As the fortress-ship thundered across the crimson plains, crushing Grimm beneath its immense pixelated wheels while gigantic javelins continued punching holes through anything foolish enough to remain in its path, the broad valley rapidly grew larger ahead of them.
What had first appeared to be nothing more than a narrow depression in the moon's endless landscape gradually revealed itself as a labyrinth of towering crimson cliffs that curved inward on either side, forming a natural choke point that could drastically reduce the number of Grimm capable of attacking them simultaneously.
It was, by every tactical assessment, the best defensive position they had encountered since arriving upon the moon, even if none of them particularly liked the idea of willingly entering terrain they hadn't had the opportunity to properly scout.
The Vacuoan kept both hands firmly wrapped around the massive control wheel as gears thundered beneath the deck. His eyes remained fixed on the approaching valley while calculations visibly played themselves out behind his yellow irises. Finally, he spoke without looking away from the viewing screen.
"I'm going to alter the structure. Once we're inside, it'll become an actual fortress instead of... whatever this moving monstrosity has turned into. How do you all feel about that?"
Nobody argued, as there was little point.
The endless tide of Grimm stretching across the horizon had already answered the question for them. They couldn't outrun something that seemingly possessed no end. Even if the fortress continued rolling for another hundred kilometers, eventually their Aura would fail long before the Grimm did.
The fourth awakened folded his arms thoughtfully before speaking up. "Leave part of it mobile."
Three pairs of eyes turned toward him.
"If something goes wrong... we may have to relocate again. It's better to keep enough of the Mechanism active that we can move if we're forced to."
The Vacuoan considered it for only a second before nodding.
"...Good idea."
The others quickly agreed. A fortress capable of moving remained infinitely preferable to one that became its own prison.
The valley entrance loomed barely a hundred meters ahead.
Then...
The earth exploded.
The crimson ground at the valley's mouth erupted outward in two separate places as enormous serpentine bodies burst violently from beneath the moon's surface.
King Taijitus.
Neither snake resembled the ordinary Grimm commonly encountered during LUCID expeditions. These monsters were colossal.
Each possessed a body thicker than ancient trees while their lengths stretched far beyond the fortress itself, winding through the broken terrain like living rivers of black scales.
The black serpent struck first. Its enormous jaws unhinged with horrifying flexibility before clamping directly onto the front of the fortress.
Metal screamed.
The entire structure lurched violently as countless reinforced plates buckled beneath the creature's bite.
Before anyone inside could react, the white serpent had already arrived. Rather than biting, it wrapped itself around the fortress. Its impossibly long body coiled tighter and tighter around the armored structure.
Steel groaned and supports bent. The fortress itself began audibly protesting beneath the unimaginable constricting force.
The javelin launchers immediately fired and gigantic spears slammed into both serpents. Normally such impacts would have skewered almost any Grimm unfortunate enough to stand before them but the King Taijitus simply endured.
The enormous projectiles embedded themselves into thick scales without penetrating deeply enough to become lethal.
The were peak Rank 1 grimm!
However that wasn't even the biggest problem. The true threat, was Sleepless. The three masked operatives had finally caught up.
The Ursa thundered across the battlefield while the Beowolf carrying the remaining two riders bounded effortlessly across the dissipating corpses of fallen Grimm.
The lightning swordsman immediately attacked.
His blade flashed upwards and electricity exploded around the weapon before condensing into a gigantic ethereal extension several times longer than the sword itself.
He swung and the massive lightning blade carved through the incoming javelins before they ever reached him. Each projectile had been shattered apart beneath crackling arcs of blue-white energy.
The remaining Sleepless members attacked almost simultaneously.
Everything converged upon the trapped fortress.
Mocha's eyes widened.
"We're abandoning ship!"
She didn't wait for agreement. Already sprinting toward one of the emergency escape hatches, she threw the reinforced door open as the others immediately followed.
