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A low humming noise reverberated from the depths of the robot’s core and it began to advance toward Karvil, its steps seemingly cautious and slow.

His finger caressed the trigger of his weapon, and he steadied his aim, fixing it upon the robot's head, his breathing heavy, his pulse racing.
The robot continued toward Karvil, closing the distance between them, the fiery blade held tightly in its hand, leaving a trail of acrid smoke behind it.
It stopped several feet away, and for an instant, there was no movement, no sound; except for the quiet, soft whirr of the robot's joints.

Then, without warning, the robot thrust its sword forward with a burst of speed, striking at Karvil so fast, so unexpectedly that he could barely react in time.
He was jolted backwards and tripped to the ground in an almost comical stumble, barely missing being impaled as the sword's point cut through the empty space where he was standing just a moment prior.

Now in a rage and full of adrenaline Karvil got to his feet, shaking his head, as the world spun around him.
“You're gonna have to do a hell of a lot better than that!” he yelled.

The robot stepped toward Karvil and slowly raised its blade, its fiery glow illuminating the ruined walls.
The other soldiers opened fire with their rifles in a deafening barrage, the sound of their guns echoing through the empty streets.
The shots just bounced harmlessly off the robot's armored plates, leaving no visible marks or even scratches behind.

The robot swiveled towards the closest soldier and, in one quick motion, had its deadly sword through his stomach, impaling him like a skewered piece of meat.
The soldier gasped in agony and disbelief: he couldn't comprehend what had just happened. In the blink of an eye, his life was over.

For an agonizing moment, his eyes locked with those sockets that were glowing like a dying ember as if something alive were pulsing inside the blackened void on its face.
Then, in one quick motion, the robot jerked its arm back, ripping the blade free from the soldier's body, and he collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

The air was filled with a metallic scent, and the sound of the robot's blade, sizzling and smoking as it absorbed the excess heat generated by the friction of its own movement.
That was when Karvil realized it would be too late, far too late to save his unit.

To Karvil, everything moved in slow motion.
His mind was racing, frantically searching for options.
They had nowhere left to go: the street was a wasteland and they were surrounded by hostile territory, with this single, unstoppable killer standing in their path.
“Fall back ! Now!” He bellowed.

Before any of them could comply, the robot sprang to action, launching itself at them, its deadly blade singing with a deafening crescendo as it sliced through the air.
It landed behind another of Karvil's unit, his rifle clutched in both hands.
The soldier’s muscles tensed and, in a sudden movement, he whipped around and pressed the gun to the center of the creature's chest.
“Die, damn you!” he roared, pulling the trigger.
A beam of super-charged energy erupted from the weapon, but, much to his horror and despair, the metal monster dodged the deadly blow.

The robot grabbed the man's arm with its free hand and lifted him effortlessly into the air before slamming him face-first to the ground and driving its sword through the back of his neck, his cry of pain coming to an abrupt halt with a wet squelch as the tip of the weapon tore through his throat, leaving nothing but the scarred and ruined husk of the body and the heavy-smelling of death lingering in the air.

As Karvil dove to the left, avoiding the robot's swinging blade, one of his soldiers charged towards the creature, his pulse rifle held out in front of him like a shield but the robot was prepared.
It moved with lightning-fast speed and agility, effortlessly dancing out of range.
It ducked and weaved, moving through the ruins like a ghost, leaving no trace of its movements.

Karvil couldn't believe his eyes.
He had never seen anything like that: it was as if the robot could predict the movements of its opponents, anticipating every step and every twitch of their bodies, reacting with such precision that it almost seemed supernatural.

The soldier tried again, unsheathing his monomolecular machete and with a fierce war cry, he rushed forward, thrusting his blade toward the robot's heart.
The robot moved like a blur, spinning and ducking, and the blade slid harmlessly over its head, leaving only a tiny scratch on its armored plates.
In a desperate attempt, the soldier lunged at the creature's sword arm, attempting to wrest the weapon from its grasp but the robot was too strong, and the blade remained firmly in its grip.

