Chapter 554: Powers that Be.
City Z...
A city backed by centuries of history and diversity. A hub of sorts thanks to its proximity with the sea.
Previously, the city flourished under the rule of two different individuals. The Mayor, and the Major General of Security,
When the Devils had come, the entire City had fallen into chaos, leading to General Arltzwalt initiating the bombardment of the City.
A decent number of people managed to evacuate, but the vast majority of people that were not already killed by the Devils were caught in the crossfire.
With the Devils held back by the results of the bombardment, the humans were finally able to gain some ground back.
However, that advantage quickly vanished, as the Devils began building the collosal Devil Spire located dead center of the City.
Hundreds of humans were killed, and even more were kidnapped to be used in devilish experiments.
In a few months, the entire City had become Hell...
A City of Slaughter and tears, with rivers of blood flowing through its streets.
However, the tides had changed when the first of the God Remnants had been found.
The God of the Sands and Death, The Celestial Balangol. A Celestial known for his support of the human race before his fall.
After finding this remnant, the influence of this God spread like a plague, reviving the first group of humans within the city with the creation of a barrier through his apostle.
Although this powerful being was dead, its influence reached far beyond the grave. All this was to fulfill the purpose of reincarnation.
Then, the second fragment of a Celestial was founded. The goddess of the Moon and Blood, Hectate. With the presence of this dead god, another barrier was found.
And then, the third and final god fragment was found. Only, this fragment didn't belong to a Celestial Deity, but rather, a Celestial Beast. The fragments of deceased Celestial Beasts were not numerous thanks to the existence of Tian. But some of them managed to slip through the cracks of his tyranny.
The goddess of fire and the Forge, Mljorra. The power of this Celestial Beast was also used to create a barrier, leading to the creation of the three hubs of humanity within the city.
And as such, the city was split into three distinct parts; a part covered in sands and wild winds, a part bathed in the celestial grace of the moon, and a part filled with scorching heat.
Of all these Celestials, the strongest of them, was the Moon Goddess...
Wind beating against her cheeks, Lucia stared at the distant black spire.
Despite being covered in Evernight, there existed a desert within the City. Most of the time, the desert was cold, but some times, a bit of warmth would return thanks to the movement of the moon.
Under the neverending chill, Lucia felt her mind warp under the ever present threat of death. It was cold, just like the wind.
"This is boring." She said, placing her googles on her forehead.
A tall, dark skinned man beside her with raven black hair and eyes chuckled,
"What is boring? Guard duty, or our current situation?" The man said with a bit of an accent.
Lucia snorted, "Khan, just breathing seems boring these days. What's a girl gotta do to earn some action?"
Khan sighed, "Stepping out of the Dome of Sands is dangerous. The Devils are more restless that ever."
Lucia frowned, "If we don't fight them, how the hell are we going to win?"
Touching the eye patch over her left eye, she gritted her teeth,
"Those bastards took everything from me. And yet, we keep holding back."
Khan sighed, "With our resources, we can't do much. The number of Tier 1 humans in our ranks fall everyday thanks to the attack of the Devils and our fellow humans. The piousness in the hearts of some is a deadly poison indeed."
Lucia snorted, "The major keeps losing his balls, damn it! When will he finally stand up to those geezer bastards!"
Khan chuckled, then sighed, "The Major is doing the best we can. If the old men had their way, they would have forced us all to our deaths long ago. All you need to do is be patient."
Lucia narrowed her eyes,
"Sure, sure... Look over there."
The area of influence the Dome of Sands covered, was incredibly far away from the center of the City; almost a hundred kilometers. Even with their exceptional perception, it was impossible to make out most of the details within the Center of the City.
As such, special equipment is needed.
Passing the pair of binoculars over to Khan, she pulled her googles off her head, then tied the red bandana over her forehead.
Khan frowned, "What is that?"
Lucia pulled her pistols out of their holsters,
"A swarm is headed this way."
