Shining Armor X Spike Novels & Stories

They shattered, exploding into gravel six inches from my skin. Beneath my ruined shirt, the ancient, battered breastplate I’d looted from my very first dungeon glowed with a faint, satisfied blue light. I’d gambled on its hidden property: absolute defense against any attack originating within an A-Class Instance. A hard-coded rule. The S-Class statue had regenerated here, in an A-Class dungeon. Its attack, for all its terrifying power, still had to obey the dungeon’s foundational rules. My gamble paid off. Spark’s jaw was on the floor. Marcus stared, then let out a wild, disbelieving laugh. “You are out of your damn mind!” he yelled, but it was pure admiration.

But they were no longer just wolves. Each warrior was clad in a suit of "Qi-Fiber" armor, a combination of the ship's advanced carbon-nanotubes and Scarlett’s protective talismans. Their claws were tipped with spirit-conductive silver, and their eyes were fitted with tactical HUDs that allowed them to "see" the Qi-flow of their enemies.

It was aiming at the wide, chaotic cluster of refugees bottlenecked at the heavy iron blast doors behind him. If Baraka dodged, the spike would tear through a dozen innocent people. Adapt. Redirect. The Hound fired. The bone spike erupted from the barrel at nearly the speed of sound, carrying enough kinetic force to punch through an armored personnel carrier. Baraka didn't summon a static kinetic shield—that would absorb too much of his remaining energy. Instead, he relied on the martial arts biomechanics he had drilled into his army that very morning.

Through the thick, white fog of the steam, the Sunburst Elite arrived. They did not march. They did not run. They glided perfectly over the treacherous, broken ice of the harbor. Their repulsor boots hummed with a sickening, high-pitched frequency that vibrated deep in my teeth. They wore heavy armor plated in pure Aurelian gold, making them look like a legion of shining, faceless statues. They carried solar lances. The tips of their weapons burned with the same concentrated plasma heat that had just vaporized our ancient stone wall.

The hum spiked, runes glowing brighter, frost swirling, a warning of ambush. Kevin nodded, amber eyes sharp, pine scent a vow, moving to the spires, claws extending, scraping stone, frost falling, revealing more runes, glowing, pulsing. Shade snarled, wary. Guard her, pup—clear it. “Spires are carved—runes deep,” he called, voice low, “linked, like a net.” His claws dug, blood seeping, metallic, hot, hum shaking his bones.

"Tell me, what will it take for you to reciprocate my affections?" His words hung in the air, and I found myself torn between being honest and sparing his feelings. Taking a deep breath, I mustered the courage to respond. "I will await the Shadowboom Unveiling to make my decision," I said softly, concealing the truth that his pride and pretentiousness repelled me. Stone-heart's eyes narrowed, his face contorting with a volatile mix of frustration and wounded pride. "Regardless of who the Moongoddess chooses as your mate," he vowed, his voice laced with determination, "no one will ever reach my ankle."

I glanced up at Wayne holding my breath. Luccus stepped out of the shadows towards us, teeth barred as another deep growl comes from him. I hear a howl in the distance and the sound of Clarissa and Scarlet coming closer but I felt helpless as Wayne stares Luccus down. I slowly get off the ground hoping to not draw attention to myself, I knew I wasn’t fast enough to get away from him in this form. Wayne shifts his body to block me more from Luccus but opening himself more for attack.

"This is our barbed spike. It's a little different from the barbed creatures on this planet—ours is made of a stronger material and can cut through most prey or enemies." "It looks like a thin sword." Cleona squinted. "Is that what you use for killing?" "Sometimes." Bobby raised his arm and turned his wrist. "It's very crude and is usually our last defense. A 'Do or Die' weapon." He pointed the said weapon at Galene. "I can't feel hers beneath the skin—except at the elbow, so I think her spike has snapped off—or was sawn off. That's quite a feat—this is ten times stronger than bone. It also doesn't grow back." Bobby shot Galene a sympathetic glance.

Lucas had hurled his shield at an angle such that it cut through the air so sharply it decapitated the heads of the two creatures. The shield then boomeranged back to his electromagnetic cast on his right arm. “You’re welcome!” Lucas called out and turned to duck from another creature by rolling over then doubling back by striking the creature with the shield’s curved surface. It let out a miniature electrified shockwave enough to tear the creature apart. Crimson sped past Spartan as he punched his way through a horde in a flurry. Spartan was zapping the creatures with balls of lightning, swaying his hands meticulously and with precision.

Mark snapped out of his trance when he saw 2Pac approaching him. 2Pac glided through the flames, and it seemed like he was walking in slow motion. The metal man’s eyes still shined brightly, like high beams on a Ferrari. Mark’s skin became chilled when he saw how 2Pac didn’t have a scratch on his gleaming, armored body. The fire didn’t affect 2Pac’s shirtless metal physique. The blast didn’t even affect the light diodes in his high-resolution eyes. This was not good since the explosion compromised the integrity of Mark’s exoskeleton suit.