“I know. That’s why I’m sending you back home.” I nodded to her as Dred’s sword flared, the black edge of the blade blazing like fire. The General let out a scream before exploding into a plume of smoke that seemed to coalesce into the sword before evaporating.
“Really?” she asked, and couldn’t keep the happiness from her voice. Even still, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Do you think I can’t hack it out here, Arthur?”
“Not at all.” I shook my head, trying not to watch as new sigils appeared along Excalibur. “But I have a plan, and you’re the only one who can pull it off.”
“Oh, that’s intriguing.” The dwarf ran a hand over her bald head. “What is it?”
“You go back to Hell, and bring Samael back to Heaven while you’re at it. We still have a lot of people there working on finishing the rebuild.” I took a deep breath, letting my words sink in before I continued. “And if you guys get attacked and can’t handle it, you will have to teleport to get me, or Lucifer, or you know …” I shrugged. “Shouldn’t be too bad though. Just split up the Knights of the Round Table and bring half of them to Hell.”
“So, you want me to defend both Heaven and Hell against the Darkness with only one other Archangel and a bunch of statues?” Sathanus smirked. “Sounds easy enough.”
“I’m glad you like my idea—”
“Hell no.” Sathanus shook her head. “Your plan is terrible, but at least I get it.” She stomped her foot. “This is our chance to go from reactive to proactive, from defense to offense. We need to keep this town and use it as a forward base.” She took a deep breath. “But that doesn’t mean I like the idea of being responsible for Heaven and Hell all by myself.”
“You’re not by yourself—”
“I may as well be.” She snorted. “The Knights of the Round Table are great, but only when they’re together. We’ll be making them half as strong by splitting them up.”
“Yeah, but the Darkness can only bring forces across the barrier that’s approximately as strong as our defenses so you should be okay.” I scratched my cheek. “Wish I knew why that was.”
“Simple,” Dred said as he moved toward us. His features had darkened like shadows clung to him and filled in every crevice of his being. He’d sheathed Excalibur, but I could still feel the pulse of the weapon, which was weird because I’d never really felt it at all before.
“Is it?” I asked, turning to look at the Destroyer.
“Yes.” He nodded. “It’s all action and reaction. Balance.” He shrugged.
“But why?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
“It’s just the way it is.” Dred met my eyes. “I wouldn’t think about it too much.” He quirked a smile. “It pisses the Empress the hell off though.” He chuckled. “Maybe ask her about it.”
“Maybe I will.” I snorted, turning back to Sathanus. “Satisfied?”
“Fuck no. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” She waved a hand dismissively. “But I’m not going to argue with it because it means I’m less likely to die than you are.” She smirked. “After all, I bet it won’t be long before the Darkness sends people to reclaim this land.”
“That’s true.” Dred nodded. “We should leave while we can.”
“I’m done running.” I shook my head. “Sathanus, take the others back and prepare to defend Heaven and Hell. Take half the crafters back with you. Heaven must be completed.”
“That will make you considerably weaker.” Sathanus glanced over her shoulder at the army. “Eighty percent of the demons are crafters.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why I haven’t killed him.” I jerked a thumb at Dred. “I expect him to even the odds up now that he’s absorbed Ten.”
“Unless he’s a liar.” Sathanus looked Dred over.
“I’m not lying.” He licked his lips. “Trust me, no one wants to kill those smug Generals more than me. Think they’re so strong.” He waved a hand at me. “And Arthur figured out to beat them in ten seconds.” He threw an arm around my shoulder. “Your side is definitely the one I want to be on.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that, so I just nodded. On the one hand, Dred had been my enemy for a long ass time. On the other, well, he was a great fighter and knew the enemy. He even seemed to be on the same side and had the same goals, though he went about it like a damned sociopath. Even still, something about his praise felt good.
“Right.” Sathanus rolled her eyes. “I’ll be off then.” With that, she vanished, leaving the two of us standing there.
