Chapter 873

Chapter 873: First Blood [11] (Finale)

At the end of the driveway, after the frostbitten fog of extreme nature, panic ensued. Titled gentlemen and dames, owners and CEO’s of Phantom’s many business ventures drew their weapons to the yard. Everything happened in haste – the explosion of gates rattled and shook morale, confusion meandered until full-on chaos. Innocent maids, whomst kept their stares at the floor and never spoke pulled on their dresses, the latter tore in half, exposing shaven legs upon which laid straps of guns and daggers. Instant danger approached, many dived into the line of fire, pushing important people from the incoming barrage of intruders. A top-down view of the operation showed aerial dispatch from an unknown source, the fighters leaped into the fray, which so happened to be the yard’s helipad, and fired randomly at the manor.

“Laurance!” cried Seiran, “-get the guests to the safe room,” she kicked her parasol open, bullets deflected and allowed crucial seconds, defining moments between life and death.

“Lady Elvira, Lady Courtney,” gasped Rile, “-please, follow us this way.” Never mind the maids, an overwhelming armored force trampled ground and made stride, in the span of two minutes, the manor was under lockdown from the outside. In the cacophony, Julius scurried from the study, ‘-Malley,’ resounded across his temple, ‘-please be safe,’ he snuck to the dining area.

*Barge,* the front door blew, grenades flung as Julius landed from the stairway, *flash,* a daze had him sprint blindly and caused a major impact against the left shoulder. “Young master,” said a whisper, feeble arms carried him deeper inside, silenced gunfire rattled, furniture and glass shattered. Louder shots, from Phantom’s side, fought back. A gasp dropped the support, “-are you alright?” he inquired, vision and hearing yet to recover. High-pitch ringing made it impossible to understand the reply. In the same motion, the shoulder stood straight and gathered pace, a sharp turn and they fell, the daze eased.

‘The kitchen,’ he came to, “-thank you,” he looked to his side and found a lifeless maid’ leaned over his vitals. Blood drained and marred the outfit crimson; smoke grew to block vision. Loud steps pressed past him, ‘-sorry,’ he pushed the body and sat against the counter.

“Kill on sight,” echoed loudly, “-we spare no one!”

‘Who the fuck are they?’ he gritted and kept a low profile, ‘-they took the fight to us,’ a black handle barred by the maid’s torn dress caught his attention, ‘-well then,’ he reached and pulled onto the dully colored pistol, ‘-say hello to Phantom’s new head of weaponsmith’s creation,’ on a sound cue, he pulled above the counter and fired. The recoil shot back and nearly took the gun out of his grip, ‘-there’s no surviving this beast’s power at close range.’ Smaller and quicker steps ran into said hall, bullets rained – the vague sound of string and gasping breaths paused chaos on Julius’s side, the eastern wing.

.....

“Young master,” Laurance rummaged through the smoke, “-are you alright?” he knelt and extended a hand. Glass shattered, and before Laurance reacted, a spinning red circle took his arm and ended against a cupboard.

“FUCK!” he yelled, Julius reached and pulled by the force of habit and fell onto the lifeless maid, “-my arm,” exclaimed Laurance, “-damn it!” the strings painfully tightened as to stop the blood flow.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” whimpered along with the deadly silence, “-I want to slice and a taste the blood,” it said in a very childish tone, “-where are you,” the clops amplified till a full-stop, “-I knew it,” it giggled, “-my blade took your arm,” the demented laughter scanned. Julius and Laurance slowed the breathing, hand signals were effective, of which, by Phantom’s training, every employee should understand and master said manner of speech. Laurance said to wait, Julius motioned in reply, ‘-one bullet left.’ Demented laughter, the uncanny mask in resemblance to a shark – an assassin in service of the Sadian militia. Ursula, the blade-dancer.

“STOP!” bullets echoed; the small-sized fighter skipped – illusionary ripples carried her footsteps.

“Poor little maids,” a sharp, violent sound of air being slashed, ended with a few thuds, “-the main piece,” it returned into the room, “-come out, spider boy. Let me see if my blades are sharp to cut thy strings,” the minuscule clops faded, Julius’s eyes widened.

“-FOUND YOU!” it pulled around the corner.

“MASTER,” Laurance barely reacted, a defensive spiderweb expanded. Julius turned and shot – her brain exploded, “-JULIUS!” Malley screamed from across the hall – time moved in slow motion, he pulled from the counter and watched as bullets riddled her arms and legs, ‘-I FUCKING MISSED!’ he vaulted; additional gunfire followed by the front entrance. She dropped harshly and gasped, éclair arrived with additional support.

“What happened?”

“Malley’s been fucking shot, that’s what’s happened,” he held her in his arms, “-don’t die on me,” the blood-soaked scroll escaped and fell. After Igna gave Julius the teleportation scroll, he ran upstairs in search of Malley, last he’d heard she was in the study, catching up on a few movies. On arrival, the place was empty, by which a note read, ‘-hungry, went to get food.’

Distant gunfire halted; helicopters swarmed the area – missiles locked onto the enemy’s aerial support. Outside, the unforgiving cold took the lives of many. Reports flooded éclair and Yui’s feed, “-invaders have been killed. We’ve incurred a large number of casualties; a few high-ranking officers have died in valiant attempts at protecting their significant others.” éclair turned from Julius’s grief and tapped the earpiece, “-the manor’s been cleared of enemies. Have the medics land and begin the triage – those trained in first-aid are to attend to our injured. Yui, coordinate with the hospice and transfer logistics, I’ll handle the finer details.” A toggle turned to a private channel, “-master, Malley’s been shot!”

A sudden paleness crossed Igna’s expression, Formle examined closely and held his chin, “-distress.”