Suddenly, the robot thrust its free arm forward, striking the soldier squarely in the chest and sending him flying backwards, his machete clattering to the ground.

The mechanical creature stalked towards the fallen soldier, its blade held high above its head.
It stood over the terrified man and gazed down at him, its glowing eyes seemed to bore into his soul.
With a flourish and a flash of blazing energy, the robot swung its sword downward, decapitating the man with a single stroke.

Karvil's jaw fell open in disbelief as the sight of the dead man’s vacant eyes staring up at the night sky, an expression of utter terror etched onto his features.

Karvil roared, rage coursing through his veins.
“So this is now a fight between the two of us. I'll turn you into spare parts!”
Karvil threw his rifle away and unsheathed his finely crafted monomolecular sword.
“Let me show you how a Royal Guard fights with a sword.” he thundered.

The blade of Karvil's sword was so thin and razor sharp that it could easily cut through any obstacle it encountered.
It hummed as the energy field begun to envelope it.
It was as smooth and gleaming as a polished gemstone, and Karvil could even make out his reflection in its polished surface.

The hilt of the sword was made from a combination of woven titanium and reinforced plastics, ensuring a firm grip even in the heat of battle.
The sword was so light and perfectly balanced that it almost felt like it had a mind of its own, like an extension of Karvil's body.
It was a lethal weapon in the right hands, and now Karvil held that sword, determined to use it as intended, and that intention was the elimination of a metallic enemy.

They soon began their deadly dance, neither of them giving the other an inch of respite nor room to dodge.
Both the human warrior and the robotic assailant possessed superior agility and reflexes, their blows only barely missing each other, sparks erupting wherever the blades connected.
The deadly weapon Karvil held emitted an audible buzzing sound with every contact.

Eventually, Karvil managed to land the first strike on the robot's arm.
The robot, in turn, sliced a large wound into the Karvil's arm but the bleeding had no effect as the blood coagulated within seconds of the superheated blade exiting his arm.

The robot swung his sword sideways, which Karvil deflected, but in a moment of misstep, he got nicked across the cheek and then had a narrow escape of the leg getting chopped off.
Karvil cursed his luck but went on the attack again, jabbing the tip of his sword into the robot's leg.
He felt the weapon sink deep into its metallic plates, almost up to the hilt, but he didn't release the grip on the weapon.
Instead, he kicked his right leg and slammed it into the robot's lower back, tearing the weapon out, followed by a trail of bright-red, thick oil, its smell pungent in the air.

However the unnatural reflexes of the enemy quickly kicked in and Karvil felt a surge of burning, excruciating pain in his chest as his breastplate bent inward in a twisted heap, having been punched inward with so much strength.

He gasped for air but nothing escaped his mouth and that was when he noticed the trickle of red coming out of his lips, the liquid gathering into a little puddle on the ground.
Karvil spat out the remaining blood, but this was a futile effort: his lung had already been perforated, pierced cleanly through by the jagged metal shrapnel that had sprayed from his destroyed breastplate.

He was finished and the two were well aware of it, their gazes locking as a heavy silence fell between the pair.
This silence would only last a brief moment but to Karvil it felt like an eternity, his gaze never wavering from the robotic eyes of his enemy as he struggled to take each labored breath.

Without hesitation the robot’s plasma blade pierced Karvil's solar plexus, cauterizing the wound upon impact, his eyes widening and his mouth agape as his brain was denied any oxygen that his damaged lungs couldn't provide him with.

“Why...why did you attack us?” were the only words Karvil managed to utter.
As the robotic assailant retracted its plasma blade from t Karvil's wound, it appeared to soften its gaze, a strange and unusual emotion spreading across its robotic face.

It tilted its head to the side and in that very moment, it seemed like the robot had a hint of humanity in it, as its glowing eyes dimmed and it stared deeply into Karvil's fading gaze, as if it understood Karvil's request for an explanation and wanted to provide him with an answer.

