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He turned around and, without adding a word, stood at the end of the wall, weapons in hand and ready to get back into the main fight. Eden got on her knees next to him, peeking at the main scene of the fight while staying carefully hidden. She found herself quite shocked. Three more trucks of soldier bots appeared while she was out. Those things were decent fighters, but even more fearsome because of their firepower. Thao’s tank was now used as a shield by the fighters, the cannon having been destroyed somehow. Those who were running ahead to try and fight the humanoid robots one-on-one were getting killed each time. They were making very little progress and damage, and the only safe way to fight back seemed to be from behind some sort of shield. The fight appeared to be stuck, neither side making any progress. The problem was that the robots’ only aim was defending the building, while Eden’s side had to keep moving.
“Is there any way to hack those things?” she groaned.
“We tried,” muttered Nebty, “but they aren’t linked to the System by any way we know. They are most likely on auto-pilot, with orders to shoot anything that moves.”
They were the same as the human soldiers of the Core, then.
Eden glanced up. The fight was just as intense in the sky. The murder bots that were already hacked and on their side were easy to spot, attacking their peers and the soldier bots, while the others were trying to get past the line of defense to shoot their fighters. In total, there were probably around fifty bots flying around, caught in their own space battle. The murder bots seemed to be focused on the sky, though, and their gunfire on the soldier bots didn’t do enough damage. Eden frowned.
“…Loir, Nekhbet. I got an idea. Have you ever seen a game of bowling?”
“Worth a try!”
“What?” squealed Loir. “I can’t sacrifice my babies! They have been such good little bots!”
“You can replace them,” groaned Nebty. “It’s not like the Core’s going to run out of those damn things…”
“Ugh, you guys are so insensitive. All bots are the same to you? They are irreplaceable to me! My precious little ones!”
“…I’ll let you play with the pups,” sighed Eden.
“Geronimo!! Here comes the Kamikaze unit! Cowabunga!”
Suddenly, a rain of bots seemed to crash down. One by one, all the units dived, hitting the soldier bots at full speed and sending them flying. Because both types of robots were made of the same materials, the soldier bots didn’t have a strong resistance to their flying peers. Not only that, but as Nebty had mentioned, those things were programmed to attack humans, not robots. Thus, they showed absolutely no resistance to the bots attacking them. In just a few seconds, the previously tight ranks of robots were full of holes.
“Strike! And strike! Take this!”
Loir wasn’t the only one having fun. From the number of bots suddenly falling, all the Back Hackers had probably joined him, using the murder bots like cannonballs to hit the robots as fast and hard as possible. Some bots even survived to make a second hit, and quickly, the fight’s pace was overthrown. Thao shouted an order, and everyone came out of their hideouts, firing all they could as they ran ahead.
Eden saw men fall, shot down, but no one stopped or turned back. They knew it would be a one-time-only kind of attack, and they had to use it to pierce an opening through the robots’ defensive line. The opportunity wouldn’t come twice. Eden ran like all of them, both guns up and firing ahead of her. She had no time to check on anyone she knew and cared about. It was simply run or die for everybody. A part of her was aware of Dante, near her and covering her open flank while she covered his, but they had no time to consult with each other. Their duo ran ahead, like everybody else, looking for the opening they needed.
When they finally crossed the first lines of robots, Eden kicked ahead, opening the gap more for those who followed them. She could hear the deafening shots of the soldier bots firing at her allies, and smell the blood flying in the air. This would be one of the deadliest attacks. Nebty’s voice was encouraging all of them like an anthem guiding their troops forward. Seeing the soldier bots fall in front of them, overwhelmed by their number and heavy fire, Eden knew they’d succeed. The tower’s mighty height was in sight, right in front of them. Without realizing, she had gone ahead, leading the way past their automated opponents with her powerful, metal legs, her blonde hair flying around her. In a way, Eden was more at ease when she fought than when she hid. Good fighters didn’t need to think about their next move when they fought. Their body could move on its own, led by years of training and their survival instincts. She had always hated hiding, and now that she could fight in plain sight, knowing who she was fighting and why, Eden felt confident. Even though her arm still hurt, her body was tired, and there were people dying all around them, she felt braver than ever. Her confidence was flowing through her limbs, and she was unstoppable.
“Yes! Ghost, keep going!”
“The robots are confused and have stopped shooting!”
It made sense. They were armed to fire at human targets, but because all the humans were now amongst them, the robots were conflicted over whether to open the fire in their own ranks or not. The Core had chosen to keep them out of the System from fear of hacking attacks, but that meant they hadn’t put any reflection process in those units, so they couldn’t choose. Without the main artificial intelligence to guide them, those robots were impossible to hack, but too stupid to make the simplest decisions. Eden’s side piercing through their defenses was a major win in itself. A portion of the fighters that had managed to get through with her stayed behind to help wipe out more robots; sadly, they had already lost many lives, but at least this fight was a small victory, and some had made it. That was all that mattered for now.
“Thank God,” muttered Lecky.
“You’re almost there,” added Malieka. “Let’s stay focused, everyone, we haven’t–”
A major explosion shook them all. For a moment, Eden thought about hiding, but just like the people next to her, she realized they were far from where the detonation had originated from. All their eyes went to the south, where a frighteningly large, thick pillar of dark smoke was reaching the sky like a storm.
“…What the heck happened?” she managed to mutter, as everyone was still in awe.
“I don’t know…” muttered Nebty. “I can’t reach anyone there!”
“Sapphire?” Eden called. “Gluttony?”
Only silence answered. Around them, everyone had quickly hid or stopped running, unable to move because of what they were seeing in the south. The pillar of smoke was bigger than an entire building.
Eden felt Dante grab her arm and pull her behind him.
“Old Man Long,” he said. “…Joaquin?”
“If there’s anyone still hearing us in the south, answer now!” shouted Malieka with an angry voice.
