The Steel Chase

The Steel Chase is a notable recorded United States event in which the full effort of Pandora's Box was called in to stop the rampaging Hostis Ferrum from destroying large sections of Michigan during its attempts to capture Timothy Barreck and Amelia Montague. The chase spanned the majority of Mackinac City and was finally ended in Celina, Ohio by heavy firepower from the Archangels and the Seven Princes, in particular a newer updated model of Belphegor Gehenna's Abaddon tank coupled with Lucifer Gehenna and Raphael Basilica riding atop and making concerted efforts to face down Hostis Ferrum.

Prior to the Steel Chase
Hostis Ferrum had been spotted within Canada and had been making quick movements from Canada to enter Michigan through the St. Marys River. At the time of its active movement, reports had been made, but little had been done. Hostis Ferrum had disappeared within large expanses of wilderness as it progressed and was effectively lost for a period of nearly sixteen hours, traveling an estimated speed of 7 mph (11 kph), and spent nearly two days walking through the wilderness. Despite Hostis Ferrum's size, locating it proved significantly more difficult than expected due to heavy rainfall and cold temperatures as it was in November. Eventually, Pandora's Box agents were called in and began their search two days after the initial sighting in Sault Ste. Marie where the initial reports were made. They eventually found out that reports had been made as early as Heyden Canada, but due to low population density and difficulty in investigating forested areas, the reports did not reach the Canadian government in time to inform the United States of the impending arrival.

As Hostis Ferrum approached Mackinac City, it became somewhat agitated and moved towards a significantly more dense human population for unknown reasons. A report was quickly filed by law enforcement as Hostis Ferrum's size began increasing from its typical 15 ft tall to nearly 345 ft tall. Despite its massive size increase, it did not strike the Mackinac Bridge to the thankfulness of both the State legislature due to the expensive nature of replacing the bridge, and locals due to reliance on tourist traffic during summer seasons. Additionally, should it have struck the bridge, businesses for both side of Mackinac City would have been heavily impacted.

As it made shore-fall, the sheer size of Hostis Ferrum was impossible to ignore, and its agitation was not immediately discerned. Its sudden appearance was quickly picked up on radio and emergency phone calls and Pandora's Box quickly mobilized down to the lower peninsula in a concerted effort to catch the creature. The Seven Princes and Seven Archangels alongside Airship Atlas had already been mobilized and arrived in Mt. Pleasant and had been making a brief stop for food as they awaited further orders and proceeded upwards on US 127. As Pandora contacted them, they quickly proceeded up US 127 with police escort. The state National Guard had already been deployed, and large numbers of military personnel from the US Air Force were already on their way. The entire route of US 127 had already been cleared alongside Interstate 75 and Us 131 in order to help streamline troop transport. Gridlocked had been reported all over the state due to the shutdowns, however it was deemed wholly necessary.

At approximately 9:35 AM on Eastern Standard Time, Hostis Ferrum became violently agitated and began storming through Mackinac City. At first, Pandora's Box was worried that it was going to demolish the city, but were surprised when it began moving fairly quickly down I-75, using its impressive stride speed to move a considerable distance. In its brief eight minute time in Mackinac City, it had caused nearly seven hundred thousand in damages at it collided with an overpass and stepped on multiple buildings. Thanks to the quick movements of the city police, the location where Hostis Ferrum was had been mostly evacuated, and no lives were lost, nor injuries reported.

After about twenty-five minutes, it was determined that Hostis Ferrum was, in fact, chasing a vehicle moving at nearly 135 mph (217 kph) on I-75. Because of its size and increased stride speed, the vehicle was having a significantly difficult time avoiding the behemoth chasing it.

The Steel Chase
At this point, what is known as "The Steel Chase" is considered to have actively begun. Pandora's Box agents eventually learned the occupants of the vehicle were 25 year old Timothy "Zodiac" Barreck and 16 year old Amelia Montague, both on the Pandora's Box wanted list as Timothy was harboring a god, and Amelia was the goddess Scorpio. Because Amelia had not yet awakened her powers after reincarnation, the two had no stable defense against Hostis Ferrum, who repeatedly attempted to step on their vehicle and caused significant damage to the roadway. Because of the evacuation of I-75, the roadway was entirely clear, however the presence of Timothy and Amelia was immediately known as they broke through a police barricade after stealing a police cruiser only brief moments prior to the chase. The two were not apprehended as local police were fleeing from the massive steel creature to avoid being crushed underfoot.

