Author's note: My apologies for the absence during last weekend! Was so busy with life and I was too stressed about something and unable to provide a chapter of good quality. Hopefully it will pass soon enough!

Also if you want an image of Tartarus for better imagination, please visit my quotev website for this chapter. Or if you know Xenoblades Chronicles, Tartarus looks similar to Mechonis.

Hope that you will enjoy the chapter!

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The demon continent of Ragna has just been erased from the map. That was what Edward and the others have just heard from the crystal ball along with the terrifying screech that roared around the entire world. Or rather than ‘heard’ it, they could see the column of dust and smoke where the continent once stood even from their location. Although, something else was also there, slowly revealing itself from the fog.

“Behold the Bringer of the End: Tartarus, the Machina Titan!”

This loud voice was broadcasted through magic, reaching to every corner of the world. This voice, it belonged to Alastor as he arrogantly proclaimed the end of the world. But as much as they wanted to deny it, none could really retort back, not after they saw what has just emerged from the ruins of Ragna.

From their tent, the group could see a gargantuan figure rising up even beyond the clouds. Made out of onyx metal covered by layers of rocks and dusts stacking upon it after thousands of years, the iron titan has, for the first time in history, awakened. Possessing a humanoid figure with gigantic spikes, the titan was and has always been the underground facility lying underneath Ragna all these years. Its structure was massive, composed of a bulky body and a large circular shape hole on its chest emitting a red light. This was the ultimate weapon created by the Artificer Marcus William, a weapon so feared even by its own creator that it has been sealed away using the most sophisticated locking mechanism. And now, it has started to take its first steps, laying destruction wherever it went.

“Fire at that thing!” the captain of the fleet shouted at his men who were standing in awe at the sight of the titan. Unfortunately, their cannons and magic were nothing but mosquito bites, or perhaps even lesser than that as their attacks had no effect on the giant robot.

“zzz….Multiple hostiles detected! Preparing Anti-Matter Howitzer! zzzz….ENERGIZING!”

The crimson cavity on the titan’s chest opened and began to brighten its flare as it focused a large amount of energy inside it.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

“FIRE!”

Reaching its maximum zenith, a red beam fired in a straight line across the sea of Levianux after seemingly splitting it into two and annihilating everything that were on its path. The extensive laser was so powerful it also grazed down a few miles of the coasts of Ceadric, reducing it to charcoal along with the men stationed there.

“zzz….Overheat….Cooling down…..zzz”

The loud mechanical voice of Tartarus rang as the cavity on its chest closed down.

That attack along was able to take out half the imperial fleet and sent fear into the mind of the rest. This was the power of Tartarus and it has not even started to use its full arsenal yet.

* * *

“What the hell is that thing?” Maria uttered in shock upon seeing the large figure from afar. The thing was so huge it could be spotted piercing through the clouds even from where she stood.

“Tartarus…it has finally awoken!” the demon lord Sullivan said with a dreadful expression.

“That’s Tartarus??? How do we even stop it? That thing is at the size of a continent and it’s walking toward us.” The Huntress shouted.

“…..I don’t know. Either way, there is no use to have your fleet out there anymore. Pull them back right now before it is too late!” Sullivan addressed the command in chief Edward.

“Right away!” Rushing back inside, Edward called out to the imperial fleet. “Is anyone still there? Answer me! Pull back! I repeat: pull back immediately!”

And yet the answer he got back was horrifying.

“HELP! They are coming! HELP! ARGGHGHGHGH!” Tormenting screams echoed from the crystal ball, leaving those in the main continent to resort to their imagination of what could be happening over there.

“Captain!! Answer me! What are you talking about?” Edward yelled.

“They are in the water!”

“What?”

“ARGGGHHHHH! ………………………………..” It was the last thing Edward heard from his fleet before the communication was cut off. Screams and then total silence. They were gone, supposedly killed by something.

“God damn it!” Edward slammed the table in anger. “How could this happen?”

“Brace yourself, young one! We still have a lot to do.” Sullivan spoke.

“I know! But….why….why is Master doing this?”

“I don’t know why but standing there contemplating about it won’t help.”

“You are right….We need to gather everyone who can fight. Hopefully it will be enough.” Edward said.

