Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Radium Weaponry

Radium Weapons, also known as Rad Weapons, are deadly and highly dangerous personal weapons that are used exclusively by the forces of the Elsowrd Empire, particularly in the nuke-happy Castanic Nuclear Division. Many weapons wielded by the Luresians are so deadly to the wielder that they're widely condemned by the rest of the Guardians. Their baroque beauty belies a singularly vile function -- not only to strike but to render the battlefield as deadly as the wastelands of Embry.

As dangerous as they are to their wielders, Radium Weapons are far more deadly to the enemy. Armor may repel the solid rounds, but only the most heavily reinforced armor can protect the target from the energy given off by the hyper-irradiated bullets. As more and more shots are fired, the area becomes increasingly saturated with radiation until a localized radiation zone occurs, striking down the enemy with radiation sickness and leaving the ground beneath their feet saturated and lifeless.

Radium Weapons are so volatile that they are rumored to eventually kill their wielders, though the Empire claims that the suits made for the soldiers wielding them and the intense radiation scrubbing they go through after every mission means that none of them suffers from radiation sickness. The specially made hazmat suits worn by the wielders of these weapons, combined with their radiation-leeching equipment and lead-line gear, go some way to protect them from the harmful feedback generated by these weapons, though inevitably some still seep through. Over time their bodies become so saturated with radiation they become weapons themselves, their mere presence enough to leave an enemy soldier reeling with nausea and a hacking cough laced with bloody phlegm. Death follows soon after.