Chapter 1042

Chapter 1042: Wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Enough trauma, enough tragedy, enough pain. Stephanie with a troubled look forced a smile. ‘No more,’ cried her thoughts – the little boy held his own, the expression devoid of humanity or life. “-What is it?” she tapped a nearby seat, signaling the boy, who, without much effort strode and dropped. Yellow pupils, ‘-peculiar,’ came a gulp, ‘-what is wrong with him?’

Away from the reluctant interview – Chiad’s cityscape rose as jagged edges over the horizon. Toppled buildings and chaos – the joint army, of which the vanguard was led by Old Cray, threw their weapons on their shoulders and proudly smirked.

“Gentlemen, Chiad has been conquered,” proclaimed a buffed officer. His accolades responded with sighs of relief, “-let the Sadians have their share of fun. Send news to headquarters. Operation Cracker, arguably the most elaborate scheme devised by the Joint alliance, detailed a step-by-step process of capturing the Revolutionist faction’s best-kept secret. The location of GateSix’s headquarters.

“Enemy reinforcement,” echoed, the battle resumed anew, and this time – the allies were forced into defense.

A pin-drop silence settled, “-I killed my parents,” added the little boy, “-I killed them.”

“What do you mean, kill them?”

“I used an ax at night. They slept peacefully. I snuck into my father’s room, rose my arm, and went for his neck. He didn’t die at first... there was life in his eyes, I saw him wake up in confusion. The blood gushed so quickly it sprayed. I saw my father leave his body, the recognition faded when I hammered again. It’s hard work, I don’t know how they cut heads so easily in movies.”

.....

The crew eerily stepped away. ‘-A knife,’ came in her peripheral, ‘-this kid is crazy,’ she gulped, ‘-should I run or listen,’ one side caution, the other, curiousness.

“Mother too,” the boy added loudly, “-I killed mother too. She slept in the living room. They fought. The tv played my favorite cartoon. I rose my hand again and saw my shadow over her body. I stopped at first. The good times my mother and I shared made me smile. I smiled. But, when the voice said to kill, I dropped the ax and missed. I hit her face and caught her eyes, so I raised the weapon as hard as I could and hit her neck. I didn’t get to see mother’s eyes fade; I saw her breathing stop and her arms fall.”

“How did you come here?”

“A strange man brought me here,” he side-glanced, “-he told me to kill you,” they locked eyes for a split second, he darted for the silver blade, ‘-shit,’ she pushed off the table and fell, flipping over at the last second and barely missed her cheek. * Smack,* a quick elbow pushed the kid off balance, the crew hastened to the door and tapped, “-HELP!” they screamed. Yellow eyes circled by white slowly drowned in black, the features greatened into those of a monster, the door barged, he drooled. “-FIRE AT HIM!”

Bullets blasted a deafening explosion, the leading guard rose his palm, Stephanie managed to crawl behind the soldiers, and they approached the body slowly. Countless bullets riddled the opposing wall – the body was torn to shred; assault rifles had a habit of tearing through flesh.

“Are you guys, okay?”

“Yeah, we are,” added Stephanie, “-who’s that kid?”

“We don’t know.”

“Hold on,” gritted one closest to the body, “-he’s moving,” and indeed he was. The boyish appearance left, giving rise to a monstrosity of many arms and fewer legs. Yellow burnt vibrantly as the torso expanded twice the size of any normal human, “-FIRE!” the projectiles pinged and ricocheted, “-STOP!” a misfire hit the cameraman’s right thigh.

“HEY, HEY!”

The camera tipped, “-MY LEG!”

“Get out of here!” ordered the soldiers, “-NOW, GET OUT,” magical chants spoke in tongue, a submissive hue whelmed the room. A trail of blood swept the hallway, Stephanie hopelessly pulled her crewmate. *Crash,* a black uniform went through the door, through the window, and into the outside compound. Another crash persisted, “-I’LL KILL YOU, ” growled gutturally, “-I WILL KILL YOU,” the stomps shook the compound.

