The air was energized, the clouds of dust, smoke, and debris were charged, sparks jumping across them as they blew across the ever widening field of devastation. Buildings had fallen, their superstructures weakened by the devastating blows thrown wildly by the living force of nature on a rampage. It was a scene out of a nightmare or waking fantasy, like a movie brought to life by a disturbed mind. The clouds overhead were darker than ever, the coiling eel-serpent of electricity continuing to worm through them and roar out its defiance to the heroes down below. The man himself stood at the center of the battlefield, his body levitating several meters off the ground as he turned in place, hand outstretched.
Chunhua darted forward, eyes focused on the next smooth stone archway. Her scabbard held tight in one hand, her sword gripped in the other. Her body was a blur to any outsider that looked at her, her hair more like the tail of a comet as pink petals scattered behind her. She raised her arm again and twisted, blocking another bolt of electricity with her scabbard just as she passed through the arch and appeared in the air over him. She raised the weapon over her head as the tell-tale scent of her wrath burst around her like a cloud. Luminous Moonfall. She willed the stroke into being and felt power race through her body, the collected energy following her down as a singular beam of light that drove her blade down with it, increasing the force.
He looked up at her and sneered only for his face to harden as a bullet raced through the air towards his back, jerking and weaving through space and following an impossible route towards its destination. An Set bore his teeth at her and twisted his body at an impossible angle. She heard a bone crack somewhere in his body as her blade grazed his cheek and chest, cutting a furrow through his clothing and drawing a small amount of blood. She kept heading towards the ground like a comet just as a well made of perfectly smooth stone appeared beneath her. The next moment she was rocketing into the air, upside down, and a hundred meters away from him.
Chunhua pivoted, kicking hard enough to apply pressure to the very air around her and change direction as a bolt of electricity carved a path through the spot where she’d just been. “Pressure!” She shouted.
A hail of attacks from the heroic-tier heroes erupted from all directions as she tagged out, the brown haired Handmaiden darting out from where she’d been concealed, recovering from her most recent clash. Chunhua landed on a building and watched from above as the armored woman bounced from spot to spot in the nearly circular field of devastation, her body moving like a pinball through the archways created by Euclidia, dodging blasts as she built up more and more momentum. Occasionally a white streak would stray off of Handmaiden’s body that glimmered and faded. Chunhua turned her attention back to the battle as a whole, closing her eyes and letting her senses wash out.
Cultivating her body and power had made her more than a normal person could ever be, her hearing could pick up words from across the field, even with the din of combat raging around them. More importantly, her danger sense was sharper than anyone else’s. She could feel when the tide shifted and when something was very wrong. Her gut twisted as an ephemeral feeling of danger washed over her but it didn’t come from any particular direction. It was like it hung in the air, a potential energy ready to be unleashed as soon as it had built up enough. She tried to perceive it, understand its direction and intent, but it was wild, more wild than the man that had caused this cataclysm.
Something’s coming…
“Status!” She called into the radio in her ear, static buzzed back at her for a moment.
“We lost Magnae, his heart gave out before Lifesaver or Vytal could get to him,” Pathfinder said heavily, his tone stricken with the loss of life.
Chunhua’s lips pressed together and trembled a little, “Any word on Sapporo?”
“The party’s in full swing,” Euclidia huffed, “I’m about to send him over! He’s a big boy so it might take a second for him to go through!”
Relief washed through Chunhua. That meant that the civilians were far enough away now as well as a chance for a reprieve. “When you do, get Handmaiden out of there and get some rest, this is far from over.”
BOOM!
A crack of force ripped through the air that nearly toppled Chunhua over as Handmaiden’s accelerating form crashed into An Set from the side, driving her fist into him. The serpent above roared in fury and outrage, thrashing about in the clouds as An Set was driven to the ground. He tumbled a few meters as he caught himself and with a barrel-roll of his body threw three bolts of electricity in the woman’s direction. A gateway appeared in her path just as he fired the shots off, a bullet zig-zagging through the air to catch them. Marta disappeared through the portal and landed next to Chunhua, her eyes empty yet again as she dropped to her knees.
