Flames crawled across rooftops as Delta robots flooded the streets, cold, metallic shadows with red sensors flickering like the eyes of predators.
They moved in perfect formation, tearing through homes, their plasma rounds shredding walls and bodies alike.
Children hid beneath collapsed tables, trembling.
Elders ran through alleyways thick with smoke, clutching whatever they could carry.
Screams echoed through the streets, swallowed by the mechanical chorus of death.
The Deltas were soulless.
Their software had one purpose, to kill.
Then, cutting through the despair —
a war cry.
It came from the heart of the chaos.
A surge of defiance.
Hido, the broad, fearless leader of the Zoner Military, charged forward with his platoon.
Behind him, an army of village soldiers raised their spears, their eyes blazing with desperation and resolve.
"DON'T LET THESE MACHINES TAKE YOUR HOME!" Hido roared, his voice echoing over the crackling flames.
The soldiers answered with fury.
Spears slammed into metal bodies, sparks flying as Delta circuits exploded.
The first few fell, smoking and twitching on the blackened ground.
But the Deltas retaliated, their cannons flaring with electric blue light.
A barrage of laser bullets ripped through the air, punching holes through armor, flesh, and heart alike.
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The streets turned into a bloodbath.
Still, the Zoner soldiers held their line.
Other squads rushed through the chaos, gathering children and civilians, escorting them to safety behind the burning barricades.
Then, the earth trembled.
A massive shadow stepped through the smoke.
Its voice crackled through static, each word dragged out like a machine struggling to imitate speech.
DELTA SERGEANT
"IDENTIFYING... HIDO.
LEADER OF... HUMAN REBELLION.
PRIMARY TARGET... ACQUIRED.
YOU... WILL BE... ERASED."
The soldiers froze.
A hulking robot, plated in violet steel, Delta Sergeant, emerged. Its body was reinforced with thick armor, its left arm replaced by a serrated energy blade.
It radiated killing intent.
Hido's grin was sharp and fearless.
"Bring it on, bucket-for-brains."
He ripped off his outer agrment, dressed now in a green vest, twirled his spear, wind curling around its shaft, fluttering the tattered banners behind him.
"Let's dance."
The Sergeant's single red eye glowed.
"ENGAGING... TERMINATION PROTOCOL."
It lunged.
Spear met dagger in a clash that rang like thunder. Sparks burst in the air as metal cut wind and wind cut metal.
Hido parried, but the robot's counter came fast — a slice across his shoulder, another across his side.
He stumbled back, bleeding, breathing heavy.
"Captain Hido!" one of the soldiers shouted.
"He's losing!" another cried.
Hido wiped blood from his chin and laughed through the pain.
"Hey, boys, don't for a second think I'm losing. I'm just warming up."
The Delta Sergeant tilted its head. Its red eye scanned him from head to toe.
"HEART RATE... SPIKE DETECTED.
STATEMENT... FALSE. YOU ARE... LYING."
Hido smirked, planting his spear into the cracked earth.
"You think I'm gonna let a Delta defeat me? My girlfriend's Lanni the Artist's Knight. You think I'd look good next to her if I can't beat a piece of scrap like you?"
The wind howled. Dust swirled around his boots.
"YOU... ARE NOT AN ARTIST.
NOT AN ARTIMANCER.
NOT A PILOT.
THEREFORE... YOU ARE NO... THREAT."
Hido's eyes hardened.
"That's where you're wrong."
He raised his spear, wind circling faster, a miniature storm around him.
"In this world, some people aren't good at painting or dancing. Some can't build or cast fancy light shows. But we"
he pointed at the soldiers behind him,
"we're good at protecting the ones we love. At speaking truth to justice. At fighting for what matters."
The air shifted.
The wind became green.
"This is my power, the power of Earthen Abi!
Mother Nature herself!"
A surge of light erupted around him.
Vines and roots of glowing emerald energy spiraled up his legs and arms, forming a living armor of bark and leaf.
His spear shimmered with green light.
The soldiers cheered through tears.
"Captain Hido!"
Delta Sergeant "So this is what happens when a human masters Earthen Abi."
Hido smirked.
"Time to go green, DEATHS ROSARY."
The robot powered its dagger with electro.
He charged, faster than the wind.
One single slash.
The Delta Sergeant froze.
A glowing line split down its chest.
Then,
boom!
It exploded in a shower of sparks and shattered metal.
The soldiers erupted in cheers.
Civilians emerged from hiding, their faces glowing in the reflected green light.
Hido turned, raising his spear high.
"Let's save our people!"
The wind howled again, but this time, it carried hope.