The Builder's Throne

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Want me to go after him?” Sathanus, Archangel of Wrath, asked, appearing next to me and driving her axe into the chest of Seven. The blow split him open like kindling, separating his chest and giving me a terrific view of his insides.

  “No.” I shook my head as the body of General on the ground in front of me began to put itself back together. Tendrils of darkness whipped out across his chest, pulling his torso back together. “I need you to find Dred.”

  “But what about the town?” Sathanus. She pointed at the breech. “He’s there.”

  “I know.” I gritted my teeth. “But so are all our people, and after what you just did, I think Lucifer and the others can stall him.” I decked the General again, shattering his skull and spraying the ground with gobs of goo. “But I can’t risk leaving him here because I can’t kill him. Only Dred can—”

  My words were cut off as a tendril of Darkness stabbed through the back of my skull before bursting out my mouth in a spray of blood. My mind shattered as sheer, unrelenting agony ripped through me, and as I slumped on top of Seven, Sathanus was batted aside like a naughty puppy.

  As the Archangel of Wrath bounced across the ground, Seven pushed me off of himself and rose.

  “You misunderstand, Builder.” He shook his head. “My brother is much stronger than he appears. As am I.” He kicked me in the stomach, causing spittle to spray from my mouth before my body rocketed across the battlefield. I slammed into the walls of the Graveyard of Statues with so much force that shattered under the impact. As I sprawled across the cobblestone roads of the town with debris raining down on me, Seven smirked.

  “This is where you’re wondering what went wrong.” He looked at me. “Here’s the thing. Now that my brother is back within the Darkness, I am able to draw upon more of my power here. Where before my power was at the level of the seventh strongest General, now I am easily equivalent to Three. Perhaps even Two.” He made a fist, fingers curling together. “My brother will be the same way, but it gets better.” He touched his chest. “The breach will not close until I die, so our forces will keep rushing in. Your people may be strong, but they are not strong enough to endure the unending onslaught of darkness.” He smiled. “Your town is doomed.”

  “Yeah, whatever. All I heard was that you’re the boss and once you die, this all ends,” I said, pulling myself to my feet even though my vision as blurry and my mouth was filled with the taste of my own blood.

  “You should not be so cavalier, Builder. You are not strong enough for that.” He sauntered toward me, and as he hit the barrier protecting our town, it shattered like glass, effervescent shards of energy falling down all around him. “But I’ll teach you that.”

  Sathanus’s axe slammed into his slide, practically slicing him in half, but the damage didn’t seem to bother the guy. Instead, his flesh reformed around the axe’s blade until it was completely inside him. He spun, his footwork causing Sathanus to stumble toward him, and as her axe slipped from her grip, Seven smashed his palm into her face. Her head snapped backward in a spray of blood as she was launched through the wall.

  “Pesky fly,” he said before he grabbed the axe by the handle and calmly pulled it from himself, the weapon slipping free of his body like it was made of putty.

  “Sathanus,” I thought, touching her mark as I got to my feet and drew Caliburn. “Get Dred.”

  “Okay.” Sathanus’s voice was weak in my head as she lay across the battlefield broken and bleeding. Then she vanished, leaving me alone with the General.

  He threw a glance over his shoulder at Sathanus. “Annoying, but it cannot be helped.” He swung Wrath’s axe at me, and as he did, I realized it was a bit slower. Had he gotten weakened when Sathanus left? I wasn’t sure, but I damned sure wanted to find out.

  I met his charge, catching Sathanus’s axe on Caliburn, and as he pushed me backward through the town, I smiled. He wasn’t as strong as before either. I stepped sideways, allowing his momentum to push itself past me. As he stumbled, I blasted him in the back with Hellfire.

  The fireball smashed into him, throwing him from his feet, but instead of following up, I raced across the battlefield toward where the remaining Knights were busily hacking into the backs of the enemies.

  “Get through the portal,” I said as Seven appeared next to me, axe lashing out at me.

  “On it,” Galahad said, as I caught the blow and rolled backward at the same time. This time, I tossed the General across the battlefield.

