by Devin Cain
Legs: 3,500
The difference in pure life between us was tremendous. In comparison, he could spit me to death. The one thing I was curious about most was our attack power. I had no idea how it worked, but I was sure there was a way to find out.
Mikhail kicked out, catching me in the ribs as I was lost in thought for a moment too long. The blow could have been fatal if not for my new wings and Khepri’s armor. Still, I could feel her pain and a dull cry in my mind. It must have done much more to her than put a dent in my armor.
I lashed out at his leg and cut it wide open, but it closed almost instantaneously. He bit through the pain and slashed the sword across my chest. I evaded moving to my right as another beam strafed along his sword-arm. There was no way I would live if his sword struck me head-on, so I kept my distance with the help of my Mechanoid friend.
"You are strong, Angel," McGregor spoke up, "but even the strong fall to the many!"
"Now this was something I didn’t expect of you, Cain. Do you always hide behind others? Either you fight me, or I’ll find someone else to let out any pent up frustration on!" Mikhail snickered as his eyes moved away from me and locked right on the Obelisk.
"No, you won’t!" I hissed and threw myself at him. We tumbled just above the ground, floating free from the moon’s gravity. He lashed out again with his sword and followed it up with his shield. The sword caught my left claw and sliced it down the middle while the shield threw me at the Obelisk.
"Oh, yes I will," he whispered. I gritted my teeth through the pain and headbutted him, raking his chest again with my good hand, just like I had back on Earth. Some of his blood entered my bloodstream, slightly renewing my power reserve and activated my damaged arm’s regeneration. The bone grew back together along with the sinews, the flesh, and skin. I didn’t know if it hurt more getting cut or repaired, but I didn’t want to find out again any time soon.
Two energy blades sliced through the air where he’d been a moment before, narrowly missing me, and flew right up after Mikhail. The way McGregor moved in zero gravity was astonishing, as every movement was perfectly calculated.
I pushed off the Obelisk and flew up after the two and struck his shield with both claws. He let go as it floated uselessly off into space. Fighting the two of us was proving for him to be more of a nuisance than he wanted to let on. Fighting without gravity sure sucked, at least for me, but he regained his composure almost immediately. Furious, he growled at me and snapped his teeth like a dog all the while as his sword tried to connect with my body.
New missiles and energy beams struck McGregor’s shield. It proved too much, forcing him to retreat and hide in the obelisk’s shadow.
I pushed the fiery weapon from my face, getting burns on my arm just like when Edwald used his flamethrower, but only multiplied by a hundred when it came to sheer pain.
"Do you feel this?" Mikhail raged. "Do you feel the power of our father? The almighty and only one worthy of the title God and creator?"
I growled at him and smashed my forehead into his nose. It cracked under the power behind my blow, dripping blood into the abyss of space. Backhanding me, he kicked out two times and sent me right into the Obelisk. It shuddered under the blow and started leaking energy through a crack. My whole body ached from and felt like all my bones had been shattered.
I placed my hands against the hole and tried to force it closed, but the energy eating away at the Obelisk was divine, so there was no way to stop it. The flames seared right through my Armaments defensive layer, burning whatever it touched.
Massive explosions from overhead drew my attention momentarily from the pain and trouble I was in. The metal was torn apart, and ships were blown out of the sky. Shields absorbed missiles and beam attacks, afterburners and side burners pushed ships out of harm's way as more explosions rang out all around them. It was hell, and in all honesty, I was surprised my people were standing their ground as well.
"It sure is beautiful, huh?" Mikhail said as he approached, his sword held high for a final strike.
"Depends on how you look at it. From what I see, my fleet has the upper hand."
"All that doesn’t matter. Even if you win up there, you lose down here, and once I’m done with you, The Host will destroy what remains of your ships and absorb whatever remains into Earth’s military."
"I sincerely doubt it, but you have a right to your own opinion, no?" I replied as I stood there, trying to figure out how to tackle him. His health had gone down a measly ten percent, while I was down to sixty percent all over my body.
