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Twin hammers rose and fell, tearing through flesh and bone, a silhouette of fire surrounding them. To Leo’s side, Festus shredded through the blood and dust-soaked battlefield, as rain blanketed the sky, evaporating as it reached the flames around his body. His arms felt as if they were pumped full of lead, growing heavier with each strike.
The flames around him sputtered and went out, allowing the rain to slip into his eyes, rendering him partially blind to the world around him. Festus roared, before diving into a mass of monsters, tearing through armour like a hot knife through butter.
But it wasn’t enough, for every monster they killed another 3 would take its place. At this point, his arms were made of molten lead, and his hammers were battered and beaten. Festus was injured, wings torn in many places, leaking oil from biting armor and weapons.
Eventually, he couldn’t lift his hammers past his shoulders, then chest, and eventually they stopped rising altogether. He fell to his knees, staring at the sky, blinking rain out of his eyes, and wondered. Was it all worth it, this death around him? Was fighting for the gods worth it? He looked down at his body, covered in blood, rain, and countless wounds, and knew he hadn’t long to live.
He looked up again, muttering silent apologies to his mother for not being able to kill Gaia, his friends, for not coming back. As his eyes closed for the last time, the Festus roared and wrapped his body around him.
They died together, machine and man, locked in death's cold embrace