  “Good luck.” Galahad’s eyes flicked to the General before turned to the other knights. “With me.” He dove through the breach, and as his men followed him, I raced toward Seven.

  He was recovering even slower now, and as the last of the Knights exited Hell, he seemed positively frozen.

  I drove Caliburn through his back, pinning him to the ground before tearing it sideways in a violent arc that all but split him in two.

  “Not so strong now that I’ve sent everyone away, huh?” I said before I soccer kicked him, snapping his head backward. “I almost forgot that your level of strength was based on who was here, and since everyone else is gone, it’s just you and me.” I wrapped the chain holding the Ark around my knuckles. “Guess it’s time to see how strong you really are.”

  38

  “You will never defeat the Empress,” Seven said, pulling himself to his feet.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I waved absently, “to your soul and all that rot.” I gripped Caliburn tightly as I called upon my power. “I don’t care what you or the Empress thinks. No matter how much you want it. I won’t let you win. Sometimes, there are things in this world you can’t beat no matter how much you want it.” I tapped my chest with my sword. “I am one of those things.”

  “How foolish you are,” he replied, reaching out toward the horde of Darkness warriors still pouring through the breach. “How very foolish.” His hand twitched, and an entire squadron of darkness dragons exploded. As their remains rained down across the battlefield, their Dark Blood cores glowed violently.

  They surged through the air, slamming into Seven and shattering. Emerald sparks leaped from his body, and his dark eyes began to glow with green fire. He inhaled sharply, drawing in the last of the power.

  “Now, then, where were we, Builder?” His left hand whipped out, and a fiery katana appeared within it. Flame blazed across its edge as he brought it up in front of himself. “Ah yes, you were about to die screaming for mercy.”

  An arc of flame burst out of the sword as he stepped inward, pivoted, and struck down in an overhead swing. I brought Caliburn up to block, and as I did, a flurry of razor-sharp tentacles exploded from his free hand.

  They tore upward into my side, rending me nearly from crotch to shoulder, and as pain exploded from the wound, my guard faltered. Seven’s flaming sword crashed down onto my other shoulder. The searing pain of burning flesh filled my mind to nearly the breaking point right before he kicked me in the chest, shattering my ribs.

  I bounced violently across the charred wasteland as Seven reappeared above me, his sword raised far above his head. He looked like a top ready to unwind, and as he swung at me, I blasted him in the face with Ark-infused Hellfire.

  As he stumbled backward, his face blown clean off to reveal the charred, blackened bone beneath, I hoisted myself up.

  I wasn’t totally healed, but I could move well enough to follow up. I drove my fist into his stomach, punching a hole clean through his body. As a wave of silvery light exploded from the Ark clutched in my bloody fist, I drove my forehead into the spot where his nose would be.

  “Did you honestly think I could be defeated by someone like you?” I asked, driving Caliburn into his left knee and severing it cleanly from his body. As he toppled to the ground, I smashed the Ark into the back of his skull, driving him face first into the earth. “Let me show you why I am called the Builder of Legend!”

  I stabbed Caliburn straight through his back, driving the weapon down as hard as I could until the cros
s guard slammed into his shoulder blades. Then I wrapped the Ark around the hilt, infusing Caliburn with its power. The General screamed, raspy, bloody cries ripped from his throat as I stood, leaving him pinned there. I couldn’t kill him, so this was all a useless distraction.

  Fortunately, I could do something else.

  “Be a good boy and stay put,” I said, pulling the Ark away and spinning on my heel.

  I rushed toward the army of Darkness still surging through the breach. I hit it like a freight train, calling upon the power of Lucifer’s armament, the Ruthless Crown of Pride, to summon a massive tornado in between the army and the breach. As it sprang to life, throwing Darkness warriors every which way, I reached out toward the closest dragon with the armament of Greed.

  My power latched onto its Dark Blood core, and I pulled with every ounce of strength in the Relentless Grips of Greed. The core hit my outstretched hand a moment later, and as I drew upon the power within it, I fed it into the massive tornado. Blots of emerald lightning raged within it as it tore into the armies, stopping the surge.

