Harbinger (Nova Online #3) - A LitRPG Series

by Alex Knight

  Realistically, it wasn’t a very good threat. Kaiden had never been particularly good at sounding intimidating. He didn’t delude himself about that, but Moran seemed so unconcerned he didn’t even bother to acknowledge anything had been said. Instead, he looked at Zelda, and for the first time since they’d met, a smile pulled at his lips.

  “Zelda.” He drew out the name, let it hang in the air, echo through the chamber a moment. “Now, you’re the interesting one of this bunch of rabble rousers. The brains of the operation. There’s potential in you.”

  “Who killed Bernstein?” she snapped by way of response. “Who ordered it? Who carried it out?” She raised her hammer-gun and took aim at him. “They will answer for it.”

  “Does it matter?” Moran asked. He looked genuinely surprised. “Bernstein’s dead. He’s not a factor in this anymore. No longer able to affect the outcome. That was, admittedly, the point of having him killed.”

  “It was you, then?” There was an edge to her voice Kaiden had never heard before, but in the moment, he welcomed it. He agreed with it, could feel his own anger rising inside him. They’d never learned who killed Bernstein – one of the mysteries even his database couldn’t solve. But someone had been responsible. And from the looks of things, Moran was the odds-on favorite.

  “Would it make you feel better if I said it was me? Would that bring you peace? Let your mind rest thinking you’ve avenged him?” Moran looked genuinely curious.

  “It’d be a start,” she snarled.

  “No, it wouldn’t. Don’t lie to yourself.” Moran took a step forward and everyone tensed, raising hammers and flicking on shields. “Bernstein’s death will weigh on your heart for the rest of your life. Just like every serious mistake you’ve ever made. Every decision you regret. Every person you love that you’ve failed. These transgressions, these weaknesses – they never go away. They weigh us down. They hold us back. The only way to be truly free of them is to keep moving forward.”

  “What, and become like you?” Kaiden snapped.

  Moran frowned.

  “Boy, you don’t know the first thing about me.”

  “I know you’re standing between us and the broadcast control console. In this moment, that’s about all I need to know.”

  “Damn straight,” Titus added. “It’s about time we did something about that, don’t you think?”

  Moran sighed and closed his eyes. Kaiden almost charged him then, almost took the moment to strike first. But then Moran’s eyes were open again and he looked genuinely frightened.

  “If that database goes out to the masses, chaos will follow. Upheaval. Violence. Death. You will be responsible for throwing the world back into unchecked violence and bloodshed. Back into the darkness we fought so hard to defeat during the Great Test.” Moran drew his hammer. “And if I fail to stop you, I’ll be just as responsible.” He shook his head at that thought. “I buried friends. Brothers. People I loved. I won’t see their sacrifices made meaningless.”

  “Your actions have already done that,” Thorne said. “How do you not see it? The Party is built on violence. Upheld by abuse, injustice. You encourage people like Werner. Bullies and sadists propped up by the very system you cherish.”

  “Werner is a useful tool. A hammer, say. Crude, perhaps, but effective.” Moran paused then and scowled. “We could debate these points ad infinitum, I fear, and never see eye to eye. You just don’t understand. Thorne, I thought you did. I thought the Test had shown you the hard truths of our world. I see now that I was mistaken. You don’t see reality. But I do. And I’ll do whatever I must in order to protect it.”

  “He’s stalling,” Kaiden said. The thought hit him like a freight train. Of course he was. Did Moran believe what he was saying? Was he really that deluded? It didn’t matter. They were on the clock and every moment they spent debating him was a moment lost. A moment closer to Killswitch taking Nova offline.

  Twenty-seven minutes on the timer…

  “You’re buying time for Killswitch to complete,” Kaiden said, and for the first time since the conversation had begun, Moran looked surprised.

  “Maybe there’s more to you than I thought,” he said.

  “Let’s find out,” Kaiden said.

  “Let’s.” Moran waved his hand in the air. A door in the wall that Kaiden hadn’t noticed slid open and a dozen max-level wardens strode out, hammers raised and shields on.

