CHAPTER 75: STEEL INSECTS

The smell of gunpowder encapsulated the air. Hermes was busy fending off a few Inquisition Knights when suddenly, his [Sensory-Boost] sensed the presence of an attack from his left side. He swiftly leaned back to dodge, but managed to still get his chest scraped by a sword's edge. Without hesitation, he promptly jumped back to create distance.

Grabbing his chest wound, Hermes began to breathe heavily. It has been roughly ten minutes since Merlin had finished setting up her trap, but she had still not activated it yet. The enemy inquisition knights came in droves, all of them thirsty for blood. Hermes was left to fight a one-man war against platoons of them while Merlin dealt with their commander as well as the remaining Gear Mechs.

As he was trying to pick himself back up, the Inquisition Knights a few roof buildings away began to fire at him repeatedly. He quickly hid behind a pillar and began to reload his hand cannon.

'There is seriously no end to these bastards... How many have I taken out by now? I have lost count...'

Peeking out carefully from behind the pillar, he observed the large explosions going off in the distance.

'It seems Merlin is still busy with their commander... Shit...'

Gritting his teeth, he turned around to the other side of the pillar. Just a meter away, there was a large wall which lead to the other side of the building he was currently on. He decided it was best to flank them from the side. After readying his nerves, he immediately primed his muscles for a leap of faith. The gunfire was continuous and rapid; the chances of him getting shot while performing this maneuver were fairly high. But he had no choice. He would rather die fighting than staying behind the pillar and watching them hopelessly close in on him.

Using [Augmented-Comprehension], he was able to shoot a few of them from behind the pillar. He quickly identified the perfect time to jump and went directly into motion. A few bullets pierced through his trench coat, but he was luckily unharmed. He was still not completely safe, however. He knew that the enemy would close in on him now that they knew he moved away from where he was hiding. He swiftly dashed to the other side of the building and immediately spotted a few of their forces that were positioned at the back of the firing squad. Before they had anytime to react, Hermes swung his gunblade with enough force to cut through a tree. He pressed down on the trigger, unleashing hellfire from his blade, leaving a horizontal arc of flames directly in the way of his enemy.

In total, roughly 10 inquisition knights were hit head on by the attack, cutting them all in half instantly. He swiftly picked off the remaining ones using his hand cannon. In the distance, he could see a total of 50 more inquisition knights scattered across the remaining buildings. Gunfire returned to his ears as he swiftly leaped behind what looked to be an A/C unit. Bodies were scattered all across the surrounding floor.

'Ugh... They might as well declare a civil war with all the commotion they are causing...'

It completely baffled him how little regard they had for civilians. Most of the buildings surrounding his periphery were filled to the brim with low-income workers who could only afford to rent apartments with other tenants together. His heart was filled with guilt, but it wasn't like he could really do anything about it. There was no mistaking it; casualties have definitely occurred, and they were willing to sacrifice many more lives in order to kill him.

'Merlin was right... I simply cannot afford to care about who I kill. From my perspective, the inquisition knights deserve to die. They are actively harming others, not to mention, they are trying to execute a dear friend of mine... Their lives are worth way less than the ones I wish to protect...'

'I will trade their lives for the ones I care about. This is a transaction I should feel no shame in completing...'

Without hesitation, he crawled over to the other side of the building, watching out for the incoming gunfire overhead. He knew for a fact that they would soon resort to heavy weaponry soon enough, and so it was best for him to close the gap as quickly as possible. The inquisition knights held no regard for the lives of bystanders; he wouldn't be surprised if they started launching rockets at him if it meant killing him.

A large hole in the floor presented itself to him. He didn't know whether it was there before the battle or if it was a result of some kind of explosion, but it didn't matter. Ever since he saw it when he was hiding behind the pillar, his goal was to go inside. The remaining inquisition knights a few buildings away from him had no vision of it at all. There was no way for them to discover him going into it; at least for a while.

Before descending into the hole, he ensured to pull one of the nearby corpses beside him to utilize their helmet. With caution, he removed it and positioned it slightly above his cover to create the illusion of his presence in the area. This tactic was employed to gain precious time. After a deep breath, he dove headfirst into the hole.

Other than the darkness and the infinite amount of dust floating in the air, the room he found himself in was fairly empty. He was unsure if there were people there before the fire-fight that had evacuated, or if it had always been abandoned. He carefully made his way to the exit and dashed toward the staircase. Arriving at the lowest floor, he made his way to the front entrance. The sound of distant explosions was shaking the foundations of the building to its core. With a twist on the knob, his feet landed on the frigid and abyssal street; scented candles were nowhere to be seen...

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He could see a few search lights scattered across, presumably, inquisition knights looking for him and his comrades. Screams can be heard from within the buildings as well as crying. He bit his lips and tiptoed across the street to the building, where he saw all the inquisition knights shooting at him from the roof. Merlin's plan needed to be executed very carefully and deliberately. It was his mission to eliminate all the rogue soldiers that were camping in difficult to reach spots. From his [Sensory-Boost], he knew that this was the final encampment he really needed to deal with. The rest were close enough that they could be finished off by Merlin's long distance spells.

