Chapter 158

Chapter 158

There was a momentary stillness, a pause that hung in the air over the entire temple and surrounding plaza. For a heartbeat, all eyes were on the pair that stood atop the collapsed dragon. Even the massive black serpent that had the beast coiled in its grip could only stare in shock at the two. Lillian, Crusader, stood looking down at the enemies below. Her hair fluttered in the wind, one green streak and one red streak dancing like feathers amidst a sea of black. The red and green tattoo on her neck glowed brightly, petals dancing. Her avian eyes blazed with internal energy as she surveyed everything.

She turned her head and looked Marc in the eyes. His bright blue eyes glimmered in response, a golden crown on his head as his spun-gold hair fluttered around him. She quirked her lip a little, it was so strange seeing him. He usually kept to himself so she thought he just didn’t like anybody at the camp, if she was being honest. Perhaps even a little full of himself, “Looks like I get to fight at your side after all,” She said tentatively.

His lip twitched before he brandished a perfect smile at her, “Looks like it,” He said and looked up towards the entrance to the temple, “Injured?”

She glanced up at the top of the steps, reassessing her thoughts a bit. If he’s concerned about the injured, he can’t be all bad. Maybe he’s just a loner. She paused and spotted a small form behind some rubble and smiled, There she is, good. “A few,” She said with a nod before glancing down at the massive serpent head that stared at her from below. She smiled at it, “Hey Alex!” She laughed, “You look good! Put on some weight?” She turned to look at Cass and met her eyes, her smile turned a bit more gentle, “Thank you, for holding out for me.”

She clenched her unblemished fist, her muscles tensing in her arm as power coursed through it. The blockages that she’d felt through her meridians were gone, every cell in her body felt like it was soaring. She felt stronger than she’d ever been in her entire life. Stronger than she’d ever conceive of feeling. Around her, no one spoke, no one breathed. She looked back at Marc and exhaled, “I’d ask what you guys are doing here, but I just really appreciate it,” She said before nodding to him, “Ready to clean up, hero?”

He tilted his chin up a bit and met her gaze, his chest swelling a bit. “You know what? I’d be honored to help,” He said with a firm voice.

She couldn’t help it, she grinned a little at him. Now that’s the right attitude, she thought as the dragon began to rouse from its shock.

The beast beneath them writhed against the force that suppressed it and Crusader glanced at Alex, “Go help the others,” She said with a nod, “We’ve got this.”

“I’ll hold him down!” Another voice joined in from afar and the serpent whipped its head towards Greg, floating up the side of the temple before landing on the steps and making his way to the top. He casually gestured and the group of dire elves that had been ready to charge the top and attack Snow and Ollie were flung away, screaming as they fell to their deaths. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned around to stand stalwart in front of the opening to the temple.

As if his pose was the firing of a starting gun, a roar rose up among the dire elves. The dragon thrashed and Alex dislodged from the beast while Marc and Lily hopped into the air, Cass doubling back several paces and readying her weapon. It staggered to its feet. It could stand but its movements were sluggish. Dazed by losing its wings and suppressed by Gregs powers. Cass shot the two a look before brandishing her hammer and charging with a shout. Alex slithered down the steps to join Val and John who had resumed their fight.

Crusader could only smile as she took it all in, her power building, her internal energy cycling.

Val was like a machine of destruction, he darted from place to place, his body spinning like a top at times. He weaved and bobbed, each punch coming out with the force of a rocket. He crushed armor, smashed defensive spells, ruined weapons, and laid waste to anything that got too close to him. He laughed the entire time, throwing out hoots and whoops as if he was having the time of his life. He launched into the sky, “Faster!” She heard him shout, “Faster! Faster! Faster!” The air began to bubble around his body as he whipped back around and launched straight for the ground.

He let out a roar of triumph as he picked up speed in a matter of seconds. She felt his heart thundering in his chest even from so far away. Her breath caught as he hit the ground and broke the sound barrier at the same time, flashing every rocket in his body to stop himself. A shockwave that ripped out of the point of impact sent a mass of dire elves hurtling through the air. He staggered and fell forward for a moment but caught himself, throwing his fists into the air.

He threw his head back and let out a whoop, “I’m a fuckin’ superhero!”

John twirled the knives between his fingers and moved with a steady rhythm, his body swaying and dipping. Those stiff and jerky movements that he had always used began to melt away as he darted between blades, arrows, and spells. He pivoted and twisted, his body moving at strange and impossible angles. She felt his heart thundering in his chest even as she heard something else, something she’d never heard from him before. A low humming and the occasional chuckle. He swayed and danced and if she didn’t know better she could have sworn she was watching Sonya fight.

He dodged a sword that screamed through the air in his direction as a large dire elf darted towards him. His movements went faster and faster as he engaged in his dance. He threw himself into a backflip before landing on another blade that lashed out at him from behind. He... grinned? His foot snapped out with a kick and caught one dire elf in the head as he threw a knife at its throat. It fell and he hopped atop it, pulling the knife out and rolling before stepping left and right with a casual grace, dodging another pair of swings.

