The resulting blast engulfed my entire view for a hundredth of a second before violently throwing me backwards. Everything twisted, spun, and flew by as I crashed through something. When I finally stopped, I was covered in debris and had no idea where I ended up. At least I managed to hold onto the missile launcher. A bit of soreness across my arms, face, and chest is easily fixed with a quick heal.

  Now, why am I on the ceiling? Why do they have carpet on the ceiling? Wait, I'm upside down on the floor, never mind. I roll over, knocking a bunch of crap off me in the process. When I finally get to my feet it feels a bit breezy, but I chalk it up to new airflow from the missile damage. I shake the discombobulation off then realize I'm facing the wrong way.

  I spin around and smile with glee at the scene before me. The gate hasn’t suffered any additional damage, but the shity fake wood tellers counter wasn't so lucky. Somehow it survived the claws and weight of the demons from before, but a missile at close range was too much for it. Pieces of the counter top have been blown off and about. Massive holes and cracks run along the entirety of the desk. Looking at it I realize how much stronger the gate is compared to the now decimated counter.

  The rest of the lobby fared no better. The writing desks in the center of the lobby are just gone. Consumed by the giant black crater now acting as the centerpiece of the room. A hole clear to the sky now exists directly above the blast point, with bits of the roof collapsing in around the edges. Some ceiling tiles have evaporated into seeming nothingness while others lay strewn about in pieces. And James, well that fucker isn't anywhere to be found! I'm about to celebrate when Robert pokes his head up from under some ceiling tiles that fell on him.

  “Holy shit Lucy! You OK?”

  “Better than OK! We fuckin blew up a cultist overlord or whatever that dickhead was!” I shout in triumph.

  Robert chuckles as he stands up, and Toby pokes his head back in from around the corner, looking a little frazzled but otherwise no worse for wear.

  “Bloody Hell, looks like a bomb went off!” Toby exclaims.

  “No shit sherlock. I put the missile right at his feet! Of course the place is trashed!”

  “Speaking of trashed. You uh, might need a new shirt Lucy.” Robert says while averting his gaze.

  I look down, and find my tits just hanging in the wind for everyone to see. Apparently my shirt didn't survive the blast wave. That explains the breezy feeling. I slap my free hand over my breasts in an attempt to cover them. I can at least get my nipples covered, but with only one hand I'm still leaving a lot exposed.

  “Oh for fucks sake! Stop ogling and get me a new shirt or something!” I chastise them, even though both are making a point to look away.

  Robert responds by taking his shirt off and tossing it at me, leaving him with only an undershirt on. The white dress shirt is stained with god knows what at this point and smells of man sweat. But it's better than me flashing every person and demon I meet. I drop the missile launcher and throw it on, but quickly figure out it doesn't fit very well while doing the buttons up. I manage to get my breasts covered but have to leave a bunch of buttons undone, showing off some midriff. It's a man's shirt, and I've got tits. It just doesn't fit me right.

  “Thanks. Don't think I'll be giving you another show any time soon.” I say.

  “Darn, I liked the part where that cultist exploded.” Toby jokingly replies. I shoot a quick glare his way but don't hold it, instead opting to pick the launcher back up. Of course I only get two steps before….

  “Lucy! You really want to play it that way? Fine, let's see how lucky you really are then! Bring her to me, kill the rest!” A very indignant James bellows from the street. Followed by a wave of demonic war cries.

  You gotta be shitting me! Of course he isn't dead after taking a missile to the face. No that woulda been too easy. I rush forward, snatching up the launcher and immediately setting to work pulling the old tube off the back. Then I hear the rumbling, and look over to see a tidal wave of demons crashing through the lobby. Ghouls, corjo, super zombies, and several other types I don't recognize.

  I immediately realized that even if I get this launcher reloaded in time it wouldn't be enough. They were going to get through that gate. We need to leave, but no doubt the building was surrounded and there were even more outside. I could probably make the dash but everyone else would get torn to pieces. So, only one option left really.

  “Into the back, now! Robert grab the bag!” I yell, pointing to the bag of missiles next to Robert. Both him and Toby pause for a second, clearly having expected to make a stand.

  “I said now!” I bark, which gets them moving again.

  Toby tries to side track to grab the gun bag but I just push him forward towards the back. I hear the groaning of metal and the crackling of wood as the demons slam into the gate and counter. We rush past the cubicles and make the turn into the pre vault room where we find Karen and Greg tending to an injured, but surprisingly awake Seymore.

  “What was that explosion? What's going on?” Karren asks frantically. But I ignore her and everyone else in the room and move to the vault door.

  “Some sort of cultist overlord and shit ton of demons! Like way too many!” Toby says.

  “Lucy, please tell me you have a plan?” Robert asks me.

  I don't respond to him, but I actually do have some semblance of a plan. It's risky, but its the only way I see any of the others surviving this. Welp, I already feel a bit bad for doing this, time to be a bit of a bitch. I bang on the vault door as hard as I can, the heavy thumps echoing throughout the room even over the din of the demons outside.

