Apocalypse game, p.47
Apocalypse Game, page 47
Pain ripped through my back as my wings unfurled, and I took off, flying down the street until I found a clothing store. Rushing inside, I discarded my ruined Kevlar and grabbed some clothes and a new coat, a long wool overcoat that I had to cut to slip my wings through, but it fit better without the vest. When I was suitably dressed, I left the store and took off into the sky.
Now, where the hell did you guys go?
I flew down the streets in a flash, searching for them, and found them only a few minutes later. Having a bird's-eye view and fifty miles per hour speed came in handy when searching for people.
The three of them were fighting a group of Pallid Beasts, and they were kicking ass, but I still decided to help them out a bit.
Four of the ugly bastards fell back behind the others and grouped in close, so I used Displacement and turned four Pallid Beasts into two and a half Pallid Beasts.
A glob of gruesome body parts appeared in front of me and fell to the ground in a mustard-colored rain of blood. I inevitably dripped a little bit on Finn, Salvatore, and Adeline, but they were too busy killing the last of the beasts to notice.
Combat Results!
2 Killed (Pallid Beasts): 448 Exp!
Experience Boost (+30%): 134 Exp!
Total Gain: 582 Exp!
AC Earned: 300!
When the rest of the monsters were dead, they turned to look up at me with wide eyes that only widened as I glided towards them, and they took in my white hair and bleached eyes.
Adeline gasped. “Killian?”
“Too edge lord?” I asked.
Finn burst out into laughter while Adeline stared at me in shock. “A little bit, but I have to admit, you look like the fucking Demon Lord now!”
I turned to Salvatore. “Sal?”
He chuckled and stowed his pistols away. “It’s not a bad look on you, that’s for sure.”
I laughed, and that seemed to break Ade out of her spell. She came over and wrapped me in a tight hug, stammering and asking what happened between the Archangel and me.
“Ade, I’m fine, and I’ll tell you everything as we walk. But the short version is that she and I have called a temporary truce and will talk things over. I just had to find you guys first.”
“What?” Salvatore asked. “We’re going to talk to the Archangel? After she nearly killed you?”
I nodded. “You guys didn’t see the other half of the fight. Trust me. I gave just as good as I got.”
Though I didn’t like standing out in the open, I quickly filled them in on what had happened and finished the story as we started walking back to the bakery. I canceled Demon Form, though I suddenly found myself vastly under-armed.
A fresh weight settled on my hip, and I glanced down to find my sword that I’d lost back in its sheath on my hip.
Though my guns were buried under a mountain of rubble.
Oh well. They’ve been about as useful as shooting rubber bands for a while now.
It took us about twenty minutes to reach the bakery, and we rounded the corner to the street. Finn whistled.
“Holy hell, just look at this damage.” He held his arms out at the ruined street.
The street was a mess of broken buildings, craters, and destroyed cars. Some the Statue King had done, its massive rotting carcass blocking most of the road, but most of the destruction had been caused by Julia and I fighting.
I need to be careful with my new form. It’s very powerful. And with me having unlocked it as I reached level twenty-five, it stands to reason the unlocks for the soul of the Demon Lord at the higher levels are additional forms.
I shuddered, not even wanting to think about the power I’d have if I kept leveling up.
“This world has lost its mind,” I muttered to myself as we entered the bakery.
Like the coffee shop we’d taken shelter in back in Grissom, this place hadn’t been vandalized or looted during the opening days of the apocalypse. The strong scent of baked goods lingered in the place, along with the scent of fresh coffee brewing.
Julia had turned the lights on and started making coffee to pass the time. I immediately walked over to the coffee maker and poured a fresh cup.
“Oh my God, I love you,” I said.
Julia chuckled as I sat down. “I’m flattered, but it just wouldn’t work between us. It’s not you. It’s me.”
I laughed. “I was talking to the coffee anyway. It’s never tried to kill me before.” Her smile fell as quick as it came, and I frowned. “Damn, I’d have liked to have a normal conversation with you, so that’s my bad.”
She nodded. “It’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room.”
I turned back to the others standing around, staring at Julia like she was about to grow three heads. “Alright, guys, you’re freaking me out, so no telling what Julia is feeling. We have a truce. There will be no more fighting today. Sit down, have some coffee. Relax.”
I faced Julia again and smiled.
If the world wasn’t falling to pieces outside, this would be kind of nice.
Though from the look on her face, she wasn’t having the same thoughts.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, I’m afraid. You have your truce, for a few minutes at least, but I’m still contemplating on killing you.”
“Won’t be as easy as you seem to think, now. I matched you in speed and power.”
Julia drummed her finger on the wooden laminate table, contemplating my words. She knew as I did that I was her exact match in my Demon Form, and if we fought again now one-on-one, it would likely end with both of our deaths.
“So, what’s your offer, Killian?”
“Same as before.” I shrugged. “A cease-fire. Basically, we stay the hell out of each other’s way for the time being.”
She slammed her palm on the table, gritting her teeth. “I can’t just let you run rampant; your goal is to end the world.”
