The monster locked eyes with Soren, and Soren with it.
The creature's fore limbs like human hands smashed the ground again and again in obvious challenge. And then it rushed forth—
Soren, controlling the Mecha, took a gorilla stance, the weight of the soul mecha, resting on its one good arm.
— And then he also rushed forth.
Just before he reached the creature, he turned to the side, ramming a shoulder into the Eldritch.
DOOM!
The earth shook and houses around—already fragile— were blown away.
The Both of them were knocked back by the force.
People ran for their lives, scattering like splashed water on a wall.
The recoil pushed soren back, smashing into a house, and so did the Eldritch.
But there was good news.
Soren had attacked with specific purpose in mind.
He had rammed into one of its three dog like heads, and dislocated its neck and jaw. ectoplasm fell like rain from the wound.
Within the cockpit, a drop of blood slide down Soren's mouth, but he was smiling.
This was not the first time he was facing the Eldritch. But this was the first time that he hit it well, and the creature received more damage than he did.
"Let's try that again." He wiped the blood with the back of his hand, eyes focused on his prey. He rushed back in.
He needed to land another hit before the creature would recover.
—Meanwhile, the town folks had ran. As expected, it was to the bunker for safety. No one could believe what was happening.
There was an Eldritch in town?
Soren—the F-rank trash, was piloting a Soul Mecha to battle an Eldritch?
None of it made sense. The only thing everyone knew was they were in danger.
Many huddled together, Some praying to the god of the neural link and some others praying that the notified Soulbound Knights would make it back in time.
Madam Wawa was no different. She regretted coming to this run down place because of one boy. Then again, she could not resist the temptation. Her businesses in the capital had seen a dive in profit, and her business partners were now discarding her. She needed a leverage. Anyone in the empire that had enough sense or foresight knew that Soul Mecha Pilots were an incredible investment.
But all the good ones had been grabbed by much powerful opponents and competitors. Her only option was the leftovers that might not yield any fruit. But then she had been lucky to have gotten the news of a lowly worker that woke with an A-rank soul. Because she wanted to grab him early, she had not even hired any Soul Warrior guards, and rushed to the town overnight
She looked to her side. Pencil was trying to huddle close to her. She pushed him away. "What are you doing, you fat fucker? Can't you go out there and fight the Eldritch too?
But pencil was too scared, he hugged her once more.
Honestly, she was doing better than the others. The smell of piss and shit from fear had long filled this Bunker.
However, there was one person that had a different thought—Machos. He had gone through the list Soren had given again and again. Soren had been so precise with it, that every town member had been accounted for with roles and duties, at certain times throughout the night. It was actually quite amazing.
And then Machos flipped to the back of the Paper. "Help me... Help us see tomorrow."
Machos raised his head from the Paper to look at the people. For some weird reason, in all this, he trusted Soren. Of course, it was still a thing of pride that his boy was fighting for their lives, but from the details on the paper, it would not be enough.
The Rumbling from above raged on. The ground shook ceaselessly.
Machos placed the paper in his pocket, he stood up to talk. But before he could—
"AHHHH FUCK It! I can't take it anymore." Vass was raging in so much anger that his soul energy had began to make the place hot. he had a towel to cover his nakedness, but it seemed like he might burn that one too.
"I'm going out there." He pushed to leave the place.
"Now, Calm down son. If you go there, you will die." The Mayor pleaded with him.
"I don't care. I can't be sitting in here while the Turd-face is out there doing it... Living IT!?" He had a particular gaze in his eyes as his fingers formed a tight fist.
One look at him and Machos understood what was going on. Soren was not the only kid in town to have the dream of becoming a Soul Mecha Pilot, and defeat the Eldritch that have ravished their land. But when the enemy came, all of them had gone to hide. Leaving behind the one person they called 'Trash' to battle alone.
The person that felt the most humiliation was Vass. He had picked on Soren the most. He knew he had no Mecha to fight against the Eldritch, but he still had his Pride as a Soulbound Warrior.
The Eldritch had been scary. But he believed it was better to face it out there than hide in here.
Vass shrouded his shoulders, pushing his father aside.
But before he would reach the stairs leading up, Machos spoke up. "The Mayor's brat is right."
Vass paused.
"You all know this. That Soul Mecha is too old an worn out to battle with. It is even missing an arm. Soren will not be able to take it down alone. He needs our help—" He looked around, "every single one of us."
"Don't spit nonsense old man. How are we going to do that? Did you see that creature out there? Or are you in cohorts with that Dungie trash to feed us to an Eldritch soul?" Madam Wawa responded.
Many agreed with her. Machos was quite respected and not many could voice their concern to his face. But they could rally behind this strong voice.
This much was expected. The people were afraid. They would do whatsoever it took to justify their fear and stay safe.
Some believed that if they stayed here, safe from the eldritch, then Soulbound warriors would eventually come to save them, even though deep down, they all knew that it would be morning by the time the Soul Bound Warriors or Knights of the empire got here.
The reason was simple. The empire was huge, and Soulbound warriors were so few. To top it up, many die during battles. And last year had not been easy.
The closest Emergency Station was two towns away. Which was also the reason Soren had not made it far in his previous deaths before he was gutted in two by the Eldritch.
