The heart of Brimstone was in ruins. The buildings - homes, shops, public services - lay crushed beneath mountains of rubble and destroyed masonry. Water pipes and jagged rebar jutted from the earth where it had given way, and fires burned all around where gas lines had been breached. The road underfoot was cracked and buckled, and the air was thick with smoke and dust. Up ahead, Brimstone's High Street - once the busiest road in the entire citystate - lay cleared of vehicles and detritus, like a black scar leading straight into the maw of the Tempered Bastion. A mighty metal drawbridge connected the ruined street to the fortress' entrance, and the Devils had repurposed the broken concrete and abandoned cars to erect walls around its base. Guards were posted in and around it.
Swallowing hard, Cobalt peered up at the Bastion itself. It was much, much larger up close. He could see ballistae and other such weapons emplacements upon its many gantries and balconies, ensuring that an attack from the air was nigh-on impossible. What windows it had were small and covered in iron bars, and all around the base of the fortress, the ground had fallen away into a fathomless abyss filled with nothing but darkness and hissing Devil machinery. The closer they got to the Bastion, the louder it became; the incessant grinding and clanking of the countless pistons, cogs and gears built into the ancient architecture. They filled the air with steam and sparks, making it difficult to discern the Bastion's true size.
"That bridge is our only point of ingress," Lilith explained, leaning out from behind the car they were using as cover.
She pointed at the grand entranceway itself.
"Portcullis is down, too. Should be a lever close by, but I'm counting a dozen guards. Not to mention they've put together external gates. All scrap metal and busted concrete, but more than enough to keep us out."
With a heavy sigh, the Devil leaned her head against the car.
"We might be screwed, Cobalt," she told him, glancing over at her companion.
He didn't answer. Rather, the Incubus just stared at his hands, turning them over as the dim light played off the jagged bone jutting from his flesh. When he clenched his fists, they quivered in anticipation as an incessant ache made itself known in his teeth.
"I need you with me, Lilith," he told her simply.
"I am with you, Cobalt."
She noticed the look in his eyes.
"... I'm scared too, you know. No shame in admitting that," the Devil said, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"I- I don't want to be alone when I..."
"... I'm not about to abandon you now, if that's what you're worried about."
She melted away into magical ferrofluid, seamlessly seeping into the Incubus as their bodies and minds were bound together once more. After months like this, it felt more than natural. Lilith was closer than a friend. She was as much a part of Cobalt as he had become a part of her.
"It's your call," her voice encouraged, echoing in the back of his mind.
Taking a deep breath, the Incubus stepped out from behind the car and began to walk towards the Devils' guard post, feeling a little stronger in step with Lilith rebound. Doubts and fears gnawed at his mind, but all he could do was push them away and forge ahead. They only served to hold him back, now that he was a step away from the end.
A crossbow bolt pierced through the smog, landing right between Cobalt's feet. They had spotted him.
"Run, little demon, if you know what's good for you!" a Devil's voice hollered from atop the makeshift walls, earning a round of laughter from the others garrisoned within.
"Wait, is that... an Incubus...?" another called, leaning over the edge to get a better look.
"Seriously...? Shit... You out there! Stay right there with your hands where we can see them!"
He heard the swooping of wing as a quartet of Devils flew over the walls and landed all around him, each leveling a heavy crossbow at his head.
"Fuck me... didn't know they still existed..." one of the soldiers murmured, glancing at his fellows.
"What do we do?" another asked under his breath.
As they quietly deliberated amongst themselves, Cobalt remained where he was, doing everything in his power to keep his breathing under control. His heartrate had spiked the moment they had stepped in range, urging him to finally indulge. But he just focused on the hollow, empty coldness that persisted alongside the heat. He had to.
"This one's still a juvenile. Not a threat."
The tallest of the four flipped his crossbow around and abruptly smashed the stock against Cobalt's head. He fell to the ground, his vision blurred by the impact as a high-pitched whine rang in his ears.
"Kill him," a muffled voice said from above him.
One of the Devils dispelled his crossbow, magically reforming it into a serrated dagger. Grabbing the Incubus' shirt, he was roughly hauled to his feet and pulled close to his assailant. He could smell the man's sweat. He could hear his blood surging. As the blade was pressed against Cobalt's throat, he slowly opened his mouth, silently egging the Devil to get just that little bit closer...!
The ground shook as something exploded, elsewhere in the town. A huge plume of smoke and flame rose above the ruined buildings, drawing the attention of every Devil in the vicinity, including the one ready to rip Cobalt's throat open. He dropped the Incubus back to the ground as he stared at the fire in the distance.
"What the fuck is that?!" he cried.
"Good going, Dallas," Lilith murmured, wincing through the pain.
