The hologram in the sky vanished.
The Water City was silent for one second. Then, the screaming started.
"The sky is falling!" a fish-man yelled.
Isolde grabbed Cain's arm. Her face was pale.
"Cain," she said, her voice shaking. "We made a mistake. The Gods were bad, but they were keeping them out. Now the aliens are coming."
Cain looked up at the hole in the glass dome.
"Aliens," Cain said, tasting the word. "Do they have good loot?"
BOOM.
A black metal object fell through the ocean water above. It fell fast. It smashed through the hole in the dome.
It crashed into the market square, crushing a stall selling seaweed snacks.
It was not a ship. It was a pod.
HISSS.
Steam shot out of the pod. The door blasted open.
Something stepped out.
It was ten feet tall. It was made of black metal. It had one red eye in the center of its head. It held a gun that glowed with purple plasma.
It was a Harvester Drone. A robot.
"Biological life detected," the robot said. Its voice was mechanical and cold. "Exterminate."
It raised its gun.
ZAP.
A purple laser shot out. It hit a stone statue and melted it instantly.
"Run!" Isolde screamed. She pulled up a shield of wind.
Two more pods crashed down. BOOM. BOOM. Two more robots stepped out.
The first robot looked at Isolde. It aimed its laser.
"Target locked," the robot said.
Cain stepped in front of Isolde.
The laser hit Cain's chest.
SIZZLE.
Smoke rose from Cain's black coat. He looked down at his chest. There was a small burn mark on the fabric.
"Hey," Cain said. "This is cashmere."
The robot paused. "Error. Target durable. Increasing power."
The robot charged its gun for a bigger shot.
Cain did not wait. He ran.
He did not use a weapon. He simply shoulder-checked the robot.
CLANG.
The sound was like a car crash. The metal robot flew backward. It smashed into a wall, denting its armor.
"It's hard," Cain noted. "Harder than bone. Softer than diamond."
The robot stood up. Its red eye spun. "Threat level: High. Engaging melee mode."
A blade of blue energy popped out of the robot's arm. It swiped at Cain.
Cain ducked. The energy blade cut a stone pillar in half like butter.
"Laser swords," Cain smiled. "Now I want one."
Cain reached into his inventory. He pulled out the Gaia's Skin (the diamond power he got from Terra).
"Diamond Skin," Cain whispered.
His fist turned into sparkling diamond.
He punched the robot in the chest.
CRUNCH.
His fist went through the metal. He ripped out the robot's engine. Sparks flew everywhere. The robot's red eye faded to black. It fell over. THUD.
The other two robots looked at their fallen friend.
"Unit 1 destroyed," they said together. "Kill the anomaly."
They both aimed their guns at Cain.
"Isolde," Cain said, holding the robot's engine (which was still glowing). "Start the bubble spell. We are leaving."
"Leaving?" Isolde yelled, dodging a laser. "How?"
Cain threw the engine at the second robot. It exploded like a grenade. BOOM.
"We are going up," Cain said. "I have a lot of robots to dismantle."
He grabbed the dead robot's laser sword arm. He ripped it off.
[New Weapon Acquired: Plasma Blade.]
Cain pressed the button. VMMM. The blue blade ignited.
"Cool," Cain grinned. "Let's go say hello to the visitors."