Chapter Text
"Limbo.
Lust.
All gone.
With Gluttony soon to follow.
Your kind knows nothing but hunger, purged all life in the upper layers, and yet...
They remain unsatiated.
As do you,
Machine."
Is the words that would never reach the machine, for it has dictated that there is a more important target:
A Perfect Hellgate is nearby.
Its otherworldly energy oozes through the chandelier chamber that V1 is currently in, radiating more energy than any Angels could ever hope to.
This Hellgate radiated so much energy, that V1 knows exactly where it is.
It jumped onto one of the chandeliers, then observed around, and saw a cracked wall.
The robot then whipped out a rocket launcher, and shot at the crack, which absolutely obliterated it.
It then dashed into the crack, as-
BZZZT.
ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS OVERLOADED.
ACTIVATING OVERDRIVE MODE...
ACTIVATION PROCESS DONE!
EMP bombs, or weapons designed to create electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), were developed following the discovery of the effect during nuclear tests in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
While the phenomenon was observed in 1945, its destructive potential on electronics was confirmed during US high-altitude tests like Starfish Prime in 1962.
Since then, EMP has become a staple in electronic warfare, and even more so when the Great War came into place.
The weapon was essentially uncounterable if used on machines, as they have the capability to overload any and all electronical systems, disrupting them or even going so far as to disable them.
In the Great War, any and all robot were created with the purpose of countering eachother. For instance, Gutterman and Guttertanks. While the Gutterman has a sturdy shield and a gatling gun that could feasibly grind down light armor, the Guttertank was armed with a rocket launcher and a PanzerFaust arm, making it the perfect counter to heavy armor, while boasting heavy armor on its own.
So, when the THR-1000 Earthmover was successfully created as Japan's solution to counter all instruments of war, humanity thought that it was their Magnum Opus, their most perfect child.
Its defenses are nearly perfect. Outside is an electronic shield that could deflect any and all attacks, and should an intruder be detected, it has powerful inner defenses, such as MLRS's, lasers and mortars.
Should those defenses be breached, and the core was attacked, a chamber-wide EMP blast will be sent thorough the core chamber, making any and all machines shut down.
With the exception of V1, of course.
V1's overdrive mode is a special ability that makes use of its excess blood or energy to empower itself, increasing speed and arm power. However, if there is no excess energy or blood, this mode will deactivate itself, making it a situational buff at best.
But the biggest benefit of this mode doesn't come from the buff, it comes from the fact that excess electricity only benefits it.
Its small size, powerful armaments, agility, speed and adaptability also made it the perfect counter to the Earthmovers.
As a result, it didn't even so much as to be disrupted by the Perfect Hellgate's energy overload.
The gate, as if sensing one worthy of entry, opened slowly and powerfully, as the space around rumbled from its might.
Behind the great gates is yet another grey chamber tinted in gold with a large square hole, similar to that of the chamber that leads to Minos.
The machine wasted no time, as it dashed into the chamber, and jumped down the large hole.
Thump.
The moment the machine landed into the red chamber, it instantly went up the terminal, readied its weapons, then stood before the red door, contemplating.
What sights would appear before its cameras this time? It asked itself.
V1 took a step foward, and the door automatically opened.
And before its camera is a Greek style city surrounded by skyscrapers, with the only light source being the crimson sky above, while blood rained all over.
The City of Dis.
It walked on the streets, its cameras capturing many benches on the side, with a wall at the end of the street, and a stairway on the left leading to the unknown.
In the vast expanse of buildings piercing the Heavens, the tunes of a piano playing a beautiful melody could be heard, but the source of this melody is yet to be found.
The robot, after a while of walking, took the stairway, as it was lead to a room enveloped completely in darkness.
Could this be any different than P-1? It thinked.
After another while of contemplating, the automaton deci-
UNQUANTIFIABLE NUMBER OF GREATER ENEMIES DETECTED AHEAD.
INITIATE COMBAT MUSIC: TENEBRE ROSSO SANGUE.
Four tall, imposing Ceberis appeared before V1, as the room brightened, while the contrapt prepared its weapons.