  That’s when I heard Seven move. I turned, the Ark glowing violently in my left hand and met the General’s vicious charge. The force of the blow flung me backward, but even as I felt my bones crack, I ignored it. They would heal.

  Sparking bolts of energy leaped from the Ark in my hand as Seven followed up. His flaming sword came down in an overhead swing, and as it did, I realized he was going for the same move he’d used earlier.

  So, I decided to go with a different tactic. I stepped forward, causing his forearm to smash into my shoulder while I drove the Ark into his chin with a devastating uppercut. The blow sent the General rocketing backward, and as he hit the ground, the tornado behind me began to die out.

  I spun, about ready to infuse energy into it when Seven raised one hand high into the air.

  “Die!” he cried as I turned back toward him.

  The heavens seemed to tear open as a massive spear of purple energy exploded from the skies as if thrown by God himself. It struck me in the center of the chest, ripping through my body before shattering into millions of tiny, razor-sharp shards. Pain exploded through every inch of my body, electrifying my nerves as I dropped to my knees.

  Blood poured from the wound in my chest as Seven charged, blade raised high into the air to deliver the final blow. As it came down, slicing into my shoulder, I smashed the Ark into his chest, “my turn.”

  The horrific, crackling power of the Ark burst forth like a raging demon, ripping through Seven and throwing him across the ground, and as his body bounced once, twice, three times, I coughed blood onto the dirt.

  “Nice shot,” Dred said, clapping one hand on my shoulder, and as I turned to find both him and Sathanus standing there, he smiled at me. “Mind if I take it from here?”

  “Yeah, Seven is all yours,” I said, pushing myself from my feet. “I was getting bored, anyway.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Dred said, marching forward like an avenging god, Excalibur in his hand.

  As he drove it into the Fallen General, Excalibur began to spark. The blade glowed molten hot and seemed to warp as the sky above thundered. As the General was absorbed into the Excalibur, the breach shattered, and as bits of flame rained down around us, Dred let out a cry of pain.

  “Something’s wrong,” he said, clutching his chest as the various Heavenly Armaments began to glow as molten as the sword in his hands. Then, one by one, the Marks of Heaven covering his body went up like firecrackers, leaving the flesh behind charred and steaming.

  “You’ve absorbed too much Darkness.” I moved toward him while staring at his stats.

  Imbued with Darkness III – The user has absorbed six immortal Darkness Generals. All powers associated with Heaven or Hell will be 70% less effective. The user can now only leave the Darkness during breaches. The user can no longer wield armaments or weapons associated with Heaven or Hell.

  Would you like to remove the flaw to Imbued by Darkness III? Cost 700,324,000 experience. The user does not have the requisite experience to remove this flaw.

  “Guh,” Dred cried, clutching his chest and falling to his knees, and as Excalibur fell from his hand to hit the ground beside him, it stopped glowing.

  “Take off the armaments,” I said, and as I spoke, his entire body began to fade away as the color leeched toward the dying breach.

  “I… I can’t move,” he mumbled right before collapsing to his hands and knees. The strange thing was, as he felt, the fiery katana Seven had used during our fight began to flare brightly, causing some color to return to Dred.

  “Grab the katana,” I said, and as Dred closed his fingers around the hilt, Sathanus grabbed him by the arm.

  “Let me help,” she whispered, and as he nodded, she teleported, leaving me standing there all alone.

  I stood there, standing on an empty battlefield. Hell had definitely been hurt, but not so badly that I knew we wouldn’t be okay in a few days. The thing was, with Dred unable to wield Excalibur, how the hell were we supposed to stop the other Generals?

  “I wonder …” I moved forward and reached down toward Excalibur. This time when I touched the weapon, it didn’t attack me violently. Instead, it felt comfortable? Not like how Caliburn did, but similarly.

  Gripping the weapon tightly in my left hand, I pulled up its stats.