"Damn it...! You, you, and you! Come with me!" another Devil roared, turning to point at his comrades posted upon the walls.
"What about the blueskin?!"
"Just deal with it! Now get your ass out here!"
As a detachment of Devils surged off to investigate the disturbance, Cobalt unsteadily clambered to his feet, still dizzy from such a strong blow to the head. The single soldier left in charge of him looked around with bewilderment before shaking his head and levelling his crossbow at his head.
"This is for Queen Lilith, scum," he spat before pulling the trigger.
The high-tensile bowstring launched the iron bolt right towards Cobalt, who didn't even have enough time to react. Such a heavy projectile would have completely destroyed the head of a lesser demon, but all the bolt did was bounce off his skull, leaving a thin red line where it scraped along the side of his head.
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"What the...?!"
Cobalt wasn't going to get a better chance than this.
Springing forward, he tackled the Devil, dragging the steel-clad soldier to the ground and driving his fist into his throat before he could call out for his companions. With one hand pinning his head to the ground, Cobalt used the other to repeatedly strike him in the face, his fists growing bloodier and bloodier as the bony protrusions gouged his flesh. The Devil's garbled screams were drowned out by his thoughts, each overlapping the other as he felt his fists tear into flesh and crack through bone. Even after he stopped screaming, Cobalt kept going. Even as he felt the bolts of his comrades striking his back, he kept going.
The Incubus' transfixion was only broken by the blaring of a car horn and the rumble of an engine.
There, just cresting the hill with its headlights piercing through the smog, was a police van. A protective grille had been drawn down over the windshield, obscuring the driver from view as it barreled straight towards the Devils' guard post. All Hell broke loose as they focused their attention onto the vehicle, filling the air with iron bolts. Cobalt threw himself out of the way as it tore past him, kicking up dust and bits of broken concrete behind it.
"BRACE!" screamed a voice from the walls, right as the van smashed straight through the makeshift gates.
As a hail of rusty corrugated steel sheets and bent metal pipes rained down all around him, Cobalt rose to his feet and rushed in after the van, his mind working on autopilot. He had no idea who or what just opened the way to the Bastion for him, but he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Using the dust kicked up by the van as cover, he rushed into the Devil's guard camp, fixed on raising the gate and breaching the Bastion itself. He had no real plan aside from that. Once he got inside, Cobalt didn't know what he was going to do, but he couldn't waste time with hypotheticals and the like. One thing at a time.
"Get it together..." Cobalt breathed, stumbling over the destroyed gate as he shielded his eyes from the dust.
The inside of the guard post was absolute chaos. The van had torn through some of the tents that the Devils had erected, and came to a crashing stop by the far wall, partially demolishing the crude concrete structure. The Devils knocked down in the initial attack were struggling to get to their feet, while those who watched on were focused on attacking the offending vehicle. The ramp leading to the Bastion was smack-bang in the centre of the camp. Beyond it, the ground just fell away into the abyss.
"We've got one shot at this, kid. Every Devil in the vicinity will be on us before long."
"Then I'd best start running...!"
Skidding across the uneven ground and hoping that the dust obscured his movements, Cobalt skirted around the edge of the guard post, throwing himself into cover behind a pile of crates in order to catch his breath. As he was plotting his path through the Devils' scattered ranks, however, the rear door to the van was abruptly kicked open. The grey-skinned demons flinched back and raised their weapons, ready to slaughter whomever emerged.
"Howdy!" called a strikingly familiar voice from within, "Am I right in assumin' we're at the Tempered Bastion?!"
Cobalt's stomach fell. Was that...?
All around the van, the Devils glanced to one another, completely bewildered.
"Is this some kind of joke?! Who the fuck are you?! Get out here now!" roared a soldier clutching a vicious-looking halberd.
"I'll take that as a yes, then. Light 'em up, lil' lady!"
There was a flash of orange light from within the van before an Oni, completely enwreathed in flames, launched herself out into the open, screaming at the top of her lungs as she wildly swung her Bronze Axe in an burning arc. She smashed into the Devils' defensive line, scattering them once again.
Over by his hiding spot, Cobalt's eyes widened.
"Izzbelle?!" he gasped, watching on in horror.
The pit in his stomach only deepened as the rest of the van's occupants revealed themselves. As Izzbelle ripped through the Devils' defensive line, one of them managed to line up a shot with her crossbow, only to be abruptly struck by a Golden Spear, lobbed by Whitney Brode like a bolt of lightning. Quinn Redtile quickly mantled onto the top of the van, providing covering fire for her companions as Lottie Deyeyr protected her from a barrage of bolts with a well-placed Granite Shield. From the van's front seats, a very-panicked Elya Yalfre clambered out, carrying none other than Brass Trayer in her arms as Jelli Pharmine hastily carried his folded-up wheelchair.