I stood from the booth and walked over behind the counter. There was a rack with all kinds of wrapped pastries and desserts on it.
Maybe they’re like Twinkies and will still be good.
I snagged some donut sticks and brought them back over to the table. I slid one to Julia and unwrapped mine, taking a huge bite.
“Nothing you said is untrue, but you seem to still be under the impression that I’m just going around and slaughtering innocents. That I’m a monster.”
Julia lifted her donut stick and took a tentative bite. “And you’re not?”
“No, I’m not.”
She pulled out a bottle of water and washed down the donut. When she was done, she flicked the cap at me. “So, you’ve never killed before?”
I let out a deep breath, trying not to let those memories of Clara flare back up. Not just those, but of Reynolds, Matthias, and all the others I’d killed to get here.
After a lifetime, I spoke. “Only those who were truly monstrous.”
Julia took note of my tone and the expression that played across my face, choosing to back off the topic. “Fine, so let’s say that I agree. Then what? We just go our separate ways?”
“Yep, we both keep leveling, and we face off when we’re both at our full strength down the line. It's either that, or we can go outside and duke it out right now. But I’m not too fond of either of our chances at victory.
“So, what’s it going to be, now or later? We have to fight eventually, but it doesn’t have to be today.”
“Fine,” she said, downing the rest of her water. “There’s a good chance I’d lose if we continued our fight, so I’ll agree to hold off for now.”
“That’s more than fair,” I said, standing and offering her my hand.
She looked at it like it might bite her. Her eyes flicked from my hand to my face.
“Oh, come on! I helped you up not thirty minutes ago. It’s not like we’re mortal enemies.”
The vein in the side of her neck pulsed as her face reddened. “That’s exactly what we are!” she shouted, throwing her hands in the air.
“No. We’re simply playing for opposite teams.”
“I guess.”
“Good,” I said, proffering her my hand once more. “So, shake my damn hand.”
She did, giving me a firm grip and pumping her hand twice. “You are the strangest person I’ve ever met.” She sighed, exasperated. “Alright, Killian. Truce. For now, at least.”
I nodded.
As our meeting concluded, I walked over to the bakery door and held it open to her. She nodded her thanks.
“Now, to find my friends,” Julia said.
“Speaking of, where are your pieces?”
“They’re out hunting and leveling up. We’re strong enough to handle smaller missions by ourselves.”
An interesting thought. Might need to consider that myself.
“Well, glad our truce went well,” I said with a smile.
Julia snorted and walked out into the street. “You’re not what I was expecting in the slightest.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
She just smiled at me and shifted into her Angelic Form, her radiant angelic wings spreading out as she tensed. “Well, see you around, Demon Lord Killian.”
I nodded. “Count on it, Archangel Julia.”
In a flash, she was soaring over the skyscrapers heading towards Yankee Stadium.
What a strange girl. At least she agreed to a truce…but how long do I expect that to really last? I didn’t expect treachery from her, but no way was it that simple. Something would inevitably complicate our cease-fire—nothing I can do about it right now. Let’s worry about things we can’t predict later.
Let’s deal with our more immediate problem first.
I walked back into the bakery with the others. They hadn’t moved during the conversation with Julia, but they did when I came back.
Adeline got up to pour herself a cup of coffee as I went back to mine. Salvatore slid his pistols back in their holsters, and Finn just laughed.
“You sure get into the most interesting of situations, Hermano.”
I sat back down and took a heaping gulp of the warm coffee, and ran a hand through my hair. “I’m just glad things went the way I hoped. She’s tough, easily as strong as I am. And I’m betting she hasn’t used her pawns yet, or this would have gone entirely different.”
“You noticed it too,” Salvatore said. “She would have killed you if she could have.”
“Yeah, which is why I went and got the three of you before we had our talk. Even if she’d used her pawn, she couldn’t have won against all four of us.”
Adeline came and sat across from me. She propped against the wall and laid her feet across the booth. “So why did we just let her walk? We could have taken her.”
I shook my head and took another sip of coffee. “We could’ve, yes, but it would have cost at least one of our lives, maybe more. Plus, she’s not actually a bad person. I figured if we could talk like actual human beings, she would come to see that I’m not exactly living up to my title.
“I just hope it will be enough in the future. Things are going to get harder from here on out.”
“Think so?” Finn asked.
“Yeah, when I hit level twenty-five, it seems the experience required to level up each time has gone up by a good bit. It’s going to be harder to level, so that means we are going to have to start taking more dangerous quests in order to get stronger.”
“Sounds like fun to me,” Adeline said, propping her hands behind her head. “As long as little miss angelic stays out of our way, I guess I don’t mind having a truce.”
“Yeah, but a certain someone is none too pleased with how that meeting turned out. Isn’t that right, Callisto?”
A woosh of soft air rolled in from nowhere, and Callisto appeared, sitting next to me in the booth.
Adeline jumped up, stifling a squeak. “Jesus, I’ll never get used to that.”
“I wish you would have consulted me before talking your archenemy into a truce with you, my Demon Lord,” he said, laying his palms on the table. “Why must you insist on making my life difficult?”
