Vol. 3 Chap. 28 Action and Reaction

Vol. 3 Chap. 28 Action and Reaction

There is one thing everyone knows about demon summoning. Even if you don’t know anything about demon summoning, you know this for the same reason you know not to have sex with a wasp’s nest. There are ideas so intuitively stupid and dangerous most people don’t need the logic spelled out. So even if you don’t know anything about demon summoning, you know you never, ever, summon fire and air demons at the same time.

But then, stupid and dangerous was exactly what Truth was going for. It wasn’t his dick in the nest. A pattern had been carved on the floor of the security room. Infernal glyphs curved along lines and forms whose madness became infectious. The talismans in the duffel had been carefully positioned, the blood of the bank’s defenders gently forced into the lines of the spell.

Thrush perched on a heavy needler on the arms rack. With a minor effort, its magic connected the deep wells of power inside the bank to the summoning formation. The instant the connection was made, it flew hard as it could back to Truth. It didn’t want to stand on the X any more than a human would.

It did bring the heavy needler with it, making sure to grab the one in the best condition. He knew his master, and sucking up to the boss was never dumb.

Truth was doing his best to stick and move, but the golem was built to handle high-level mages. It was keeping up fine, and every cut healed almost instantly. In theory, you could exhaust the magic in it, rendering it inert. In practice, it was connected to the Bank’s deep power reserves. Truth would tire long before the golem did.

“It is done, Great One.”

Truth grunted. He lunged for the Golem’s head. The golem didn’t block, taking the hit and used the opportunity to hack at Truth’s ribs. Incisive warned him it was coming in time, but the saber nearly caught him during his retreat anyway. The damn thing was fast.

There was a sudden overwhelming pressure stabbing into his ears, a boom so loud it became a physical thing. The pain was so crippling he nearly ate the golem’s kick. It didn’t have ears. Truth kicked off the ground hard, launching himself back as fast as he could go.

Abner’s Amble!

The spell loaded up. Each step launched him a dozen meters, giving him distance. The golem would be tethered to the vault, but Truth wasn’t going to hang around and figure out the range. He ran straight out of the building, across the street, and up the side of the building opposite it. The explosion had blown out a lot of windows. He went for one about halfway up, collapsing on the floor as he tried to get his breathing under control. Thrush settled in next to him, putting the heavy needler by his hand. Truth rolled onto his belly and crawled up to the exploded window. Floor-to-ceiling glass on the side of the building. No idea why it was so popular.

“Mission accomplished, master?”

Truth didn’t say anything, his attention held by the demons. The bank was on fire now. Surfaces carefully treated to be fireproof were glowing white hot, the air itself combusting. Some clever bastard demon had punched holes through the ventilation system, turning the whole building into a blast furnace.

Truth... didn’t know they could do that.

He was running out the back of the burning building before the needle crossed the street. He was jumping to the next building over, already swapping in Abner’s Amble, by the time the needle was crossing the bank. He was two blocks away and accelerating by the time an exhausted B-Tier sighed and stepped back, relieved that things had gotten under control.

The heavy needle did what it was designed to do- tiny hole going in, then the far side of the skull exploded outwards, painting the back of the golden bird in blood and gore. His colleagues screamed, anti-material wards snapping into place, eyes frantically searching. Truth was four blocks away when the body hit the back of the bird. He was completely gone, invisible amongst the people, long before someone ordered a search.

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Truth made his way back to the hotel. It wasn’t very far from the bank, but distances got weird in cities. The two kilometers distance might as well have put it on the moon. People were walking around casually, asking each other if they had heard about the fire in the bank. Truth ignored the chattering ghosts and dragged himself into the suite. Stripped, showered, and while he was showering, filled the hot tub.

Black water puddled around his feet. Ash, mostly, and dust. No blood. Nothing had touched him physically. The Golem came close a few times. He had certainly killed an awful lot of other people. But he was only tired, not hurt. The sheer unreality hammered away at him. He had just conducted a massive act of terror... and he was fine. Physically. His head was screaming at him that this was fucked, that this kind of thing couldn’t happen, or at least not like this. But as far as he could tell, for now, he had gotten away clean.

Not that they wouldn’t be hunting him. Oh would they be hunting him! He could practically hear the orders screaming from officers across the city- Find who did this at once! Find them and bring them in front of me NOW!

Well. Between the demons and the cops and the firefighters and the powerhouses, not to mention all the burned down buildings, they could directly forget picking up his aura or other magical traces. Divining him was going to be a pure loser as well. He was keeping the scales up for the foreseeable future. Between that and all his resistances, they could try to divine him all they liked.

He stepped into the tub and just soaked. Just... tried to let the heat warm him. He placed his hand over his heart. Could really use some of your warmth right now, Etenesh. I’m awfully cold. He floated quietly for as long as he could stand, then turned on the scry. It would all be lies anyhow, but maybe there was something of use on there.

Ah. An advertisement for floor cleaner. Same stuff he remembered from convenience store shelves when he was a kid. Oh boy.

The news came on. The presenter was all in black, with black hair and deep, piercing blue eyes. A heartbreaking, waifish beauty, but there was steel to her, resilience. A face that would bruise prettily but would never break. Her makeup team had done wonders with her. He almost felt like applauding.

“Lockdown orders are still in effect across Gwaju as the terrorists remain at large. Reports are coming in from the Greenbaugh district, as suspected terrorists resist arrest. As you can imagine, our brave men and women of the Uniformed Service have no tolerance for terrorist scum, today of all days. We expect reports-” Her head glowed gold for a moment. “We are receiving reports that the Greenbaugh situation has been pacified. No innocent bystanders were harmed, a credit to the skill and professionalism of our heroes in black.”

She brushed a “stray” hair back over her ear, emphasizing the fragile lines of her and the thinness of her wrists. But her eyes remained resolved, and her voice strong. “Citizens are reminded to shelter in place, as the terrorists are still on the loose, and your safety cannot be guaranteed if you are on the streets. The best thing you can do to help is to stay put and report any suspicious activity to the police tip line. Any lead that leads to an arrest is an automatic ten merits. Any that lead to the capture of a ringleader is fifty. Fifty merits for an anonymous tip.” She emphasized the words carefully.

“Once again- by order of the Governor, all residents of Gwaju are to shelter in place. No one may enter or exit the city. We will catch these murderers. Until then, good night, and good luck.”N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.