……

While the leaders were discussing strategy in order to find a way to deal with the new threat, another commotion was taking place nearby. Indeed, the duplicity orchestrated by Xenes seemed a little too dubious to say the least. However, that was not the reason why he has confronted trouble the moment he stepped into this camp. Rather, the source of problems came from an old acquaintance.

“YOU!” the black dragon shouted with acrimony and spite in his voice.

“Oh hi, Maragon! Long time no see! How is the family doing these days?” Xenes joked while winking at the confused Abalone by his side.

“You fucker!” Maragon raged.

“Oh right….That was insensitive of me to ask. Soooorrrrryyyyyy!”

Without holding back, Maragon took out his giant mace in his dragon form and struck down onto the sea dragon. Yet, Xenes easily caught the black dragon’s hand and pushed it back seemingly with ease.

“….Age is a frightening thing, yes? Look at what time did to you, OLD friend!” Xenes grinned.

“How? How is it that you are here? I killed you that day!” Maragon questioned.

“Heroes never die! Not that I am one but the line sounds cool so there I said it. Hahahaha!” the pale dragon laughed.

“Stop it, you two!” The Goddess shouted loudly at the two dragons. “We don’t have time for this kind of squabble.”

“Squabble? You think this is a game? He killed my wife and his entire clan!!! Now you want to trust that same guy who also just betrayed his comrades right in front of you? Are you stupid or an idiot?” Maragon argued.

“Oh come on! I am an ally of justice and peace. Your decision to stand up against the bad evil demon lords has touched so here I am, standing with all of you. Besides, I would not abandon my friend Sullivan who was clearly in need of help.” Xenes said sarcastically.

“Friend? You killed your own friends and betrayed your kind!!! Justice? Don’t make me laugh!” the ancient dragon said. “I highly doubt that you even know him.”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’?”

“Let’s say that you are right and I am not trustworthy! How do you intend to take on that without me?” Xenes pointed to the towering shadow approaching from afar. They could feel the ground below them trembling louder and louder with every step it took.

“He is right, Maragon. We need all the help we can get to deal with Alastor and the demon lords.” Lilith spoke.

“….He will just betray you again!”

“Then we will watch him closely. If he is really on Alastor’ side then he could have simply not helped us at all and we would not be standing here, arguing with each other about this.” The goddess said.

“…” Maragon, with a heavy heart, turned toward the young sea dragon who has watched the situation since the beginning. “What do you think?”

“You are asking me? I don’t…..” Abalone uttered in shock.

“I have told you the secret of the past and even shown it to you. You have seen it with your own eyes. Do you think you can trust him?”

“….I am not sure…This is too much of a responsibility for someone like me to offer my opinion on.”

“He is a member of your clan. It’s your call.” Maragon declared.

“I have seen his abilities and it can be very beneficial to us in the coming conflict….but” Abalone uttered.

“Well, the girl has spoken. To me, that’s a ‘Yes’.” Xenes patted Abalone’s head with one of his claws. “From now on, you shall be my assistant.”

“I have not finished talking yet….Wait what? Why do I have to be your assistant?” Abalone questioned.

“It’s only normal for an elder to teach the young ones of the wonders of the world. We are both sea dragons and there aren’t many of us left so it’s better to just stick with each other.” Xenes said.

“That’s because you killed them all!”

“…..Let’s now go into details, shall we? It’s not good to hang onto the past too much. What did they say? Hum…Ah yes, forgiveness and compassion are the keys to inner peace. Or something like that. Anyway, none of that matters. We have much to do if you want to survive this calamity!”

“I agree!” Lilith said. “All good for you, Maragon?”

“This is a mistake…..I will surely regret this later” Maragon muttered. “…Fine! But don’t think this is over, Xenes. Once the war is over, you and I will settle our score…again.”

“Why of course! Anytime, old friend!” Xenes chuckled.

“So what do you propose we do?” asked Lilith.

“Alastor possesses three main weapons: the Living Metal Akroma, the titan Tartarus and the demon lords. It is useless to go against Akroma so the best thing we can do is to defend ourselves against its assault. However, Akroma is rather slow, especially in water so we need to deal with the other two problems first. In short, it is an immediate threat.

The problem lies in the other two. Tartarus has a large arsenal of the deadliest ad most destructive weaponry in the world. In addition to that, its size makes it near impossible to destroy. But Tartarus has a weakness.”