  Excalibur

  Type: Longsword

  Durability: 107,000/250,000

  Damage: 4D20 (Conditional)

  Enchantments: Immortal Blow

  Ability: Absorption – Can be used by the Destroyer to absorb the fallen.

  A quick glance at the conditional beside the damage let me know that while I could use the weapon, it wouldn’t deal any damage since I wasn’t the Destroyer. Frustrated, I moved back to where I’d driven Caliburn into the ground and wrapped my right hand around it. As I drew it from the ground, the sky above shuddered, and a new achievement appeared before my eyes.

  Achievement: Doomblade unlocked.

  Doomblade – Combine the Destroyer’s sword with the Builder’s Sword in the Well of Souls.

  I stared at the achievement for a moment before looking down at the two weapons. If I could combine the two swords, maybe I could gain the Immortal Blow enchantment and actually be able to kill these sons of bitches.

  “Well, first thing’s first,” I said, sheathing Excalibur in Caliburn’s sheath and heading toward the border between Hell and the Darkness where Five was no doubt fighting my people.

  39

  As I stepped through the border between Hell and the Darkness, a blast of heat hit me full in the face. The whole world was fire, burning, and more fire. Caliburn blazed in my hand, the edge so white-hot, it boiled the air around them as I tried to take a breath.

  It was too hot to breathe without scalding my insides. The moisture on my skin evaporated, and my lips cracked. The taste of blood filled my mouth for a split second before my tongue dried out in the heat, but I pressed on anyway. I could feel the fires coming from our town, and even though each step threatened to reduce me to a cinder, I kept moving forward.

  Light spilled from Caliburn’s edge as white lightning crackled across the sky overhead like electrical dragonfly wings, and that’s when I realized it was raining. It was just so hot that most of the falling water was reduced to steam high up in the sky.

  “What’s going on?” I murmured, trying to feel my friends through the marks, but like when One had confronted us outside the cave, I felt cut off from the others. Damn.

  As I took my next step, the ground below me erupted, spitting a geyser of lava up into the air. Ignoring it, I tried to weave through it, but as I got closer and closer, more geysers erupted from the ground.

  “Dammit,” I cried, skidding to a stop just before the ground in front of me spit more lava into the air. I dodged, barely, and as I tried to sidestep around the molten geyser, I saw about a zillion fireballs ranging in size from softballs to Volkswagen bugs stre
ak toward me.

  It was way too many to try to dodge, but maybe I didn’t have to dodge them, maybe I just needed to cut a path through them. I shut my eyes and reached out with my mind, focusing on the power within me.

  I felt it then, the strength of my friends, and it was waning. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  “Never.” My eyes snapped open, and I tore forward, trusting my instincts.

  Sapphire light spilled out of Caliburn as I slashed at the first fireball. Flames hit the metal a second later, but as the blast of fire rippled out around me, and I felt the temperature rise by hundreds of degrees, I ignored it, and the pain both. Those things did not matter.

  Then I called the weather, summoning a tornado in front of myself and pushing it forward to clear a path. Only as I surged forward, a wave of heat hit me from the left. I turned toward it in time to see a solid wall of lava rushing toward me.

  I shifted, trying to find a way to dodge around it, but as I did, a fist came rushing through the rivulets of flame and smashed into the underside of my chin. My jaw snapped shut as I hurtled backward through the air, my grip slipping free of Caliburn’s hilt. The blade tumbled from my hands as the sky above me shattered into a million shards of fiery light.

  My vision dimmed, fading to black around the edges as a girl with hair of flame and skin like the darkest night reached out and plucked Caliburn from the air. The moment the girl wrapped her ashen hand around the hilt of the weapon, a gout of flame shot from its tip, painting the sky in dancing oranges and blues. She turned to face me, eyes were ablaze with determination as gobs of lava hovered all around her.

  “Greetings, Builder,” she said, nodding toward me, and as she spoke, a flaming three appeared in the air behind her. “I am most pleased to meet your acquaintance.” She dropped into a low curtsy that caused her flaming hair to flare like the sun.