Chapter 164

　　Duchess Iris Naice stared down at the battlefield from Luminous with a cold detachment that always shrouded her when she Piloted the Titan.

　　She didn`t know if it was the same for the other Titan Pilots, and she was unwilling to ask. The thought of displaying weakness in front of the others was unimaginable. As one of the weakest Ducal Houses, Naice could never show a disadvantage for fear that others would capitalize on it.

　　It was why she had declared for Augustus early. The man had promised protection for her sector and significant concessions that would help them regain what was lost in the Rebellion.

　　She had never met her parents, but she hoped they would have approved of how she handled things.

　　Watching the ebb and flow of the combat below her, she felt nothing but disgust for the Vore. They were dirty, hideous creatures whose stain had to be removed from the universe.

　　At first, she had only agreed to accompany Argyle on this endeavour because of Prince Augustus. Now that everyone supported his claim for the throne, she needed to do whatever she could to prove her loyalty, to set her apart from the rest.

　　But now, after seeing the Vore, she felt a renewed sense of purpose. Luminous was created to burn this blight away, and she would see it done.

　　Iris Naice felt no sense of fear regarding her possible death. The Titans were indestructible powerhouses, and she was safely ensconced inside its comforting embrace.

　　But if the worst did come to pass, she had left samples with the Imperial Geneticists. Augustus himself had secretly agreed to provide the other half in exchange for her presence here, ensuring that Naice would carry on and her children would have the Emperor`s protection as their father.

　　Shaking off her thoughts, she returned her focus to the battle below.

　　From up on high, the drones looked like ants, their movements frenzied as they hurled themselves at the defending humans. The bright flashes of bluish-white and crimson energy of weapon fire nearly constantly obscured the ground.

　　Iris could feel the atmosphere shake around her as a Colossus unleashed another artillery barrage from the massive guns on its shoulders. A mushroom cloud of dust and debris rose on the superheated air created by the explosion.

　　In the wake of the nuclear blast, tens of thousands of charred and smoking Vore bodies remained. Iris watched in fascination as the survivors picked themselves off the blackened ground and dragged the dead back toward the rift in the Sphere`s structure.

　　"Why are they so concerned with the dead?" Iris whispered. She was perplexed by the behaviour. The Vore showed no concern for the injured, nor did they slow their advance because of the heavy losses they were sustaining.

　　Was there some other reason the drones were collecting the corpses?

　　Her question was answered moments later when an injured Vore Soldier, its massive body missing limbs and heavily burned, fell onto a pile of gathered corpses. It devoured them in moments, swallowing its comrades whole.

　　A few seconds later, black liquid rushed from its offices, filling the damaged parts of its body and leaving smooth and unblemished flesh behind. Even its limbs regrew, the gushing black liquid solidified into new arms and legs.

　　The healed monstrosity lurched forward once more, engaging against its opponents. Worse, it seemed to have grown more robust. The lasgun fire that had once been able to pierce its flesh was being resisted, requiring even more significant amounts of energy to penetrate its body.

　　"They are recycling the dead to heal and improve the living. Is this how they evolve? The Vore adapt so quickly!" Iris Naice exclaimed in awe.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

　　Redirecting her attention, Iris`s vision zoomed closer to the battlefield. She could find hundreds, if not thousands, of instances of the Vore improving themselves. If this continued, it could be trouble for the defenders.

　　As of right now, the technological advantages of humanity were evening the battlefield against the numerically superior Vore, but if that gap widened&.

　　Iris felt a chill travel down her spine. The longer this battle lasted, the stronger the Vore would become. It didn`t matter how many they killed, not if they could simply repair their bodies. They would be endless, becoming stronger as they lost more of their numbers.

　　She looked behind her at the Silver Pyramid, nearly a thousand miles in the distance. The tip of the Pyramid was glowing with a bright yellow light. It would be hours, possibly days, before the artificial sun could be destroyed, causing an explosion large enough to eliminate the Vore Hive.

