Broker
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Chapter 226
🕑 Added 2025-01-15 17:00:15 +0000 UTCThe first wave of cultists Ishtar came across poured through the trees in a wave of rage and fanaticism. Screaming at the top of their lungs as they brought their weapons to bear against their unnatural enemies. Ishtar floated lazily above the Legion as it charged, some of them taking surface damage or even losing chunks of their marble bodies under the barrage of gunfire. Post-Pandora munitions, then, Ishtar thought as several bullets bounced off the hard light barrier she’d surrounded herself with. She turned her head slowly to look at the trio of mask wearing sycophants who had chosen to aim their weapons at her rather than her soldiers.
She pointed a finger at them and a trio of rays of light lanced out faster than a blink, narrow bands that pierced through each of their heads in turn, granting them quick, pointless deaths. She lowered her hand and turned to observe the fray again.
It hadn’t taken long for the Legionnaires to finally enter striking distance, their wicked blades rising and falling with brutal, mechanical efficiency. Marble statues grabbed men from the ground and pulled them into the air before cleanly removing their heads, some combatants were tossed aside like trash, colliding with trees with so much force that Ishtar could hear their bones crumble inside their bodies. One cultist created glowing claws around his hands and lunged at a distracted Legionnaire, carving a chunk out of the side of it’s head with a single swing. It rounded on him as it kicked away the cultist it had been focused on before and grabbed him by the face.
Ishtar drifted past the two of them, ignoring the crunch that followed. She called out to Technocrat, “Patch me into the hero’s comms. I want live status updates.”
<“Working on a way to prevent you getting detected while you listen in, gimme a sec, I’ll give you a rundown in the meantime,”> he said as lightning crackled in the air, another bolt falling on a distant tree, sending it toppling over as fire spread through more parts of the forest.
“Please do,” she said as a cultist flew through her field of view, one arm amputated in a way that looked like it had been torn off rather than cut.
<”Mentioned earlier that R4 was lost,”> he said quickly, <”Confirmed no survivors, monsters are some kind of apes with lizard heads. A bunch of Epic-tier beasties are on the loose now, they’re going to redirect some people to suppress it before it gets worse.”>
Ishtar’s lips twisted, “I see, continue.”
<”The rest of the dungeons are locked down, I’m checking my own readouts and their mana levels are staying stable, the heroes are pulling it off,”> he continued, <”The Vanguard teams are about a mile away from the main compound though they’ve got a roadblock in their way. The outer wall will have members of the round table on it.”>
”A good assessment, what else?”
<”Sapporo separated from the Vanguard, he’s probably already at the main building. The entire city of Tokyo is basically a rave at this point,”> he said, <”Black Lotus didn’t intervene.”>
Ishtar closed her eyes and sought patience, “Heroes,” she growled, “A fool with a death wish, then, leave him to it. If he’s bringing that much force to bear then maybe he can soften her up a little bit for the girl,” she said with a laugh, “I doubt there’s any chance of changing his mind. He’s not usually the type to run ahead so if he’s made this call, let him have it.”
She floated up a bit higher as the fighting around her died down momentarily, some of the cultists turned to flee, hoping to perhaps move on to a less dangerous target. The Legion moved to pursue but she held up a hand, “Let them,” she said, “We have more important things to do than to slaughter Liberty’s throwaway fodder,” she added, the volume on her helmet raised just enough to be overheard by the fleeing enemy. Overhead, another bolt of lightning flashed, the fire was beginning to spread. Soon it would fill the forest and begin catching on the compound.
Her legion reformed and she urged them forwards before she turned her attention back to Technocrat, “Kingshark’s status? He should have begun the raid on the first target by now.”
Technocrat let out a nervous laugh, <”About that…”>
–
CRRRAAKKK!
“Scatter!”
The cultists fled in all directions, throwing themselves, using whatever abilities they had at their disposal to get what distance they could from the fist the size of a sedan that was hurtling towards them at impossible speed. The fist collided with the outer wall of the compound, masonry and metal reinforcement exploding with enough force to turn the remaining shards into shrapnel. Men and women fell, bodies riddled with holes, their corpses trampled by the silver scaled humanoids that swarmed into the compound. The creatures raised their eerie rifle-like weapons and fired, compressed air sending metallic darts sailing through the air.
More bodies fell.
On the other side of the compound, civilians, police, and all manner of people carrying whatever weapons they could get their hands on poured through gates ruined after a patrol car had been driven through them.
