, Johannsen, shall we make our way to the armory? At the very least… this old man would like his armor and his sword, as the last commander of Gastron. You would certainly need your equipment as well to conduct your mission.”

“Sir, yes sir!”

I hate them…

The darkness moved, as if it had a mind of its own. Nothing could be seen… everything could be felt. A shadow within shadows, the darkness moved, honing in on a beacon of light within walls of stone.

*BOOOOOOM*

Miserable, arrogant, insufferable creatures…

A powerful fist boasting vicious claws and packed to the brim with dark mana materialized from the darkness, impacted the gate door shining with the mana coursing through its circuits. With nigh unimaginable force, the door ripped off its hinges and tore through the wall that had supported it in place, before it was sent careening through the air.

Behind the fist, the distortions of shadows steadily faded revealing a pair of arms with two short bone spikes protruding out from them. No armor adorned its body, instead wearing surprisingly ordinary clothes stained red with blood, thus allowing the creature’s black and red skin to be seen. Four horns were growing out of its head, just barely reaching the length needed to begin to curve forward. A pair of predatory eyes dotted with red and gold rapidly surveyed the area behind the door, and in its right hand was a long Adamantium and Magicite sword. The sword had two blades locked into its hilt, separated by an inch of space between each other. The hilt itself also had a dark line running across its center, as if it could be split apart at any moment.

*SCREEE!* *SCREEE!* *SCREEE!* *SCREEE!* *SCREEE!*

Alarms began to sound in rapid succession, and the buildings began to erupt with activity like a disturbed ant hill.

“REVEAL THE WORLD UNTO ME, AND LET ALL WHO SEE ME KNOW DESPAIR. MY EYES SHALL FIND ALL I SEEK, AND NONE SHALL ESCAPE THEIR GAZE! EYES OF MAGNUS!”

Far above the fortress, lines begin to sketch themselves across the sky, forming a pair of eyes wreathed in magical energy. As they opened, waves of energy began to rain with a heavy weight upon the fortress below.

The soldiers nearest the gate charged forward towards the invader, screams of fear escaping their mouths as their arms, legs and chunks of flesh began to fly off their bodies. Blood showered relentlessly as the Daemon burst forth through the opened gate.

Filthy, insignificant animals…

“FIND FREEDOM FROM THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, OH CREATURES OF FLESH AND BONE, BUT BE WARY OF YOUR FREEDOM, AS ALL THAT IS TAKEN SHALL BE RETURNED A HUNDRED-FOLD! GRAVITAS!”

The grand avenue had begun to fill with swarms of soldiers, rushing to protect their fortress. Commanders were shouting and guiding the masses of troop’s forwards as the massive cannons atop their towers turned to aim down at the intruder.

However… a huge number of troops down the avenue had stopped, their feet no longer able to touch the ground. Many soldiers tried to cast spells or launch arrows at the monster, but none were able to find their mark as the Daemon flitted erratically between the myriad shadows cast by the street lamps.

Then, as if a whirlpool was forming in the air, the soldiers began to be carried towards a central vortex where the air began collapsing to the ground at an unprecedented rate. The earth at the bottom began to sink downwards as if pressed by a colossal force, and as countless soldiers were drug screaming into this vortex, their bodies were slammed into the earth and crushed into a meaty paste under their own overwhelming weight.

*BOOM* *BOOOOM* *BOOOM*

A rain of powerful mana blasts launched from the artillery cannons shattered the landscape around the Daemon. Buildings, walls, streets and stalls were all subsequently shattered in the hail of explosions.

If it wasn’t for the pressure continuing to bear down from the magical eyes above, the soldiers might have taken a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. However…

“ALL YOU HAVE AND ALL YOU KNOW WAS BUILT FROM DUST, ALL THAT IS ONCE CAME FROM NOTHING, AND NOW ONCE AGAIN IT SHALL RETURN TO NOTHING! ANNHILATION!”

From within the clouds of dust, a horrible ball of black energy gathered, and then launched in a ray carving through the towers in the fortress relentlessly. Stone, steel and all the constructs of man were ripped away with extreme violence, as tower after tower collapsed and cannon after cannon fell silent.

The Daemon didn’t slow down as it burst forward, blood raining from its missing left arm.

Not enough… still not enough… all of it… Come… I. AM. HERE.

“BLOOD IS THE FONT OF LIFE, BLOOD IS THE HOME OF THE SOUL. MY BLOOD IS YOURS, AND YOUR BLOOD IS MINE. THROUGH YOUR BLOOD, I CLAIM YOUR SOUL AND LIFE TO BE MY OWN, AND REPLENISH ALL I HAVE LOST. DEVOUR LIFE!”

Unstoppable. Brutal. Merciless. A sea of death flowing only forward.

Bodies crumbled into ash as the life they once held was ripped from them, rebuilding the arm of the monster. Others followed suit, one after the next, after the next… bodies melted by acid or burned away in an inferno of flames.

There was no hope, not before this thing. All that stood before it knew despair, as they witnessed an entity of pure destruction. Before despair, fear turned to panic, and the panic became a route as Gastron was sunk into a sea of flames and darkness. However, even flight did not provide an escape from death.

