“Father wishes for you to return to your realm, to leave Eden be, and to avoid any further bloodshed.” Michael delivered the demands with the confidence of commanding the most powerful army in existence.
“Those are the demands of a tyrant, Brother.” Satan answered calmly. “He wants no one to challenge his rule or to be free to make their own choices. Don’t you remember how this all started,” Satan pointed at Seere and Lucifer. “A simple case with a simple premise. Why can’t we, his angels, make our own decisions?” He looked back at Michael. “When he got a displeasing ruling he cut out the judge’s eye and stripped him of his authority. If you ask me, that sounds pretty tyrannical to me.”
“Don’t try to twist the issue, Brother.” Michael countered. “You’ve always craved power. You’ve never been content with being Father’s right hand. You needed to be God. That is what this is all about. You’re quest for power,” he gestured at Lucifer and Seere, “and you took many of our brothers and sisters with you into the Pit when you failed.”
The two ætherial beings stared at one another for several tense seconds.
“I see that we will not come to an agreement.” Michael looked genuinely sad.
“I agree.” To everyone’s surprise Satan shared the sentiment.
“May the best man win, Brother.” The two men shook hands and walked to join their respective sides.
She couldn’t characterize it any other way. The Apocalypse was here, and it was about to kick off with a bang.
The Beginning of the End
The battle lines were drawn as Michael and Satan walked calmly to their respective sides of the gym. The heavy-hitters stood on the frontlines: Seere, Lucifer, and Satan against the two archangels. Gerry was in the second line. The Dux line. Lucian’s perception of what was going on around them had narrowed considerably. He had his mind fixed on the thirty-foot Emmanuel. Behind him were his lieutenants and Vicky’s people.
They all looked ready to shit their pants.
They might be the big bads in Charlotte, but this was several orders of magnitude outside their wheelhouse. Even Gerry was outclassed. He was standing among titans and he was a very fragile man in comparison.
He wasn’t going to willingly sacrifice himself. He wasn’t suicidal, but he needed to be ready to take risks to win. A flexible mindset helped with that. He reached deep within himself – to the core of his being – and pulled.
His true Infernal form tore through his feeble mortal flesh and replaced it with hard Infernal Iron. His height exploded upward until he was standing slightly higher than Emmanuel.
He hadn’t had many chances to fully transform since arriving in Charlotte since he had to be in his warded penthouse to even think about it. Those few times he did, he made sure to remember what he’d heard – what felt like a lifetime ago – in the Carver’s chambers: his Infernal form was a blank canvas that he could mold to his will. He’d though it had been perfection back then, and he’d been wrong.
Instead of smooth metal with blue light shining from the crevices in the armor, he’d made some alterations. Spikes adorned the armor in strategic locations. That would prevent enemies from grabbing a hold of him and using their greater strength as leverage, because Gerry knew no matter what his power level his enemies would likely be stronger.
He’d shifted the metal to form a shield on his left forearm. It was small – not large enough to protect his whole body – but it was enough to deflect the swords the angels were carrying. He had his own broadsword to attack and defend, and a little surprise in his left hand beneath the shield he was saving for a special occasion.
Gerry savored being the biggest guy in the room for about a second before Lucian exploded next to him. What stood next to Gerry – towering fifty feet tall – looked nothing like Lucian. Armor covered the other Dux’s chest, but that was it. The rest of his body was covered in thick scales, and large reptilian wings arched above his back. His arms and hands were still human and gripped twin scimitars, but his legs were thick and tipped with glittering black claws. If that wasn’t different enough, his face had elongated into a snout and smoke was curling up from his nostrils, which made the savage grin – full of rows of jagged teeth – that much more unsettling.
In reply to Lucian’s challenge, Emmanuel swelled another twenty feet until he matched the size of the other Dux. Gerry didn’t let his irritation show, and instead refocused on the rest of the group. His eyes found Ava. The Dominion of Charlotte’s eyes were red and puffy, but there was a look in them that made Gerry shiver…and that expression was fixed directly on him.
He focused his attention on those eyes and knew who he’d be fighting when all hell broke loose. Even worse, he soon found himself looking up at those eyes. Ava shifted her stance when she reached her full fifty-foot height so she was ready to attack.
The guardian angels behind her responded to the challenge as well, but each of them only reached a height of twenty feet. That was still half a dozen extra swords to worry about though, and each of those was deadly Divine Steel.
Gerry knew the first thing he was going to do.
The growth of the Duxs and Dominions were the equivalent of silverback gorillas puffing out their chests and daring the other to make the first move. The only ones who didn’t seem to be posturing and daring the other to attack were the heavy-hitters.
“Do you have any conditions?” Satan asked, cutting through the tense silence.
“I don’t suppose you will leave the humans out of it?” Michael asked, but his expression wasn’t hopeful.
