The Mech Touch

Before the crucial moment had arrived, Vincent had been struggling to fight against the Phasers more and more.

They were cruel but strong beasts that utilized their natural advantages to the fullest when fighting against both the Evolvers and the mechs that opposed them. Their great bulk was particularly difficult to fight against as a casual movement could heavily damage a mech!

At first, Vincent relied on the integrated armaments of his custom mech to inflict damage on his opponents.

The gauss weapons that made up much of the firepower of the B-Man slammed into the meaty bodies of the Phasers in a satisfying manner.

Over time, Vincent even figured out the best spots for him to attack as they always seemed to create the most pain or debilitation to his targets.

He eventually stopped firing his guns when the guns he fired ran out of ammunition.

It was rather awkward for a hybrid mech to be unable to fire the weapons that were embedded in its frame. The modules had turned from deathly threats into burdens now that they could no longer fire any powerful rounds!

That did not stop him from continuing the fight!

"I should do more!"

The intention had already been in his mind for a while. He liked to bombard his enemies from a distance, but he also felt a rush at the thought of charging at his opponents before smacking them to pieces with a melee weapon.

It was a much more alluring way to fight and one that resonated with him on a more primal level.

Seeing that he had little excuse to hang back now that his B-Man had run out of ammunition, he did not hesitate any longer and followed what he truly wanted to do on the battlefield!

"It's not as if my B-Man is a pure ranged mech."

Hybrid mechs were inherently versatile and they could still rely on other means to fight!

He just had to glance over at the Bolvos Rage to see what hybrid mechs could do at a higher level!

"Since Reginald can fight like this, then so can I!"

Vincent first attempted to attack the Phasers with the mace that came with his custom mech.

That did not produce the results that he wanted. Other than bruising a bit of whale meat, the wounds his B-Man inflicted did not really harm the fish-whales in the slightest!

Instead, he constantly put his custom mech at risk of getting smashed by moving close to the bodies of his opponents.

"The mace seemed like a pretty good idea at the time."

While the weapon was useful against mechs and many other targets, these fish-whales were so big and tough that their blubber simply bounced away his strikes!

He eventually made his B-Man holster its mace and seek out one of the greatswords that one of the broken and destroyed Second Sword mechs had left behind.

Now that his B-Man was armed with a long and thick blade, the hybrid mech was able to inflict actual damage onto the Phasers!

At least that was what Vincent hoped.

The outcome was less than ideal. The B-Man wasn't designed to wield such a big and sharp weapon at all and Vincent had to pull his machine numerous times because it took too long to swing its new sword!

The slow, jerky and awkward movements of his B-Man was a far cry from the speed and ferocity demonstrated by the Bolvos Rage whenever it swung its Whale-Cutting Saber!

Although Vincent briefly became discouraged by the poor results produced by the mismatch between mech and weapon, he did not let this embarrassment stand.

The buddies he befriended and hung out with were still dying left and right! How could he falter like this when he could make a real difference in saving his fellow comrades-in-arms?

A determined expression appeared on his face as he quickly reviewed his earlier performance and tried to come up with adjustments to improve his battle effectiveness.

His subsequent performance was much more satisfying than before. Vincent was still aware of all of his B-Man hindered him from making the moves that he wished, but he compensated for that by simplifying his moves and relying more on momentum to put a lot of force behind his blows.

His hybrid mech didn't even really need to swing its weapon all that much if it was already charging forward!

Although this forced the B-Man to make risky attack runs, Vincent had fought against the Phasers long enough to recognize their reactions and attack patterns.

His mech was able to avoid their body attacks easily enough, though it was harder for him to avoid the spatial attacks that the Phasers liked to throw at the mechs.

As Vincent became more adept at using his borrowed greatsword to slice and stab the Phasers, he realized how exhilarating and enjoyable it was to pilot mechs.

There were many times in the past where he considered this act to be a burden or an unwanted responsibility.

Fighting in a mech meant risking his life. He had fought many battles in the past where he had to survive under difficult circumstances. These near-death encounters had doused his enthusiasm for participating in any battles, though he didn't mind using his skills in the arena.

"Mech duels and mech competitions are safe and fun in their own way."

He truly enjoyed fighting to the crowd and receiving their adulation for a well-fought victory, but now…

"This is where a true man belongs."

Fighting on the battlefield made him feel far more validated than when he fought in the mech arena.

The latter, for all of the spectacle and entertainment it produced, was ultimately a game.

Competitive mech matches could never produce the chaos and brilliance of actual combat!

Though a part of Vincent still felt horrified at putting his life on the line, another part of him relished how much he was saving the lives of his fellow comrades and killing his opponents at the moment!

He never even noticed another glow besides that of Bravo affecting his current state.

"Ah! I need help!" A female Avatar mech pilot transmitted!

Vincent spotted a Bright Warrior mech that had just landed in the jaws of a fish-whale!

He had seen the Phasers destroy anything that had fallen into their mouths and knew that he only had a moment to rescue his fellow clansman!

Although he received cries of help from multiple mech pilots throughout this battle, this particular plea struck a chord in his heart.

For some reason or another, he felt compelled to do whatever was necessary to rescue the damsel in distress!

Yet how could he do so when the jaws of the Phaser fish-whale was moments away from biting through all of the metal that resisted its power?

"I'm… not… GIVING UP!" Vincent roared!

The urgent need for him to make a difference and become the hero he had always wanted to be had culminated in an explosion of will!