Timothy rode in the driver's seat while Amelia fed him information on Hostis Ferrum's exact location and avoided attempts to crush the vehicle. At this point, all rain had ceased and the state was experiencing a mean range of 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 Celsius), allowing for an open roadway with no dangerous weather conditions. Luckily the open skies made it extremely easy for Us Air Force to spot the creature, and dozens of missiles were fired at Hostis Ferrum, who responded by launching ballistic steel rods, two of which did successfully strike one Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, destroying it and killing its pilot. Still, the combined firepower of the jets did prove exceptional, however Hostis Ferrum, being made almost entirely of solid metal, showed little signs of damage beyond minimal denting. It was quickly realized that the GAU-12 Equalizer had nearly no effect on Hostis Ferrum, bullets were visibly bouncing off and those stuck in its body did no visible damage whatsoever. However, the F-35 did have one trick left up its sleeve, the AIM-10 Copperhead the world's first Eclipse Effect missile.

The Copperhead missile proved to be somewhat effective in actually showing damage on Hostis Ferrum, as large chunks of steel were blasted to the ground after striking the creature. Despite the injuries, Hostis Ferrum continued firing steel rods with startling accuracy and took down two more jets, this time the pilots surviving. Hostis Ferrum's weakness had been discovered, however the damage dealt was still minimal given its sheer size, and it was quickly realized that without a volley of these missiles at regular intervals, the damage would not be acceptable enough.

The chase continued for almost an hour as Barreck and Montague dodged Hostis Ferrum and military forces arrived in a desperate effort to chase down and shoot Hostis Ferrum. Eventually, a call was given that Barreck and Montague were acceptable casualties, and an effort should be made to disable and destroy their vehicle to try and end Hostis Ferrum's chase. Pandora's Box was informed of this idea almost ten minutes after this as Barreck passed through Trowbridge, and quickly radioed that, should Hostis Ferrum gain Scorpio, it may ascend to a higher power and destroy the whole state along with the surrounding ones in a single blast.

The message came after the two had already been fired at, Barreck losing total use of his side mirrors and having the hood of the vehicle damaged. Luckily the vehicle was not struck in any vital spot, allowing for continuous use. After the order had come in, a roadblock trying to stop them was quickly dismantled in Gaylord as Hostis Ferrum passed through. Luckily, every city along I-75 had been evacuated, so as Hostis Ferrum passed through, crushing nearly 35 buildings in the process, no human civilian lives were lost. Things were about to get significantly more hectic, however, as a miscommunication resulted in Barreck being forced off I-75 after passing through 4 Mile Rd and I-75.

At this point, Belphegor had been coming up US 127 on the same side as Barreck on I75, and hadn't been informed of their position. he accidentally railroaded them off onto US 127 as he blasted through a concrete barrier and his tank was far to big for them to maneuver around. Around this moment, Barreck lost control of the vehicle as it rolled violently and crashed shortly after exiting I-75. As Hostis Ferrum attempted to kill Montague, the Pandora's Box agents realized the severity of this situation and opened fire with everything they had. Hostis Ferrum tried ignoring the firepower, but was repeatedly thrown off balance and eventually crashed on its side into a field. The creature was undamaged, however this gave Barreck and Montague enough time to commander another vehicle that had been left on the side of the road during the evacuation procedure, and they quickly fled the scene with visible injuries. The Pandora's Box agents were quickly sent message by Pandora, who at this point was just passing Petoskey, to fire openly and use all force available. Priority was given specifically to Hostis Ferrum, that the other two were to be ignored as long as possible, and that Montague was not allowed to be killed or captured by Hostis Ferrum at any point.

Barreck and Montague had obtained a Toyota Camry, a commercial model with a significantly lower top speed at almost 129 mph, a speed that was too risky to maintain without possibly blowing the engine, which proved to be an extremely dangerous situation as Hostis Ferrum was nearly on top of them for the next several cities. During this, Belphegor, who was able to maintain speeds of nearly 190 mph, followed behind Hostis Ferrum, but found it too dangerous to try and pass, as Hostis Ferrum risked crushing them. Still, he fired everything he had at the beast. During this exchange, military personnel were being moved quickly from I-75 to US 127, as roadblocks and defensive lines had been prepared, but were no longer useful. During this, the Us Air-Force continued hailing Hostis Ferrum with Copperheads in a desperate effort to deal as much damage as possible. By the point Hostis Ferrum had passed Clare, it had lost an arm, but showed no signs of slowing. Efforts were mad to target the legs, however the constant movement made landing a strike extremely difficult, and Hostis Ferrum had begun shooting down missiles as they approached.