“So, we go after Nine and get the Ark?” Dred asked as the rest of the army began to come toward us.
“Once we get this rolling, yes.”
As I spoke, he nodded to me as he turned his gaze toward the sky. “I am not sure how long we will be able to hold this town. Each General is exponentially stronger than the last.” He looked right at me, and I got the feeling he could see right into my soul. “I think you’re strong enough to take on Seven, maybe Six.” He rubbed his chin. “I worry what will happen if the Empress sends her entire army here.”
“Do you think all those Generals are ready to go right now?” I grinned. “Because the way I see it, is she attacks in waves, and never sends too much to fight us. I would bet most of her really strong people aren’t chomping at the bit to come here.” He started to say something, and I raised my hand. “They will come, I believe that, but that’s why we need to take as much as we can before then.” I gestured to the town. “We will add people to our army by bringing hope, and you will add strength by killing Generals. Then, when she brings the hammer down on us, we’ll be ready.”
Dred nodded to me, clearly lost in thought as Michelle and Lucifer approached me. I could already see their people moving through the town. They knew what to do, assess the town, and get it ready to defend. That was also why I’d brought every single warder and sculptor we could. We’d have to make a barrier capable of holding back the Darkness within its own land while boosting the abilities of our people.
“The troops are stationed, and Gabriella is already working on the warding,” Michelle reported. “I suspect we’ll have a better idea of what to do in a couple hours. By then, all the people will be sorted, and we can make plans for defense.” She took a deep breath. “I will take care of that while sister,” she nodded to Lucifer, “defends the place.”
“I know you want to be the fighter, Michelle.” I paused, carefully choosing my words. “But Lucifer is literally twice as strong as you right now.”
“I am aware.” Michelle shut her eyes for a second, and from the way her lips moved, I got the impression she was counting backward from ten. When she opened them a few seconds later, she waved a hand at Dred. “Can I kill him now?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Sorry.”
“Then I’m going to work.” Michelle turned on her heel and strode away while Lucifer stood there eyeing Dred.
“Yes?” the Destroyer asked. “Do you need something?”
“I want you to officially join us. You and Jophiel both.” Lucifer turned her gaze to me. “Do you see the ownership icon above his head?”
“No.” I nodded to Lucifer. “She makes a good point, Dred. Join me.” I held out my hand.
“I’m not sure I see the point …” He trailed off. “But if it is what you wish, I will do so.” He took my hand. “I join you, Builder, but you’ll have to ask Jophiel yourself.”
As he spoke, the icon appeared over his head, only it was a lot different than the ones over the Archangels, or really, anyone else.
Opening the menu, I didn’t see anything obvious, but then again, his stats didn’t seem as impressive as I expected, not if he could augment himself, anyway.
Name: Dred
Experience: 10,000,756
Health: 155/155*
Mana: 93/93*
Primary Power: None selected
Secondary Power: None selected
Strength: 83/100*
Agility: 72/100*
Ch
arisma: 18/100*
Intelligence: 56/100*
Special: 37/100**
Unique Ability: The Destroyer
Flaw: Imbued with Darkness II
“What are you doing?” Dred asked, snapping his fingers to get my attention. “You’re looking right at me, but not at the same time.”
“Sorry, I was looking at your stats.” I shrugged. “Probably should have said something.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dred asked, shaking his head. “What stats?”
“Like, okay, your Strength stat is eighty-three out of one hundred.” I pointed at the stat even though he couldn’t see it. “I sort of expected it to be higher.” I gestured to Lucifer. “When you fought her before, her strength was actually higher than yours, and I don’t see anything to account for why you were able to one hit her.”
“I don’t know what you are saying. My strength is eighty-three? Eighty-three what?” He sighed, looking at the sky.
“You should get this. I thought you could spend your own experience to make yourself stronger.” I touched my chest. “Like my power but on yourself.”
Only, as he looked at me like I was insane, I realized I had an easier way to find out. Flicking open the menu again, I opened his Unique Ability.
