Chương 38: 37-GodMode

Jenna groaned as she stood up and saw a different world from the one she had been in five seconds ago. A bleak urban landscape, filled with the debris of destroyed vehicles and the ruins of buildings. The vehicles looked military—tanks and APCs —and were in remarkably good shape for wreckage; there was no sign of rust or corrosion on any of them. Bob and Jenna were on the ledge of a basalt cliff, miles away from the action, but in a privileged spot from which to watch it.

Thousands of Federation troops, neatly ordered into squadrons, were arrayed in a huge circle around a central figure. Jenna could see the glittering form of mechas marching among the troops. Covens of wizards on floating platforms flew over the theatre of operations, ready to unleash their deadly spells on the enemy. Jenna enhanced her eyesight, focusing on the lone figure. It was a shining man whose feet did not touch the ground—Billy. Or an Asian version of him.

"Oh my god, Bob, that bastard is going to make Billy fight that whole army at once."

"I think he wants us to watch, but not to intervene," said Bob.

"Damn, I am trying to reach Billy through the Blood Link, but he is refusing my calls. I don't think he is Billy at all. He is GodMode. I told him to protect himself," Jenna protested.

"Jenna, you know as well as I that he was never going to break his word."

"GodMode already lost once against the Feds, Bob."

"Well, I think this is the new, upgraded version." GodMode was exultant. He was free. All his powers were back, and at a much higher level than before. His might was almost like an Omega's. Fire! Nice. He never struck first. It clashed with his style. Hundreds of magical beams of various kinds jumped towards him. Orbs thrown by magically enhanced arms fell around him, discharging their payload of magical death. His Aura absorbed all the damage, glowing brighter in the process.

The squad leaders kept shouting numbers, trying various maneuvers to breach his defense. No. That is not how you do it. You do not scream numbers when you attack. You scream words. GodMode entered a fighting stance. Energy swirled into his right fist, turning it incandescent. He shouted a single word, in Japanese, one that any of the late fans going to the Anime Con would have instantly recognized.

A searing, enormous bolt of white-hot energy reached the first squad, turning it into cinders, as well as the two squads arrayed behind it. The first strike was his. Colonel Hawking watched from atop the floating disk he was using to direct his troops. Damn it! He was even stronger than the first time. No matter, we beat him once, we can do it again. He shouted orders into his talisman: "GodMode protocols activated. Use only maneuvers from series 34 to 42."

GodMode watched as the squads changed their formation into an arrow-shaped one. The ground trembled as a dozen Mechas, each one over 15' tall, increased their speed and charged towards him. Floating disks, each one carrying half a dozen wizards, rose into the sky, their magic combining into powerful spells. The grenadiers threw orbs that fell pitifully short of him. They lay there, pulsing… no, not orbs. They burst open, releasing mechanical monstrosities, sleek weapons of destruction made of blades and hunger.

All the gunners simultaneously released a single beam of light, not directed against him but towards a point in mid-air. A ball of energy manifested at that point, growing in size and glowing brighter until it suddenly focused into a powerful laser attack headed towards GodMode's head. He dodged at the last second and felt the laser caress his face. He touched his cheek. His fingers found a scar where there had been none before, and came away bloody. He smiled. He was not going to get bored, after all.

The summons closed on him; up close, they looked like a hybrid between a Doberman and a razor blade. GodMode closed his eyes in concentration and gathered his energies in his right fist. Magnetic Fist! he screamed in Japanese as he struck the nearest one. The strength of his blow sent the cyberhound flying over its pack, and he charged its metallic hide with magnetic energy. All its brethren flew towards it, like ships caught in a maelstrom.

They stuck to the magnetized hound, forming an enormous metallic ball made of defenseless monsters. GodMode unleashed his signature attack, melting it into slag. By then, the flying platforms were already in position, and they pelted GodMode with high-energy attacks. He dodged them all, using the barest amount of effort, as if certain death were a trifle unworthy of his full attention.

"Mecha Squad, charge!" screamed Hawking. Hatches in the chest of the metallic giants charging GodMode opened, revealing Federation snipers inside them. They shot at GodMode while their mechas closed the distance, trying to close into melee. GodMode transformed into a literal whirlwind that swept the mechas aside like a child having a tantrum, throwing his toys away. Then, the whirlwind vanished, but GodMode could not be seen.

"Oh, god, where has he gone?" asked a young wizard on one of the floating platforms as he witnessed the fight below.

"Here," answered GodMode. He had teleported onto the platform and was standing just behind him. He attacked the five mages with a combination of hits so graceful that they looked like a single movement. He did not kill any. They were all left unconscious or unable to move. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Then he unleashed his signature attack on the squads and Mechas below. He cleared half of them in thirty seconds.

"Colonel, he is on one of our platforms. He is killing everyone," the shrill voice of one of his captains came through Hawking's communication amulet.

"I can see that, you moron. Take that platform down," he ordered.

"But, Colonel, the men on that platform are still alive."

"Do it!" Hawking ordered. At that moment, GodMode turned around and looked at him straight in the eye. They were hundreds of feet apart and surrounded by chaos, but he had no trouble picking Hawking amidst the confusion. He smiled at the Colonel. Hawking heard his cold voice in his mind— You are not willing to die for what you believe in, Hawking. You let others do that for you. Then he vanished, just moments before a barrage of magical fire hit the platform, slaying all the occupants. Hawking swore.

This was going badly. The old GodMode protocols were not working. Not particularly surprising, considering they had already been used against him. He had to use the new ones. The Colonel sighed. He was going to use a stunt that could only be used once. He had paid a great price to achieve it—it was his most powerful ability, at his 65th level. A level he had acquired by stuffing himself full of the Coven's elite quests, until he had effectively crippled his ability to advance.

