Victor slammed into the wall with a crash. He fell to the ground and rolled across the ground. Metamorphs and Demigods tried to rush him, but a line of fire separated them.

“Thanks, Ash!” Victor told her.

She appeared and helped him up. He tossed her one of his guns and held the other in his hand.

Bullet Alter – Lightning Charge.

Time Bullet – Slowdown.

His frigustone pistol glowed with electricity. The ignistone pistol burst into flames in Ash’s hand, but only her sleeve caught fire. And both of them grew blew flames that exuded power.

A Metamorph Mover appeared before them. it smothered the flames on the ground and rushed towards them. Its skin popped in places and the other Metamorphs followed.

Victor and Ash fired the twin bullets into the crowd of enemies. An arcane twang rang out from the pistols. They couldn’t escape the onslaught and fell before them. The Mover was blasted to bits of clay and the rest of the Vices fell before them.

That wave was done for now, and Victor and the Altesians had time to breathe. The Vices could only come so fast, and there were levels of Wielders defending against them. Ashley threw Victor his pistol back and he gave her a confused look.

“What, didn’t like the feel of it?” he asked.

“I’m a terrible shot, unlike you. If that thing had been anywhere far away, I’d have missed,” Ashley told him.

“You could practice,” Victor told her.

“Maybe when this is over,” she smiled at him.

Victor looked away, flustered. Loki, he needed to focus on him.

There were about ten Wielders holding the last line of defence for the Altesians. They were some of the strongest that Angel Heights could’ve spared without compromising themselves, and Loki was among them.

Victor found him resting atop the body of some Brutes. He had some Seeds in his hands that he’d collected from their bodies.

“Victor. Here,” Loki said, offering the Seeds. “You’re good at distribution. Find some Wielders for these.”

“How are you holding up?” Victor asked, grabbing the Seeds.

“Good. But tired. How long will the Angelo’s incubation take?” Loki asked.

“A day more at least,” Victor told him.

Loki scrunched his eyebrows in disappointment.

“I don’t know if I can fight that long,” Loki told him.

“I don’t either. But we’ll have to try, won’t we?” Victor asked. Loki looked up, offering one of the only smiles that Victor had ever seen from him.

“You are a rock, I hope you know.”

“In what way?”

“None of the others would have stayed as long as they have without your leadership. You are good at… giving purpose, I suppose,” Loki told him.

“I think the word you’re looking for is motivation. And I’m low on that myself,” Victor told him.

“Yes, motivation. You don’t show your weakness. I think that helps them to feel stronger. Thank you for that,” Loki told him.

“I appreciate it, Loki.”

Loki stood up, dusting off a sword he’d picked up from one of the Demigods. It fit the man well, and he’d taken to it like a fish to water. He patted Victor once on the shoulder before moving back to the frontlines and waiting.

Victor distributed the Seeds, as many as he thought would work. It wouldn’t be much for the coming days, but even a few boosts from a new Seed could mean life or death.

Boosts were the only thing Victor had gotten from the past two days of fighting. Early on, they’d had time between the waves. But as the days went on and Cecilian grew more desperate, the time decreased.

That meant they’d seen more fighting than ever. Victor had grown closer to the Seeds in his chest, feeling them more intimately than ever. Maybe all that time fighting was driving him insane, but Victor felt the closest to his Crystallized Lightning in those days.

Thoughts of Amadeus gave him strength. He let the electricity flow through his veins and immersed himself in it. That had given him a number of boosts he hadn’t expected, and in a small time.

He had theories of course. The Seed grew through understanding. And Voltaic Form put him closer to the core of the Crystallized Lightning. The more time he spent within the form, the more he understood.

He felt on the cusp of something then, but the fighting stopped himself from contemplating too deeply upon it. When he made it through the Angelo’s incubation, he’d devote his time to it.

The next wave came and went, and Victor got some time to rest. His clothes were in tatters, covered in sweat, mud, cuts and burns. He stumbled over to one of the only healing Wielders they’d brought along with them and held out his hand.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Aidano came bounding in after Victor a moment later. The Altesian didn’t look much better himself, but at least he was clean.

“How goes the incubation?” Victor asked.

“The cocoon moves when we touch it, but no response,” Aidano replied.

“Shouldn’t it be showing more signs by now?”

“It should. I fear we may have fed it too much. It will grow strong, but only if it makes it out,” Aidano told him.

That wasn’t much for good news. But an idea popped into Victor’s head, tired as he was.

“Where’s the larva? I want to try something,” He told Aidano.

He was taken over to the cocoon at the back of the cave. There, he saw what looked like a large gem-like yam. It had the shadow of an Angelo growing within, but that shadow was faint.

He could feel the time yet to come, but Victor knew he had to do something. He placed a hand onto the cocoon and focused on his Timewalker’s Origin.

Speedup.

The power spread throughout the cocoon. It wouldn’t be much, but Victor hoped it would help. Tiredness creeped into his bones as Victor walked out. Aidano didn’t follow.

****

Victor was running on fumes. Loki was swinging his sword sluggishly and they were down to about half of their original force. The only solace they had was that Cecilian’s forces were similarly diminished.

Victor took a swig of water greedily while Ashley rested for the few minutes they had. Then they went back at it, slashing at Demigods, Metamorphs and even Vintarics that Cecilian had found somehow.

He’s contacted the Stolkatan Hive, Victor knew. He was getting just as desperate as them, and that meant they were on the cusp of victory.

Victor shot another bullet into a Brute before it fell before him.

