“It’s just you and him, Reaper. According to my readings you’re the only two left in the building,” Howie said over the radio as I reached the end of the hallway and stared up at the tall double doors that stood before me.
“I guess they either didn’t think we’d get this far or they didn’t think he’d need any help,” I said as I swallowed a massive lump in my throat.
“Just remember to use your speed, Reap. He’s considerably stronger than you but you’ve got the edge when it comes to speed,” Howie reassured.
“10-4,” I said as I took a deep breath and threw the door open.
THE INTERIOR OF THE ROOM WAS AS EXPANSIVE AS THE main hall of a catholic cathedral. Stunning white marble walls towered several feet into the air and nearly every inch of the spectacular room was covered with a myriad of exquisite designs. The dome-like ceiling hung hundreds of feet overhead and as I silently made my way to the middle of the extravagant room it was easy to see that the enormous high-tech device sitting in the center of this architectural masterpiece didn’t belong. A gigantic hooded figure wearing black and gold Anokian-Steel armor and a furry ivory-colored cloak sat in front of the device with his back facing me. I could only assume that the device was the Equillian antimatter bomb and the large figure seemingly praying before it was Cyrus, The Godhand.
His back was literally as wide as a full-size SUV and his head was clearly level with my own despite the fact that he was still seated on the floor. My heartbeat quickened as I noticed the gleaming eight-foot-long sword lodged into the marble floor beside him, but despite his astronomical size and the sight of the incredibly intimidating weapon beside him, I knew I couldn’t back down— not with the fate of the world at stake.
“Get up,” I growled as I placed my right hand on the handle of one of the Anokian-Steel bats on my back. “I said get up and fight!” I ordered after he ignored me and continued to sit in silence.
“Stay your hand, Reaper, and listen to what I have to tell you,” The Greater’s voice suddenly called out from somewhere to my right. Fury burned in my chest as I whipped around to face him, but to my surprise I quickly discovered that The Greater was not actually speaking to me in person but he was instead communicating with the use of a flickering blue hologram that was projected from a small device that sat on the floor a few feet to the right of the bomb.
“There’s nothing for us to discuss and I know you’re just stalling for time,” I growled.
“Reaper, you must see that you have no chance of victory,” The Greater replied. “If you proceed you will gain nothing but annihilation.”
“I’ll take my chances,” I scoffed.
“You STUPID boy! Can’t you see that we do not wish to destroy you?!” The Greater barked.
“Then give Monica back to me! That’s the only way I’ll stop!” I shot back.
“You’re a fool, Reaper. You fight to save these humans all the while not realizing that it is they who are your enemy. You are no more than a weapon to them— it is my father’s wish for you to live but I will not allow you to stand in the way of our salvation. If you refuse to stand down The Godhand WILL destroy you!”
“No, he won’t, because I challenge you for the right to rule the Anokian Empire. Now get down here and face me you coward!” I barked.
“It does not work that way, boy. Now that I am the High King you must first defeat my Right Hand before you are permitted to challenge me for the Crown,” The Greater replied as his hologram gestured toward The Godhand, who still sat silently in front of the massive antimatter bomb.
“Then I challenge you for The Right Hand of the Crown!” I barked at The Godhand, who still continued to ignore me.
“You cannot challenge The Godhand without the blessing of an Elder Priest,” The Greater sighed.
“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you? You’re all afraid that I can actually win!” I protested.
“Give the boy what he wants, Darius,” The Godhand suddenly said in a booming voice that was so deep that I almost didn’t understand him. “As High King it is well within your power to bestow upon him the right to challenge me and it would be my honor to defend your right to rule against him.”
“Very well… you can consider this your parting gift,” The Greater conceded after a few moments of contemplation. “By my decree you are hereby deemed worthy in your pursuit of the Right Hand of the Crown… may your journey to oblivion be swift, brother,” he continued just before his hologram flickered from view.
