Debris crashed down overhead, the impact shaking dust from the beams of the tavern.
The blinding iridescent light from outside lit up the tavern.
Sirens screamed sharp enough to make Renny’s skull throb. Renny heard shouting from outside.
He struggled to his feet. Ilya was next to him, her face turned pale after hearing the sirens.
Sable and Marek knelt with an unconscious Bob, desperately trying to heal his wounds.
Ilya hissed to them, "The IDCG has been breached. Judging by the light I'd say it's a Saviour."
Sable went over to the entrance and peeked outside, then ducked inside quickly.
"He's right outside. We need to go now."
Ilya tried to grab Renny's hand but he flinched away again.
"Renny we need to go, now," she said, sounding desperate.
Renny shook his head, tripping over his words.
"I don't— I don't deserve to be with you guys... I—"
Ilya slapped him.
"Who cares! Let's just go!"
Renny turned to look at her.
Fear and worry plagued her eyes.
His gut churned— then he went cold.
Did they really still value him even after what he did?
No.
He wouldn't allow himself the comfort of company until he proved he deserved it.
"Go. I'll buy time," Renny said, turning away from her.
"What?! Stop being stubborn—"
Renny pushed her away, then ran towards the entrance of the tavern.
He didn't look back.
If he did, he'd start to regret his decision.
---
Renny exited the tavern and saw him.
The Saviour stood tall, regal in full ceremonial armour of judicial white edged with obsidian. A white cloak billowed behind him, and in his grasp was a massive polearm—part judge’s gavel, part hooked halberd.
Iridescent light shone on him from a hole in the ceiling.
A Beacon.
A squadron of about 5 dozen Holy Knights rappelled in after him, gathering in a circle around him. He had to stop them from going near the tavern.
They didn't notice him yet.
They were too busy focusing on the black guards all around the IDCG Main, who began to open fire on the Knights.
The Knights brought up their shields in one coordinated movement.
The bullets clanged against the shields and fell to the ground, useless.
The Saviour muttered something and the circle of Knights began moving in the direction of a big building in the distance.
Bob had told him about it before.
It was the centre of the IDCG and it contained the map of the entire IDCG.
The Knights left the circle of iridescent light. The Saviour raised his weapon and slashed the ceiling in the direction he was moving.
Renny staggered from the shockwave of the impact.
The sheer power of the attack managed to create a slit in the ceiling, allowing the beam of pure Heartlight to reach them.
The Beacon's Heartlight shone in from the surface, hugging close to the circle of Knights and the Saviour.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips.
They weren't after the members.
The ground warped— no, not just the ground. The edges of the IDCG Main itself stuttered.
He'd seen this before. In the Cube.
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Was the whole IDCG Main a single Territory?
Holy Knights continued to rappel down from the initial hole.
Half of them formed a looser ring around the Knights protecting the Saviour, the other half charged at the black guards.
The black guards' weapons morphed into spiral lances and a large shield.
Each Holy Knight, even bathed in the Beacon’s Heartlight, struggled against two black guards.
Those guards weren't human.
People scrambled for cover, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
The tavern behind him stood empty.
Good.
Yet his heart ached.
Part of him had wished they had stayed for him.
The air shifted.
Something else had arrived.
An endless swarm of metallic humanoid drones burst out from a speed tube.
They attacked both Knights and black guards alike, punching and kicking them.
It had no effect at first, but as they continued to pour out of the speed tube the drones seemed... different.
They were slightly larger, bulkier.
And had weapons this time.
They joined the fray and held their own against the Knights and guards.
The drones also flew to and pinned down the people who were diving for cover, those that weren't involved in the conflict and were just looking for cover.
Shit.
3 drones converged on Renny.
He punched the first away and blocked a punch from the second.
The third hooked its arms around Renny's right arm and its legs around his right leg.
Renny couldn't move.
More drones came to help, pinning Renny down.
He was already exhausted from the previous fight. He struggled but ultimately failed to break out of their restraints.
The drones started speaking in unison.
"This is the GDA. Members of the IDCG, surrender and come peacefully," the robotic voice echoed through the thousands of drones.
First the CoL now the GDA?
He struggled under the weight, his chest felt like it was being crushed.
The drones' repetitive commands hurt his ears.
No space.
Have to escape.
Renny experimented with something he never did before.
Form spikes on back, extend and pierce through.
x20.
Numerous chain-spikes shot out of the chains on Renny's back, piercing through the drones.
They retracted on his command.
He struggled to his feet, then wobbled.
2 figures emerged from the speed tube as the swarm of drones continued to pour out around them.
Renny stared.
One stood tall, in shimmering blue and white armour, a large sledgehammer held in one hand, a small cube shaped object in another. A blank white mask obscured his face, complete with a white hood.
Warden.
The other figure was significantly shorter, clad in a sleek black suit.
His face was almost entirely concealed, save for a thin slit that revealed his eyes. He held a strange weapon, a finger hooked through the central ring—three chains extending from it, each ending in a scythe.
Another Hunter?
The 2 Hunters walked towards the Saviour.
Renny caught Warden's eye.
Warden paused.
He said something through his comms, pointing at Renny.
More drones swarmed Renny, piling on him.
Were these drones controlled by a Hunter too?
No time to think about it now.
Strengthen.
Form large hand.
He swatted them away with the oversized chain construct.
Renny noticed red creeping into the chains, turning them a deep maroon.
The chains' power skyrocketed.
More drones swarmed him from all directions.