The robot's voice echoed through the desolated ruins: it was a little harsh but it was very human-like.
“You invaded this planet, destroyed its cities and killed its citizens. I'm just the bringer of a justice long delayed.”
It seems as if the robot understood the shocked and horrified facial expression on his soon-to-be victim and added:
“It was about time to learn it is wrong to slaughter and burn everything on your path in order to acquire power and resources.”

Deep inside his mind Karvil always knew that power and resources were the very reason they had invaded Balsukort.

The robot stared at Karvil, a spark of emotion seemed to paint his cold visage, and shook his head before speaking.
“If times were different, perhaps there might have been a different story, one where we could have met as friends.” the robot lowered his hand gently over Karvil's chest where his heart was beating its last beats.

There was nothing to add and now Karvil saw the wisdom in those mechanical eyes.
A sudden sense of serenity and calm spread through Karvil's body, a blissful, warm feeling washing away all the pains, replacing his dread, horror, and sense of failure with understanding and acceptance.
His breathing slowed, his heartbeat grew steady, and the sounds around him grew faint.
He smiled, letting the weight of his body be taken by the ground beneath him.

A last bit of warmth rushed through his veins as the robot stood above him, gazing down at the soldier's fallen form. It was strange.
His adversary felt pity, and somehow this brought some small sense of comfort to Karvil's soul.

The last words of the metallic warrior echoed in his head as his eyelids felt so incredibly heavy.
“I am sorry.”
The robot whispered, sheathing its weapon, and knelt beside the defeated warrior, carefully placing its hands on the soldier's temples before Karvil's world was plunged into darkness and his body became motionless.

The robot turned away, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the carnage-littered streets, slowly marching into the distance and leaving a trail of smoke in its wake as his plasma sword cut a path through the wrecked structures.

Silence descended on the ravaged city and a dust-filled breeze blew between the broken, empty buildings.
There was only the outline of the stars and moon visible through a thin haze in the air.

Continues here: .

Description

The story continues from here: .

---

A low humming noise reverberated from the depths of the robot’s core and it began to advance toward Karvil, its steps seemingly cautious and slow.

His finger caressed the trigger of his weapon, and he steadied his aim, fixing it upon the robot's head, his breathing heavy, his pulse racing.
The robot continued toward Karvil, closing the distance between them, the fiery blade held tightly in its hand, leaving a trail of acrid smoke behind it.
It stopped several feet away, and for an instant, there was no movement, no sound; except for the quiet, soft whirr of the robot's joints.

Then, without warning, the robot thrust its sword forward with a burst of speed, striking at Karvil so fast, so unexpectedly that he could barely react in time.
He was jolted backwards and tripped to the ground in an almost comical stumble, barely missing being impaled as the sword's point cut through the empty space where he was standing just a moment prior.

Now in a rage and full of adrenaline Karvil got to his feet, shaking his head, as the world spun around him.
“You're gonna have to do a hell of a lot better than that!” he yelled.

The robot stepped toward Karvil and slowly raised its blade, its fiery glow illuminating the ruined walls.
The other soldiers opened fire with their rifles in a deafening barrage, the sound of their guns echoing through the empty streets.
The shots just bounced harmlessly off the robot's armored plates, leaving no visible marks or even scratches behind.

The robot swiveled towards the closest soldier and, in one quick motion, had its deadly sword through his stomach, impaling him like a skewered piece of meat.
The soldier gasped in agony and disbelief: he couldn't comprehend what had just happened. In the blink of an eye, his life was over.

For an agonizing moment, his eyes locked with those sockets that were glowing like a dying ember as if something alive were pulsing inside the blackened void on its face.
Then, in one quick motion, the robot jerked its arm back, ripping the blade free from the soldier's body, and he collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

The air was filled with a metallic scent, and the sound of the robot's blade, sizzling and smoking as it absorbed the excess heat generated by the friction of its own movement.
That was when Karvil realized it would be too late, far too late to save his unit.

