Lucy’s Pov The Mawqueen’s colossal silhouette blotted out the crimson horizon.
A suffocating pressure rolled across the shattered valley, pressing directly against Lucy’s mind like a physical weight.
The queen had reestablished the connection.
Psychic weight slammed into the Mutated Forest.
Through the haze, Lucy watched the ten remaining Mawlords snap their massive heads toward the city.
Stumbling and disorganized seconds ago, the monsters now moved with terrifying, synchronized clarity.
They surged forward.
Lucy skidded across the broken earth.
Blood dripped heavily from her left arm, the pain a dull throb beneath her spiking adrenaline.
Beside her, Kellan planted his boots.
He leaned on his massive hammer, a literal anchor of muscle and violet Resonance.
Gray brain matter still coated the weapon from the Mawlord he had cracked open minutes ago.
His chest heaved.
“Looks like she’s back online.” All around them, the Hollow Hunters were dying.
Lucy gritted her teeth.
Lacking armor and Sentinel-class weapons, the grunts dropped like flies beneath the crushing weight of the Mawlords.
Yet, the line held.
A few yards away, a rookie hunter ripped a jagged blade from a lesser Mawback’s throat.
Black blood and a wild grin painted the kid’s face.
Panting heavily, an older veteran with a missing ear stood beside the boy.
“You were pissing your pants five minutes ago, kid.
Now look at you.” The rookie spat a mouthful of dirt.
“Guess I found my rhythm, old man.” A Mawlord roared.
The sound shook the earth, vibrating deep in Lucy’s chest as the beast locked its glowing eyes on the two exposed hunters.
It charged.
Lucy gripped her spear, preparing to intercept, but a massive shadow eclipsed the hunters first.
Kellan slammed his hammer into the mud, throwing his body directly into the charging Mawlord.
The collision sounded like a train crash.
Violet energy flared as Kellan’s sheer mass forced the three-ton beast to a dead halt.
Ripping his hammer upward, he shattered the creature’s jaw.
He shoved the staggering beast aside and glanced over his shoulder.
“Keep your eyes open, rookies.” The veteran racked a fresh energy cell into his rifle, staring at the giant in disbelief.
“Any other Sentinel would have left us as bait just to steal the kill.
You’re out of your damn mind, you know that?” A low chuckle vibrated in Kellan’s chest.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time.” Lucy glared at the battered Hollow Hunters.
They were dead men walking.
“Scatter!
Your gear won’t dent a Mawlord!
Fall back and clear the lesser Mawbacks from our flanks!” Nobody moved.
Tightening his grip on his cracked sword, the rookie stepped up beside Kellan.
“Refused, ma’am.” “Are you deaf?” Lucy snapped.
“You’re going to die here for nothing.
Fall back to the secondary line!” A faint laugh escaped the boy.
He pointed a trembling, blood-soaked finger toward the horizon.
“Where the hell do I go?
The lesser ones are probably breaching Sector 135 by now.
If these giants get past us, I won’t have a home left to run to.” The veteran racked another energy cell into his gun, stepping up beside the boy.
“The kid’s right.
We can’t pierce that armor.
But we can be the bait you need.” Kellan stared at the battered squad.
“Cocky bastards.
All of you.” He hoisted his hammer, resting it on his shoulder.
He looked at Lucy.
“Alright.
How do we break their link to the Queen?” Tracking the charging Mawlords, Lucy narrowed her eyes.
She recalled the brief, sickening moment her mind had brushed against their hive network.
“When I connected to their hive mind earlier, I saw a weak point.
A small, fleshy parasite attached directly to the base of their skulls, right under the back armor plate.
That’s the tether.
Kill the parasite, sever the Queen.” “Say no more.” The veteran cracked his neck and glanced back at the remaining hunters.
“Listen up!
We are the meat.
Keep those ugly bastards looking at us.
Let the Sentinels take the neck.
Move!” The hunters roared.
They charged the vanguard head-on.
Lucy watched, her breath catching in her throat.
The lead Mawlord didn’t even slow down.
Sweeping a massive, scythe-like claw through the vanguard, it caught a dodging hunter.
He was a fraction of a second too slow.
The impact split the man from the top of his skull to his groin.
Blood and viscera rained across the dirt.
Using the falling halves of his comrade as a shield, the rookie sprinted straight under the beast’s guard.
He leaped off a shattered boulder and drove his sword deep into the Mawlord’s glowing eye.
Shrieking, the beast thrashed its skull backward.
It was exactly the opening Lucy needed.
Moving like a silver blur, she vaulted off Kellan’s shoulder.
She landed squarely on the beast’s massive back.
Her spear flashed downward, driving beneath the armor plates at the base of its skull.
The blade pierced the parasite.