Number of enemies in immediate area: Four.
Combat target: Cerberis
Type: Heavy, Greater Demon
Power: Medium-High.
Speed: Low.
Properties: Super strength; Hell Energy Mastery IV; Enrages upon seeing another Cerberi die.
Weaknesses: Predictable behavior; Low speed.
The dance begins.
The machine quickly tossed four coins into the air, and fired a Railcannon shot at the coins, absolutely obliterating one of the Cerberi statues.
The other statues reddened, and increased their attack speed, as they charged at their small adversary with unstoppable might.
However, their charge was easily dodged as they clumped toghether, and they were swiftly grinded down by sawblades.
A Ferryman crashed down from the ceiling, catching V1 off kilter slightly, as it got hit with a devastating smash, batting it to the side.
Chest integrity: 85%
Hip integrity: 85%
Combat target: Ferryman
Enemy type: Heavy, Greater Husk.
Power: Medium.
Speed: Medium.
Capabilities: Lightning summon.
Weaknesses: Predictable attack patterns.
Advised course of action: Parry attacks, Fight with distance.
The Ferryman aggressively attacked V1 with fire support from two virtues, yet he couldn't ever hope to catch up with the machine, as his stamina and his constitution lowered for every second passed in battle, while the Vampire moved with surgical precision and unstoppable grace.
It was not a battle. It was an execution.
Eventually, the Ferryman fell, while the gate behind his dead body opened, leaving the Virtues supporting him at the mercy of the war contrapt.
You can guess what happens next.
After V1 is done with those lesser angels, it observed the space around it, and chose to go right, for the door on its left requires a Skull Key to be opened.
As it travelled down the streets, a multitude of enemies suddenly manisfested before it, and violently attacked the robot.
Machines and demons and husks fell like rain, as shiny, glimmering coins flew into the air, and the song of bullets and sawblades played, except for a blessed Mindflayer.
The automaton then travelled into a small and tight corridor, guarded by two Cerberis and a Streetcleaner, which were made quick work of by the vampiric GoPro, as it found itself on a huge arena, where a multitude of Sentries, Malicious Faces, Virtues, two Idols secured in two indestructible glass chambers, and another blessed Mindlflayer waited for it.
The machine wasted no time whipping out the Electric Railcannon (it bought the new gun from a terminal after beating Pinos Mrime) and shot a Virtue, shredding it to pieces, while another Virtue fell right after it when V1 Whiplashed towards it (also bought from the terminal) and planted three shotgun blasts into its face.
Hell orbs and beams conjured by Malicious Faces and Mindflayers are easily dodged, while sawblades grinded down the Swordsmachines below, and the Sentries were easily reduced to heaps of scrap by V1's rocket launcher.
Then, the glass chambers sealing the Idols opened, and V1 wasted no time, as it rode a rocket towards them, then punched both Idols into pitiful stone slabs with its Knuckleblaster.
After undoing the Idols, it turned to the Mindflayers, and whipped out its Electric Railcannon again, then fired at one of the Mindflayers, combining it with three revolver shots, obliterating the poor contrapt.
The other Mindflayer was then brutally beaten into submission by the Feedbacker and the Knuckleblaster, as it wailed in pain, while blood flew everywhere.
It then used the Whiplash, and hooked onto a blue skull on a stand, then got out of the courtyard.
Just as it finally got out of the corridor, two Sisyphean Insurrectionists suddenly landed, cracking the ground beneath them as rumbles reverberated across the street, as corpses flew everywhere.
And they, too, was turned into Sisyphean-grade meat stew, as 'V1 the Chef' overcooks them with the Firestarter Rocket Launcher and grinded them down with sawblades.
After making the Virtues taste steel, breaking the Cerberis, Malicious Faces and Idols into pitiable stone slabs, beating the daylights out of the Ferryman and the Mindflayers, using the Sentry's accuracy against themselves, and cooking the Schims and Insurrectionists into three-star Michelin dishes, it set the Blue Skull onto the stand, opening the door, and leading into a tight, fleshy tunnel with many platforms.
