Chapter 453: No Cover

“Oh, hell no. What are you doing here?” Alex asked in disbelief. He couldn’t even find it in himself to muster up something snarky. All he could do was gape at Absolution. “Are you stalking me or something?”

“I might pose the very same question to you,” Absolution replied. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Though I am not entirely surprised to find you here. Your… idiotic disposition most certainly would have led you to this place. It is the timing that I must call into question.”

Mel looked between the two of them. “Are you allies?”

“No,” Alex said.

“No,” Absolution said.

Yuria’s reptilian gaze lingered on the giant hole in Absolution’s chest for a long second. Then she pulled it away as she turned to Alex. “It seems that you are quite well acquainted. This is good. Those who have fought together will be far more likely to ascend successfully. We have our forth.”

“You’re kidding me,” Alex said with a laugh. It took everything he had to keep himself from sticking a finger in Absolution’s chest-hole. “What’s your game? We both know you don’t show up offering help for no reason. And I’ve never seen you voluntarily work with anyone else. Whatever you want—”

“I am here to climb the mountain,” Absolution said simply. “And I have always done whatever it takes to succeed. I do not care if I must side with others or trample them underfoot. These two are correct. Climbing this path alone is possible… but it is not optimal for what waits within the city.”

“You’ve made it?” Yuria asked. “Past the walls?”

“Yes,” Absolution replied.

“That’s incredible!” Mel exclaimed with a huge grin. “You’re definitely welcome aboard. What’s waiting beyond there? I’ve always wanted to—”

“Why would I tell you?” Absolution asked. His head cocked to the side in what seemed to be genuine confusion. “Our alliance is only temporary. Up the path and to the gates. That is all. I would not limit my rewards by siding with dead weights permanently. Your role will be to help clear the fodder.”

“…Oh,” Mel said. He cleared his throat. “Well. I’ll take it. Better than the alternative, I guess. Doubt we’re finding anyone else.”

Yuria nodded in agreement. “An alliance until the city, then. Or at least as far as we can get. I’ll take it.”

Alex squinted at Absolution. He still couldn’t accept the fact that they’d both just happened to show up on the mountain at the exact same time. The other man held his gaze. Absolution’s features were completely unreadable. Alex could have sworn that the only way to tell what he was really thinking was to get him on the losing side of a fight.

Damn it.

As little as he wanted anything to do with Absolution, they had fought together. And Absolution was undeniably skilled. He was a machine in battle, and they’d only ever managed to get him on the back foot when everyone worked together against him.

Having someone like this helping them climb the mountain was guaranteed to let them get farther. It also gave him an opportunity to pry Absolution with a few more questions that he hadn’t gotten answered… and it meant they didn’t have to join up with one of the Outworlder families.

Of course, it also meant he was helping one of the largest threats that Mirrorwane faced.

“You’re a smug bastard, you know that?” Alex asked. “But I’d rather side with you than one of the Great Families.”

“I can assure you that the feeling is entirely mutual,” Absolution said coldly. He studied Alex for a second. “You activated the Bleeding Crown.”

“What?” Alex asked. His eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”

“Your soul,” Absolution replied. He shook his head, then turned on his heel. “And then you left your town with it active. I would call you a fool if you hadn’t made it this far already. A fool can only fall upward for so long.”

Was that a compliment?

“We already cleared a wave,” Alex said with a shrug. There was no point denying Absolution’s claim. It didn’t change anything, and the other man clearly already knew the truth. “I figured the next one would come in a few days at the soonest. There was time to get more practice in. It’s not like we can sit stagnant while waiting for the waves forever. Life goes on.”

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“The stance of a man who either has no idea what he has called down upon himself or far too much faith in the strength of his allies,” Absolution said with a shake of his head. He didn’t bother looking back at them. He was already headed through the camp toward the path leading up the mountain.

Alex, Mel, and Yuria strode after him, hurrying to catch up.

“You know, not that I have any real desire to get into it with you about life viewpoints and that shit, but there’s a certain benefit to trusting people,” Alex said as he drew up alongside Absolution. “As much fun as it is, you can’t do everything on your own.”

Absolution turned to look back at Alex. “Trusting anyone to accomplish an important task is an effective way to ensure you find yourself betrayed or defeated. True strength is found alone. That is what the System teaches us. And if you have not learned that lesson yet… then you will.”