What the Hell were they doing here?! What were they thinking?!
"Kid, above you!"
Looking up, Cobalt noticed Devils filling the sky, converging on their location as the sounds of conflict rang out across the town.
"What do I do...?" he breathed, almost frozen with fear.
"Shit... get to that lever, by the door! Once the portcullis is raised, all of you get inside!"
"No, we have to get them away from here!"
"Kid, they came here by themselves! I don't think we're convincing them to go back, and besides, we've got maybe three minutes before this entire fortress is surrounded by Devils! Better in there than out here once they arrive!"
Damn it all, she had a point!
While his students and his father kept the Devils confused and disorganised, Cobalt made a beeline for the ramp. A few of the Devils noticed his mad dash and fired upon him with bolt and arrow alike, but he managed to avoid getting shot as he transitioned from broken stone to harsh corrugated metal. As he ascended the grand gangplank, he looked over at his students to see how they were doing.
There, standing by the back doors of the vehicle with her Leather Whip drawn and ready, was Karazelle Terna. Their gazes met, and the cold sensation in his heart worsened.
"Cobalt, don't slow down! Keep going!"
Spurred on by Lilith's words, he kept his head down and sprinted up to the Tempered Bastion's entrance. Before the great portcullis was little more than a stone platform upon which a single Devil stood guard, right by the gate lever. Noticing Cobalt, he turned his crossbow onto him, only for the Incubus to duck beneath his shot and grapple him around the waist. With a mighty grunt, he threw the Devil into the wall, tearing at the webbing of his wings before kicking him over the side. He tried to block out the sound of his screams as he plummeted into the abyss, ripped wings flapping uselessly, but the Incubus couldn't deny the sparks of heat it inspired in his gut.
Gripping the lever tight, he jerked it down, causing the entire entrance platform to shake as pistons hissed and great spools of dark iron chains began to turn. As the portcullis rose, he peered over the edge at the battle ensuing down below.
"Everyone get inside!" the Incubus roared at the top of his lungs.
His students all looked up, a myriad of emotions upon their faces upon spotting the Incubus. But as the Devils encroached from on high, they broke through their opponents' guard and made a desperate gambit for the portcullis.
"Come on, come on...!" Cobalt breathed, glancing from his students to the skies above.
Barked commands echoed from above as iron bolts began to rain down upon the gangplank. Izzbelle was carrying Brass' wheelchair beneath one arm and Jelli's entire body beneath the other as she stampeded up the ramp, with Elya and Brass himself following close behind. Quinn was taking potshots at the Devils as he girlfriend dragged her along by the sleeve. Whitney and Karazelle brought up the rear, ensuring that no Devils followed them to the entrance.
"As soon as they're safe, we have to trash the gate. Stop them from opening it again," Lilith explained.
"How do I do that?!" Cobalt cried, wincing as he saw Whitney narrowly avoid a bolt.
"Any exposed machinery; rip it apart. It's made to withstand punishment, but... you're an Incubus. Should be able to break it."
"You sure?!"
"I designed it. I've never been more sure."
Cobalt nodded and grabbed a hold of the gate lever, hoping and praying that they got through okay. As each of his students passed him by, they didn't dare to make eye-contact. All except Karazelle, who snuck a glance at him as she ducked into the relative safety of the Bastion. Even for that single split-second, her betrayed gaze felt cold enough to kill.
"They're in. Make it fast, Cobalt," Lilith told him, bringing him back to the situation at hand.
"A- Alright. Here goes...!"
Gripping the lever with both hands, the Incubus braced his foot against the wall and pulled with all of his might. Inside the wall, the mechanism began to groan and grind. He tightened his grasp, his veins alighting as every muscle in his arm went taut. With an almighty crunch, the iron lever snapped off, allowing him to wheel around and stab the jagged end through an expose piston. As hot steam sprayed everywhere, Cobalt tore the lever out before jamming it into an array of large gears, causing them to jar and spark.
"Alright, now for the chains! As soo as they're gone, that gate's gonna fall, so get inside as quick as possible!"
Looking up, he focused on the array of great chain spools attached to the gate. Though the Devils were snapping at his heels, he exposed his claws and scrambled up the wall, giving him just enough height to leap up and rip one of the spools clean from its mounting. With such damage done to the gate in such a short amount of time, the portcullis groaned as what few chains remained began to groan and creak.
"Now...!" Cobalt breathed, dropping back down to the ground.
With the gate coming down around his ears and a legion of Devils touching down just a few feet away, it took every ounce of strength Cobalt had to throw himself inside of the Bastion, right as the portcullis crashed down behind him.
He landed in an undignified heap within. Safe, if not just for the moment.