by Erik Weir
Wynn’s ears bent back as she turned her attention to Xull. “The Resistance never made deals with any other realm, especially demons from Night Sun. Your calculations are off.”
“The invading force used Xull technology and weapons. All weapons and codes are accounted for except those stolen by the Resistance before the cease-fire,” Xull said without emotion.
“They wouldn’t do this,” Wynn growled before Victor moved to her side.
“Wynn, we have to get to the bottom of this. We don’t know the whole story.”
The fox shook her head, “This is what Xull wants. A reason to stop the cease-fire and go back to hunting my people down.”
“I have no desire to hunt allies. Logic and evidence dictate the enemy has received an edge and are using it to their full advantage. Three dreadnoughts were stolen and in the hands of the enemy. We are now at a disadvantage.”
The demon laughed long and hard. All heads turned to the prisoner as he continued to chuckle his amusement.
“The mighty Xull and Vala’s Champion have lost. Praise Redarr!”
Victor eyed the demon. Wynn stepped over and punched the prisoner in the face. The demon’s laughter stopped as he licked black blood from his split lip.
“Say Redarr’s name one more time and I’ll break your jaw,” Wynn growled.
“Redarr,” the demon grinned.
Wynn lifted up a fist when Victor caught it by the wrist.
“Let’s get any information we can before we beat him to a pulp,” Victor said with a frosty edge.
Wynn pulled her arm away. “I doubt we will get much from him. The way they attacked; they were throwing their lives away. If I hazard a guess, this was a suicide mission. They were trying to keep us busy while they went through with their plan to steal the dreadnoughts.”
“I concur,” Xull added.
Victor turned his gaze to the prisoner. “You tried to run while your brothers and sisters in battle tried to stop me. What made you think you could run?”
The demon met Victor’s gaze; eyes unblinking. “Someone had to report back our victory.”
Victor took a step closer. “I doubt that. It may have been a suicide mission, but you had second thoughts. Share what you know and maybe my friend here won’t beat you bloody.”
The prisoner kept his evil gaze on Victor before his smile melted into a thin line. The dark red skin glowed in the light as he remained still as a frozen pond.
Victor could see that this was not some unintelligent creature. The eyes gave off a sinister intelligence as it studied Victor and those around him. It was watching and waiting for a moment so it could take advantage in some way.
I feel the same. I…
Victor felt Chill trail off. The air cooled as frost fell from lips. Buk shuddered while frosty air fell from Wynn’s nose. Diz hugged her arms as the chill deepened around them.
“I sense a dimensional vortex,” Xull said with an even tone.
Victor continued to eye the demon as their face took on a deadly serious edge. The laughter and giggling were gone, replaced with some new intelligence as the prisoner sat. Confident eyes stared at Victor as the demon relaxed in his bonds.
“Xix was right to be concerned about your power,” the demon said, it’s voice different, darker.
“Redarr,” Victor stated as his brow formed a hard V.
The demon gave a slight nod. “Truly, you are a Champion to be reckoned with. Watching you fight was the highlight of my evening.”
Victor, Xull, Wynn, Buk, and Diz stared down at the demon. No one made a sound as the prisoner looked to each one in turn before centering his gaze back on Victor.
“Vala has lost,” Redarr said with a frosty edge.
“You didn’t have to appear just to tell us that,” Victor said with an equally cold tone.
The demon prisoner gave a small nod. “You are correct. I simply had to meet you. Xix was so impressed, he begged me to try turn you to our side. My Champion loves a challenge, but I denied him, not wanting to spend so much energy on a man in love with a goddess.”
The prisoner shrugged in his bonds before he continued, “It doesn’t matter, in the end. I have four of Vala’s acolytes while Baaldir has the remaining three. We know about Vala’s little trick. If we kill them, pieces of Vala’s essence will flow back to you and help the goddess return from her grave. We cannot have that.
“I have mages loyal to me working on sealing them away from you. They have nearly completed their work. In a few hours, Vala’s crusade will end. You have lost. All of you have lost.”
