Here it comes again!
Stranger Black sensed the spike in power. He’d experienced this change once before, but this time the torrents of energy ran even deeper.
“Then we die together!”
In the midst of his heedless lunge, Cloudhawk’s staff began to whir like a controlled tempest. The mutant’s doughty right arm was there to meet it, but didn’t impede its power in the least. It ripped through the limb and sped right for Stranger Black’s face.
His eyes widened.
“Master, I -“
He never had a chance to finish the thought before his head was obliterated. The power that surged through Cloudhawk pushed his staff straight through the mutant’s arm and reduced his brain to pulp. Like a cyclone, the energy churned all his blood, brain, and bone into an indistinguishable mass and spat it fifty feet into the ruins. Unidentified bits of what remained were spread all over like a gruesome abstract painting.
This churning went on for a full five seconds. Walls in the distant ruins collapsed under the strain.
Cloudhawk felt drained, of energy as well as life. The world began to darken as his head fell back. The wounds in his chest and abdomen were frightful, so bad that his guts were exposed to the air. Cloudhawk had impressive regenerative abilities but these were wounds even the man in black would need time to recover from.
These injuries could kill him!
Artemis sat there, stunned at their mutual destruction. How could there be so much strength and willpower in his adolescent form? In the face of overwhelming odds and certain death, he threw himself at his foe and took the freak down with him!
76 The Final Confrontation
The sweepers were closing in. Longhorn, Vulture, Panther and his fellow conspirators, and twenty sweeper troops… all of them were closing the distance between them and the Bloodsoaked Queen. She was outnumbered and outclassed. What’s more, the black terror that was their airship hung overhead like an ominous cloud. In addition to its heavy firepower, there were scores more sweepers ready to join the fight.
“Don’t waste time. Kill her!”
She was within firing range of the chain gun and a doughty mutant swung it around to aim it her way. Peering down the old-style sights, he fixed the weapon on the nimble figure below and pulled the trigger. Its barrel started to spin and suddenly, a storm of bullets came raining down. Crumbling buildings were blown apart.
The Queen couldn’t escape. It was only be a matter of time before she was cut down by the torrent of hot lead.
The mutant gunner howled in excitement. It was a rare joy and opportunity for a wastelander to slaughter a demon hunter!
The gunfire didn’t stop and in fact seemed to intensify. She couldn’t see anywhere she could escape to in order to evade it.
Crack!
The shot was almost inaudible, drowned out by the screaming chain gun. Suddenly the airship gunner’s head exploded as a sniper bullet ripped through it with pinpoint accuracy. Just as the Queen was about to be peppered with bullets, the airship’s heavy gun fell silent.
“What the hell - ?” Longhorn barely uttered the words before one of the outpost traitors in front of him let out a pained scream. A bullet burst from his back and buried itself in the dirt with a thud. In place of his heart was a gaping cavity. He was dead before he hit the ground.
“Sniper!” Longhorn’s urgent shout rang across the ruins. “Where is he? Find him!”
Snipers were the most dangerous hunters in the Wastelands, but none of the marksmen Snaketooth gathered had joined them here. Somehow, they’d been killed.
That meant there was only one person this could be – Mantis!
He’d slain over a dozen snipers single-handedly, which in itself was a glorious feat. Now, this grim and deadly assassin lurked nearby and with his aid, the Queen was snatched from the jaws of death.
The Queen skidded to a halt and lifted her head. The airship was getting closer. People were struggling to remove the gunner’s corpse and take his place. Soon, the chain gun would come alive again and she’d find herself in the same mortal danger.
She had no choice. She had to go all out!
She grabbed the phoenix gourd tightly in her hand. It spat a roaring flame that spread out like a huge fiery lotus, belching light and heat from its center. Even those who’d never witnessed such a thing immediately recognized its power.
As the Queen screamed toward the fire, a phoenix of tremendous scale slowly formed. The bird she summoned this time was larger and stronger than ever before, wreathed in power and a regal aura.
