*Vwoooooom!
"Stop complaining and shoot them!" Gelhyne shouted over the deafening noise, her voice cutting through the roar of beasts and the crack of weapons.
She thrust her hand forward, a powerful surge of eidric energy bursting from her palm.
The blast spread wide, striking dozens of creatures at once and sending them flying backward like rag dolls.
The ground shook from the force of her attack as the air filled with the sound of screeching beasts.
Rox didn't waste time responding.
The autocannons from her ship thundered in sync with her rifle,
*Bang! *Bang!
*Bang! *Bang!
filling the battlefield with streaks of glowing blue energy.
Each shot from the ship tore through multiple enemies, melting armor and flesh alike.
The smaller ones fell in waves, their bodies scattering and burning, while Rox focused on the larger threats, her precise aim finding weak points with every pull of the trigger.
Her shots struck the biggest beasts right between their eyes, stopping them mid-charge as their limbs spasmed and locked before collapsing under their own weight.
Behind her, the constant hum of Gelhyne's power grew louder—gravitational eidra forming a shimmering barrier around them.
Anything that crossed it was instantly crushed, bones snapping and bodies folding inward under the unbearable pressure.
"Reloading!" Rox shouted, ducking low as she ejected the empty magazine and slammed in a new one.
The motion was clean and quick—practiced from years of repetition.
She hit the side of the rifle, activating its overcharge function as the weapon's energy core flared with light.
A deep hum filled the air before Rox raised her rifle once more, her visor locking onto the biggest beast at the front of the pack—one surrounded by several smaller creatures.
Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
A single, concentrated beam of blue eidric energy erupted from her rifle with a deafening roar.
*BAANG!
It tore straight through the largest monster's head, vaporizing it instantly before punching through several of the others behind it.
The entire group fell in one devastating blast, leaving a burning trench across the battlefield where the beam had passed.
The recoil forced Rox to plant one knee on the ground, her cloak scraping the dirt as the weapon hissed from the overload.
She exhaled sharply, eyes locked on the mist that still churned in front of them.
The battle… or let's say survival, continued for a few more minutes… until something shook the area.
*Boom!
The ground trembled beneath their feet, and both women froze for a split second.
The sounds of battle—the gunfire, the shrieking beasts, the humming of eidra—were suddenly drowned out by a single, earth-shaking rumble that seemed to come from deep beneath them.
"The hell was that?" Rox muttered, slamming her final magazine into place with a sharp click.
Her instincts screamed at her, every nerve in her body tensing as she scanned the mist ahead.
Then it came—
*GROAAAAAAAAAAR!!!
a roar so loud it shattered the air.
The sound tore through the battlefield, echoing across the plains like thunder.
It wasn't just loud… it was heavy, deep, the kind of sound that rattled the bones and made even the air feel heavier.
Rox's eyes widened.
She had heard this familiar roar before—something she had faced and something the infantry of the Corvi dreaded.
*Boom!
Another quake followed, harder this time.
*Boom!
The ground cracked under the weight of something enormous moving closer, each step shaking loose debris from the nearby cliffs.
"Shit," Rox hissed, her heart pounding inside her chest.
"Fucking Basilisk…"
Without wasting another second, she turned sharply toward her ship, her voice rising.
"THRON! PREPARE THE RAILCANNON—NOW!"
Her command echoed over the battlefield, and almost instantly, the Nightjarr's hull split open near its midsection as a massive railcannon emerged, its sleek metal plating unfolding and locking into place.
Blue energy began to swirl around its barrel, charging rapidly as the ship's AI responded in its usual loud, eager tone.
"Charging railcannon, cap'n!" Thron shouted back through the comms, the sound of machinery powering up filling the air.
The cannon's coils glowed brighter and brighter, humming with building energy as Rox steadied her breathing, her rifle raised toward the mist that hid the Basilisk that was about to emerge.
Gelhyne stood beside her, her own power gathering in her palms again. "Basilisk you say?" she said in a low, serious tone, before turning towards the data pad on her arm.
"A few more minutes… just a few more…"
The ground cracked under the weight of the monster's step, a deep quake echoing through the clearing as the mists split apart.
Out of that darkness, a gigantic figure emerged—a lizard-like beast covered in thick, blackened scales that glimmered faintly with corrupt eidra.
From the center of its skull jutted a single, jagged horn that pulsed with violent energy, sparks of crimson light flashing across its length like bolts of lightning.
*GROAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!
The creature raised its head and released a roar so powerful that it sent a wall of wind rushing forward, tearing through the trees and forcing Rox and Gelhyne to shield their faces.
The ground around them rippled with pressure as loose debris and dust scattered in every direction.
Its glowing eyes darted between the battlefield's remnants—the fallen beasts, the humming Veil Torrents, then finally the two women.
For a brief moment, it seemed to study them, intelligent and deliberate, before its gaze fixed squarely on the Nightjarr.
The railcannon's charging glow reflected in its eyes like a challenge.
The creature's muscles tensed, claws digging into the ground as its stance lowered.
The next tremor was loudeR—a signal that it was preparing to charge.
"Oh no you don't!" Rox barked, her voice sharp and urgent as she immediately recognized its intent.
She spun toward the ship, her visor lighting up as data streamed across it.
"Thron, full power to the railcannon! Target that horn and fire as soon as I give the word!" she shouted.
The AI's voice thundered back through the comms, excitement clear in its tone.
"Railcannon at eighty percent charge, cap'n! Ready to unleash hell!"
Rox turned back to the beast, raising her rifle and taking position in front of Gelhyne.
"If that thing hits the ship, we're done for. We hold it here."
"Then we don't let it take another step," Gelhyne replied, her eyes glowing as she began to channel eidric power, the air around her twisting from the sheer gravity of it.
The beast threw its head back and bellowed again, its horn crackling brighter as it began its charge—The thunder of its footsteps shaking the battlefield like an approaching storm.