Legion of Steel

by Lucian Knight

  "What is it doing?" I asked curiously.

  "Making ammo," Devil replied as he lunged up to a tower of containers and started running at the shooter. Another bullet released from the rifle’s chamber but passed right by my head. A fourth bullet followed, and just before we met, Devil caught the projectile from the air and threw it aside. The force behind the blow sent us back, slamming us against the door we’d just come through. It felt like all the bones in my arm shattered. And surely, it was down to 327.

  "Gremory?" I growled loud enough for the whole section to hear me. Technically it was Devil, but who cared?

  "Took you long enough!" she replied. Her voice was weak and strained. "I can’t go on much longer like this."

  "Who are we fighting?"

  Devil shot back up and ripped off a piece of steel plating, twisted it and hurled it back at the Gebradim shooter.

  "They’re Nyx and Atlas!"

  "Fuck!" Devil cursed. He seemed to know the two, which was good. "No wonder you aren’t done yet!"

  "Want to take over? I’m dead tired of getting my bones rattled with each blow!"

  Devil chuckled.

  "Sure thing, love. You’ll owe me, though."

  "You wish!" Gremory yelled and darted up toward the tall, rifle-wielding Gebradim.

  "You want to play with the big boys, Atlas?" Devil shouted. "Come and get me, weakling!" he said and ripped off another piece of plating. The Gebradim’s roar was followed by a golden light that emanated from the far side of the room.

  "Watch out for that shit!" Gremory warned, just as the first crate flew toward us. My whole body started aching as the faintly nauseating sensation of a full-body takeover struck me.

  "Die for your insolence!" Atlas boomed as he charged me. Devil remained calm as he stormed our way, throwing the metallic plating at the beast in the last possible moment.

  "He’s a late second stage. Atlas I mean," an unfamiliar voice said. It was quite soothing but strong at the same time.

  "Am I hearing ghosts now?" I asked. One voice in my head was more than enough.

  "It’s me, Khepri. You know how disheartening it is not to be acknowledged by your host?"

  "Wait, you’re that second parasite thing!"

  "That’s right. And ooh, this is going to hurt!" she laughed just as Atlas’s massive right fist came flying straight at my face. Devil used my right to deflect the blow and struck Atlas’s side with my left. The tips of my claw dinged off without even so much as a scratch. Atlas used the momentum and struck my thigh, sending me flying into the crates on my left.

  Devil roared as he sprang up and charged the much larger Gebradim. His arms were as thick as my legs and packed quite a punch.

  "I think we’re going to get owned," Khepri said. "Devil isn’t fighting rationally, you know. Atlas’s outer layer is too thick to penetrate just as is. The only thing he could would be to go for the back of his neck, the kneecaps, and the shoulder joints."

  "Silence, you bug! I’m the ruler of hell!" Devil snapped.

  "You may be the ruler of hell, as you put it, but Atlas is among the top three parasites with the toughest defense," Khepri replied. "Why don’t you combine our traits? Sure, I may not be the best there is, but I’m only two places behind our opponent. Combine offense and defense."

  "Wait, we can combine parasites? Is that normal?" I asked.

  "No, it’s not!" Devil groaned as Atlas rammed his fist in my left side. I swore I could have heard and felt bone break. Surely, pain followed quickly as I got knocked off my feet.

  "Listen to her!" I snapped. "I don’t want to die here!"

  "Very well," Devil replied as I got up for the fifth time. Again, the colossal General charged, his hand already cocked behind him to deal a vicious blow. "Remember, you asked for it."

  Time crept to a halt as Atlas, Nyx, and Gremory floated in place. An image of my mutated self appeared in my mind to the left. The color schematic of my body ranged anywhere from green to a fiery orange, depending on where I’d been hit.

  To the right appeared two branches, similar to the family trees people used to make where one could trace their heritage. One belonged to Devil and the other to Khepri. Most of the images were blurred out, except the ones at the foot of the tree.

  "Choose, Human. You can pick one skill for either of us at tier 1," Devil growled. "Either active or passive, choose wisely!"