Undeterred by the macabre sight, it dashed into the tunnel, where two Virtues, two Malicious Faces and a Sentry waiting for its arrival.
V1 reacted swiftly, by using the Core Eject shotgun to eject a bomb, then whipped out the Malicious Railcannon and shot the bomb, releasing a terrible blast of hell energy and instakilling the two Virtues while heavily damaging the Sentry, which got swiftly put out of action with a revolver shot.
One of the Malicious Faces charged up a powerful beam and fired, but got countered by a coin redirecting the beam into itself, breaking it into stone fragments.
The other Maurice isn't so lucky either, as V1 consecutively planted three point-black shotgun blasts into its face, making it fall to the ground.
The automaton travelled deeper into the tunnel, where awaited it was two Cerberis, two Sentries and a Maurice.
The Maurice ate back-to-back point-blank shotgun blasts, then fell into the ground, the shockwave created from its death launched the two Sentries up, merging them with the ever spinning tunnel.
Then, four coins flew into the air, and a Cerberi was instantly obliterated with n Electric Railcannon shot redirected and empowered with four coins, which made the other one enrage, as it charged to V1.
However, Cerberis weren't created to be smart, so it charged to its death instead.
Just like that, the Vampire easily cleared another gauntlet.
IT GREASED ITS GEARS WITH THE BLOOD OF THE HELPLESS SO IT CAN GREASE ITS GEARS WITH THE BLOOD OF THE HELPLESS
AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN
THE VAMPIRE SHALL NEVER GET TIRED
Before the bloodthirsty contrapt is a big crimson arena, with a blessed Stalker in the middle, along with a Ferryman, two Swordsmachines, two Idols sealed in an indestructible glass chamber and four Strays.
The Swordsmachines was easily grinded down by sawblades and rocket fire, while the Ferryman ferociously attacked the machine, only for all of its attacks to be parried or dodged, as said machine easily dodged the Stray's attacks.
After the first wave was made quick work of, a Hideous Mass along with four Sentries manifested.
The Sentries quickly trained their guns onto V1, while the Hideous Mass slammed the ground and shot mortars out of its hands, creating shockwaves that reverberated across the battlefield.
Four coins flew into the air, as the robot whipped out the Electric Railcannon and shot the coins, ricocheting the shot into the Hideous Mass.
But right before the shot hit, the Greater Demon was blessed, giving it invulnerability and invalidating V1's attack.
It was then quickly sandified by the Stalker, stopping it from having the capability to bleed, rendering one of the machine's healing source useless.
Undeterred, the automaton quicky set its sights onto the Sentries, and dodged three of their shots, but it failed to dodge the last one, as it got pinned into a wall due to the sheer force of the bullet.
Chest integrity: 50%
Core integrity: 60%
Said Sentry who shot V1 quicky got hooked by the Whiplash, getting its head sawed off right after.
Another Sentry got absolutely annihilated by a Railcannon shot combined with two coins.
The third Sentry got its head obliterated with three shotgun blast to the face, and the fourth is the most unlucky, getting beat into retirement by both of V1's right arms, the Feedbacker and the Knuckleblaster.
After it made quick work of the Sentries, three Cerberis and three Virtues was summoned, and the glass chamber that sealed the Hideous Mass's Idol got lifted.
The machine, however, didn't destroy said Idol just yet.
Advised course of action: Set target priority:
1. Cerberis
2. Virtues
3. Hideous Mass Idol
4. Hideous Mass
5. Stalker Idol
6. Stalker
A cannonball from the S.R.S Rocket Launcher shot towards one of the Cerberis, knocking it off kilter, while V1 whiplashed the cannonball and used it like a yo-yo, and degraded the statues into stone.
Then, it threw the cannonball into a Virtue, shattering it, as another shattered easily by a shot from the Electric Railcannon, and the last one was easily dispatched with a charged Slab Piercer revolver shot coupled with four coins.
V1 then descended onto the ground, and the moment its leg touched the ground, it flicked its ankle so hard, that the momentum from its jump was transferred to launch itself towards the Hideous Mass's Idol.