The Mawlord froze.
Seizing up like a puppet with cut strings, the monster stumbled aimlessly into the mud.
Below, the dead man’s partner screamed.
“This is for my friend, you motherf*cker!” Driving a thermal-charged blade directly into the Mawlord’s exposed throat, the hunter blew the beast apart.
The monster collapsed into a heap of burning flesh.
One down.
A piercing psychic shriek echoed across the valley, slicing through Lucy’s mind like shattered glass.
The remaining Mawlords instantly adapted.
Shifting their formation, the hive-mind swarmed.
Armor crushed and bones snapped.
Desperate screams echoed through the valley as the monsters ripped the hunters apart one by one.
Lucy forced herself not to look away.
Beside her, Violet Resonance flashed across Kellan’s hammer.
Throwing himself into the center of the carnage, he swept his weapon in shockwave-inducing arcs.
He became a living wall.
Glancing blows that would pulverize a normal man simply bounced off his thick armor as he actively absorbed strikes meant for the dying hunters.
Darting through the legs of a distracted Mawlord, Lucy scaled its spine in three rapid steps.
Her spear drove into a second parasite.
Kellan followed up instantly, bringing his hammer down on the disoriented beast’s skull with a sickening crack.
Two down.
But there were simply too many.
Dead bodies choked the battlefield.
Broken weapons and shredded armor littered the mud, mixing indiscriminately with black monster blood.
Standing over a pile of broken trees, Kellan let out ragged, bloody gasps.
He looked at the circling Mawlords, then at the handful of surviving Hollow Hunters.
They were barely standing.
Loosening his grip on his hammer, he kept his eyes forward.
“Listen up.
You guys did well.
Damn well.
But I can’t protect you anymore.
From here on out, hold your own line.
Let me focus on these fuckers.” Wiping blood from the side of his head, the veteran racked another round.
The rookie grinned, tightening his grip on a cracked, sparking sword.
They didn’t look terrified anymore.
“Give’em hell, Sentinel.” A desperate battle cry tore from their throats.
The last of the Hollow Hunters charged into the overwhelming tide of monsters, throwing their lives directly into the meat grinder.
They bought their Sentinels one more minute.
Lucy watched them charge to their deaths.
the nearest Mawlord swiped its massive claws towards her.
Twisting sideways, she thrust her spear forward.
The blade drove deep into a gap between its scales.
Roaring, the beast swept its tail.
Lucy planted her spear to brace herself, but the sheer force still hurled her backward.
Her boots skidded across the broken earth.
Another Mawlord instantly loomed over her.
Its jaws snapped down.
“Kellan!” A resonance-charged hammer slammed into the beast, erupting in sparks and knocking it off course.
Kellan stepped directly over Lucy, swinging his hammer upward into the Mawlord’s jaw.
Flattening the grass for dozens of meters, the shockwave sent the beast crashing backward through a line of dead trees.
Sweeping low, Lucy’s spear scraped against another monster’s foreleg until the limb buckled.
Kellan appeared an instant later.
His hammer came down, shattering the joint.
Another monster immediately filled its place.
The hive mind gave them no room to breathe.
Ducking beneath a sweeping claw, Lucy left her side exposed.
A sudden shoulder-check from the beast slammed into her ribs.
She tumbled across the battlefield, stopping only when she dug her spear into the earth.
Blood ran down her lips.
Planting his frame in front of her, Kellan raised his hammer to absorb an incoming strike.
“You good?” She spat blood onto the mud.
“Barely.” “Good.” They charged together.
A second Mawlord lunged from her blind spot.
He was already there, ripping his hammer upward to intercept.
Shockwaves hammered the earth.
The charging monster staggered backward with a crushed jaw.
A third was already upon them.
Kellan’s hammer met the incoming claw.
They locked in a stalemate.
The sheer mass of the beast forced the Sentinel backward, his boots digging deep trenches into the earth.
“Damn.” Throwing his entire weight forward, Kellan forced the beast away just enough for Lucy to slip between them.
Her spear found a gap beneath its shoulder.
Twisting the weapon, she reached for the parasite.
The angle was wrong.
The tip abruptly snapped against a dense, mutated bone.
The vibration rattled her teeth.
Ripping the shattered shaft free, she reversed her grip, holding the broken metal like a dagger.
The Mawlords’ attacks overlapped with terrifying precision.
Staring at the distant silhouette of the Mawqueen, Kellan’s shoulders slumped a fraction.
“We’re too late.” Driving the broken spear straight into a Mawlord’s eye, Lucy forced it to recoil.
“Then quit gawking and hurry up.” He smashed the creature away.
“I wasn’t gawking.
I was counting.” Lucy understood immediately.
There were too many.