As the Daemon neared the Castle, a single man walked boldly towards him, wearing golden armor and wielding a massive broadsword. The greys of his beard gave an almost regal feel when combined with his decorative armor.

“It’s been a long time, Sendrien. I’ve been wondering when you would finally show up.”

Patton swallowed nervously, but still put on a show of confidence. No matter what he had to do, he would buy as much time for his men as he could. Even for a country that ignored him, or a command that sought to abandon him. After all, he swore an oath the day he became a soldier, and he would be damned if he were to abandon it now.

“Mortals should have never meddled in our affairs, pissant. Tell me, human, are you not afraid of death?”

Sendrien had stopped his advance to carefully examine the man before him, one who didn’t flee in fear nor try to attack… but instead spoke. It was covered in the scent of fear, but it didn’t act the part.

An utter fool?

“Afraid? Of course I am afraid! Who wouldn’t be afraid of death!? However… death comes to us all one day, one way or another. All things that live must one day die, and if today is my day to die, then so be it. But I will be damned to die as a coward!”

As the old man raised and pointed his sword at Sendrien, the Daemon tilted his head as if in thought.

“Tell me your name, human, as you already know mine.”

“General George Patton, of the Unified Simestrian nations of Aldurensia!”

“Even though you admit fear, your soul is brave. I shall free you from the pain and fear of life, but I will not allow your soul to find death. I shall claim it for my collection, in respect of your bravery.”

Patton’s eyes slowly widen, as the meaning of the words begins to sink in. Sendrien disappeared from before his eyes, and suddenly his world started to turn darker, his vision splitting in half. Unable to make a sound, other than a wet thud as each half of his body hits the ground.

Is this all there is to the “mighty” human fortress? One would have thought they would have prepared more after last time… unfortunate… ?!

A ray of bright red light flashed out from one of the large buildings, slicing through Sendrien’s skin and severing his freshly regrown arm.

What the fuck?!? A dragon, here?!?

*DOOOOOOM*

The walls of the structure burst, as a massive behemoth of metal and magic charged through them. Inside, unmoving, were the abandoned stone colossi.

Sendrien had a slow, maddening grin spread across his face, revealing razor sharp teeth. As his skin tried to pull together and reattach his left arm, the Daemon let loose a maniacal laugh.

“A HUMAN MONSTER MADE FROM THE HEART OF A DRAGON, YOU DAMNABLE CRETINS…. AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! IT SEEMS I MAY HAVE UNDERESTIMATED YOU… TRY YOUR BEST TO KILL ME, BEFORE THIS POWER KILLS YOU FIRST!”

Maybe… maybe he can… ah! But I won’t make it easy, no! I will fight to the bitter end, no matter whose end it may be!

“GENERALLLL!!!! Forgive me… but I cannot follow your orders!”

Inside the head of the Kyodai Ryōshi, a single man stood inside one of the half-dozen circles, donning a piloting suit. Blood flowed from his nose, his eyes, his mouth, from under his nails…

Numerous screens surrounded the man, as incredible amounts of data ripped into and out of his body. His mana core was starting to crack from attempting to regulate such an incredible amount of energy as the power from the dragon core flowed relentlessly.

“If only… those damn pilots… didn’t flee like goddamned cowaaaaards!”

Lieutenant Johannsen groaned with the strain between words.

Blow for blow…

Power to match power…

Monster…

Vs…

Man…

Gastron would become nothing more than a wasteland.

The Colossus finally began to slow. Its proud shell showed signs of wear, but still shone resplendently before the Daemon heaving with exhaustion before it, bloodied, bruised, and with broken bones stabbing out from its skin.

Ultimately… I knew… it would end this way… Johannsen thought to himself.

Blood spewed out of Lieutenant Johannsen’s mouth, followed by a dull, wet thud. A bright red stain spread outwards from his chest, as he collapsed, the Colossus’ movements stopping completely.

What… the hell… are the people… who hunt these things? When just feeling… their power… is enough… to kill you… damnable monsters… I hope you never forget what a regular man can do!

Thistleman stood still, watching as the storm rushed in, watching the back of his *modified* Demonic Kesseki Colossus as it charged off after the knights.

If this version is alive, though, shouldn’t I call it something else? Or is it fine since the people who made the original are all dead?

As the heavy drops of rain began to fall on him, his body slowly began to revert to its “human” state. Blood stained various parts of his body, the damage for breaking the rules of his contract extremely apparent.

Hmmm…

“Don’t let your newfound power go to your head, little goblin. Never underestimate the limits of human ingenuity, if you do… they may surprise you with something you never expected, and it may just cost you more than you ever bargained for…”

Thistleman whispered his warning, unheard by anyone and more than likely just for himself. As he started to walk back towards the city, Thistleman could swear that his joints were creaking like a rusty door.

“Ughhhhhh… Who the hell… would want… to make a contract… when it makes you feel like this! Ahhhhh, this is so unfair!”

And, after all this…. I still haven’t figured out how to really make her feel better… oh, I know! I think her birthday should be coming up… I’ll make her a nice sword! Every Daemon I ever met loved to get a better sword! Ahhhh, this will be great!