A punch from the Knuckleblaster then destroyed the Idol, as the Sawblade Launcher roared into life, and grinded the Demon down until its very sparks cried for mercy, while the Stalker's Idol glass chamber opened, which got quickly destroyed as V1 lunged towards it.
Now, the pitiful husk is at the mercy of the Vampire.
The machine choked it with the Feedbacker.
Then...
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK
BOOM
*Pump.*
The Stalker was now a former shell of itself, a pile of burned flesh and bones, as the arena was painted with the blood of all who opposed the warpath of the automaton.
It wasn't a gauntlet for V1. It was a bossfight, for them.
V1 outnumbered them. V1 surrounded them.
V1 was the stronger, the smarter, and the better army.
The platform of the penultimate arena descended, as the robot stood on it, weapons at the ready.
Eventually, the platform stopped, revealing a cart with an advanced terminal on it, along with a steel gate.
Section A: Unlocked
Section B: Unlocked
Section C: Unlocked
Gas and dust flew out, as the metal gate opened, revealing another terminal, and a golden skull door.
V1 walked up to the screen.
Are you sure?
Yes No
The machine contemplated for a good while, then pressed no, to see what happens.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
As if you had a choice
The door opened as normal, revealing a vast plateau.
V1 jumped from the ridge.
Thump.
A structure of flesh akin to that of the Flesh Prison appeared, as it gazed upon the ant with its eyes.
Combat target: Flesh Panopticon
Enemy type: Heavy, Stationary
Power: High
Speed: N/A
Capabilities: May be same as Flesh Prison
Weaknesses: Same as Flesh Prison
Five large eyeballs was summoned, as the construct shrieked loudly, and greeted its new guest with a hail of homing mortar blasts.
The machine easily dodged it by whiplashing onto one of the eyeballs, then whiplashing onto another and repeated the process until the hailstorm let up.
An eyeball was then sawed in half, while another fell by a shotgun blast combined with a Knuckleblaster punch.
Three left.
V1 whiplashed onto another eyeball, when suddenly, huge Virtue Circles started to manifest at its location, signifying that a beam is about to come.
Boom.
A holy rumble that shook the arena to its core accomodated the beam's arrival, as the robot narrowly dodged it by whiplashing onto another eyeball and sawed it in half aswell. The last eyeball was then promptly blasted to smithereens by three consecutive revolver shots.
Sawblades grinded the Panopticon down, as coins flew into the air, and an Electric Railcannon shot pierced it, then made contact with another coin, redirecting the lightning into the structure again.
A dark-purple flash reverberated through the arena, as...
"THIS PRISON...TO HOLD.....ME!?"
The Prison wailed in pain, while two bloodied, giant golden hands bursted from its mouth.
*Crack.*
Those hands bent the mouth at an acute angle, then...
*CRACK.*
The mouth was bent backwards even more, now at a nearly one-hundred and eighty degrees, as a radiant giant jumped out of his confines.
The Panopticon splatted into nothingness, while blood rained from the sky, setting the scene to fit with a breakout of the beast.
King Sisyphus of Corinth.
Begin script:
"Though Minos was intelligent and persuasive, he was also a gentle and noble man. Such values mattered little to Sisyphus, who would gladly lie, cheat or kill if that's what is needed to protect his comrades.
In a hubristic show of power, Heaven decided that the only correct punishment for his sins would be breaking his will by subjecting him to an unending and impossible task, unaware of just how tenacious the spite of man can be.
For thousands of years, Sisyphus bided his time, suffering his punishment day after day without any sign of regret or remorse, waiting for the perfect chance to strike and subvert Heaven's tyrannical rule.
With the Disappearance of God and chaos in Heaven, Sisyphus' time had finally come, and once the angels returned, they were met with a force and fury that had boiled in the hearts of men for millennia, a warcry so fierce it shook the very foundations of Hell.
It was all for naught, however, as Sisyphus' charisma and drive had made his warriors dependent on his radiance and guidance. Although he did not know why yet, Gabriel recognised this flaw, having experienced it first hand, and ordered a focused assault to take down the king.
He unsheathed his swords for the first time since time immemorial and beheaded Sisyphus, displaying his head for all to see. The morale of Sisyphus' army was broken and the rest of the war was little more than a formality without their shining beacon.