Longhorn knew what she was going to do. “She’s attacking the airship! Stop her!”
Vulture sprang into action, launching into the air. But he was too late.
An outpost marksman clambered up to the top of one of the ruins. A gun in each hand, he leveled them both at the Queen. She was absorbed in using the relic and wouldn’t see his shots coming.
But before he could fire – crack! A shot came from the side, drilling through one temple and zipping out from the other [1]. He didn’t even react. His brain ceased to function before he knew what had happened. But the shot came at a cost, for Mantis had just revealed his location to the others. Seven or eight of the sweepers rushed his way, trying to surround him.
Now that he was discovered, he couldn’t offer any further support. The Bloodsoaked Queen was on her own.
Vulture shot at her and arrived just as the thunderous cries of a bird shook the earth. Stricken faces were lit by holy fire as the phoenix flung open its wings. Its fifteen foot wingspan pushed it into the air.
The living fire was larger than ever before, and more real. It was covered in flaming plumage that enhanced its awe-inspiring image. Stately and prideful, it towered over the area like an immortal.
The phoenix started by belching an orb of fire, keeping Vulture at bay. Then, it rose into the air amidst the sounds of crackling flame and waves of blistering heat. The air around it was warped from the intensity, like it was being burned in the fires of Armageddon. Its cries promised death and ruin to the world.
By now, another mutant had taken up the chain gun, just in time to feel the suffocating heat bear down on him. Then… everything was consumed by fire. He cried out in terror and tried to escape, but it was too late.
It was an endless deluge of fire, first charring him black before consuming the ash left behind. The heat was so intense even the chain gun barrels turned red, showing signs of melting. A short time later, all the bullets and gunpowder exploded.
BOOM -- !!
From the perspectives of those below, they witnessed the giant bird tear through the sky, leaving a wake of flame behind its brilliant tail. Like a fiery comet, it seared across the horizon and ultimately erupted once it hit the center of the airship. In a moment, all the hodge-podge of materials that comprised it was ruined. Acrid black smoke traced an arc through the sky as the vehicle smashed into the ground in a second explosion. Smoldering debris pelted the area.
The Bloodsoaked Queen had destroyed their airship in a single attack! Power like that should have been impossible from a mere human! Was this the legendary power of the demon hunters?
Her greatest threat had been dealt with and only two of the demon’s three henchmen were nearby. Two of the outpost’s traitors had been dealt with. An insurmountable fear filled the hearts of the sweepers.
It was the perfect time to fight back.
Her agile form was on the move. The Queen’s powerful legs catapulted her off a nearby boulder and sent her tumbling like a cannonball towards her foes at an oblique angle. Her target was Panther.
For better or worse, Panther was one of the outpost’s apex warriors. When he saw her coming, he hurriedly swiped at her with his daggers. To the average person, he was almost too fast to follow, but to the Queen, he was ordinary at best. She whirled around his dagger effortlessly and lightly placed her hand on his chest.
“AAAGGGHHH- !!”
A bloodcurdling
scream bubbled up in his throat and was quickly snuffed out. The power of the Burning Angels set his heart on fire and the flames could be seen flickering from his eyes and throat. In his final moments, Panther’s body exploded and coated the area with burnt innards.
Of the eight mightiest soldiers in the Greenland Outpost, Artemis was the only one who remained.
As Longhorn and Vulture watched, their faces turned to frightened scowls. It was unfathomable that the demon hunter could escape from what should have been her assured destruction. She must have used most of her energy, but the damage to their sweeper forces was astronomical. Now, with their brother absent, the difficult task of defeating this hateful woman fell to the two of them.
Standing amidst Panther’s remains, the Bloodsoaked Queen felt a wave of exhaustion sweep through her. She’d depleted her energy and knew that if the remaining sweepers surrounded her, she might not be able to kill her way free.
She had to take care of their leaders.
“Almighty God, grace me with your blessing.”
