558. Hope Is the Thing With Wings

558. Hope Is the Thing With Wings

“Shoot until nothing’s left!”

“Sustain fire! Bullets to where everything moves!”

Unending roars left the mouths of the Black Wings.

They moved into Syndicate hideouts with a highly disciplined approach.

Squads of up to five or seven were led by their Captains as an encompassing ‘Murder’. Each Murder of Black Wings unleashed streamlined devastation; their bullets seemingly infinite as was their relentless drive.

“GET OUT OF OUR LINE OF FIRE!”

The shout which struck fear into the hearts of friends and foes alike was usually met with someone throwing themselves onto their bellies, their hands clasping their heads. Blistering heat rose from rubble as black boots crushed everything in their wake.

When an enemy fought back with only a single arrow; they were replied with a volley of bullets. When a Healer bled, then the perpetrator was taken alive to the injured Black Wing where they exercised excessive torture.

A Healer capable of violence was the last thing one wanted to get on the bad side on.

“Leave no one standing!”

“Naaaagh!”

“Don’t let them resist!”

“Daaaaaaah!”

“One bullet is all it takes to erase the rot of the Nex Megalopolis!”

“Ghhhk!”

Screams followed the Black Wings like wingbeats.

“They’re underground. Blow it all up! Standard rounds have enough penetration power!”

Bullets hailed down like stray feathers.

“Switch to low-penetrating Entropic Bullets! Dissolve the walls! There are children crying on the other side!”

And they marched as one like a flock of birds, coating the world in black.

The chaos resembled a thunderstorm.

But it was controlled. A chaos which could be seen by outsiders as divine intervention, for these Black Wings descended from the Nexus.

When men and women armed in heavy armor announced their presence, they were taken down with swift shots.

“Doppler Round! Use that bastard like a bomb!”

“You saw what they did to them. They just looked in one direction and people were torn in half in the next second.”

“But you also saw what did for us. They can heal... And kill. Are Healers changing now? Like with what happened to the Nexus?”

“Your guess is as good as ours. For now we can just be thankful we’re not dead.”

“... how are we supposed to live now...?”

This sentiment was shared by them all. Their homes were long gone. Some never had homes to begin with. The shadows of D7 hid a complex socio-economic struggle that even the Golden Index were unaware of. It would also not be a stretch to claim that they were responsible for it.

Suddenly, a warm light filled the darkness of their downtrodden hearts.

“Are you all ok!?” The voice of an angel reached them. It was a Healer in the same uniform as the dangerous Black Wings, but hers was colored white. “Everyone! We have people here!”

A red bag hung from her shoulder like a sling, and her belt was filled with all manners of healing items.

Her cheery voice was pleasant to hear. It had the same resonance as the Black Wings, but hers was so full of love and innocence that it could bring a murderer to repent. She was quickly joined by other Healers, who quickly jogged towards them.

Their bodies were stained with dirt and cuts – proof of their hard work and the fact that they were unwilling to help themselves until they had lent a hand to those in need. Following them were beings that could only be described as parental figures.

Those beings were exactly one Moon and Aspiring Moons of Hora Therapeutics – the Lunar Haruspex and the Lunas, which were the names given to their Aspiring Moons.

The Lunar Haruspex silently observed from a distance, no doubt ready to intervene were someone to even raise their voice at their beloved Healers. The Lunas on the other hand were greatly involved with the Healers, speaking to the bereaved and reassuring them that things would be fine.

“The Head will reimburse all victims and property lost. Of course, the coins will come from the Syndicates first.” A Luna assured them.

“In this place? Even their coins combined will not be enough... I don’t think...”

“Coinage will not be an issue. I can promise that.”

It was not known how the Head was able to produce so many coins. The Treasury – which was held within the highest floor in Time Reverberation’s Headquarters – was accessible to those closest to the Amalgam.

So one had to wonder if the Nexus had a way to generate nothing into coins. Perhaps Nex could be converted into coins. It was a topic for another time, but the truth was that the Head employed the same taboo they sought to eradicate from the Nex Megalopolis.

The Midas Conversion Procedure.

Although this one only transformed criminals into coins.

And of course, only the Amalgam herself could employ this with nothing but her bare hands.

Indeed.

All coins of the Nexus were generated by Frost, and with the number of criminals there were, they had an endless supply of wealth to rebuild the Nex Megalopolis. To not only better the lives of its people, but to bolster the image of the Head as a symbol of hope for people, and fear for its enemies.

The operation came to an end exactly eleven hours after it began, marking the first overwhelming victory of the Head and the power of the Black Wings.