Chapter 169

　　"Strident Blades!" Katherine shouted the command word that would activate Hyperion`s increased speed. The reactor of the Titan hummed with power, filling the cockpit with the sound of its spinning. She could feel Hyperion`s eagerness to strike through the Neural Link, to prove its superiority against the Vore.

　　The world seemed to freeze around her as her focus reached inhuman levels. Nothing else existed to her but the Monarch before her. All extraneous thoughts drained from her mind as she concentrated on what she wanted to accomplish.

　　Even the Vore, with all their evolutionary traits and advantages, couldn`t keep up with her speed. She watched as The Monarch hovered above the ground, frozen in place while she rushed forward. It seemed defenceless. Its attention was on a group of fleeing Mechs in the distance.

　　With a yell, she plunged the howling and incomparably sharp vibrating progressive knife in Hyperion`s hand toward the creature`s unprotected chest. To her surprise, it felt like it was sinking into a quagmire of thick molasses. The harder she pushed, the more resistance she felt from space around the Monarch.

　　Finally, as the blade was mere inches away from the Vore`s skin, it halted. She could push closer, nor could she draw her arm back.

　　Worse than that, whatever barrier the creature was using to slow her knife was expanding rapidly. Even to her speed-enhanced senses, she was soon wholly trapped by an energy membrane. The flow of time began to resume its normal pace as the world around her came to life.

　　"Kal! I`m trapped!" Katherine shouted with fear. She desperately tried to pull Hyperion back from the Monarch, but she was unable to move at all. With no response from Kal, terror had her in her grip when the Vore turned its attention toward her.

　　Hyperion was defenceless. Its shields and armour were weak in comparison to the other Titans. It relied on its speed and agility to make up for it. She was helpless if she couldn`t move, easy prey from the monster in front of her.

　　Katherine watched as it languidly raised its hand, extending a single digit in her direction. She had seen the sensor recordings from Prometheus. She knew what would happen next. Whatever powers the Monarch had, they would pierce through the cockpit protecting her like they were made of paper.

　　"Kal, please! Don`t let me die!" Katherine whimpered quietly. She was sure she had been abandoned, left to her fate. She couldn`t blame Kal. The Ducal Houses could be selfish. Why would he risk his life for hers?

　　"Celestial Desolation!" Kal shouted, his voice breaking through the oppressive silence that surrounded her. Like an angel descending from the heavens, Atlas speared toward the ground like a lightning bolt.

　　Atlas` attack typically affected a wide area, increasing the gravity in the space in front of it to hundreds of times its standard level. But against a Monarch, Kal needed something more focused and much more powerful.

　　A monarch could protect itself with a psychic barrier capable of stopping even Prometheus` flames. Kal could only assume that Atlas would be similarly rebuffed in its attempts to use a wide-range gravity attack on it.

　　So, Kal focused all the effects of the attack onto Atlas` own body. He increased the weight of the massive Titan to hundreds of times its average mass and used the Titan itself as the weapon. With its thick armour and enhanced frame, Kal was confident that it could withstand the increased gravity.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

　　The Atlas plummeted toward the Monarch, and the air funnelled behind it as its mass hurtled downwards. Warning notifications lit up Kal`s terminal, alerting him to the potential consequences of his actions, but he ignored them.

　　He had faith that Atlas could handle the strain. Locking the Titan`s arms around its frame, he tucked its legs up, forming a compact ball that slammed into the Monarch`s barrier with devastating force. He just needed to puncture it, and the Monarch would be helpless against him.

　　In response to his assault, the Monarch ignored Hyperion. Keeping her trapped in a quagmire of psychic energy, it spun around, raising its four arms defensively against Atlas as it struck the Vore`s barrier.

　　Rather than the expected shockwave of impact, Atlas slowed its descent, sinking into the barrier similarly to Hyperion.

　　Only this time, Kal could see the strain his efforts were having on the Monarch to maintain it. With its four arms raised and directed against the Titan, the Vore was slowly being driven toward the ground as it couldn`t keep itself alight.

　　"Now!" Kal shouted.

　　Hyperion was still trapped, but Katherine could feel the effects on the Titan loosen as the Monarch`s efforts were focused on stopping Atlas from crashing into it. The reactor deep within Hyperion thrummed with power, and the knives in her hands resumed their keening wail as she struggled to plunge them deeper.

　　"Just die already!" Katherine shouted angrily.

　　With a final push, she drove the knives into the Monarch`s chest, piercing its grey flesh. Twisting and turning the blades, she sliced a line through its body. The barrier preventing Kal from attacking weakened, and Atlas crashed downwards.

　　Gripping his hands together tightly, Kal slammed Atlas` locked fists against the Vore`s head. Like a ripe melon, its skull shattered, sending a spray of black liquid and gore in all directions.

　　Releasing Celestial Desolation,` Atlas settled onto the ground with its normal weight as the Monarch crumpled beside it. Even with the Vore`s impressive healing powers, there was no coming back for the dead Monarch.

　　"We did it!" Katherine shouted with joy.

　　"We did!" Kal replied, smiling at the happy woman on his HUD. In moments, they were interrupted by Patrick`s communication.

　　"Caledon, we`re nearly there. Hold on for just a little bit more." The young Ducal heir urged, pushing the speed of the Sovereign to its limit. Next to him, Luminous was a blur as it flew across the sky.

　　"There`s no need to rush. The Monarch`s dead." Kal replied, taking Patrick by surprise.

　　"You killed it? With just the two of you?" Patrick asked in shock.

　　"Are you injured?" Iris asked.

　　"Minor wear on both our Titans. We pushed them pretty hard." Katherine replied.

　　"We`ll take over from here, get back to the Pyramid and have them repaired. I get the impression things are going to become chaotic soon. Argyle has sent out a revised schedule for the detonation. We only need to hold for less than two hours." Patrick explained.

　　In seconds, Kal and Katherine could see the two Titans descending from above. Sovereign shone golden in the yellow light, while Luminous was as bright as the sun.

　　"They found a way to quicken the detonation?" Kal asked. He had been a part of the planning for this mission. He knew the limitations they were working with.

　　"See for yourself." Patrick said cryptically, pointing to the sky above them.

　　The yellow sky was gradually darkening. So slow was the change that Kal and Katherine hadn`t noticed until Patrick pointed it out. The warm and bright yellow was ripening to orange and less than ten minutes later, had shifted to an angry red.

　　Patrick explained how the Engineers were using the reactor of Prometheus to provide more energy for the detonation, halving the time needed. It was a necessary sacrifice to ensure their survival, but it would mean the irreparable loss of the Titan`s reactor.

　　The Dyson Sphere began to shake around them as flashes of white light lit the horizon. Kal could see the Vore disappear into the radiance as it scoured the Sphere clean of their filth. Once one explosion ended, another would take its place.

　　"The second part of the plan. Argyle is detonating the Starship Engines to buy us time." Patrick said heavily. They watched troops falling back from the front lines as a crashing Starship exploded before reaching the surface.

　　Unlike the nuclear explosions they had been using before, the Engines left nothing behind to mark its passing. Even the metallic surface of the Sphere disappeared.

　　"All Titans, fall back to the Pyramid. The Vore can sense the end approaching and their gathering outside the Sphere for a final assault. We need you to hold the line for as long as you can." Argyle spoke through their communication channel.

　　The four Titans immediately took to the skies, heading toward the Pyramid, gleaming in the red light in the distance.