Chapter 295: An Ever-Evolving, Regenerating Super Machine

-----

Vladimir’s claws dug into the robot’s back plating and he heaved, sending the entire construct tumbling forward into the pool of boiling mana below.

As the machine fell, Riven gave it no chance to recover. He drew in a deep breath and compressed his ki once more, packing it tighter and denser than before. The instinct left behind by the Crimson Frog King’s final gift guided his hands. A tiny pinhead-sized sphere of pure energy formed between his palms, glowing with unstable power. He fired the deadly beam straight down.

"STAY THE FUCK DOWN!"

RUMBLE!

TRUUUUUMMM!!!

The concentrated ki beam slammed into the robot’s chest. Combined with the constant pressure of Riven’s Spiritual and Ghostly Aura, the attack forced the machine deeper into the seething mana. Metal plates warped and cracked under the strain.

Then the Aetherion began to change.

"Structural integrity at seventy-two percent. Deploying secondary systems."

Panels across the robot’s back and shoulders split open like metal flowers. Dozens of slender, whip-like tendrils of living alloy uncoiled from the openings. Each tip ended in a glowing psionic emitter that hummed with unstable energy.

"What the...!"

The robot swung one arm and redirected the remaining force of Riven’s ki blast into the ceiling. At the same time the tendrils lashed outward in a chaotic storm. Some sought Riven’s position while others shot straight toward Vladimir.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

Where the tendrils struck they did more than cut. They injected micro-doses of decayed mana mixed with psychic static that scrambled internal energy flow. At the same time they released sharp surges of electricity strong enough to char flesh and metal alike.

"GAAAAAHHHH!" Vladimir howled as three tendrils coiled tightly around his torso. They drained his ki and flooded his nerves with raw feedback that felt like every muscle was being torn open. "W-WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, DAMN TIN CAN!"

He bit down hard on one tendril and severed it with his fangs. His free claws ripped through a second. With the third still wrapped around him he raised his dragon arm, gathered a dense ball of draconic fire in the palm, and drove it forward in a massive explosive punch that melted the remaining tendril into slag.

Steam and the sharp smell of burned metal filled the air as the two fighters pressed their assault, refusing to give the damaged machine even a second chance for recovery.

Riven fared better than expected. His spiritual domain expanded outward in a wide arc, and Ghostly Sword Garden activated fully. A thousand spectral blades materialized around him and sheared through the machine’s tendrils by the dozen, cutting them clean.

Each severed tendril simply reformed a moment later from the machine’s internal nano-reservoir, knitting back together as if nothing had happened. Riven narrowed his eyes at that.

He needed to find a way to stop the machine’s regeneration. Usually when fighting robots one never had to worry about something as ridiculous as the thing regenerating mid-fight, but this was different. The Aetherion wasn’t playing by normal rules.

"Huhuhuh! Come on, this is just starting!" Willheim laughed from inside the cockpit, the machine charging forward with heavy steps that shook the ground.

The Aetherion advanced again, its drills spinning up to full speed and thrusting forward with immense kinetic force. At the same time its chest core pulsed with a deep red light, and a wide-area gravity well slammed down over the entire area. The sudden pressure pinned both fighters to the floor for a critical second, making their limbs feel like they weighed a ton.

CRAAASH!

"G-GAAAAHHH!"

"NNNGGHHH!"

Vladimir and Riven both groaned and clenched their teeth, pushing upward against the massive machine that weighed dozens of tons. Their muscles strained and veins stood out on their arms as they forced themselves to stay upright under the crushing force. Every second under that gravity felt longer than it should have.

In that brief window the machine’s head slit brightened to a searing white. A beam of pure psionic force lanced out, thin as a needle, and reached both of them at the same time.

TRUUUM!

"Ugh!"

Riven crossed Fenrir’s Fang and the stolen laser katana in front of him just in time. The beam struck the crossed blades hard. Metal screamed under the impact and sparks flew. He immediately covered himself with dozens of layers of ice-ki, spreading the freezing energy around the machine’s legs and lower body in an attempt to lock it in place.

The robot’s own emitted heat melted the ice almost as fast as it formed, but the rapid melting generated a massive amount of mist and vapor that filled the air around them. The sudden cloud of steam gave them just enough cover to slide out from under the gravity well and the beam’s path. The Aetherion’s next strike smashed into the floor instead, cracking the concrete and sending chunks flying.

Vladimir used the opening. He spun in midair, kicked off a piece of debris, and landed on the machine’s head. His claws dug deep into the metal plating and began tearing at the circuits underneath. Sparks and hydraulic fluid sprayed out as he ripped pieces free.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, HUH?!"

The machine answered by reaching up with one massive arm, grabbing Vladimir around the waist, and smashing him into the floor repeatedly like a ragdoll. Each impact left a new crater and forced more air from Vladimir’s lungs, but he kept his grip on the head plating the entire time, refusing to let go.

Riven’s mechanical katana’s energy blade flickered for a moment under the strain, then overflowed with power as he roared and forced the compressed ki formula deeper into the weapon. His eyes widened when the machine responded by absorbing that surge and converting it into something greater.

An enormous blade of pure ki, spirit energy, mana, and more condensed into a blindingly bright white edge nearly ten meters tall. The massive construct swung once and cut cleanly through one of the enemy machine’s arms.

SLAAASH!

-----