Chocolate, A Truck, and A Railgun

Chapter 13

"What's going on!? How can it fire that fast!?" Ktala asked the knight standing next to her.

"We have no idea, Madam. It just turned toward us and fired immediately after. Our shields are out!"

"Scatter the troops throughout the city and prepare for evacuation! Tell them to be wary of debris!"

"Yes, Madam!" The knight sprinted away as fast as he could. Soldiers ran all across the area, sprinting to their posts. Ktala then turned toward William.

"Get out of here!"

"But we accepted your quest!?"

"That doesn't matter! It's way too dangerous to take it on when it's active! You may be adventurers, but we can't afford civilian casualties!"

William turned toward Feodora and Lily. The two exchanged glances, and the three sprinted toward the truck.

"Who's firing?" Lily asked. William was grateful she understood what he meant. Procedures be damned. He could use his truck again. If taking out the ballista meant saving lives, then that would probably be the best thing to do right now.

"You're a bow user, right? You'll shoot."

"You sure!? This thing is something entirely different, you know!"

"Yeah!"

"I am sure you can do it, Lily!"

"Alright then!"

Lily opened the rear cargo door, her and Feodora jumping inside. William leaped into the driver's seat. William turned the engine on and checked his mirrors. Once clear, he began reversing, getting the truck to the closest intersection. He pulled the handbrakes, planting the truck firmly into place.

"Lily!"

"I am on it!"

The railgun turned. William opened the door and got off, standing to the side.

"William, what's going on!?" Ktala came running.

"Something awesome is going to happen!" He said with a wide grin, watching as the metal beast locked its sights on the distant ballista.

"You three need to go now!" Ktala yelled after realizing they weren't budging, but William refused to move. The railgun let out a light zing, its sound intensifying as the seconds passed.

"Huh!?"

Purple sparks appeared from the cannon's side, traveling from the turret's side forward to the middle section of the railgun.

Then for a second, the world stopped. A loud roar followed as a single projectile soared through the skies. A sharp shell, loaded with fire magic, he assumed by the red trail it left behind as it sliced through the air.

Next second, it smashed the ballista's shield into pieces, continuing its path and slamming straight into the ballista's underside.

An explosion rocked the air, sending a shockwave traveling through the mountaintops. A black pile of smoke pummeled from the distant fortress, before slowly dispersing into the sky. What was left was flames, remains of the once powerful weapon.

Or so they thought.

The ballista began moving forward from underneath the flames. It had lost its left limb, with a majority of its right limb destroyed. Its underside was burning brightly, fire obstructing their view.

"They're going to use magic to fire their next shot!" A knight called out.

"Wait, it's still active!?"