As he made his way up the steps, he swiftly dispatched any guards blocking his way. Because of the heavy gunfire, those present on the roof had no way of detecting him. He suspected that there could be a few Martial Masters in their ranks, but even if they knew he was coming, he was confident that he could deal with them.

Suddenly, a buzzing sound was heard, one that was distinct enough for him to differentiate from the gunfire. It felt harmonic and strangely calming, but there was an eerie sensation mixed in that kept him on edge. He slowly went up the stairs. The sound was becoming more and more descriptive.

After making it to the highest floor, he stood behind the doorway that lead to the roof silently. By now, his heart was racing. He had no clue what was waiting for him behind that door. Still, he had a mission to accomplish. He gripped the handle of his gunblade tightly and slowly twisted the knob. A crack in the door widened, revealing the rooftop of the building.

Unlike what he had expected, there were no enemies for him to cut down. His gaze shifted onto the ground where a pile of corpses resided. Based on their uniform, he knew that they were inquisition knights. However, what made them strange was the complete absence of any flesh. From his perspective, all he could see were their ivory white skeletons. His hands clamped; he tried to look around for what had caused their deaths, but it was no use. There were no other clues to tell him what had happened.

'What in the monarch happened here... I could swear there was gunfire coming from this exact rooftop just a few moments ago...'

The buzzing sound continued to emanate from all around him. He had no clue why, but he decided to look up, and that's when he saw it. A large swarm or blanket of black particles flew in unison in the air. Like a singular mass, they moved strategically from one building to the next. Hermes squinted his eyes and used [Sensory-Boost]. His jaw almost dropped when he understood what they were.

'Locusts...'

But they weren't just any locusts. Hermes could tell that there was a mechanical component to their form. The buzzing sound he was hearing was coming from them!

'Were they the ones behind this? I can't believe it... They ate an entire human, leaving nothing but bones?!'

Suddenly, a sound projected itself into his mind. It was the voice of someone he could easily recognize.

["Hermes. I can see you from the rooftop. It's me, Lance. Don't worry, those flying bugs are my conjurations. Well, to be more specific, both mine and Frederick's."]

Hermes had no way to reply to him directly, so he began to nod his head heavily in order for Lance to see him. Lance noticed this and continued the conversation.

["We have already heard of the plan you and Merlin have devised. Do you want us to gather all the Inquisition Knights on this block?"]

Hermes nodded again.

["Alright. Frederick and I have split up in order to cover more ground. While he herds all the inquisition knights coming from the East, I will be busy covering the West. Merlin is currently fighting the Gear Mechs as well as their commander up in the north. Until she deals with them, the trap you guys have set up won't be able to activate."]

["As you have probably heard from Merlin, Mason has already delt with that bastard that showed himself in the warehouse. He was somehow poisoned during the battle, however, so until he fully recovers using the antibody he took, he will not be able to help Merlin out with her battle. Still, he expressed his confidence in being able to hold off the remaining inquisition knights in the South near the warehouse."]

Hermes stood there, silently pondering over the intel he had just received. What Lance was telling him made sense, but he was confused about his role. It seemed like everything was being dealt with already. He looked back up in the sky as he noticed the flock of locusts splitting into groups to kill off the remaining snipers scattered across the dense urban forest.

["While we deal with all of this, your role will be to figure out what to do with the ring I left on the floor for you. This was given to me by Mason, and now I am handing it off to you."]

Hermes' eyes narrowed. He looked down at the floor. Next to the corpses, he noticed a transparent ring glowing with faint amounts of cosmic force. As he picked it up slowly, he could discern subtle cosmic force strands interlacing within its smooth, glassy texture.

["That ring is apparently called the 'Ring of Avoidance'. It's a Halcyon-tier artifact, so be careful with it."]

The relic almost slipped from his hands when he heard him say that. 'Who the fuck leaves such a valuable thing on the floor?!' He really wanted to unleash a torrent of curses at Lance, but he lacked any method of communicating with him directly.

["Listen closely. I was met by the Astral Projection of lady Jessica Saint-Clair. She told me that this ring holds a really big secret, and that you were meant to be the one to figure it out. She said that without it, saving Elizabeth would be practically impossible."]

Hermes' eyes widened at that declaration. He looked back down at the relic in his hands. Like desert worms, the glossy surface was animated by the movement of exotic energies. But that was not the only thing present. With his [Sensory-Boost], he could tell that there were two different kinds of cosmic forces residing inside. Such a phenomenon was completely new to him.

From what he had learned back in the Guardian academy, the different domains of cosmic force tended to repel each other. Due to this characteristic, it was utterly impossible for someone to become a Celestial of multiple domains. And even more so, to craft a Stellar Artifact that holds properties of multiple cosmic forces that work harmoniously with each other as well.

And yet here he was, holding an object that was defying these essential principles.

End of Chapter