As Carrie and I made our way toward the library, I filled Eriks, Yamato, and Armstrong in about the survivors and left them orders to help any of them that showed up. I told them to keep their helmets on though. No need to tempt fate more than once.

"I think this is it," Carrie said, pointing toward a building that had scaffolding and plastic tarps surrounding a lot of it. The sign that proclaimed it as the city library probably helped. "Touka's been using a city map to guide me."

"Good for her," I said as we watched a Hellhound snap at a Kamaitachi before moving into the open doors. "What map has she been using."

"Tourist map with all the historic spots like the library," she answered. I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years for some reason. While we waited for either something major to happen, or some other sign that there might have been a Queen inside, I contacted Eriks and had him and his squad make their way to us. Better to have numbers for this after all.

Carrie and I watched from our vantage point across the street and behind a couple cars when we saw it. The Guardian. This one was a class that I had dubbed as the Revenant. Like the Ghoul that it came from, the Revenant walked on two legs like a man and used clawed hands to eviscerate its prey. It's similarities ended there. Revenants had tails with a bladed protrusion that they used to great effect in a fight; they had no visible eyes and seemed to use a heightened sense of smell and hearing to locate their prey. They also rose to heights of eight feet as opposed to the six foot heights of Ghouls. They were almost perfect for hunting in dark environments and often were paired with Cerberous Guardians when controlled by Queens.

"That looks like fun," Carrie said quietly. "Have you ever fought a Revenant?"

"Only the simulations," I answered her. "This might be easier though. I told the Wardens when they made them that I wanted the simulations to be more difficult than the real counterparts."

"You mean the reason I can't beat a full swarm of Kamaitachi is because you've been making me fight them on hard mode?" she demanded.

"If you weren't setting your swarm numbers to twice their natural size then you'd beat them easily," I pointed out.

"You set them that high," she pointed out.

"Only when I want to work on my agility," I defended myself.

"Carrie you know that the Commander is the best there is," Eriks said as he moved beside us. "Don't feel so bad, you're still doing better than anyone else."

"He's right," I told her before turning my attention to him and giving orders.

"There's a Revenant inside, don't know about anything else aside from a couple Hellhounds and Kamaitachi. Keep your head on a swivel and don't go anywhere alone. We're breaking into threes for this and if anyone encounters that Revenant you signal the other team before you think about engaging. If you find the Queen, try to take it out. That's the target. Understand?"

"Gotcha, Commander," one of his squad said. "Who's with you and Principality Applewood, sir?"

"Since you asked, I'll take you," I told him. He didn't seem enthused for some reason. Poor guy.

"Let's go," Carrie said before making her way toward the library. I followed after her with Eriks' team in tow.

Once inside, we split into our groups and made our own ways through the darkened building. Carrie and I took Smith, our temporary teammate, and swept through the left side of the first floor before making our way down into the basement while Eriks took the rest of his squad to the second floor.

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As soon as we stepped down onto the basement floor, I immediately radioed Eriks.

"We have the Revenant down here," I told him. "Make your way toward us and we'll try to save you some Scourge. I count more than fifteen Hellhounds and thirty Kamaitachi, with at least a dozen Ghouls. Be quick, be safe."

The Revenant rose head and shoulders above the Ghouls that were gathered around it as they all looked toward a corner of the basement. Waiting for what I don't know. Before we could move to engage it, I saw a Cerberous make its way from out of an aisle that it was hiding down. Carrie nudged my arm and nodded toward the ceiling, where I saw five Reapers waiting above us in the rafters and supports. Smith pointed toward another aisle that a second Cerberous had walked out from.

"Anyone have any explosives?" I asked. Those would take care of most of the Kamaitachi and probably some of the Hellhounds depending on how many we had.

"I've got a triple of the hatchets," Carrie said. "Smith?"

"I've got nothing, sirs," he answered.

"Carrie pass out the hatchets," I told her. "We're aiming for the Kamaitachi and Hellhounds. We can take care of the Guardians if we work together and watch each other's backs. Smith, I want you to use your shield and sword to keep the Cerberous distracted. Carrie, I want you to do what you can to distract the Revenant until Eriks is here. I'll keep the Reapers from focusing you guys."

"Roger," Carrie said.

"If I don't make it, sir," Smith started.

"I'll drag you out of hell myself to keep you alive," I told him before he could finish. I hadn't lost a Nephilim yet and I wasn't about to have him be the first.

"Thank you sir," he said quietly.

"Let's do this," Carrie said handing me a hatchet.

I counted us down and as one we threw our explosives toward the Kamaitachi. Smith and I did anyway, Carrie made sure to take out some of the Hellhounds and at least wounded some of the Ghouls that were close to it.

As soon as the hatchets impacted, the screams of the Scourge alerted them all to our presence and the explosions threw most of the Ghouls and the Revenant to the ground and made one Reaper lose its grip and balance to fall from the ceiling. Before they could recover, I had activated my thrusters and sent myself jumping up to catch myself on the rafters and began to stab the closest Reaper.

The screeches it made alerted the other Reapers to my presence, and, with hisses, they all began to fire stingers at me. I flung myself from rafter to rafter in an effort to avoid their projectiles, and swung my sword at them trying to take off feet or, even better, their tails. I missed more than I succeeded but I expected that; as long as they focused on me swinging from rafter to rafter like a demented monkey instead of my team, I was doing my job.

I managed to flip myself to a standing position on one of the rafters and I pulled one of my remaining hatchets from my back. I needed to make those count. I sent one hatchet flying toward a Reaper and watched as the others all sent stingers toward it rather than me. One hit it and knocked it off course, but I had used the distraction to throw myself at another Reaper and I'd managed to catch it with my free hand. No way it was getting away from me.

With a slinging motion I threw its body off the rafter and out into free space before driving my sword into its throat down into the chest cavity. I let go before pulling my sword out and flinging it at its friends. With more hisses and screeches, the Reapers dodged their dead companion and sent more stingers my way. Surely they were about to run out.

I jumped toward another Reaper and missed grabbing it this time, but managed to catch the rafter and swipe at it with my sword. Before I could pull myself up it was clawing and biting at the hand that held me in place and trying to dislodge me. It didn't dodge my sword this time when I sheathed it in the damn thing's brain. Another Reaper dead, I faced the last two that eyed me from across the gap between our rafters. Still hissing and baring their teeth at me, they seperated and used their dexterous limbs and bodies to dash through the rafters and across the gaps. Before I could move to chase them they flung themselves toward Smith and Carrie.

"Lookout above!" I warned them.

Smith dove to the side, and the Reaper aiming for him crashed into the Cerberous that had charging at him while he dealt with the other one. Carrie wasn't able to dodge hers from the Revenant and Ghouls bearing down on her.

Before it crashed into her, a spear flashed out and pierced its side before pulling it off course and to the ground, where Eriks' other squadmate took its head with his battleaxe.

"We're here Commander," he called out. "I've got Applewood's back, you two start cleaning up those Ghouls!"