Book 5, Chapter 65 - Curtain Drop

Sanctuary . A scene of devastation .

For ten kilometers in every direction dust choked out the sun .

The once beautiful planes were now ravaged by conflict . Burning wreckage and mangled bodies could be seen everywhere . The sky was black and the mix of acrid smoke and harsh sunlight cast everything in a crimson hue as though all were submerged in a sea of blood .

Their war had persisted for a number of hours . This is what it had come to – Arcturus and Judas were each vying for advantage, to strike the final blow .

Whether the Governor or the demon, both wielded power far beyond what a normal man could comprehend . While it was stupendous to behold, those with keen eyes were able to see that Arcturus was slowly gaining the upper hand . Barring unexpected circ.u.mstance, Skycloud’s Master Demonhunter would come out on top .

After all, the wasteland army was a disorganized force . They didn’t have the equipment and training of Elysian soldiers . The longer a fight dragged on the further the wastelanders slipped behind .

Wastelander weapons were simple, and most fighters hadn’t had much traditional training so they lacked organization and discipline . Weapons like rocket launchers were impressive, showy, and deadly when used properly . But their ammo was wasted in the beginning of the fight, so the clunky blasters were useless now as they were beginning to lag behind .

This was not so for Elysians .

After fending off the initial wave of ferocious attacks the Elysians settled into their experience . Talented commanders wielded their forces like their own arms . Skycloud’s advantage in equipment was also becoming more obvious . After the first a.s.sault wasteland forces broke apart into different groups and spread from the furthest gates to the central dais . Making their way back out would be difficult to say the least . As Elysian discipline took control the wastelanders found themselves surrounded and slowly being strangled .

They weren’t going to let these despicable thugs leave . If they were stupid enough to attack once they would do it again! Peace would only be achieved when every heathen was dead!

Hammont, as commander of his own Corps, was a high-ranking commander on the field . First and foremost in his mind was performing his duties . That was when he made a choice the moment he saw Cloudhawk collapse . He summoned soldiers from nearby and mounted a charge to cut the criminal down .

They surged ahead in two solid ranks . In their hands were Elysian crossbows at the ready .

Glinting bolts were reflected in Cloudhawk’s eyes as he watched them come . His teeth ground together painfully, but despite his anger his body would not listen to him . There wasn’t an ounce of strength left to stand, much less fight .

Hammont’s solemn face was suddenly pale . He raised his hand and hesitated but held it ther .

“Commander, give the order!”

“This man is one of their leaders . Accolades for whoever spills his blood!”

Hammont’s beady eyes slid closed . His mind was brought back years ago, to memories of a strange young man in a dusty town . He and Cloudhawk had history . He’d helped Hammont get to where he was today .

But…

Hammont was a soldier . An Elysian officer . He could not abandon his duty .

“Kill him!”

Dozens of crossbows fired in unison with spurts of rapid-fire destruction . Perhaps a thousand bolts were cast toward Cloudhawk in an instant .

It was overkill, but Cloudhawk warranted it . They weren’t willing to underestimate the man who dropped a mountain on their fortress . He was known to slip out of danger with his teleport abilities . There was no telling when he’d blinked into their midst and crack open their fat commander’s head .

But he couldn’t, not now . He had nothing left .

A wave of regret and helplessness washed over him . Even someone like Hammy was out for his blood now . Was there anyone he wouldn’t one day have to fight?

Suddenly a figure placed itself between him and the hail of arrows . They struck the expansive form again and again, breaking in a cacophonous display . Not a single one pierced his defender’s flesh and they were scattered on the ground like so many used toothpicks . Their arrows heads were glowing red hot .

When Hammont saw who it was his fists clenched tight . “You again!”

Coal’s hulking frame was like a living mountain . The air around him radiated red-hot as he charged ahead at the Elysians like an out-of-control tank . A dozen men were flung aside as they tried to stop him, to no avail . They screamed in pain, their bones shattered from the impact and their skin burned black .

Hammont watched his compatriots flinging themselves wildly at Coal . “That’s the wastelanders’ super mutant . Even Commander Drake couldn’t defeat him! Don’t get in close, use the smoke!”

The moment the words left Hammont’s mouth, Coal roared and tried to silence him with a series of attacks .

Coal felt things strike him and explode . They didn’t hurt in the least but in the next moment his world wasp lunged into a smoky darkness . He spun around, completely unable to tell which direction he was facing . What’s more this strange smoke clung to him, so that when he moved the smoke did, too .

