The machine fired.
A beam of blinding blue energy exploded from the massive cannon.
The entire mansion lit up like daylight.
"RACHEL RUN!" Raziel roared.
But Rachel didn't run.
She couldn't.
For a split second, time seemed to slow.
The beam tore across the hall, smashing through marble pillars and exploding the walls apart.
Selene disappeared into the shadows just before the blast struck her position.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion ripped through the mansion like a thunderclap.
Glass shattered.
Ceilings collapsed.
The shockwave threw soldiers across the hall like rag dolls.
Rachel grabbed Daniel and dropped to the ground as debris rained around them.
Chunks of stone slammed into the floor inches from her head.
Lucien dove behind a fallen pillar.
"Okay!" he shouted over the chaos. "That's definitely a city destroyer!"
Raziel rushed forward, pulling Rachel and Daniel behind a broken wall.
"You almost killed all of us!"
Rachel's ears rang from the blast.
"I didn't tell it to fire like that!"
The war machine's voice echoed again through the smoke.
"Target lost."
Rachel's heart dropped.
Selene was gone.
Again.
The Mansion Falls
The blast had done more than damage the hall.
It had shattered the entire foundation.
Cracks spread across the floor like spider webs.
The massive chandelier crashed down with a violent CRASH.
Soldiers began shouting orders.
"EVACUATE!"
"THE BUILDING IS COLLAPSING!"
Outside, armored vehicles screeched as commanders realized something catastrophic was happening inside the Moretti estate.
Inside the mansion, dust filled the air so thick it looked like fog.
Rachel coughed.
"Daniel, are you okay?"
Daniel nodded weakly.
"I think… so."
But his energy was fading again.
The war machine continued draining power from him.
Rachel looked at it angrily.
"Stop!"
The machine responded immediately.
"Command acknowledged."
The energy drain stopped.
Daniel's aura slowly dimmed but stabilized.
Raziel watched Rachel carefully.
"You're learning fast."
Rachel stood slowly, staring at the giant machine towering above them.
"I didn't learn anything."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"It just… listens."
Lucien walked over, brushing dust off his coat.
"Well congratulations."
He pointed at the massive machine.
"You're now the owner of the most illegal weapon on the planet."
Rachel ignored him.
Her eyes scanned the destroyed hall.
Selene was nowhere to be seen.
Selene's Escape
Suddenly
A slow clap echoed from the upper balcony.
CLAP.
CLAP.
CLAP.
Rachel looked up instantly.
Selene stood on the broken railing above them.
Unharmed.
Her coat fluttered slightly in the wind coming through the shattered walls.
Rachel's eyes burned with anger.
"You ran."
Selene smiled calmly.
"I survived."
Lucien rolled his eyes.
"Same thing."
Selene ignored him.
Her silver gaze focused on Rachel.
"I underestimated you."
Rachel crossed her arms.
"Good."
Selene leaned against the railing casually.
"But this changes nothing."
Rachel frowned.
"You're surrounded."
Selene gestured toward the collapsing mansion.
"Am I?"
Another loud crack echoed through the building.
A massive section of ceiling collapsed behind Rachel.
Raziel swore under his breath.
"We have maybe five minutes before this entire place comes down."
Selene's smile widened.
"Exactly."
Rachel stepped forward.
"Then you're not leaving."
Selene tilted her head.
"Oh Rachel."
"You still don't understand the game."
She pressed a small device on her wrist.
Outside the mansion—
Helicopter blades roared to life.
Lucien looked toward the broken windows.
"Well… that's not good."
Searchlights cut through the smoke.
A black helicopter hovered just above the mansion roof.
Selene jumped onto the railing.
Rachel shouted,
"STOP HER!"
Raziel fired his gun.
BANG!
The bullet missed as Selene leapt upward, grabbing the helicopter rope ladder.
Within seconds she was rising into the air.
Rachel ran to the window.
"SELENE!"
Selene looked down at her.
Wind whipped through her silver hair.
