Location: The Chamber of the Heart, Inside the Geo-Titan.
Time: 10:45.
The magma bubbled silently below, popping with the sound of wet gunshots. The only other sound on the bridge was the whirring of the Gold Golems' clockwork joints as they held Silas and Havoc over the edge, their metal fingers digging into flesh.
"You're wondering about the Baron," Aurum said, smoothing the lapels of his pristine white suit, safe inside the glass cockpit of his golden exoskeleton. "You're doing the math. How did I get past the Iron Legion? How did I cross the Wastes without freezing?"
"The Baron is a fortress," Dante said, his voice buzzing with a new, dangerous frequency—the hum of the War Engine. "You didn't fight him."
"Correct," Aurum smiled, his diamond teeth glinting through the glass. "I bought him out. Not with money—he has plenty of that. I bought his loyalty. I offered his lieutenants three times their salary and full pardons from the Imperial Tax. The Red Leviathan didn't fire a shot. The crew simply... stopped working."
Aurum stepped closer, his golden suit shimmering under the cavern lights, the hydraulic pistons hissing.
"The Red Baron is dead, Dante. I liquidated him in his own command chair. Sector 2 is mine. Sector 1 is mine. And now..."
He looked at the pulsing, tamed War Engine.
"...the North is mine."
"So that's the negotiation," Dante said, flexing his mechanical fingers. The new red runes etched into the metal pulsed, syncing with the heartbeat of the Titan. "Surrender, or you kill my friends."
"It's not a negotiation," Aurum corrected. "It's a foreclosure."
Dante looked at Valerius, who was crouching near the wreckage of the Praetorian. He looked at Havoc, dangling over the magma.
Dante's vision shifted.
It wasn't just sight anymore. The Second Axiom (The Arsenal) overlaid reality with vectors, kill-zones, and probability percentages.
He didn't see a Gold Golem; he saw a stress point in a hydraulic knee joint made of soft 18-karat alloy. He didn't see Aurum; he saw a shield composed of 24-karat hard-light spinning at 3000 RPM, with a 0.2-second refresh rate delay.
"Tactical Solution Generated," Prime's voice merged with Dante's own thoughts. "Execution Time: 4.2 seconds."
"You're right, Aurum," Dante said, the Silvergrin splitting wide. "Monopolies should be regulated."
Dante snapped his fingers. Snap.
"Valerius. Liquidate."
It was the signal.
Valerius didn't need a sword. He launched himself off the wreckage of the Praetorian. He didn't aim for Aurum. He aimed for the Golems.
He moved so fast he was a blur of grey motion. He tackled the Golem holding Silas, driving his elbow into its neck mechanism. The Golem spasmed, its gears grinding, and dropped Silas—not into the magma, but onto the bridge.
Simultaneously, Havoc (who had been waiting for a chance) headbutted the Golem holding him. It was futile against metal, but it threw the Golem's balance off just enough.
Valerius rebounded off the first Golem, caught Havoc by the belt, and threw him toward the center of the platform.
"Kill them!" Aurum roared inside his suit.
He raised his giant golden hand. The rings on his fingers spun up, preparing to fire a beam of concentrated sunlight.
Dante was already moving.
"Axiom of War: Ballistic Trajectory."
Dante didn't run. He launched. He kicked off the ground with calculated force, flying low like a cruise missile.
Aurum fired. ZZZT. A beam of searing light cut the air.
Dante didn't dodge. He tilted his head two inches to the left. The beam grazed his ear, cauterizing a lock of hair. He knew exactly where it would go. He knew the aim before Aurum pulled the trigger. The math was already done.
Dante slammed into Aurum's suit.
"My turn," Dante whispered.
He grabbed the pristine glass of the cockpit.
"The Arsenal: Breaching Hammer."
He didn't just punch. He transmuted the air around his fist into a heavy, spiked mass of solid iron mid-swing.
CRACK.
The reinforced glass of the cockpit shattered. The golden fluid keeping Aurum alive sprayed out like blood.
Aurum screamed as the atmosphere hit his withered skin.
Dante reached inside the suit. He grabbed Aurum by the lapels of his real suit.
"Kinetic Overload."
Dante headbutted him.
CRUNCH.
Aurum's nose—a sculpture of cosmetic perfection—caved in.
Dante ripped Aurum out of the mech-suit. He threw the frail banker onto the metal grating of the bridge.
Aurum tried to shield himself, summoning walls of gold from the floor.
Dante punched through the gold.
"Your wealth is just soft metal!" Dante shouted, driving his mechanical fist through a gold shield and slamming it into the floor next to Aurum's head. "Gold is malleable! Iron is absolute!"
Aurum scrambled back, coughing up golden fluid. He looked tiny without his suit. Just a scared old man with expensive implants.
"I... I am the Sovereign..." Aurum wheezed. "I can buy... armies... I can buy you..."
Dante walked over. He grabbed Aurum by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He dangled the Gold Sovereign over the edge of the bridge, staring down into the magma.
"You can't buy gravity," Dante said coldly.
He loosened his grip. Aurum slipped an inch. The heat of the magma singed the soles of his shoes.
"Wait!" Aurum screamed, his composure shattering. "Wait! Don't drop me! I have assets! I have the codes to the Vaults! I can give you Sector 1! I can give you the world!"
Dante stopped. He pulled Aurum back slightly, bringing him face-to-face with the Silvergrin.
"I don't want your money, Aurum. I want you."
Dante's eyes glowed red with the power of the War Engine.
"You're good at management. You're good at logistics. You ran the economy of the world while the Baron played with toy soldiers. I respect that."
Dante tightened his grip.
"So here is the deal. You don't die today. But the Gold Sovereign is dead. You work for me now. You are my CFO. You manage the logistics of my ascent. And if I ever catch you trying to buy my loyalty, or selling my secrets..."
Dante pointed down at the magma.
"...I will liquidate you. Permanently."
Aurum stared at Dante. He looked at the magma bubbling below. He looked at his shattered Golems, which Valerius had dismantled into scrap. He looked at his broken suit leaking fluid.
He realized the market had crashed. He was no longer the CEO. He was an employee.
"I accept," Aurum whispered, his voice trembling. "I accept the merger."
Dante pulled him back onto the bridge and dropped him on the floor.
"Good choice."
Dante turned to his crew. Silas and Havoc were bruised but alive. Valerius was wiping oil off his hands.
"Havoc," Dante ordered. "Get the Sovereign a first aid kit. We have a long drive back."
"Back where, Boss?" Silas asked, rubbing his throat. "The Baron is dead. Sector 2 is a mess. Sector 1 is a war zone. We're homeless."
Dante looked at the War Engine pulsing above them. He looked at Aurum, broken on the floor.
"We aren't going back to the city," Dante said. "The city is a trap. We have the North. We have a fortress."
He looked up at the ceiling of the cavern.
"We're going to wake up the Enclave. I think it's time the Obsidian Guard had new management."