Vivian stood there staring at Gilbert's back as he continued his silence. "I don't get it? People die every day because of the Styx, especially towns like this that are more self-serving rather than depending on the Federation. They should lie in it."
"Vivian, stop talking," Gilbert said calmly. Do me a favor and incinerate their bodies."
Vivian shrugged her shoulders as she used her flamethrowers to light them on fire.
The flames consumed the remains swiftly, licking at the rubble and sending a thick plume of smoke into the air. Vivian stood motionless, watching as the bodies turned to ash, her expression unreadable.
The fire crackled in front of Gilbert, its glow casting stark shadows across the jagged remains of the manor. The flickering light traced the hard edges of his armor, illuminating the blood and soot that clung to its surface.
He didn't look back.
As the flames consumed the last remnants, leaving nothing but fine ash, Gilbert moved quietly. He drove his sword into the earth, the blade cutting deep into the scorched ground. With simple movements, he carved out a space, then pushed the ashes inside, burying them beneath the surface.
He searched the ruins until he found a large, solid stone. Lifting it, he placed it carefully over the burial site, sealing the remains beneath its weight.
Then, without a word, he carved into it, a nest, woven in etched lines, rough yet unmistakable.
Turning around, Gilbert looked Vivian in the eye
"This is wrong," He said softly, "So wrong."
Vivian barely had time to process his words when Pantheon system's warning blared through their helmets.
'Alert! A servant is in your vicinity! Alert! A servant is in your vicinity.
Their bodies became tense as William's urgent shout followed, with a panic-tingled voice.
"Umm, Sergeant, we have company!"
The sharp crackle of gunfire echoed from the manor's courtyard. Explosive bursts, the unmistakable roar of radion rounds streaking through the air.
Gilbert's grip tightened around his weapons as he pivoted toward the sound, boots kicking up dust as he sprinted toward the unfolding chaos.
"Vivian, let's go!" He shouted towards her.
Vivian cursed under her breath, shaking off their previous exchange.
Gilbert burst into the courtyard, weapons ready. The air pulsed with rapid-fire bursts, radion energy rounds colliding against a shimmering energy barrier that refused to break.
At the center stood the Servant Stygian, though human in size, had mechanical fingers, a mechanical piece at the center of its chest surrounded by three floating mechanical orbs, each pulsing with charged energy. The orbs hovered in synchronized movements, maintaining the protective field; every incoming round deflected harmlessly, scattering sparks across the ruined ground.
A familiar voice cut through the chaos.
"Good, Kruger, you're here! Help us take this thing down!" Aisling shouted over the comms as she and Askel surged forward, attempting to close the distance.
The Stygian reacted swiftly.
Two of its floating orbs whirled into motion, their cores flaring before unleashing large energy beams. The blast forced Aisling and Askel back, scorching the ground beneath them, forcing them to the ruined walls.
Gilbert fired in measured bursts, his shoulder-mounted assault rifle roaring alongside his pistols, rounds slamming into the shimmering barrier. Sparks scattered, energy rippling in response, but the shield held firm.
Just like the rest.
The floating mechanical orbs pulsed in perfect synchronization, continuously reinforcing the barrier, adapting to each impact.
Gilbert gritted his teeth. This isn't just a defensive system, it's reactive.
"We're wasting firepower on the shield," he said over comms. "We hit the orbs. Break its protection, then take it down."
"Askel! Aisling! You guys alive?" Gilbert asked, the tension sharpened as Gilbert's swords flared to life, electricity crackling along the blade, the heated edge pulsing with heatwaves.
Across from him, Askel cracked his neck, his gauntlets expanding with a deep mechanical hum before crashing together, the metallic sound spreading across the courtyard
"I'm always ready for a fight," he said, rolling his shoulders. "How about you, O'Neil?"
Aisling smirked, gripping her tonfas, their ends flaring to life, a bright surge of energy pulsing outward.
"That was just a little scratch," she said, cocky and unfazed.
The battlefield flared with energy as the three warriors closed in.
The Stygian's fingers pulsed, arcs of electricity crackling before a kinetic wave burst outward, forcing them back. The impact sent them skidding across the ground, disrupting their momentum, but not stopping them.
Gilbert adjusted, his flight unit roaring to life as he canceled the force, cutting through the pushback. He launched toward the Stygian, pivoting his thrusters with precise control. His movement became a series of rapid pirouettes, each strike landing from a different angle, forcing the barrier to react and shift.
The Stygian tried to lock onto him, its tracking system adapting, but Gilbert moved rapidly, weaving through each incoming strike, his blades trying to carve through the shield, disrupting its stability piece by piece.
Taking the opening, Aisling surged forward, adding to Gilbert's relentless assault. Her tonfas blazed with energy, slamming into weak points in the fluctuating barrier, exploiting the cracks that Gilbert had begun to carve.
Meanwhile, Askel struggled to close in.
The Stygian, anticipating him, its fingers glowing once more, fired concentrated kinetic attacks at him, forcing him to skid across the floor once more.
Gulbert's HUD flickered with combat diagnostics; their window of opportunity was close
"Okay, guys, focus fire on the weakest point, NOW!" He instructed as he sent them the weak point towards their HUDs. With a burst of concentrated fire, the Stygian's barrier came down.
"Yes! We can do this, guys," Gilbert said, celebrating across the comms.
Then the air shifted, tense, unnatural, as the squad registered a foreign voice speaking directly into their minds.
Before Gilbert's words of victory had even settled across comms, their suits translated the alien speech simultaneously.
"You are better than the others I've faced."
A synthetic voice, smooth, calculated.