  “Shit,” Thorne said, backing up a pace and setting her feet in a combat stance.

  Kaiden’s heart fell through his stomach, but there wasn’t time to worry. Only time to act. The battle had just become unwinnable. They needed a new plan, and fast.

  “I let Werner have his moment,” Moran said. “But he screwed it up. I’ll be doing no such thing.” He gave a signal and the wardens charged.

  Something exploded behind Kaiden and he spun to find more wardens behind them.

  “Behind us, too!” he shouted, but something was wrong. The wardens charging down the tunnel weren’t looking at them. They were focused on Moran and his men. And their armor was bent and bloodied, as if they’d just fought through hell itself. Which they had, Kaiden realized as he recognized the two wardens leading the charge.

  “Dawson! Sola!”

  “Got a bit delayed up top,” Dawson grunted.

  “Better late than never, though, right?” Sola flashed past, Lightspeed active. The rest of the rebel wardens followed her and the room exploded into chaos. Abilities fired off on all sides and it was all Kaiden could do to usher Zelda out of the line of fire.

  “This is our chance,” he said, eyes fixed on the console in the side room. “Get to the console!”

  Thorne and Titus followed as the previously dark cavern blossomed with explosions and laser fire such that it was bright as day. But the wardens were too busy focusing on each other. An initial volley of Improved Kinetic Grenades and Improved Warden’s Bolts had filled the cavern with fire and dust and particle effects so much that it looked more like a rave than a fight to the death.

  “Go, go!” Kaiden shouted, ducking through the chaos then sprinting toward the console room. Zelda slipped in first but Kaiden was a step behind. Then Thorne, then Titus.

  “Send the message, quick!” Kaiden shouted, then positioned himself next to Titus. “We’ll keep you covered.”

  “Don’t waste your effort,” a voice said.

  Kaiden squinted into the smoking mess of explosions and debris as a figure strode forth.

  Moran.

  Kaiden retreated a step as the warden hierarch reached the doorway. Moran tossed a look over his shoulder, and when he turned back to Kaiden there was doubt in his eyes.

  “What, not liking the changing odds?” Kaiden asked.

  “No.” Moran pressed a button on his armor and the ceiling rumbled. A thick steel door descended just behind him and before Kaiden could react it’d cut them off from the battle raging without. They were left alone in the console room with Moran.

  “These odds, on the other hand, are much better.”

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  “All right,” Kaiden said, switching to group comms. “This guy’s like some sort of souped-up power warden, right?”

  From his appearance, that was the best he could figure. Moran didn’t have the massive shield of a shield warden, nor the sleekness of an enhanced warden, and definitely not the hammer-gun of a blast warden. That just left power warden. Power warden with a small hammer, maybe, but Kaiden wasn’t under the illusion that it took a big hammer to do big damage.

  “We’ll deal with this asshole like we would any other high-level enemy. Titus, try to tank his attacks. Thorne, deal all the damage you can. I’ll harass him. And Zelda…”

  “Charge up and hit him with everything I got. I know the drill,” she said, then fell back toward the rear of the room. It was a relatively small space, no more than twenty paces across, and Moran watched her as she went.

  Eyes over here! Kaiden darted in, hamme
r raised. He went in fast, sprinting with everything he had and everything his stamina would allow. Moran turned to face him just as Kaiden brought his hammer down on the man’s head. Except – no. The attack had missed?

  Moran was a step to the side. Kaiden swung again. Another miss. Moran had moved again. He’d waited until the last possible moment, then simply stepped out of the way of the attack.

  “How high is this guy’s dex stat?”

  Kaiden didn’t have long to ponder the question as Moran lashed back with a hammer strike. The blow slammed into Kaiden’s Intangible Defense bubble and shattered it. Kaiden’s health was spared, though – right up until Moran’s second attack caught him in the jaw. Kaiden’s health bar flashed down to ninety-two percent.

  He growled, then kept swinging as Titus and Thorne joined the fight. Neither had any charge yet so they came in with a flurry of hammer strikes. Thorne needed to connect with her hits to build charge while Titus needed to block attacks. Moran backpedaled, facing all three of them at once.