Ewen glanced past him towards the man in armor that had come out near the end. Someone new, I need to tell Liberty.

“Sir Ewen,” Axel grunted and he looked back up at the man as a cold eyed Bedrock approached and stood at his side. Bedrock’s muscles flexed beneath his shirt and several blocks of stone shot up to hold Ewen where he knelt. “You are under arrest,” He said as Madame Rouge started a new song.

–

Ellis tried to get some space, teleporting again through the sound waves. He reappeared a few meters away only for a falcon to screech past him. The birds were even faster now, something was pumping them up. Their eyes all glowed with a golden light as a shriek of some massive bird of prey carried through each of them. One flew past him after another, crashing into him. He waved his hands and tried to bring them together in a clap, one landed at his feet and he whipped his head down to see the chain of his ankle chime get torn.

“No!” He gasped and snapped his arm down just as something hard struck him in the back of the head. He stumbled forward and sagged, the hook of Crowley’s cane pulling his leg out from beneath him. He rolled onto his back and opened his mouth to shriek at the man only for Crowley to burst into a cloud of birds and avoid it. His eyes whipped around, Where’d he go? He looked back down at his ankle and then tried to find his chime. My chimes, I need my chimes! He panicked, scrambling until a powerful hand grabbed him by the shoulders.

He was wrenched to his feet as a drum solo played. He looked up into a pair of burning avian eyes that belonged to a very angry Crowley. There were tears in the hero’s eyes. His lips thinned, “Well shit,” he cursed as Crowley pulled him close. Where the hell is that asshole Halloway? He glanced past Crowley to a prone figure on the ground and couldn’t help but smirk at the irate man. “Guess your bugs can’t heal the dead-”

He was cut off as Crowley's cane drove into his gut and he was thrown to the ground again. It didn’t take long for the avian wielding hero to secure him after that, delivering a crippling blow to his throat. Without his voice and his chimes, he was helpless. More birds darted past, charging into the scattering ranks of the cultists. Amidst the people who were supposed to be their attack force, Black Lotus moved like a wraith in the night. She danced and spun and flipped, glints of silver flickering through the air as each blow landed to incapacitate and disable. She landed in front of a small group and threw her hand forward, the force from the movement enough to send them all bowling over. She drew her weapon back, her blade aligning with her face as her eyes glowed. The scent of blossoms filling the air as she began to spin.

The wind picked up, and pink petals exploded into a storm that washed over the cultists in a wave. They fell in droves as she spun like a hurricane, dust and grass and dirt coiling around her. Lightning flashed overhead as she built up speed. She was like a force of nature, roaring through the ranks with nothing to stop her and not an ounce of reservation in her steps.

Kant watched all this from afar, on her knees, her hands at her sides. Three of the dolls stood around her, their weapons at the ready in case she so much as blinked. She chewed her lip and one of the blades pointed at her shifted. A few meters away, the man in armor held out his hands as more insects floated out from beneath his armor plates. They swarmed out, one even landing on her knee. It was made of metal and it was the stinger that glowed with that eerie green light. She wrinkled her nose at it.

They’re even getting ready to heal us, She thought bitterly. She looked up at the horizon, the color was starting to change. Damn it, Liberty would have come if things had gotten this bad, but she wasn’t there. She hadn’t come.

“We lost,” Was all she could say as the ground shook just ahead of her and something made of smooth stone began to rise out of it.

–

Halloway dragged himself across the ground. He had to get back, he had to get back to Liberty. He had to warn her, he had to deliver the information he’d acquired. He still wasn’t sure where the thumb drive had come from, but it was far less of a concern now. Every bone in his body ached, he barely had enough concentration to use a simple rift let alone suppress teleportation. What is that woman even doing here? I thought she was away! That’s what all our intelligence said, my spies! Idiots! He thought angrily, his ribs creaking. He leaned against a tree and let out a shuddering breath.

He grinned to himself, “At least I chased her off, after she got a swing in. I’m lucky to be alive, though,” He murmured and glanced down at his fingers. A bit of his power was coming back after expending it in the initial tussle. “She grew her head back, it was so fast,” He rumbled. First that Gravitic boy blocking my powers and now Handmaiden is practically unkillable. Why do I keep running into people who are functionally immune to me?

He felt his body go slack for a moment and he lowered himself to his knees, catching his breath. He grit his teeth and concentrated, feeling for Liberty’s presence. She wasn’t far. Just a few miles, he could manage that. He focused on his powers and ripped the largest rift he could open and fell through. He landed amongst trees as the ground shook beneath him. He whipped his head up, adrenaline giving him the strength he needed. He staggered forward only to see two figures clash in the distance.

He was too late. Liberty had been intercepted. There’d be no help for the others. Something was wrong, though. That wasn’t Handmaiden.

“Cassiopeia?”