Anger bubbled under Victor’s skin. Eyes shifting away, thoughts went to his swords as scenarios played out of the Champion slicing off the demon’s head.
Redarr’s lips twisted into a small smile. “There it is, the pain of defeat I so wanted to see. Thank you, Victor, you made the evening a perfect end. I will toast to your defeat. While you’re still enraged, please kill this prisoner. He tried to run and I will not tolerate weakness in my armies.”
Victor stepped closer to the prisoner. Anger turned to a muted rage. Thoughts flowed to Vala and he refused to believe this was how it ended. The Holy Sword slid out of his wrist and into his waiting palm. Redarr smiled, showing all of his razor-sharp teeth. Victor’s grip tightened along the handle when four envelopes appeared over his shoulder.
All eyes widened, even Redarr’s gaze at the floating invites.
“What the fuck?” Victor cursed as he looked to the invites.
The four envelopes floated down and hovered before the demon possessed by Redarr. The paper flaps opened and four letters floated out and unfolded. Redarr’s expression turned curious as he began to read. When he finished reading all four invites, the paper and envelopes flashed into small flames and they were gone.
“Vala has seen fit to invite Tantia, Roohr, Ibris and I to her resurrection. How interesting since it will never come to pass. The Goddess of love will only be a ghost of her former self as long as we have her acolytes. When she visits your dreams, tell her thank you for the invite, but the party will never happen. So long, Vala’s Blade.”
The demon’s eyes rolled back into his head. Victor could feel the cold slowly leaving the area and his mind went into action. There was no time to question or plan, he had to find out where the acolytes were or they will never complete the crusade. Vala would remain in limbo and it was only a matter of time before he and the acolytes were hunted to extinction.
Grinding his teeth, he called up his abilities from the Abyss Sphere of Influence.
Abyss
Impulse Control Touch
Body Control Touch
Mind Control Touch
Harvest Thoughts Touch
Possession
Bend Reality
The Champion hated what he was about to do. The Spheres of Influence used abilities from each of the realms, but Dark Spire’s abilities were of a darker nature. Remembering when he used one of the abilities, it left a bad taste in his mouth. Time was ticking away and if Redarr was telling the truth, the crusade was nearly over, their side lost.
Victor lifted his left hand and clamped it over the demon’s head. Spending a point of Intelligence, he activated his Harvest Thoughts ability. Shadow energy rippled before it stabbed into the demon’s head. The prisoner let out a moan, half pain and half ecstasy. Wynn reached up with concern in her eyes, ready to touch Victor’s shoulder when Xull lifted up a metal arm to block her path.
The shadowy needles penetrated the demon’s thoughts and Victor’s own eyes rolled into his head. He could see the foul thing’s mind and feel Redarr’s presence leaving. The celestial strands broke away, one by one, but Victor pushed, clamping on fleeting thoughts as he straddled the line between the demon prisoner and the demon god, Redarr.
Energies clashed as Victor tried to go deeper. Feeling the thoughts slipping away, the Blade spent the remaining two points of Intelligence and cemented his hold. He wished he had more influence and hoped it
would be enough.
Mental walls began to crack and Redarr attempted to break away quicker. Victor pushed and the protective layers of the mind parted to reveal inner thoughts. Victor took hold of those thoughts, pulling them into his mind like wet sinew from a dying body. Chunks of memories flooded him as he continued his grisly work. The last strands of Redarr broke away and Victor mentally snapped at the fleeing god, hungry for more.
The shadowy energy dissipated and Victor was back, letting go of the demon’s head and stumbling back. The prisoner’s head lolled to the side, white foam leaking from the edge of its mouth as eyes remained rolled back in its head.
“Victor?” Wynn said as she stepped closer.
“I know where they are. I have to go to them, now,” The Champion said with a dark edge before he spent five points of Wisdom and activated his Portal Weaving ability.
A swirling vortex appeared with black and purple energy surrounding it.
