Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Forty-four

Copper reached the outside and he saw Monika standing with Diamond Tiara, Applebloom, Sunset Shimmer, and Artemis around her. He could see how there was something that was happening to Monika, and he could see genuine confusion on her face. It wasn’t until she saw him that he noticed a slight bit of calm. He moved toward her, and he could see her eyes glowing. A slight red tint had begun to set up inside of her eyes.

That color began to spread and she shook, “Beloved, what’s happening?”

He breathed out, “I found something that can help us, but in order to do it the connection needed to be made to you,” he said as he looked at her, “It’s granting you permission to use the ordnance that is located here. That said, if it attempts to delete you, control you, or change you then the deal we made is off. I won’t stand for something to mess with someone that’s close to me.”

A slight smile crossed her face, and then he watched as her eyes turned completely red, “Oh, I see,” she said after a moment, “I have control of a small army. This includes potential aviantion troops,” she stated before she turned to him, “Do I have permission to release them? I can keep them from attacking everyone here, but once they are outside of the walls of the temple I can completely release them. At that point they will fully attack the approaching army. I cannot promise that there will not be more property damage.”

He looked around, “I honestly don’t think that is an issue right now. Go ahead and bring them up,” he said as he watched her. “As you command my Beloved.”

For a moment there was nothing, and then the ground under the temple began to shake. It felt like a minor earthquake, but slowly the earth at the center began to buckle, and Copper watched as it split. Two large doors that had been buried under several feet of dirt and rock opened. The sounds of old roots snapping, and a couple of ancient trees falling could be heard and seen. The darkness of the cavern was evident, but it was also soon filled with what looked like thousands of glowing red eyes.

With in seconds several winged creatures began to erupt from the pit. They moved toward the shields, and then moved between them. Those watching stood in awe at the monsters made of corpses and machines. It looked like skeletons that had been altered to have batlike wings on their back. Those wings were designed just like true wings, giving the creatures extra limbs that seemed to follow the same connection that would have existed if they had been born with them. Each of them held weapons in their hands.

It was a sight that told everyone who witnessed it exactly what was going to happen. There was going to be a battle happening in the air. For Copper it was a feeling of relief that covered him. He watched as the winged creatures that had been released began fighting with the humanoid shaped beings in the air. The battle began to take place, and he could see how destructive it truly was. The weapons that the creatures were carrying out matched the magi-guns and swords that the humanoid beings were carrying. He could see them firing at the beings, and within moments their shapes seemed to glow a bright green before melting into a puddle of some kind of plasma.

He looked back at the pit to see more of the creatures coming out, these were on foot, and all of them were armed as well. They began to climb the walls, and once at the top they leapt over and moved toward the town itself. Just like the others they began to fire upon the creatures, and each hit seemed to result in the same thing happening. The weapons that DM had created were doing incredible amounts of damage. He began to wonder if it really was a good idea to leave DM alone inside of the temporal space that she inhabited.

Still, after several moments of the tides turning a figure appeared above them all. The figure itself was dressed in a black robe. Glowing red and green eyes could be behind the hood of the robe, and this was just a projection. The true form likely was inside of one of the ships, “You dare use the dead to attack me?!” the voice boomed, “You dare use those that are under my control to decimate my army?! Such insult will not be tolerated!”

Almost at once the creatures that were attacking the begins began to slow, Copper could see some of what was happening, and he could see that it was the mechanical parts that were still driving them forward. The skeletons themselves were fighting against their cybernetic enhancements. They were pulling hard against them, attempting to release themselves from the captured sense of servitude that they were experiencing. He wanted to shout that this wasn’t fair! That they shouldn’t have to be facing a necromancer lich! Instead there was the evidence of it. The tides were still turning, and it was the cybernetic enhancements now that were solely the reason for it.

He watched as the something moved from the ship. It was large, an armor, and soon it was followed by more. Fifteen in total were released. The armors began to destroy the creatures that were helping them, and while the cybernetic enhancements were forcing them to fire back at the armors they weren’t moving fast enough anymore to escape the blasts. It was destroying the creatures, completely destroying them, and that was turning the tide back to their enemy.

He stood in disbelief, and he shook his head. The help had really given him hope, but it was a losing battle again. It wasn’t until he felt a hand on his arm, “My Captain, the ship is here,” Artemis said, “I’ve brought it to us.”

He felt a sense of relief, “Okay, launch Avarice,” he said, “I’m going to push them back.”