Khan sighed, then placed the binoculars over the railing of the outpost,
"I see."
He pulled a pair of wicked looking scimitars from his back. They were a beautiful silver color that reflected the luminous glory of the Moonlight from above.
Appearing as specks of black in the distant sky, the piercing cries of unidentifiable creatures came from above.
Lucia gritted her teeth,
"More {Sky Devils}! Why the hell are they so many?!"
Khan frowned, "These aren't just {Sky Devils}. They are {Winged-Terror Sky Devils}. They are variants, I think..."
Lucia yelled, "There's no need to be specific."
Her scowl deepened, "It all ends the same. My bullets will shoot them all down."
The {Winged-Terror Sky Devils} were incredibly fast. With bat-like wings, their speeds far exceeded that of jets and aircrafts.
They had only a single eye at the center of their heads, and giant maws that stretched out the majority of their heads. Their ears were huge, and their canines were laced with a deadly poison.
Watching these devilish creatures attack from the skies, a grin spread across her face.
When they were close enough to the Dome, she lined a shot up and let a bullet fly.
Her guns were different from a regular magic gun. They were normal human created guns that had been modified with magic. Even the bullets had been modified as well.
Just a single shot was enough to blow the brains out of the flying monster.
With a series of shrill cries, the Devils made complicated patterns as they raced towards the barrier.
"Heh..." A sneer made its way onto her sun kissed face as she proceeded to empty her bullets, each one of them felling a Devil.
Khan handled them far more differently. his eyes glowed with subtle light. With a twist of his wrist, his scimitars flickered away from existence and soared through the air with speeds that put even bullets to shame.
With glow in his eyes becoming even brighter, Khan drew runes in the air. The scimitars rotating in the air began to multiply, until they eventually became as numerous as the Devils in the sky.
A scimitar tore through the wing of a Devil, causing it to let out a shrill cry as it plummeted to its death. Another Devil was split from its head, down to its tail.
Even more were slain in similar brutality, but a majority of them managed to dodge the attacks.
"They are getting faster." Khan said with a frown.
"Really? I didn't notice!" Lucia said, a grin on her face as she emptied out the shells and replaced them with new bullets in a second.
Snapping the revolvers back in place, she re-holstered them and reached for the sniper rifle beside her. Just like her revolvers, the sniper was a regular weapon that had been upgraded with magic and mystical materials.
Summoning a strange bullet from her inventory, she slipped it into the gun and locked it in place.
Her eyes burned with a terrible fury,
"Die!"
The bullet expelled a torrent of furious flames, escaping through the muzzle with the force of a missile, launching her a few steps back, almost sending her to the ground.
The fate of the Devils was far worse...
The moment the bullet hit the first one, a chain reaction occurred.
Like cries from hell, the sound of furious flames spreading through the swarm of {Winged-Terror Sky Devils} filled the air, heating the cold night up for a moment.
It was terrible, a wicked sight to behold. Death of a wide scale.
However, Lucia felt no remorse. In fact, she felt a hint of fulfilment.
After all, these Devils were the catalyst that had ruined her life. They had changed her world, turning her heaven into hell over night.
Letting out a sigh, Khan stretched his hands out. His scimitars returned into his hands, and he sheathed them in a single move.
Turning to Lucia who had a strange look on her face, he smiled warmly,
"These were normal grade Devils, you know. Why use something like that?"
Lucia snorted, stretching her hands up,
"Does it matter? They're dead, aren't they?"
Khan chuckled as he took her outstretched hand and pulled her up,
"Is that so? Then..."
Lucia frowned all of a sudden, "Wait a minute..."
Picking the binoculars, she placed them close to her eyes.
"Those are..."
Khan turned around, "What is it? What did you see?"
Lucia looked unsure, "I'm not quite certain."
Pulling the binoculars from her face, she spoke with a heavy tone,
"But I think we might have a few visitors."