“I don’t have time to explain,” the twirl of the wrist stopped the blizzard, “-they’re people who need help,” wings flapped.

“What am I suppose to do?” echoed.

“My team will take care of you, find something to wear,” returned Igna, “-we’ll talk soon,” a dark portal opened in the background, from it, seductively dangerous hands clawed and pulled him into a different dimension.

A flash, Formle knelt under a decadent chandelier surrounded by seats arranged in a circular fashion. The scale brought lightheadedness, ‘-massive,’ he blinked and landed on particularly strong auras. Reflected golden hue partly made staring those seated high in thrones difficult, “-I apologize for the sudden arrival, my name’s Formle, I’m the God of War, patron god of the Sadian people.”

“Formle,” thundered, giant outlines clopped in tandem and stopped a few meters away, “-I welcome thee to the Shadow Realm,” said lavishly combed blond hair, “-I am, Miira, the Eternal Protector of Time. I wield the powers from four dragons of old often referred as the Goddess of Kiant,” she stood proudly before her banner.

“What a lovely specimen,” fingers caressed his cheek till his chin, “-I am Lilith, though most people know me as the Queen of Demons,” she spun and moved coyly before her banner.

“Don’t look too surprised,” said a fiery red lady leaned against a marble pillar, “-the name’s Intherna, daughter of Rah, goddess of flames. Nice to meet you, god of war.”

Lastly, an ominously dark air rose from the shadow of the last banner. Jet black hair and pale skin moved forward and glared, “-Gophy, Goddess of Chaos. I don’t much care for anyone save those who are interesting,” she leaned and narrowed, “-bland, the only saving grace is the member thee calls a penis. Whatever I’m sure the ladies of the Shadow Realm to enjoy the seed of a,” she teleported and locked his neck from the back, “-God. Mind your place here, Igna’s yet to decide what to do, therefore, I’d advise modesty and humility. Stand out, and I’ll hammer you in like the curved-”

“Enough,” clapped Miira, “-no reason to give the man the third degree.”

“What?” her tone changed into one friendlier, “-a little roughhousing heightens the morale.”

“Don’t worry,” said Intherna, “-long as you’re no threat, we won’t act.”

*AHHHHHHH,* he yelled, “-WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?”

“There we go,” shrugged Gophy, “-another outburst.”

“Shush,” signaled Lilith, “-don’t ruin my fun.”

“Sadist,” side-glanced Intherna.

‘High-tier goddesses, the combined force is unprecedented. The title of high deity can’t be acquired, no one knows how the process works. Gophy, Intherna, Lilith, and Miira, I’ve heard of them despite being kept in a cage... I need to know,’ he glanced, “-why?”

“Because we’re friends and guardians of Igna,” they replied in sync.

“HELP ME, GOD!”

“Hey, which one?” they chuckled.

Matters in overworld harshen. Igna landed to a sign of misfortune and desolation. The first home he acquired, the memories he shared with Kniq and many of the companions he met and lived with turned to smoke. Maid’s bodies were pushed to the side of the corridors, first-aiders ran in and out, helicopters hovered at strategical areas. Some were taken from the balcony, by the garden, the yard, and even the roof. Long as the injured were taken to the hospice, nothing mattered.

“Igna,” exhaled Julius, “-look, she’s still breathing... help her, please.”

‘She’s not,’ he knelt and glanced around – the common area became a makeshift morgue for the deceased and those farfetched from salvation. Unfortunately for Malley, her wounds looked severe.

“Cousin,” he pleaded, “-do something, she saved me, I need to save her. I’ll do anything...” the pupils swapped from blue to gold, “-use my powers, I’ll create whatever you need... save her, I beg you, please, SAVE HER!”

“Save her. Julius, tell me, are those what thee really wish? Look around, plenty of others have suffered the same fate. I can probably save them, however, is that the correct choice. Death gives life meaning, I could give her the curse of the Nox’s clan, give them the blood of the vampires. What about Laura, she could have been saved if I was there, – what then, must I always rescue those who’ve died. Must I break the cycle of life and death to satisfy selfishness? The decision is yours; I made my peace and have revived the dead plenty of time. You have a choice, if we save her, it will be on my terms. Her body’s too far gone for restoration; we won’t have enough mana. Summoning Niflheim took most of my strength.”

“Stop bull shitting,” he leaped and grabbed Igna’s collar, “-you have the power to do what you want. The power to alter reality, the power to challenge destiny, and the very cog of time. I’ve always supported thy selfish actions... what about me, when are you going to help me. You brought Aceline from the dead, why not Malley, why not those who give their lives to save us? Tell me, Igna, why can’t you!”

“BECAUSE I NEVER WANTED THEM TO DIE IN THE FIRST PLACE!” he thundered, “-I’m not powerful, look around, is this the meaning of strength? We couldn’t save anyone, look at them, their pain, their suffering, I don’t want... fine,” the expression fell into a murderous crimson, “-Julius, I apologize. You’ve helped me – I must repay my debt,” he rose his hand, *Raphael, Archangel of Restoration; thee who sits uninhibited by the flow of time, reach down and extend a helping hand to the miserable and manifest thineself, for I, Igna Haggard, demands so,* the manor trembled, nausea hit those around, “-good evening, master,” a medium-length curly-haired gentleman stepped from a vortex, “-how can I be of help?”

“Good to see you, Raphael. I want you to save those who’re on the border of life and death – I grant thee temporary access to the might of the Shadow Realm. No need to stop at the living, if the bodies can sustain life, call them from the Hall of Rebirth. I’m sure Undrar won’t mind.”

“Igna...”

“Cousin, shut up and watch.”