The Bloodsoaked Queen had two divine relics .  One was the ‘Burning Angel’, while the other was the sacred crossblade of light .  Both were relics from her clan, with the Burning Angel being the glove she wore on her hand .

Legends claimed that if the demonhunter was powerful enough, a touch from the burning angels could set anything ablaze . Wood, stone, even iron – a caress was enough to make it belch fire . Flammable or not, the power of the relic consumed all .

Though the Bloodsoaked Queen was not as powerful as the legends described, she could incinerate any flesh and blood obstacle within her reach . No amount of luck could protect her victim once she laid hands on them .

However, when her strike landed it didn’t feel like hitting flesh . It felt like metal . The horned man was wreathed in flame but they did not reach any vital part of him . The mutant rolled around in the sand for a moment to quench the fires, and it was revealed the only result was a scorched mark on his chest . Certainly nothing to threaten his life .

The man in black hissed a mocking laugh . “Second brother has the strongest defenses . Even for a young demonhunter you are weak . Did you honestly believe you were strong enough to face our master? So naïve!”

“What I didn’t expect,” the Queen said through her mask, “was that your ‘master’ would be so fond of raising stupid mutts . ”

None of them were offended or enraged by her insult – for they agreed . Each of them were proud to be loyal servants of the master, vicious dogs in his service . They would tear the throats out of whoever he told them to without ever questioning who or why .

“Are you demonhunters any different? Dogs as well, with G.o.ds who hold your tether . We’re no different, you and I!”

“You refuse to accept reality, and hara.s.s us because of your dogmatic a.s.sumptions . What gives you the right to be so self-righteous? Do you think you understand the wastelands at all? What right do you have to pa.s.s judgment on us?”

The black-clad mutant waved his hand . The sweepers raised their weapons, ready to put her down for good .

The Bloodsoaked Queen bolted from her hiding place like a bat out of h.e.l.l . The thud of bullets and crossbow bolts followed her, buried in the sand inches from her heels . She was shadowed by the winged mutant who descended from on high . He held his machetes reversed in his grip but cut with such speed and ferocity it seemed there were dozens of strikes raining down .

The Queen thrust out her hands, fingers curled in like a tiger’s claw . With staggering accuracy she caught the winged man’s blurred machetes out of the air and poured the power coalesced in her palms right through them . They immediately began to glow with white hot heat .

With a yelp the winged man’s hands went slack and he was blasted away . The black-garbed man and his horned companion charged in for another attempt .

The man in black attacked first, las.h.i.+ng out with five viper-like tentacles . With startling accuracy they splayed out toward specific targets; her face, throat, chest and other vital parts . They hissed through the air like arrows from a hundred archers, seeking her heart with a shrill whistling cadence .

The horned man’s attacks weren’t flashy or even terribly skilled . He relied on overwhelming strength, and so intense was the punch that its effects were felt even before they landed . Punch after punch, propelled by pure force mighty enough to level mountains .

The Bloodsoaked Queen was knocked back, and the a.s.sault slowed her escape . It was only a little, but enough . One of the bullets found its mark and buried itself in her thigh . She lost her balance .

The Bloodsoaked Queen bit back her pain . She focused more energy into her hands, gripping tight to the machetes wrenched from the winged man . They glowed red, and when she threw them they became disks of molten steel . Both of them erupted in midair and set searing shrapnel flying out in every direction . The pained whines and howls of sweepers answered .

The Queen stumbled, rolled, and shot back to her feet . The wound in her leg was deep and bright fresh blood oozed freely from it, but she didn’t have time to examine the injury now . The five tentacles of the black-garbed monster were on her, and the horned behemoth was bearing down on her position .

She managed to dodge the tentacles, but in doing so left herself open to the horned beast’s fists . As his blow landed she was thrown through the ruined buildings of the outpost like a marionette with its strings severed . He was monstrous, a single successful hit nearly broke her in half .

“Kill her!”

The sweepers raised their weapons, training them on the Queen . Gnarled fingers applied pressure to hair triggers when suddenly shouts rang up that caught their attention . A group of outpost warriors who had rallied together were charging at the twisted beasts . Caught unprepared, they were quickly cut down .

The Bloodsoaked Queen took this opportunity to flee . She struggled to move as quickly as she could, despite her grievous wounds .

“We can’t defend the outpost!”

“Queen, we must retreat!”

Grizzly put his fist through one of the sweeper’s heads like it was an overripe melon . He was covered in blood, some his but mostly others, as he hurried to the Queen’s side . When he saw that she had not suffered any life threatening wounds he breathed a sigh of relief . However her injuries were anything but slight, and that filled him with an indescribably fury .

These f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! They dared harm my Queen?!

Grizzly had managed to a.s.semble ten elite fighters and twenty to thirty conscripts . They weren’t a strong unit by any means, but they would serve in an emergency . At the very least they could pin down a sizeable group of sweepers .

The Bloodsoaked Queen knew that now was not the time to tarry and fight war . With Cloudhawk’s help she’d recovered from her wounds, but not completely . She was only capable of commanding a little more than sixty percent of her full strength . Besides being less than at her peak she’d also suffered wounds to her shoulder and leg . The punch that horned b.a.s.t.a.r.d had landed also caused considerable internal damage . Keeping up the fight was ill-advised .

Grizzly screamed at her with all the force of his namesake . “Go!”

Sinister, snake-like laughter hissed through the air . “You think you can get away?”