None of them hesitated. The instant all four emerged into open air, the fortress died. The combined assaults of the King Taijitus, countless surrounding Grimm, and the Sleepless operatives finally overwhelmed the Mechanism construct.
The enormous mobile fortress disappeared beneath an avalanche of black bodies and shattered metal.
Mocha didn't look back, instead, Pixel exploded around her. A miniature tsunami composed entirely of shimmering emerald-black geometric water erupted behind the four awakened.
Unlike genuine water, the wave possessed impossible rigidity beneath its flowing surface. It slammed into all four simultaneously and the force launched them forward like projectiles.
The recoil generated by the Pixel tsunami also blasted outward behind them, hurling countless surrounding Grimm away from the valley entrance long enough to create the smallest opening.
They shot through it and landed inside the valley itself.
This was it. They would be finally be able to hunker down and properly counterattack against the creatures of grimm.
That thought stayed in their head for about two seconds.
Then...
Glints of red appeared in the darkness.
Everywhere.
Pairs upon pairs of crimson eyes slowly opened within every crack, every overhang, every burrow hidden throughout the rock. The towering crimson canyon walls writhed and hundreds of slithering bodies coiled and uncoiled at them, undulating at them in hunger.
King Taijitus.
Not one or two but an entire nest.
The Vacuoan stared.
"...Crap."
He pointed back towards the entrance they had just come from.
"We've gotta go."
The entire canyon erupted as massive serpents began pouring from every direction. Mocha's eyes darted across the terrain.
Then...
An idea formed.
"Wait! I have a better idea!"
Everyone looked toward her. She pointed straight through the middle of the nest.
"We rush through. Valleys usually have two entrances right?"
Three expressions immediately transformed into varying degrees of disbelief. Before anyone could object, she continued rapidly and pointed toward the valley mouth behind them.
"Fortress! Seal the entrance! Block the Grimm outside long enough to buy us time!"
Then she looked toward the javelin wielder.
"Javelin! Shoot everything!"
The Vacuoan stared.
"...That's a terrible plan."
Mocha met his eyes.
"Trust me. I have a really good plan that'll lead into it."
There wasn't confidence in her voice but certainty. Strangely, nobody questioned her. No one else had a better plan and whether they rush forwards to uncertain death or backwards to certain death, both path would surely lead to death.
So nobody bothered to shout their concerns. Not even after hearing such an insane proposal. Everyone simply moved.
The Vacuons's runes activated and the valley entrance erupted upward as immense fortress walls burst directly from the crimson earth, sealing the mouth with towering battlements resembling ancient ramparts.
Only the fourth awakened remained frozen. He looked at Mocha as though she'd finally lost her mind.
Then... he sighed and raised his hand.
"...Fine. I've got Shield, anyhow."
Blue light exploded outwards and an enormous translucent barrier fused directly into the fortress wall, reinforcing every section with shimmering defensive energy.
The others collectively stared.
"...Shield?"
Mocha blinked. Recognition arrived almost immediately. Pure Shield Runes weren't particularly uncommon. Not because ordinary awakened possessed them but because LUCID manufactured them.
Every operative deployed into dangerous missions received specially prepared wrist clasps containing three single-use imbued runes.
Shield and heal were two of them, and one additional emergency option depending upon assignment. Producing those bracelets required dedicated awakened spending every single night imbuing fresh runes into equipment.
It was exhausting and demanding work.
Dangerous.
Practically utterly thankless. Those awakened rarely entered full combat without at least two squads supporting them. They remained protected while only going consuming Grimm fragments day after day solely to keep the logistics of rune production functioning.
Mocha suddenly understood.
"...You're logistics? I... haven't met one of you guys before."
The man gave a sheepish shrug.
"Yeah. Not everyone of us gets to be in a main base. We have a bodyguards and shit."
"That sounds..."
"Terrible? I know. But someone's gotta do it."
There wasn't time for further discussion. The King Taijitus attacked and in response, the four sprinted forwards. Javelins erupted forward with machine-gun precision and every thrown spear struck with impossible accuracy.
