[Codename Solomon reporting.]

[Hostiles tracked. Main Supply Route identified.]

Halas crawled through the tunnels, stalking its prey. Codename Solomon was a new type of weapon it possessed in this stage of its evolution. When Halas burst out from its evolution cocoon, among the dust and debris that erupted was a small, also pitch-black drone.

From the beginning, it was Halas's intention to let the demons escape. Not all creatures had to be convinced, or won over, to be useful. Exploiting their natural reactions was no different. Compliance does not have to be willing, or even intended - only predictable.

[Codename Solomon: Target identified. Type: Settlement. Fortifications present. No effective defenses detected. Airspace clear.]

Halas had left the hellwalkers back at the settlement. They could also be used, and their purpose was to hold the settlement and not allow anyone to come after Halas from the other side of the Gate. The last thing Halas wanted now was to be pincered in by two enemies united against it.

This dungeon was no different than the one Halas came from. In fact, it was oddly symmetrical - like a mirror version of the Iscar dungeon. As Halas went through the familiar, but alien, corridors it realized that it was backtracking. Even its internal navigation module at first considered the possibility that it never even went through the Gate.

The obvious clue that this was not the Iscar dungeon was in the inhabitants. Each one was demonic, twisted and different. Though Halas did not stay long enough to observe beyond the surface, or engage in combat, that alone was enough to conclude that this dungeon, and possibly the entire world of Hell, was a mirror reflection of the one on the other side of the Gate.

In fact, at one point, Halas even stared at a sign, in the main tunnel, that read 'Racsi Dungeon: Floor Boss ahead'. Of course, the ahead the sign was warning about was the direction Halas came from.

Halas was much faster than the demons that fled through here, but it was also far more methodical, and somewhat curious about this environment. At the same time, it had the opportunity to learn new things about this world it was about to subjugate, while also allowing the drone to track the demons to their main base of operations. As far as Halas was concerned, it couldn't have gone any better. Even the involvement of the hellwalkers was a marked improvement over Halas's initial plan.

Even as a creature of deception and manipulation - aside from torment and annihilation - even Halas did not consider to use the hellwalkers in such a way. Of course, at the time, Halas did not know that the demons considered hellwalkers to be their natural predator.

But a creature like Halas has no choice but to adapt to the world. There was no such thing as an omniscient or even omnipotent being. Not yet, at least. Halas's next evolution would require so much raw material that subjugating an entire world's workforce would take decades to meet the minimum requirement. Unless Halas taught them how to use powered tools and introduced them to industry.

[Codename Solomon: Calculating artillery solution...]

[Windspeed: Negligible.]

[Calibrating for atmosphere density and humidity.]

[Calculating Coriolis Force...]

[Implementing solution.]

Halas's mind opened up to a map-like understanding of the surface, outside the dungeon. It was colorless. It did not truly define landscape or geometry; it was purely mathematical relations of objects and angles. Halas understood that there was a mountain between the dungeon and the settlement, and that the artillery solution would involve over-the-horizon bombardment at angles that would see the shells fly out of the atmosphere.

[Shell re-entry speed: Mach 14.]

[Calculating course-correction for thermal deflection.]

Finally, Halas saw the black sun of Hell for the first time as it emerged from the tunnels of the dungeon.

[Emotion Matrix: Awe.]

There was something primal about that sun that spoke to Halas in ways that no other creature would understand. It was a fatal kind of attraction, like fate itself. For a brief moment, Halas felt as if it had a purpose in this world other than destruction. Or at the very least, that its purpose of destruction had a meaning; an unspeakable and mysterious objective.

The black sun was half shrouded by blood-red clouds, and its light poured down their outline like molten lava.

[Codename Solomon: Sending artillery solution.]

[FCS: Artillery solution received.]

[Linear Accelerator: Mode set to railgun.]

[Deploying stabilizers.]

Halas stabbed its tail into the ground, and its four legs spread out diagonially, burrowing into the soft soil. Below the ground, each limb deployed a horizontal spike, anchoring the creature's body in place. This was Halas's true form. Other creatures could say that they were weapons - like orcs, who were created by sorcerers - but for none was this more true than Halas, who, at that time, was nothing more than a linear accelerator on legs.

Halas aimed at the black sun as its housing opened.

60x 480mm Supercritical High Explosive shells created. -3900 MP.

[FCS: Shot.]

The top layer of soil was suddenly blown away by the tremendous discharge of electricity from the railgun as the weapon expelled a several hundred kilogram shell. The recoil rattled Halas's internal structure, but there was no damage.

[Logistics: Shock absorber queued.]

[Nano Factory: Completion in four minutes.]

[FCS: Shot.]

Even as the previous shot still echoed in the distance, the next shot followed, forming a bright star in the blood-red sky as within a few seconds, not even Halas's sensor could detect the object.

[FCS: Shot.]

The shots echoed out at a rhythm that resembled a heartbeat, or the terrifying drums of war. But this was no war. There was no honor in this, no glory, only the destruction of materiel. Yes, materiel; not even people or things with a word that defines their purpose. To Halas, they were all just a word that encompassed, and degraded, all their possibilities to something that was only military material and equipment. Even people.

[Linear Accelerator: Railgun guide platform overheat error.]

[Discarding platform.]

With a pop, the levitating platform was launched from the accelerator housing, glowing a brilliant white-blue color and visibly warping under the stresses induced by its sudden cooling.

[Logistics: Railgun platform queued.]

[Nano Factory: Completion in five hours.]

[FCS: Shells entering cruise stage.]

[Impact in fourteen minutes, twenty two seconds.]