"True. But so do you. Speaking of which, it sure feels good not to hear those weaklings cry and scream over your mental link, no? Just imagine what I’m going to do with Gremory once she’s down on her knees. Sadly, you won’t be able to see it, but I rather not take a risk with you, Nephilim scum."
I spat at the bastard. Not that it mattered as it could never reach him anyway.
"You’re no Angels! You’re Demons, all of you!" I yelled. He shrugged, lowering his sword. The smug look on his face was all I was waiting for.
Transforming my arm behind my back, I brought it up to his chest and released a railgun from point-blank. The projectile buried deep into a shimmering layer of-- something, and then it bounced off harmlessly.
A second figure appeared right beside him, holding up a shield and a spear. A short fluttering skirt and an open top told me it was a woman before I could even see the skin. And what a woman she was at that.
"Now, now. That’s no way to treat my man," she spoke with a sultry voice.
"Ariel, I take it?" I asked, changing my arm back into a shield-like growth. She nodded her head slightly and darted in so fast I couldn’t even see it. The tip of her spear went right through the shield and my collarbone, ending up way inside the Obelisk. I could hear the loud thud from behind and knew I was stuck by the way it held me above ground.
"Yes, Nephilim. By our father, my spear is stuck in that creation of yours. What am I supposed to do now?"
I looked down at my chest. It was down to 2,113 percent and dropping slowly. Even worse, I felt so weak as if she’d drained me from the will to fight and let me dangle there like a doll. I maybe stood the slightest chance against one of them, but against two?
Her voice was to die for as she spoke and to be honest, I wasn’t that far off from doing just that. The weapon wasn’t coming out, and I was losing power steadily as the two played with me. A raging battle took place above us where countless Humans were dying, while in front of me, two of the strongest beings in existence were content bullying someone weaker than them. Bullying. Again. Why did the strong feel the need to look down on the weak? What made them better? Their power? No, it wasn’t the power, it was sheer arrogance that made them act that way. They were so sure of themselves and their power, that they thought of everyone as little more than ants, after all, how could mere ants dare to stand up to gods?
Darkness fell over my eyes as an inner rage took over. A torrent of hatred burst out from all the years I’d been mistreated, humiliated and tortured. The final barrier broke as I hung there, my hands pressed against the obelisk.
"Shit, that was anticlimactic," Ariel joked as she pulled at the spear, but it wasn’t budging. She tried to move it around, but the shaft wouldn’t move, not a single inch. "What the hell? Can you give it a pull? It seems I underestimated my own power," she joked half-heartedly.
"I’ll distract them long enough for you to do whatever it is you can," McGregor’s voice rang out in my mind. I felt one of his tendrils sticking out from my back, hidden from Mikhail and Ariel’s views.
I remained silent but sent a jolt of energy to his tendril. It was a blessing to have him here, if nothing else, I wouldn’t die alone.
"Right. You’re strong, my dear, but not that strong," Mikhail replied as he put his hands on the shaft. He pulled, but the weapon wasn’t budging. Not even an inch. "What by our father’s name?"
A new progress bar appeared next t
o my skills, showing the percentage left for the recharge. It was at forty-three percent and slowly rising as I poured energy into it. But the situation was getting dire, and I doubted I’d have enough time to activate it before I was dead. I sent another jolt to McGregor.
"I’ll distract them when I’ve filled the obelisk to sixty percent. You’ll have to buy me a minute, or we’re dead anyway."
"Yes, Admiral. I have been storing energy for years, maybe it’s time I show these Angels that they’re not as tough as they thought."
The obelisk lit up suddenly as if notifying me I had reached the fifty percent mark.
"I guess it can’t be helped," I murmured. "Khepri, use Retaliation."
She didn’t acknowledge the order, instead I felt a rush of pain course from the tip of my toes toward where the spear was lodged in my chest. An energy wave struck Ariel, sending her staggering backward, while Mikhail was brought to his knees. It lasted for a whole second before they recovered. McGregor stepped out from behind the obelisk’s shadow, a buzzing and revving sound leaving his body.
