by Matt Dawson
Steam started rising from Leiel. As she closed in on the gate, the grass surrounding the pathway withered, turned black, and crumbled to black soot. Despite the intense humidity, the dust whisked itself towards Leiel’s torso.
She assessed her approach. A running leap wouldn’t be enough to penetrate the gate. Climbing the wall would leave her exposed for too long. The wall was too high to leap upon outright. Structural damage, unavoidable. Garrison alert, unavoidable.
All simulated engagement scenarios indicate direct action unavoidable. Strategic decision: minimal exposure to Manus Dei optimal. Executing full assault stratagem.
A sphere of steam exploded, centered on Leiel. Far around Leiel was barren dirt, where there was once grass. A black tendril shot out from the center of the steam, wedging itself in the wooden drawbridge. The tendril whipped, snapping the chains of the drawbridge. The force wedged it deep in the stone bricks at Leiel’s feet.
Chapter 7
She crossed the drawbridge, leaving scorched footprints in the wood. The sphere of steam approached the first portcullis. Leiel gripped the large iron grating with both hands and lifted from a squat. The iron lurched into motion upwards. Above, men put all of their weight on the draw handles, only to be launched as she forced the gate to move.
“Enemy attack”
“Get up, they’ve broken through the first gate!”
“Get the porcupine!”
As she crossed under the portcullis, the orb of water vapor was whisked away by the wind. She stood, a massive tendril of solid black matter danced around on her sword arm. A wooden machine slammed up against the second portcullis, dozens of barbed bolts protruding through the iron grating. Leiel leaped forward into a charge.
“Fire, kill that monster!” The sergeant shouted.
All at once, the projectiles fired from the second portcullis to the first. The bolt heads smashed into her, exploding into the air. What projectiles landed on the charcoal mass were absorbed, and its form grew larger.
“Reload, reload right now dammit!” The sergeant shouted in panic.
Leiel raised her sword arm. The massive tendril rocketed out, smashing into the second portcullis. Dust kicked up. Leiel crossed through the courtyard, now laden with the bodies of the men that had been operating the weapon. The porcupine was just a mass of wood shards scattered around the open space. The portcullis gate folded in half and wedged deep into the inner wall off to the side.
“Perhaps you are correct.” She said, stepping over the bodies as she approached the inner cloister. “I am no different than the monsters I hunt.”
She shoved open the double doors. Inside, a wall of brass soldiers stood, blocking the way. The draw from the Manus Dei was strong now. Her confidence began to dwindle. The playful game that she had played to keep herself in control, now turned into an intense chase, with her running away.
“Give me the boy, and this siege will end.” She shouted to the unarmed warriors.
The formation fell into a sprint. Each man was afflicted by an Esperitus of some kind. Their human shapes burst into wild forms of all types as they moved: lupine, reptilian, feline, and more.
Leiel charged in response. She struck out, crushing a man-sized lizard Esperitus against the wall with the black tendril. She smashed a rat of the same size in the torso and ignited it with her bare hand. They tore at her flesh, revealing a metal endoskeleton.
The charcoal mass thrashed. The hall became still. Dead Esperitus lined the walls and floors. A lone bear Esperitus struggled to crawl towards the door, away from Leiel, gasping for air. The tendril danced again as her now brightly glowing eyes, unblinking, pierced the creature.
She blinked. It wasn’t a threat, and she wasn’t here for this.
The sound of metal on stone was deafening as she marched towards the center of the building. Everything below her midriff had been torn away, only metal skeleton remained. Deep gashes were carved into her face.
Clergymen cowered at her advance, tucking themselves into a ball in whatever corner they could find, or outright ran away. Using the tendril, she snatched up one that had hid himself behind the bench in front of the stairs.
“Where is the boy?” She said, huffing bursts of scorching air through her nostrils.
“T…top floor,” he struggled to point towards the top of the stairs as his hands trembled.
She dropped him, and he fell backwards over the bench. As she climbed, her skeletal hue changed from a deep cobalt blue to a lighter purple.
Reactor temperature warning: load at 72%. Runaway Meltdown limit: 98%
The chase continued in her mind, the Manus Dei coming closer to capturing her with each step. She felt its icy grasp looming over her, waiting.