“Weakness?” inquired Lilith.

“Its own size! Tartarus may be powerful but its weapon cannot reach its inside. Aside from a few security systems, it’s practically powerless once someone manages to get in. In the end, it’s still just a puppet and Alastor is the one controlling it. So we have two options: infiltrating the monster and destroy its power source or eliminate the controller….”

“That seems easier said than done.” Abalone commented.

“Of course it is not easy! You need to be able to bypass what it is throwing at you before reaching it. And don’t be deceived by its form! Tartarus has eyes everywhere and can easily spot any incoming intruder. However, it is a different story if there is some major distraction.” Xenes advised.

“So an unit will distract it while another will infiltrate it from behind or something….But that would mean that the distraction unit will be under fire of Tartarus the whole time.” Lilith spoke.

“Yes! And this is where things get tricky. While I am sure some demon lords will eventually come out to join the party, not all of them will. There is a high chance that Asmodeus will be the one guarding Alastor during the invasion. And you know what that means….”

“Yeah…the hardest part is to get by Asmodeus…” Lilith uttered, shaken by the thought of confronting her killer again.

“Well, I have a plan but like I said, we need to figure out the distraction unit first then the members of the elite unit. Remember that in the end we still have Alastor to confront and you know how powerful the boy is!” Xenes said.

“It seems so unreal…I don’t think we have enough force to take them on.” Abalone uttered.

“And that’s where I come in.” Xenes turned to Maragon. “I need something and you know what I am talking about.”

“That’s out of the question! I will not let you touch them again.” Maragon shouted.

“Chill! I only require them to give it back to me. I don’t care about the rest.” Xenes said.

“What are you two talking about?” Abalone inquired.

“The moonstones…he wants all the fragments back!”

“What? But…No! I will not depart with it. It’s mine!” Abalone yelled back. “What do you even need it for?”

“For the grand final! With the war at its current state, you will surely lose. The stone put back together however will give you an edge in the next fight. Trust me! It’s worth it.” Xenes grinned.

“…..Give it to him, Abalone!” Lilith said.

“No! It’s the only way I can turn into human form and I need it to talk with Heru.” The sea dragon resisted.

“I will just borrow it for a moment. But I don’t need it now so you can keep it. It doesn’t matter until all fragments are given to me anyway.” Xenes said.

“Then I will talk to Celdora about that. The sea dragons have all returned to Oros recently so it should be easy to gather the fragments back….But what do you intend to do with it?” Maragon spoke reluctantly.

“Something….great!”

* * *

“All forces, follow my lead! Charge!!!”

With the titan drawing near, casting its gigantic shadow on the main continent of Mara, the first battalion of the defence forces has moved out to counter the beast. Kaiser leading his faithful dragon-riders who have remained with him even after his detachment from Oros was now diving forward. An army of hundreds of dragon and their heavy knights! Truly a spectacle and an image that would be imprinted in the mind of everyone for ages!

Valiantly circling around the titan, the dragons fired their best attacks from fire breath to toxic bombs. Some were even smart enough to use fire to heat the metal and another would use an icy attack to peel off the iron skin of Tartarus. Meanwhile, the knights riding the dragons would throw lances of lightning focusing at one spot in hope that it would damage the titan even a tiny bit. However, all those impressive attacks seemingly had no effects before the almighty Tartarus.

Still, the dragons truly lived up to their reputations as masters of the sky, able to glide skilfully all while dodging the waving arms of Tartarus that were trying desperately to hit the bugs around it. Its downfall was its size and slow motions, allowing the dragons to telegraph its movement too easily. But that was the end of it.

Stopping its pointless action, large engines gears sounds echoed across the sky as trails of blue electricity migrated across the surface of its body.

“Charging completed! ”

In an instant, lightning arcs originated from Tartarus and struck down everything in its proximity. The prideful and most powerful races of Astora were now falling like flies down to the sea below. Upon seeing their brothers in arms dropping, the rest of the battalion rushed to their sides in order to help them. Kaiser was among the first who tried who has ignored all dangers and dived forward.

Suddenly, the titan moved much quicker than usual, probably using his full potential, and clapped his two gigantic hands together.