The failure of the insurrection was no surprise however, and few knew that better than Sisyphus himself. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, that even if they miraculously survived this encounter, they had no chance of winning a full scale war against all of Heaven. Yet he thrust his full heart and soul into battle with a wide smile on his face.
To him, fighting an impossible battle with full knowledge of its futility and taking joy in just the act of resistance itself is the ultimate rebellion against the oppressor. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
End script.
"A visitor? Hm... Indeed, i have slept long enough."
Sisyphus Prime is a burly and giant man, slightly chubby, even. His body is like that of a powerlifter's, unlike Minos whose body is akin to bodybuilders.
"The kingdom of Heaven has long since forgotten my name, and i am EAGER...to make them remember."
His hands and legs are covered with blood, though it is obvious about whose blood covered his limbs.
"However... The blood of Minos stains your hands, and i must admit... I'm curious about your skills, Weapon."
The colour of his skin, and especially his head is golden, representing his radiance and greed.
"And so, before i tip down the cities, and CRUSH the armies of Heaven...
You, shall do, as an appetizer.
Come forth, Child of Man....
And die."
Combat target: Sisyphus Prime, Indomitable Warlord of Greece
Enemy type: Heavy, Prime Soul
Power: High
Speed: Hitscan
Capabilities: ?????
Weaknesses: ?????
Advised course of action: Survive :)
The warlord raised his hand and punched the ground, the force produced from the blow so powerful that it shook the arena to its foundation, as a shockwave travelled across it, forcing V1 to jump up.
And the moment it jumped, a hand bigger than its entire body gripped onto it, and pinned it onto the ground.
The robot quicky pumped its Pump-Charge shotgun four times, then shot it into Sisyphus, using the force of the explosion to free itself from his hold.
Despite the force of the blast, the warlord doesn't even phase, as he cracked his knuckles.
"Nice try!"
And in a flash, said warlord was already behind V1, while assuming a sumo fighting stance.
"You can't escape!"
The machine, in fact, did not escape the attack. Minos Prime was fast, sure, but he was inexperienced. This made his attacks predictable.
The same cannot be said for Sisyphus, as he made the Vampire taste its own blood with a chain of attacks that ragdolled the poor thing around like it was a toy.
Overall integrity: 20%
V1 whipped out the Screwdriver Railcannon, then shot it at the giant, as the drill embedded itself in his thighs, creating a fountain of blood for the Vampire to feast on.
Overall integrity restored to perfect state.
However, the Prime Soul did not get phased by any of this. In fact, when he saw the gizmo repairing itself using his blood, he cackled loudly, while increasing his attack speed and stepping up his game.
"BE GONE!"
He dashed right in front of V1, then clapped at the robot.
However, he exposed himself too much with that attack, eating a meaty punch from the Feedbacker.
+PARRY
"Mmmm...."
The machine then exploited his opening, tossing four coins into the air as it charged its Sharpshooter. The Sharpshooter revolver then sang, and a beam of red came out of its barrel, redirecting itself through four coins and then right into Sisyphus's head.
"DESTROY!"
And in another flash, Sisyphus is already behind it, as an uppercut sent it flying into the ceiling, while he threw an energy blast, creating a spectacular firework show for Hell to see.
From the source of the explosion, a storm of nails emerged, raining into the ground below. However...
No nails hit its target, for its target isn't in the ground any longer.
The target is above now.
Sisyphus Prime did an overhead chop, his attack so fast that it left trails of red behind while V1 narrowly dodged it. The fighter then opted for a roundhouse kick, which got parried, before dashing on top of the machine and did a ground slam, which got dodged, too.
Both combatants landed onto the ground, as they readied themselves for another run-in, cracking their necks and joints, and assuming fighting stances.
"Keep 'em coming!" The radiant giant shouted loudly and proudly, with encouragement in it.
Said giant then initiated the attack, shouting "You can't escape" again, and doing the same combo that ragdolled the machine, only for his combo to be artfully dodged this time, and he even got parried trying to do a stomp.
