~~~Zeke~~~

"Eve, can I talk to you?" Zeke asked quietly.

She was bent over some kind of metal contraption on the table in front of her. "Umm," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the device before her. She touched a finger to a metal rod, and a brief glow flashed over it. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well..." Zeke started hesitantly. "You know how..."

"Eve!" A new voice interrupted, and Zeke shut his mouth.

How I'm a monster...

Zeke turned toward the voice and saw Kyle saunter in, followed by two other men, both carrying aluminum baseball bats. His 'tanks', as Kyle called them, looked a bit banged up while Kyle was almost sparklingly clean.

"Hi guys." Zeke pushed away his dark thoughts and hurried over to them. "Need any healing?"

"Hello Zeke!" Kyle smiled at him and then passed by to head for his sister. "Hi Eve! I brought you some cores."

"Great." Eve said flatly as Zeke put a hand on one of Kyle's tanks. "Give 'em to Zeke."

Purifying Light

"Thanks, Z," the man said quietly as he relaxed under the golden glow. Zeke knew his passive aura was already healing them, but it would be faster with both skills. Behind him, Zeke heard Kyle muttering something and the clattering of cores on the table.

"So Eve..." Kyle drawled. "Why don't you take a break and come have lunch with me? I brought back some giant chickens, and I bet Bill will cook some for us if I ask..."

"Not interested," Eve said quickly, cutting him off. "Lots of work to do."

Hitting on my sister... Gross, Zeke thought, as he felt the first of the men's health stop regenerating. He switched to the other.

"Oh Eve!" Kyle laughed loudly, but it sounded forced. "You'll come around one of these days, but don't worry, I'll keep looking out for you... and your brother." The last bit sounded like an afterthought.

Zeke rolled his eyes and saw the man he was healing grin at him as his health topped off. The man gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, kid."

"What are the lairs like?" Zeke asked.

"It's pretty rough," the man replied after a moment. "Some are worse than others."

"I could go with..." Zeke started.

"No," Byron's deep voice rumbled through the room. "It is not safe, Zeke."

"But..."

"He's right," Nate said, walking through the door. "It's far better for everyone if you're here. Especially since..." He trailed off, gaze unfocused, then whispered, "What is it?"

"What's what?" Eve demanded. "You're psychic, right? What did you see!?"

Nate winced. "Not a psychic. But... something is wrong." He stood there, unmoving, for a little longer. "Everyone, get to battle stations. I don't know what's wrong, but I think something's coming."

People started moving in a rush of noise, and Nate shouted, "Find Olie! I want a message sent to..."

Olie sprinted in, shouting all the way. "Edward sent the signal! They're under attack and need help!"

Nate took a single step toward the door and stopped. "So are we."

Zeke felt his heart sink at those words. He knew what this was about. It was him. The undead wanted him because of his power. Now everyone would have to fight to protect him... "I want to help, Nate!"

"...casters in every window," Nate said, then turned to Zeke. "We will need your help before this is over. Which means we need you to stick with your team no matter what. Keep them alive, and they will do more than you ever could alone. You got that?"

Zeke swallowed. "Yes, sir."

Then Nate was off again, giving orders as people rushed frantically in every direction. Zeke watched anxiously, hands clasped tight, as he prayed, Jesus, please...

Eve pulled him into a hug. "We got this, Zeke." She let him go and kept strapping weapons onto her body. "I won't let them touch you!"

Zeke nodded mutely. He'd seen that expression on her face before; it was always there when she lied to him. Like when she told him everything would be okay. Or when their mom told the crusaders to hurt Eve... when Eve smiled and told him it was fine. When she took the torch out of his hands... When she was bleeding and told him it didn't hurt...

Please save her, Jesus... Zeke prayed for his sister; he prayed she wasn't lying. But it was all useless. He didn't even know if he believed in anything anymore...

He looked at the devil's words again.

