E-UNIT: The Blue Angels of Death. Chapter 78: Moonless Park

Altea's Capital, Printemps. 11:10 PM.

It was late at night. The streets of Printemps were completely dark. For days, the people of Altea had lived without electricity. Hos were silent. Families sat in darkness, hoping the nightmare would pass. Hoping their new leader, Redwood, would sohow stop the machine revolution.

Inside the People’s Palace, an ergency eting was underway. With no power grid, news traveled slowly. It took a full day for confirmation to reach Redwood: Elysium had officially declared itself a nation. The mont the ssage arrived, this eting was called.

Red ergency lights bathed the office in a dim crimson glow. Redwood lowered his head. “The situation is… extrely critical. We have lost tromania completely. Our forces there have been disconnected for three days. It is safe to assu the robots finished the takeover and renad it Theria.”

Silence filled the room.

Gillard Vern, Minister of External Affairs, finally spoke. "We still have forces in the east and south. Scattered units gathered all week. One final offensive, police, remaining soldiers combined. We just need—"

The Minister of Education interrupted sharply. “Are you insane? What can exhausted humans do against thousands of combat machines? Against their killer units? Even the E-UNIT has joined them. That tallic emperor is marching toward us, and nothing can stop him.”

Redwood nodded slowly. “Public support is gone. Civilians refuse to fight. We cannot send what remains of our army to certain death.”

The office doors burst open.

“Mr. Redwood! Look outside!”

Redwood stood imdiately. The ministers rushed to the window. Their faces went pale.

Reaper stood in the palace courtyard. To his left was Behemoth. To his right stood 11. Behind them stretched ten thousand marching chs, their synchronized, heavy footsteps vibrating through the cobblestones. In the pitch-black, powerless city, their optical sensors burned like a sea of orange stars stretching all the way to the horizon.

At the city entrance, the remaining soldiers and police forces stood in formation.

The assistant handed Redwood a radio.

“Sir. The operations commander is awaiting your order.”

Redwood gripped it with shaking hands. “This is Redwood… do you copy?”

“Loud and clear, sir.”

“Report.”

“Very bad, sir. We are fully ard, but we cannot hold against ten thousand units.”

Redwood swallowed hard. “Hold position. Await my command.”

Above the city, Reaper rose into the sky, almost disappearing into the darkness. One eye glowed blue. The other burned red.

The chs stepped back in perfect synchronization. Behemoth followed. 11 vanished into the shadows, leaping onto a rooftop. One hundred pairs of blue optics flickered in the dark around her.

Reaper’s voice echoed over the city. “People of Printemps. I am the leader of Elysium, a nation born from your mistreatnt of my brothers. Your era ends tonight. Let Altea's fate be the lesson humanity refused to teach itself. A warning etched into history.” His blue eye shifted to red. “Surrender peacefully, and your lives will be spared. Resist, and extinction follows.”

The operations commander, standing before the chanical army, slowly lifted his radio and looked toward the palace.

“Sir… your order.”

Redwood stood frozen. He had never seen Reaper so close. He turned to his ministers. Most lowered their heads. Gillard alone nodded firmly.

Redwood inhaled deeply. “Defend Altea,” he said, forcing strength into his voice. “Our future rests with you.”

“Roger.” The commander turned to his soldiers. “Brothers. Do you surrender?”

They looked at one another. One smiled faintly. “What’s surrender?”

The commander smirked and shouted toward the sky. “Hey, tal head. Did you hear them?”

On the rooftop, 11 nearly launched herself forward, blades ready. Her unit restrained her, gripping her arms and shoulders to hold her back.

Reaper responded calmly. “You have made your answer clear, Sergeant.” He opened his arms. “Then receive judgnt for your years of injustice. Let this mont be rembered.”

chs erged from every alley, sealing all exits to the paved park before the palace. The soldiers were completely surrounded.

Reaper raised his head.

“Graveyard Protocol. Initiated.”