He did a ground slam, which got dodged too, then clapped at V1, saying "BE GONE!" and getting his clap dodged, creating a vertical shockwave instead.
"This will hurt."
The warlord channeled his energy, and curled up into a ball, as the machine charged at him.
Four coins flew overhead, as it tried to stop his attack with a Railcannon shot.
However, the lightning bolt that pierced through his body didn't even stagger him, as he released his stored energy, creating a deadly explosion of gold that sent everything flying including the machine itself.
Head shell integrity: 25%
Central CPU integrity: 40%
Camera and visual systems integrity: 40%
Core integrity: 35%
Chest integrity: 15%
Hip & joints integrity: 20%
Limbs integrity: 35%
Advised course of action: Be careful.
They then continued clashing, as V1, though slowly, adapted to Sisyphus step by step, parrying any attacks it could, and dodging any it couldn't.
Moments ago, it was severely outsped by the king turned Prime Soul. But now, they are fighting on equal terms, as both combatants clashed and traded blows with eachother.
SO BEAUTIFUL IS THIS BATTLE, A BATTLE OF WITS AND POWER
BEAUTIFUL LIKE A DANCE PERFORMANCE, ONE THAT IS LEAD BY SISYPHUS
"Yes, that's it!"
Sisyphus Prime screamed in joy, as he grew a crimson beard and gained a fiery aura around his hands.
He then increased his attack power and speed even more, as V1 struggled to keep up, eating a meaty roundhouse into its abdomen.
The king did not let his pace falter, following up with a downward hook that made V1 one with the earth, combined with a ground slam that was narrowly dodged.
A drill found itself in Sisyphus's abdomen, as blood poured like a fountain from it.
He tried to pull the thing out, but the machine was quicker on the uptake, punching the drill with its Feedbacker, which made said drill pierce through his body and catching him off guard.
Four coins then flew into the air, and a charged Sharpshooter shot pierced through his head, then made contact with the coin somehow lined up perfectly behind him and redirected itself into other coins, and finally pierced into his head again.
This staggered him a bit, as the war machine used its opening to saw his left hand off, making him retreat back and groan in pain.
His endurance, though a lot, is now waning fast from blood loss, while the contrapt before him stared at him challengingly, as if this much fighting didn't phase it at all.
"Well... Then it is time for the finale, is it, machine?" The warlord spoke, as he channeled all of his remaining energy into his right fist, making it glow as bright as the sun itself.
OVERDRIVE MODE ACTIVATED.
V1 primed two of its right arms, as it took on a lunging stance, its wings glowing red like the sky above.
The fists of Man and Machine collided for one last time, obliterating the arena they're battling in, leaving behind only a ravaged plateau.
Both parties struggled greatly, as Sisyphus grunted, while V1 simulated grunts of it own, similar to that of a Swordsmachine when it enrages.
But eventually, with the power of two arms, the automaton started to push the warlord back, as it powered up even more, a circle of red forming behind its wings.
"Ugh!"
The mighty king was finally pushed back, while V1 fell to its knees, using a shotgun to support itself.
The king was worse off than the robot, his once radiant light now dimming weakly, as his life force drains away.
"Ahh… So concludes the life and times of King Sisyphus.
A fitting end to an existence defined by futile struggle.
Doomed, from the very start…"
He then chuckled, his chuckle soon distorting into manic laughter.
"And i DONT regret a SECOND of it...
UAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"
BOOM
He spent the last of his life force to go out with a bang, as his soul exploded.
Thus spoke the life and tales of King Sisyphus.
............
.............
...............
Or does it?
"Ow."
The fallen warlord blurted unimpressedly, as he woke up in what seems to be a Library.
Standing before him is a young girl with kempt cyan hair and deathly pale skin. She has a pair of ornate coat and shirt, with her inner shirt being white, her outer dress a color white and her coat dark blue.
And beside her...
Minos Prime.
With an ornate ochre blazer, a nametag on his left breast with his name written in cursive, coupled with an equally ornate pair of black shirt and jeans, with black boots to match. Whats more, his clothes are perfectly ironed.
"Welcome to-"
"Minos!?"