He swept them away with his large chain hand.
It felt lighter.
A drone landed on him, its feet nested on his shoulder.
Sharpen end.
Extend and pierce.
A length of chain shot through the drone faster than it'd ever been.
Another drone tried to grab his face.
Speed up.
Power up.
He blitzed forward, fist connecting with the drone.
He tore a hole in it, its body flying away.
Where was this power coming from?
A headache slammed him out of nowhere.
He stumbled, feeling lightheaded.
The red in the chains was his blood.
He staggered and dropped to the floor, weak from the blood loss.
What's happening?
Why are the chains drawing blood?
His vision blurred.
The headache pounded harder.
The drones made a mechanical grinding sound.
What...
He lay on the floor, strength and consciousness fading.
The world moved around him.
He dug his fingers into the ground, trying to stay conscious.
His vision turned black.
---
Warden frowned.
The Saviour stayed while the Knights marched onwards to the centre of IDCG Main.
That complicated things.
Warden spoke into his comms, pointing to Renny, "Legionnaire, Devil wants that one alive."
Renny swatted the drones away, desperately trying to escape them.
Suddenly Renny collapsed.
Devil's words echoed in Warden's head.
The world needs monsters now.
He was about to step forward when Legionnaire spoke to him through the comms.
"Renny down, excessive blood loss. ETA to Hunter's Base for treatment, 5 minutes."
"Good," Warden replied.
"Your opponent is the Saviour Raguel. Estimated threat level X. Proceed with extreme caution," Legionnaire spoke over the comms.
Warden nodded, grim.
The Covenant of Lux's 7 Saviours, monsters on the surface thanks to their Blessing and the sheer amount of Heartlight available to them.
They were basically unkillable on the Surface.
But Warden had a plan for that.
He held the Cube up and clicked the side of it.
"Territory Open: Cube."
The Cube expanded, its walls phasing through everything and encompassing everyone nearby inside.
The Cube mapped the space automatically. Segments flickered through his vision, marked with coordinates.
Apart from Dusk and Warden only Raguel was inside the Cube.
Legionnaire had done his job and moved everyone else outside the range.
Plus the Beacon's light didn't reach Raguel.
Perfect.
Raguel spoke, "Surrender now. The Covenant doesn't tolerate unnecessary violence against the GDA. I'd hate to kill you accidentally."
"Pseudo Territory Open: Shadow Mist."
Dusk's armour suddenly spewed out black mist.
It covered his silhoutte and cloaked the area around him in pure black mist.
Warden teleported Dusk right behind Raguel.
Raguel turned quickly, alarmed.
An explosion of black mist enveloped the area around Raguel and Dusk.
Warden struggled to see the fight.
That mist is troublesome.
And it takes up so much space in the Cube.
The mist tore open for an instant.
Warden caught a glimpse of Raguel’s halberd mid-swing — then the cloud swallowed him again.
A thousand projectiles thudded within the cloud.
Warden caught a flash of Dusk's modified kusarigama as it swung out of the mist.
Raguel’s Heartlight flared erratically — sharp spikes, unsustainable output.
Warden could barely hear Raguel gasping for air.
Something inside the cloud was forcing him to burn power just to breathe.
Warden held position, eyes fixed on the thick black cloud.
There was no opening to assist Dusk.
As a fellow Hunter he never wanted to face Dusk as an opponent.
He was surgical, precise, impossible to track.
A monster in the darkness.
It made sense why Devil recruited him.
Not because of the mist, but because of how he used it.
Raguel's gasping got louder.
Warden stood with his hammer planted into the ground, waiting patiently as Raguel's Heartlight got weaker.
The Cube had been blocking Heartlight from the Beacon from reaching Raguel.
Devil had told Warden that Saviours had an ability that required a ton of Heartlight, which was only practically sustainable in battle with the Beacon, which supplied nearly endless amounts of Heartlight.
Cut that supply off and a Saviour is a fish on land.
Or so he thought.
Raguel's Heartlight suddenly surged.
He stopped gasping.
Warden propped his hammer up over his shoulder.
It seems Dusk needed his help after all.
Raguel jumped out of the black mist.
Warden could see a thick yellow aura around him.
It seemed Raguel did have a ton of Heartlight.
Warden noticed Raguel also had a thin white aura around him.
That wasn't in the file.
BOOM!
The Cube—
A figure had smashed through his Cube from the outside. Iridescent light flowed in.
The Cube's opening slowly closed up, like a wound healing.
The Cube's new self repair function was working as intended.
Maniacal laughter filled the Cube as the figure descended, smashing into the Cube floor near Warden.
He wore matte black armor fractured with bruised violet and burnt orange, like plasma leaking through cracks.
The plating was scorched and reforged, silvered joints warped by overuse.
A transparent fang-shaped visor glowed faint amber, brightening as energy crawled along his limbs.
Behind him, the thrusters smoldered — quiet now, but hungry.
Warden recognised him instantly.
Former Rank 3 Diver, Wanderer.
He'd been stripped of his license after he allegedly killed the Rank 2. He evaded capture for months and incapacitated Rank 4 who pursued him.
Warden gripped his sledgehammer firmly.
Wanderer chuckled, grinning as if he had been thrown a birthday party.
What a ridiculous face.
"Hello friends!" he exclaimed.
His boosters revved and he swung his weapon, twin meteor hammers.
He shot up to the ceiling of the Cube, paused, then accelerated downwards like a comet onto Warden.