The winged youth skimmed low over the ground and snapped up a long knife from the ground . A group of soldiers moved to stop him but were viciously cut down . The man in black and the horned t.i.tan moved in for the kill . Despite the efforts of the soldiers, sweepers were closing in on all sides .

Warriors started dropping like flies . Their circle of defiance was quickly shrinking .

Grizzly punched one of the wastelanders so hard his chest caved . He swung around to face his next foe, and found himself face to face with an enormous specimen . He was pitch black, and two enormous horns rose from its skull .

“Get the f.u.c.k outta my way!”

Grizzly didn’t give a d.a.m.n who his enemy was . He snapped a jab with his iron-clad hand aimed for the horned mutant’s chest . His foe didn’t dodge or block . The punch connected and the horned man staggered back several steps . A small rivulet of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but otherwise the beast was unfazed .

What?

Grizzly looked at the mutant, dumbfounded . He was one of the strongest fighters in the outpost, matched only by Tartarus’ captain, Mad Dog . The horned man didn’t seem to care though . He didn’t block or move, he  just took the punch like it was nothing .

The t.i.tan wiped the blood from his mouth . He glared at Grizzly with dark, murderous eyes . “You’ve got some strength . But not enough!”

He punctuated his words with a full-armed punch .  

Grizzly paid his words no mind . When he saw the fist he answered by throwing one of his own . They met mid-air with such force that it sounded like thunder . It was followed by the sound of splintering bone and Grizzly’s earsplitting cries .

He crumbled to the ground, cradling what remained of his hand . The iron glove was dented and inside his fingers were a mangled mess . His arm had become an amorphous ruin of bone flecks and tenderized meat . Jagged bits of bone jutted out in several places .

“Grizzly!”

The gasps came from members of the elite squad . They rushed forward to drag their wounded leader out of danger .

Grizzly was no less a powerhouse than the captains of Tartarus company . None of them expected he would be so badly maimed going fist for fist . His whole right arm had been practically destroyed . Even if he survived, Grizzly would be forever crippled!

At least he could take heart in the fact that the horned man was also bleeding . Except, this copper-skinned, iron-boned monstrosity had just sc.r.a.ped his knuckles .

The Bloodsoaked Queen looked upon Grizzly as he wailed and cradled what was left of his hand . She looked on as one after the other, her elite soldiers were cut down like weeds . Each death fanned the flames of rage in her eyes . Was she not a prideful person? She had come from faraway lands to hunt and kill demons, but she hadn’t even managed to catch a glimpse of her prey . Now here she was, with men she found base and filthy dying to protect her!

She reached up to curl her fingers around the cross hanging from her neck .

Using her holy sword to eliminate a few mutants shouldn’t be too much to expect .

She knew, however, that summoning the blade would overtax her abilities . It meant she wouldn’t have any strength left over to protect herself against whatever foes may follow – not to mention the b.a.s.t.a.r.d still hidden somewhere in the shadows!

The circle of protection was shrinking . She saw her warriors dying by the moment and knew now was not the time for indecision . She gripped the necklace tight and prepared to yank it free .

The man in black spotted this minute detail . “Careful . She’s getting desperate…”

He didn’t finish his sentence . A scene completely outside of their expectations emerged, heralded by a roar that shook the heavens!

A vehicle came barreling through the fog of sand like a h.e.l.lish lizard scrambling across the dunes . Destructive as a bulldozer, it ripped a path straight toward Blackflag Outpost, knocking countless sweepers or grinding them beneath its wheels . And it was headed right for the freak in black .

“Get f.u.c.ked!”

Cloudhawk roared within the driver’s seat, his crimson eyes fixed on his target . With utter disregard for everything he stomped hard on the accelerator . Before the freak could react it was plowed down and caught in the tread of several tires . No small number of sweepers were also reduced to roadkill as the iron lizard ripped through their ranks .  

Cloudhawk lost control . The iron lizard pitched hard to its side and ripped itself apart against the unforgiving ground . This didn’t stop its forward motion, however, and several pieces went barreling toward the horned mutant, standing stunned not far away .

“Arrrgghh!!”

The bull-like beast roared a challenge and flung his arms up defensively . But he was no match for several tons of twisted metal . He was caught in the tide of detritus that only came to a stop when it pulverized itself against a cl.u.s.ter of buildings . It wasn’t clear whether the mutant survived .

Wide eyed and slack jawed, the winged man and the remaining sweepers gaped at what they’d just witnessed .

What in the h.e.l.l?!

A b.l.o.o.d.y hand clawed out of the cabin . A young man in dingy ash-black fur armor clambered from the wreckage . He’d lived, but the gash in his head and the blood that covered him said he didn’t escape without a price .

Cloudhawk shook his head to try and clear away his blurred vision . The first thing he saw was something pinned beneath the wheels of the iron lizard . It was the masked man .

“G.o.dd.a.m.n- you still aren’t dead? You still aren’t dead?!”

He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t far off, either . His lower body had been badly mangled by the vehicle’s tires . His incredible healing was the only thing that kept him breathing .

“It’s… it’s you!”

The man in black pushed his body up with his right arm and glared at the child . He couldn’t believe this mercenary punk had survived!

Cloudhawk stared back with eyes painted the color of blood . He pulled his exorcist staff free and began to drag himself forward . Step by step he lurched toward the man in black . He stared at the young man as he came closer, inch by agonizing inch . And as he did a sensation filled him, one that made the hairs on his neck stand on end . He had faced some of the fiercest creatures of the wasteland, but he’d never felt it until now .

Fear .

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