“No.” Satan shook his head. “It is their war as much as yours or mine. The moment Father incorporated the realm he doomed them to this eventuality.”
“Very well.”
It was a signal that Gerry didn’t see coming. The orb in Uriel’s spear had been glowing brightly since the beginning, and now she used it. It wasn’t a full-scale attack like Gerry was expecting. He put his shield between himself and the spear and channeled all his strength into digging in against the incredible force he was expecting to meet. Instead, Uriel simple raised the spear a foot off the ground and brought it firmly back down onto the ground. Gerry barely heard the impact, but he felt the change.
It wasn’t an attack, but a wave of something passed over and through Gerry. He felt a chill run through him and wasn’t able to suppress an involuntary shiver. It caused him to commit a big no-no in warfare. He took his eye off the enemy to make sure some catastrophic damage hadn’t been done to him.
A quick scan didn’t show any breaches in his armor. His grip on his well of ætherial power was still strong, and a check of his mind showed no obvious signs of intrusion. When he looked back at the heavy-hitters he saw that Lucifer was laughing.
“That’s clever, Sis, but it won’t last long.” Despite his helmet and the odd light shining through the visor, Lucifer’s voice sounded normal.
“Long enough to finish this.” She smiled back.
“They turned us insubstantial to reduce the damage to the humans and their infrastructure.” Seere explained to the people behind him. “The flaw in their strategy is that it is against our will a
nd will only last for so long. In addition, the more power expended during the battle the quicker it will unravel.”
Gerry nodded. His attention was fixed back on Ava.
The tension was back as the forces of Heaven and Hell faced each other across the bloodstained gym. It was like two gunslingers at high noon with their hands poised to go for their guns. Someone just had to make the opening move.
The anticipation ratcheted up and up as the seconds passed by. Gerry wanted to unleash on one of the guardians to get their superior weapons, but it would be suicide to try that, so he waited impatiently.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but finally Satan moved and changed. Gerry had never seen an Infernal transform into their full-power combat form, or even knew that it could happen so quickly. One second Satan was an old man leaning slightly forward on his cane, and the next The King of Hell was charging straight at Michael.
As Gerry look upon him, there was no question at all that he was the King. Between steps the feeble body of the old man exploded into a three hundred foot creature of power and destruction. Thick Divine Steel armor gleamed, but it had a patchwork of darker Infernal Iron welded onto certain parts. He had the body of a man, with a tattered red cloak streaming behind him, but that similarity ended at his head.
The head of Satan had four faces. The first was a face of the angel he used to be. He was handsome perfection with a charming smile and eyes that made people trust him. That face was currently facing the rear. The face currently facing forward was similar to Lucians. It had an elongated snout with dark red reptilian scales. Golden eyes shown with hate and menace, and its ear-splitting roar would have collapsed a building if he wasn’t currently insubstantial. Rows of deadly teeth populated the mouth, but two fangs were prominent and dripped something bright green onto the floor. The face facing right was a ram’s face with two curled horns. Between those horns was a fiery crown. Lastly, the final face was avian. It had a sharp black beak capable of stabbing and tearing into his enemy, and two cruel red eyes.
When Satan charged Michael changed. He braced himself as he changed from normal, ripped Santa Clause to the three hundred foot Knight of the Almighty. His armor was identical to Satan’s, minus the patchwork repairs the King of Hell had been forced to make in exile. Michael’s armor was freshly polished and reflected the power he held. He also brought a hundred-foot sword into a defense stance as Satan drew closer.
Uriel moved toward Michael’s flank to protect him, and immediately had to deflect a blast of power from Lucifer.
Both the archangel and Lucifer were both towering above Gerry now. They’d engaged their full power as the attack started. There was a difference though. Lucifer was closer to two hundred and eighty feet tall compared to Uriel’s two hundred and fifty feet. They were easily spilling out of the gym now, but since they’d been rendered insubstantial they passed right through the walls.
The blocking move brought Uriel’s orb between the blast and her. Light met light, and Lucifer’s beam ricocheted off to the side. The force staggered Uriel, but she was able to get her footing before Seere reached her.
Gerry’s lord wielding his own giant broadsword as he towered just as tall as Uriel. She parried the attack, but Seere pushed the advantage and drove her back into the football field behind the gym. Sword and spear flourished and flashed as the two giants battled.
What Gerry decided to refer to as Satan’s dragon-face was streaming fire onto Michael, who had summoned a shield to protect himself from the scorching heat. The defensive tactic saved him from burns, but it left him open for the tackle. At the last moment, Satan’s faces rotated and the ram-face smashed into Michael. The archangel went toppling onto his ass and Satan jumped on him with his raven-face facing forward and ready to poke at the weaknesses in the commander’s armor.