"It’s time for round two," he said calmly as his whole body transformed into a machine god.
"Hah! What makes you think anything’s going to change during our battle?" Mikhail remarked as his shield and sword appeared in both hands. Ariel didn’t seem so sure as she’d lost her weapon, but she still had a shield and a short javelin in hand.
"Oh, you have no idea, Mikhail," I growled. "If you think you’ve seen everything we had to offer, you’re sorely mistaken."
"What? A third-rate Retaliation is supposed to frighten us?" Ariel asked, baring her teeth at me."
"No, but I am," McGregor said as his body changed from a timid-looking war robot into a death-machine. I grinned, knowing he was about to put the hurt on them, but how much would depend on if I’d manage to power the obelisk in time. I looked up one last time, studying the situation. Devil was badly battered despite the best efforts of the Tank in front of him. The dreadnought had taken on a support role to the tank, taking damage instead of my capital ship. Two of the battleships were listing and barely operational while most of the smaller support vessels were already gone. While new ships kept pouring in every second to replace the destroyed Earthern attackers.
"Shit, this doesn’t look good at all."
Chapter Fifty-Seven
McGregor’s form suddenly became smaller, as his body compressed and grew talons along with the elbow blades. Hundreds of lines lit up as the Mechanoid charged Ariel, the weaker of our two opponents, raking his metallic claws across her shield. She dropped to her knees, barely able to defend against the blow. Mikhail lunged in, swinging his blade in an arc to slash at his left arm, but the Mechanoid evaded deftly. Stepping back and to the side, it released a coiled blade that went right for the Angel’s face, but Ariel blocked it as she charged McGregor.
"Hey, calm down! It’s just a robot, no need to be so upset!" Mikhail bellowed as she screamed in rage. "Don’t let him get the better of you!"
I grinned as the percentage shot up to fifty-nine and none of them was watching me. Releasing one hand from the obelisk, I pulled at the spear, ever so lightly as not to make a sound. It started moving as the obelisk released it with its massive power. Spreading my wings, I dug them into the tower’s outer layer and hung there off my appendages instead as the spear dangled in my right hand — sixty-four percent.
McGregor pressed on as he released a laser-beam right into her face, singing the skin right beneath her left eye. She screamed again and jabbed at him with her javelin, then rushed in slamming the shield against his body. McGregor stepped back and bolted to the left using the thrusters on his back. A third of his light sources had already gone out I noticed, meaning he didn’t have much time left, but neither did I. Still, I didn’t dare use more power than up until now to infuse into the obelisk, or Mikhail might notice.
McGregor rebounded off a large piece of debris and lunged in, slashing with his blades and claws against her shield, four times in quick succession and pushed her back a couple of steps. She groaned under his power and barely managed to deflect him, but the Mechanoid used the momentum and headbutted Mikhail, then grabbed him in a bearhug and squeezed. His power was down to about forty percent. I had to step in, or he wouldn’t make it long enough against the two.
I looked down at the obelisk, which was nearing eighty percent and decided to make a move. I wouldn’t get a better chance than this. Pulling back my arm, I let out a battlecry. McGregor pushed off Mikhail and moved in to attack Ariel as I released the spear. Mikhail managed to turn around, but he couldn’t deflect the spear quickly enough. It pierced his shield arm, forcing him to drop the huge chunk of metal and cry out. The tip of the projectile slammed into the moon’s surface and went in deep, nailing him to the ground.
Ariel lunged at McGregor and slashed across his side. He swung his body around her but lost his left arm as the weapon sliced cleanly through. I looked down, almost in a panic — ninety percent. The Mechanoid’s sensory eyes met mine for a brief moment as if asking how much longer, as Ariel darted toward Mikhail. She grabbed hold of the spear and pulled it out with ease as McGregor boosted his backburner to maximum.
"Don’t!" I yelled just as he was about to sacrifice himself. There was no chance for him to survive with most of his power gone, which begged the question, just how hard did he have to push himself with each exchange of blows to be able to do some damage or keep them busy? What a marvel of engineering the Mechanoid was.
