54 Chapter 54

The center of the bunker's dome was vacant aside from the center pillar's cathedral where thousands now gathered in prayer. A multitude of priests were preaching of the apocalypse and that these were happy times where they would all die and see the great thereafter together.

"So, is that why you send all of our children out to fight an unwinnable fight? Is that why you send them to their deaths? To let them see the fuck-after sooner?!" a non-believer shouted from within the praying crowd.

A shot rang out as he fell to the ground, his left eye sprayed out the back of his head from the sniper's bullet.

Abomination thirty-six watched gleefully as other members of the crowd began to leave the gathering to arm themselves with whatever they could find. It then turned to the camera of the hangar where Loyd was still kicking butt.

Loyd turned to the final mech as it raised its remaining club. The mech charged Loyd much like how the girl Sara had been, when trying to take over, but with much less grace. Loyd ducked under the club and jumped over the mech, grabbing onto the base of its head and backplate. As he continued to go over the mech, he began to pull it into the air. As his feet hit the ground, the mech became entirely airborne and crashed into the foundation hard enough to completely shatter.

Another mech came tearing into the hangar and managed to hit Loyd with a cannon round that knocked him off his feet. It was followed closely by several other mechs that flanked around Loyd as he continued to be bombarded by the first mech.

"Surround him, but watch your step! We don't know where this supposed backup he kept yelling at went! Gerard, keep him pinned down while I get HQ to tell me what the hell is going on!" The first mech's pilot yelled.

"Oh please, your citizens are all piled in the same spot? What makes you think that stopping the big distraction will keep any of them from being turned into little more than biomass?" Loyd threatened.

"So, you're not human after all. You had my brother pretty fooled on the radio with that emergency transmission of yours. It figures you'd figure out how to get into the city eventually," the first mech stated.

"Oh? Do you mean that man with a scar over his left eye and a missing toe on his right foot? Blue eyes, brown hair, three false teeth? Do I need to continue?" Loyd asked a devilish smile plastered across his face.

The mechs all sat quietly for a moment before the first one charged Loyd, drawing what looked like a massive two-handed chainsaw. It started raising it into the air before rolling right over Loyd and bringing it down on one of the other mechs.

"Don't worry dad I think I've got control of him," Argenti announced.

"Good girl."

"What the hell?! The commander's gone insane! Send him to the great thereafter! May his soul rest in peace."

Several of the mechs turned and opened fire on Argenti, smashing her mech to pieces.

Loyd had taken the time to stand up. The mechs all turned back to him, having dealt with the primary threat in their eyes. A canon fired in slow motion as Loyd forced his body to produce adrenaline and cortisol to increase his muscle contraction strength. As well as opiates or natural morphine to dull pain and oxytocin to increase his sense of fun.

His jaw clamped down on the shell and shattered it as he started to move.

"Thirteen seconds," Loyd muttered.

The next volley of shells came flying at him but he dodged them each as he continued to press towards a weak point in their encirclement. His hand reached out and grabbed onto the swinging club of his target and wrenched it free of their hands while tearing their arm off. He spun around throwing the club and arm at another of the mechs. As he continued to spin, he grabbed onto the damaged mech once again and tore its cockpit apart. The next mech swung at him wildly; the pilot was obviously not used to close-quarters combat. He dodged to the side of the attack and thrust his hand into the cockpit until he felt something squishy and warm before he pulled them out of the mech and splattering them across the next mech, blinding it. He allowed the attack to land while he pulled the sword from his first victims corpse. The third mech fell in two pieces as the fourth one was impaled by the thrown sword. The remaining three mechs all closed in on him now as he felt his adrenaline wearing off.

"Three."

The three remaining enemies came at him in a tight formation. The left and right mechs were almost touching the mech in the center they were so close and were ready for him to jump to the sides in case he dodged their joust. The central one was also ready to take him out of the air if he jumped over them. So Loyd didn't dodge he braced, took the joust directly to his chest. As the jousting swords of the mechs shattered against his reinforced armor, two knives thrust under his armpits and another found its way into the gap between his neck and collarbone plates.

Blood poured from each of Loyd's wounds as he tore into the mechs. Like a beast possessed, he tore free from the wall he had been slammed against and tore into the middle mech. Its pilot didn't last half a second as Loyd's body was filled with even more hormones. The side pilots backed away before trying to club Loyd who caught their clubs and was smashed back into the wall. His grip shattered the steel clubs as he grabbed both mech's wrists, pulling them to him before elbowing them both in their cockpits.

The scuffle had lasted no more than sixteen seconds but the carnage was intense as the third group of mechs arrived to the scene.

"Fuck! That thing took out two companies before going dow-!" A pilot said before being interrupted by a sword going through his stomach.

Loyd pulled himself off the wall and stared at the new threat. "Fuck this. I'm tired, can't you guys go bother the rest of my guys?"

"Demon! How dare you kill our brothers in arms! No one should've gone to the thereafter by your hands!" the obvious lead mech roared.

"What's with the platinum trim? I mean who are you trying to impress in a warzone? Unless you use yourself like a taser which is absurdly dumb," Loyd mocked, trying to stop himself from bleeding out.

"Don't speak to me, demon! I'll end your tyranny myself!"

"Doesn't a demon get to know the name of whoever kills him? Or have you never heard of chivalry?" Loyd continued.

"The man who will kill you is Boker T. Adals! And you shall never forget it even when you return from wherever you may go upon death!" Boker shouted.

"So, your name is only one letter off from a form of underwear? Perfect. Next, I'll have to fight panties or briefs. Heck, where can I find someone named socks?!" Loyd joked, pulling himself off the wall again.

Boker charged forward, electricity sparking off his platinum trim. Loyd took the first set of punches, only backing up slightly with each strike. Boker then tackled Loyd and switched his electric charge to a much higher setting.

Loyd shrieked from the electricity coursing through his body. His limbs refused to move when he told them to and his vision was starting to fade.

"How do you like the power of a lightning bolt coursing through your body, demon?! Does it make you reconsider trying to fight us?" Boker asked.

Loyd's arm grabbed onto Boker's and started pulling it off of him.

"HOW ARE YOU STILL MOVING!" Boker demanded.

"Hormones and mutation," Loyd declared.

The arms of Boker's mech strained and then snapped under the pressure Loyd was applying to them. Boker fell back, realizing he was about to die as Loyd stood there in front of him. The sound of metal crunching under high pressure was followed by a loud snap as Loyd ate Boker through his cockpit's hatch.

"Earthlings still taste like crap," Loyd muttered.