Gerry didn’t see much more than the two titans exchanging blows and rolling around on the ground, but he also had other things to worry about. His side had the numbers and that was clear as the Divine’s champions were occupied with Seere and Satan. Lucifer was left open to unleash ranged attacks with his devastating energy blasts that streamed through the opening in his helmet.
Emmanuel moved to counter The Morning Star but Lucian jumped toward him unleashing his own blast of fire. The Dominion of Charleston powered through the attack and crashed into the Dux. They both went flying as the two combatants beat their wings to gain elevation.
That left Gerry, his lieutenants, Ava, and her soldiers. The Soulless and Vicky had done the smartest thing possible under the circumstances.
They’d run for their lives.
A hand gesture from their commander was all the guardians needed. They took to the air and shot toward Lucifer. It was a suicide run, and they all knew it, but they needed to take the Infernal Lord’s attention of Uriel. He’d already scored a hit against the archangel and it left a thick scorch mark on her armor.
The maneuver worked…to a degree. The eight guardians succeeded in drawing Lucifer’s attention, but only six of them were able to avoid the blast from his helmet. The two other were obliterated by the powerful stream of energy. The remaining six fell back, regrouped and split into two teams. One continued to harass Lucifer while the other headed toward Gerry and his lieutenants. Gerry waved for his own lieutenants to join the battle.
They had already transformed. Jezebel was a quasi-feline nightmare of claws and teeth. She had no wings, but she could jump considerable distances. She leapt into the action, and was able to grab on of a guardian’s feet. The two flew off to fight to the death.
Jeb looked more zombie than man. A green mist swirled around him and lashed out to attack anyone he chose. He couldn’t fly, but he could levitate, and he moved forward to engage another guardian.
Lastly, Lono lumbered forward. He was the largest of Gerry’s lieutenants standing almost twenty-five feet tall. He was stark naked, and itt showed off his corpulent frame in all its glory. His skin was a deep, burned red-color that sagged and rolled with his tremendous girth. He looked like an evil Buddha waddling into battle. He had sharp teeth better to eat his victims with, but he relied on his sheer strength in battle.
Gerry saw him engage a guardian. The angel sliced off a chunk of fat hanging from the gluttony-powered Infernal’s arm, but it didn’t slow Lono down. He grabbed the angel’s sword arm, brought him close, and repeatedly punched the Divine soldier in his helmeted-head.
Gerry saw the soldier drop his sword, and saw the opportunity. Ava mirrored his motion, and they both raced toward the fight. She made a key mistake as they both joined the fray. She incorrectly assumed that he was there to assist Lono.
He was there for the sword.
She swung her own sword at Gerry’s chest, assuming he would bring his blade up to protect his lieutenant. Instead, he slid like a baseball player behind Lono to where the angel’s sword lay on the ground. He seized it mid-slid as Lono roared in pain. The gluttonous Infernal had done his best to lessen the blow of the much larger Dominion, but her blade had sliced through his arm holding her soldier, and deep into his chest.
He staggered backwards from the force of the attack and that let the guardian get back in the fight. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a sword to attack with. Gerry channeled his æther into the sword. It blazed with blue fire, and he brought it in a powerful upward stroke as he leapt back to his feet. The sword bit into the Divine Steel armor of the guardian just above the hip. The armor held briefly, before folding under Gerry’s strength and the Infernal fire coating the sword. The sword bisected the guardian from hip to mid-chest, spilling his Divine æther across Gerry’s chest, and throwing the two halves of his ruined body into the air.
Lono waddled away clutching the stump of his arm while Ava landed in front of Gerry. Her eyes were filled with righteous fury as she towered ten feet over him. No words were exchanged. He’d helped kill her daughter and he’d just defeated one of her soldiers. She wanted him dead, and he was determined to avoid that
at all costs.
***
She’d sat right across from the man and hadn’t seen what he truly was. His human guise was flawless and he’d spoken nothing but the truth, but everything had still been a lie.
Now Frederick was dead. His bisected body spilled Divine ichor all over the ground. His essence had returned to Heaven to be recrafted into a new body, but that didn’t stop the trauma of death. The Guardian would remember it for decades to come.
Frederick’s death had given the Dux possession of a blade made of Divine Steel. There weren’t too many differences between Divine Steel and Infernal Iron in the construction process. It was the empowerment phase that made the crucial difference. Infernal Iron was imbued with power by an Infernal Lord. It made the weapon far more dangerous than anything mortals could contrive, but it was still only blessed with power by a second-rate ætherial creature. Divine Steel was anointed by her almighty Father, a primordial being. The power of his blessing was far superior to one of his own creations.
Now, Gerry had a blade far more powerful than anything he’d ever wielded before, something powerful enough to threaten Ava.
“For the record I find you extraordinary.” Gerry was a full ten feet shorter, so he had to look up at her.
Ava was speechless before she felt fresh rage burn in her heart. “You killed my daughter, you vile creature.” She advanced cautiously and moved through a few forms.
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