[Ability Unlocked: Strength Boost]

He unloaded the magazine and put his last one in. he emptied that one too and stumbled back into a tent to search for more.

The last batch of ammo they’d gotten from Angel Heights was there. Victor took it and filled his count back up to maximum. If his count was right…

[Ability Unlocked: Count Regenerator]

[Ability Unlocked: Structural Sense Boost]

Finding enough ammo was hard enough as it was. but he’d gotten enough to refill ten times, and now he just needed time to get his ammo back.

[[Count Regenerator]: (Requirement: Refill Ammo Count to maximum 10 times) You passively and slowly generate ammo for types that you have already catalogued using your Ammo Count ability. The rate of generation depends on the kind of ammo and your Structural Sense stat.

With this, you may not even need to wait for your precious factories to fabricate your ammo. What’s surprising is that the Seed knows your intentions and will not give you this ability if you just take out and put ammo back into it. Magic is wonderful in that way.]

Victor hopped back out rejuvenated and ready for the fight ahead. Only for the last wave to make him stutter.

****

Two Demigods. Not the lesser ones, but the ones Victor had fought off before. That one had something special about it, which he hoped wasn’t the norm for the ones staying in Angel Falls.

The Demigods wasted no time in assaulting the base. They came in through the openings carved by Metamorphs and activated their Voltaic Form. If Victor wanted a chance to match them, he’d have to force open his own.

But the constant strain on his Seeds was making them sensitive. He instead opted for a Speedup and went to confront one of them.

The Demigods tried to sweep past the Wielders and to where the cocoon was stored. There was a large gate blocking their path, however, barred from the other side. Victor fired a shot at the Demigod’s feet as it banged on the door.

The Vice looked to him and fired lightning. Victor fired a bolt of his own. They didn’t fly as fast as true lightning, but the bolts clashed in an explosion of yellow and grey light. When the smoke cleared, Victor fired an infused shot into the Demigod’s chest.

Ice spread around the bullet hole in its chest and the Demigod unleashed more lightning. Loki appeared from behind and cut off one of the Demigod’s arms. It grabbed him with the other and shocks went through the Wielder’s body.

The Demigod threw Loki across the ground before turning to Victor. Victor fired more infused bullets into its chest, feeling his Weaponsmith Heart straining. He stowed the pistols once the Demigod was staggered. Instead, Victor brought out a knife and came in low.

He stabbed into the monster’s thigh and applied Slowdown. The Demigod slowed and Victor plunged a fist into its chest. The monster crumbled to the floor and its Voltaic Form dissipated. The light left its eyes and Victor breathed a sigh of relief.

Only to catch a bolt on his back. It sent Victor sprawling to the ground. He turned onto his back and pulled out his pistols. He fired Infused shots into the air, cracking his Weaponsmith Heart. The bullets whizzed past the second Demigod, however, and brought down a stalagmite onto a tent.

The Demigod fired more lightning into Victor from the skies. He ducked behind a boulder but the stone wouldn’t hold for long. Victor clutched his chest. It was painful when his Seeds cracked, in a way that normal pain wasn’t. Like he was being stretched to infinity and couldn’t hold it within.

But Victor couldn’t dawdle for long. Lightning bolts were blasting into the door. He’d tried his best to Speedup the cocoon’s development. Surprisingly, no matter how many times he’d applied it on the cocoon, his Timewalker’s Origin remained intact. He thanked his lucky stars that was the case, or he’d have broken the Seed ages ago.

Victor popped out from the covers and fired a Time Bullet into the Demigod. But it missed again and Victor’s frustration grew. The door couldn’t hold for long.

“Hey, Light and ugly! Why don’t you fight something that can fight back?!” Victor shouted at the Demigod. But it seemed the monster didn’t care. He fired at it, but the Demigod was frustratingly fast. Faster than its brother had been.

It kept the barrage on the doors up until a burst of flame caught its attention. Victor was glad for Ashley’s help, even if she was in bad shape. The Demigod didn’t face Victor, focusing its rage at Ashley instead.

Victor rushed towards her knife out. The Demigod held her by the throat. He shot into the monster’s back with his frigustone pistol. The Demigod noticed and threw Ash at him.

Victor caught her with her arms and kneeled down to place her. The Demigod raised its hand to throw lightning once more, but a loud crash stopped it. The doors that made up the giant metal gate flung far into the caves and embedded themselves into the soil.

Victor turned to see their source. Where the smoke was clearing to reveal a figure. The wings came first, spanning so wide he thought they could hold a dozen or two people on them. Then came the armour, and the face within that looked all too human.

A fresh Angelo was born, and the entire battlefield knew it. When they looked upon its hallowed form, they balked and began to retreat. Even the Demigod that had been hounding Victor.

Despite that, Victor didn’t feel at ease. The Angelo was scrutinizing the people who had remained, walking leisurely like it owned the place. Its eyes scanned everyone before settling on Victor, and the woman he was holding.

Victor’s hands went to his pistol. But the Angelo did not fight. Instead, he approached and asked.

“Do you require help?”

He was so large and demanding, even newborn, that Victor couldn’t believe the words.

“Yes,” was his response.

The Angelo lifted Victor and Ashley up in one hand and carefully took them to the Altesians. He lowered them right next to the little buzzing creatures, who healed both their wounds.

Victor kept his eyes on the Angelo the entire time they did, wondering and waiting for an attack that would never come.

“What’s your name?” Victor asked.

But the Angelo wasn’t the one to respond. It deferred to someone else. Aidano, who was happy to answer the question.

“His name should be… Yukir,” Aidano said, like a proud father.