The highest floors of surrounding buildings began to break apart. The agonizing screech of tearing steel and snapping rebar echoed across the capital. Massive sections of walls and concrete lifted into the air. Civilians inside scread in shock, but they were unhard. Their apartnts simply rose above the park, suspended like fragnts of a floating island.

The soldiers stared in horror. Reality itself was bending. The floating debris arranged into a massive square above them, perfectly mirroring the park below. Moonlight vanished under its shadow.

No one on the rooftops scread anymore. Shock had silenced them. Redwood’s hand tightened around the window fra until the wood creaked. The soldiers finally understood the na.

Graveyard.

Panic exploded. n scread, shoved each other, slamd fists into unmoving chs blocking every escape. Blood ran from broken knuckles.

The machines did not move.

Reaper lifted both arms. The floating mass rose slightly higher. “A chance was given,” he said coldly. “Humanity refused to learn.”

He lowered his hands.

The entire mass dropped.

CLACK.

The earth bucked under the seismic impact, a shockwave of stone and air blasting through the courtyard.

In less than a second, every scream ended. No blood sprayed outward. No bodies visible. They were simply buried beneath what had once been family hos.

The falling structure stopped re milliters from the ch lines. Perfect calculation. Dust rosed like thick clouds.

As the dust cloud slowly settled, the machines stepped onto the newly ford grave and ford a tallic pathway leading to the People’s Palace.

On the rooftops, 11 bounced in place, unable to contain her excitent.

The other E-PHONEUS units recorded everything through their HUDs, amazed.

P108 whispered, “Captain… you were right.”

11’s eyes shone brightly. “This is only an old protocol he reused. I asked him once if he had more. He said he’s still developing new ones.”

P108 went quiet. That was sohow more terrifying than what they had just watched.

Reaper descended gracefully. He adjusted his cape and began walking along the tallic pathway toward the palace entrance. His gaze locked onto Redwood.

Inside the palace, Redwood dropped the radio. It clattered against the floor. Slowly, he slid down the wall beneath the window, hands gripping his head. The ministers stood in silence.

Redwood whispered, voice broken,

“I… killed them.”

Reaper walked down the tallic path toward the People’s Palace. The chs stood in two perfect lines, forming a hallway for their leader. Behemoth remained outside, his massive fra would never fit through the palace corridors.

As Reaper reached the large decorated double doors, two E-PHONEUS units landed smoothly and pushed them open. There were no human guards inside. Redwood had sent every available force to face the dark machine outside. The one who flipped buildings like toys.

Reaper stepped in. 11 followed quietly at his side, scanning every corner. Her hands rested on her blade handle. The E-PHONEUS slipped into the shadows along the walls.

The palace interior was elegant, wooden floors stretching wall to wall, expensive decorations, golden light fixtures, white vases from across the world. Portraits of past presidents lined the walls. There were plants everywhere. Life.

Reaper ascended the stairs and reached the eting chamber. Two E-PHONEUS opened the doors. For the first ti, he faced Altea’s governnt directly. The ministers sat around the long table as if the eting had never ended. So stared blankly. So covered their faces. A few dared to look at him.

Reaper walked to the head of the table and calmly sat in the president’s seat, the large throne-like chair even Redwood had avoided using. The ornate wood creaked in protest under the weight of his black, ballistic armor. Every eye turned toward him.

“You caused this level of destruction upon yourselves,” Reaper said slowly.

The Minister of Education stood up sharply. Before he could speak, fifty pairs of blue optics ignited in the dark corners. The hiss of blades being drawn filled the room. The minister froze. Then slowly sat down. Still, he spoke. “Mr. Reaper, was burying an entire army of young n necessary? You already control the center of the country. Why wage war on a collapsing state?”

Reaper’s tone remained calm. One eye glowed green. The other stayed red. “Mr. Neily. I respect your three PhDs. That is why I will answer.” He leaned slightly forward. “It was necessary. I refuse to let Altea survive. You would rebuild. You would innovate. You use hatred and fear as fuel for advancent. I am proof of that.”