Uttering a quiet prayer, the Queen grasped the cross around her neck. A white light, holy and pure, emerged to form a luminous sword. She gathered all the power she had left.
Vulture screeched apprehensively. “Go! Stop her!”
The sweepers were hesitant. The Queen rose like a wraith from the ruins, her feet never touching the ground as she swept right by them. In a blink, she hovered above Longhorn with both hands held high, saintly blade aloft.
Blood red eyes stared back at her and Longhorn bellowed a challenge like a wild animal. Muscles bulging, he tore a three-ton boulder from the ground nearby and flung it at her.
The light of her holy sword flared. The boulder was cleaved perfectly in half.
Signs of internal injury were beginning to show from the Queen, but her attacks were sturdy. She summoned the might of her holy sword of light with indomitable force. No living thing could stand unscathed before it – not even Longhorn’s metal flesh and iron bones.
In this decisive moment, a shadow appeared in the sky near her. Vulture launched an attack, waving his dual machetes, heedless of the danger. He didn’t fear the holy light or the sword it formed. In fact, it was his target. Even if he was cut in two in the end, he was going to open this demon hunter’s throat!
Longhorn screamed from below, “Third brother! No!”
The Bloodsoaked Queen swung her blade around to meet the young lieutenant. When his machetes met her sword, they shattered like glass. The collision did not stop her arms. She whirled around, the light of her sword carving out a brilliant circle in the sky that swept right through Vulture’s waist and wings.
The demon’s soldier slowly split in two.
He wasn’t afraid, only angry and resolute. His swords were destroyed but he still had his talons. Vicious and stubborn, he groped for her arms, desperately fighting even though he only had half a body.
Vulture was born a mutant.
He had no name, no parents he knew of, no companions.
He had nothing until the master came and liberated him. Until then lahe’d been shackled, kept as a caged pet in some outpost. The leader of the camp treated him like a humanoid bird and raised him as a monster.
If he hadn’t met the master or his brothers, he’d have no reason to live. He would never had known what freedom or dignity was. He would have spent all the rest of his life in darkness, treated like a monster.
“Second brother! Kill her! Kill her!”
He clung to the Bloodsoaked Queen with the remains of his body, both of them crashing into the ground. Longhorn came running at them and lashed out. His punch landed on Vulture, its force ripping through him and into the Queen.
Die, you hateful demon hunter! Die, you self-righteous zealot! And fuck you, fate!
The Queen coughed a mouthful of blood as she was knocked into the air. With what power remained in her, she focused it into her right arm and swung her sword. The weapon dissolved into a cutting wave of holy light that swept through Longhorn like a burning glaive.
Longhorn’s face was painted with a complex and bitter expression.
… They had lost!
1. The author describes it using an acupuncture point – Tai Yang, or Utmost Yang – but as it’s in the center of the temple I used the more recognizable anatomical description instead. Tai Yang is a point used for certain kinds of headache and excess conditions in the head – although one might expect it to be often used, it rarely is because the patients find it too sensitive.
77 I Want Your Life
Leonine chased and fought Hydra through the oasis. Hydra had been shot twice by snipers and had tasted his brother’s poisoned knife. He was weak, too weak to fight.
But he kept running.
Leonine kept chasing.
They kept it up for over an hour.
Leonine hacked at Hydra with his sword, fierce and angry. Hydra juked to the side and met the hysterical attack with his dagger. The two weapons collided and neither budged.
Hydra was in a sorry state. Half of his body was soaked in fresh blood, and the loss had turned him pale and weak. His breathing was quick, haggard – he was in no condition to defend himself. He was only still standing because he was ten times stronger than a normal man.
The outpost leader was more ferocious than ever and he glared at Leonine through his glowing red eye. Face twisted, he growled at him through gritted teeth. “You think you can kill me, you piece of garbage?”
Leonine heaved his strength into his sword, slowly pressing it closer to Hydra’s throat and worsening his wounds. He growled back. “Your plan is ruined, Hydra. The Outpost is finished. You are finished!”