　　At first, she had thought their survival was a given. There was no way humanity could lose to a collection of thoughtless and vile monsters like the Vore. But the longer she watched them, the less sure she became.

　　"There`s another rift!"

　　"Fall back! Fall Back!"

　　Shouts erupted through the universal channel, and even the professional troops of the Imperial Guard were losing their composure over the unending tide of creatures assaulting them. Iris saw a gargantuan, squid-like Vore entangle a dozen Mechs with thousands of long tentacles that waved in the air.

　　The bound Mobile Suits would be easy prey for the Vore, and even with the power of multiple Particle Projection Cannons wielded by Medium Class Mechs, they couldn`t free the trapped Guard.

　　Multiple rifts had formed closer to their lines, allowing the Vore to close with the humans without exposing them to the human`s fire, and they were all converging on the now weakened spot in their defence line.

　　"Tsk." Iris grumbled with derision.

　　In her opinion, the Imperial Guard was a disappointment. Her House Guard would have been much more capable, but the troops that she brought were further back from the front lines.

　　"Come, Luminous. Let us show these animals our power!" Iris shouted, and the Titan began to shine with an inner orange light.

　　The Titan spread its arms. Its unarmoured body looked weak and fragile compared to the monsters it would be facing below, but its true power wasn`t in its frame or weaponless hands. It was contained within the strange headpiece that the Titan wore.

　　Its headpiece was similar to a crown, with hundreds of long, jagged and twisting lengths of silver metal that looked like lightning, frozen in place as it touched Luminous` head. Along the segments of silver forked lightning, glowing balls of multi-coloured crystals hung like fruit on the limbs of a tree.

　　Branching out for dozens of feet, it made Luminous appear unique amongst the other Titans.

　　The Mobile Suit spread its arms wide, and a glowing light emerged from its body. The crystals reflected the glow, enhancing their brilliance.

　　"Dazzling Splendour!" Iris shouted, and the glowing balls of crystal detached from the Titan`s headpiece. Flying through the air as if hurled with great strength, they scattered across the battlefield below her. A glow began to suffuse the ground, a kaleidoscope of light that was eery to anyone who saw it.

　　The Vore ignored the crystals, focusing on eliminating the humans in their way.

　　A streak of energy erupted from the headpiece of Luminous, a crackling electricity that zigged and zagged from the forked prongs of its crown before streaking toward the nearest crystal orb. The sky was rent with the thunderous crack of lightning, deafening in its intensity.

　　The electricity vaporized anything caught in its path, and Iris carefully directed it at superhuman speed between the crystal orbs. The Vore that stood before her disappeared, and not even ash remained to mark their passing.

　　"Return." Iris commanded, and the orbs floated back to rest on her Titan`s headpiece.

　　All around her, she could hear the cries and shouts of gratitude from the Imperial Guard. Even though the Vore returned moments later, her actions gave them a chance to firm their defences again.

　　"Thank you, Duchess Naice. Without you, we would have been-" The Guard Commander for this area began to speak when he was suddenly interrupted.

　　"Look out!" He shouted.

　　Duchess Naice noticed too late that a tentacle had stretched hundreds of feet from an opening beneath her Titan, wrapping its way suddenly around its foot and began to drag her beneath the surface. With a crash, she broke through the metallic plating covering the Dyson Sphere.

　　Arrayed before her were thousands of Vore. The tentacle trapping her foot belonged to another squid-like Vore, this one floating in the empty space beyond the Dyson Sphere. Thousands of Soldier variants were waiting to pounce when the Titan arrived.

　　"You filthy monsters! How dare you sully Luminous with your taint!" Iris Naice shouted, her skin flushed an ugly red with anger.

　　Despite their superior numbers, she burned them all away. Her Titan unleashed endless amounts of electricity.

　　The Imperial Guard Mobile Suits, watching the hole the Titan had been dragged through warily, stepped back quickly as a geyser of orange energy shot up from the backlash of destruction Luminous released.