Chapter 417
The Aberrant Mothership was less of a spacecraft and more of a floating continent of death.
Suspended high above the clouds, the colossal vessel stretched for well over twenty kilometres from end to end, its immense shadow swallowing entire cities beneath it.
Whenever it appeared, sunlight struggled to reach the ground, leaving everything below shrouded in an unnatural twilight.
Its hull was forged from an unknown pitch-black metal, jagged and uneven, as though an entire mountain range had been carved into the shape of a warship.
Thousands of overlapping armour plates covered its surface like the scales of an ancient dragon, each one thick enough to withstand unimaginable punishment.
Crimson veins of glowing energy snaked between the plates, pulsing rhythmically like the heartbeat of a living organism.
The underside of the mothership was even more terrifying.
Dozens of enormous circular weapon emplacements were embedded across its belly.
Each housed a Directed Energy Cannon—massive laser batteries capable of charging for only a few seconds before unleashing devastating crimson beams.
Once fired, the beams lanced through the sky with blinding intensity, effortlessly piercing skyscrapers, carving kilometre-long trenches through the earth, and reducing entire city blocks to molten rubble within moments.
Buildings simply ceased to exist wherever those beams swept.
Surrounding the primary cannons were countless secondary beam emitters, allowing the vessel to bombard multiple locations simultaneously.
From the ground, it looked as though the heavens themselves had opened, raining pillars of concentrated destruction upon humanity.
Between the weapon systems lay gigantic deployment hangars, each large enough to accommodate thousands of Aberrants.
Massive armoured doors slowly separated before gravity lifts lowered wave after wave of the nine-metre monsters onto the battlefield.
The sight alone was enough to break even seasoned soldiers.
At the very centre of the ship hung an enormous gravitational core.
A blazing crimson sphere suspended within countless rotating rings of alien machinery.
It radiated enough energy to keep the impossible fortress hovering effortlessly despite its unimaginable mass.
Every pulse from the core sent ripples of crimson light racing across the vessel’s hull.
Rising from the top of the mothership stood the Command Spire.
A towering structure resembling a cathedral forged from black steel and obsidian.
It pierced the clouds themselves, surrounded by crackling arcs of crimson lightning that danced endlessly around its peak.
Smaller escort craft constantly circled the mothership like vultures around a corpse, while streams of drones drifted beneath it, tirelessly repairing damaged armour plates and maintaining its countless weapon systems.
The ship made almost no sound.
Instead, it emitted a deep, low-frequency hum that vibrated through the air and into the bones of every living creature below.
This monstrosity...
...was what Van was fighting alone.
Inside his mech suit, he weaved between the cannon blasts with astonishing precision.
Beam after beam screamed past him while his own cannons answered with relentless volleys.
Assisted by the artillery far below, he was doing an incredible job of crippling the vessel.
Yet to Van...
It felt like he wasn’t making any progress at all.
The mothership was simply too massive.
For every emitter he destroyed, dozens more remained operational.
Inside the cockpit, glowing screens and streams of data flashed before his eyes.
Targeting trajectories.
Energy reserves.
Structural integrity.
Weapon cooldowns.
Every piece of information flowed through his vision while he piloted the suit using nothing but his Meta Ability.
He wasn’t simply controlling a machine.
He was communicating with it.
Feeling every movement as though the towering mech had become an extension of his own body.
Again and again, he narrowly slipped between incoming laser beams, surviving by the smallest of margins.
Luckily...
It seemed there weren’t any Abberants aboard the mothership.
If there had been...
He would have died long ago.
Van knew that.
He also knew Ray would be worried sick about him.
But this was his responsibility.
His battlefield.
For once...
He wanted to protect his best friend instead.
Weaving between another barrage of scorching crimson beams, Van accelerated toward one of the massive cannon emplacements.
The mechanical fingers of his suit shifted and unfolded.
Click!
Click!
Click!
The armour rearranged itself as both hands transformed into blazing blue energy blades.
Their humming edge distorted the surrounding air.
Without slowing down, Van swung with every ounce of strength he possessed.
TCHHAAAAAK!
The blade slammed into the gigantic beam emitter.
A shower of sparks erupted across the black armour.
Van gritted his teeth.
Blue veins of energy spread across the mech as he poured even more power into the weapon.
His eyes glowed brilliantly behind the visor.
So did the blades.
Slowly...
The emitter gave way.
Metal screamed.
The enormous cannon, larger than an entire city block, finally split apart.