Some pierced directly through open mouths and others exploded into gigantic versions halfway through flight.
Serpents fell continuously and the valley became absolute chaos.
Mocha ran alongside them with a pixelated sword flashing out and about. Yet... she wasn't attacking much. Instead, her Inventory Rune repeatedly shimmered outwards.
Tiny pixelated creatures emerged.
Round and almost adorable looking. They resembled chibi moles. Each possessed an oversized drill for a nose while carrying enormous pixelated boxes somehow several times larger than their own bodies.
The instant they appeared, they scampered toward the canyon walls. Their drills spun furiously and one after another, they disappeared directly into solid rock—tunneling through the valley before vanishing completely.
The javelin wielder ducked beneath a lunging Taijitu while another spear condensed beneath his feet.
He dropped downward. The enormous javelin stabbed toward the serpent's skull, however the Rank One Grimm snapped its jaws shut around the spear shaft, stopping the killing blow.
"...Tch. Annoying!"
The javelin wielder sighed, then casually flicked something no larger than a toothpick into the creature's mouth. The miniature spear instantly expanded and the snake's head detonated from within.
Without even looking back, he shouted toward Mocha.
"What the hell are you doing?"
She laughed while summoning another squad of drilling pixel moles.
"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would I?!"
The others exchanged deeply concerned looks. Still, they trusted her enough to continue. The battle raged relentlessly as they carved a bloody path through the enormous nest.
Eventually...
The opposite valley exit finally came into view and hope surged.
Only...
Behind them...
The reinforced wall keeping back the previous grimm had exploded. The combined weight of the Grimm horde had finally overwhelmed both Fortress and Shield.
The barrier collapsed into countless fragments and an endless sea of black immediately flooded into the canyon, becoming a funnel directing every pursuing Grimm directly toward the exhausted awakened.
Mocha looked behind and cursed, her expression falling.
"...Damn it. We're not gonna make it in time. Though... maybe this might work better than I thought."
The Vacuoan frowned and pointed toward the visible exit.
"What do you mean? In time for what? We're almost there, we just need to rush ahead. "
Mocha however, instead of answering immediately spun toward the logistics operative while pointing directly at him.
"You. Bubble Shield, around us, now!"
He blinked.
"...What? If I surround us, we won't be able to move!"
Mocha practically shouted.
"Just do it!"
Something in her voice erased every remaining hesitation.
"...Fine."
Blue runic energy erupted and a perfect spherical barrier enclosed the four awakened. Almost immediately the pursuing Ursa crashed into it and the Beowolf carrying the remaining Grimm riders followed.
Curiously...
Mocha noticed something strange.
The Sleepless operatives that were once riding atop their backs—they were gone. Their mounts remained, but their riders had disappeared.
Before she could understand why...
The world exploded. A titanic wave of heat and force erupted from deep within the valley. Rock vaporized and the creatures of grimm around them practically ceased existing. Entire sections of canyon wall simply disappeared beneath incandescent destruction.
The blast struck the bubble shield but instead of it breaking, the sphere transformed into a projectile. Propelled by the explosion, it shot violently backward through the valley exit like a cannonball.
The four occupants were thrown against one another as impossible acceleration crushed them into the barrier's inner surface.
The shield absorbed most of the punishment but not all. They finally slammed into the crimson ground nearly a kilometer beyond the valley.
The bubble bounced once, then twice and finally rolled to a stop. Cracks spread across its surface and the barrier shattered.
All four collapsed onto the ground coughing violently, every muscle screaming from the tremendous g-forces they had just endured.
For several long seconds, nobody spoke.
Then, slowly... the three exhausted awakened turned toward Mocha. Their expressions occupied a fascinating middle ground between complete disbelief and profound annoyance. Mocha remained flat on her back staring up at the black sky.
After another long moment, she let out one weak, thoroughly exhausted laugh.
"...Uh... what's that saying again?"
She coughed before finally spitting it out.
"Art, is an explosion?"