Syanic Earth 4: Meteonis Arc

Chapter 6: The Branded Tower

The Red Strix stormed inside the reformation centers and swiftly destroyed the crusader droid guards. They bashed doors down until they found rooms with rows of unconscious players, where syringe-wielding scientists walked across to sentence them to their doom. As the UICA commandos shot the sinister executioners down in real life, the players in Mivangeline's army stopped disappearing, foiling Maika's Protocol Arcanum. They rested until their health recovered.

"All HP restored to the maximum, Commander!" Ampyria reported.

Mivangeline looked at the open Ascension Gate Diabolos and then looked at Shien, who nodded to her. "Very good. Let's move!"

The army marched into the Branded Tower. When they entered, Ascension Gate Diabolos closed its fangs behind them. Everyone looked at the giant circular staircase that ascended above their heads in a spiral. The red walls had blue computer chips that flickered on and off in a breathing rhythm. Mivangeline signaled the tank players and riot troopers up front and back as they climbed the giant staircase.

!Warning!

!Deadly Virus Detected!

The floor opened into a burning pit of lava. Something enormous climbed out with its three talons. The long legs were all attached to a giant boombox with two antennae encircled by a Saturn-shaped ring equipped with three rotating laser cannons.

"It's the tripod that blasted us off the wartram!" Elysia exclaimed.

DJ Atomos Tripod

Level 468

HP: [468,550/468,550]

Trait 1: Farraday Aegis

"Move! Move!" Mivangeline yelled at the panicked players.

Everyone scrambled up the cylindrical tower as the tripod grappled onto the stairs. Its Saturn ring rotated, firing long lasers above. Pieces of the stairs crumbled, leaving players to fall into the lava pit. The army fired at the tripod from above, but the antennae created an electromagnetic barrier that nullified all damage.

"Farraday Aegis is a periodic shield that activates every five seconds!" Phoenicia warned. "It will be difficult to maintain consistent damage."

"We don't have to beat it! We just need to get to the boss room safely," Mivangeline turned to Ampyria. "I need you to scout how long the top is."

Ampyria nodded as she flew up the tower with the police droids. After soaring a distance, a series of giant blast doors closed above them. The police droids' firepower couldn't scratch it.

"We have a problem! There's a bunch of blast doors that block our way! Us droids will have to get rid of them the hard way," Ampyria reported as the police droids pulled out torches and drills to burn the seams.

"We need to hurry! Cause that thing's catching up to us!" Ritom flashed his flamethrower at the tripod's talon to slow it down.

Everyone else did their best to slow the tripod's advance. The air vibrated as the tripod bent its legs, preparing to jump at the party.

"Ampyria! Open the door now!" Mivangeline and the players scampered up the stairs.

"We're clear!" Ampyria and the droids busted through.

The players ran for their lives as the tripod jumped, using its talons to crush the stairs and send the slower players into the lava abyss.

"Again! Same sequence! We must work faster to avoid the tripod's next jump attack!" Mivangeline announced as Ampyria's droid forces worked on the next blast doors.