The swirling vortex of flame does exactly what it is intended to. The scent of burning flesh, Valheim soldiers being cooked inside their own armor, fills the air as they fall to the ground, smoke rising from their bodies, or hurl themselves from the ship and far below. Malina-san's approach worked perfectly.

Flames were exactly what these Valheimr had earned.

---What is [i]that?[/i]

It's a monstrosity. Even laying eyes on it is almost indescribable. I've never seen anything quite of this nature, no matter how many missions I've undertaken to slaughter the invaders' forces. A construct of flesh and blood and steel, a weapon of war created out of both living and nonliving components.

I don't want to lay eyes on it, but there is no other choice. For the sake of completing the mission, I'll assist in its destruction.

---Izayoi-dono is barely heading any kind of reasonable strategy. Perhaps that's even an understatement, she's completely thrown away any sort of plan at all. Can this abominable machine be destroyed by such an approach?

I don't know, but I have to offer as much support as I can manage.

Malina-san would have a point, if we were not in the air and it was not compounded with laughter that made her sound like she had gone insane. Had the sight of the flesh machine tilted her mind in the wrong direction? How are we meant to drown its pilot here?

I cannot worry about such things now. I have to focus on what I can do.

My katana won't reach deeply enough, even in the most fleshy parts of the weapon's anatomy. My kunai, too, aren't destructive enough to hamper the flesh machine's movements.

But the explosives might be enough. At the very least to distract its pilot, or the creature itself, or both. However this monstrosity functions.

First---

The smoke bombs will help obscure the approach of my allies and of the true explosives. I don't know how this construct registers the world around it, but at the moment I have to assume that they will be effective. Three of them hurled upwards towards its head should hopefully assist.

Second---

Bombs at its leg joints. If I can force it to stumble, then we may be able to make some leeway into figuring out how to destroy it. The fuses flare to life as I use my fire materia to set the ablaze, ducking low and hurling the bombs towards the weapon's knees.