Dashing devil omnibus 2.., p.114
Dashing Devil Omnibus 2: Books 4-6, page 114
“This is what makes me say luck had nothing to do with it,” Phil explained. “See how Devil strategically positioned the Heroes to intercept the Galewyrms? He somehow knew exactly where they would go. It seems he considered their angle and altitude of approach and figured out where they would see groups of people trying to get into shelters… and then stationed Heroes where they needed to be.”
“Shouldn’t the Heroes have been guarding the shelters closest to where the wyverns would enter the city’s air space?” Jill asked.
Phil grinned. “That would be standard practice. Instead of following standard tactics, Devil put them where he predicted the wyverns would target our civilians—thereby removing the normal response time. That is what prevented casualties.”
“Wow, that sounds impressive.” Jill sounded appropriately enthused when she asked, “Are you suggesting Devil has some sort of precognition ability?”
“Not at all.” Phil shook his head and grinned, the corners of his mouth curling upward in admiration. “Dashing Devil’s apparent foresight isn’t the result of a Power. It’s the enviable combination of a sharp mind, unshakeable determination, rigorous training, and thorough preparation. Every move he makes is calculated and intentional.”
A glint of respect gleamed in Phil’s eyes as he continued. “Sure, it was a risk… but it was a risk he knew would pay off. Even more impressive, is that it is equally clear he was fully prepared to shift tactics if it failed. That’s what sets Dashing Devil apart from other Heroes—his unwavering confidence and strategic thinking. He not only came up with a risky plan, but also executed it to perfection—thereby preventing what should have been a tragedy.”
“Wow, Big Guy… are you sure you aren’t paying this guy?” Raev teased with a velvet chuckle from where she sat with Hope beside her to his left.
“My Lord would never stoop to such to such tactics,” Hope defended him instantly, appalled at the idea that her Devil might resort to bribery.
The big demon had tried without success to get his angel to limit her use her favored term of endearment for him when it was just the two of them. It had taken most of the past six months, but at least he was down to only occasional being teased by the others for the way she addressed him.
“Really? Then what do you call what he did with Kayla?” Daisy asked from where she was putting the dishes away.
Each plate or glass floated in a circle around her before she plucked it from the air and put it in its proper place. Cleaning was now instantaneous for her, a wave of her hand and some bubbles resulted in everything being spotless.
“That was a mutually beneficial…” Hope continued to defend Boyd but was shushed by Silvie when Phil continued.
“Each of the Heroes performed admirably where Devil stationed them. The groups of Galewyrms arrived at these four positions within seconds of each other, so I’m going to walk through this one by one.”
“We’ll start with the first to engage,” Phil paused as a video clip filled the majority of the screen. “Dashing Devil once again proved he likes to lead from the front. Watch this.”
When the clip played, it showed three Galewyrms abruptly decelerating about a thousand feet above a shelter that bordered on a park. They seemed to have an uninterrupted view of the line of civilians streaming into the shelter from the altitude and angle they’d approached from. As they reoriented to dive at a still rapid but much slower speed, a darkly burning streak shot through one of their chests. Two seconds later, another black streak caught a second wyvern in its winged arm.
The one who took Boyd’s javelin to the chest more or less exploded from the displacement event caused by the speed at which the thrown spear passed through it. The one he’d caught in the wing also more or less exploded, though only halfway. Its wing and arm went one way while its torso went the other way. The creature flapped uselessly at the air with its remaining wing until it landed in the empty park. The third had already started its dive, which caused the third javelin to miss it by mere inches.
A different view then showed a replay of Boyd standing on top of a nearby building and throwing three of his collapsible javelins in rapid succession. Then, he snatched up his spear and dove from the roof with a flap of his wings to accelerate. The camera switched to the diving wyvern just before a golden wall of light appeared in front of it.