  "Be calm and choose with your instinct. You can rearrange the skills once a day, so even if you’re not satisfied, you can switch them back tomorrow. As for your body parts, you can rearrange us as well. Devil can become a right-handed claw, while I become a left-handed blunt, or you go with both claws, I take over the head and neck area, adding to your survivability. The options are endless."

  "But we aren’t able to do that yet, so how about you focus on the skills? That way, I can focus on killing these two!" Devil snapped.

  "Whatever, you sure know how to ruin the mood," I replied. "Anyway, I want the Decaying Touch and Retaliation skills. I want the left arm to become a blunt, and the right to be a bad-ass claw. Is that possible?"

  "The skills? Yes. The rearrangement? No, not yet. Once you can do a full-body takeover on your own, which should by the start of tier two," Khepri explained.

  "Are those your final choices?" Devil asked.

  "Yeah, they are."

  "Very well," he growled. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you," he grinned, snapping his finger ceremoniously. A bolt of pleasure and pain struck me at the same time, sending me into a state of bliss. It was as if someone was trying to pull my body apart, and another someone trying to prevent it. Before long, it died out, leaving me in a state of half bliss.

  "Make sure you keep this in mind. You need enough energy to activate the skills even if they’re not on cool down anymore."

  "He knows already, Khepri," Devil hissed. "Just keep pummeling things and you’ll recover the skills fast enough so you don’t have to worry about cool down, trust me."

  "At least she took the time and explained things better," I murmured. "Anyway, what are we waiting for? Go kill that bastard!"

  Chapter Fourteen

  "Are you afraid, big boy? You’ll be the perfect food for my host," Devil snarled as Atlas stepped back, bringing his hands up in a guard.

  Still, Atlas was no pushover either, and a top tier two at that. What else could he have done but go through with the attack? Lose face before his partner, Nyx? His fist connected with my jaw and sent me spinning, breaking the bone and denting metal inward.

  "Retaliation!" I hissed from pain. The order was followed by a very strange, fulfilling sensation as energy gathered at the spot that got struck and shot right back at Atlas. It hit him in the fist, bending it in an odd angle.

  "Decaying touch!" Devil roared as he spun around, striking the crack with deadly precision. The tip on my claw went right through, widening the crack enough to see the meat beneath. A wave of dark, ominous power flowed through me and directly into his hand. The bronze, shiny color started changing shades and turned black in mere seconds, as pus seeped from the hole.

  "Cursed Demon! None of your race knows how to fight with honor!" the Gebradim cried, stepping away from me. "But I still have my left fist, and you need time to recharge that power of yours! Yes, I know who you are, Lucifer!"

  Just as he divulged the information, Devil ducked to the side and grabbed his outstretched arm, swung it and hurled Atlas across the room.

  "True. We need five minutes for it to become active again," Devil replied. "I should know, right, since it’s my skill and all," he chuckled.

  "You’re weird," Khepri whispered. "How about you focus on smashing his head instead of rambling about, Devil?"

  A bullet struck my left wrist, going right through as if my armor was non-existent. Devil tried to move our hand, cursing and rambling on to himself, but it hung there limply. A clang of steel was followed by a shrill cry. I looked up, only to see Nyx standing atop a tower of six metallic crates, missin
g both arms. She kicked out and caught Gremory in the side, but Lady Death barely budged. She slammed her elbow down against the knee and swirled her blade in an arc, slicing clean through Nyx’s neck. Her head dropped down on her shoulders and rolled on the ground next to the body.

  "Nyx? No! Nyx!" Atlas bellowed, pushing himself up with his one good arm. Enraged, he smashed a pile of steel sheets out of his way as he charged. "You will pay for this, Humans! I will destroy you all!" he roared, spitting blood along with a blackish mucus.

  Atlas raised both hands and slammed them together as he approached. The lights in the bay flickered as a wave of energy released from his body, cracking open both crates and the small spacecraft alike. Metal, glass, and plastic shattered or were shredded with ease and thrown about.