An overwhelming sense of dread washed over my entire body as The Godhand suddenly placed his enormous hands onto the floor, sending a resounding thud echoing around the room. My hands trembled with a mixture of fear and anticipation but I still stood my ground and withdrew the Anokian-Steel bats from my back as that giant of a man rose to his feet before me. Howie had already warned me about his enormous size but no words could put into perspective just how massive and truly imposing he actually was. It was one of those things you just had to see for yourself and now that I had seen it, I couldn’t have been more nervous.
My head was barely level to his chest by the time he turned to face me. I couldn’t see his eyes through the menacing visor on the front of his shimmering golden helmet but something told me that there was nothing but hatred in his eyes as he towered almost three feet above me. He was covered from head to toe in a black and gold suit of fortified Anokian-Steele armor and his large ivory-colored cloak wavered in the air behind him as we stood and glared at each other in uneasy silence. His cloak seemed to be made of some type of exotic white fur, and as I watched it flutter around his neck and shoulders I couldn't help but feel as though he looked like a powerful lion staring down at the weakling who would soon become his next meal.
My heart rate tripled as the nine-foot-tall beast of a man suddenly lashed out at me much faster than I thought he was capable of. Luckily I was able to zip out of the way of his outstretched hands and I returned fire with a vicious swing of the Anokian-Steel bat in my right hand before he had time to react. The Godhand barely moved as my incredibly dense bat crashed against his armored torso and I cried out in unbelievable pain as a powerful vibration rippled through my bat and stung my right hand. I was still reeling in pain when The Godhand’s armored right fist suddenly slammed into my chest and head and sent me flying into the air. The entire room shook as I crashed into a colossal pillar across the room and fell to the floor in a heap. My mask’s display was partially damaged by the impact and I was seeing stars as I pulled myself from the floor, but luckily I was still able to notice when The Godhand leapt thirty feet into the air and prepared to crush me beneath his feet.
I quickly dove to my left just as he slammed to the floor and sent huge chunks of marble and dust flying into the air. I scrambled back to my feet and quickly reached for my bats but my heart skipped a beat when my hands came up empty.
“Dammit!” I cursed as I realized that I had dropped the bats after The Godhand knocked me across the room. I spotted them lying near the area where he had punched me, but before I could dash over and retrieve them The Godhand charged in once again and forced me to zip further away from the bats. He stumbled forward as I zoomed out of his reach and before he could regain his balance I lowered my shoulder and charged into him at over two-hundred miles per hour, but despite my blazing speed, The Godhand barely moved when I slammed against him.
My eyes widened with fear as he quickly turned and grabbed my left arm before I could scurry away. I tried desperately to yank my arm from his grasp but his hand was so large and his strength was so overwhelming that it felt as though he could literally rip my arm from its socket at any moment.
“Use the injectors, Reap!” Howie yelled in my ear piece as The Godhand raised his boulder-sized right hand and prepared to crush me. My heart throbbed uncontrollably in my chest as I quickly withdrew an injector from my inner coat pocket with my free hand and jammed it into my thigh just as his fist descended upon me.
My pupils in
stantly dilated to the maximum as the rush of adrenaline threw my heart into overdrive and the floor beneath me cracked and buckled as I used the ensuing boost of strength and energy to block The Godhand’s haymaker with my right forearm. I gritted my teeth and wrapped my right hand around his massive left thumb as The Godhand prepared to strike me again. It took everything I had just to move his thumb a few inches but luckily I was able to bend it backward far enough to slip my arm out of his iron grip just before he could hit me.
In a flash I sidestepped his downward strike then countered with a leaping right hook to the side of his head that sent him stumbling. My right hand throbbed as I crashed my fist against his reinforced armor once again, but despite the pain I kept pushing as I realized that I had knocked him off balance. Pain rippled throughout my right forearm as I leapt into the air and caught him with another right hook that nearly toppled him to the floor. Furious, The Godhand reached down and used his hands to catch his balance then he charged back at me like a raging rhino as soon as my feet touched the floor. I used my super speed to zip out of the way of his charging attack then I countered with a leaping uppercut that snapped his head back and sent his entire body flipping into the air.