Gilbert's grip tightened around his weapons, his stance subtly shifting as his squad instinctively stepped back, tension rising like static in the air.
"What?" His voice carried disbelief.
The Stygian replied in a sarcastic voice.
"You humans can't be surprised that I can talk."
Kean let out a low, mocking chuckle, eyes still locked onto their opponent.
"Oh, so now that your life's at risk, you suddenly feel chatty?"
The Stygian's metallic limbs flexed, its orbs pulsing with residual energy as it considered them.
"No. I just find you interesting. You aren't even High Knights, yet you still managed to take down my barrier. That is… surprising."
It paused, almost as if savoring the moment.
"I suppose that means we will be having some fun."
Aisling twirled her tonfas, her stance firm, gaze sharp.
"Then tell us your name," she said, curiosity laced in her tone.
The Stygian tilted its head.
"You have gained my interest—but you have not yet earned the right to hear my name."
Across the manor's ruined rooftop, a soldier from Askel's squad scoffed, his voice carrying amusement and disregard.
"Ptui! Big talk from a nasty creature who just got turned into our sergeant's punching bag."
Then, the air changed.
Energy surged from the device embedded in Stygian's chest, the charged atmosphere crackling with unnatural force.
Before anyone could react, the Stygian vanished, as if disappearing through space.
Then, a sickening impact.
It reappeared behind the soldier, its arm already impaling his chest, its fingers surrounded by an energy blade, glowing with lethal precision.
Blood splattered against the broken stone, dripping down the rooftop edge in harsh contrast to the crackling light.
The knight barely had time to gasp before his body shuddered, seized, and fell silent as blood splattered against the ruined rooftop, dripping down the broken structure.
The Stygian slowly removed its arm from the knight's chest with the sound of armor and bones breaking, flesh tearing, and blood splashing.
"Let us have some fun," He said as his mechanical orbs returned to floating around him.
Shock rippled across the squad as they all froze, their senses catching up to what had just happened.
"Contact!" Aisling shouted, launching forward.
Gilbert activated his thrusters, driving toward the Stygian in a flash of steel and fury.
The creature didn't dodge, the device on its chest glowing once again.
It turned, catching Gilbert's blade between its electrified fingers, the glowing energy weapon pressing dangerously close to his chestplate.
"You think you're fast?" the Stygian murmured into his mind, its voice chillingly smooth. "Let's see just how fast."
The impact was brutal, Gilbert barely had time to react before the Stygian's grip tightened around his neck, hurling him across the courtyard with terrifying force.
His body slammed into the wall, his armor absorbing some of the impact, but the force rattled through his frame. Before he could recover, the Stygian appeared in front of him, moving with unnatural speed.
Its hand drove toward his chest, energy surging at the point of impact
But at the last second, its attack halted, its body twisting sharply to evade.
A sniper round from Adam had forced the Stygian to dodge, the bullet tearing past where its head had been moments before.
The creature exhaled sharply, almost amused.
"Don't you uncivilized beings teach each other how to wait your turn?"
The words barely had time to settle before the air shifted again
It vanished. Appearing in the center of the courtyard, its orbs catch up to it before firing beams at all of them. The battlefield erupted into chaos.
The Stygian vanished again, its movements unnatural, unpredictable.
Then, another impact.
It reappeared behind another Knight, its fingers extending into a crackling energy blade. The Knight barely had time to register the threat before the weapon pierced through her back, exiting through her chest.
Her scream cut short.
The second casualty came seconds later.
Vivian attempted to flank, her flamethrowers trained, but the Stygian moved first, grabbing her by the throat and hurling her into the manor's shattered pillars, the force cracking her skull against the stone. Her body went limp, blood pooling beneath her.
"Vivian!" Adam roared, his thrusters engaging as he moved in for his next shot, but the Stygian was already on the move again.
It's the next target, Adam, the attacker.
With a terrifying burst of speed, it closed the distance, appearing behind Adam, its arm twisting in a sharp arc,
Adam twisted around mid-air, copying his squad's leader. Adam fired his sniper round, tearing into its shoulder.
The Stygian didn't stop.
Instead, it struck, its fingers pulsing with energy as it slashed upward, catching Adam his helmet, his visor cracking as the shard buried into his face.
Adam's body reeled backward, his eye obliterated in the strike.
Blood gushed from the wound as Adam stumbled, his HUD glitching violently.
Gilbert reacted instantly, thrusters roaring to life as he collided with the Stygian mid-strike, forcing it back for the first time. His shoulder-mounted assault rifle roaring to life, rounds hammering into the enemy's frame as he drove his sword forward.
But the blade clashed against an instantaneously deployed localized barrier, sparks scattered, energy rippling in the air between them.
Gilbert didn't hesitate.
"Kean, pull Adam back- NOW!" he barked across the comms, pivoting his thrusters to maintain his offensive position.
"Askel move your heavy ass!"
Askel didn't need to be told twice, he surged forward, his gauntlets as energy ran through his suit as his fist crashed into the Styx.
Meanwhile, Gilbert opened a channel to the platoon's comm network.
"This is Knight 141, Sergeant Gilbert Kruger. My squad, along with two others, is under attack by a Servant class Stygian. We are requesting immediate backup."
Static crackled, then a response.
"Confirmed, Knight 141. Reinforcements en route—ETA five minutes. Hold position!"
Five minutes.
They had to survive five minutes against an enemy that had already torn through them.
The Stygian tilted its head, watching them, its energy core humming with charged intensity.
"Let's see how many of you are still standing when they arrive," it murmured.
Then—it vanished again.