“We have to come up with a plan,” Wynn said as she looked to Victor with wide eyes.
“No time. They are performing the ritual right now. If I don’t go, Vala’s Crusade ends.”
“I will go with…” Wynn was cut off.
“No. Tell Cassandra the acolytes on Night Sun are located on the southern continent, by Razor Maw City. If I don’t return, that is where they have to go.”
Wynn’s eyes hardened as did her spirit. No words were spoken as Victor moved to the portal and stepped inside. The black and purple vortex fell into itself and vanished from sight.
***
A demon in black leaned against the battlement edge. Eyes heavy, the demon fought through the sleepy haze to stay awake. Shouldering his plasma rifle, he blinked while searchlights moved in a steady pattern.
The sky was thick with clouds stretching from horizon to horizon. The dark sky gave off an ominous mood while a fortress stood in the middle of a clear plain. Spotlights stabbed into the darkness, scanning in circular patterns. Gigantic walls stood in a circular pattern, demon troops moving along the battlement walkways. Plasma cannons rotated slowly along the top of the protective walls while their gunners scanned the darkness.
The lone demon yawned. He waited for others to relieve his shift. Looking around sheepishly, several demons walked along the battlements but none looked his way. Frustrated, the soldier was ready to storm down off the walkway and inform his commander that his relief didn’t show up when he spotted something appearing in the distance. Blinking, he focused on the pale figure emerging from the darkness with something in his hand. When the demon noticed it was a sword, his mouth dropped as a chill touched his spine.
“He’s here…the…Champion…is…here,” the demon whispered with a fearful edge and reached for his communication amulet.
Victor stood at the dark edge of the field, eyes drinking in the high walled fortress in the distance, plasma cannons and searchlights scanning the area. Holy Sword in hand, it glowed with a golden aura as if it was trying to burn away the very darkness of the field around them.
We need backup. You’re not at 100%. This is suicide!
“You saw the memories and images. We don’t do this now, it’s over,” Victor stated and called up his stats.
Victor Hobbs
Acolytes Unlocked- 70/77
Divine Orbs- 0
Powers to Unlock-5
Spheres of Influence
Str (Gaia)- 20
Con (Nano)- 20
Int (Abyss)- 0/3
Will (Holy)- 5/15
Wis (Mind)- 14/15
Cha (Shadow)- 3
Swords
Iron Sword
Elemental Sword
Gun Blade
Bone Sword
Cursed Blade
Phantom Sword
Holy Blade
It had only been an hour since the attack at the club. Looking at his stats, his Will influence was low but everything else was full or nearly full. Eyeing the Intelligence influence, he knew it wouldn’t need it for this type of encounter. A simple strategy formed, Victor knowing he had to hit them hard and fast.
Seeing the five powers he could unlock from the Shadow Sphere of Influence; the Champion spent the points. Dark energy swirled around his body, the holy sword in his hand glowing brighter to combat it. When the energy sank back into his body, Victor checked the alerts filling his vision.
You have gained Seductive Whisper!
You have gained Illusion Glamour!
You have gained Chaos Gloom!
You have gained Shadow Minion!
You have gained Shadow Craft!
Victor noted the new abilities as he stared at the fortress in the distance. He had five out of the six abilities from Night Sun and was only one power away from having each of six powers from the six realms. A small smile crept into his cheeks as he was nearly maxed out.
Focusing his attention to the fortress, horns blared to life as searchlights swiveled in his direction. Plasma Cannons glowed as they prepared to fire and shadowy figures shouted orders to each other, many taking their places along the battlement edges.
It’s been nice knowing us.
Victor smirked as he spent six points of Strength, five points channeling to his strength and speed while one point went to his Jump ability. Five Constitution points went to his Power Armor ability. Nano-drones ejected from skin pores and connected together. Metal skin flowed over the Champion’s body as he spent a point of Will, sending energy to his new Holy Blade. The sword hummed with vibrant power as the darkness around him recoiled from its light.
