The silhouette that pushed away the rubble and stood up was Aegis.
The iron titan stood several meters tall, its colossal, dark-plated armor unmarked by the thousands of tons of concrete that had collapsed upon it. From beneath its heavy, horned visor, two hollow eyes burned with an intense, terrifyingly brilliant sapphire-blue radiance.
And resting safely within the cradle of Aegis's massive, impenetrable gauntlets was Risa's corpse.
She remained bundled in the white laboratory coat, her pale, peaceful face shielded from the dust, entirely unblemished by the cataclysm.
Standing directly at the phantom's hip, emerging from the shadows of its armor, was Hide Volter.
He did not look like an Exterminator now, or like a man if one saw from any distance.