Coal lost his target . All he could do was rush around wildly and grope for anything to strike .

“Forget about him for now . ” Hammont easily sidestepped Coal’s charge . Although he hated the mutant, and although he didn’t want to kill Cloudhawk, logic told him Coal was not the bigger threat . Even if they let him go and he became a wasteland king, a man like Cloudhawk had the power to topple Skycloud . He shouted his order . “Everyone on Cloudhawk!”

The soldiers raised their weapons only to find them empty a second later . Somehow, all at once their crossbows exploded into shrapnel . A spear had screamed pa.s.sed to disarm them . It struck the ground and was itself reduced to splinters .

Another elite fighter had come to his defense!

The drunk appeared at Cloudhawk’s side . “You alright, kid?”

Cloudhawk shook his head . “Take Dawn and get out of here . Make sure to tell Gabby and the rest of them to retreat!”

Of course the drunk wasn’t about to leave Cloudhawk to be torn apart . He took up both he and Dawn, slinging them over his shoulders as Elysians closed in to block his path .

Over-confident fools! He waved his sword almost flippantly at them . The men in his path yelped and stumbled back, their armor splitting wide open like a lobster’s sh.e.l.l . Strangely, though, not a drop of blood was spilled . It was clear the drunk was holding back . “Stop fighting and run for your lives!”

As the path to freedom was open, the battle on the dais was coming to a close .  

Arcturus continued to dart around the orbs of destructive power . The larger ones he dexterously avoided while the smaller ones were warded off by his wings . The Governor seemed to fully grasp Judas’ combat rhythm . The demon’s ability to deconstruct matter did not seem to be enough to overcome Arcturus Cloude . His mental energies were simply too strong . Any damage to his electric wings was quickly repaired .

Witnessing it, onlookers felt like the Governor was invincible . On the other hand, the elder demon’s limitations were clear .

Judas’ powers were based on scale . The larger his field was allowed to become, the more incredible the results . If Arcturus were caught in a field a dozen meters across, even the mighty Governor would be helpless . The mighty demiG.o.d would be erased from existence .

However, Judas power was spread out and cut apart . His a.s.saults became legion in number, but each was now far weaker in comparison . What’s more, with each wave it became clear that the volume of power he released was the same .

That meant attack and defense interacted . When Judas forced his power into attack, his defenses weakened . Likewise when protecting himself from Arcturus’ counters, his attacks were diluted .

Judas was preparing for another wave of orbs when Arcturus took advantage of the s.h.i.+ft . His wings burst with a thunderous noise as he broke the sound barrier . There was a flash and Arcturus appeared in front of the demon .

He struck . Judas’ armor split open . The thunderblade left a long scorch mark where it pa.s.sed .

Demons had incredible defensive capabilities . Spray them with concentrated gunfire, shoot them with high caliber bullets, even hit them point blank with a rocket and it would do nothing . Yet before Arcturus, the elder demon’s st.u.r.dy armor was about as effective as paper .

Judas was gravely wounded . He knew now his weakness had been revealed . If this fight continued he would be slain .

A mere mortal! He had single-handedly defeated an elder demon! Human potential was as incredible as it was frightening .  Was this why we demons and G.o.ds had used them to fight our wars?

It didn’t matter now . Judas was out of options . He released a pulse of destructive energy around himself .

As Arcturus retreated, Judas rose up from the ground . The demon dashed away from the field so quickly he looked like a streak of light in his attempts to escape .

“Trying to leave?!”

The electric sword in Arcturus’ grasp began to pulse, like a river about to burst its banks . All the power inside him gathered into the weapon, transforming it into an enormous spear of lightning .

But as he was reeling back, the Master Demonhunter’s body began to quake . A rivulet of golden blood dripped from the corner of his mouth .

The Governor wielded immense power, granted to him by a cadre of Seraphs . However he was still a mortal, with a mortal body that could not handle such a deluge of power . He was beginning to feel the side-effects – internal injuries which would possibly follow him to his grave .

But he had strength enough for one – more – attack!

Everyone watched as a blast of light was expelled from Arcturus’ hand like a laser . It pierced the demon’s defensive fields, dug into Judas’ back and then out the other side . The wound it left behind was hideous to behold .

What a powerful, brutal attack!

Even Judas, with the power and defenses of an elder demon, felt Ruin’s awful power coursing through him . Where that tremendous energy pa.s.sed, it did not just injure tissue . Ruin’s kiss caused permanent damage – wounds any living thing would struggle to survive .