To Karvil, everything moved in slow motion.
His mind was racing, frantically searching for options.
They had nowhere left to go: the street was a wasteland and they were surrounded by hostile territory, with this single, unstoppable killer standing in their path.
“Fall back ! Now!” He bellowed.

Before any of them could comply, the robot sprang to action, launching itself at them, its deadly blade singing with a deafening crescendo as it sliced through the air.
It landed behind another of Karvil's unit, his rifle clutched in both hands.
The soldier’s muscles tensed and, in a sudden movement, he whipped around and pressed the gun to the center of the creature's chest.
“Die, damn you!” he roared, pulling the trigger.
A beam of super-charged energy erupted from the weapon, but, much to his horror and despair, the metal monster dodged the deadly blow.

The robot grabbed the man's arm with its free hand and lifted him effortlessly into the air before slamming him face-first to the ground and driving its sword through the back of his neck, his cry of pain coming to an abrupt halt with a wet squelch as the tip of the weapon tore through his throat, leaving nothing but the scarred and ruined husk of the body and the heavy-smelling of death lingering in the air.

As Karvil dove to the left, avoiding the robot's swinging blade, one of his soldiers charged towards the creature, his pulse rifle held out in front of him like a shield but the robot was prepared.
It moved with lightning-fast speed and agility, effortlessly dancing out of range.
It ducked and weaved, moving through the ruins like a ghost, leaving no trace of its movements.

Karvil couldn't believe his eyes.
He had never seen anything like that: it was as if the robot could predict the movements of its opponents, anticipating every step and every twitch of their bodies, reacting with such precision that it almost seemed supernatural.

The soldier tried again, unsheathing his monomolecular machete and with a fierce war cry, he rushed forward, thrusting his blade toward the robot's heart.
The robot moved like a blur, spinning and ducking, and the blade slid harmlessly over its head, leaving only a tiny scratch on its armored plates.
In a desperate attempt, the soldier lunged at the creature's sword arm, attempting to wrest the weapon from its grasp but the robot was too strong, and the blade remained firmly in its grip.

Suddenly, the robot thrust its free arm forward, striking the soldier squarely in the chest and sending him flying backwards, his machete clattering to the ground.

The mechanical creature stalked towards the fallen soldier, its blade held high above its head.
It stood over the terrified man and gazed down at him, its glowing eyes seemed to bore into his soul.
With a flourish and a flash of blazing energy, the robot swung its sword downward, decapitating the man with a single stroke.

Karvil's jaw fell open in disbelief as the sight of the dead man’s vacant eyes staring up at the night sky, an expression of utter terror etched onto his features.

Karvil roared, rage coursing through his veins.
“So this is now a fight between the two of us. I'll turn you into spare parts!”
Karvil threw his rifle away and unsheathed his finely crafted monomolecular sword.
“Let me show you how a Royal Guard fights with a sword.” he thundered.

The blade of Karvil's sword was so thin and razor sharp that it could easily cut through any obstacle it encountered.
It hummed as the energy field begun to envelope it.
It was as smooth and gleaming as a polished gemstone, and Karvil could even make out his reflection in its polished surface.

The hilt of the sword was made from a combination of woven titanium and reinforced plastics, ensuring a firm grip even in the heat of battle.
The sword was so light and perfectly balanced that it almost felt like it had a mind of its own, like an extension of Karvil's body.
It was a lethal weapon in the right hands, and now Karvil held that sword, determined to use it as intended, and that intention was the elimination of a metallic enemy.

They soon began their deadly dance, neither of them giving the other an inch of respite nor room to dodge.
Both the human warrior and the robotic assailant possessed superior agility and reflexes, their blows only barely missing each other, sparks erupting wherever the blades connected.
The deadly weapon Karvil held emitted an audible buzzing sound with every contact.

Eventually, Karvil managed to land the first strike on the robot's arm.
The robot, in turn, sliced a large wound into the Karvil's arm but the bleeding had no effect as the blood coagulated within seconds of the superheated blade exiting his arm.