The energy barrier Hopewing projected caused the Galewyrm to abort its dive with a back flap, landing about thirty feet from another golden wall that sprang into being between the creature’s new position and more civilians. The thirty-foot flying lizard roared at the wall which resulted in gale-force winds crashing uselessly into it.
The roar and wind were cut off a second later when a pissed-off demon ended his dive with his spear lodged in its spine, right between its forward limbs. Boyd’s shield crashed into it a split-second later, causing the massive beast to smash into the ground with enough force to crush its rib cage. The big demon twisted his weapon to ensure the monster’s spine was severed, then wrenched his spear out and stood up. Scanning the area, he leaped out of the frame to go finish off the one that landed in the park.
“I think the only thing that might have resulted in civilian injuries would be the panic two or three more wyverns showing up at this location might have caused,” Phil said as the clip ended. “And that would only be because it would have taken Dashing Devil a few more seconds to deal with them. As it was, by the time most of the civilians present realized the Galewyrms had arrived, Devil had dispatched them. The crowd cheered instead of panicking.”
“It was truly an impressive display,” Jill replied with wide eyes as she started fan-girling.
Silvie did a much better job of it. “I always love watching you work, Darling. You make it seem so effortless, almost like you were born for this sort of thing.”
“It is always a pleasure seeing my Lord’s prowess on display!” Hope beamed at him.
“Yeah, Big Guy,” Raev chuckled, “what they said.”
“Mhmm, you’re getting much better with the propulsion packs, too,” Tinker added.
“That’s my trainer for you,” Laura said with a bright smile. “He knows how to impress.”
‘Kuh-he!’ The Mindy in his mind giggled. ‘It’s a wonder you haven’t developed a head big enough that clearing doorways isn’t a concern.’
Boyd smirked at the lingerie-clad mental copy of his gothic love. He silently told her to wait just a moment.
Daisy, their spitfire of a cook made a retching sound before quipping, “Do you guys ever get tired of showering him with praise? It’s getting old. I swear, it’s like being surrounded by a bunch of lovesick puppies. He’s not that impressive. Silvie took out way more than the three wyverns Boyd killed—and he had to have Hope’s help.”
Boyd knew his ego wouldn’t inflate overly much because he always had someone around to deflate it. Besides, he was surrounded by beautiful and amazing women who each outdid him—in their own, special way.
“Aww,” Mindy cooed out loud before she repeated Boyd’s last thought out loud.
Of course, this resulted in him getting mobbed by several of said amazing women. They hugged him from every angle, pressing kisses to whatever part of him they could reach.
“Alright… alright… enough.” Boyd chuckled a moment later. “Let’s not forget who the real MVP of our team is.”
“Oh, and who is that?” Mindy asked with a smirk, picking up on his intent.
“Daisy, of course,” Boyd winked at their fairy chef. “Her exceptional cooking gives us all something to look forward to. Plus, she always rewards us with something special when we do a good job. Motivation like that is what keeps a team going.”
Daisy’s cheeks pinked in a blush at the unexpected praise, a small smile tugging at her lips before reversing into a frown. She glared at him. “Oh please, I’m just doing my job. Save the compliments for someone who cares.”
Laura let out a delighted little laugh that only made Daisy’s blush deepen before she retreated deeper into the kitchen. This was just in time for the broadcast to come back from a brief interruption for a weather report.
“Let’s move on to the second location, which was handled almost as smoothly,” Phil said after the weather report finished up. “Here, you’ll see Turbine start one of his cyclones just ahead of the three wyvern’s arrival, which tells me that he knew generally where and when the Galewyrms would arrive. It may have been an educated guess, but it serves as further confirmation that Dashing Devil successfully predicted their behavior.”
Jill frowned. “Turbine didn’t really do much against them, though… did he?”