The Queen would reach the city long before they broke the line.
Stealing one final glance toward the horizon, Kellan let out a tired breath.
“Guess this is as far as we go.” He stepped in front of Lucy, settling the hammer into both hands.
He felt like an immovable mountain.
She caught his shoulder, trying to shove him aside.
“What are you doing?” Planting the hammer firmly into the earth, he didn’t budge.
“Stay behind me.” The Mawlords lowered their bodies, spreading out.
They weren’t just attacking anymore.
They were hunting.
Drawing a slow, deliberate breath, Kellan tightened his grip.
“Here they come.” The monsters charged.
For several minutes, the valley turned into a blur of steel, claws, and explosive shockwaves.
Then, one of the Mawlords changed its pattern.
Instead of meeting Kellan head-on, it twisted around the clash.
The beast slipped fluidly through the narrow gap between the Kellan and his target.
“Lucy!” She spun at the sound of his voice.
A massive claw tore through the air.
The impact folded Lucy’s body around the strike.
It hurled her across the battlefield, ripping through shattered trees and broken stone until the ground finally caught her.
The right side of her silver Resonance Armor exploded into useless fragments.
Blood sprayed across the stone.
Pushing off the ground, she tried to stand, but her lower half absolutely refused to move.
A Mawlord loomed over her.
Blinding crimson light gathered deep in its glowing throat.
Kellan was already running.
Every step tore open another wound across his body.
His eyes darted between Lucy and the charging Mawlord.
The beam erupted.
Throwing his body directly into the path, Kellan took the blast.
A blinding crimson glare swallowed the valley.
The beam carved heavily across his shoulder, instantly melting his armor and burning through flesh.
Dropping to one knee, his right arm hung useless at his side.
A single, breathless laugh escaped him.
“You alright?” Lucy stared at his mangled body.
Her lips moved.
No sound came out.
His gaze lingered on her.
His eyes softened into something quiet and final.
Reaching for the clasps on his chest, he flicked them.
One by one, they released.
His violet Resonance Armor dimmed.
It flowed rapidly off his body, spreading across Lucy’s shattered suit.
The warmth of his Resonance, the unyielding anchor that had held her steady for a decade, wrapped completely around her.
It left him totally defenseless.
Shaking her head violently, Lucy choked on a sob.
But words failed her.
He smiled.
His left hand gently brushed the blood from her cheek.
His thick, calloused fingers trembled.
In all the years she had fought beside him, Kellan had never trembled.
“Let me handle the rest.” Gripping his torn sleeve with all the strength she had left, Lucy blinked through hot, sudden tears.
The words finally came to her.
“Why are you doing this?” Looking at her blood-soaked face, Kellan let out a soft sigh.
“I don’t know.” His smile reached his eyes.
Tired, but completely at peace.
“Maybe watching you die would hurt a hell of a lot more.” Leaning in, his voice dropped to a harsh whisper.
Only she could hear it over the charging monsters.
“You were the only friend I ever had.
So live, Lucy.
Live the rest of it for me.” Gathering the absolute last ounce of strength in his body, he grabbed her harness and threw her high into the air.
He cleared her from the immediate blast zone.
Tapping his wristband, he spoke, “Armor.
Bulwark.
Keep her safe, buddy.” A synthetic chime rang out from the armor encasing her.
“Force shield activated.” A brilliant blue barrier wrapped securely around Lucy’s ascending body.
Suspended in the air, she looked down.
Kellan never looked back at her.
Without his armor, he was just a man.
A broken, bleeding man with one good arm and a hammer that suddenly looked far too heavy.
Charging his e-cells, he planted his boots deep into the mud anyway, he squared his shoulders against the end of the world.
Crimson light surged forward again in the beast’s throat.
Roaring, Kellan swung his hammer straight into the incoming beam.
For a second, the valley stood completely still.
Then, the light swallowed him whole.
⋙ ──── ✦ ──── ⋘ Through the blue tint of the force shield, Lucy watched the mud boil where Kellan used to stand.
To the upper brass sitting in pristine, reinforced command bunkers, Hunters were just a statistic.
A margin of error.
Expendables sent into meat grinders to act as speed bumps for the apocalypse.
But watching the scattered, broken bodies of the hunters from above, Lucy finally understood what Kellan had seen in them.
They hadn’t fought for the brass.
They fought for the terrified kids crammed into underground subways.
For rundown apartments, and the noisy streets they called home.
They were the true shield of humanity.
Brittle, battered, but utterly unyielding.
And that was exactly why Kellan died for them.
He wasn’t a glory-chasing Sentinel.
He didn’t fight for medals or the admiration of the elites.
Beneath the violet armor, Kellan fought for the exact same thing those rookies in the mud did.