“Are you kidding me?!” I cried out in disbelief as The Godhand somehow recovered his balance in midair and landed on his feet with an effortlessly graceful back flip.
“Don’t be fooled by his size, Reaper! He’s just as agile as Ace,” Howie warned in my earpiece.
“No sh—” I started, but my sentence was cut off when The Godhand suddenly charged towards me much faster than I thought he was capable of. I used my speed to slip by his first attack but I was completely caught off guard when he whipped into a spinning backhand punch that sent me sprawling head over heels across the room.
“Reaper?!” Howie screamed as I crashed hard against a wall and collapsed to the floor. “Reaper, get up! You have to get up right now!” he continued as The Godhand trudged towards me from several meters away. My head was spinning and every inch of my body was begging me to give up— but all I could think about was how badly I wanted to save Monica and I knew I couldn’t do that unless I got past him.
“This is hopeless, half-breed. Give up now while you still draw breath,” The Godhand warned as I pulled my aching body from the floor and defiantly rose to my feet.
“I’ll never give up,” I said as I held my fists before me. “And I won’t stop until you’re just a smear on the bottom of my boot! Now, come on!” I yelled as we simultaneously lashed out at each other. The Godhand’s massive hands engulfed mine but I stood my ground and grappled with him near the edge of the room.
The muscles in my arms ached and burned as I pushed against him with all my might in order to keep his crushing strength from overwhelming me. Large cracks spread in the marble beneath my feet as I began to lose my grip, but before he could successfully force me to the floor I slipped my left arm away from his grasp then turned my hips and hip tossed him high into the air. My eyes widened with surprise as he once again displayed almost supernatural dexterity by contorting his gigantic body in midair then landing to his feet as softly as a Siberian tiger.
The Godhand leapt after me as soon as his feet hit the ground, but his giant fist smashed through the marble floor instead of me as I slithered to his right then ducked behind him before he could recover. In a flash, I leapt onto his back and tried to lock him into a sleeper hold but the thick furry cloak that wavered round his massive neck made it almost impossible to get a decent grip.
Oh crap! I thought as The Godhand reached back and grabbed a fist full of my trench coat and yanked me from his back.
“Move, Reaper!” Howie screamed in my ear as The Godhand dangled me in front of him by the tail of my long trench coat.
“Geez, Echo!” I yelled as I quickly slipped my arms out of the sleeves of my trench coat and fell to the floor just in time to avoid the earth shattering right cross that he had thrown at me. “What the hell do you think I’m—” I started but my words were suddenly interrupted by a devastating front kick from The Godhand that sent me flying back towards the center of the main hall.
“You were saying?” Howie retorted as I hit the floor and came to a sliding stop in the middle of the room.
“Look, Echo, can you save the commentary for when I’m not getting my ass kicked?!” I objected as The Godhand rumbled towards me like a raging grizzly bear.
He crossed the room much quicker than I expected but I still managed to leap to my feet and catch his humongous boot in midair just before he had a chance to stomp me. Fire erupted in my shoulders as I pushed against his foot in order to keep from being crushed, but my arms were puny compared to his gigantic leg and when they finally gave out his foot slammed against my chest and face and completely shattered my mask’s visor as he stomped me into the marble below.
The air rushed from my lungs and blood spurted from my mouth as the back of my head slammed against the marble floor. He then drew back his right foot and punted me across the room so hard that I was nearly knocked unconscious as I ragdolled against the wall then fell to the floor below.
Howie was screaming something to me as The Godhand trudged towards me but I couldn’t hear a thing over the sound of my raging heartbeat throbbing inside my head. My body was yelling for me to stop and my brain was screaming for me to run— but I knew I had to fight on. This was the same way I felt halfway through my fight with The Greater, and if I had listened to the doubts that clouded my judgment then I never would have lived to see the end of that fight.
