Aghamenon Levox, an ex-special forces operative who is supposed to die in his mission, had become an Archangel among the few who succeeded in the rigorous transformation process.
Now, facing a five-meter-tall insect, he reaffirmed his hatred for the creature, a monster or an abomination attempting to devour him when he least expected it. The flies posed no real danger, but their presence was offensive to them, their futile attempts to breach his armor seals annoying him. He raised his hand flamecannon and with a wave of his hand, he swept fire from the weapon across his armor, incinerating the biting pests as they died as victims of the burning pinathium.
The creature shrieked in rage, four spider-like limbs protruding from its back, sharp and lethal. Despite hanging without apparent movement, it seemed propelled by these limbs, making its movements faster but more erratic.
Was this creature responsible for orchestrating the attack on the city? If so, the parameters of the threat had escalated. Having observed the battlefield, Aghamenon noted the striking similarity among the enemies, some appearing as exact duplicates of others. This creature, separate from the others and totally different from the enemies in strength and sorcery, this thing seemed more like a commander than a mere foot soldier.
"Pilot," Aghamenon called out to the pilot of a nearby AH-72. "Ready your weapons. But hold your fire until I give the command, and target my position."
[Subject #116, bombing your vicinity would be highly inadvisable.]
"If it becomes necessary, you will follow my orders."
The pilot's silence betrayed his disagreement, but he eventually replied, [Understood.]
The abomination used witchcraft, an array of curses and hexes were cast upon him. Lightning in the shape of birds, razor-sharp gales, arachnid aberrations, and all that was thrown at him in an attempt to restrain him.
Claws descended upon him, lethal talons of fury seeking to rend him apart. This creature was just as bloodthirsty, instinct accompanied by an evil intelligence and totally alien to man, with the sole purpose of consuming.
The creature was fast, its reflexes impressive for its own size, and its strength greater.
If it had been in a confined space it is very likely that this monster would have overpowered him by now.
For every thrust he managed to deflect, a new cut was made on his armor, his flesh began to hit, and nanomachines worked hastily to close the wounds.
A net of threads was shot from the beast's jaws, a sharp gleam made him recognize the edge of the monofilament, it was the first time he had to dodge an attack.
Again more sorcery reached him, a pattern of attack that he was beginning to notice. This creature, this abomination, was weakening him, eating away at him, or at least trying to. He knew that if he used the flamethrower the creature would dodge it and end up reducing the space he now needed. That was why he had no choice, sacrifice was inevitable after all.
Once more, the creature lunged at him, appendages open in a deadly embrace. It was clear that the abomination wanted to trap him, to devour him like a praying mantis.
It was what he wanted.
Because as soon as that thing embraced him and raised its fangs to bite, Aghamenon pressed the trigger of his hand flamecannon.
...And the Hunter Matriarch screamed.
"SCREEEEEEEECH?!?!!"
Pinathium, a newly discovered element found deep within Mount Pinatubo, one of the active volcanoes in the Imperial Maharlika. This element can become a versatile fuel capable of existing in various forms, from crude oil to high-powered hyper-refined fuel. For it to be in a flamethrower, this would serve as a highly volatile incendiary gel capable of reaching extreme temperatures and in some cases exceeding 3000°C.
It had been a calculated risk. Aghamenon knew he would survive the flaming fire on him as his adamantium armor could withstand the intense heat long enough to eliminate his attacker. However, on this occasion, it was a gamble with slim odds. To kill the creature that had outmaneuvered him, he had allowed an opening. The abomination's slender arm was even capable of containing the strength of Aghamenon's arm and immobilized his sword, the main weapon he would have planned to kill it with once it entered his trap. The thing had considered his move and countered accordingly.
However, whether through ignorance or simple overconfidence, his other arm had been left free. Aghamenon fired his Hand flamecannon, and bathed the creature in thrice-blessed burning fire. But in doing so, he too would be engulfed by the super-hot gel. While his adamantium armor might offer substantial protection, the same could not be said for sure about the joints of its armor.
Even so, his hatred for such a monster made him want to kill it as quickly as possible. He felt the intense heat licking his skin, causing the heat-resisted systems to activate, coating his skin with a protective liquid that shielded him from the extreme temperatures. The insectoid even let go to try to jump away from his reach, but the Archangel wouldn't let it as he seized it by what looked like a neck and didn't allow it to escape.
With his flaming arm, he held it fast and squeezed the trigger once more, causing the abomination to scream in agony, its voice distorted into a chilling echo, a perfect voice for a demon.
Trese watched everything that had happened. She even watched as the insectoid fell and thrashed within the flames until it was reduced to ashes.
She felt no sympathy for the creature, instead she was satisfied to see it die. The Archangel threw the Insect Demon's flaming body, still writhing, as it futilely tried to extinguish the flames, but it ultimately died.
"Enemy terminated."
The next moment, Trese watched as the Archangel turned its attention to the ongoing battle and swiftly moved forward.
"Damn…"
Curious, she stood up and followed the Archangel's path and gazed upon the main battlefield, where she only found destruction. While a hundred helicopters were dealing with the demons beyond the dam, the ten members of the Archangel unit alone held the line against those that breached the walls.
"This level of destruction... only brought by just ten soldiers," Trese muttered, swallowing her saliva bitterly.
As she continued to observe the destruction unfold before her, she witnessed one of the Archangel unit members split a demonic knight in two with his bladed sword, the weapon slicing through metal as if it were mere wet paper.
Gunshots shredded pieces of bone and flesh to rank after rank of demons. Plasma shots as hot as the core of the sun atomized demonic warriors and beasts alike.
Not even Viscount-rank demons stood a chance.
The entrance of the Archangel unit had cut off the invader's advance. Now with their numbers no longer flowing to the walls, the defenders regained momentum in their counterattack.
The Archangels carved a path through the ranks of hellish forces. Weapons with certainty capable of quickly ending these abominations they faced. They advanced on a path of destruction with such speed and precision that made them the perfect weapons of war for the Austronesian Empire.
But nevertheless.
This time something different happened.
BOOM!
A black sphere of unknown metal hit one of the Archangels. To any observer, it might have seemed a crude attempt to attack these superhuman cybernetic warriors with iron balls.
But the effect was not caused by a simple launch.
The sphere made contact, and adamantium crumbled. It shattered like crystal, fractured like stone under a hammer. And the Archangel died.
The sphere withdrew at hypersonic speed, leaving a trail of blood in the air.
It moved again.
And it took the head of another battle brother.
Splinters of bones flew as if a grenade had exploded. Chunks of adamantium rained everywhere as each of the cybernetic warriors were killed one after another by something moving impossibly fast.
Within seconds, a squad of Archangels had fallen.