A searchlight stabbed out, nearing his position while cannons came to bear.
“Time to be a hero,” Victor whispered as he bent at the knees.
Victor launched into the air just as the plasma cannons fired. The night lit up in flashes of light. Explosions rippled along the empty field as a small glowing spec flew through the air. Cannons readjusted while they continued to unleash burning plasma. Targeting scanners tried to lock on the flying man, but could not adjust for his small size and speed.
Victor drank in the air whipping at his body, cannon fire lighting the dark night. Holy sword in hand, he saw that he was going to land just before the main gate. Demons across the battlements raised their rifles and opened fired. Streams of plasma bolts filled the wide spaces between heavy cannon fire. Glowing eyes blinked and a sliver of fear stabbed at spines as the Champion landed, dirt and dust billowing up. Aiming over the edge, they continued to fire at the floating dust.
Victor was already moving, sword at his side as he barreled toward the front gate. With a smirk, he reached the thick, metal gate and sliced across. Sparks flew and metal groaned as Victor’s Holy Sword flashed with wide arcs. Left fist reared back, the Champion punched the twisting metal, shattering the thick door to massive shards.
Chaos bloomed just beyond the falling gate as demon soldiers opened fire. Victor leapt again, body spinning as plasma bolts missed him by inches. Sword flashing, he came down and sliced hard across. Three demons yelled before their bodies fell in half. Victor kept moving, holy sword cutting down any demon in his way. Strength and Speed amplified, he moved as a blur, cutting demons in half before a large plasma bolt hit the ground next to him and sent the Champion flying to the side.
Victor’s boots hit the ground and he slid to a halt, looking up at the cannons turning around and aiming into the courtyard. The Champion took in his surroundings and noticed metal barricades around him and demon soldiers taking cover behind them. A single armored building stood in the middle of the area, cannons on top aiming at him.
Victor thought this was a fortress to house an army. As a new realization cascaded over his mind, he saw that it was not a fortress but an arena.
Of course, it had to be a trap.
“Either help me or shut up,” Victor hissed as he bent his legs and launched into the air again.
Body soaring, the Blade landed on the battlements. Power pumping into his legs, he charged along as demons t
urned their rifles on him. Holy Sword flashing, he parried several plasma bolts before he cut down demons two at a time. Cannons turned, but one made a strange groaning sound as Victor sliced through its base and the two operators at its side. The cannon slid off, falling to the other side of the wall and exploding.
Demons shouted to one another as Victor blurred through them, their words going silent before their bodies fell in half. The Champion cut through another soldier before a bolt struck his chest, followed by two more. Victor grunted as he slid back, glancing down to blast marks on his armored chest, but no further damage. Sword up, Strength and Speed powered his limbs, parrying energy bolts and moving like a fish through a raging river.
“Time for some back up,” Victor whispered as he spent a Will point and activated his Summon Guardian Ability.
Never having used it, he wasn’t sure what to expect. A ball of energy appeared and spread out in a matter of seconds. Victor cut down demons and glanced to the glowing energy as it formed an angel. White wings spread out as a blindfold covered her eyes. A glowing yellow sword appeared in her hand and small armor plates appeared along her shins, mid-section, shoulders and forearms. Golden hair spilled out as the guardian dove down, sword flashing.
Victor grinned as he and the guardian cut through the demon horde with little effort. Screams filled the night as plasma cannons exploded and demons jumped off the battlements to escape holy death. Plumes of fire rose into the sky as Victor methodically cut through bodies. Demons in the courtyard fired up at the battlements, trying to hit the angel and Champion. The guardian spun, dipped, and dived, sword slicing through warm bodies and black blood painting the battlements. Victor sliced through another cannon and another, explosions lighting up behind him.
The Champion and angel had made their way around the entire battlements leaving bodies, blood, and explosions filling the sky with black smoke. When the last cannon was destroyed, Victor turned his attention to the courtyard and jumped. When he hit the ground, some demons fired at him while others dropped their rifles and ran for the destroyed entrance.