“”

The impact generated a tremendous amount of pressure that blasted away the dragons with only wind as its means. That itself showed the difference in power between Tartarus and the rest. The force knocked out the dragon Kaiser was riding as it fell down below. Without any choice, Kaiser deployed his wings and took flight while watching helplessly his ride vanishing into the sea.

Unfortunately, he didn’t even have time to mourn as the titan has proceeded in releasing hundreds of laser beams that would melt down everything it touched. Unable to do anything else, the True Monarch decided to pull back his troops back to the continent while Tartarus resumed its march, irrepressible.

* * *

Meanwhile, watching the scene from the consumed castle of the demon lord covered in a silvery substance, Alastor and the other demon lords were preparing the next phase of their plan.

“Marvellous! If only I knew about this thing sooner…To think it was right under my foot all along…” Lucifer uttered as he observed the frightening power of Tartarus.

“But if it continues this way, we won’t have any fun left!” Devas the black slime raised his demur.

“Don’t worry! I won’t let them die that easily.” Alastor grinned. “They must pay for their sins, slowly yet painfully and I will relish every single moment of their sufferings.”

The boy has drastically changed from his usual self. His smile, the once gentle smile he had, the will for a peaceful world…everything has vanished. Morrigan’s death was the catalyst and killing Ikarus was the final hammer strike for that nail of destruction. Whether she lived or not, it didn’t matter to him anymore.

“Alastor…are you alright?” Asmodeus asked while putting the boy’ shoulders out of concern but she was shaken off coldly.

“I am fine. Why do people just keep asking me that?” Alastor questioned annoyingly.

“We are just concerned about your wellbeing.” Beelzebub said.

“I don’t need anyone to worry about me. Just focus on the tasks you have been assigned to!” Alastor spoke.

“Hold on there! No need to be rude to us, you know!” Lucifer uttered casually.

“I didn’t bring you back to life just so you can sit on your asses doing nothing. Remember that I can still cancel the spell whenever I want so your life is in my hand! Keep that in your mind, Lucifer! And watch your tongue when speaking to me!” the boy threatened.

“……” the six-winged celestial clenched his fist in anger before the arrogance of this brat he saw. However, he knew that what this brat was saying was the truth.

“If there is nothing else then please go prepare for the next stage of our plan!” Alastor said.

“….Very well! We will go now!” Asmodeus said reluctantly. “Please take care of yourself!”

“…..”

As they walked out of the room, Lucifer grunted the moment the door was closed tight.

“That brat…who does he think he is? Ordering us like his slaves!”

“You only realize it now? Alastor controls all the cards since the very beginning. You are a fool to think that he would just let you do whatever you want.” Beatrix laughed softly.

“Oh come on Lucifer! We can still have our fun later.” Devas spoke while bouncing on the ground joyfully.

“Damn it….” Unable to do anything else here, Lucifer and Devas departed from the group.

“As for me, I will go get ready. You three should also hurry up!” Asmodeus commanded before leaving the trio of demon lords behind.

“ *sigh* what a mess!” Beelzebub expired a long breath after getting tired of this situation they were in. “What are you thinking, Nyx? You have been strangely quiet for a while now. What’s up?”

“…My vision…it was wrong…” the sage uttered

“Wrong? What is?” asked Beelzebub.

“That celestial was supposed to die, killed by Alastor in that room. But when she was taken away, I am sure she was still alive.” Nyx conveyed.

“But Alastor did try to kill her. Maybe you only saw that scene and assumed she would die?”

“No…that’s the problem with the scene…” Nyx uttered.

“What do you mean?”

“In my vision, Ikarus was the one trying to kill Alastor. But the boy defended himself and killed her instead!”

“What? How is it possible? Your vision has never been wrong, right? Are you sure you are not seeing things?” Beelzebub shouted.

“I am certain of what I have seen. And that’s what I fear. Any act, even if they are unrelated, can have a consequence on the future. My vision allows me to have a glimpse into that future. However, if something has been changed, something that was not supposed to happen actually did…”

“Then what?”

“….I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Beelzebub questioned.

“This has never happened before. I don’t have any explanation for it.” Nyx said.

“Does it matter?” the witch Beatrix raised her voice. “Are you that insecure, Nyx?”

“….”