The robot swung his sword sideways, which Karvil deflected, but in a moment of misstep, he got nicked across the cheek and then had a narrow escape of the leg getting chopped off.
Karvil cursed his luck but went on the attack again, jabbing the tip of his sword into the robot's leg.
He felt the weapon sink deep into its metallic plates, almost up to the hilt, but he didn't release the grip on the weapon.
Instead, he kicked his right leg and slammed it into the robot's lower back, tearing the weapon out, followed by a trail of bright-red, thick oil, its smell pungent in the air.

However the unnatural reflexes of the enemy quickly kicked in and Karvil felt a surge of burning, excruciating pain in his chest as his breastplate bent inward in a twisted heap, having been punched inward with so much strength.

He gasped for air but nothing escaped his mouth and that was when he noticed the trickle of red coming out of his lips, the liquid gathering into a little puddle on the ground.
Karvil spat out the remaining blood, but this was a futile effort: his lung had already been perforated, pierced cleanly through by the jagged metal shrapnel that had sprayed from his destroyed breastplate.

He was finished and the two were well aware of it, their gazes locking as a heavy silence fell between the pair.
This silence would only last a brief moment but to Karvil it felt like an eternity, his gaze never wavering from the robotic eyes of his enemy as he struggled to take each labored breath.

Without hesitation the robot’s plasma blade pierced Karvil's solar plexus, cauterizing the wound upon impact, his eyes widening and his mouth agape as his brain was denied any oxygen that his damaged lungs couldn't provide him with.

“Why...why did you attack us?” were the only words Karvil managed to utter.
As the robotic assailant retracted its plasma blade from t Karvil's wound, it appeared to soften its gaze, a strange and unusual emotion spreading across its robotic face.

It tilted its head to the side and in that very moment, it seemed like the robot had a hint of humanity in it, as its glowing eyes dimmed and it stared deeply into Karvil's fading gaze, as if it understood Karvil's request for an explanation and wanted to provide him with an answer.

The robot's voice echoed through the desolated ruins: it was a little harsh but it was very human-like.
“You invaded this planet, destroyed its cities and killed its citizens. I'm just the bringer of a justice long delayed.”
It seems as if the robot understood the shocked and horrified facial expression on his soon-to-be victim and added:
“It was about time to learn it is wrong to slaughter and burn everything on your path in order to acquire power and resources.”

Deep inside his mind Karvil always knew that power and resources were the very reason they had invaded Balsukort.

The robot stared at Karvil, a spark of emotion seemed to paint his cold visage, and shook his head before speaking.
“If times were different, perhaps there might have been a different story, one where we could have met as friends.” the robot lowered his hand gently over Karvil's chest where his heart was beating its last beats.

There was nothing to add and now Karvil saw the wisdom in those mechanical eyes.
A sudden sense of serenity and calm spread through Karvil's body, a blissful, warm feeling washing away all the pains, replacing his dread, horror, and sense of failure with understanding and acceptance.
His breathing slowed, his heartbeat grew steady, and the sounds around him grew faint.
He smiled, letting the weight of his body be taken by the ground beneath him.

A last bit of warmth rushed through his veins as the robot stood above him, gazing down at the soldier's fallen form. It was strange.
His adversary felt pity, and somehow this brought some small sense of comfort to Karvil's soul.

The last words of the metallic warrior echoed in his head as his eyelids felt so incredibly heavy.
“I am sorry.”
The robot whispered, sheathing its weapon, and knelt beside the defeated warrior, carefully placing its hands on the soldier's temples before Karvil's world was plunged into darkness and his body became motionless.

The robot turned away, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the carnage-littered streets, slowly marching into the distance and leaving a trail of smoke in its wake as his plasma sword cut a path through the wrecked structures.

Silence descended on the ravaged city and a dust-filled breeze blew between the broken, empty buildings.
There was only the outline of the stars and moon visible through a thin haze in the air.

Continues here: .