Under a light bulb that flickered for a brief moment, Dan saw Kate’s face on the figure moving toward them. He fought down the anger that always flared up whenever he saw that traitor. This was no time for an angry outburst that would compromise the whole team.
“Ma’am,” Kate whispered. “Something is jamming our communications. I can’t even reach you or anyone else.”
“Well no shit,” Judith replied. “The concentration of corrosia energy in this entire bunker is causing interference. That means we need to eliminate that cult master and his followers.”
“Are you fucking insane?” Kate said, still keeping her voice down to a whisper. “We can’t take on something like this. We’re all low on ammo and grenades. We can’t leverage our high ground advantage on such little ammo. And for sure we’re not getting down there in melee range against those kinds of numbers in an open space without cover.”
The Bloodknight held a combat knife to the blond’s throat. “I’m the one calling the shots here. We’re going to engage and find them whether you like it or not. I’ll take on that cult master and the rest of you focus on dealing with those cultists. If Ada joins us, that’s eight of you against about a hundred cultists. Those are manageable odds. So stop bitching.”
While petty, Dan admitted that seeing Kate be talked down to by Judith was fun to watch. That was until the Bloodknight turned to face him.
“How much ammo do you have?”
“A few mags each for the CMA, this current rifle and the handgun. Why?”
Judith gave Kate a sideways glance then looked back at him. “Today’s your lucky day. I’m going to give you some more real world experience with your new sword. Give Kate all of your spare ammo so that she can stop crying. You’re coming down there with me.”
“Ah crap,” Dan said. “Against all of those numbers?”
“You got your power boost didn’t you? Time to put your new strength to work. Now do it. Or I’ll come over there and strip you ass naked if I have to.”
Dan gritted his teeth, especially at the idea of sharing his resources with Kate. But this wasn’t up for discussion. He gave up all of the spare magazines he carried in his inner pockets and pouches and handed them off to Kate.
“Alright then. When I fire the first shot, that will be your signal to open fire. Prioritize the cult master first. I need to gauge how strong his psychic field is.” Judith then turned to Dan. “If nothing gets through I’ll jump down. When I jump, you follow with me. I’ll go straight for the cult master and you use your warp dancer to mow down the cultists. Everyone else will stay up on the catwalks and rain down fire on the rest of these followers.”
Both Dan and Kate reluctantly nodded at their new orders. It seemed that both of them had something to be annoyed about. The blond turned and made her way back to the second half of the team.
Judith took a pistol out from her thigh mount and fired the first shot, sending a sudden pop throughout the interior of the bunker. Dan watched in amazement as her bullet would have reached the cult master had it not been curved and redirected at the last moment. The other side of the catwalk erupted with gunfire as the rest of the team opened fire. Muzzle flashes and tracers illuminated the bunker in flashes, mixing with the glowing violet energies among the enhanced cultists. The entire bunker had become a psychedelic indoor lightshow of chaos as Dan watched rounds harmlessly curve around the cult master and hit nothing except the floor behind him.
“We’re going in,” Judith said. “Move it!”
Seeing their rounds do nothing against the cult master, the rest of the team’s fire was redirected to the one hundred cultist who radiated with corrosia. Judith lept from the catwalk and down onto the ground below. Dan followed her lead and also lept.
The horde of cultists exchanged shots against the rest of the team. But Dan’s eyes were fixated on the brilliant gold energy forming in the Bloddknight’s hand. The energy then forged itself into a giant blade that was at least three or four meters in length. Before his feet hit the ground, Judith bulldozed her way through a crowd of cultists, cutting them all down with her golden energy blade like they were nothing but grass.
Dan didn’t have time to watch her fight against the cult master himself as the nearest batch of mind-controlled cultists turned in his direct. Their barrels pointed squarely at him and he blurred into action.
Warp dancer activated.
He dashed toward the group in an erratic zig-zag pattern. Dan reached their position in seconds, easily closing the distance before any of them could pop a shot off. The distant sounds of gunfire and chaos were slowed and distorted while he used his newfound power. He lashed out with the Conservative and chopped off the heads of three cultists.
