As Jace crossed through the portal his heads up display immediately started sending warnings about the environment and the planet's gravity which was roughly five times as strong as the human standard. The air in the atmosphere was filled with an abundance of sulfuric chemicals that would be harmful for him to breathe. Then there was radiation which was not something that humans had ever recorded but it was penetrating his armor and causing the burning sensation he could feel on his body.
He saw Sloth flinch as he crossed through the portal and started running and gunning. Gunning down demons he was unable to shoot from the front earlier. As soon as he had to reload he launched the empty magazine back through the portal throwing it with all of his strength as he glanced at the horse headed demon who he gained the notice of.
As he reloaded his assault rifle he dodged to the side as the head of halberd slammed into the ground. Doing a full spin before kicking the staff of the halberd that Sloth was holding. Before he could fire on her he felt the gravity increase on his body. His joints were screaming as he raised a leg and slammed his foot down.
The ground cratered as Sloth had to jump back and the nearby enemies were forced back. Jace could also feel the gravity Sloth was exerting on him lessened. But just as he felt it lessen he saw a shadow fall over him.
Jace spun around just as the giant horse headed demon pulled a weapon out of the same black hole that Sloth had done once before in front of him. Jace raised his weapon to fire at the horse head when he was suddenly barraged by a bunch of golden light and flew backwards toward the portal.
He glanced at the source and saw an injured gold mask with her hands spread out as several golden bolts of light appeared in the air before racing at him. They were not penetrating his armor, but they had broken down his armor's shielding and were pushing him back. Then there was the damage it did to his Wildfire assault rifle.
Jace tossed his rifle over his arm toward the portal. While his longsword materialized in his hand. He moved to the side as the golden bolts missed him but started following him as Lust adjusted her aim. But the problem was with the bolts that were following him like heat seeking missiles.
He had to get something to block those. Fortunately a giant horse headed demon was moving toward him with a jagged blade in hand. He would be a perfect wall for blocking these attacks.
As Jace ran towards him he had to move in a jagged line as he moved in between other enemy demons he decided were not a threat to him. They were stopping a few of the bolts but he needed someone more durable like this horse headed demon.
He made it in front of the horse head demon and prepared to jump up but switched his course at the last moment as gravity increased on him again. Sloth was probably closing the distance again.
He dashed under the horse head demon as he swung at Jace. Dodging the arc the demon predicted he would take. Instead he slid by one of the demon's legs and cut through his ankle, easily slicing through the armor and causing the demon to scream in pain and surprise. He fell to his knee and blocked the barrage of shots that Lust sent after Jace.
As soon as Jace was done being chased he pulled his magnum from his back holster and unleashed three shots at Lust who he could see. All three shots landed, one ricocheted off her helmet while the other hit her body. One in her shoulder and another in her chest. The combined might of which caused her to go down.
Jace holstered his magnum just as Sloth ran around the injured horse head demon and ran towards Jace. He blocked the first heavy strike which pushed him back. Then he got into stance and slipped to the side and countered when her second strike arrived.
Each time their weapons met there was a shockwave as a result that was a mix of telekinetic power and electricity. But Jace was being slowly pushed back as they fought and he could tell the reason. It appeared that Sloth and the other demons had some type of homefield advantage.
Although the fact that he could tell the system was trying to tell him something had something to do with what was going on. But he ignored it in favor of continuing the fight. They constantly spared and landed hits every few seconds.
Each time that Sloth landed her hits his yellow shielding flared and then failed but she never managed to scratch his armor. Then each time that Jace landed a strike of his he managed to crack her armor or leave cuts, but it kept repairing with the same black mist. They were fighting on par and Jace was using every muscle as he fought.
It was beginning to become a good workout for him.
Jace spotted something out of the corner of his eye and spun his sword around to block a strike that sent him skidding back in the sand. He frowned under his helmet and took a moment to breathe. "Two on one is not really a fair fight. Can I fight one of you before fighting the other one?"