My heartbeat quickened as I tossed away my damaged gas mask then placed a spare ear piece in my ear while I fought hard to pull myself to my feet despite the pain that was reverberating throughout my entire body. The fire in my muscles suddenly faded away as the rush of adrenaline brought on by my spiking heart rate numbed the pain.
“What are you smiling about?” The Godhand scoffed as I wiped a trail of blood from my mouth and smirked at him.
“I’m smiling because you don’t realize how screwed you are. Just ask your buddy, The Greater— the worst thing you can do in a fight against me is kick my ass!” I warned as I rocketed towards him at over five-hundred miles per hour. Rage and adrenaline filled my veins as I ducked beneath his swinging fist and caught him on the chin with a leaping uppercut that sent him flying through the air.
“Not this time!” I yelled as I leapt after him and stopped him from recovering his balance in midair with a powerful superman punch that sent him crashing to the floor below.
Despite the power of my attacks The Godhand still leapt to his feet as quickly as he hit the floor. He fired a massive right cross as we rushed towards each other but I correctly anticipated the punch and slid to his right before he could land the blow. I countered with another leaping superman punch that nearly spun his head around, but despite the surge of adrenaline that was augmenting my strength and speed I was still clearly not powerful enough to cause any lasting damage.
“What the hell was that, Echo?” I asked as thunderous explosions from outside shook the entire building.
“The Anokians just broke through a portion of the force field,” Howie replied as I backed away and braced myself for The Godhand’s next attack.
“Oh no! Audrey!” I gasped as I momentarily thought about zooming back into the courtyard, but before I could even move a muscle The Godhand took advantage of my distraction and hammered me hard to the floor. He tried to follow up with a stomp but I managed to scramble away before he could crush me beneath his boot. In a flash I leapt to my feet but I was just as quickly slammed back to the marble floor as The Godhand leapt after me and caught me with a powerful clothesline before I could get away.
I have to get out there! I’ve got to save Audrey! I thought as I frantically fought to shield my head from The Godhand’s ensuing rain of crushing blows.
“Focus, Reaper! You’re going to get yourself killed if you don’t!” Howie screamed in my ear as The Godhand r
epeatedly pummeled me into the marble floor.
Howie’s screaming helped snap my attention back to defending myself and with a perfectly timed dodge I managed to slip past The Godhand’s massive fist and scamper away before he could drive me further into the floor. Despite my flowing adrenaline, my head was still throbbing with pain as I gasped for air and backed away. With all that was at stake I still wanted to believe that I could defeat him on my own but after feeling the power of the attacks that he had just pummeled me with I couldn’t help but feel overmatched. His punches were now landing much harder than they were in the beginning of our fight— so much so that I realized that all I could do was pray that I could hold him off until Ace and the boys arrived.
“You’re surprised, aren’t you, half-breed? Well you should be,” The Godhand boomed as his flowing white cloak fluttered in the air around him while I quickly injected myself with another of Howie’s adrenaline shots. “You see, the Son of Eden told me of your uncanny ability to gain strength and speed throughout the course of a battle. While I may not be able to increase my own strength as you can, I am certainly capable of holding back in order to give you a false sense of security. Even with me holding back you are not my equal, Reaper. You are nothing to me— and know that you are seconds away from experiencing the true extent of my power.”
“Then what are you standing around for, brah?” I demanded as I tossed the adrenaline injector aside. “Go ahead! Come at me!” I continued as the rush of adrenaline spreading through my system invigorated my aching muscles once again.
I met him head on at over five-hundred miles per hour but it didn’t take long for me to realize that he wasn’t lying when he said he had been holding back. The Godhand absorbed my speeding attack with ease then slammed me to the floor as if I was nothing more than a paper doll to him. Blood spurted from my mouth as the back of my head crashed against the marble floor and caused several cracks to spread out beneath me. I frantically tried to use my speed to scramble away but his hands were so quick that he kept grabbing my feet and ragdolling me back to the floor before I could get away.
Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Page 23