Status

Name: Ezekiel Mitchell

Race: [Broken Faith](E-grade Human)

Titles: [Light of the World]

Traits: [Adaptable](100%) [Faithless]

Class: Faith Purifier (Divine) - Level 40 (Intermediate)

Class Skills: Purifying Light (Broken) (Divine) - Level 45 (Intermediate) | Purifying Aura (Broken) (Divine) - Level 40 (Intermediate)

Attributes:

Strength: 150(+200%)450

Vitality: 150(+200%)450

Dexterity: 150(+200%)450

Wisdom: 150(+200%)450

Intelligence: 150(+200%)450

Willpower: 150(+200%)450

Faith: 8(-50%)4

Soul: 9(+0%)9

Non-Class Skills(0/6):

Buffs:

Debuffs:

Even the devil knew his heart. Even the devil knew he was broken and useless. Ever since he'd seen his mom burning... since he'd burned her... She was supposed to be the light. The shining beacon on the hill. But she wasn't... She was a monster, too.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

But then, what did that make him?

The waiting dragged on... and on. Zeke hoped Nate was wrong about the attack, and he even started to think he must have been... until something exploded outside while shouts came from upstairs.

Zeke froze as his guards burst into motion.

Pru sprinted to the window, appearing there in a burst of speed that even Zeke couldn't follow. "Seeing dozens of incoming. I think it's already safe room time!"

Byron scooped Zeke into his massive arms without a word and sprinted deeper into the building, the others following.

Zeke protested, but no one listened to him. It was just as well. What did he know?

But he wanted to help. He wanted to heal people. That wasn't evil! Was it? Unless he healed evil people...

They didn't let him go until they'd trapped him inside an enclosed room with only one way in or out. A doorway that Byron could fill completely with his body. All the children were already here...

"Stay near," Lila said, ice covering her arms and spreading further. "We can help with the fighting, but Zeke is the priority. You don't move out of range of him, no matter what."

Zeke stood near the door, Byron's hand on his shoulder keeping him from leaving but still letting him peek outside. He pushed his mind and faith against his broken aura, even if it was weak. He pushed it as far as it would go, feeling the little twinges against his faith that told him he was helping someone, even if he couldn't see them.

Everyone tensed up when they heard the voice shouting outside.

"None of you have to die! There is still time to choose the right side! To choose immortality! Just give us the purifi..."

A loud boom interrupted the words.

"Fuck them up, Nate!" Eve hissed behind him, and Zeke turned to see her kneeling over some strange, spiky, metal... thing. Glowing silver light covered her fingers as she twisted and bent the metal.

The same voice from before came back. Laughing. "So you have chosen..." Another boom shut it up, and more explosions followed, along with stranger noises Zeke recognized as different skills of people here at the base.

He felt the building shake around them and saw a trio of figures emerge from a side door... They looked human, but he knew what they were. His aura was already burning them, which might explain why they all turned immediately to look at him.

"Get back!" Byron thrust Zeke back right before something exploded in the huge man's face.

Lila shot past on a sheet of ice as Byron moved from the doorway, Pru on her heels. Asher followed with the gleaming twin blades Eve had made for him.

Zeke didn't get to see what happened, but he'd seen his guards fight before and knew they were really strong. It should have ended in seconds.

It didn't.

Curses echoed into the room along with the sounds of combat.

More curses also echoed inside the room. From Eve.

She hadn't used to talk like that. Not until after she went away to college. Their mom had been so mad when Eve left...

Zeke had missed her so much. He'd been so happy when Mom took him to visit her at school... Of course, the visit hadn't gone well. They fought. Mom and Eve screamed at each other so much... but Eve had hugged him and called him Zeke instead of Ezekiel... just like she used to. He thought they would be a family again.

Then the world ended, and everything went to... poop.

He had ruined everything by not having enough faith. Now Eve would die too...