Vulkan knew it . So did Cloudhawk . Judas was stronger than those two, but the injuries he suffered were ten times worse .

He didn’t dare stop . He knew if he did, he would die . So the demon pushed on with the domain of destruction radiating around him . He thrust his legs and shot off like a shooting star .

Arcturus had begun to feel the consequences of his actions . He’d badly wounded the demon but had failed to kill him . It wasn’t enough to keep Judas from fleeing . The demon was a survivor of the Great War and it wasn’t since those dark days that he’d been in such dire straits . However, though he did not achieve what he’d come to do, there was still a chance to get things done!

Judas swooped down toward Cloudhawk .

Gasps followed . He was after Cloudhawk!

The drunk tried to fend him off with his sword but the flash of a vorpal weapon forced him to split his attention . The Khan of Evernight launched into a series of vicious attacks with his purple light weapon against Vulkan .

He wasn’t holding back! 

Yet there was something… Familiar . The techniques used by the Khan were some that Vulkan himself had invented .

“You – that’s impossible . You can’t be-” The drunk stared with a look of disbelief . “Is it really you?”

Judas stretched out a black, clawed appendage toward Cloudhawk .

Autumn watched from a distance, her brows furrowing . Almost instinctively she raised the flute to her lips and blew . A streak like the slash from a sword struck Judas . Before this moment the elder demon had paid her no mind, but when that blow landed it caught his attention .

That power… so familiar .

Judas’ crimson eyes fixed on Autumn . “You? How!? What an amusing turn to see you… like this!”

Her face unreadable as stone, Autumn launched into a dozen attacks . Judas was badly injured but still had strength enough to protect himself from the G.o.d’s blows . Upon entering his field of destruction the power of her flute dissolved away .  

The Elysians looked on, baffled . Why were the wastelanders suddenly turning on one another?

Autumn was preparing for a second onslaught when the ground before her began to tremble and spit up yellow sand . Four huge spikes of grit shot up at her like snakes .

“Abaddon! Betrayer!”

Autumn quickly dispatched of the sandy tendrils and glared at her a.s.sailant .

The Caliph of the Sands answered with a raspy laugh . “We were using one another from the start . You can’t call this betrayal . ”

Vulkan was blocked by the Khan . Autumn was held back by Abaddon . Who was left to protect Cloudhawk? Judas was irritated to discover others remained . Several shadows blinked into existence around the demon and began to attack with lightning speed .

“Insignificant . ”

The moment those shadows crossed the boundary into Judas’ sphere of influence, they vanished like smoke on the wind .

To ordinary folk, Ja.n.u.s the t.i.tan of Many Faces was an incredible man . However, the demon’s defense more than negated his skills . As his shadows were already weak, they couldn’t overcome the domain .

Heedless of the a.s.sa.s.sin, Judas’ ma.s.sive have reached forth . Cloudhawk was caught and lifted off the ground .

Cloudhawk was unconsciousness . He had no idea what was going on .

Excellent! Yes! So this is the Demon King’s successor!

Judas had failed to kill Arcturus and the battle today was a failure . However, if these efforts led to the King’s successor falling into his hands then it was not a total loss .

A simple, ordinary human .  What right does he have to bear the master’s inheritance?

Judas, the Khan of Evernight and Abaddon fled the field . Wolfblade watched them go with a chilly, knowing smirk . “Don’t mind them . Time to go . ”

The wasteland forces abandoned their a.s.sault of Sanctuary and began to fell back while being hounded by Elysian soldiers . Bodies continued to fall as Skycloud’s forces gave no quarter . Only their leader, Arcturus, remained still . After defeating Judas he made no further motions to pursuing the enemy .

He vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed in the middle of dais .

“Governor!”

“Governor!”

The gathered warriors and Skycloud’s elite blanched at Arcturus’ condition . He’d fallen? He can’t! He was their government and spiritual leader!

They rushed to his side to discover that the energy encasing hid body had dimmed to a faint sheen . He was weaker than anyone had ever seen him, and his hair had all gone white . It was evidence that although Arcturus had defeated Judas, it had cost him dearly .

“Stop pursuing the heathens! Call them all back!”

Their leader was injured and couldn’t keep up the fight . It was time to call it off . After all, the wastelanders still had a number of formidable killers in their midst . Breaking their forces just to wipe them out wasn’t going to win them any benefit, and besides the day was won . It was an effort that had demanded a great deal of blood and sacrifice, but they had successfully defended the honor of Skycloud .

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