Hawking knew he had no more than two or three years left; he had destroyed his magical matrix by abusing it. If he stopped this monster today, it would be worth it.

"Omega protocol!" he announced.

"Command is transferred to Captain Taylor." Two or three years might be wildly optimistic. He was not getting out of this fight alive. Hawking's body began to shine, even brighter than GodMode's. He slowly floated in the air, quickly rising one hundred feet up. He turned into a white sun, a blinding black hole made of light. All the Mechas and the flying platforms still standing were drawn into it, as if by a magnet. The energy globe began to change shape, slowly assuming the proportions of a human form.

Suddenly, the light went out, revealing a gigantic Mecha, nearly 100 feet tall. Hawking and the remaining Federation troopers rode inside it, powering it with their magic. GodMode floated to a point fifty feet away from the metal titan's face. He laughed.

"This was your ace in the hole? Montoya's dumb design?"

"I am this dungeon, Colonel. I have heard every word you have uttered inside it since you enslaved me."

"Did you really think I did not know about this?"

"I knew, Colonel. I prepared. This whole dungeon is a counter to your move. See those ruined vehicles? They are not there by chance." GodMode had also begun to shine as he said these words. Suddenly, all the wrecked cars and all the smashed tanks were drawn to him, much as the Federation troops had become part of Hawking. When the light died, two metal titans faced each other. Then they clashed. The chest of Hawking's mecha opened, launching thousands of missiles against Godmode.

"You command those missiles, Hawking?" GodMode's mocking voice resounded over the landscape.

"I can do better!" The missiles turned against each other in mid-air, filling the sky with explosions. Hawking released a column of fire from his Mecha's metallic mouth. It hit the ground, transforming into a fiery whirlwind, easily twice Godmode's size.

"I can do better!" shouted Godmode as he shot a metallic capsule into the incoming typhoon of fire. It changed color and temperature, becoming an icy whirlwind. It also changed direction and turned toward Hawking at double its initial speed. Hawking clumsily jumped out of the way, but the whirlwind caught its Mecha's right arm, freezing it solid. Twin lasers surged from the Federation Mecha's eyes toward Godmode.

Godmode's chest suddenly became reflective, and the lasers were turned back against Hawking, scorching his mecha's chest.

"I can do better!" Godmode shouted triumphantly. On and on they fought, using every trick in the book. Hawking slashed at his foe with all the combined knowledge and reflexes of one thousand soldiers. GodMode did better. Hawking transformed parts of his Mecha into new weapons, using them desperately against his enemy. GodMode did better. Hawking then understood two things: that he would never win the fight and that Godmode was wrong about him—he was willing to die for what he believed in.

"Activate the self-destruct sequence," he ordered the combat computer. The core powering his Mecha grew white-hot. He would do a last service to the Federation by taking this bastard down with him.

"It was an honor fighting with you all," he somberly told all the troops powering the mecha, through the internal speaker.

"I wish I could do this alone." Then he lunged against his enemy, trying to seize him in a death embrace. He found nothing to grasp as his arms went through the hologram Godmode had been projecting for the last ten seconds. He saw Godmode's true form at some distance. A safe distance. GodMode had again done better.

"Abort sequence, abort sequ—" The Federation's Mecha erupted in a huge ball of flame. When the smoke settled, only one titan remained standing. Its head opened, and GodMode's shining form floated out of it. He looked at the sun for a long time, as if he were afraid of forgetting what it looked like. Finally, when its hour was almost up, Godmode floated towards the ledge on which Bob and Jenna had watched the whole fight. He sat down in the lotus position and looked inside his soul.

"Billy," GodMode's voice suddenly woke him up. Billy could see through the Core's eyes. Jenna and Bob were looking at him.

"It is time for me to leave. I am giving you back your body," GodMode said.

"It was a short life, only one hour. But it was so full, Billy. It was so well-lived."

"I got my pride back. I got my name back. I killed, not out of anger or revenge, but because that man had to be stopped. Everything I did had a purpose."

"I am content, Billy. I leave three friends behind."

"The one who inspired me."

"The one who refused to take advantage of me."

"The one who kept his word to me, even though it could have cost him everything."

"I could have lived for ten thousand years, and not have lived a better life than this one. Thank you, Billy. Please, say goodbye to Peter and Bilto in my name." Then, almost gently, GodMode's mind released Billy's soul from his own. Billy felt the latest addition to his Akashic Library turn gray and disappear: Cosmic Warrior (Core), Level 98 Avatar. The dungeon shook as it imploded. Billy was back in the Blue Room, feeling a huge essence cloud hover over Milwaukee. It was time.

He followed Dawn's instructions to the letter. He used Rulemaker to create a new tag, Manifestation, and Kingmaker to avoid becoming part of the dungeon. He used the Motif he had been told: As inside, so outside. He had over 20, 000 AP. GodMode was a Core, and Billy gained AP as GodMode gained Essence. He meant to use only the 12, 000 points he had been told to, but, to his surprise, the dungeon leeched all of them. Not an auspicious beginning. Achievement Unlocked: Saving for the Future.

You have created two maximum rank dungeons in less than one hour. You have unlocked the passive Essence Battery. Essence Battery: In addition to Achievement points, you can now also store the Essence released by a dungeon when it is destroyed. You can only hold one Essence point per Achievement Point you currently have. Bilto looked awed at the full might of the Federation Army arrayed in front of the HQ. The strange woman at his side had remained silent the whole time.

The dungeon's form had already shifted once, but it had settled into a form very similar to the original one. The building shook for a second time and shifted again. This time, its appearance was very different: it had become a huge, glowing icosahedron.

"It has begun," Dawn said.