Multi-kill bonus with bladed weapon!
Bonus experience rewarded.
Having no time to celebrate, he had to keep going. He plunged his sword into the next cultist then immediately ripped out his blade from his abdomen. But then, something snapped him out of his warp dance. His perception of time and the speed of his enemies returned back to normal. The staccatos of gunfire returned back to normal speed. The corrosia bar on his HUD began draining gradually. Dan turned around as he felt the sudden heat from behind and saw the source. One of the cultists had his palm up and his arm stretched toward him. He was draining his corrosia energy and somehow this move had interrupted his warp dance.
“Oh hell no,” Dan said. He immediately charged the lone cultist draining his energy. “No free meals today buddy.”
Even without the warp dancer ability, Dan’s tier two stats gave him superhumanly agile movement and speed towards the cultist. Enhanced or not, the cultist couldn’t react on time to Dan bringing down his Conservative in a diagonal slash across his chest. He slashed apart the man’s robes and spilled excessive amounts of blood from his torso. As the cultist flopped onto the ground, Dan saw his corrosia bar partially refill some of the drained energy.
He looked down at his hand and saw his sword rattled in his hand. Having no idea if it was the effects of the blade itself interacting with otherworldly corrosia or some other equally bizarre reason, Dan continued his onslaught against the followers. He managed to get brief glimpses of the raging battle ahead.
Judith and the cult master clashed energy blades together. From the brief snapshots of the battle, Dan saw the cult master maintaining a noticeable advantage while he remained floating in the air. The cult master also had his own version of the oversized energy blade that Judith used. His was narrower in width and took on a more shimmering bronze shade.
A group of five cultists rushed Dan and he charged to meet their challenge. Dan brought down his Conservative onto the nearest cultist, cleaving through his shoulder down to his feart. He yanked his sword out and heard the strange howling again from the blade. He didn’t have time to dwell on the absurdity of a sword making such noises as two cultists rushed him from either side. He swerved his head out of the path of a deadly energy ball. The ball of dark energy soared through the air and headed toward another cultist. Dan assumed it would be a friendly fire incident but the follower gathered a sphere of corrosia in his palm and crushed it, teleporting away.
Dan swung in a wide arc and cut down two cultists in one move. In his peripheral vision, he saw Judith’s battle against the cult master. The psychic commander had noticed his followers being cut down by Kodak forces from the catwalk and thought of a solution. The cult master smashed his bronze energy blade against Judith with such sudden speed that even Judith barely countered in time. The Bloodknight was sent back, putting much needed distance between the two monsters of combat.
Barely glancing in the direction of the catwalk, the cult master raised his free hand and shot out rapid energy blasts from his palm. These weren’t the normal balls of energy that could easily be dodged. The rapid series of dark blue energy reminded Dan of the plasma pellets from Allen’s minigun.
Dan had just enough time to watch the fast-moving energy attacks impacts the supports of the catwalk. One entire section collapsed and he watched one unlucky Kodak agent fall to the ground.
His eyes caught movement coming at him and he backpedaled, narrowly dodging a shadow blade to the neck. The cultist in front of his had a blade that was longer than a dagger but still shorter than his Conservative sword. Dan gritted his teeth, remembering a previous encounter and how deadly the shadow blades were. His healing factor proved inadequate in mending a cut from the archaic dagger. Each one of these cultists had their own unique power just from borrowing corrosia from the cult master.
Another cultist fell from Dan shoving his elbow into the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. Dan focused his attention on the cultist that pointed his shadow blade at him.
“Alright then, you and me buddy,” Dan said.
Even in the flashes of light from corrosia energy and gunfire, Dan saw a smile creep up on the cultist through his hood. “I never fight alone, Alpha agent.”
To his right, Dan watched with shock and horror as the cultist he had cleaved through slowly stood back up. The giant cut the ran from his shoulder down to his heart glowed a bright purple. The man’s moves were more zombie-like as he swayed from side to side. The concentration of corrosia along his wound seemed to temporarily stop any more bleeding. But somehow, he was back up for more.