Chapter 2
“Turbine is a poor match against Galewyrms because they control the air through their Power while he generates his cyclones and flight through his tech,” Phil explained. “All he was able to do was throw them off balance for a moment as they slowed to reorient and begin their dive. But I believe that is all he was expected to do in this case. Galewyrms can’t actually risk attacking anything at anywhere near their top rate of flight. They just aren’t tough enough to withstand the force of sharp course corrections at anywhere near their top speed—they’d just splatter themselves across the ground if they tried.”
“Instead, they use their top speed to get close, slow down to line up, then begin a natural dive. We watched Devil take advantage of the moment it takes them to line up their attacks to kill two of them with thrown javelins. This location also faced three Galewyrms—but it didn’t have someone with barriers to protect the civilians if Gold Fist couldn’t take out all three of them in one go. Hence, Turbine gave Gold Fist a bit longer to take out his targets.”
The footage showed three Galewyrms getting buffeted by a cyclone immediately after they slowed to begin their dives. It kicked them a little higher into the air, lining them up perfectly for Gold Fist. At the same time that Turbine started his cyclone, the blue and gold-clad Hero leaped from a nearby building. While not able to fly, Gold Fist was strong enough to leap over smallish buildings.
He slammed a fist that carried his signature golden glow into the ribs of the middle of the three wyverns. A pulse of light later, and the half-pulverized wyvern flew like a missile into the beast beyond it, sending the pair crashing into a nearby building with enough force to finish off both winged lizards. Gold Fist then spun in the air and threw another punch, his glowing fist pulling him through the air to strike the third wyvern. The impact wasn’t nearly as hard, as much of the energy of his strike was used to pull him into his final target. It was still enough, however, to break several ribs and collapse the side of the Galewyrm’s chest. From there the Hero used the wyvern’s body to cushion his fall, finishing his final target in the process.
“These two displayed the teamwork we’ve come to expect from them, given their long history together,” Phil explained. “They probably could have safely dealt with one and maybe two more Galewyrms together. Any more than that, though, and I think we would have had some fatalities before Turbine and Gold Fist could dispatch them. Then again, Crimson Contender was on the scene a few seconds later and might have been able to prevent any losses had there been more than three wyverns attacking this position.”
“Those were the heaviest hit sites. And you think each of them would have been fine if even more wyverns had showed up?” Jill asked, just a little too much wonder in her tone to be credible.
“That’s right, Jill,” the analyst confirmed in a proud tone. “The same applies to the Pulse Brothers’ location.” A shorter clip showed blue and yellow waves of energy combining into a larger green wave that slammed into two Galewyrms. Their wings tore and limbs broke with the collision. It took two more pulses to finish them off, but Phil determined that wasn’t important. “I think they easily could have handled two more wyverns, and Silver was already heading back to this part of the city to assist if they were only able to hold them off.”
“This brings us to our second to last location where Devil had positioned a Hero in advance.” The screen shifted back to the map and zoomed in on the shelter entrance next to a pink helmeted head. Mind Witch’s dark beauty appeared next to it. “I’ll admit this one was something of a surprise. Tinker, who is still listed as a Base Support member of The Devoted, entered the field. In the official press release, Director Davis declared that this was an all-hands-on-deck scenario due to the size of the threat. And it’s not unheard of for Base Support personnel to enter the field in such scenarios.”
“What is unusual about it, is the role she played,” the analyst stated as the screen changed to a still image of Tinker standing in the latest iteration of her armored suit.
It was a light shade of pink with a glossy finish. The armor consisted of overlapping plates, each sculpted to fit the feminine form they protected. It had smooth, aerodynamic lines with sleek curves that still radiated a sense of durability. Her helmet had a semi-opaque visor that covered most of her face, leaving only her mouth and chin exposed.
Boyd knew the helmet had a chin guard that folded out from one side to protect Tinker’s chin and mouth for when she was moving at high speeds or in close combat. Studies showed that civilians felt safer when at least one facial feature was exposed, so she designed it to be retracted unless needed. They didn’t like not being certain there was a person in the suit.