“You think you can keep a town alive entirely on your own?” Alex asked, arching an eyebrow. “That’s just delusional. It’s a town. There’s more than one person in it. And I can’t help but remind you that we were beating you by working together. I won’t deny I like solo fights. I want challenge. But I’m not stupid enough to think that everything in the world has to be done without backup. There’s a reason the Great Families are so powerful, and it definitely isn’t because their members are all so skilled.”

Absolution didn’t reply immediately. Neither Mel or Yuria said anything, wisely choosing to stay silent and out of the conversation.

“You had best hope that you are correct,” Absolution said finally. “Because if you aren’t, you will have no town to return to.”

“Huh?” Alex asked. “What do you mean?”

Absolution’s lips pulled into a cold smile. “The Cracked Crown would not give you so much time between the first and the second wave. It is the System. And if it senses that its owner has departed their town… I would be willing to bet a great deal of Credits that the next wave has already started.”

***

A loud thunderclap split the air as a streak of blue lightning cut past Aaron’s face and slammed into the shoulder of a red-skinned demon that had been instants from bringing its axe down on his head. The burly monster roared in pain, taking a stumbling step backward. Smoke splattered

Then its head exploded in a spray of fine, bloody mist. A loud bang tore through the air less than an instant later. The demon collapsed to the ground, its axe spilling from its hands, and Aaron glanced over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing.

Wess, who stood behind one of the barricades, tipped his hat with a smirk.

“Hey!” Aaron yelled. “You—”

“Don’t steal our kills, you greedy ass!” May yelled, sprinting past Aaron and flinging herself at the next member of the seemingly infinite horde pouring out from a dozen purple portals rippling around Mirrorwane.

“Language!” Aaron snapped. He darted after her. Letting May run off for even a second was too great a risk. She was way too fast. If he lost sight of her, she’d be gone.

Two demons lurched for May. They were both at the upper Initiate stage. Neither of them made it close. May snapped her fingers, sending a coil of lightning tearing through the air around her in a circular wave. It tore straight through the first demon’s skull and continued into the second one. Both of them crashed to the ground, dead well before they hit it.

A demon stepped out from one of the portals. Its dull yellow eyes locked onto May as she tore into their forces and it raised its hands, taking aim with a large longbow. Aaron shot toward it. He felt time grind to a halt around him as his magic activated.

Aaron flipped his coin. He mentally called it before the coin had even hit the ground. There was no need for theatrics right now.

Heads. The bid is for that bowstring.

Pressure pushed against the edges of his thoughts, but he wasn’t asking for much here. The bet was pretty low. The coin met his palm. Aaron didn’t even check the result.

He already knew what it would be.

Time snapped back into motion.

The bowstring snapped. It whipped through the air, striking the demon in the eyes and eliciting a surprised scream of agony. The arrow that had been knocked in the weapon slipped from the monster’s hands.

An instant later, a loud crack filled the air. May sent a bolt of blue lightning piercing right into the demon’s skull and put it out of its misery.

Aaron didn’t waste time on feeling satisfied about the kill. He was turning to scan the field for the next threat even as magical power flowed into him. They’d been fighting for just over ten minutes now. None of the attacking demons had been all that strong. As far as he could tell, everyone was holding their ground.

And that was what was concerning him.

This wave hadn’t been any harder than the previous one. And given that the Bleeding Crown was all about escalating challenge…

A rumble rolled through the ground. Several of the purple portals blinked out. But even as they did, the others shifted toward each other. They merged like bubbles to form into a single massive form, looming easily twice as tall as Mirrorwane’s walls.

“Oh, shit,” May breathed, staring up at the portal as a dull hum filled the air and quickly picked up in intensity.

“Move! Back to cover!” Aaron yelled. He grabbed her by the arm and sprinted for the town. Another tremor rolled through the ground. It nearly knocked them both from their feet.

Aaron risked a glance back.

An enormous, heavily armored hand the size of a horse had gripped the side of the portal and was pulling it wider open. Just the single glimpse was enough for the System to identify the monster slowly preparing to emerge from within it.

Demonlord Executioner (Expert 5)

The blood drained out of Aaron’s face.

Well, that definitely explains why the rest of the wave was so easy.

Shit. We’re in trouble.