The two cultists he had cut down earlier awoke, also cheating death.
“What the hell is this shit,” Dan muttered.
At the corner of his eye, Dan spotted a lone Kodak agent getting swarmed by a group of cultists. He watched wide-eyed as the cultists enhanced with the cult master’s power beat down and tore the agent literally limb from limb. The borrowed power from their psychic commander had elevated them from normal men and women to freaks who were strong enough to tear apart an agent in their armor.
Warp dancer activated.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Dan rushed the shadow blade-wielding cultist, swiftly crossing the eight meter distance and chopping his head off with a flick of his wrist. He blitzed the other three cultists who had been resurrected. This time he made sure to chopped them to ribbons, dismembering limbs and carving them up, desperate to make sure they couldn’t get back up.
His warp dance ended and he watched with frustration as Judith’s battle with the cult master still didn’t have a decisive winner. The longer they stayed in this bunker and let this fight drag on, the cult master and his forces would win through attrition. Even as each kill restored some of his own corrosia reserve, Dan didn’t want to keep this shit up forever. His fights against these cultists and Church agents had proven the entire shard as the most frustrating enemies to deal with.
Without their communications, Dan wasn’t willing to shout for Judith to hear him. He rushed past a few cultists who were still preoccupied with returning fire against the catwalk. He sprinted through the section where Judith had previously bulldozed her own path to the cult master. A few of Judith’s victims who were cut down had their severed bodies slowly being put back together by pure corrosia energy. One of them began to slowly stand back up before Dan slashed furiously and chopped him to pieces.
The clashes of energy blades between Judith and the cult master sent waves of heat in his direction. The wavbes of energy hitting his bare face was so intense he lifted his hand to cover his eyes. Both eyes watered from the intense bursts of corrosia lashing out within the bunker.
“Judith,” he yelled. “If we don’t take down that cult master, these assholes will keep getting resurrected.”
The Bloodknight gave one glance at the rest of the battlefield and saw Dan and the team still hadn’t entirely mopped up the followers enhanced by their psychic commander.
“Fine then,” she said, bringing up her golden blade and redirecting a cutting wave of bronze energy from the cult master.
Judith turned on her heel and crossed the gap between her and Dan in an instant. “We’re going back to the surface.”
The Bloodknight snatched him up and Dan saw the same distortion around him. In the next second, he was breathing in fresh colder air from ground level. Him and Judioth were back on the surface, greeted by the same war-torn streets and red sky.
“Hey, what about the rest? How are they going to catch up with us?”
The Bloodknight rolled his eyes at him. “They got legs. Why do I need to worry?”
Dan groaned and ignored her. He looked around and took in his immediate surrounding. His eyes rested on what looked like Kodak’s version of a armored troop transport that had been driven into the entrance of a banking branch. The front half of the armored vehicle had smashed through the front wall with concrete and twisted metal spewing out onto the sidewalk and street.
He approached the backdoor of the transport that hung open and peered inside. He found more supplies from extra rifles, grenades and other supplies.
“Nice,” he said.
Dan ditched his HoA rifle since he had no more spare ammo for the strange weapon. He picked up the bulky and heavy nailgun in addition to the oversized box magazines for the gun. Snatching a few more grenades, he stepped out of the vehicle with his new gear.
He looked around the street and Judioth was nowhere to be seen. His eyes scanne devery nearby rooftop and he still couldn’t find her. Then a large brief flash of light caught his attention and he quickly held his hand over his eyes. When the flash of light passed, he saw Judith had teleported back down and grabbed what remained of the team. Kate and Li were being carried in Judith’s arms like they were sacs of harvested fruit. Adam and Natalia let gor of her shoulder and already began spreading out.
Natalia’s armor and bare face glistened with fresh blood while Adam took a few steps toward an abandoned sedan before removing his helmet. The Kodak agent coughed up a wad of blood and spat onto the front hood.