  Thorne lashed out with a downward hammer strike, then quickly followed with a rising blow. Moran ducked around the first then leaned back on his heels to let the second slip right past his chin. As he did, he landed a hammer strike on Thorne’s shoulder, then another in her ribs. Her health flashed down to eighty-five percent.

  Titus took advantage of the moment to attack from the side. Moran spun and caught his hammer strike on his shield, absorbing the blow. There was a window for Moran to counterattack but he held back instead. Titus swung again but his attack found only Moran’s shield once more.

  “He’s trying to charge-starve us,” Kaiden shouted as he realized what was up. Why else would he dodge Thorne’s attacks then block Titus’, but not hit him back? “He’s playing to our classes’ weaknesses.”

  “Play to this,” Zelda snarled. A light bloomed at the corner of Kaiden’s vision then an Improved Burst Arrow flashed toward Moran. He caught it on his shield.

  “Focus on getting into Sniper Mode,” Kaiden called to Zelda. “Then hit him with a Paralyzing Shot or something. We need to slow him down!” But Zelda was already firing another ability.

  Ability: Improved Scatter Shot

  Blasts detonate on impact, causing a small explosion that deals an additional 10% damage and blinds the target for 3 seconds.

  Moran shot straight into the air, so high he almost hit the ceiling, and the flurry of lasers passed well below him. He raised his hammer, and as Kaiden watched, it stretched, growing to the size of a power warden’s sledge.

  Ability: Earth Shatter

  You channel charge into your legs and leap into the air. Upon landing, a shockwave bursts out from around you. Opponents within 10 feet of you are knocked down.

  Moran and his newly massive hammer came back down like a one-man earthquake. The ground exploded around him and Kaiden saw Titus go down before he himself was bowled over by the attack.

  “That was a power warden attack,” Kaiden called, struggling back to his feet. “He’s a modified power warden, like I thought. Look at his hammer.”

  Moran made a go for Zelda but Thorne cut him off and set her feet.

  “Gonna have to go through me, Slaen.”

  “With pleasure, Ava.”

  Ability: Improved Chained Fury

  Your combat prowess allows you to chain attacks together. For the next 5 seconds, each attack deals an additional 20% damage for every successful attack before it.

  Moran lashed out with a series of hammer strikes, each stronger than the last.

  “Where is he getting all of this charge?” Titus shouted.

  “Improved Aggressive Mindset, probably,” Kaiden said back. “Power warden ability. He gains charge for each successful hit.”

  “But not this much charge,” Thorne grunted, dodging and ducking his assault. “Screw this.” She leaned in, letting the attacks land on her armor so she could strike back. Moran disengaged at the movement, though, sidestepping away and rushing toward Zelda who was now in Sniper Mode and charging an Inferno Shot.

  “Not so fast,” Titus snarled. His Energy Grip whipped forward and caught Moran around the ankle. A good yank and he was dragged back. Kaiden sprinted over, hammer at the ready. Titus raised his hammer as well to tear in to Moran.

  Ability: Heroic Leap

  You direct charge into your legs and hammer. Your next jump will carry you 20 feet and if you attack as you land it will deal area-of-effect damage equal to 200% base damage.

  Moran flew up before either could land a strike. He landed and slammed his hammer into the ground. Damage washed out over Kaiden. His health fell to seventy-seven percent. Titus took damage too and his health bar flashed, then stabilized at eighty-five percent.

  “Jeez. For a power warden, he’s fast as an enhanced warden,” Kaiden said. “We need to get some stuns or a slow on him.”

  “I have a better idea,” Zelda said.

  Ability: Inferno Shot

  You fire an explosive, superheated blast that ignores 50% of the target’s armor. Deals 3x base damage to all targets in range (allies included). Takes 7 seconds to charge (must be stationary).

  Kaiden rolled away as the attack exploded against Moran in an blast of superheated plasma. Stifling heat washed across the room and Kaiden’s eyes burned at the blinding light. Nonetheless, he felt himself smile.

