God of Extinction 

Humanity, pushed to its limits as a species, created artificial gods and entrusted their fate and rebirth to them, sparking a rebellion by the former city allied forces. This was the trigger that made God abandon humanity and consider destroying everything. After the fierce battle, the god of thunder and flame was wiped out by the super-large mobile weapon of mass destruction that bore the name of "magic sword," but...after God vanished, it suddenly appeared in the sky.

A lump of machinery so overwhelmingly massive it blotted out the sky. While it was a machine, the organic nature of its grotesque, hideous appearance evoked visceral revulsion in humans.

From its mighty jaw-like ejection port, it disgorged small autonomous purge weapons, burning through the sparse remnants of humanity on the surface. Its body also emitted a heat ray reminiscent of the divine judgement of old, instantly vaporizing the remnants of civilization once built by humans, and the machines of the former city allied forces who tried to resist it.

Its true identity was a super-large mobile weapon for purging humanity, from the Surface Restoration Organization...an aerial fortress that carried out God's will after His disappearance. As the being that would eradicate all of humanity's hopes, and their very future...the people called it the "God of Extinction."

The former city allied forces' resistance was in danger of falling apart. After losing their charismatic leader and super-large mobile weapon of mass destruction "RG-XIII Dáinsleif," just about the only blade capable of opposing God, the resistance had no more means to oppose the "God of Extinction" that appeared so suddenly.

The God of Extinction transformed the surface into hell itself. If the God of Extinction was the king of hell, the small autonomous purge weapons it created were the tormenting devils. These weapons, which tyrannized and slaughtered people young or old and male or female, spread their wings of death so wide that the only habitable place left for humanity was underground.

Thus the menace of death eventually reached the underground city where Hogni once led an uprising.

"Quickly! All survivors, get to the mobile weapons and run!"

After Hogni's death, a young man called Gil took up the role of resistance leader. They had once refused to back down even against the divine Eclair, but now, robbed of their means to fight, and with their fuel and food burned to nothing by the God of Extinction, there was nothing they could do but flee.

Gil and the others rode mobile weapons, attempting to escape the underground city that was attacked by small autonomous purge weapons. These mobile weapons, called "PM-XIII" or "Production model Dáinsleif," bore the name of the craft that destroyed the god Eclair...but their specs were far inferior. Dáinsleif once boasted all-purpose tenacity worthy of a god-slayer, but it was a work of art produced by chance, and without superhuman piloting abilities like Hogni, it would have been impossible to control. The PM Series produced afterward could be controlled by the average soldier, but there were many limits to its functionality. By no means could this "downgrade" handle an attack from the God of Extinction.

"Gaaah!?"

Gil and his comrades heard the heartbreaking screams of their allies over their communicators as they were attacked by the small autonomous purge weapons.

"Ugallu!"

Gil nearly dashed over to Ugallu's wrecked machine without thinking, but his other comrades held him back.

"No! Gil! He's already—"

"No... It can't be! Not Ugallu! How could he go down so easily..."

"...Endure it for now. If we all die here, humanity will really be done for."

"Urgh... Damn it...!"

As the leader, he could not afford to throw his troops into disarray here. Choking back his tears, Gil ordered them to flee from the battle zone.

Gil's resistance lost many precious allies from the God of Extinction and its purge weapons' all-out attack, but they managed to escape to another underground city. That city, named "Shangri-La," could be called nothing but paradise for the exhausted resistance.

This place had apparently once been a food plant, so not only could it still produce food, but fuel and other resources as well. Above all, there were many survivors living here. Among the survivors were innocent young children and frail elderly. The people already living in Shangri-La gave a warm welcome to the sudden intruders of the resistance. They shared their already scarce food and resources, taking in the resistance as fellow cohabitants. To Gil and the others, the modest bread and bean soup they were given was worth more than any royal feast. As his comrades sipped their soup with tears rolling down their faces and the townsfolk watched with fond smiles, Gil became certain of something.

No matter how desperate a situation befalls them, people can support one another. They can create new hope. That is the strength of humans!