“Alert the other compounds!” one cleric shouted from within the central building. He turned to few epic-tier members of the cult available positioned at the doors. They were ready to defend the meditating members of the cult with their lives. “Hold that door!”
“All of the computers are down, we can’t get a signal out! All we hear is that damn song on all channels!” another cleric called, panic rising in his voice. Outside, the fighting grew to a fever pitch. Gunfire intensified. Shouts rose. The ground shook and mist slowly began to ripple across the floor in the chapel. The cleric taking charge adjusted his robes and stepped onto the main dais, frowning at the odd clouds on the floor. “What the devil is happening…”
One of the epic guards let out a shriek and started swatting at his body, acting as if something was crawling on him, “What are these things?” he shrieked.
The cleric snarled, “Calm down! Strength from Liberty!”
Another one of the guards turned wildly towards the congregation, his eyes bulging as a tear ran down his cheek, he adjusted the grip on his rifle and let out an hysterical laugh, “It-It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, they’re whispering in my teeth!” he laughed and raised his weapon to point it at the cultists who were still sitting, still obediently contemplating Liberty.
The cleric frowned and whipped his hand out, a shard of glass taking shape in an instant before launching across the gap between them, it embedded itself in the man’s throat and he collapsed, gurgling. The cleric looked at the other two, the one who had been slapping at himself simply fell face first towards the door, sliding down and leaving a trail of blood, skin beneath his fingernails. The third was kneeling, catatonic, staring up at the ceiling. He raised his hands up as if in prayer.
What the hell…?
“He comes. The Deep King. We are free,” he cried out, overjoyed.
The ceiling collapsed as a fist rained down upon them. The cleric hit the wall, his head cracking against the stonework. His vision blurred as he hit the ground. He looked up, squinting at the hole in the ceiling as his ears rang. There he saw a face, two glowing red eyes boring down on him as tentacles curled around the ruined roof. That face had no emotion to it, no feeling, whatever this force of nature was it cared nothing for the ants it trod over. It wasn’t the look of disdain and tyrannical indifference of Liberty, no, this was everything she preached but made manifest.
“Strength,” he whispered with awe as the mist and madness came upon him.
–
Kingshark turned back towards the sea, watching a boat collapse in on itself as Harrow ripped it apart. The coast guard had already arrived. His lip twitched into a smile. “I feel like a King,” he rumbled, his voice shaking the air. “Ishtar kept her promise,” he laughed and stepped over the outer wall of the decimated settlement. A few shouts of alarm followed him and he paused a moment to glance back at the civilians that Tenebra had riled up. They’d certainly come in handy to split the attention of the defending forces. He hadn’t lost any of his children.
“Return to the sea,” he commanded.
The seafolk hissed in response, leaving their bloody work behind and racing towards the water. They leaped into the air and fell, colliding with the water and splattering into seafoam that dissolved into the surf. He stepped into the water as well, marching deeper and deeper until he too joined with the water he had become a part of. He collected the water around himself, connecting with it, merging with it, he was the sea. All of the oceans were his domain and his place to tread. He tasted the waters of his next destination and opened his eyes in the dark again.
COME
The cold depths twitched and the silver shapes emerged again.
Continue the hunt.
–
Ishtar made it just in time to watch from the outer wall of the compound as the central building’s front face exploded. A glowing figure, ten feet tall, hurtled through the air and skipped painfully off the ground before colliding with two more buildings. Sapporo let out a roar and threw the rubble atop him off, rising from where he’d fallen and raising his hands over his head as a group of cultists charged at him, weapons raised. He clapped his hands and a shockwave sent his attackers flying, pulverizing a few of them on the spot. He stepped out of the rubble as an equally mighty figure emerged from the damaged building he’d just left.
“You could not even last a few moments!” Liberty bellowed, “Is this all you can manage? I had heard good things! You were second only to Black Lotus, though some said you were stronger!”
Ishtar sat down in the air to watch, her legion crashing into the gate not far away. Liberty turned her head and looked up, meeting her eyes. Ishtar smiled behind her helmet and couldn’t help herself. Perhaps it was a little bit of Sonya left in her, but she raised a hand to wave.
“Ishtar!” Liberty roared and turned to march in her direction only for a glowing golden fist to collide with the side of her head. She slid a few feet but her head didn’t even bulge. She stood there, eyes locked with Ishtar’s helmet before she rounded on Sapporo, “Pest!” she snarled and took a step back, pivoting to swing her sword. He hopped away, getting some distance before glancing in the direction of Ishtar.
