Chapter 96: BRRRRRR

Chapter 96: BRRRRRR

Here we go, called Serenity. Got the official countdown. One minute.

The crowd was eating out of Kimmies palm. She kept hitting them with Inspire every fifteen or so minutes, boosting them up, reinforcing their will, getting them focused and ready for war. Now with the moment at hand the atmosphere was electric. Thousands were ready, roaring their eagerness for what was to come.

It was almost frightening.

Thirty seconds, yelled Serenity.

Circle is up, called Olaf. Deadeye is shared. Strike like Thor!

Yo, you believe in Thor, dude? asked Yadriel.

I wish I did. Olafs was grim. His blessing in battle would be righteous.

Fifteen seconds.

Good luck everyone! said Kimmie. Stay focused, stay calm. Fight with everything youve got. Were going to win this.

Another wave of positive emotion washed over James. But it did nothing to blunt his excitement. He shrugged his armaments, both arms rising slightly, Vault Gun and Empyreal Canon ready and infused with power.

Im very excited, said Jelly. There is so much this Canis can do. I am learning more about its interface even as I speak.

Test drive, growled James. Time for a spin.

Five seconds!

Rock and roll, said Jason, great ethereal arms of pure aura emerging from his chest like kraken arms. They began to swirl slowly around Olafs circle, glowing bright gray like buffed iron.

This is for Joanna, said Olaf and raised his M4.

Two. One. Show time! Serenity grasped her Ma Deuce by both handles and panned it over the huge intersection.

The roar cut off, people everywhere reading their alerts in consternation. They were seeing the requirement to gather in groups of a hundred and then immediately satisfying that demand.

James wanted to inhale. Wanted to roll his shoulders, limber up.The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

But he was a machine wow. AnApparatus Bellicus Prime. All he could do was kill.

Shouts and screams burst forth as the Nem3s began to appear. Not one at a time, not in groups of five or ten, but hundreds.

In a moment, there they were. Towering, vicious, gleaming obsidian skin. Their faces little more than bulging bone carapaces, their maws opening in exultation at the sight of so many mortals gathered so tightly about them. Hunched over, massive, their arms terminating in those scythe-like blades, they shrieked in ecstasy and surged forward, intent on slaughter.

James opened fire.

He poured divine power into his Double-barreled Vault Gun. The weapon grew potent, heavy, dire with heavenly might, and with a cacophonous roar unleashed a stream of Gloria-enhanced Smite bullets across the intersection. Each bullet was eight inches or more, gleamed bright bronze, and flew with such speed and volume that it looked as if he were unleashing streams of burning copper lasers across the crowd.

The bullets passed through street signs, through people, splashed against the side of cars and vans.

But they tore the shit out of the Nem3s.

The huge demons fell apart as the ammo ripped them apart. It was as if they were made of clay. Limbs flew off, heads shattered, waists were severed.

The rest of Crimson Hydra followed suit, but even Serenitys huge gun paled in comparison to the holy damage James laid across the intersection.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR went his Vault Gun. He strafed the crowd, the gun causing his entire chassis to shiver. Two thousand rounds in thirty seconds. Nem3s exploded into fountains of gore, bursting apart. People screamed but still managed to just crouch and cover their heads.

But there were over two thousand Nems. They killed people simply by materializing on top of them, appeared on rooftops and in the avenues, in the park, up and down the streets.

And they all focused on James.

His Vault Gun hit its cool-down. Serenity kept pouring her Eternal Fire upon the enemy, the others doing the same with their M4s, but with his huge gun going quiet, the Nem3s rallied.

Bent over and fired their bone spears.

Shields! bellowed Olaf.

The guns went silent and shimmering walls of force appeared before the team. The attack came from all sides, almost all of them aimed at James.

He had a split second in which to decide.

Standing still meant drawing fire.

So best to move.

He crouched, the bone harpoons flashing toward him, and then leaped.

Strength 155.

Power 90.