  Gremory barely avoided being hit by the Gebradim as he lunged at her. She deflected the blow and twisted her body around him, slashing at his open back. It deflected, just like the many times during my assault. Just what was that thing made of? He twisted his body around and caught her with his bad hand, then proceeded to slam his fist into her face.

  Using my right arm to block the debris, I launched a spear that passed right through his knee from behind. Atlas cried as the projectile embedded him to the floor. Gremory kicked him over and struck at the damaged knee. It broke after four hits under the angle it got caught in.

  "Sorry, I couldn’t help it," Gremory laughed. "And dare I say, you sure are the looker. All you need is a sexy paint job."

  I shook my head. She was something else, both by appearance and character.

  "No, he isn’t," Devil replied. "It’s all me, baby."

  Gremory groaned before she let out a burst of projectiles that hammered Atlas against the ground. Devil didn’t look like he was one of those types that liked to play with their food, and it showed in the way he dealt with his enemies, slamming down his claw three times against the neck. A single, bladed finger penetrated the armor and released a deadly disease. Within seconds, the general’s cries of pain died out as his head turned black and stopped moving. With the last strike, Atlas’s head was ripped clean off the body. He held it up like a trophy or a love tribute in front of Gremory.

  "Shit, this host sure knows how to choose the skills. I could have sworn he’d go for the other skill," Devil laughed.

  "Hey, don’t eat the brain. You can’t handle a second parasite," Gremory warned and snapped the head from my hand. She held it in front of her for a second before a sort of energy shield appeared around the ugly trophy and it started floating.

  "You’re telling him just now? He already has two parasites in here," Devil replied, pointing at my head.

  "The hell you fucking with me for? No ordinary Human can sustain two parasites," she snapped.

  "Well, he can. And imagine who’s in here besides me."

  "I wouldn’t even know where to start," Gremory groaned.

  "Hi there," I could hear myself speak with a much brighter, and cheerful tone. It felt as if the sun shone down on me, caressing my face with its warm rays. Talk about wicked stuff. "Khepri is the name."

  Gremory’s mouth opened wide in shock, as her eyes narrowed on mine.

  "You’re shitting me, right? An assault and cursing parasitic class paired with a defensive and buffing parasite is unheard off!"

  I shrugged.

  "We should feed him a third and see if he’ll die," Devil offered.

  "No!" Gremory snapped. "No way! He’s too valuable like this! Oh, this is going to please Lucifer so much," she squealed.

  "Speaking of which," Devil started, "You can have your body back. I need to go and rest. This decaying process, along with a full-body takeover, is taxing."

  And just like that, he gave up control over my body again. It took me a few seconds before everything retracted, causing great anguish and pain in the process.

  "Shit! Transforming back sure has a kick to it," I cursed.

  "Oh, it’s you again. We need to talk to him once you’ve cleaned up and rested. For now, we should take the parasites and stash them somewhere sa—"

  "Well, well, well. If it isn’t Lady Death and the—new guy," a familiar voice rang out behind me. It was Cafka in all his ungodly glory. Behind him were a good twenty soldiers and officers. All of them held some strange-looking rifles, ranging from snipers to a mini-gun. And all of them were trained at us.

  "Commander?" I said inquisitively. "To what do we owe the honor?"

  In his left hand, he held a switch of sorts, while in his right a strange looking sword. It was long and thin, with an energy-based blade that could easily slice through anything by the looks of it. Slowly, he put his blade up, pointing it right at me.

  "Give me the Armaments, and I might just spare you," he ordered.

  "Are you sure going down that path is the right choice?" Gremory asked, stepping in between us. "And how are you sure the Armaments are still alive?"

  "I will avenge my dear boy no matter the cost. Even if I have to blow up this whole ship to do so!" he hissed waving the small switch-like contraption in his hand. If it truly were connected with a bomb as he claimed, thousands of people could die.

  "I see, Commander. You can have my parasites, both of them," I said loud enough for everyone to hear. He stared at me questioningly before his eyes went wide with disbelief. His body started shaking uncontrollably as he dropped the switch.