When the footage played, it showed Tinker standing on the roof of the eight-story building the shelter was beneath. She watched the sky where the Galewyrm would appear a moment later. Just before it did, she raised both arms and two small drones shot off of them, zipping away like streaking darts. The footage switched vantage points to a shot of the wyvern’s arrival in the air over the shelter.
The small pink darts weren’t visible in the footage as they moved too quickly for the cameras to track them, but they were more than halfway to the lizard before it arrived. Then they blazed to life, their true nature revealed. Wide leaf-shaped blades made of pink light appeared—seemingly out of thin air—before blurring forward into the chest and out the back of the Galewyrm before disappearing.
The thirty-foot-long, massive beast didn’t have time to register it was dead before it fell from the sky.
“Most of the time, when a Base Support gets deployed to the field, they assist with crowd control,” Phil explained.
The clean and instant kill was played from multiple angles, with the footage slowing down in an effort to show the blades as clearly as possible.
“In this case, Tinker obviously was deployed in a combat role to cover Mind Witch, who operated as crowd control at this location.”
Footage of two neat orderly lines moving inside the shelter showed the results of Mind Witch’s efforts. Mothers and fathers with children were moved to the front of the line as they arrived at the shelter without those waiting contesting it.
“We’ve seen this in play a few times now,” Phil added. “Civilians respond well to Mind Witch’s mental directions, and she is adept at instilling order amidst the chaos that often happens at shelter entrances.”
The screen switched back to the two anchors sitting at the desk. “I have no way of knowing how many Galewyrms Tinker could have dealt with, given what we just saw. I will say that I believe that her role was pivotal in the overall operation.”
Another map appeared, this one showing half of the city along with a few miles outside the walls. It was littered with several hundred pink dots.
“What are we looking at here, Phil?” Jill asked.
“These are the locations of hundreds of small drones that Tinker deployed in advance of the Galewyrms,” Phil replied. “I believe it was the data provided by these drones that allowed the Heroes to precisely target where the threats would appear, allowing them to defend the appropriate shelters.”
“And what makes you say that, Phil?” Jill once again filled her role as straight-man.
“Only two of the Heroes began their attacks before the Galewyrms slowed down over the shelters. Turbine, who used an area of effect attack that would have caught any of them within range. And Tinker, who successfully landed two precision shots that she fired before they arrived,” Phil noted, but then he smirked.
“I think she was tracking their flight paths and modeling the positions they would pause between slowing from their Power assisted flight and beginning their attack dives in real-time. From there, she fed it back to the other Heroes before using it to fire on the most likely location the one that attacked her shelter when it would be most vulnerable.” He pursed his lips. “But that’s also why I’m not sure about how many she could have dealt with on her own.”
“Why is that?” Jill prodded.
“Well, I have no idea how many of those pink darts she had, or what other weaponry she might have had access to. If she was accurately predicting where to fire before they arrived, it really comes down to how much ammo she had. How many one-shot kills could she have made? It’s entirely possible The Devoted’s Base Support could have taken out dozens, if necessary.” Phil looked almost giddy as he explained his reasoning.
“I could have safely dealt with twenty-two,” Tinker said dejectedly. “That’s less than two dozen.”
“Pfft,” Raev snorted. “I could have safely dealt with exactly zero of them. The plan to take care of any that showed up at our location was to scare them off with an illusion until Silvie could hightail it to us. Well, unless one went for Laura or someone near her—then, she was going to try to take it down.”
“Still… what if more had showed up?” Tinker sounded a bit worried.
“Twenty-two times as many?” Boyd asked wryly. “I hate to break it to you Tink, but if that many had showed up, the only ones in the field would have been Crimson Contender, Gold Fist, Silver, Hopewing, and myself. Yeah, civilians probably would have died… but that happens when a swarm of a thousand Galewyrms attacks a city. I wouldn’t have had you out there if I thought there was a chance of more than three of them reaching your location.”
