Boom… boom… boom…
Explosions kept pounding both sky and earth. Skyscrapers that once reached high into the heavens were now mere shadows of their former selves, their debris staining the ground. Nothing remained of glorious Eagleopolis. It had been the first city to fall to the Illuminates — but the fight wasn't over.
" Hold your position ! Civilians are still here ! "
" Affirmative ! "
" Reloading ! "
Between the rubble, the last line of Super Earth's defense kept fighting, their blue uniforms reflecting the light of a sky long obscured beneath tyranny.
" They're everywhere ! "
Civilians kept fleeing under their protection, their numbers dwindling. What had once been a group of thirty hopeful souls had become just a handful of survivors. Deprived of the slightest equipment, civilians fled, holding the empty, blood-soaked weapons of fallen Helldivers. Nothing remained but them — and three SEAF soldiers. The last line of defense.
" They're coming back ! Fire !!! "
" GRENADE ! "
" Out of ammo ! "
No matter how many rounds they fired, the Voiceless kept coming. Each had a name once, but tyranny had corrupted them all. Nothing was left… not even a single bullet in a Liberator to shove into a charging Overseer.
" HOLD YOUR POSITION ! "
Argh—
A burst of gunfire tore through the civilians. Nothing remained… no place left to run… no ammo crates… no standing buildings. Only three soldiers, their armor soaked in the crimson blood of the civilians they failed to protect.
" CHARGE ! "
The three launched a futile charge. One was decapitated by a distant shot. Another hurled away by a Overseer's lance. Nothing remained — no will left in the legs of the terrified last surviving girl, her stock smashing into a Overseer that collapsed at her feet, revealing a Fleshmob about to crush her.
Nothing remained. No hope.
" Sweet freedom…"
Crash.
No pain. So that's what death feels like?
" We'll take it from here, soldier. "
" What…? "
The young woman, her armor smeared with the blue blood of the Fleshmob, opened her eyes. A hellpod was still embedded in the ground before her. A Helldiver rose from it, stepping over the Fleshmob corpse he'd just flattened, splattering impure blood across his helmet, his visor locked on the young soldier.
" You fought with honor. For Democracy. "
Nothing remained. No other hellpods followed. Just one destroyer. Just one Helldiver — dressed in ceremonial armor, holding a half-loaded museum piece.