"You did well today," she called down.
"But next time…"
Her smile turned cold.
"…I won't underestimate you."
The helicopter began flying away.
Rachel clenched her fists.
The war machine suddenly spoke again.
"Enemy escaping."
Rachel looked at it.
Then at the helicopter.
Then back at the machine.
Her heart pounded.
"Can you reach it?"
The machine responded instantly.
"Affirmative."
Raziel grabbed her arm.
"Rachel."
She looked at him.
"If you fire that thing again," he said quietly, "you might bring down half the city."
Rachel looked back at the helicopter disappearing into the clouds.
Selene was escaping again.
Lucien sighed.
"This woman is really starting to annoy me."
Rachel's hands shook.
The machine waited silently for her command.
Selene's voice echoed in her mind.
You're just a child playing with a bomb.
Rachel closed her eyes.
Then she whispered one word.
"Stand down."
The machine's weapons slowly powered off.
Raziel looked surprised.
"You let her go."
Rachel opened her eyes again.
"No."
Her voice was calm.
Cold.
"I'm letting her think she won."
A New Threat
Suddenly
The war machine's sensors flashed red.
The robotic voice spoke urgently.
"Multiple hostile aircraft approaching."
Rachel frowned.
"What?"
Lucien walked to the window again.
His expression changed instantly.
"Well…"
He pointed toward the horizon.
"…that's new."
Rachel stepped beside him.
Her breath caught.
Dozens of military jets were approaching the estate.
Missiles armed.
Weapons ready.
Raziel swore under his breath.
"The government."
Rachel's heart pounded.
"They're going to attack?"
Raziel nodded.
"They saw the energy blast."
Lucien sighed dramatically.
"Which means they think we started a war."
The machine spoke again.
"Missile launch detected."
Rachel's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Raziel grabbed her shoulder.
"Rachel…"
He pointed at the sky.
"…they're about to erase this entire place."
Missiles streaked toward the mansion like falling stars.
And Rachel had only seconds to decide
Fight the military.
Or run.
The missiles screamed through the sky.
Bright trails of fire cut across the dark clouds like falling stars of destruction.
Rachel stared upward, frozen.
Her mind struggled to process what she was seeing.
"They're actually firing…" she whispered.
Raziel grabbed her arm hard.
"Rachel, this is not a warning strike."
Lucien glanced out the shattered window again.
"Nope," he muttered. "That's a full wipe."
Daniel stepped closer to Rachel, fear flashing in his young eyes.
"They want to destroy us?"
Raziel answered coldly.
"They want to destroy the machine."
The war machine suddenly moved.
Massive metal plates shifted across its body like armor waking up.
Its sensors burned bright red.
"Incoming threat detected."
Rachel turned toward it.
The robotic voice continued.
"Missile impact in fifteen seconds."
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Fifteen seconds.
That was all the time they had left.
The entire estate trembled as the damaged structure continued collapsing around them.
Chunks of ceiling crashed down.
Dust rolled across the floor.
Lucien looked between the missiles and the machine.
"Well Rachel," he said calmly.
"You officially have the worst day of your life."
Rachel ignored him.
Her mind was racing.
If those missiles hit
The machine would explode.
The mansion would vanish.
Everyone inside would die.
The war machine spoke again.
"Command required."
Rachel clenched her fists.
Raziel's voice was sharp.
"Rachel, listen carefully."
She looked at him.
"If you activate the machine fully," he said, "you will start a war with the entire government."
Rachel looked back at the sky.
Missiles growing larger.
Closer.
Ten seconds.
Lucien sighed.
"Well… technically the war already started."
Daniel grabbed Rachel's sleeve.
"Rachel… please."
She looked down at him.
Fear filled his eyes.
But something else was there too.
Trust.
Rachel slowly turned back to the war machine.
"Machine."
Its sensors focused on her instantly.
"Awaiting command."
Rachel inhaled slowly.
Then she gave the order.
"Protect this location."
