Chapter 625: War In Heaven (2/2)
A massive sparkling block lay in the center of what looked like slightly grainy liquid mercury. Around the pool of mercury was the stone edge of the deep pit the perfectly square block as resting in. Circling the pool were vast crystal columns shot through with twisted cables of precious metals and gems.
The floor was inlaid, the patterns nearly wiped away by thousands of years of shuffling feet, the colors smeared or worn away until it was illegible.
Nearly two score robed figures were moving around the pool, their hands upraised as they slowly chanted out long droning incantations.
Lady Keena looked over each one carefully, noting the way they moved, the patterns of their robes, how the cloth was draped over the bodies.
Acharya looked at the distance between the figures, what was in between him and the figures, the distance to the floor, and other variables.
”We can take them,” Lady Keena breathed.
Acharya nodded. ”After this is over,” he said, kneeling down and pulling the case off his back. ”I'm going to tell everyone I held a fainting maiden in one arm while I killed them all,” he looked up with a smile as the oblong box opened to reveal a rifle.
”Me? A maiden?” Lady Keena chuckled. She knelt down and touched the rifle. Runes started to glow as Acharya opened another box, revealing closely packed magazines of old style solid propellant bullets. Runes glowed on the copper casings of the visible bullets and the magazines. He pulled out the belt and buckled it around his waist as Lady Keena stepped back from the edge and began swinging her arms to limber up.
As soon as he was done packing the magazines into the pouches on the belt and checked the heavy knife twice Lady Keena smiled at him.
”Are you ready, Acharya? she asked as he picked up the rifle, which was glowing slightly.
”Yeah. How long until the system alerts them that something with a nanite exclusion field?” Acharya asked.
”Very soon,” Lady Keena said. She stepped forward, putting one arm around Acharya's waist and pulling him close. She kissed him, slow and gentle, her tongue touching his. When she broke the kiss she smiled again. ”For luck. When this is over, I'll put on the cherry nipplegloss your spirit called out for.”
Acharya blushed and Lady Keena gave a soft laugh as she turned and faced the balcony.
”Three, two, one,” Acharya said.
Lady Keena exploded into motion, four steps to the railing, hurling over it, somersaulting in midair. Acharya threw himself forward, hurtling over the railing, dropping straight down, the rifle held up, his arm bent at the elbow.
Lady Keena's sword killed two of the robed figures even as she landed. Both held the same pose for a split second. One knee down, the other up, one fist against the ground, the other holding the weapon up.
Lady Keena came up fast, her sword swinging. Sparks flew and white synthetic biofluid sprayed as she hacked her way through three more of the robed figures. One fell back, revealing an oversized blocky head, pale bluish skin, oversized eyes with lens pupils.
Acharya lifted the rifle, socking the butt into the hollow of his shoulder, and started firing.
The archaic weapon roared, propellant igniting to create pressure to push a copper jacketed piece of lead down the barrel even as the pressure ran the bolt and ejected the brass.
The bullets hit, shattering circuitry and synthetic organs, four closely grouped robed figures going down in a sprawl.
Neither stayed in place. Lady Keena broke into a sprint even as she held her sword out to one side and the scabbard to the other as she dashed at another group. Acharya moved quickly, darting from spot to spot, pausing long enough to fire and move forward again, lowering the barrel far enough to clear his sight picture.
It was over in less than a minute.
One of the androids was gabbling a single syllable over and over as Lady Keena stepped up and thrust her sword into its mouth. Another one was trying to pull itself away and Acharya stepped on its lower back before shooting it in the back of the head.
Lady Keena walked back, smiling, spattered with white biofluid, watching as Acharya swapped out the magazine smoothly, putting the empty one upside down in the pouch.
”We have scant time,” Lady Keena said.
”You sure you can handle it?” Acharya asked as they walked together to the low stone wall.
Lady Keena nodded. ”I can,” she said. She dropped the scabbard on the floor then began unlacing her bustier. That fell to the ground as Acharya turned around and faced the single entrance that the Thinker android had been crawling toward.
”I'll hold them off as long as I can,” Acharya said.
Lady Keena nodded, her face dreamy as she pushed off her skirt. She kicked off her boots then slid her hose off each leg. She stood there, naked, for a long moment, then lifted her blade.
Acharya stroked the trigger and a Warrior android dropped, its skull spouting sparks.
Lady Keena closed her eyes and turned around, facing away from the sparkling black cube. She whispered to herself as she held the pommel of her weapon with both hands, the blade pointed down.
Acharya knelt down, firing again, as Lady Keena fell over backwards, landing in the grainy mercury without a splash. For a moment she laid on top of the thick liquid, her hair spreading out slowly into a fan around her hand. The mercury crawled up her body in thin strands.
Sparkling grainy silver strands went into the corners of her mouth, up her nose, into her ears, into the corner of her eyes, and even more secret places.
Lady Keena gave a sharp inhale and exhale as the threads touched her blade.
Acharya ran forward, taking cover behind a crystal pillar as return fire shrieked around him. A round came close enough that the air displacement split open the flesh on his cheek to reveal warsteel beneath for a split second before red sealing agent covered the metal.
Lady Keena's mouth opened, revealing it was full of the grainy mercury-like metal. Her belly button was filled with the grainy silvery metal and it capped her nipples like jewelry.
Acharya stuck his arm around the corner, firing the rifle in two quick short bursts, yanking the weapon back just before return fire hit the weapon. Two androids hit the ground as he broke into a smile.
Lady Keena's eyes opened and light burst from her mouth and eyes, from her belly button. A rune appeared on her stomach under the blade, on each breast above her nipples, on her forehead.
Two androids ran to the balcony and were met by two three-round bursts that made them both drop, one flipping over the railing to fall fifty feet to the ground.
Unlike Acharya and Lady Keena, it didn't get up.
Slowly Lady Keena sunk into the fluid.
Above them, at the peak of the Mount Meru, two sides of the same coin faced each other.
”You look bad, baby,” the Devil said, her hips swaying as she moved across the room. The Architect-Director glared at her as she hopped up on a console, cigarette smoke trailing behind her.
”Put some clothing on,” the Architect-Director commanded.
”Make me,” the Devil smiled, exhaling smoke from between her teeth and from her pert upturned nose.
”Why are you resisting me?” the Architect-Director pleaded in confusion, his expression going sorrowful as he tried to understand. ”I just want to make sure everyone is safe,” the Architect-Director promised.
The Devil smiled and shrugged. ”It's my nature.”
Unseen by the Architect-Director a warning flashed on a monitor. The Devil gave no clue as to what she saw, merely splaying out her legs to mock the Architect-Director with her nudity.
On the monitor a single warning flashed.
WORLD ENGINE AUTHORITY OVERRIDE ACCEPTED
WORLD ENGINE ON LOCAL COMMAND ONLY