With a violent snap, it broke free from the mothership.
The gigantic structure tumbled toward the earth below.
THUUUUUD!
It crashed into the ground with overwhelming force, kicking up a monstrous cloud of dust that billowed into the sky.
No sooner had Van finished than another cannon rotated toward him.
Its crimson glow intensified.
A beam erupted.
Van reacted instantly.
The mech spun gracefully through the air.
Mechanical plates shifted across both forearms.
WHIRRR!
A transparent blue energy shield blossomed into existence before him.
BOOOOM—!
The blast slammed into the transparent shield with terrifying momentum, enough to hurl an ordinary mech hundreds of metres through the air.
But Van was no ordinary pilot.
The rocket thrusters beneath his mech roared to life at the exact moment of impact.
Instead of resisting the force head-on, he allowed the suit to drift with it, skillfully redirecting the momentum before angling himself away.
The crimson beam slid harmlessly across the shield before streaking into the distance.
Not a single crack appeared.
Kicking against the empty air with the aid of his thrusters, Van gritted his teeth and lifted his gaze toward the dozens of enormous weapon emplacements embedded across the mothership’s belly.
He studied them for several seconds.
Then...
A dangerous idea surfaced.
’If I can get inside the ship... I might be able to shut it down with my ability. I know I can’t completely control something this enormous... but if I can reach its command centre... I might be able to do something.’
His eyes followed another weapon emplacement as crimson energy rapidly accumulated within it.
The glow intensified.
Preparing to fire again.
Van weaved between another incoming laser while his mind raced.
He spared one quick glance toward the battlefield below.
Ray...
Kai...
Caster...
Trisha...
Sergeant Lincoln, who was currently charging toward the nineteen Two-Spined Abberants...
Every one of them was risking their lives.
’They’re all playing their part...’
Van slowly inhaled.
’...Now it’s my turn.’
His grip tightened around the controls.
’Enough of always hiding behind Ray.’
The next weapon emplacement began glowing brighter than the rest.
’...This is going to hurt.’
With a swift motion, Van slotted another King Rank Beast Core into the mech.
The chest core blazed even brighter.
Power surged through every mechanical limb.
His eyes flashed a brilliant blue.
BOOM!
The mech launched upward like a missile.
His calculations unfolded inside his mind at frightening speed.
Trajectory.
Energy output.
Blast radius.
Heat dispersion.
’From my calculations... the emitter should function like a sinkhole for a brief instant when it discharges.’
His eyes narrowed.
’I just have to follow the beam’s trajectory...’
’...and reverse it.’
The mech sliced through the sky.
Within moments, Van reached the outer rim of the gigantic weapon emplacement.
Immediately, one of the mech’s forearms shifted apart.
Mechanical plates folded away.
Exposing his real hand beneath.
Without hesitation, Van slammed his palm against the edge of the emitter.
His Meta Ability exploded into action.
His blue eyes shone with blinding intensity as streams of calculations flooded his consciousness.
Numbers.
Circuits.
Energy pathways.
Mechanical structures.
Every component of the alien weapon tried to force its way into his brain at once.
His breathing became ragged.
His teeth ground together so hard they almost cracked.
His head throbbed violently.
It felt as though his mind was being overloaded.
Still...
He refused to let go.
The weapon reached maximum output.
BOOOOOOM!
A colossal crimson beam erupted from the emitter.
Large enough to swallow an entire skyscraper whole.
’Fu—!’
The beam suddenly froze.
Suspended in midair.
For one impossible second...
Everything stood still.
Then...
Click.
Something connected inside Van’s mind.
The entire beam reversed direction.
It shot back into the emitter at the same terrifying speed it had been fired.
’Eureka.’
A grin spread across Van’s face.
He released his grip.
Without wasting another heartbeat, the mech accelerated after the retreating beam.
No hesitation.
No fear.
He plunged directly into the beam itself.
Blazing crimson energy engulfed the mech.
The unbearable heat washed over its armour like molten lava.
Warning alarms screamed throughout the cockpit.
Sections of the armour glowed red-hot as they threatened to melt apart.
’Just... a little... more...’
The underside of the mothership rapidly filled his vision.
Then—
Van disappeared into the depths of the vessel together with the reversed beam.
BOOOOOOOM!
The colossal mothership violently trembled.
The redirected beam tore through its interior, detonating somewhere deep within its massive structure.
The entire fortress shuddered as explosions echoed from inside.
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