  “US Army! We're evacuating survivors! Open up!” I scream as loud as I can.

  Almost everyone else looks at me like I've completely lost it. Except for Seymore, the look on his face tells me he knows exactly what I'm doing. A few silent seconds pass so slow it feels like an eternity.

  “Lucy….” Robert starts to say, only for a click from the door to interrupt him.

  The door starts to slowly open, the voice of a middle aged woman spilling out. “ Thank god, please…”

  I grab the door and yank it open, revealing a equally parts confused and terrified middle aged woman with blonde hair wearing sweat stained business casual.

  “Hey, sorry but we’re up shit creek. The good news for you, we aren't cultists. The bad news….” I don't get to finish my sentence before a loud bang comes from the direction of the front lobby.

  “That. So you're going to let my friends in. Everyone inside now!” I yell, fully throwing the heavy door open. Karen and Greg immediately start to lift Seymore, while Toby and Robert drop their guns. Robert grabs Sara under the arms while Toby works with George to grab the bags.

  “Hold the fuck on, you’re not…” A loud angry voice comes from the inside as a older man with short pepper hair in what appears to be a very stained fancy suit steps up. I cut him off.

  “Mother fucker I have both magic AND a missile launcher. I fucking am and your going to cooperate. Because if you don't I’ll break your arms and legs so you can't not cooperate.” I snarl at him.

  That seems to shut him right the hell up, probably something to do with the literal missile launcher I’m loading. Or you know, the very obviously magical fancy rocks floating around me. I turn back and snatch up the bag of missiles Robert brought back. I finish ripping the old tube off and toss it to the side, fishing a new one out of the bag and slotting it in. In the background I hear the vault dwellers arguing with the rest of the group.

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  “We don't have the room or the supplies!” One of them bitches.

  “Too bad, we brought our own supplies and we'll just have to make due with the room.” Greg replies.

  “Lucy, hurry up!” Robert yells from inside as I finish slotting a new tube into the launcher.

  I look around, every one else except Greg is inside, and that's because he came back out to grab a remaining bag and discarded guns. An extra loud boom comes from the direction of the lobby, accompanied by the ripping of metal and renewed cries from the demons. Times up, now all I can do is yolo it. Because if I'm gonna die in this demon infested shithole of a city, I’m gonna break all their important shit on my way down. I look over and recall my shield crystal from Robert. The translucent barrier appearing then disappearing with a pop as the crystal flies over to revolve around me.

  “Greg, inside! Time's up!” I snap at him. He hauls ass back into the vault.

  “Close that door and don't open it no matter what!” I yell back as I rush out of the room.

  “What are you….!” I hear over my shoulder as I bust into the back area of the bank, leaving the others, and the bag of missiles behind. I can't afford the extra weight for what I'm about to do. My mana is lower than I'd want for this, so I've only got one shot.

  Mana: 14,328/28,536

  A horde of demons is crashing over and through the cubicles on my left as I dash though the back. A corjo launches off some demon and takes a snap at my head mid air on its way by, and I just barely manage to duck enough to avoid getting bit.

  Sure enough my plan works, the majority of the horde turns and follows to chase me, giving the others a hell of a lot more safety. Hopefully I can lead the horde away while heading to the cultist camp. I turn a corner and find the emergency exit in front of me and make a dash for it. I slam into the door at full speed, throwing open and sending a demon waiting on the other side tumbling away from the impact.

  The exit leads into an alley between the buildings, and its fucking infested with demons. I jump and boost myself up to the roof of the next building over with my flight magic, demons biting at my heels as I lift off. One particular demon that looks like a cheetah with three snake heads actually manages to graze my foot.

  I land on the black rubber roof with a muffled thud, then look back down to see the clamor I managed to barely escape from. A sea of demons surges in from both ends of the alley as well as through the emergency exit, all crashing and washing over one another. At least for a moment. Suddenly they seem to realize they cant get me, and begin surging at the side of the building. It takes only a moment for the smartest ones to realize they can't get me, and begin reacting in different ways.

  Packs of Corjo demons break off and head for the ends of the alley, probably to try and surround the building. Some of the ghouls begin looking for foot holds and climbing the side of the building. Others continue to clamor around below. One of the super zombies picks up a corjo demon and holds it up for a moment. I’m wondering what the hell it's doing when it suddenly yeets the damn thing straight at me.

  I dive back as the fake dog thankfully falls short and slams into the side of the building with a crunchy splat. Right demons are insane and blood thirsty. Not a fun combination to be on the receiving end of. Time to keep moving, before….

  A howl from above interrupts my train of thought and I look up to find six large dots circling in the sky. Ah yes, the demon air force, because this shit wasn't already hard enough. If only I had my own wings, that would make this…. a lot…. Easy…….. Sometimes I wonder how I haven't gotten myself eaten yet. I reached down and rip the dress shirt off, freeing my back to deploy my wings. Sorry Robert, your shirt was helpful for five minutes at least.