Unique Ability: The Destroyer (Passive)
Skill: 3/10
When the user kills an enemy, he absorbs part of the enemy's power, increasing all of the user's Statistics by 10% of the fallen enemy per skill level. Note: This ability only works on enemies of equal or greater power than the user.
As I stared at the ability, I swallowed hard. On the one hand, that ability was overpowered as fuck, but on the other hand? On the other hand, Dred was a fucking idiot.
“You’re so dumb, I don’t even have words,” I said, tearing my eyes from the ability and glaring at Dred.
“What?” Dred asked, taken aback, and as I saw anger flash across his eyes, I pointed to where he’d killed the General.
“You only absorbed thirty percent of Ten’s strength.” I shook my head. “If you’d let me augment you beforehand, you’d have gotten one hundred percent of it.”
“Arthur,” Lucifer said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“What?” I snapped, still annoyed at Dred. He had wasted the General, and while it’d increased his stats by thirty percent, I was betting that wasn’t nearly enough because nine was supposedly exponentially stronger than ten.
“This is Dred.” She pointed at him. “He was your enemy before today, and now you’re worried he isn’t strong enough. Perhaps this is a good thing.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “What if he betrays us?”
“I will not.” Dred shook his head. “Not if you can really make me so much more powerful.” The thing was, as he looked at me, I actually sorta believed him. “All I have done was to defeat the Darkness.”
“You’re one with the fucking Darkness,” Lucifer replied, taking a step past me, fist clenched in anger. “You’re just a side jumper.”
“Why would I jump to the losing side?” Dred asked, before gesturing at the horizon. “The Empress is impossibly strong. The Generals as well.” He pointed a shaking finger at me. “At best he can defeat the worst three or four Generals. What about the other six?”
“That’s a fair point, but we also know they’re after you, Dred.” Lucifer put her hands on her hips, and as I wondered if the two of them were about to throw down, Lucifer’s gaze moved to the gates, and as I followed it, I saw Jophiel coming toward us.
“Jophiel,” Lucifer called, waving a hand at the Archangel of Wisdom. “If you were Arthur, would you trust Dred?”
“No.” Jophiel shook her head as she reached us. “But there is not another option.” She spread her hands. “His plan is not a bad one though it requires trusting an enemy—”
“If Arthur kills Dred right now, he will gain the ability to absorb enemies himself, and he will become even stronger,” Lucifer said, cutting off Jophiel.
“And lose the ability to leave the Darkness.” Jophiel shrugged. “If Dred becomes so powerful that we cannot stop him, he will have the same problem as the Generals and the Empress.”
“I’ll be trapped here.” Dred nodded. “Only, I am already trapped here.”
“Unless you’re just lying about it,” Lucifer snapped.
While they argued, something occurred to me. Dred had a flaw I’d never looked at. I reopened Dred’s stat window, and as I opened the tooltip for his flaw, it was immediately obvious Jophiel was telling the truth, and what’s more, that we needed Dred because there was no way I was taking on that flaw, especially since I still couldn’t spend my own experience.
Imbued with Darkness II – The user has absorbed an immortal Darkness General. All powers associated with Heaven or Hell will be 20% less effective. The user can now only leave the Darkness during breaches.
Would you like to remove the flaw to Imbued by Darkness II? Cost 760,000 experience. Yes/no?
25
“We have a problem,” Michelle said, coming over to me and tapping my shoulder. To be honest, it was a welcome distraction since once I’d let Lucifer know about the flaw, she had settled for bickering with Dred.
“What’s the problem?” I asked as Lucifer plopped her elbow down on a nearby barrel.
“Come on, you fucking pansy. Arm wrestle me,” she snapped, glaring at Dred. “Or are you not man enough?”
“We found something you need to see,” Michelle said, and while her eyes fixed on Dred as he marched toward Lucifer, she said nothing.
“Awesome.” I wiped my brow with the back of one hand. “Show me.”