“VILLAIN! THIS IS MY BATTLE!” he roared, “LEAVE OR I WILL SMITE YOU AS WELL!”
Ishtar held up her hands, “I’m just watching,” she laughed, broadcasting her voice “Don’t mind me.”
Liberty stood up straight, her copper glow intensifying a little, “Are you here to help the heroes, Ishtar?” she demanded from her spot in the courtyard of her compound. Her voice carried despite the distance.
Ishtar snorted, “Do I look like I’m here to help them? It’s sad that you’re that concerned about my presence, I have other plans,” she asked as her legion slammed once again against the gates. <”Blackrazor are you inside?”> she asked, turning her attention away as Sapporo charged at Liberty again. Liberty scoffed in disgust and turned back to her current opponent, she took a step forward and swung her sword. The blade cut the air, the force crashing into Sapporo. His gold aura flickering while the earth beneath his feet and the buildings behind him were cleaved. He pushed through, raising a fist to strike only for Liberty to catch the blow with her free hand. The ground beneath them caved in, a crater forming.
<”I have entered the compound.”> her henchman said, <”I am seeking out the first target.”>
Back on the fight, Ishtar watched Liberty stiffen as she forced Sapporo’s fist back. He strained against her strength, eyes filled with fury. She whipped her head towards the outer walls as if she could see something far away, “You told them how you broke through Halloway’s net?” Liberty asked, glancing towards Ishtar as Sapporo drove a fist up at her chin. She took the blow with a grunt before driving her knee up into his gut. The mythic let out a gasp as he was thrown up into the air, Liberty spun and snapped out a kick, launching him away again.
How many compounds is she drawing power from? Clearly she hasn’t noticed that Kingshark is attacking, Ishtar thought as she shook her head, “I shared no such information, your little friend’s trick must have more weaknesses than I thought.”
“Then it is the gravity boy, I should have killed him at the compound,” Liberty growled.
<”The heroes are sending in the second wave,”> Technocrat said into Ishtar’s ear.
Then the main characters of this little play have arrived.
Ishtar rose as the gate collapsed, her legion finally pouring through, “Destroy as much as you can,” she commanded her legion, “Make Liberty’s life difficult. I have a date with a fated enemy.”
–
Otis stepped through the archway, adjusting the gauntlets he’d chosen to wear. They weren’t necessary but it looked good. At either side of him were his two new heralds, Riot was in light armor and glancing around nervously. Felwinter had completely encased her arms and legs in the black ice of her powers, her eager smile nearly cracking her face.
“Otis.”
He turned back to see that girl standing with her team. Crusader, you are getting a bit too popular for my taste. I wonder if I can make an accident happen here. He shook the idea off, No, focus on your goal. You need to be the one to end Liberty. The media should be sending helicopters to watch soon.
“Good luck, Crusader,” he said with an easy smile.
She frowned, “Are you sure you want to split off? We’re going to run into those Round Table people, they aren’t an easy match and you don’t have anyone who can heal.”
Are you… concerned? Don’t you dare, he thought furiously, “We’ll manage,” he said with a chuckle and held out his hand, his golden sword appearing in it, “You just worry about keeping your own people alive, friend!”
She sighed and shook her head, “I envy your confidence,” she said and slung her own sword onto her shoulder. She turned to look at the blonde girl, what was her codename again? Ah, yes, Harbinger. Liberty’s sister and Ishtar’s spy. Crusader put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, “You good?”
Harbinger nodded gravely, “I’m good. Let’s do this.”
Otis turned away, the camaraderie was nauseating. “Riot, Felwinter, we’re going. Today is our day.”
Comments
Wintermelody
Thanks for the Chapter
Brandon Lydick
I'm vibrating in excitement, finally we'll get to see a bit of what a fight between Ishatr and Otis would look like. So far it's always been a bit nebulous about who's actually stronger, Otis is strong no doubt and basically totally invulnerable as far as we know. But Ishatr also has a *lot* of powers and who knows if any are exotic enough to get through?
Ant1h3ld
Tenebra's song resonating through those mooks' fuckin teeth might just be the most disturbing thing you've written up until now. Bravo. Listening to Dethklok - Awaken whenever Kingshark is doing his Cthulhu cosplay makes his scenes about 30% better.