“The outpost is mine! No one can take it from me. No one!” He was so filled with rage his whole body shook. The veins in his head and neck bulged red and throbbed like earthworms. He summoned a burst of strength and pushed Leonine away. “Fuck off!”
Leonine stumbled back and caught himself by burying his sword in the ground. He was shocked Hydra still had the strength to fight back! The outpost leader’s wounds were beyond severe, and after an hour of racing through the oasis, they’d only gotten worse. He’d lost a lot of blood. But Leonine had underestimated Hydra. He had to be stronger than ten men. He wasn’t going to fully recover from his injuries, but they weren’t fatal yet. Snaketooth’s poison was already starting to dissipate so he was regaining some measure of strength.
Leonine grit his teeth and heaved his saber. It wrenched free of the earth, kicking up a cloud of soil that pummeled Hydra. He used it as cover to rush forward and hack at Hydra’s head.
Too slow!
Hydra saw every grain of sand, every spot of soil, and where it would all land. Behind them he saw the nuances of Leonine’s every movement and their weakest points. He took half a step to the side, enough to have the slaver’s blade sweep harmlessly past his face. Meanwhile, his dagger darted out and struck the broadsword in just the right spot. The metal rattled as Leonine’s weapon was knocked aside. An opening in his form revealed itself to Hydra’s snake-like eye.
Leonine was a battle-hardened veteran and used the rebound force of his sword striking a tree to bring it back around for another wild slice. Leaves and shrubs rustled in its passage.
Hydra’s daggers rotated, flipping backward in his grips.
He deflected the blow while dashing forward, his daggers grinding against the sword and sending sparks flying everywhere as he advanced. Hydra ducked, the slaver’s sword passing by inches overhead. He spun his daggers, completing a full rotation while springing back up. He gripped the hilts, bringing the daggers swiftly and fiercely down on Leonine’s chest. They cut through two thick layers of armor and embedded themselves in Leonine’s body.
The slaver’s broadsword hit the ground with a thud.
Leonine’s eyes were wide as saucers. He couldn’t believe what he saw. He clung to Hydra’s wrists, too late to stop him from digging the daggers in deeper, inch by inch.
> “Do you feel… despair? Terror? Rage?” Hydra was soaked in sweat, a twisted and insane grin on his face. “This isn’t enough. Not nearly enough!”
Hydra yanked his daggers free, and as Leonine stumbled forward, he swept around behind. One dagger severed both of Leonine’s Achilles tendons and sent him to his knees.
“It’s my custom to cut traitors apart, piece by piece. But I don’t want to kill you today. Do you know why?” Hydra’s chest heaved like a mad bull. He could hardly stand straight. In the midst of his madness, he was never more like a demon. “Because that would be letting you off too easily. I want you to learn what real pain is. What real despair is.”
“No… no!”
Leonine understood. He watched Hydra’s hideous grinning face disappear into the jungles. His right leg was already useless and when he tried to pull himself forward using his sword, the slaver collapsed back to the ground.
“Hydra, you motherfucker, get back here! Fight me!”
He wailed into the trees, a scream full of fury and anguish that echoed through the oasis like the cry of an impotent beast. He pulled himself step by agonizing step towards the outpost.
If he could choose, he would’ve chosen to die with Hydra. He would’ve chosen to end his own life rather than risk theirs. But now… now, there was nothing he could do!
With the image of Hydra’s psychotic face in mind, Leonine struggled for fifteen minutes before exhaustion overcame him. There was rustling from the undergrowth. Glossy green eyes stared at him.
These were dangerous wilds, where mutant leopards hunted. They had jutting fangs, sharp as swords, like that of saber-toothed tigers, and now they circled a wounded prey waiting for the moment to pounce.
Suddenly, a dagger whistled through the air and planted itself into one of the creatures’ eyes.
The Wastelander Page 56