Chapter 55: Gloria

Chapter 55: Gloria

James barely read the text. With death about to fall upon them all, he instinctively chose Heavens Assault.

The text faded.

Awareness arose within him as to the Benedictions nature: by expending a significant amount of his divine power reserve, as determined by his Arete, he could drop a blast of divine fire upon his enemies from above.

Time seemed to slow. Even with the noise-canceling headphones the roar of countless guns was overwhelming. Nem2s were falling upon them all, arm-blades extended wide, some being torn apart by the guns as they descended, but too few were being killed, far too few.

Yadriel had stepped forward, palm extended, his lips drawn back in a snarl, to siphon black smoke from the wave falling upon them. The Shields were yelling, their hands also extended, shimmering walls of force striving to hold back the horde.

Heavens Assault.

It was already empowered by Gloria, whatever the fuck that was, but James couldnt risk it being insufficient: he tapped an Aeviternum and poured that righteous might into the Benediction as well.

With a hoarse cry, James unleashed the first Heavens Assault ever deployed across the whole planet and felt the Aeviternum empower the blast instead of half of his well of divine power. The Aeviternum funneled through him like a river of white fire, and he unleashed his new Benediction.

A bolt of lightning fell from the overcast skies, as thick as an ancient oak tree, a writhing mass of resplendent silver shot through with scintillating gold that James understood instinctively was the gloria. For a moment everything was reduced to shocking white and stark black shadows as thick as ink, and then a blast of power exploded out from the lightning blast, washing over the entire block, pouring over the tank, Crimson Hydra, the Rangers, the cars, the buildings.

Every Nem2 within the blast radius was instantly reduced to the finest ash.

The thunderous roar echoed off down the avenue, the light vanished, and James blinked, his whole body shaking from the expenditure of power.

Every Nem2 within a square block was gone. Even the ones about to overwhelm Ebon Hydra, all gone but for fine smudges hanging in the air.

Holy shitballs, said Serenity, turning to stare at him. Was that you? Then she blinked and stared off into the distance.

I need a new gun! shouted Becca, voice harsh. More incoming and mines too hot!

Everybody was staring at James, though, who was feeling plenty stunned himself. Nobody was hurt. The Heavenly Assault hadnt affected anything but the Nem2s.

But Becca was right. Even though James had just nuked - what - several hundred of them all at once? Even more were coming at them.

All right, said Serenity, her grin shaky. Now this Benediction I can live with. She holstered the Sig, reached down and lifted the Ma Deuce, and aimed it from the hip again.

I need to load it! said the Ranger whod been helping her.

No longer necessary, hon. Serenity leaned back, cocked her hip, and opened fire.

The Ma Deuce erupted, white bolts of pure Smite hurtling through the air in an unending stream. They tore through the ranks of the Nem2s, hitting just as hard if not harder than the 50 Cals, and she raised and wove the gun back and forth, spraying the walls with the ammo.

Which didnt end.

James just stared, transfixed, until his radio squawked to life again. Kelly! You there, man? Star Boy sounded frantic. 33rd and Broadway is fucked!

On it, said James, and ran back toward the Rangers.

But in the confusion of battle he ran before their line of fire. Most put up their guns in exasperation, but a couple of rounds buzzed past his head and he felt something punch him in the arm.

Jesus Christ! shouted their burly sergeant. Look where the fuck youre going!

James stared at his arm. The bullet had punched clean through his bicep. The pain was dull and distant. He grimaced and burned Aeviternum. White fire sluiced over him, the pain disappeared, the bullet hole sealed over, and he immediately felt refreshed.

The Rangers gaped.

I need transport!

For a second the closest Rangers continued to just stare at him, then one blinked and pointed to where three matt black motorbikes stood. Take a Zero!

James ran over to the bikes. They had a dirt bike look to them, no exhaust pipes, the tires massively treaded. He threw a leg over, pushed the bike upright and thumbed the red power switch.

The bike didnt rumble or cough or anything. It thrummed, sure, but that was it. The thing was quiet.

James twisted the throttle and the bike burst forward. He leaned forward and eased up the acceleration. The bike shot down 33rd Street, silent as a whisper, the air plastering Jamess beard against his chest, the old thrill of riding a bike coming roaring back. James squinted at the distant intersection. It felt like riding along the base of a slot canyon, weaving between the cars, the bike responding smoothly to his every command.

He was getting himself one of these.

Toward the end of the huge block his felt his Blessings fade away.

Guess there was a range to them after all.

The position up ahead was overrun. Soldiers were firing their M4s frantically at the Nem2s that were all around them, screaming as they went down. Crimson Griffin and Ivory Hydra were meant to be holding this spot, but James couldnt see them - just swarming demons.