Chunhua watched the woman nearly fall to her face before her chest heaved as her heartbeat resumed and she slammed her fists into the ground, digging out deep furrows before forcing herself to her feet. She breathed hard, “Got a hit in,” Handmaiden growled while a flurry of bullets approached An Set from all directions. The maddened hero threw his head back in a roar and bolts of lightning flew, striking the bullets as he darted into the air, spinning about. Chunhua frowned, He’s looking- no!
“Sapporo’s half-way through!” Euclidia called into the radio just as Chunhua reached for it.
“New target! Move Pathfinder, now!” Chunhua shouted, panic exploding in her brain as An Set turned into a singular bolt of lightning and charged towards a spot on the other side of the battlefield. “Pathfinder get out of there!”
The lightning bolt struck, a cloud of electricity blooming like a bomb going off as a portion of a tilted building erupted into scattering debris and superheated rock. Chunhua heard a furious scream on the other end followed by a moment of silence as the bolt of lightning darted back out to land in the midst of the field of devastation. A moment later a ring appeared over her head and two people fell through. A scorched and twitching Pathfinder hit the ground hard just as Vytal landed next to him, holding his hands out. “I’ve got him!”
The bolt of electricity jumped away from the building and landed again in the center of the battlefield, reforming into An Set beneath the writhing monstrosity overhead. His glowing eyes turned in Chunhua’s direction, anger smoldering at losing his prey. Before he had a chance to protest, though, a new archway rose from the ground to his right. He paused and turned. From within the slow lumbering form of Sapporo stepped into full view. His body swayed left and right, stumbling now and then even as he held his head high. A golden glow rippled off of him in waves.
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An Set tilted his head and pointed a hand towards Sapporo, releasing a bolt of electricity potent enough to vaporize a person. It fizzled against Sapporo’s skin and the berserk man hesitated before reaching out and blasting the drunk-looking man again and again. Sapporo just kept walking, each step sounding heavier and heavier as he drew closer. Then he stopped and threw his head back. Chunhua threw her power into her voice, “Cover your ears!” She shouted and clamped her hands over her own ears.
A jolly, uproarious laugh caused the air itself to ripple and bend. One hero nearby let out a scream of confusion and grabbed his head, his eyes flicking about as if seeing something that wasn’t there. Momentary madness gripped him before foam fizzled up his throat and he toppled over, unconscious. Chunhua shook her head, Going full tilt right out the gate, are you, Sapporo?
In the midst of the battlefield, An Set took a few confused steps back, grasping at his head and shaking it. Above him, for a moment, the horrible eel flickered and almost faded away before restoring itself in a mad thrash of fury. An Set snarled and launched himself at Sapporo only for the gigging man to drive his palm into An Set’s nose. The concussive force created a crack in the ground between them and sent the mad mythic tumbling back against the ground like a skipping stone. The ground shook as Sapporo took an unsteady step, his giggling loud enough to be heard everywhere.
“What am I watching?” Handmaiden gasped next to Chunhua.
“Festival of Dionysus. Sapporo was away stirring every single person in Las Vegas into a frenzy of celebration and pushing them out towards the edges of the city. The more people partying, the more powerful he is, he may be a stern man, but he understands celebration and embracing the inner self better than anyone I know,” Chunhua said as another concussive blast shook the ground. “I’ve never met someone who understood the meaning of his power better than him.”
“Meaning?” Handmaiden asked, glancing towards her.
“Dionysus wasn’t just a god of parties, he was a powerful god of madness and illusions, he had monstrous physical strength like the other gods of Olympus. He could be wrathful unlike any of his kin, and was capable of unspeakable punishments,” Chunhua said, “Sapporo studied Dionysus and everything there was about him when he comprehended the name of his power. At first, he could only get people drunk, but now…”
The giggling and chortling Sapporo spread his arms wide and a dozen of him appeared, dancing and laughing and cavorting about, pointing and mocking the confused An Set who thrashed about, firing off bolts of electricity only for them to do nothing against the hallucinations. Everyone watched from afar, grateful for the reprieve.