  With a simple thought all of mimicry is dismissed. My horns stand tall just above my ears once more, my tail comes out and lightly brushes against the cool rubbery surface of the rooftop, and my wings spring free to feel the cool air. It's not like I have anyone to worry about seeing me. Maybe a security camera or two but I highly doubt it, after three days or however long its been most backups will be dead or torn apart by demons. And with the milky white dome still covering the city, I don't have to worry about spy drones or anything. That and it's helping my mana regen.

  Mana: 14,424/28,536

  .

  .

  .

  Mana: 14,432/28,536

  The city is like my playground now, it's just that all the other kids are mean, and have knives, and are out to kill me. OK, so maybe not quite like a playground.

  I only see two problems will the current setup, both having to do with my wings. I need to make sure my wings don't smack the back end of the launcher. And when I fire it I'll need to keep my wings well clear, because catching the back blast will probably hurt like a bitch.

  I’m still carefully observing the circling dots above me, trying to figure out how I want to do this exactly, when a loud thunk to my left shakes the roof a little. I look over and find a small sized Corjo demon has actually managed to land and is getting up. Except it sees me and skips the getting up part, opting to just straight lunge at me. I reflexively cock my left wing back. And when the little shit leaves the ground my wing springs forward like a coiled up hydraulic piston being released. The Corjo doesn't stand a chance. I slap it away and end up punting the little shit back off the side before it can close its jaws on my wing.

  Fuck, I know Charles said these things pack some power, but I didn't expect to be punting demons around. Oh well, works for me. Next step, get to their little camp. And to do that, I’ll need to use my wings properly.

  I look up and double check on the dots circling above. They seem content to stay up there for now, but might get aggressive once they figure out I can fly. Still, a one versus six is much better odds than the horde down stairs. Speaking of, another Corjo demon goes sailing through the air. But this one overshoots by a wide margin and ends up crashing down on the street on the other side of the building. I should probably leave before it lands another one on the roof that I have to deal with.

  But as I step up to the edge of the roof and spread my wings while looking at the horde below I realize a slight concern I should have had before now. I’ve never really tested my ability to fly. Charles said my wings probably weren't meant for flight, and I never got around to actually testing it on account of the city being on so high alert. And while yea I know how to move them, I have no idea if I naturally know how to fly with them. The most I've really done with both my wings and my magic is jump into a tree. Well, worst case scenario I probably have enough mana to keep myself from falling into the fustercluck down there. And nothing like a little pressure to motivate me to not fuck it up the first time.

  I move my wings around to get feel for everything, before spreading them wide and raising them up. I push myself up with flight magic as I give a huge flap of my wings, and suddenly I’m rocketing straight up into the air with no small amount of speed. Too much speed in fact, the result of me grossly overcompensating for the additional weight of the launcher. I cut the magic and throw my wings out wide, resulting in an air break maneuver that almost gave me whip lash as I yanked myself around.

  This of course is itself another massive overcompensation, and leaves me about stall out and free fall. So the answer is no, I don't know how to fly. I restart the flight magic, giving it just enough juice to effectively levitate myself in the air. Of course this isn't very efficient, but it's also not as bad on my mana as I thought it would be.

  Mana: 13,874/28,536

  That still doesn't mean I have time to daughtle. Charles’s words about how my wings might be meant for gliding crop up in my brain, and it gives me an idea. I spread my wings to their full width and angle myself horizontal, effectively turning myself into an airplane of sorts. Except instead of jet engines I have flight magic propelling me forward. I push off, my wings immediately catching air and generating lift.

  It becomes apparent immediately that I need to keep them rigid and straight, as even a slight flex causes a change in the airflow, and pulls me in a different direction. Another thing I notice is my tail, while not very wide, is long enough to create some drag. And I can throw it around behind me to make small changes. It's an interesting experience, one that's surprisingly soothing in its own way despite where I’m going. Buildings pass underneath me at a rapid pace as I feel the wing over my wings, tugging on my tail, and whipping my hair into a frenzy.

  Thankfully I’m moving fast enough that its whipping around behind me and not into my face. I think there are also some protections or something from the flight magic, because the wind isn't making it as hard to see as I thought it would be. The flight magic is…. weird, and it's hard to describe how. I can use it as a, let's say propellant force, like I am now. All it's doing right now is providing motion in a direction, other forces like gravity can still act on me. So if I were to tuck my wings in I’d drop like a rock.

  But that itself is weird because the magic can act as both an independent or bound to me force. So I can have the magic pushing me to say my right, and no matter which way I turn it will always be pushing me to my right. Or I can have it independently pushing on me from my left, and when I turn left it would then be pressing on my back pushing me backward.

  But I can also set it to what would be best described as absolute mode. That's similar to propulsion mode, but it counteracts all other forces trying to act on me, and I myself am moving, not something is pushing on me, if that makes any sense. I can use it to move, or just sit in place and hover. Obviously that's way more expensive mana wise. But even I can tell this has a lot of versatility and potential.

  I bring myself to a slow stop in the air and look up to check the dots circling in the sky once again. I'm not confident enough to try flying upside down to watch them yet. Sure enough they’ve followed me, and now all six of them are diving down and rapidly approaching. Well shit, shoulda seen that coming.