The machine responded instantly.
"Defense protocol activated."
The Iron Guardian
The war machine moved faster than anything that large should move.
Massive mechanical arms unfolded from its back.
Panels opened across its body.
Dozens of defense cannons rotated outward.
Energy surged through its systems.
Blue light flooded the ruined hall.
Raziel's eyes widened slightly.
"I forgot it could do that…"
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"You forgot?"
Raziel ignored him.
Outside the mansion
The first missile reached its target.
But before it could strike
The war machine fired.
A burst of energy exploded upward.
The missile vanished in a flash of light.
BOOOOM!
The explosion lit up the sky.
The remaining missiles continued descending.
The machine fired again.
And again.
And again.
Energy beams sliced through the air like lightning.
Each missile exploded before reaching the estate.
One after another.
Fireballs bloomed across the sky.
Rachel watched in stunned silence.
It was like watching a steel giant fighting the heavens.
Within seconds
All the missiles were gone.
Smoke drifted across the sky.
Silence returned.
Lucien blinked.
"Well…"
He slowly clapped once.
"That was impressive."
Raziel didn't look impressed.
He looked worried.
Very worried.
Rachel noticed immediately.
"What?"
Raziel pointed upward.
Rachel looked again.
Her stomach dropped.
Because the jets weren't leaving.
They were circling.
And preparing another attack.
The Government's Decision
Inside one of the military jets, a pilot's voice crackled through the radio.
"Target confirmed. Hostile weapon active."
Another voice responded.
"Command authorization granted."
Rachel's heart pounded harder.
"What are they saying?"
Raziel answered quietly.
"They're escalating."
Lucien groaned.
"Oh great."
The war machine spoke again.
"Multiple aircraft locking weapons."
Daniel whispered,
"They're not stopping…"
Rachel realized the truth in that moment.
The government wasn't trying to destroy the machine anymore.
They were trying to destroy everything around it.
Including them.
The war machine asked again.
"Next command?"
Rachel hesitated.
Raziel stepped closer.
"Rachel."
She looked at him.
"If you attack those jets…"
He paused.
"…there's no going back."
Rachel looked out the broken window again.
The jets circled like predators.
Daniel stood beside her.
Lucien leaned casually against a broken pillar.
The war machine waited patiently.
Rachel slowly closed her eyes.
Then she spoke.
"Machine."
"Yes, Rachel Moretti."
Her voice came out calm.
But cold.
"Disable them."
Raziel's eyes widened.
Lucien grinned.
"Oh this is going to be fun."
War in the Sky
The war machine fired again.
But this time
Not missiles.
Not explosions.
Thin beams of blue energy shot into the sky.
One by one
The jets' engines shut down.
Inside the cockpits
Alarms screamed.
"System failure!"
"Control loss!"
"Eject! Eject!"
Pilots bailed out as their powerless jets spiraled toward the ground.
One after another.
The sky filled with parachutes.
Rachel watched silently.
The machine spoke calmly.
"Threat neutralized."
Lucien stared out the window.
"…Remind me never to fight you."
But Raziel wasn't smiling.
His gaze had turned dark.
Rachel noticed.
"What is it now?"
Raziel looked at her slowly.
"You just shut down half the country's air force."
Rachel's stomach tightened.
Lucien shrugged.
"Technically they started it."
Raziel shook his head.
"No."
His voice dropped lower.
"You don't understand."
Rachel frowned.
"Understand what?"
Raziel looked toward the horizon.
His expression had become deadly serious.
"Now they'll send something worse."
Rachel's heart skipped.
"What could be worse than missiles?"
Raziel answered quietly.
"The person who built the weapon they actually trust."
Rachel felt a chill run down her spine.
"Who?"
Raziel finally said the name.
"The architect."
Rachel frowned.
"I've never heard of him."
Raziel's eyes darkened.
"You have."
Rachel waited.
Raziel finished the sentence slowly.
"…because he trained your father."
Rachel froze.