We quickly established our base. The transport trucks unfolded and locked into place, transforming into fortified walls. Capsules were unloaded and deployed, while our engineers reinforced the terrain with practiced efficiency. At one corner of the encampment, the mech settled into defense mode, systems humming, artillery calibrated and ready to rain fire if needed. Within a day, the fortress was complete.
Recon teams were dispatched shortly after. When they returned, they brought grim news. Heretics. Tens of thousands of them. Estimates placed their numbers at roughly one hundred thousand, scattered in all directions across the plain. In the far distance, a fortress loomed—enemy-built, watching us.
I gathered my most trusted men to devise a strategy. We decided to divide our forces into ten smaller units, each consisting of around one hundred soldiers. The plan was simple: strike fast, strike hard, and strike quietly—eliminate them in succession before our presence could be fully revealed. I entrusted command of the nine squads to men I believed in, including Oser.
"I pray for your victory," I said. "I pray for our protection. And I pray for the death of the heretics."
With preparations complete, we gathered with the Sister. She raised her hands and spoke softly, yet firmly:
"Come back safe, children. I pray to our Savior to guide your souls home."
We bowed. Then each squad moved toward its designated objective.
We remained connected through comms, exchanging information as we advanced. Before long, my unit reached the outskirts of an enemy encampment. Roughly three thousand heretics occupied the area. Most of them looked weak—Twisted flesh, poorly armed—but one stood apart.
It was grotesque.
Larger than the others, its body swollen and distorted, unnatural growths pulsing across its flesh. Thick tentacles writhed from its torso. I activated my scanner. The reading made my jaw tighten.
Ten feet tall.
Classification: Corrupted Sin Of Lust.
A grotesque evolution of a normal heretic, born from extreme indulgence, sin fully consuming the host. From a distance, we watched it devour humans locked in cages—chewing slowly, savoring the taste. I felt disgust twist into fury.
We circled the camp, sealing off all escape routes. Then I gave the order.
Artillery strike.
The mech rose, its massive frame shifting as targeting systems aligned. One by one, three enormous shells launched from its back. We waited.
Then—
BOOM.
The ground shook violently as the explosions tore through the camp, carving a clean path straight to its center.
With a path ready I ordered to charge in. all my soldiers followed.
I charged though the path created with eight other paladins while the rest fought the other heretics to prevent escape. We split apart, each taking strategic positions to hold back the swarm while I pushed ahead. I raised my pistol and fired while sprinting, heads snapping back as they burst apart. Heretics rushed me, desperate and screaming, but they were nothing—pebbles beneath my boots. Their bullets scraped my armor, barely biting flesh. My sword cut through them like candle wax, bodies falling before they could even slow me.
Then I reached the center.
Without hesitation, I leapt. One clean strike. The blade tore through the corrupted monster, splitting it in two.
The commander was dead.
Panic erupted. The heretics turned and fled, but it didn't matter. Our squads began converging, tightening the net, slaughtering them where they ran. We culled them like cattle. One by one, they fell.
Until only one remained.
It crawled toward me, shaking.
"Please—don't kill me. I'll do anything you want. I can grant your wildest dreams—perfection, ecstasy. Just hear me out."
I felt nothing but hatred. Its voice only fueled my rage.
"Fuck you"
I brought my boot down hard, crushing its skull into the mud until there was nothing left. My fury finally calming.
The battlefield went quiet.
After the battle, we returned to base to resupply and rest. Fighting the heretics had been like battling children armed with toys—but their sheer numbers were still a threat. A few of our men were injured, quickly healed by the Sister. Most were energized, exhilarated by combat in the name of the Almighty.
I felt empty.
This wasn't enough. It couldn't be. My revenge wasn't over. Their bodies did nothing to quench my anger—I needed their souls to burn in hell.
The commanders gathered to share their reports. Many spoke proudly of slaughtering thousands with ease. But some accounts were… unsettling.
Osar spoke first.
"The mutations are worse than the reports indicated. I saw heretics already corrupted—some in the middle of evolving even further."
His concern was justified. Intelligence had suggested mostly normal heretics, maybe a few advanced mutations—but corrupted ones were another matter entirely. I thought back to the creature I had killed. Even in its early stage, it showed signs of further evolution if left unchecked.
Others mentioned hearing howling on their return to base.
Something worse might be out there.
For the next few days, we continued our strategy—isolating and eliminating them quietly, ensuring they never gathered into a force capable of a full assault. We had the superior army, but their numbers were overwhelming if unified.
On the third day, we regrouped at base. I stood in the command post, surveying the terrain map. From an initial count of one hundred thousand, only thirty thousand remained. Sightings of corrupted sins had decreased—or vanished entirely.
Victory was close. A few more days, and the enemy would be annihilated with minimal losses.
And yet… something felt wrong.
A pattern I couldn't see.
Suddenly, a soldier burst into the command post.
"Captain—come see this."
I followed him outside. The entire base was staring upward.
I looked up.
And my blood ran cold.
Multiple meteoroids were descending straight toward us.
I stood frozen.
"What… is this?"