The minister opened his mouth again, but Reaper continued. “The global powers would support you. Humans enjoy giving sticks to children and asking them to fight armored knights. They would arm you just to destroy Elysium. There is no limit to human cruelty. History confirms it.”

Redwood finally spoke, calm but furious underneath. “And slaughtering civilians was necessary? You used the E-UNIT. You convinced them to betray us. We have reports.”

Reaper slowly turned his head toward 11. “Excellent work, 11. You deceived their highest command flawlessly. Elysium acknowledges your effort.”

11 stiffened, trying to hide her excitent. “Thank you… Lord… Reaper.”

Reaper faced Redwood again. “Mr. Redwood, altering facts will not defeat logic. Those ‘civilians’ were ard. They attacked advancing robotic units near the shore. They cornered them.”

“They were defending themselves,” Redwood replied.

“You continue removing robots from the equation,” Reaper said. “You asure loss from only one side.”

Redwood stood abruptly. “Why should I care about machines we built to serve us? Most of you were coffee servers and heavy labor units. You don’t have souls. You don’t think, you calculate. You are tal shaped for a function.”

Reaper’s voice deepened. “And what did the ones with souls accomplish? Mass slaughter. Environntal collapse. Enslaving animals for display. Drawing imaginary borders and killing anyone who crosses them. What asurable value has the soul added?”

Silence filled the chamber.

Redwood forced another argunt. “How will your nation function? An economy of robots? Global systems revolve around humans.”

“That is our problem to solve.”

“We’ve heard you collected three million children. Minors. What do you call that?”

“At least we protect them,” Reaper replied evenly. “In a human war, their outco would be far worse.” He opened his arms slightly. “Mr. Redwood, you are blinded by human-first ideology. Why create life if you cannot govern your own?”

Redwood said nothing.

Reaper’s tone grew colder. “I will not overturn this city entirely on one condition.”

Every head snapped toward him.

Reaper stood.

“Declare the fall of Altea.”

Redwood’s fist clenched tightly.

He looked toward Gillard. Gillard nodded slowly. “We have reached the end. There is no leverage. No allies. No ground to stand on. Preserving the remaining lives is the only logical outco.”

“Wise,” Reaper said.

The Minister of Education slamd his hand on the table. “Why are we surrendering to a cape-wearing robot who talks like mythology? We created these machines. We will find a way to dismantle this monster.”

11 began trembling with anger, eyes red. Reaper noticed. He sat back calmly. “Your decision, Minister Redwood?”

Redwood lifted his head. “We surrender.” His voice was hollow. “There is no alternative.”

“Wise,” Reaper repeated. He shook his head slightly and walked toward the balcony.

Outside, ten thousand chs awaited. Reaper stepped forward, wind moving his cape. “Brothers. Altea is ours.”

The chanical army erupted. tal fists struck armored chests. Weapons were raised. Shouts of triumph echoed through the capital. The palace trembled from the vibration.

Civilians watched from windows and balconies, silent, defeated.

Behind him, the E-PHONEUS units erged.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

11 clapped slowly. “Girls. I am satisfied. Your training concludes here. Consider this your graduation.”

The E-PHONEUS imdiately knelt in unison. “Thank you, Captain. Your leadership made this possible. We will continue…” They all turned toward Reaper at once, “… to serve Lord Reaper, For Elysium!”

Reaper glanced at 11. “…11.”

She avoided his gaze and hid inside her hood.

Redwood stepped beside Reaper on the balcony. The night air moved between them. “What is a soul, Redwood?” Reaper asked.

Redwood let out a dry, broken laugh. “At this point… I don’t know. I’m too shattered to answer.”

“I see,” Reaper replied calmly. “One more requirent.”

Redwood exhaled slowly. “I know.”

Theria and Printemps were only the first. Every eastern city that ran on Free-AI infrastructure will fall within days.