Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

13 Goddess

There was another explosion. A section of the sun temple collapsed, flames erupting from inside.

Maeyune was the first to run, everyone following closely behind. When they reached the entrance, they were met by a few Beran soldiers. They were crouched behind one of the broken pews inside the worship room, clinging their plasma rifles to their chests. Beside them lay a few injured temple guardians, their beige robes splotched with blood.

One of them wore a robe more decorated than the others. The High Priest, Maeyune acknowledged.

"They have the relic, Reo!" a Beran soldier announced.

Reo was about to leap forward, but Jaysek grabbed his arm. "Wait!" the wind celestial yelled.

A piloted automech emerged from a hole in the wall. Its appearance was far more sinister than the new Beran models, with more angles than curves in its overall design. It had not seen them yet.

"Get your relic," Maeyune said to Reo, restraining anger from her voice. "We will handle this."

He had almost had her team killed. There was no way she would risk fighting alongside him again.

He did not object. However, when they stood to launch another offensive, Iron Prophet soldiers rushed out from a doorway in the corner of the room. They came to stand behind the safety of the automech. Everyone saw in their possession a shimmering golden staff.

The topaz at the top of the staff began to shine, as if in greeting. It recognized Reo.

Maeyune heard him swear under his breath.

There was a standstill. The Iron Prophet soldiers continued to aim their rifles at both celestial teams. They stared in shock at the two individuals whom they could only imagine were the two god incarnates.

The automech was the first to move. It raised an arm, his hand transforming into the large muzzle of a gun. When it fired, Maeyune pushed out a palm and parried the bullets with an energy shield. Together with his team at his side, Reo charged forward.

With Aerylis's telekinetic assistance, Maeyune was able to pressure the automech into taking a right step. It continued to stumble and fell against a wall. With the automation moved out of the way, Saber Team had a clear shot at the Prophet soldiers and the sun staff.

Maeyune was not surprised to discover how nimble the automech was. The pilot inside the chest cavity surely knew what it was capable of. Tin had not shown them how to disable these classes of automations yet. She had no other choice but to improvise. If the controls were inside, then they had to force it open.

Clover was injured, but he refused to fall behind. Grunting through the pain in his abdomen, he drove a fiery fist into the automech's right knee. Benny did the same to the left knee with a fist of ice. With its balance skewed, it bent over sideways.