If there was any moment in his lifetime of battle worth remembering, Aparajita would surely say it was now.
There would never be a moment more glorious than this, never a sacrifice more worthy of praise, never a moment purer, holier, or more righteous. Just as ancient religious murals so often depicted, warriors and saints charged toward evil beneath the light at the end of the world. Was this not the purpose for which they had been created? Was this not the glorious death they had always hoped for?
The plasma turbine blades spun at high speed, while the heat-dissipation channels and coolant shrieked as they boiled violently.
The thermal armor was forced apart by steam, and torrents of heat blasted from the gaps, pushing the orbital weapon out of its designated position.
Even so, the ruby-colored beam continued to crash downward without pause. Centered on the beam, all clouds and volcanic ash were shoved aside. In many worlds invisible to ordinary people, layer upon layer of unseen shields shattered, and hundreds of millions of runes broke apart into hurried, indistinct whispers. Mabath, the Supreme Sage forged on Mars, stared intently at the clouds and volcanic ash being struck on the satellite remote-sensing display. The monster standing atop the Andes Mountains, visible to the naked eye, was completely engulfed by the high-temperature beam. Everyone in orbit could almost hear its scream. Hundreds of screens across the bridge displayed the Space Station's propulsion systems, hangar status, surface hydrological conditions, thermal radiation, energy signatures, orbital weapon status, and more.
Several holographic displays showing heat levels revealed that, in the wake of the floods, many regions had been swallowed by icy blue. Yet in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the heat generated by the experimental weapon spread like ink dropped into water. Rings