Sirens blazed the compound, “-the refugee camp,” went across intercoms. A beast charged, “-sorry,” gritted the cameraman, a flash of light caught the beast, it slipped on the blood and crashed through the windows, taking many panes. “-LEAVE, NOW!” he forced her grip, “-GO NOW!”

Kill or be killed, “-good luck.”

“Blasted humans,” came muffled growls, the fuzzy vision returned, ‘-where are they?’ he scanned, the trail turned left, he grabbed a doorway and pulled, flinging him across, “-WHERE ARE YOU,” it barged into the next room and roared, “-WHERE ARE YOU!”

Nothing, *-huff, puff,* nothing save empty bloodied trousers. The stomps rampaged, further along, breaking through walls and killing without discrimination. ‘-I survived,’ blood yet flowed, ‘-but for how long...’ the outside faded.

“Cameraman,” a strong grip lifted his chin, “-look at me.”

“Officer Charles... please help Stephanie, a demon...” the head dropped.

Charles rose his head at the open window, “-Tend to him,” he ordered, a medic hastily attended to the wounded. Quick on his feet, the officer calmly observed the hallway, ‘-broken windows, dead soldiers, and a trail of blood. He must have used his blood as a diversion. Bold move in a time of crisis. These’ reporters know how to act.”

“Report, Officer Charles.”

“Speak.”

“A demon beast was spotted north of the compound. Our soldiers are on the move. Shall I order the guards to intervene?”

“No, this might be a trap. Order our soldiers to reinforce the gates and mount our weaponries. A demon beast got through security, there may be more to this fight.”

“Report,” came another through radio, “-bullets do not affect the demon beast.”

A sort of sadistic grin unraveled, “-where are the other officers?”

“Left for Chiad half an hour ago.”

“Good,” he turned at the frightened refugees, “-good timing means one thing, we will be under attack.” And by an extremely low probability – an aerial scan conducted by Phantom’s intelligence system revealed unidentified troops moving towards the camp through the village. Marksmen immediately opened fire, “-and there,” said the officer with a sword in hand, “-that’s the sound of Knightfall. Eliot’s on the job, have him take command and call Phantoms, we have a demon to kill,” the blade flared in the sun, “-a hunt at last,” he licked the edge.

Eliot, wielder of Knightfall, calmly laid on his stomach and fired. The weapon’s apparition sat translucently with cross legs hanging off the walls, “-another one few meters away,” she yawned, and he fired.

“Lord Eliot, you’re in command.”

“Good,” he paused and fired, “-have word sent to headquarters. We’re under attack. It’s most likely a half-hearted attempt to take the village.”

News reached home; Hidros. Minerva’s team worked tooth and nail, “-WHERE IS IGNA!” her office reverberated, “-we need his approval to send in the big guns. Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Medusa shrugged, “-I’ll go to the palace at once. Have Elixia and éclair take a look. What would they know, their king quietly laid underneath the willow on the hill. A pleasant breeze swayed the palace garden, and a lovely blue sky scattered by peaceful spots of white flowed.

“Majesty...”

“Medusa,” he smiled, “-how goes it?”

“We need help.”

“Help?”

“Yes, we need help. Our connections to Iqeavea are being interrupted. Another entity joined the surveillance race. They might have their own devices in orbit... what are your orders?”

“My orders?” he summoned an apple-shaped crimson orb and bit, “-do they matter?”

“Please, my liege, lady Minerva desperately needs assistance. Too many factors at play.”

“What about Elixia?”

“She’s not here, nor is éclair. A diplomatic mission to the new continent. The ministers have their hand tied after the death of Carla Remington.”

“Ahh,” he sat up straight, “-the Remington share a good relationship with our household. Why was I not informed?”

“Majesty, you only just returned. We didn’t want to impose much.”

“As you please. I will see to the fighting,” an interface lit, “-let’s see how it goes.”