Machos was now facing a dilemma. Everyone was listening to Madam Wawa and not him. He should have been more respected in this community, however, money got a person the positions hard work could only envy.
How was he to take control of the situation?
— And then.
Dum!
Madam Wawa fell face flat on the ground. Behind her was Tommy holding the rake he had just smacked her with.
Everyone was left shocked.
"What!? She was rambling nonsense." He gave an annoyed look.
'That was one way to solve the problem.' Machos smiled at the boy.
With this, it was easier for Machos to talk to the people. While, many agreed to join him and help out, they were others that did not want to.
This much was accounted for in Soren's plans.
Unfortunately, Pencil was amongst them.
"Come on, Pencil, Soren needs our help." Tommy encouraged. But pencil shook his head, looking away.
There was no time to stay and convince him. Tommy sighed.
For now, everyone would have to vacate the bunker.
Tommy carried his mother as the others also moved accordingly. He gave another look at his friend, pencil. He sighed again, walking away.
What pencil did not know was that this would later becoming a defining moment in their lives.
Meanwhile, Soren was fighting hard. It had already been two hours since the battle began. Soren knew his opponent well.
For Weapons, the Eldritch used its three heads to bite—two—since Soren had decommissioned one with that initial hit.
Furthermore, it used its fore legs to firmly grab objects like human hands would. There was also; Its Vein like tentacles that were surprisingly sturdy, its acid spit, and lastly, its SILENT scream that froze prey in place.
Soren had faced this creature enough times to develop immunity to its Silent scream. But that did not mean he could deal with the others.
It should also be noted that in previous loops, the Eldritch had easily ripped the trash Mecha in two. The Trash Mecha had no weapons, one arm was gone, and was basically just the 'Hull' of a once formidable weapon.
However, it did have its own advantages. For example, It amplified the power of the 'Bulb' that Soren had gotten from the madman. The Bulb had a unique ability. Any hit that was given to an enemy, was multiplied.
Meaning that a punch would get twice the effect. It was the reason that shoulder Jab had dislocated the Jaw of one head.
Secondly, the Soul Mecha's Type-IV Soulsteel armor which could withstand three direct anti-artillery shots, still had one impactful strike to go. The first had been used by the madman when he piloted the Mecha all those years ago. The second, Soren had used when he destroyed the jaw of one of the three heads.
Thirdly, the soul mecha's combined set of soul-reactive alloys that harden under emotional pressure allowed Soren to pull his greatest stunt yet. One that had been used since ancient times during battles.
It was the hit and run method.
Face an Eldritch Soul head on with a Trash Mecha, and expect to win?
Hell No!
Maybe in the hands of a skilled Soul Mecha pilot it was possible. But Soren had no formal training whatsoever. All he had were his many deaths and his wits.
As someone that had been bullied for a long time in his life, running for his life came naturally.
Boom!
The Eldritch had crashed into another home.
But soren slide to the back of another house—Not enough to shield him, but he folded himself, and hid such that he was not just behind the house, but also on the blind side of the injured head.
The Soul reactive alloys that allowed a Soulbound mecha pilot to affect the mecha emotionally were really working their magic, because the only emotion—if it could be called that—was 'RUN'.
Soren had been playing this Cat and Mouse game, hitting and running, for more than two hours. Eldritch souls were very vengeful creatures, and right now, its attention was no longer on feeding. It was on Soren.
Fortunately, this was the plan.
It allowed for everyone to escape to safety. And even if the Eldritch were to see a person, its attention was already on Soren.
Soren prayed in his heart. 'Come on machos, you can do it. Rally them together. I can't keep this up for much longer.'
More blood was leaking down his forehead, his orifices and other parts of his body.
The worn out cockpit was not comfortable and hard objects wounded his body.
But he had to endure more. He waited like this, hiding at the back of houses for another couple of hours.
Sometimes, the Creature would stop to lick and nurse its wounds, other times, it would continue its hunt for him. Fortunately, Soren had accounted for its nose and covered the Soul Mecha in as much shit as he could during the day.
The entire town did not smell so good anyway, but this made finding Soren even more frustrating.
By now, most houses in the town were destroyed. But for the most part, he had bought time. Because even as he ran all around the place, he had clearly noticed the Town's people making ready for the next phase of the plan.
Soren was so excited by this that he nearly gave himself away.
Only one more house remaining. No more places to hide.
Thank the heavens that the time was right, Machos gave the signal. Far off in the distance.
Soren looked ahead. He judged the distance. His muscles got tighter with determination and the Mecha responded to his emotions.
DUM!
He kicked against the ground in a sprint. The Eldritch Soul turned sharply. It saw him and instantly raced after him.
It was fast on his tail. But Soren did not stop or look back.
Dum Dum Dum... His legs kicked against the ground.
Ahead was a point painted 'X' with ectoplasm.
The moment he reached it, he gave a powerful leap over the 'X' to the other side. He tumbled as he landed, just in time for Machos to give the signal to the the people waiting.
A long Rope, made of rags and tree parts, was pulled on either side.
The creature, unaware of the trap, stumbled against the rope, and rolled onto the 'X'.
[Author's Note: Please add the Book to your Library.]