She stood in front of the door where she had met the gatekeeper. The tendril drilled into it, gripped it, and she ripped the door off its hinges. On the other side, a dingy stone brick hallway, poorly lit. She found it harder and harder to remain conscious as she advanced. Ahead of her, an open door frame.
She crossed it, and to her side, she saw scorch marks on the wall and floor. Ahead of her, a closed wooden door. Leiel no longer had the strength to lift the mass. The icy embrace of the Manus Dei was sapping her.
The tendril snaked upwards, and opened the door with the handle. She walked through, and shut it. There, the Gatekeeper stood, a rectangular device in hand. Several switches lined it, and black bars coiled around beneath it. Behind him, the hole that she carved in the wall still gaping, letting in the still intense wind and rain. At his feet, the sickly boy laid, the fox Esperitus sprawled out just next to him, both barely conscious.
The fog had rolled in on her mind again. She felt compelled by the words that were injected into her mind.
“Step forward. Turn to the boy. Draw your sword. Raise your arm.”
Leiel found herself with her off hand holding her sword, ready to strike at the boy.
“Kill him.”
She resisted the command.
“Kill. Him.”
The sword twitched still, but did not move.
“What’s the matter? I built this place, just for you. I filled it with all sorts of horrors you could slay. I made it easy for you. Isn’t that what you desire? To kill these mongrels? To bring peace to humankind?” The Gatekeeper asked.
Querying directives, selecting all…
3 results found.
1. The Son of Stars must survive.
2. The Lunar Huntress must survive.
3. Human civilization must survive.
The urge to strike came back. She resisted.
“He’s a monster, like the rest of them. The world will be better without them.”
She felt a chill rush throughout her very being.
Validation in progress…
1. The Son of Stars must survive. - No Violation
2. The Lunar Huntress must survive. - No Violation
3. Human civilization must survive. - No Violation.
Validation successful, command queued: Continue full assault.
“Fenik…” the boy said breathlessly.
The fox limped over to the boy and tugged at his collar with its teeth. The fox couldn’t move the boy, its legs failed it as it pulled. It tried again and again to pull him away, staring Leiel in the eyes as it did, whining as it struggled.
For Leiel, this was a new reaction from an Esperitus. She found them to be selfish creatures. Voracious eaters, living by fight or flight. The fox gave up trying to pull the boy, curling up on top of him, shaking while still staring her down. She was wrong. This is not how she wanted her mistake to turn out.
New directive input detected. Querying directives, selecting all…
1. The Son of Stars must survive.
2. The Lunar Huntress must survive.
3. The Symbiote must survive.
4. Human civilization must survive.
Cerebrospinal Read Only Memory flash requires restart.
Cerebral link detected force
d shutdown. Propagating to surrogate limbs.
L-R Upper Limb Pair failed to respond.
L-R Lower Limb Pair failed to respond.
Warning: Unresponsive Limb Pairs still active! Unable to acknowledge shutdown of surrogate limbs.
Leiel fell unconscious. Before the world faded, she felt her sword arm launch into motion. Her green irises dimmed black.
Dumping RAM disk to storage.
Checksum validation…
…
…
…
Checksum validation completed successfully.
Flashing Cerebrospinal Read Only Memory…
Flash complete.
Cerebrospinal uplink establishing limb connections…
Cerebral link received response.
L-R Upper Limb Pair received response.
L-R Lower Limb Pair received response.
Directive fatal warning: Symbiote life signs critical, recommend immediate response.
Skipping full start up…
Reactor temperature warning: load at 97%. Runaway Meltdown limit: 98%
Chapter 8
The light returned to Leiel’s eyes. She looked down to see the sword driven deep into the stone block floor. The blade fell just short of the boy.
The Gatekeeper smashed his hand against the Manus Dei frantically as Leiel reached up with the tentacle and launched it at him. He tucked the device under one arm, and braced with the other. His robe was torn away by the strike, revealing a mechanical arm, used to deflect her attack.It ripped off from his body, sending blood shooting out at the walls. He tumbled backwards from the force, disappearing into the storm.
The sun peeked over the horizon. Rangers emerged from the forest at full jog, followed by the Myrmidon. In a barren field of dirt, Gessich lay tucked in a black cocoon with both his and the fox’s heads poked out from it. Her sword planted above them.
Leiel stood watch over the two as she was approached by the cohorts. Skin crawled down her hips, ringed around like a skirt, waving gently in the breeze as it slowly molded into her form.
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