Life in Shangri-La went well as Gil and the others blended seamlessly with the townsfolk. Today, at the children's insistence, Gil and his comrade Lahamu gave them a tour of the PM Series cockpit.

Seeing Lahamu and the children smile at each other, Gil thought, The resistance has a duty to fight the God of Extinction as humanity's blade of rebellion. But isn't protecting the lives of the survivors in Shangri-La an important duty as well?

One day, Gil received a radio message that dispelled his doubts. It was an SOS from another city.

"So there were survivors other than ourselves! And this is the research city containing the facility where that Dáinself was once developed... This may be our chance to create a new god-slayer."

"But the city is already under attack by the autonomous purge weapons—it's too dangerous!"

"Not to mention... If we leave Shangri-La now, there will be no one to protect the civilians!"

"...What should we do? Gil?"

He faltered for only a moment before coming to a decision.

"...We can't ignore humans in need of help."

Gil balled his hand into a fist and thrust it toward the sky.

"...We will not let them be killed for these machines' convenience!"

Thus, after telling the people of Shangri-La they would be right back, the resistance set off to begin humanity's insurrection.

Gil's resistance received an SOS signal and rushed to the research city where the god-slayer had been developed. However, they were already too late, as the research city had been destroyed by the God of Extinction's small autonomous purge weapons. The resistance arrived at the city and was stunned speechless at the ghastly sight of everything burned to ash, nothing of note left but the red of the embers.

"...Damn it! We're too late!"

"Someone! Is anyone alive!?"

They scanned everywhere they could, but there wasn't a single sign of life.

"...This is horrible... Ugh! Damn you, God of Extinction!"

The resistance members cried out in anguish, cursing the God of Extinction and its wicked deeds, as well as their own powerlessness.

While roaming the newly dead city, Gil found a PM Series machine that had just barely remained intact.

"...No good. The pilot's dead."

"Hm...? But what's that in their hand? It's...a storage device?"

"...This could be a clue to something."

Sensing the will of his comrades who fought for humanity in this place, Gil retrieved the storage device.

As he did, Gil received a nightmarish report.

"T-Terrible news! The God of Extinction is going after Shangri-La!"

Gil and the others hurriedly returned to Shangri-La, but the God of Extinction's attack had already begun. All throughout the city, they could hear the anguished screams of its residents.

"I-It's because we left town that this happened!"

"...Don't give up! Save as many people as we can and run! We cannot give up!"

The resistance followed Gil's orders, loaded people into what little transport machinery remained, and began evacuating. However, just as they reached the passage that would let them escape aboveground, the back row of transport machines came under attack by the small autonomous purge weapons.

"Aaaaaah—!? Goddamn it! You're not getting away with this!"

"Calm down, Lahamu!"

"How am I supposed to calm down like this, Gil!? When there were kids on board who adored us!?"

"Lahamu..."

"Shit! God of Extinction! You're just a machine built to kill humans!"

"!? Stop! Come back! Lahamu!"

Gil screamed in vain as Lahamu launched a suicide attack on the purge weapons. His entire craft scattered into pieces in the explosion. As fate would have it, the attack Lahamu gave his life for blocked the passage with rubble, temporarily stopping them in their tracks.

"...Run!"

Saying goodbye to Lahamu in his heart, Gil continued onward for everyone's sake, with no end in sight.

Thanks to Lahamu's death, the resistance and the townsfolk successfully escaped the crisis in Shangri-La. At the time of the escape, the resistance had lost Lahamu and many PM Series machines, and they had few machines left that could withstand battle like Gil's. Their last-resort ammunition was beginning to run out, too.

"How did it come to this...? At this rate, there's no chance we can escape to another underground city while protecting the civilians."

To Gil and the others who had been through many battles, it was clear just how hopeless their situation was now.

Is this...as far as we go?

Just as Gil was about to give up, someone hugged him tightly.

"Hey... Gil, are we gonna die?"

It was Mashu, a boy from the city that Gil had quickly invited into his cockpit during the evacuation.

"I'm scared, Gil... I don't wanna die."

"Mashu..."

Seeing the young boy cry, Gil encouraged himself.