“What are you saying, Beatrix?” asked Beelzebub.

“Unable to know what lies ahead…that uncertainty…are you that afraid of it? Peace or war, it is all the same. Neither will last for long and one day, the other side will take over and the cycle will reset all over again. So why worry about something you already know?” the witch explained. “But this is just me babbling about something I don’t know much myself. Well if you excuse me, I also need to prepare myself.”

* * *

Meanwhile, at the City of Firmament Spires Canaan in Oros, two dragons were standing in front of the central tower, the one and biggest structure in the world. That was the case until Tartarus showed up and now it was on its way to put an end to all lives. It must be stopped.

“Lord Maragon, are you sure about this?” Abalone asked.

“It is the only way.” The black dragon uttered solemnly. “You don’t have to worry about me. I have already made up my mind. I have to do this for the sake of the world.”

“But…”

“Abalone, I exiled your people because they refused to part ways with their moonstones. I was afraid…that one day, one of you might turn up like Xenes, driven mad by it. If not for Celdora’s intervention just now, there was no way they would agree to Xenes’ term and gave the stones back to him.

But listen to me, young one! Be careful with Xenes! He might pretend to help us now but I don’t trust him one bit. He may not have asked for your moonstone yet but that only means you should be more careful around him. He is planning something, I am sure of it.”

“….I will.” Abalone sobbed.

“Don’t cry! You still have a job to do: bring Alastor back to his reasons! I don’t know what transpired to make him like what he is today but he must be stopped. If the worst comes to be….you know what must be done.” Maragon spoke.

“…..”

“Promise me, Abalone! That you will do everything you can to protect this world! I know I am selfish and have no right to ask this of you but you are the only person I can entrust with this task.”

“Hic hic….I will! I promise.”

“Good! Now go! Go back to the others! Stop Alastor!” Maragon raised his voice, pushing Abalone to be on her way.

“….Goodbye lord Maragon!” the young dragon cried out before running away as fast as she could.

“…..Goodbye Abalone! It was a pleasure to know you.” Turning his head back at the tower, Maragon took out his mace and stomped it against the ground. “Now, let’s do this!

I invoke the Slumbering Dragon of Canaan. Take my body and give me strength! Help us in this crisis and in return, you shall claim both this body and soul!

Come to me, oh Dragon Vein!”

The ground around Maragon began to shatter and crumble into the bottomless pit below him, revealing an enormous flow of mana residing underneath: the Dragon Vein. Although a large quantity of it has been drained by Alastor, this spot was where the entire mana of the world passed by, allowing it to have a speedy recovery to its initial state.

“This will be my final ride!” With that said, Maragon lunged himself into the blue pit of mana and vanished. Suddenly, a violent tremor accompanied by a loud violent roar echoed across the continent as a large figure rose from the ground.

* * *

“It’s coming! Brace yourself!”

Tartarus has finally crossed the sea of Levianux despite all attempts to stop it. Its looming shadow darkened the sky as it towering figure cloaked the sun from shining its radiant light onto the continent of Mara.

A congregation of a hundred mages cast their spell and raised a high wall of dirt along the coasts. A futile attempt!

With just a swing of its arm, the titan has swept away the first line of defence and shattered the wall, killing the mages with its debris.

“Die like the bugs you are! Be crushed under my feet!”

Alastor’s voice rang loudly as Tartarus attempted to take its first step onto the continent. But then.

“Hey, how about you take on somebody at your size?” a voice echoed loudly.

Turning its head to the side to identify the source of the voice, Tartarus was struck by a long cylinder object like a stick so large it actually made a slight dent into the solid metal face. It was unimaginable to think that something at the size of a continent could actually be damaged. And yet, it was indeed a clear hit. The only problem was that many people on the field, especially the dragons, recognized the shape and appearance of the weapon used to hit Tartarus.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is that the central tower of Canaan?” a dragon uttered in awe, unable to grasp the scene taking place in front of him.

Next to Tartarus, a dragon half its size was holding onto a pole that was actually the central tower of Canaan. As for the dragon itself, its black skins and aged skin easily indicated his identity.

“Lord Maragon?” Celdora spoke out loud upon seeing the familiar face. Only he was much bigger than the last time Celdora saw him, which was only a moment ago.