~~~Nate~~~

Nate watched the monsters sauntering from the treeline with a sinking feeling in his gut. There were so many of them, and his intuition was alarmingly silent for such an occasion.

It told him one thing, though.

One of the monsters was not like the others. It looked as human as the rest, but Nate knew it wasn't. None of them were human anymore.

"None of you have to die!" the fake human shouted. "There is still time to choose the right side! To choose immortality! Just give us the purifi..."

Full Throttle

Lightning Blows

Iron Skin

Power Step

Nate punched a hole through its head, ripped off both its arms, and kicked its body back into the trees before using its arms to slap two more heads from the undead traitors' shoulders. His allies attacked only a heartbeat behind him, and it was a good thing because the ones he'd killed were not dying.

Stanley had told him about the fight with the zombie and how it regenerated—a zombie Nate was fairly certain was the one charging back toward him with a new head and two new arms...

"So you have chosen..."

Nate took off its head again, followed by punching a hole through its chest, followed by taking its head again... Then he had to dodge a clawed swipe from the headless creature while ripping the other arm free and throwing it through another traitor's back.

The creature stopped toying with him, and Nate had no more time to help with the others. He knew this one was the most dangerous, and it was up to him to take it down. His allies would have to deal with the rest.

Zeke should be safe, at least, with that team around him, but Nate dearly wished Stanley was here for this. The signal from Edward dashed any hope he had for that eventuality. This was clearly a coordinated assault. The undead wouldn't let them work together.

He should have convinced Stanley to stay here and let others hunt for him. He also really shouldn't have indulged Stanley with his fortification idea... I should have acted more threateningly. That probably would have kept him from waiting.

It was too late now. Nate could feel his intuition twitching back and forth as he fought. He knew everything was up in the air right now. It could go either way...

So he fought with everything he had against an immortal monster, after said monster had finally shown its true colors. Now its eyes glowed with red light, and it sported six inch claws on each hand as it tried its damnedest to kill him.

Nate leaned aside, those claws a hair's breadth from his face, and punched through the knee rising toward him. He blocked the second clawing attack by obliterating the entire hand... then watched it regenerate almost instantly.

Stanley said it was likely some kind of soul magic that kept them from dying. Something that linked them with their minions and fed off their lives. Or unlives. Whatever.

Hundreds of those likely minions were swarming his home at this very moment, and Nate didn't dare go after any of them. This monster before him was too strong and too fast. It would cut through most of his people without effort. He was the only one who could keep up with it.

It was up to everyone else to deal with the zombies. Not to mention the other immortal human traitors. None of them held the strength of this one, but they also didn't die from fatal wounds.

He caught glimpses of the surrounding fighting, where some geniuses had figured out that they should use slowing and disabling magic against the traitors. It was working wonderfully at keeping them out of the fight while the weaker fighters killed the mindless horde.

Of course, it wasn't enough. Nate had already seen a few traitors make it inside the building. He had to hope Zeke's protection detail could handle them. They knew everything Nate knew about these monsters, so they should know to conserve power. This was more of an endurance fight than anything. They just had to kill the monsters enough times, while their own numbers dwindled.

A dozen humans were already down. Mostly the close range fighters. The ranged casters were blasting from small windows all up and down the building, from windows prepared for this very scenario.

The problem there was that they would eventually run out of mana.

He heard someone shouting for retreat inside as their numbers dwindled, and he caught glimpses of the remaining fighters following the order. Good timing.

They did the right thing and didn't wait for him before locking down the lair. Hopefully, it would give them enough time to deal with the ones already inside before the remaining zombies breached the door again.

"Your friends have abandoned you," the zombie said, laughing.

Nate smiled and punched a hole through its face. "I'm not trapped out here with you."

"Foolish mortal! You..."

Nate blasted its head, arms, and one leg away with a flurry of lightning blows. "You're trapped out here with me!"

The zombie actually retreated for a moment after reforming its body. "You're almost as annoying as that other human was."

"Thanks," Nate said, charging after it.

"Fool! That human is already dead!"

"I doubt that," Nate said. "He would not go down so easily. I haven't even heard his dog roar yet. Or did you forget about him?"

The zombie apparently didn't like the reminder, and it leapt back with a growl. "I wanted to take that beast's flesh! It would have made a fine form. Instead, I think I will take yours!"

Nate's intuition finally reacted to something as the zombie pounced. He aborted his block and counterattack to dodge aside just ahead of the black lightning that exploded from the zombie's claws.

It ripped into the dirt and carved deep trenches a dozen feet long. Nate swayed aside from the follow-up attack, the lightning arcing a few little stray bolts into his flesh as it passed.

Debuff Resisted: [Corruption]

The zombie roared, and Nate didn't need his eyes to know what was coming. He leaned aside from a glowing black blade that tried to remove his head from behind, then deflected a pair of bloody claws aiming for his guts.

He killed both attackers before they could follow up, then killed the two behind them. All four failed to stay dead. They also couldn't compete with their leader.

Unfortunately, they didn't need to.

A horde of weak but undying former humans swarmed onto him while the real threat abandoned the fight in search of different prey. Like Zeke.

Nate cursed these cowards for ever joining the wrong side, even as he fought recklessly to escape their encirclement and chase the worst monster of them all. Even as he pitied them for their mistake.

None of them spoke while they fought. None of them screamed or did anything other than continue the attack. Yet he could see them still in there. He could see the fools peering out from behind terrified eyes.

Somewhere in the distance, Nate heard a crash. A glance told him what it was, and he caught a flash of the invader disappearing inside the building.

Shit.