Finally, the obelisk started radiating like mad, releasing crackles and whips of energy that struck the surrounding area. McGregor retreated a good two hundred feet with the energy blast he was about to use to dart in at the enemy as an extremely bright white and red light engulfed my body along with the construct. It surged upward almost instantaneously and ended at the eye which blossomed with deathly energy.
"I think that shield would come in handy right about now," Ariel said, looking down at the chunk of metal Mikhail just dropped, but he wasn’t in the mood. He cursed and moved in to attack me with his flaming sword, leaving her standing there by herself.
A thundering boom resounded from the top of the obelisk as the eye turned toward me, and then at the two Archangels. The pupil turned a pitch-black intermingled with red just before the beam struck strafed the area around me. Mikhail’s sword deflected the brunt of the attack, but the beam deflected and sliced his arm off at the elbow.
"What by his name?" he uttered. "How can this be?"
"Run!" Ariel screamed, pushing him out of the way. It would have sliced him in two if not for her reaction, but I didn’t care. He was wounded and finally forced to feel pain and humiliation. She ducked and grabbed his arm, put her hand on his back, and disappeared. That is, she disappeared from the normal spectrum Human eyes could see, but the obelisk still tracked her.
"You will not-- leave!" I hissed, my voice distorted as another wave of energy rushed up along the length of the obelisk. But then I felt it, the pain it caused on my very essence, drawing on my blood and my soul.
"This is an order to the fleet!" Mikhail screamed from overhead as they tried to run from the eye. "Retreat! Everyone, pull back!" The two darted right toward the central portal, flying at an insane speed, one I could only dream off.
Whatever, I thought. I’d wait until they aligned with the United Federalis capital ship and try again. If I missed the Archangels, I’d at least hit the monstrous construct dishing out extreme punishment against my allies’ tanks.
A loud, buzzing sound gnawed at me. The Obelisk wanted to be released once again, but I wasn’t ready, only intensifying the pain it caused me. It wanted to destroy and use up all the energy stored within, but I had to wait a little longer, even though it was almost too much to bear.
The enemy ships started turning around using their thrusters, but most of them still kept the pressure on my ships, sending whatever ordnance they had left, but in the process opened up their backs to us. Instead
of punishing the enemy, my ships stopped firing. I frowned, annoyed by the treacherous act. Who the hell gave such an idiotic order?
"Whatever," I growled. "At least I’d have some revenge against them!"
The two fleeing Angels finally aligned with the monstrous capital ship, giving me the perfect shot. With a scream, I unleashed an even more powerful ray of death than the first time. Ariel dodged again, but Mikhail’s body must have made her err as the beam passed too close by her, disintegrating her right leg up to her knee.
She screamed as a dome of blue light surrounded them, pulling the two into the portal with tremendous force. What remained of the ray sliced into the aft part of the enemy capital ship and into a score of dozen support vessels that were fortunately lined up with them. Massive primary and smaller secondary explosions sent goosebumps down my spine. What had I just done? I killed thousands of Humans just because I could. Deflated, I dropped down the obelisk and into McGregor’s arms. I didn’t understand how he still had both when I saw her cut one off.
Not caring about anything anymore, I closed my eyes just as the last of the enemy ships rushed through the portals, and closed all three instantaneously. I looked down at the wound Ariel’s spear had caused and saw black puss gush out along with what remained of my energy.
"Tis the Lance of Longinus," Devil spoke calmly. "It’s very powerful and a waste for them to have left it here. I doubt anyone can use it on our side."
"We have Gabriel," I groaned. "Speaking of which, what’s going on topside?"
"Everything is a mess," Khepri replied for him. "But we’ve survived mostly thanks to the Tanks. They sure took a beating before they were destroyed."
"Shit!" I cursed. "Such unnecessary losses! And they’re supposed to be the good guys? Good my ass!"
"Admiral!" Kris’s voice cried out in my mind. "You’re alive!" I couldn’t help but smirk.
"And why wouldn’t I be? Just because some shitty high tiered Angels tried to kill me?"