Judith was nice enough to release Kate and Li from her grip and drop them. Kate face planted onto the concrete while Li caught himself with his hand and slowly propped himself up. He saw the battle had taken their toll on rest of them. He wondered how suffocating the excessive amounts of corrosia energywould be on agents who weren’t enhanced with these supernatural gifts.
“Hey Li,” Dan shouted. “Get over here. Found some equipment.”
The stealth specialist tilted his helmet in Dan’s direction and immediately jogged over to him. He immediately noticed Li’s left arm was slack.
“Dan, good to see you again,” Li said. “It already feels too long.”
“The hell is up with you arm?”
“The energy blasts that came at us from that cult master. I jumped just in time and didn’t fall along with that platform. But a mere graze somehow disabled my arm. It’s been numb ever since.”
Dan wondered if the other half of the artefact that given him his level up and warp dancer could heal Li’s strange affliction.
“Shit Li,” he said. “I don’t think I have any healing items on me. But maybe something else will help that arm of yours.”
Dan looked over Li’s shoulder and checked out the rest of the Kodak team. They were all either licking their wounds or on high alert for what was to come.
“Head inside this building and jab yourself with this,” Dan said. He reached inside his coat and showed him the second half of the artefact. “This is what gave me my new powers.”
Li’s helmet tilted downward and he stared at the artefact for a moment. Then he looked up at him. “That explains a lot. I was wondering why you were level thirty and that strange technique you used down on the ground.”
“This used to be a whole piece,” Dan said, keeping his voice low. “I stabbed myself with one half already. I saved the other half for you. We’re going to need as strong as we can be if we ever want to bust out of here.”
Li tapped on the shoulder and gestured him to follow inside the ruined building. Both agents walked past the transport and through the opening in the bank. The stealth specialist looked around and found a spiraling staircase to the next floor.
As Li climbed up the stairs, he turned and looked at Dan. “You know, it took a lot of restraint to hold onto that strange artefact instead of just popping it yourself. And where the hell do those things come from?”
“A healthy dose of skepticism never hurt anybody,” Dan said. “This shit was taken directly from that crashed meteorite in the Dead Zone. Trust me, it’s the real deal. Plus, you need this boost just as much as I do. Think of how much improved your teleport can be. Or you could gain a new ability entirely like I did. Plus it might heal that arm of yours.”
The two made it to the second floor of the branch. Even with how desolate the location was, it didn’t stop Li from scanning the room with his pistol.
“So what’s the catch?” Li said. “Nothing ever comes free in this world.”
“No it doesn’t. When I stabbed myself with this, I was knocked out and dragged into that same realm that Overlord always pulls me into. I had no idea how long I was out. So your results may vary.”
“Of course they would,” Li said bitterly. “These are forces beyond our comprehension after all.”
Dan held the artefact in his hand and extended his arm out to the stealth specialist. Li grabbed the half shard of crystals and inspected it. He ran his gloved finger along the edge of the glistening crystals.
“I can feel the ambient energy this thing gives off,” Li said. “So where is this supposed to go? Don’t tell me it goes up my ass.”
“I stabbed it through my abdomen. By the time I woke up, my wounds already healed up and the armor began its self-repair process.”
Li paced for a bit, still inspecting the artefact in his hands. “That’s good for you, less so for me. I have no such healing factor. For all we know, I could stab myself with this then bleed out and die.”
Dan’s eyes widened at that harsh fact. The puncture wound he gave himself was able to mend itself because of his healing factor. Li had no such luxury and he wasn’t sure if the magical and otherworldly properties of the artefact could patch up the wound. This was a leap of faith for his comrade.
“So… are you giving it back?”
The stealth specialist held the artefact in his right hand then flipped it and pointed the crystalline shards at his midsection. “If that unfortunate fate happens, tell Jane and my uncle Shang that I fought and died well.”
