Headed by a Snake

"Move!" Loki punched the inside of Lancelot's chest plates, "Move FASTER, Flame TAKE you!!!"

Xenos were attacking the camp... and his TRASH Divine Armor was ruining his chances at claiming his Flame-taken destiny!

More and more of the disgusting creatures began to appear... and out of nowhere!

They rode translucent shadow-horses, hiding behind their masks... afraid to show their faces.

They shot arrows... they swung their swords and stabbed with spears...

If they had actual arms or legs, Loki didn't see them. They gripped their weapons with monstrous tentacles.

Loki opened his arms, brandishing his Divine Armor's spear.

"[For the good of mankind, the XENOS will be PURGED!!!]" He shouted.

Lancelot empowered his voice-- directing it all forward.

He was Loki of Tyrion! A Flame-taken HERO!

His voice would be heard! His enemies would BREAK in FEAR!!

Stabbing his spear into the dirt, Loki cleaved apart one of the xenos, sending up a plume of sand and dirt into the dim-starred night.

He wrenched the blade. Whatever he killed-- it was dead.

Lancelot shook violently, forcing Loki to hold on tight.

His brain rocked around in his skull, threatening unconsciousness.

White flashes were striking the outside of his Divine Armor, popping and exploding... tearing bits and scraps of metal.

Magic? The xenos were using their heretic magics on him?! His blood heated with righteous hatred.

"[You have NO. IDEA. WHO. you bastards are F*CKING WITH!!!!]" He shrieked.

"Loki!" One of the mercenaries shouted, "Glad to see you, you Flame-taken criminal!"

"Defend us! We'll provide support!"

"Everyone! Get the shield wall together!!!"

Support? Worthless. They'd only try to take his glory. He'd kill every last single xeno on his own!

He dashed past his guild members, slipping, dodging, and blocking spells with his shield.

Some of the errant blasts of magic made short work of the weaklings-- but they didn't matter. As long as he won, he'd mourn their deaths like a good little soldier. The price of winning a Tyrion engagement was lives... and Tyrion lives were given gladly for the glory of humankind!

Lowering his body weight, he smashed the tip of his shield down into the dirt and slashed again with his spear, "[The strength of the pack... is in THE WOLF!!!]"

He cut one of the humanoid enemies in two... the spear blade passing through flesh and bone with barely any resistance.

Glancing down at what was left... he saw that the magical veil on the masked creature had dissipated.

And left behind was... an elf?

The elves were behind the attack?

Of Flame-f*cking course the elves were behind the attack! Stealth, magic, and horses? It was typical for the savages that wielded bone blades and sucked off cacti for water.

The knife-eared barbarians circled him on their horses. Their witches kept bombarding him with white spears of magic-- enough to block his vision.

The angrier Loki grew... the more he was blinded by rage.

Lancelot was taking too much damage. The elves weren't dying fast enough.

He was used to big, slow monsters... and at least goblins had the common decency to stay bunched up in a group.

But... with the way the elves were attacking... it was like they-- like they knew how to fight against Divine Armors.

...which was impossible.

Xenos weren't that intelligent-- are NOT that intelligent!

The sharpened end of a metal pick burst through Lancelot's chest plates, stabbing into the meat of Loki's right pectoral.

"ArrrrRRGH!!" He shrunk back in his seat, surprised, hurt... confused. Looking down, he saw that some of the xenos-- the sneaky bastards were climbing his Divine Armor!

A series of ropes had circled his spear arm and they were prying open his fingers. Loki tried to clench his fist... but the damned. Divine. Armor. wasn't. RESPONDING!!!

Ignoring the wound and screaming at the top of his lungs, he released his spear and began swatting at the ants that were swarming him.

He snatched up the masked elf with the pick-- the one on his chest.

He... recognized her. It was the xeno he'd cut in two, earlier... but that was impossible.

He grabbed hold of her torso... and with his other hand and twisted her upper half 180 degrees before dropping her.

Though the mask fell off... shadowy tendrils shot out. They wrapped around the girl and began untwisting her broken body.

The Witch could heal...

She was moaning in pain, desperately digging her elbows into the dirt and trying to push herself away.

Loki moved his forward and placed his foot down... several tons of weight in his Divine Armor body crushing her.

She screamed... a shrill, piercing noise that bored into the back of Loki's brain.

The girl-- no, the xeno looked about as old as he was.

She was defeated... but with her witch magic, her wounds would regenerate in only minutes.

Loki grit his teeth... He couldn't let her go. The xeno's were too strong... too much of a threat.

How many wolves had she killed? How many more would die if he ignored her?

He had no idea how many elves there were, hidden in the dark... but if there were only the five or six he was fighting... and if they could resist the attacks of even a Divine Armor, then Guild Metal Wolf was done for.

"[Sorry, kid,]" Loki growled... "[but since you were born a xeno, you should have expected this much.]"

Closing his eyes, he put his foot down.

He... felt the body... suddenly give way. He wasn't sure... but he thought he heard it pop. It felt like... crushing an insect... ending the life of something that wasn't human...

Loki made the mistake of peeking out of one eye.

Blood stained the ground outward from Lancelot's foot. Guts and viscera were strewn about.

He... he could almost smell it... taste it.

His stomach churled and he coated Lancelot's console with vomit. His chest injury burned from the disgust splash of bile.

Wiping his mouth, he slowly rotated his head to identify the next xeno.

And he found... none?

Channeling mana into Lancelot to sharpen his vision, Loki spotted one of the pathetic creatures. They were sprinting away in leaps and bounds, somersaulting over rocks, weaving amongst the cacti.

"[Cowards!!!]" He laughed, standing up straight after picking up his fallen spear.

It was disgraceful. The unfeeling xeno's left the bodies of one of their own behind. He sat back and breathed a sigh of relief, relishing in his superior.

The enemy had been routed. Guild Metal Wolf had prevailed.

As for the reason? It was all thanks to his efforts.

He had to refocus, though. There could be more pockets of resistance throughout the camp...

Looking up into the stars... he spotted a half-dozen of them falling in unison.

"Hah! HahahaHAHA!" He cackled.

The fates were with him! The stars fell from the sky to celebrate his victory!

He furrowed his brows.

No.

That was wrong.

The stars...

...they were falling towards him.