“Get the injured out! How many have we lost in total?” Chunhua called out as Handmaiden marveled at Sapporo’s might.
“You are working me to the bone here!” Euclidia complained into her earpiece, “Twenty injured heroes, four dead so far, the reinforcements from LA say they’re almost ready for a gateway,” Euclidia said, “That one’s gonna take some muscle though.”
“Take a breath then,” Chunhua said, not tearing her eyes from the battle for a moment. She glanced up at the great eel above, swirling and churning in the sky as it snapped its ethereal jaws at an unseen opponent. Chunhua glanced down at Handmaiden who looked deep in thought, her fists clenched tightly.
She glanced back at the battle, Yeah, me too. She thought.
–
Veloce twitched, her body spasming once as she swam back up towards consciousness. Her heart still pounded rapidly in her chest but after a few moments she managed to open her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered as an ache spread across her body. She tilted her head forward and slid out from the crater her body had left in the wall, debris falling off of her as she tumbled to the ground, catching herself on her knees. She coughed as thunder rumbled in the distance and the smell of ozone and burned flesh crawled up her nose.
“Fuck, I’m alive,” She groaned as she tried to move her legs. She frowned and glanced down at her knees, she couldnt feel them but she could sure as hell see them. Panic rose, “No, no no no,” She gasped a scream bubbling up in her throat. This wasn’t happening, this couldn’t be happening, “N-”
“Quiet,” A cold voice rumbled out above her.
She whipped her head up in shock, tears in her eyes, and saw a dark shape sitting on one of the i-beams that made up the skeleton of the building. There was a young man sitting there, or at least she figured it was, his entire body was jet black from head to toe, only violet eyes burning down at her from above. She caught her breath, covering her mouth as he glared daggers in her direction. It felt like meeting Ishtar again.
“Veloce?” The dark figure asked.
She nodded hurriedly.
“Blackrazor. I am an agent of Ishtar,” He said and dissolved, his body turning into an inky black liquid that fell from his perch like a waterfall before reforming before her. He looked down on her with narrowed eyes, “Calm down. She will heal you when she returns, we are to wait here for her. After you recover, I will take you from this place, she is pleased. Your deal is complete.”
The pounding of her heart slowed, relief washing over her even as she gripped fruitlessly at her paralyzed legs. She whimpered at them before looking around, “Where is she? The Mistress?”
Blackrazor looked up and away from her. She followed his eerie gaze towards the portal of the dungeon. The pylons that held up the portal were shaking and rumbling, energy washing off of them in visible wisps of power. A crack of energy rushed up one of the pylons, erupting into a spark that danced through the metal structure of the building. The air felt so thick, she knew that feeling. She tensed and looked up at Blackrazor, “She asked you to protect me too?”
He glanced down at her, “Yes, why?”
“Because we’re about to have company, I think,” Veloce said meekly as small multicolored clouds began to form in the air around them.
Shadows raced across the ground and formed a ring around Veloce, from them, violet blades lanced out in a ring, creating a wicked barricade. He rose to his full height next to her, his shadowy form becoming more solid as a pair of purple knives slid out of his hands as if from nowhere. The multicolored clouds condensed and crackled, bolts ripped out from the portal and struck them before flashing out and through the openings in the incomplete building. A raspy cackle came from one of the clouds and a creature fell from it. It had the head and body of some kind of hyena or dog but it was vaguely humanoid, standing upright with a spear in its hands.
More of the horrible smelling things dropped out of the clouds, taking shape and getting to their feet with barks and cackles. They raised their spears and swung them about wildly, howling as more violet blades took shape in the air around Veloce and her new protector.
“This is troubling,” Blackrazor hissed before launching into a vicious defense.
–
Thousands of miles away, Amos was on his feet, eyes wide as he stared at the radar screen. The other researchers were with him, watching as a massive cloud of mana was taking shape in Las Vegas. Dots were starting to appear everywhere, monsters forming in huge numbers.
He ran his fingers through his hair, “What the hell is happening over there?!”