The armor dropped from the skies, and honestly it was the most welcomed sight Copper had ever witnessed. It landed inside of the temple, missing all of the students, and landing beside the gaping hole that now existed. He moved toward it, watching as the hatch opened, and once it was completely exposed he climbed into the armor itself. Moving into it he got directly into the pilot area. He felt the familiar feeling of Artemis’ rump pressed against him.

The very thing that hadn’t changed at all still existed. He didn’t mind it in the slightest. If he was going up against that many enemies, all at once, he wanted to have someone with him. Once he was inside the hatch closed, and he felt the controls move to his hands. This was his chance, and he knew it. Without hesitation he moved the controls to guide the armor into the skies. He felt it lift into the air, and he could feel the pressure of Artemis’ body against him.

The difference was that she wasn’t talking this time. She wasn’t acting the same either. Before Artemis had practically been talking dirty to him most of the time. It could be that since they had slept together she didn’t feel the need to do so, but he had a feeling that wasn’t quite it. Even if that was the case for the most part Artemis was a talker. She tended to express herself pretty openly. Still, he didn’t have the time to question what was going on. He couldn’t take the moment to attempt to figure it out.

The moment he made it into the air he saw the first of the armors moving toward him. The difference between them and the armors that he’d seen Prince Apollo and his friends use was staggering. The truth was that their armors were made by some of the best in the Kingdom. The pity was that none of them were able to pilot them as well. Still, all of them were slower than Avarice. The bulky armor out moved them, knocking them around, but he noticed that the normal hits which would usually render the controller unconscious weren’t doing the same kind of damage.

He continued to strike at them, finding that while it was damaging the armor it was almost as if he was fighting the machine itself. That should have been impossible. There was no way that they had that kind of technology. They weren’t that advanced. He knew that they weren’t. The only other option was that the pilots had been given something that kept them from being disabled. With that at light the only option was to take them apart.

He began aiming at joints. Taking away sections of arms or legs. Each strike he made caused more damage. The result was the armors falling outside of the temple. He watched as they hit, and the armors seemed to twitch, but there was no opening of the hatches. No one was getting out. It was almost as if the armors were either operating alone, or the pilots were already dead. The realization hit him.

The lich and been insulted that they were using the dead against him. He had considered it a horrible insult. Then it stood to reason that at least part of his army was filled with undead. The realization wasn’t a pleasant one. He shook it off, and continued to fight against the armors. At the moment all he could do was fight as if there was people inside of them. He held back killing blows, but instead set upon disabling the armors themselves.

It was the best possible solution for the moment. Still, as he fought he began to notice exactly how he was not thinning out the numbers as he’d hoped. He was certainly disabling them, but ultimately it appeared that they were still trying to get past him. He considered his options for a moment, “Artemis, do we have something on Avarice that could even the odds. Anything that could disable the enemy armors quicker?”

There was silence, “Artemis?”

“I apologize my Captain,” came her voice, “I am currently multiple places at once. In doing so I am ensuring that I able to help turn the tides for you. That said, yes there is something on board, but using it would mean ensuring the death of those inside of the armors. Since you prefer to keep those individuals alive I have been reluctant to suggest it.”

He nodded, “I get it,” he said, as he piloted Avarice, “The thing is I’m not sure the pilots are alive. We’re fighting a lich, and not only that we’re fighting one that seems to be able to control the dead. He was making the drones that were created at this facility attempt to stop. If it hadn’t been for the cybernetic enhancements I think that they would have turned on us.”

“I see,” Artemis replied, “Then allow me to try something. If it proven that the individuals are alive then it will have been me that killed one of them, if not then I will have found a faster way of dispatching the armors for you.”

With that a single blast erupted from the ship’s main canon. The moment it did the blast separated the waist of the armor. He watched as it fell out, and when it did he could see what looked like skeletal remains inside of the cockpit. A leg had been taken, and she was right. That would have been fatal. It wouldn’t have been instantly fatal, but it would have killed the pilot. Still, it was enough to tell him exactly what he had been wondering.

“Damn,” he replied as he watched the armor, “They’re filled with the dead. Artemis, I think that we can do this,” he said as he looked at the controls, “So, what was you hesitant on telling me? What weapon does Avarice have that can help me level the playing field faster? Because now that I know that we’re not killing anyone things just got a whole lot easier.”

There was a small laugh, “My Captain, do I have permission to go all out on them?”