The B-Man's golden frame exploded with power as a much more powerful corona surrounded it compared to many other mechs!

The apotheosis that he had long been waiting for had finally arrived, and it had already transformed Vincent will and mentality in profound ways!

All of his doubts and insecurities had washed away. Though he was far from a perfect man, he had become completely content with what he was and what he had become.

"A REAL MAN DOESN'T COMPLAIN!"

The B-Man released a pulse of forced resonance that shocked nearby Phasers and attracted the admiration of many mech pilots.

"A REAL MAN DOESN'T FAIL!"

The B-Man released another pulse as it shot forward in an attempt to rescue the trapped Avatar mech pilot!

"A REAL MAN ALWAYS SAVES THE GIRL!"

Vincent badly wanted to answer the cry for help and prevent a fair and vulnerable woman from a cruel death.

Yet despite his breakthrough and despite his overflowing will, his B-Man was still too far away to reach the trapped Avatar mech pilot in time!

The thought of trying to come to his fellow Larkinson's rescue only for him to fall short after undergoing apotheosis was indescribably painful!

Vincent had a feeling that he could never get past this personal failure!

Unwillingness flashed in his glowing golden eyes!

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU DIE! I NEED MORE POWER!"

Vincent tried to think of anything that could help him change this seemingly inevitable course.

Only an instant had passed as he rapidly considered many different options.

He soon came to a desperate but maybe effective solution.

His glowing eyes widened as he reached out to the entities that had accompanied him many times since he received his new custom mech.

"B-MAN! BRAVO! GIVE ME YOUR HELP!"

A radiant golden glow surrounded the brilliant custom mech as Vincent completely felt connected with Bravo and the B-Man for the first time!

Both the mech and design spirit reacted as if they had been standing by to receive this request from the beginning.

As his two constant companions whenever he piloted his B-Man, they not only knew him best, but also shared the same thought!

A brilliant smile appeared on his face as he felt he gained the complete and unconditional support of his 'battle buddies'.

"Let us save this damsel together!"

Although the B-Man had already exploded with lots of power, no one expected the custom mech to burst out a second time!

Within a single second, the forced resonance emanating from the B-Man multiplied by at least several orders of magnitude!

The sheer amount of power radiating from the hybrid mech was so excessive that practically every mech and fish-whale had stopped their actions!

Not even the Phaser that was on the verge of snapping its giant teeth through the torso of the trapped Bright Warrior mech had made any further moves.

Instead, the creature and many other alien compatriots gazed on with both awe and terror as the B-Man's presence ballooned until a gigantic projection of will and power grew out of the form of the custom hybrid mech!

The projection took on the form of a golden man with sculpted muscles!

This living manifestation of unified power was completely naked save for the codpiece that adorned its lower waist!

"What! That… that's the legendary Unity of Man and Machine!" A mech pilot uttered with astonishment.

"How can Vincent of all people reach this amazing state!"

The state of Unity of Man and Machine imposed an enormous burden on the B-Man. The custom hybrid mech grew so hot that its codpiece radiated with a lot more heat than at any previous point in this battle!

Vincent no longer paid attention to these trifles. All he cared about was fulfilling his commitment and saving the girl he set out to rescue!

"A MAN ALWAYS FULFILLS HIS PROMISES!"

With the perfect cooperation of both Bravo and the B-Man, the gigantic energy projection surged forward and grabbed the body of the offending Phaser fish-whale!

The illusionary but very solid hand squeezed with so much force that the poor creature had no choice but to open its mouth and spit out the Bright Warrior mech that was nearly bitten in half!

Once the mech was out of danger, the giant golden hand exerted its strength and ruthlessly squeezed until the entire fish-whale's body collapsed!

The muscular golden man disdainfully tossed the broken corpse aside. It gazed at the surrounding Phasers that were frozen in action even now and grew offended by their presence.

"PUNCH!"

The energy manifestation punched another Phaser with so much force that the creature died instantly as half of its body crunched inwards!

"PUNCH!"

Another Phaser suffered a similar fate as it wasn't even able to react quickly enough before the golden fist had arrived!

"PUNCH!"

"PUNCH!"

"PUNCH!"

"PUNCH!"

"PUNCH!"

The energy manifestation struck out faster and faster as if Vincent and his battle buddies were afraid of running out of punching bags!

In just a short amount of time, this entire portion of the battlefield had turned into a Phaser-free zone as the B-Man had slain more enemy fish-whales than any other mech during this battle!

Vincent wasn't satisfied with this result, though.

Even as he felt he could not maintain this extraordinarily powerful state much longer, he wanted to make one more move that showed he had become the man he always wanted to be! Only a truly heroic feat could cement him as the greatest man alive!

His attention drifted over to the central part of the battlefield. The Cerebral King and the Phase King were still going at each other while the Bolvos Rage kept looking for opportunities to attack.

"YOU!"

Vincent recognized that beating the biggest enemy in the field would give him the validation that he craved!

He no longer delayed any further and moved into action!

The giant energy manifestation along with the B-Man that supported it all accelerated straight towards the center with speed and acceleration beyond anything the custom mech had ever shown!

As the giant energy manifestation thundered over with horrible momentum, the Phase King became alarmed as it noticed the incoming threat!

The powerful king fish barely had time to summon another spatial barrier before a giant golden fist crashed through this layer and struck its body from the side, snapping many bones and stirring many organs!

Vincent had crippled the Phase King with a single blow!