The sedan crumpled beneath him, bounced as he left it, and then he was up, soaring through the air, the spears flashing beneath him. The very precision of the demons aim undid their attack; they flew past him, slamming into Olafs circle and shattering it immediately, overwhelming the Shields, but clattering and bouncing off the ruined sedan on which James had stood but a moment before.

Out of the way! roared James, his voice echoing, god-like. Hed aimed for the clearest spot he could see, and it cleared as the people there yelled and shoved away.

James landed. A handful of Nem3s were only a dozen yards away, a 90-degree arc.

Time for the Empyreal Canon.

Around James lay the dead and the dying. Despite the speed with which Crimson Hydra had put down the demons, their arrival alone had killed masses, the great sweeps of their bladed arms cutting people in two.

James lumbered north, and every few steps he unleashed a Sacred Strike over those lying close by. The white fire washed over them and their wounds were healed. People sat up, their cries of pain cutting off mid-scream, limbs re-attached, gut wounds sealing over, gauges and slashes and mortal blows healing in seconds.

You cant heal everyone, said Jelly.

Not everyone. But some.

James marched on. In moments he was forced to leap from car to car once more, crunching down on each vehicle which bucked and folded beneath his weight.

It was five more blocks till he reached the bridge. People had fled the avenue, streaming away, and the demons had mostly raced after them. A few Nem3s still lurked ahead, but James dropped them with his Vault Cannon, tapping the limited rate to pump a score of burning bullets into each.

Jelly, keep us moving north. Im going to review what Ive unlocked.

Yes, James.

He pulled up his sheet and studied the numbers.

Name: James Kelly

Class: Eradicating Crusader

Rank: Acolyte 2

Title: Vanguard

Virtues: None

Benedictions: Smite, Sacred Strike, Heavenly Assault, Bless

First Miracle: None

Second Miracle: None

Third Miracle: None

Aura: Bronze

Aura Strength: 4

Aeviternum Points: 4

Strength: 15 (Bless +5: 40)

Stamina: 10 (Bless +5: 37)

Speed: 8 (Bless +5: 33)

Agility: 5 (Bless +5: 30)

Power: 10 (Bless +5: 48)

Arete: 115

Unspent Points: 20

His Bless Benediction had automatically reverted to a full +5 to himself once the rest of his crew had left range.

But still.

James could only stare. Power 50? Even his lowest stat was now 32. The huge bonuses from Jelly and finally achieving his Class had made all the difference. What would Serenitys Agility look like once she achieved the same?

Dismissing the obscene numbers, James focused on the Eradicating Crusader Class. As ever, there was no description. But James could intuit the meaning. Smite, Sacred Strike, and especially Heavenly Assault were all about destroying large numbers of demons. Eradicating them. Crusader? Wasnt that someone who quested forth in hopes of achieving a holy goal? If saving humanity could be considered a crusade, then maybe he was one.

James considered the Class a moment longer. It felt right, he decided. And opened up the four Virtues. Were those particular to his class? Didnt seem like it. They were too universal to be so perfectly tailored. Maybe all Acolytes gained access to the same four.

The Virtues.

Fortitude | Justice | Prudence | Temperance

Now what the fuck did they do? Empower him in some way? They had to be filtered through his Christian world view. Fortitude and Justice leaped out at him, while Prudence and Temperance had no appeal.

Fortitude. The ability to persist, to carry on in the face of obstacles and exhaustion. That sounded like a fantastic virtue in the face of what was to come. But then Justice sounded great as well. Would that make him some kind of judge and executioner?

James felt frustrated. He wished he had a face with which to scowl. Why the fuck didnt these things come with an instruction manual? The system wanted them to choose, wanted humans to figure out synergies, but why didnt it make doing so easier?

Perhaps it was just a question of intuitively picking what felt right. Just as hed gone for Smite, in this case hed go for Justice.

Because thats what he wanted. To bring justice to their situation. To punish the demons for their horrific transgressions and alleviate the woes of his fellow humans.

Justice.

James mulled over the decision a moment longer, and then willed it to be his selection.

Virtues: Justice

And with that selection, awareness blossomed within him as to the meaning of the Virtue, and the incredible powers it granted him.