Iqeavea, the village of Jinhe; a growing battlefield for the strong. “-No matter how fast you fire, we can’t contain them.”

“I appreciate the input,” he fired, “-would be nice to have options instead of observations.”

An explosion south shocked the compound, gunfire rattled, “-south gate breached!”

“Fu-”

“... Testing, testing, can you hear me?”

Time slowed, “-listen carefully and breathe. Jinhe is surrounded by a force of at least ten thousand. Vanguard has already infiltrated the village. Press the offensive and hold out for five minutes, an airstrike is on its way. Retreat Westward to the border. Reinforcement is on its way from Hols. The refugees take priority – lead them through the forest, those who can’t move, I apologize,” the message came loud and clear. Eliot got to organizing the teams whilst defending from the north. The breach south, a human bomb.

The mysterious voice saw things the fighters didn’t. ‘-Pulled quite the bait and switch. We go after GateSix, they go after supplies stacked in Hols. Jinhe’s the first step. Judging by the numbers and weaponry, they have tanks – that won’t last long. There’s also a threat of artillery. The topography favors them on the hill. Getting rid of the threat is a priority,’ orders for a bombing run was placed, coordinates assigned and bombers dispatched, ‘-that’ll wipe out the Vanguard. Can’t risk moving towards Chiad, situation dire as is,’ the interface wrote, ‘-contacting Charles’.

A team of strangely dressed soldiers came upon the bottom of a cliff. Stephanie backed herself into a corner – the jungle was thick and unforgiving if left to a single man. “He opened the way for us,” came a smug expression.

“Found, you.”

Her frightened act dropped, “-there we are,” her voice firmed, “-a demon beast. Follower of Artanos?” she asked with a tilt of the head, “-we had suspicion of your involvement.”

“Who are you?”

“A special order created by his majesty, Glarios. We belong to a subfamily of the Nightwalkers,” her canines sharpened, “-though we don’t feast on blood – our abilities come from a realm, not of Orin.”

“Glarios, never heard of it.”

“Of course, you haven’t,” she winked, “-no one’s ever survived.”

Twigs cracked, and five more approached, “-I see the reporter has secrets of her own.”

“Look who’s talking,” she winked, “-Exorcist.”

“By the holy name of Syhton, I welcome the compliment.”

“Likewise,” she curtsied, “-shall we?”

“ENOUGH!” a force of a thousand men grounded the beast – a cylinder of pure power came from Stephanie, her palms seemingly pushed against an invisible form, the latter being the cage’s representation.

*By the might of our holy goddess, we cleanse thee, impurities brought from the undercoat of hell and its’ associates. We shun thee in her holy name. As the sword of Reknus struck the heart of Meho, we call upon Tsukio, the blade of the eternal,* a sword of gigantic proportions split the sky and struck the beast. The engraved runes glowed menacingly.

“YOU WON’T-”

Stephanie winked, the Shadow Realm’s symbol, a dulled halo, floated and pulled the demon out of existence. Dust and remains – clockwork soldier’s core fell harshly. The eyes met, both acknowledging the other’s powers. “Charles and Stephanie, heed my call, thy master demands for thy presence.”

“Master?” she fell on her knees whilst Charles scratched his head.

“Exorcists, thy expertise is needed in Chiad,” the voice cut, thus focusing on Stephanie.

The robed individuals vanished soon after, “-Stephanie, my dear Stephanie, how is the world treating you?”

“My master, it is very saddening. Especially the role you’ve assigned. I’m forever grateful but...”

“Orin is a far cry from home. As chosen, you asked and I bestowed. Thus, thy blessing of experiencing the world from which I hail. I grant thee limited access to your powers – head into Jinhe and help in the evacuation,” he paused, a tremor slithered under, “-there it is, the airstrike. Perfect, Stephanie, have fun, my dear.”

“It will be my honor,” her crest glowed – the half-complete pentagram summoned a temporary circle. Fuse lit, by which as time passed, the circle clicked as if a watch, ‘-onward to death.’

.....