Zed turned and saw something he wouldn’t have thought possible. A group of humanoid machines were propelling through the sky towards them, the mechanical suits revealed their occupants as they touched down and Zed gasped. The exposed faces were those of the men who had watched over him his entire life, it were the visages of men he thought he knew and yet here they all stood in futuristic mechanical physiques.
Father Warren stepped forward, his suit making him but a foot shorter than Nessha. “Step away from him demon and we’ll let you return through the rift with your life.”
“You see my lord, your prison even has guards,” said Nessha as she placed herself between Zed and Father Warren.
“This is your last chance demon, flee or be slain.”
Nessha drew her strange blade. “Judging by your dialect and the outdated SAINTs you pilot, I’d say you’re all from Juria, which means that you all know what I am and my station among my kind. So please stop with the bravado. You know as well as I that even with the twenty-four of you here, your victory is far from assured.”
“Zed, I don’t know what happened here, but what I do know is that the man I raised wouldn’t just stand idly by when he could help a loved one. What have you been doing when you could have helped Alyza?” asked Father Warren as he indicated the unconscious girl in the sea of ash and charred corpses.
Zed turned to where Alyza lay unharmed by his flames. He had been so consumed with rage and caught within the moment that he had completely forgotten the reason for his outrage. But she now seemed less important, ironically so even. He no longer felt the deep urge to protect her nor the bottomless yearning to be close to her. Instead he felt a sense of nostalgia, but regardless he felt he owed her for all her years of kindness.
Nessha instinctively placed a restraining hand on Zed’s shoulder as he started away. “Don’t stray from my side, my lord. They want to separate us.”
Zed regarded the hand on his shoulder with surprise. “Why isn’t your hand burning?”
“I do not know, my lord. Perhaps because you don’t wish me harm?”
“Do not listen to her, her words are poison!” urged Father Warren.
The statement still lingered in the air when a cyan translucent being emerged from the rift. The tear in dimensions had shrunk to half its original size but still towered over the oval shaped life form. The creature was a foot in diameter and seemed to be hovering aimlessly in front of the rift when it abruptly zipped over to Alyza’s sleeping form. Before either side really knew what was happening, it bloomed and used its petaloid limbs to fold the unconscious girl within itself.
“Seize it!” ordered Father Warren and his men instantly obeyed.
The exorcists’ attempt to catch the strange being were made in vain as it quickly became apparent that it possessed a manoeuvrability which far exceeded that of a SAINT.
Zed turned to Nessha as the being disappeared through the rift. “What just happened? Did you arrange that?”
“No, my lord. I have never even seen a being like that, the fact that it came through the rift . . . my lord I beg your forgiveness,” said Nessha before tucking Zed under her left arm and dashing for the rift.
Father Warren reacted instantly. “Block the rift! We just need to hold out until it closes.”
The exorcists drew their weapons, some had large rifles with barrels the size of a man’s fist while others had chainsaw-like serrated swords.
Nessha deftly evaded a downward slash, severing the attacker’s right leg as everyone scrambled for the rift. Those with rifles began laying down suppressive fire for their comrades and Nessha found herself too occupied avoiding and deflecting bullets with her blade to make any significant advance toward the rift.
Father Warren noticed that the demon favoured defence due to her unavailable left arm and ordered five of those with close quarter weapons to harass her.
“Would – you – put – me – down already?!” said Zed as he was yanked in a different direction each time Nessha avoided a blow from her five pursuers.
Nessha now regretted her rashness earlier as she realised that it would be impossible for her to break through the exorcists while carrying Zed. They were well trained and knew how to win a battle even if the odds were against them. Realising that delaying now would only serve her opponents, Nessha pushed the five exorcists back while throwing Zed behind her in a less than gentle manner.
Zed struck the ground with a loud thud and by the time he got back on his feet he found himself surrounded by SAINTs. It seemed that Father Warren had anticipated Nessha to drop him and when she did they were ready.
“Lord Zendrius!” shouted Nessha with panic as the gap between them grew larger.
Zed glanced back as he was hustled away by Father Warren and saw Nessha redoubling her efforts. The tall woman cleaved a SAINT in two before releasing some kind of shock wave with her left hand which knocked over a few of her assaulters. But she was becoming reckless and as a result sustained a few injuries.
Nessha watched with horror as Zed was taken further and further away. “No!”
Zed felt a cold surge when he saw Nessha lose all reason as she just blindly rushed after him, the surrounding exorcists dealt her serious wounds but she just kept on pressing. “Damn it!”
There was a sudden surge in temperature and Father Steven turned as he heard his commander scream. Zed was walking back towards them, heat visibly emanating from him and igniting the surrounding environment. That’s when Father Steven noticed his friend’s SAINT in the distance and rushed over without so much as a thought. As he neared the motionless SAINT he saw that its arms were melted and that Father Warren had brought up its protective helm.
“Warren, are you alright?” asked Father Steven as he knelt next to his commander.
There was a weak reply and Father Steven quickly connected their SAINTs and commanded the helm to fall away. Father Steven clenched his jaw as the smell of seared flesh filled the air. “Enough is enough. I’m going to do what we should have done eighteen years ago!”
“Wait, you don’t understand,” wheezed Father Warren as his comrade stormed off.
Zed was three-quarters of the way back when he heard something behind him. As he turned he saw the blade come down and in that moment he knew he was going to die.
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