“Take this, you iron bastard!” Wielding the tower skilfully as he displayed his mastery of the pole like an expert in martial arts, Maragon unleashed a volley of unseen baton strikes, hitting Tartarus consecutively without letting it any chance to retaliate. This power came to him by absorbing the Dragon Vein, granting the ancient dragon a huge boost in size along with the strength he needed to handle the tower like a pole-like weapon. Considered the trump card he had, Maragon was not able to use it when Canaan was under siege by Alastor and Kaiser as this would bring a lot of casualties not just to his enemies but also to his own troops. The current situation was however slightly a different story since everyone has moved out of the way in fear of Tartarus and so gave space for the two giants to clash. However, this seemingly amazing power was not without cost.

“Danger…danger…zzzzz…Changing strategy…”

Realizing that its opponent was now a new type of foe, Tartars abandoned its casual attitude and entered a battle stance, raising both its fists.

“Entering Damocles mode!”

Without warning, the titan became suddenly much more agile and caught Maragon’s pole on its track.

“Got you now!”

Using its strong grip on the tower, Tartarus pulled the black dragon toward it before throwing a punch at his face, drawing blood from the old being.

“Lord Maragon!!!” Abalone shouted in despair upon seeing the injury of the old dragon.

“…Arg…this is not over….Not until I say so! AAAAAA!” Maragon lunged himself at the titan and used his sharp claws to pierce the thick armour as he punched continuously at its chest and head. But in the end, his body was only flesh while Tartarus was a big pile of the most solid metal in the world, capable of resisting against anything. And yet, even when his fist was covered in his own blood from the injuries caused by himself due to the punching, Maragon did not stop. He was determined to save this world and if peace required his sacrifice, he would gladly accept it.

“You fucking old man!” Alastor shouted from the speaker of Tartarus.

With his movement getting slower, Tartarus took advantage of the weakening dragon and pushed him down into the coasts of Mara. Using one arm to pin him down, the titan grabbed the tower before impaling the dragon with it.

“DIE!”

Pulling the bloody tower out of the dragon, the titan re-plunged it deeply into his flesh, creating a pool of blood that dyed the entire beach with a crimson colour.

The people could only watch helplessly as Maragon was being stabbed to death by the beast that would end their world. What could they possibly do anyway? Their tiny sizes and powers were nothing compared to the iron titan. How could they hope to achieve anything with that?

Maragon lied motionless, covered in in his blood with the tower still inside his flesh. It was Tartarus, or rather Alastor’s victory. It was an intense battle and the closest one so far to actually push the titan this far to use its full power. But alas, the last hope to defeat Tartarus was gone, along with the coming of despair.

“….I didn’t say it is over…did I?”

Using that moment of recline, Maragon used his last bit of strength and snapped the tower impaling him into two. Holding the second half of the tower in his hand, the black dragon gripped onto the shoulder of Tartarus which was within his arm’s length. With a final push, he lunged himself forward and pierced Tartarus in its stomach. By pure luck, the region controlling the lower parts of Tartarus was damaged in that attack, making it falling down on its knees while unable to stand up anymore.

“The future…is up to all of you…Protect…this world!” The dragon addressed those who were watching in a gentle voice in hope that someone might take up his legacy he left behind. Closing his eyes, Maragon’s body turned into a cloud of light particles before vanishing completely.

“Lord Maragon….” Abalone sobbed in a trembling voice. She didn’t even know him that well. So why was she crying for him? Was it out of pity for what has happened to him? A tear for the departed who have given their lives for hers?

But while everyone was in mourn over the death of the heroic dragon, the person who was most affected was the killer himself. However, unlike the rest who were sad about this loss, his mind was filled with anger and spite. What Maragon did was not just damaging the titan. What he did was a proof that Tartarus was not as invincible as people thought it was. It could be defeated. And that was what angered Alastor. Without any other choice, Alastor has decided to proceed into the next stage of his plan.

“zzz…..Deploying pods!”

In an instant, Tartarus opened its shoulders and unleashed a rain of metal pods onto the battlefield. Upon colliding with the ground, the pods opened and copies of a familiar face crawled out as they drew their weapons toward the unknowing soldiers. The one-million Stellas have been released from their chambers.

“Battle station assumed! Beginning operation Blitzkrieg!”