She smiled at me. “Done dealing with the children?”
“Yeah,” I said as she began to lead me toward the spire in the center of town. I was also annoyed because Dred’s stupid skill had been ridiculously expensive to improve. It had cost over four million experience to move it to Rank Four and increase his absorption to 40%. I hadn’t moved it to Rank Five because that cost another five million and would leave him with just another million, and I still didn’t know if he’d wind up needing something else expensive.
“So, what did you find?” I asked as we made our way to the Spire. It was a bit smashed on account of the General-sized hole, but now it was surrounded by angelic guards. That seemed odd since the General was dead, and I hadn’t seen anyone attack, let alone make it this far in.
“It’s better if I show you,” she said as we approached the guards, which was also when I found Mammon glaring at Uriel.
“Good, you got him,” Mammon said, moving closer to me and taking my hand, which seemed a bit odd. “Arthur, talk some sense into this idiot.” She gestured at Uriel.
“You’re the one who is being stupid, Mammon.” Uriel shook her head. “You just see gold and silver.”
“I do not.”
“I told you I was done dealing with children,” I said, turning my gaze to Michelle and gesturing at the pair of bickering Archangels. “This is almost the exact same thing.”
“No, it’s not.” Michelle shrugged. “Because their opinions don’t matter.” Her gaze flicked between the Archangels of Greed and Forgiveness. “Only yours matters. Come.” She took me by the hand, pulling me away from Mammon and Uriel who were both giving her the patented angelic death glare I’d come to know and love.
A moment later, I was standing in front of the hole, and as I peered through the rubble, I found myself staring at a cylindrical staircase that moved upward into the spire. Only the stairs were made of gold and the railing of silver. Gemstones were inlaid into nearly every facet of the inner walls, making it seem to glow in the light of the torches ensconced on the wall.
“Wow, someone was a baller.” I took a deep breath. “No wonder Mammon is tickled pink.” I turned back to Michelle. “What’s the problem? Melt this fucker down and sell it to make better gear or whatever.”
“Firstly, at this point, our problem is hardly money. We don’t really lack r
esources, so it’s almost more work than it's worth.” She waved a hand. “But that hardly is why I came to get you. If that was the only issue, I’d already have Mammon shoving gold in her cheeks for the winter.”
“I’m guessing she’s some kind of gold-eating squirrel in this scenario?” The glare Michelle gave me was so worth it.
“Yes,” she practically growled before muttering something that suspiciously sounded a lot like she was glad we’d never had sex. That was crazy though. I was awesome in bed. After all, I’d had a ton of practice, and I could do this thing with my tongue Sam showed me …
“So, what is the problem?” I asked as Michelle stepped inside and began climbing the stairs.
“The problem is this place is inhabited.” She stopped when she reached the first floor and gestured to a door I hadn’t noticed before. Hell, I hadn’t even noticed the landing until she stepped on it.
“Wow, that’s some crazy voodoo right there,” I replied, joining her on the landing, and even now, standing here, the golden floor seemed to fade in and out of existence, depending on if I was focused on it.
“Yes. We wouldn’t have found it if Mammon hadn’t tried to strip mine the wall.” She pointed at a spot to my left, and I realized a bunch of the gold had been stripped off the wall and floor, and where it lay bare, I realized I could actually see the obsidian floor without the weird fade in and out effect.
“Makes sense,” I smiled. “So, what about inhabitants? Isn’t that good? I mean, the more people, the stronger we become, yes?”
“Sort of.” She frowned. “That’s a whole other complication we can deal with after we figure this out.” She reached out and opened the door, and I realized Gwen was standing just inside. She had one hand on her hip, and her other hand gripped a nine-tailed whip that blazed with fire.
“Good, you got him,” Gwen said, eyes flicking to me before settling on the four men prostrated in the center of the room. Only, unlike those in the town proper, these ones had no icons above their heads, meaning they hadn’t joined our team.
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