Luckily, Belphegor was better equipped. During this exchange of firepower, he used his own personal armaments: the Thermobaric Launcher using custom-made Belial Anti-Fortification missiles. The missiles, while lacking the power of an Eclipse Effect, still proved to be extremely potent. Belphegor dropped back to a distance of roughly 300 ft and fired several volleys. The shells showed causing significant damage on the lower torso of Hostis Ferrum, which was significantly easier to strike from Belphegor's lowered position. During the strikes, Raphael and Lucifer had begun an aerial assault against the head of Hostis Ferrum in an effort to distract the creature. This proved to be heavily effective as well, as its coordinated attempts to crush Barreck began suffering as a result. Still, regardless of the firepower, Hostis Ferrum continued forward. Things got hectic as they passed by Lansing.

Military personnel began arrived via adjoining roads, and the sky became a mess of firepower. Conventional bullets were not used due to their failure to deal significant damage, however various eclipse weapons were used as much as possible. Damage to the legs of Hostis Ferrum began showing at this point, however Hostis Ferrum began frantically firing steel rods. In total, nearly 25 military personnel were killed, and 130 were injured. Over sixteen vehicles were demolished, and another 13 were rendered inoperable. Lucifer was struck hard at one point as they passed near Lansing and was rendered unconscious, but was caught mid-fall by Raphael and loaded into a safety compartment of Belphegor's tank. Belphegor was also forced to dodge, as steel rods were fired at him with high intensity, many of which stuck in the ground and stood almost four feet high, making movement dangerous and difficult due to the thickness of the rods and the movement of the tank.

Multiple further attempts were mad for nearly two hours, and it was approaching 12:30 PM. The vehicle Barreck was driving was showing signs of wear from the extended time in high speed, and attempts to stop Hostis Ferrum were not becoming any more fruitful. Despite the attack in Lansing, further attacks did little to stop Hostis Ferrum due to the ferocity of its retaliation. At around this time, the others princes and archangels had arrived near Celina Ohio.

As Hostis Ferrum passed by Grand Lake, Belphegor made a bold move to fire six volleys at the feet of Hostis Ferrum in hopes of throwing it off balance. Firing opposite Barreck, the shots landed, and as Hostis Ferrum was attempting to re-balance from the demolition of its foot, it was struck hard in the side by Satan Gehenna. During this, Beelzebub has created a short-lived barrier spell under Hostis Ferrum's feet, causing it to completely slip and lose balance. The gigantic metal behemoth was brought to the ground for good as it crashed into Grand Lake, and the lake was hailed by missile fire and blasts. As it rose from the water, it burst into a plume of blue smoke and flew into the sky. It was not seen again from this point, although it is known to still be alive.

During this attempt to finally stop Hostis Ferrum, Barreck and Montague had escaped. They had ditched their vehicle nearby, and quickly obtained another from a parking lot, which was also later found ditched behind a restaurant in Indianapolis.

Aftermath
Following the incident, damage to road and infrastructure was estimated to exceed one hundred fourteen million USD, with business suffering another two hundred million. In particular, since Us 127 actually ran through some cities unlike I-75, which did not always directly pass through, damage in cities such as Lansing were particularly serious. The National Guard, and both Ohio and Michigan government were quickly praised for the advanced warning that helped save thousands of lives, as no civilian casualties were ever reported.

A funeral was held in Lansing, Michigan outside the Office of the Great Seal for all officers who died in the attack, and a two hour procession was held to great Lakes National Cemetery using I-69 and I-75, both of which had not been touched during the chase. A monument was erected in their honor, and most were buried with their families in attendance. The burial was held on national television as some of the servicemen were from other locations around the country, and the use of military assets caused notice amongst the United States. Some servicemen were shipped to their home towns and buried in specific plots or locations their families requested, however their names are still on the monument.

Pandora's Box was also praised for their efforts in stopping Hostis Ferrum, although they were also blamed for completely throwing the fleeing Barreck off course onto US 127. Pandora eventually tried to explain that this was due to a communication error, but refused to elaborate. No formal charges were ever filed, and Belphegor, Lucifer, and Raphael were given commendations for their effort and valor in their nearly four hour effort to stop the rampage. After the demolition, Pandora herself donated 150 million to have Michigan roadways fixed, and another one hundred million split between the living servicemen and families of the deceased. They were awarded four hundred and fifty five million by the US Federal Government in thanks for their efforts, and belief that their actions saved a lot of lives.

Part of the highways used were memorialized for the fallen soldiers, and a tourist spot in both Mackinac City where Hostis Ferrum initially appeared, and Celina, where Hostis Ferrum was stopped, were erected.