Li tossed the artefact into his left hand and extended out his right to Dan. He let out a deep exhale and walked up to the silver-clad agent. The two shook hands for what could be their last interaction if something went wrong.
“You’ll find a way out of this mess, with or without me,” Li said. “If not, I know you’ll kill a lot of Kodak agents in my honor before your face hits the dirt.”
“Fuck yeah Li,” Dan said. He let go of the stealth specialist’s hand before he turned and headed for the stairs. He made his way down where the transport was made his way out of the damaged building. He walked past Kate and Adam, both already gathering whatever ammo they needed. Dan ignored those two and saw Judith speaking with Natalia. Another four Kodak agents had joined them who stood behind the younger Bloodknight.
“So Ada founds these guys then pulled rank on them to get them over here?” Judith asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Natalia said.
The lead Bloodknight gave an amused huff. “That sly girl. Just like how I taught her.”
Dan didn’t pay much attention to the additional backup they got. They were just more Kodak agents with their bulky armor that sported spikes and razor blades throughout their bodies along with visored helmets that covered their faces. All four of them stood a head shorter than Judith, though compared to Dan, he could tell they still towered over him in height, even from this distance.
His eyes drifted back to Judith and he noticed something weird about the Bloodknight. Judith’s face was glistening. When she turned in his direction, the faint glow of a street lamp gave her cheek an oily sheen. She was sweating.
Despite her efforts to hide it, Dan’s ears could pick up her breathing from the other side of the street. The battle against the cult master and having to teleport him and all the surviving remnants of the team back to the surface must have taken its tool on Judith. On one hand, Dan felt a small bit of comfort knowing that even Judith’s ego had been knocked down a peg after her clash with the cult master. But this also concerned him. If someone as powerful as Judith struggled to land the killing blow against that cult master, then it didn’t bode well for the survival rate for everyone else.
A sudden sensation of dread and paralysis hit Dan out of nowhere. He stood shaking in his boots, not knowing what the hell was hitting him with all this fear. His eyes darted around the street and the rooftops and he saw nothing. But he could feel it in his bones. He looked over his shoulder and could see Kate and Adam felt it too. Adam hastily put his helmet back on and raised his nailgun, his trigger finger ready to fire heavy-hitting projectiles or ram the dual bayonets into someone. Kate loaded a new magazine into her CMA rifle.
Dan checked out Judith’s reaction along with her subordinate Natalia and the four other Kodak agents. All of them were aware of the dreadful presence that loomed over the area. The few street lamps that remained flickered before shutting down completely. Flocks of various birds perched on roofs and power lines suddenly darted and flew away from the area.
Sudden low cackling filled his mind, but it wasn’t from Overlord. The voice wasn’t the same. He frantically looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the laughter.
Dan caught something in his peripheral vision and saw a severed head in the middle of the road that he swore wasn’t there before. But it wasn’t some poor guy’s decapitated head lying on the street. The head wore a white robe with golden strips. It rose, exposing his neck. Then slowly his shoulders, arms and his upper torso.
Judith spun around and watched with shock Dan had never seen on the usually calm and sadistic Bloodknight. Dan couldn’t believe it either. It was the cult master they retreated from. Somehow, the man was phasing through solid matter and rising to meet them.
Numerous heads popped through the pavement in front of the cult master as he slowly rose out of the road. The cultists who have been empowered by the cult master were also rising from the ground thanks to their psychic commander.
Whether it was utter shock and fear that had paralyzed Dan and the others, or some strange technique the cult master used to prevent them from attacking him while he and his followers orse from the ground, his body couldn’t move as he watched the situation unfold. The cult master’s feet fully separated from the ground and his followers, who numbered above thirty, populated the desolate street.
Judith still breathed heavily while Natalia and the other Kodak agents rushed and took cover behind whatever they could find.
“Brilliant idea to change our playground, Bloodknight,” the cult master said. It was the first time he heard the man’s voice. The cult master’s voice flowed smoothly with a faint edge. An edge that conveyed he would wipe out all his enemies with ease. “Now, let’s conclude our game.”
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