The horse headed demon which definitely decreased to his and Sloth's side made a noise and then spoke. "&%$#@*&&^%$#@%*!" He could not tell what it said, but the horse head demon definitely yelled.
Jace tilted his head slightly before looking at Belphe, Sloth, for an explanation. She growled as she realized Jace had successfully slowed down this fight. "The Honorable Duke asked you to take your filthy angelic armor off our planet, it is an eyesore."
Jace frowned under his helmet as he processed that description. There were many descriptors of his armor that he had heard. But Angelic was a new one. But it also might be relevant to the demon's past in his galaxy.
Speaking of the past. He discreetly looked around and scanned the surroundings for any digital ports where he could get information. "Angelic… I will admit that is a new description. But I have no idea why you called my armor that." Jace informed them as his helmet's interface, which was sending warnings, finally located a possible port for him to grab information from.
Belphe seemed to be watching him closely because she interrupted the horse head's response to Jace's words. "You are stalling."
Jace shrugged, "What can I say? I do have other priorities than just fighting." He then tightened his leg muscles and launched himself toward the side. Going straight for a red metallic structure that was facing toward the portal.
The structure had an arc going over it and a raised platform where some smaller demons were moving around. There are a number of panels, levers, and buttons that they were using. The most notable features were the red pipes that went into the structure from under the ground. There were three of them in total. All of which were brimming with energy that was flowing. The larger pipe at the back of the structure brought the electricity in, then the two at the sent out the electricity underground in the direction of the portal. Now that he was taking a second to see it he could see a large metal structure around the edge of the portal.
As he landed in the metal structure he put a hand on the metal panel and felt something overload his armor with information. Absorbing so much information should have taken longer, something he would definitely have to look into later.
He quickly spun around and barely got his sword up to block a strike from the horse demon. It sent him flying through a wall of the metal structure and towards the portal. He could pick up the demon saying something as Jace flew through the air. Something about closing the gateway. But there were additional words he did not comprehend.
As he landed on the ground he blocked another heavy strike from Belphe's halberd. He kicked away her weapon and moved to close the distance when he was hit but a sudden jarring sensation and flew to the side. As he crashed into the ground he looked at the source and saw the gold mask demon supported by other injured demons as she sent golden bolts in his direction.
He jumped up and was about to jump toward Belphe again when the horse head demon appeared in front of him. It was so quick that Jace could barely process it before he was blocking the attack and flying back through the air.
He quickly reoriented himself and dug his feet into the ground as he crossed back through the portal. He slowly slid back until he softly hit something. He looked back to see the sandbag wall that his unit put up. With several of his soldiers standing behind it.
He then noticed that there was a lack of gun fire and general chaos. The battlefield was quiet. He looked around until he spotted Sergeant K. "Sergeant K, explain what is happening?"
"The demons stopped charging through the portal and have been staying out of range of our weapons." Sergeant K declared as she nodded at the portal.
Jace frowned and looked back through the portal. Then he noticed the edge of the portal flicker as it slowly shrunk closer. "Ahh… they are closing it. Apparently we are too much for them."
"What is stopping them from opening a portal somewhere else?" Another of the soldiers asked. He did not recognize this one, but considering he was wearing Oda Military garb that made sense. He was probably a local.
Jace hummed and dematerialized his longsword before pulling his railgun off his back and loading a shell into the chamber. "Clear the area," Jace ordered as he took aim through the portal. Watching as Belphe, Sloth, and Lust both flinched before seemingly screaming out orders as he aimed at the horse head demon.
VRRRRRRRRMMMMM!!!!
It began loudly humming as it began reaching the maximum charge while the metal linings began heating up on the side. Just as he was about to fire he changed his target and aimed at one of the red moons that were on the other side of the portal.
BRRVRRROOOOOMMMM!!!
There was a shockwave as the superheated shell left the railgun and cut through the portal at an impossible speed. Leaving the air crackling with electricity and heat. Forcefully collapsing the portal as it passed through.
Reading Settings
#1a1a1a
#ef4444
Comments