I scoffed and turned to the childlike god. “Could say the same thing to you. You dropped me into this world without a clue and only a whisper of a direction to go in. Whose fault is it that I’m going off script?”
He laughed and inclined his head to me, his sunlit eyes glowing radiantly. “Touché. Though it matters little, it should be an excellent show regardless. Though I am impressed you held your own against her in that fight. My Archangel has had much more time to grow stronger, but she spends most of her time helping others these days.” He winked at me. “Maybe this was just the push she needed to step her game up.”
Callisto disappeared and reappeared next to the coffee maker. He grabbed a cup and poured, reappearing next to me and handing me the coffee. “Here, a reward for exceeding my expectations of you. You’ve done remarkably well so far.”
I took the offered coffee and took a sip. It was heavenly. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess.”
“You’re welcome. But don’t get too confident just yet. There are things in motion that will test the limits of your resolve, and they are approaching faster─”
Callisto stopped mid-sentence and turned his head to the door. He paused for a long moment before his face fell. His expression turned into a grimace, and he gripped the edge of the table hard enough that the cheap wood snapped like a twig.
The crack was a gunshot to the others, and Finn and Salvatore went for their guns while Adeline slid to the edge of the booth, her hand primed for a spell.
I eyed Callisto. “What’s going on?”
He stood from the booth with a heavy sign. “A complication.” His roiling eyes flashed. “Even if I didn’t exactly have a choice, I should’ve never let her near you. She’s bad enough, but her sisters don’t have half her restraint, and are far more troublesome.”
Callisto walked to the counter and leaned against it, watching the door. I got up out of the seat and walked beside him.
“What are you talking about? Whose sisters? Is someone coming?”
He nodded. “Yep, a giant pain in my ass. If you strain those nubs on the side of your head, you’ll probably be able to hear her.”
I did as he suggested and listened. For a long moment, there was nothing but the quiet hum of the lights overhead and the rhythmic breathing of the five of us, but after a second, there was a new noise.
It was a low, growling roar of an engine. Someone was heading toward us in a vehicle.
“Is that a─”
“It’s a motorcycle,” Finn said.
We all stared at the door as the rumbling engine drew ever closer, and I drew my sword.
“Is it trouble, Cal?”
“The worst kind, but lower your weapons, and whatever you do, don’t attack her. You’ll get us all killed.”
“What?” I spluttered. “But you’re a god!”
He silenced me with a wave and eyed the door. Each passing second increased my heartbeat as apprehension built in my chest.
A minute later, the motorcycle appeared in front of the shop. Even through the darkened glass, it wasn’t hard to make out. It was a cherry red cruiser. There was a single rider, and Callisto was right. From her figure, she was definitely a woman.
She threw the kickstand and climbed off her bike before sauntering towards the door.
The girl was on the taller side, probably just below six feet. She wore a full-faced helmet with a darkened visor and a leather jacket over a tight-fitting red T-shirt with the collar cut off and sliced, revealing the upper portion of her chest. She had on dark wash jeans and black leather biker boots.
I gasped when she entered.
Her clothes or posture didn’t matter to my Demonic Gaze.
She had more magic than I’d ever seen before. It rolled off her in waves and sent shivers up my spine as ozone burned in my nose.
She’s got more power than Julia and I combined, and then double or triple it.
Who is she?
The girl looked around the room before her eyes settled on mine. She took off her helmet and tossed it aside. It disappeared before it hit the ground.
Long, crimson red hair flowed around her shoulders when she took her helmet off. Her skin was tanned, with only a couple of freckles across her nose. She had an angular face and tight cheekbones, but small lips and almond eyes balanced her sharper features. Her eyes were the same color as her hair, and they shone like rubies as she looked past me to Callisto and smirked.
Callisto sighed. “Hello, War.”
War? As in the horseman?
She scowled. “Callisto.” War shook her head. “Leave. I need to have a conversation with your little toy here, and I find your presence annoying,” she said, her voice thick and rich but with a sharp bite on the end.
“You have no authority to order me around.”
She held out her hand, and a large silver revolver appeared in her grip. “No, but I have six bullets and an itchy trigger finger. I don’t like your chances.”
Callisto scowled. “I won’t forget this.”
“Yeah, yeah. Consider us even for not consulting me before deciding to end the goddamn world. All four of us have a say, not just Death.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.” Callisto then turned to me. “We shall speak later, my Demon Lord.”
As soon as he was gone, the girl’s posture relaxed, and she stowed away her gun. As she looked at me once more, a bright smile appeared on her face.
“So, you’re the human my sister’s fallen for?” She shrugged. “You’re cute enough, so I guess I can see it.”
“Thanks, I guess.” I inclined my head to her. “What can I do for the Incarnation of War?”
War smiled even wider. “Polite too. Seems Death picked a good one. But to answer your question, it’s what I can do for you.”
I went over and sat next to her at the table. I leaned back and waited to hear what she had to say.
“I originally came to witness the fight between you and the angel.” She thumbed back towards the door. “From the mess outside, I missed one hell of a fight.”