There was no harm at this point, and he knew it. He nodded, “Yes, you have permission to go all out on them,” he said, his voice firm, “It’s our best chance to be honest.”

In an instant small spaces began to open across the body of Avarice. Within moments missiles began to launch out, striking at the other armors. Where he had been disabling them, taking them down through removing pieces that was required to stand or grasp Artemis was destroying sections of them at once. The armors began to fall one after another, each one crashing hard into the surface of the island. What had been taking him several minutes to do she was getting done in seconds.

The blasts that rocked the sky lit it up like it was midday. The overclouded shadow of the airships didn’t matter. The evidence was there for all to see that the tides had turned. When the final missile launched the last armor fell and he breathed out. Had there been anyone living inside of the armors he would have been responsible for multiple deaths. Of course there was no denying that deaths on the battlefield were one thing. Killing in the name of a country, in defending one’s people, was a completely separate thing from simpy killing.

What he’d done, everything he’d done to this point had been to protect those inside of the temple. Slowly he watched as one of the cargo-bays of the enemy airships opened. When it did a single large armor moved from it. Like Avarice it was built stronger, designed to be more protected, and designed to ensure the life of the pilot inside of it. It wasn’t designed for speed or agility. It was also leagues above what they had just faced.

He watched as the armor moved toward him. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but the voice coming from it was certainly different than he expected, “You’ve proven yourself to be a warrior to be respected,’ the feminine voice said, “Power such as yours is astounding, and yet I doubt that you truly understand the full potential of it. What you have, what you are, and where you would normally go should be respected.”

Then without hesitation she moved. Her movements were quick, impressively so, and while he was absolutely certain of Avarice’s abilities the abilities of that pilot were shining through. She was skilled, and she was practiced. He moved, dodged, and he couldn’t bring himself to use lethal force. The voice sounded alive, and he had to believe that she was. Within moments she had him nearly backed into a corner, and he could see something odd about the armor she was.

It didn’t appear to be purely mechanical, but instead it seemed as if the armor itself was truly a suit of armor around something else. Whatever else was inside of it appeared to be alive. It appeared to be powerful, and it was monstrous. The realization hit him hard as he began to understand exactly what it was. The armor was protecting a creature, and whoever was piloting it was inside of the creature. They were using a monster to fight their battle. It was both insane and ingenious. “My Captain,” Artemis said after a moment, “I have no records of the creature that is being used, but I do know that it is emitting heat in great volumes. I believe that it is very possible that whatever is inside of that armor was nearing the point where it will not be able to sustain itself any longer.”

He nodded, “I get it,” he said, “We need to defeat it, and we need to get her out of it. I don’t want to kill whoever it piloting it, but I need to know how to stop it.”

There was a moment of quiet, “My Captain, I believe that we are not going to be able to stop it. I believe that whatever is being used against us likely has absorbed whoever is piloting it. There is a chance, a small one, that they are protected by someone kind of suit or device, but even if that is the case at some point they will cease to function long before that thing does.”

He breathed out, and he realized exactly what was at risk now. The person inside of the monster armor was going to die. There was absolutely no way that it wasn’t going to happen. Additionally, whatever was inside of that armor was emitting so much heat that it was starting to cause the air around it to seem to warp. It was actually making the very air ripple. He’d seen something like that before. On hot summer days how the ground would soak up all of the heat, and once it had that same heat would be released over the course of the day.

The thing was that heat was contained inside of that armor. He considered his options, and then without hesitation he gripped the axe he’d been using. He rushed forward, and the slash was aimed at a joint. The other armor was fast, but not so fast that it could completely escape. That small scrape was enough for him to see what was hiding under the armor. What was inside was writhing around. Tentacles swirled in place, all of them moving where the arm had been. The fallen arm of the armor hit the ground with a loud clank followed by a wet slap. Evidence remained of what had happened.

The movement of the tentacles were now aimed toward him, and he swiped at them with the axe. Knowing what he did he realized that they likely couldn’t get inside, but he didn’t want to chance it. Those things were holding whoever was inside of them captive. Maybe it had been a choice, but then what kind of choice is really given to someone that climbed into something like that. He swung again, and this time he felt the armor give way. The axe dove deep into the chest, and a scream erupted from the armor. It wasn’t the feminine sounding voice, but a deep and primal scream that sounded alien.

He watched as the armor tried to back up, to move away from him, and he saw the first glimpse. He’d hit an eye. His axe had buried itself into a giant eye that was inside of that thing.