Fuck, he hissed, and rode the Zero right into the maelstrom.

Another slew of Nem2s died.

Guns roared, someone was shouting, and shields appeared around him, shimmering and keeping pace, then three Blessings dropped on him, boosting his stats by +15 each.

If he survived this madness he was going to buy Crimson Griffin a chocolate cake.

Hed always been decent on a motorbike, but now with his Agility hopped up to 20 he felt like a Motocross champion. He twisted the handlebars, tapped the breaks, accelerated around a planter, and unleashed a third Sacred Strike.

Another six or seven Nem2s withered in his burning light, several ashed as they hurled themselves upon his aura, and looking back over his shoulder he saw that hed blunted the overwhelming assault once more.

Good luck! he roared to Griffin as he angled the Zero back down 33rd, and saw the man raise his fist into the sky.

James opened up the throttle and tore back down the narrow street, enjoying the Agility 20 while it lasted and navigating the obstacles like a motherfucker, everything clear and simple and easy.

His home intersection was still standing. Even as he emerged from the street into the intersection a Killer Egg came buzzing down into view to strafe 33rd Street beyond 5th, alleviating the pressure on Ebon Hydra.

James slowed, the Ivory Hydra blessings fading, and came to a stop.

Serenity was still going to town, just raking her Ma Deuce back and forth, the sinews in her forearms standing out like pylons, endless burning bullets roaring forth from the six-foot gun to mow down the Nem2s over and over again.

James raised an eyebrow. The Rangers were watching, practically gaping, and even Beccas scowl had faded to one of wide-eyed awe.

She been doing this since I left? James asked Joanna, who stood with her hands on her hips, her black singlet putting her impressive musculature on display.

I dont think theres any stopping her, said Joanna. Maybe we should head over to Ebon Hydra?

James looked across the intersection. Ebon was still going at it, both Ma Deuces roaring, but the pressure on them seemed to be lightening.

Bjrn walked over. Hey, wheres Yadriel?

Fuck, said James, scanning the crowd. You serious?

The kids a liability. We dont understand his power, and each time he uses it he goes haywire. Bjrn scowled. We should put out a warning about this Benediction. Feels like more of a curse than anything else.

Jason drew closer, his eyes still trained on the fight raging down 5th Ave. I saw him take off. He drew in that black mist, and then he must have leveled because he turned into a demon and ran into the fight.

James, Joanna, and Bjrn all turned to stare at him.

He turned into a demon, said James flatly.

The Abrams jerked, revolved in place, and its machines guns opened fire, their barrels burning with Smite.

Yeah, said Jason, frowning defensively. What could I do? He ran down the avenue that way, turned on 34th. He was hard to track. Kept disappearing into shadows.

Well shit, said James. I dropped the ball there. But we need him for our synergy. And James recalled their conversation the night before. Theres got to be a reason for this. We have to trust the system.

The system that started a demon apocalypse? asked Joanna, sounding halfway amused. Interesting choice.

All around them the gunfire was starting to ease off.

Woo! shouted Serenity, raising the Ma Deuces barrel to a forty-five degree and easing off at last. Now thats a kick!

Hold on, said Bjrn. I just leveled. Novitiate 1. Terrify, Arete Boost, and Zeal. Huh.

Terrify? Joanna looked him up and down. We sure thatll work on the demons and not us?

Im going to hold off for now, said Bjrn. With the fight ending - it does look like its ending - Im going to wait for others to make choices first and see what each Benediction does.

Olaf strode up, his axe propped over his shoulder, its blade gleaming and clean. I was going to complain about this only being a gun fight, but - watch. And he extended his arm, spread his fingers, and a burning white circle of protection seared itself into existence, easily eight yards in diameter. I like it!

Finally, said Joanna. Id missed that thing.

James thumbed his radio on. Star Boy, this is Kelly. Looks like the assault on our position has come to a close.

Kelly, this is Star Boy. First, I love you. Second, Im getting similar reports from all quarters. Not all of it is good news, though. Looks like weve lost some good people today. Four symbols were completely overrun. Weve managed to extract folks, but its not looking good.

Everybody around James tensed up, stared at him. Star Boy, which teams did we lose?

Intel isnt 100% yet, but two of the symbols were army, and two were ours. Looks like we may have lost Manticore, Yeti, and Wraith, along with the support squads, with only Ivory Yeti having gotten out.

James just stood there, allowing that to sink home. Eight teams. Seventy-two good people.

Gone.

Fuck, he whispered, and raised his gaze to meet that of his shocked companions. Fuck.