  Let’s see how you stand up to that, huh?

  The light faded to reveal Moran was standing still and his health was untouched – still at one hundred percent.

  What?!

  A faintly glowing bubble surrounded Moran. Cracks were shot through its surface, and not a moment later it shattered and fell away.

  “That was an Intangible Defense bubble,” Kaiden said. “An enhanced warden ability.”

  “Okay…” Thorne said, cautiously approaching. “So, he has power warden abilities and enhanced warden abilities?”

  “Well, that was a good shot,” Moran said, turning to face Zelda. “It might’ve tickled even if it’d hit me.”

  “Gah!” Thorne cried as she charged in. Moran smiled.

  Ability: Shield Bash

  The warden strikes out with their shield, dealing no damage but stunning the target for 2 seconds.

  Moran slammed his shield into Thorne and her body went rigid as the stun took effect. Zelda fired an Improved Burst Arrow from Sniper Mode but Moran was already in motion again. Except there wasn’t one Moran; there were three.

  “Improved Blur!” Kaiden shouted as he recognized the ability. “How many abilities does this guy have?”

  Zelda’s attack had been aimed at the center-most Moran but as it phased through him it became apparent that was one of the body doubles.

  The three Morans lashed out at Thorne, bashing great chunks of her health away with each hit. Only one of them was actually doing damage but through Improved Blur it was impossible to tell which it was. The stun wore off with Thorne’s health at fifty-two percent, and she swung at the Moran on the right. Another body double.

  “Stimpack!” Kaiden shouted at Thorne and her health swelled back to seventy-seven percent as she used the first of her three. He popped one as well and his own health was back to full as he sprinted forward to attack Moran from behind.

  He still didn’t have any charge but Zelda had identified one of the body doubles and Thorne the other, so Kaiden managed to surprise Moran and land a hammer strike on his back for base damage. Moran’s health dropped by less than a single percent and Kaiden recoiled as a jolt of electricity jumped from the hierarch’s armor and zapped him for four percent damage.

  “Improved Volt Field?” Titus asked. “Now he has shield warden abilities? What, does he have every melee warden ability?”

  Kaiden wasn’t focused on that, though. He lashed out again, and this time landed a critical on the back of Moran’s head.

  Critical hit!

  +50% damage (Headshot)

  +5% damage (Chrono Sledge ability, extra damage on crits)
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  Moran is slowed by 30% for 2 seconds

  Improved Volt Field bit back at Kaiden for another five percent and at the same time, the warden hierarch’s health dropped by two percent. Not a good sign, Kaiden knew. His Chrono Sledge hammer had triggered on the hit, though, slowing Moran by thirty-percent for two seconds. And even more importantly, Kaiden’s Slayer passive had triggered because of the critical, so he’d gained five charge. An idea popped into his head at that.

  “You won’t give me charge? Then I’ll make my own,” he said.

  Five charge wasn’t enough to do anything, really, but it was enough to activate an ability that didn’t require any charge.

  Ability: Dual Wielding

  For a duration of 3 minutes, or until you cancel this ability, your shield reforms itself into a second hammer, which you may use alongside your normal weapon. While Dual Wielding you cannot block, your charge capacity is increased by 50%, and the effect of your Slayer passive is doubled, meaning each critical hit restores 10 charge.

  He activated the ability and his shield warped and resolved into a mirror image of his hammer. Moran raised an eyebrow as if impressed. Kaiden gave him a wink.

  Moran’s response came immediately.

  Ability: Dual Wielding

  His shield formed into a replica of his own already massive hammer.

  “Have at it, then,” he said as Kaiden charged forward. Moran was just as fast. They met in the center of the room in an exchange of hammer strikes.

  Kaiden swung his hammer in a downward blow from the right and Moran ducked under it – straight into the rising blow from the energy hammer Kaiden had sent in from the left.

  The blow connected with Moran’s elbow.

  Critical hit!

  +25% damage (Shattered Elbow)

  +5% damage (Chrono Sledge ability, extra damage on crits)