Chapter 120: Black Pillar (1/2)
A group of soldiers looked into the distance. It was Squad 39; the one Arthur had abandoned. Now with one of its members deserting the battle, their morals were all times low. The eastern winds made their white robes flutter as they expected to see a change in the horizon any second now.
”Damn it, he said 'don't defeat yourself before the battle even started' but still fled the scene before it even began.” One of the soldiers, a wild-orange hair young man grumbled to himself. His name was Izhan, a newly-registered awakener who has risen to the rei-rank recently.
”Some people are hypocrites.” The handsome man next to him answered without lifting his gaze from the horizon. Izhan wanted to empathize with the deserter, since he also felt afraid, but couldn't bring himself to. After all, here he stood despite his fear, waiting for battle.
'I'm a brave man, right?' He asked himself as he imagined his girlfriend answering, telling him 'the bravest of them all.' He smiled warmly as he vowed to survive this to take care of her and their expected son.
”Take positions!”
A shout came from one of the captains like thunderclaps and the soldiers tensed before taking hold of their positions. Two awakeners were assigned a mana gun on top of the wall and they would take turns refilling and using it. Even though mana cells were used to supply the guns, there would still be some mana needed to fire the gun.
Izhan, along with the handsome man he got to meet and was called Leo, took one of the mana guns and started loading it with cells. They waited, looking toward the horizon that was blanketed with green as perspiration covered their faces.
The minutes stretched until they felt like hours yet indistinguishable from each other until they turned into one long thread of nervousness. After what felt like ages for the soldier, they finally heard it. An ugly clinking of metal and gears shifting, followed by a loud noise as if a grenade was exploding.
Izhan tried spotting anything on the horizon, but he couldn't just yet. His sightline shifted toward the grains of sand on top of the mana gun, slightly shaking with each loud noise. The shaking got stronger until he felt it in his body, prominent and clear, shaking his very core.
These were a result of each step the giant monster took in their way. He had already seen pictures of it on social media where they prayed for the survival of the Union, but he doubted prayers would help them at this point.
His hand gripped tighter at the mana gun, allowing the cold shining steel to bring him comfort. Then, as if his eyes were deceiving him, he saw one of the hills, or what he had thought to be a hill, move.
He cursed his lack of focus as he was sure that he was seeing things. However, the loud shout from the captain proved that the hill was truly moving.
”Target spotted!”
The words sent shivered in the hearts of the soldiers as they saw the wavering hill in the distance. When it got a bit nearer, its appearance was revealed. Just like in the photos taken by the drones before they were shot down, the Calamity Spider looked like a giant piece of broken rubbish with all the gears and metals protruding from its surface.
However, even from a distance away, the glimmering lights of runes were there for the world to admire. A dome of gears and runes that moved, how could it not be feared?
”Ready your guns!”
Each squad leader commanded and Izhan gripped the handles tighter as he started sending mana into the gun. However, before they could fire the mana guns, the world was dyed with terrible orange. The fire consumed everything in its path as snake-like pillars poured out of the Calamity Spider.
”Barriers!”
A shout from behind brought Izhann to his senses. The barriers teams started pouring out their mana as well as using mana cells to protect the fortress. Even with the golden light protecting it, the fire still seeped through the barriers and damaged soldiers and weapons alike.