  "Curse you, god! Neither of my sons could even have one, but you gave such a wicked, disgusting creature two? I will never forgive you!" he screamed. His shrill voice only served to agitate the shit out of me. Slowly, I put up my clawed arm and prepared to shoot a spear at him.

  "No," Gremory whispered as Cafka raged on.

  "Devil, are there any inner changes when you host a parasite?"

  "Depending on their personality, you can change accordingly. In your case, we have a mixture from the lord of hell and a beetle god with a fairly good character. Coming down to the situation, you might get grumpy or extremely mellow, I’d say," Khepri replied.

  "Right. Could I theoretically kill him? And neither would stop me?"

  "Go ahead," Devil said. I dare you. In fact, you’ll get two waivers for killing him. If you rip his head off while he’s still alive I’ll make that five," Devil laughed.

  "And what if he blows up the ship in the process? You think your master would be happy with that?" I asked.

  Devil shrugged mentally.

  "Do you think I care?"

  I groaned and shook my head.

  "Sorry, commander. Did you say something? I was conversing with my Parasites and checking up on my survivability chances. They said it’s near two-hundred percent."

  "You dare mock me? Kill him! Kill both of them and rip out their Armaments!"

  My right arm grew much wider as bullets started flying. Most ricocheted off Khepri or the crates around us, but a few managed to get through and stung like a bitch.

  "Stop this at once!" I shouted. "The commander dies one way or the other! If you’re still loyal to him after this warning, don’t blame me for what happens ne—"

  I never even managed to finish as the training bay turned into a flaming inferno. Cafka’s second son stood there with a flamethrower in his hand. It wasn’t a toy like Edwald used on me, no, this was a nasty thing that almost looked like a tank. The soldiers caught flame and started running around like mice, burning to death or scurrying to try and find cover.

  "Die!" he cried, sending another torrent of flame that bathed me in flames. The floor, ceilings, and the wall melted in places and started venting atmosphere. I tried to stand and wanted to kill the prick, but it wasn’t working as my legs had melted into the floor. And there he was, the rodent dropping off the tank and running toward one of the smaller spacecraft. The engines were already spooling as he ran up the ramp. I only had a split second to act, so I went for it and shot a single javelin toward him. The projectile struck his chest and flung him off the loading ramp as it closed, pinning him against the far
wall. A torrent of energy released from behind the craft as it started moving.

  "You’re alive?" Gremory groaned as she stood beside me, both hands raised in front of her. Two red bubbles similar to the one around the Gebradim’s head surrounded us both.

  "Thanks to you?" I asked.

  "I’ll accept payment in nature if you don’t have hard cash," Gremory chuckled. She pulled me aside as the ship started lurching and the outer hull exploded, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. It was easily large enough for the spacecraft to pass through, and then some. Cafka’s second son was torn in two from what I could see by his remains.

  "Goodbye, scum. Give Lucifer my regards!" boomed from the ship’s speakers as more explosions echoed from all around. The small craft shook and shot out the landing bay.

  "We need to get out of here, but damn! I’d like to see his face when he realizes his second son is dead as well," Gremory laughed as she pulled me after her, since I wasn’t able to walk unaided. I looked down at my body and cursed. The numbers looked badly compared to earlier and were in between thirty and seventy percent. Those bastards really did a job on me, I thought.

  "Thanks. I owe you twice now," I wheezed through the pain as Cafka’s ship disappeared into the void of space.

  "I’ve managed to disable the signal from outside on many bombs, but not all of them. I have no idea if we’ll make it," Devil told me as the mothership shook violently. A loud, tearing sound reverberated all around us.

  "Devil! What the hell happened?" I demanded.

  "Do I look like a servant?" he snarled.

  "Yes, you do! You’re my servant! Now tell me!"

  "Fuck off. What are you giving me in return? I want a snack once I’m awake."

  "Fine! Tell me what’s going on with the research bay. Are they still alive?"

  "Your friends are alive, but in bad shape. There’s no more Feraline left that healed you earlier. They’ll die unless more is found treated."