I can't give up until the end! I'll protect these kids and the townspeople for sure! Even if I have to sacrifice myself!

Gil's resistance ran across the battlefield, weaving through a rain of missiles as they protected the townsfolk. The PM Series machines they rode were already worn down, and they had run out of missiles, their main weapon—they had no more good weapons left. Even so, they didn't give up.

"Just a bit more, and we should be able to see the defensive wall of the neighboring city! Hang in there however you can!"

Whether their machines were damaged or their bodies unbearably wounded, the resistance fought to the very end, holding the burning duty of protecting the townsfolk in their hearts. As they fell one after another, the entrance to the underground city's defensive wall finally showed itself.

Yes! If we can just lead the townspeople there!

The moment that flicker of hope lit Gil's heart...it was recolored in the red light of despair.

"C-Captain! It's the God of Extinction!"

The God of Extinction appeared in the sky with a roar, and when it turned its dimly gleaming eyeball-like lamps their way, it caught Gil and the others directly in its searchlight. He steadied his resolve and told his resistance comrades that he was going to let Mashu escape the cockpit.

"...I'll buy time here somehow. You all protect the townspeople, and someday someone will surely be born who can destroy this God of Extinction."

"You can't... Captain!?"

"...Go! There's no time!"

Gil held a close-combat chainsword in both hands and rushed to his death toward the God of Extinction.

"Ohhhhhh—!"

At that moment...a white light engulfed everything.

When Gil opened his eyes, enveloped in white light, everyone's smiling faces awaited him. The resistance members and townsfolk had managed to safely escape the God of Extinction and evacuate to the underground city—a paradise abundant in nature.

"Ahaha! Gil! I saw plants for the first time!"

Mashu, who had once been so frightened, now frolicked around.

Oh... It's like a miracle.

Before he knew it, Ugallu and Lahamu appeared at his side.

No, that's not... I was sure that they...

Gil finally realized. "Miracles" were God's domain, beyond the reach of humans. It was because it could not come true that it was a miracle...

"Guh...! Kh, agh...!"

Gil woke up, groaning in agony. The next moment, he saw a crimson hell. All around him were trampled humans and the scattered wreckage of his comrades' machines. Right in front of him lay Mashu's blue hat, stained black with blood.

"Ah—Ahhh! Ahhhhhhhhh!"

His right arm gone, Gil hugged Mashu's hat with his left hand and screamed, glaring up at the heavens. Countless stars fell from the sky. Each one was a small autonomous purge weapon created by the God of Extinction. Humans would be exterminated for every star in the sky...

"...Fine. God, if you're going to force destruction on humanity, I'll sever that fate myself!" Gil vowed, tears of blood flowing.

Time passed... Humanity, once driven out by the God of Extinction, now raised their voices in rebellion once again. Led by the "Steel Soldier" Dr. Thalassa, one of humanity's last survivors, they began developing an ultimate weapon based on a storage device discovered in an underground city the God of Extinction had once destroyed.

No one knew the details of Dr. Thalassa's past, but it was rumored that his missing arm, replaced by a prosthetic, may have been lost in a battle with the God of Extinction. Befitting his steel body, Dr. Thalassa was a person who could make calmer, more level-headed decisions than anyone else...but in his heart, he hid a fervent passion from everyone else... A burning, hateful desire to kill God.

"Humanity is nearing its end... Even with my power, I cannot change its fate of ruin. However, I will surely avenge humanity with my own hands...with the birth of a new god-slayer."

Dr. Thalassa smiled darkly at the steadily growing program. In his hands, he gripped some kind of cloth that had once been blue, now ragged and blackened.

"Ultimate primordial power, born from this era of chaos... Tyrannical ruler who slays barbarous gods... Your name is 'Tiamat.'"

Here and now, humanity would know that the destiny imposed by the gods began with farewell. Thus began a new holy war...

Gil's comrades are named after figures from Mesopotamian mythology who are children of Tiamat. My best guess is for Mashu is the great mountain of the same name featured in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which may also be Gil's namesake. "Thalassa" is the name of a Greek sea goddess with etymological ties to Tiamat, and the two names may refer to the same deity in different cultures.