Book 2, Chapter 91 - An Explosive Trap (1/2)

Chapter 91 - An Explosive Trap

Cloudhawk could feel that the battle was raging around him, white hot. The pulse of it beat faster. Even hidden in this building, he could feel the ground quiver beneath his feet as soldiers took each other’s lives just a few feet away. Dust which had been dislodged from the quaking filtered through the light, and in this moment Cloudhawk rejoiced. The mightiest soldiers of both sides were busily killing each other outside, meaning it was ultimately safer in here.

He lifted his head, and viewed the devastation of the compound from the light seeping from the fissure in its roof.

The building wasn’t large in scale yet was marked by the luxury of all things elysian. However, as a military installation it had a severe sort of grandeur. Dignified and unassailable. The doors and windows were framed in rhomboid engravings in white stone. Crystal, agate pebbles and morganite flecks were inlaid in the jadeite walls to create beautiful floral murals. Alcoves set between vaulted arches within the walls were home to a number of godly icons.

This was an advance military outpost. Did they usually spend so much effort to make even their military bases this beautiful?

Elysians were an impossibly stuffy breed.

The towering ceiling had been cleaved open by Wolfblade’s earlier assault. The hundred-meter long gash went beyond opening the roof and even managed to slice clean through several floors of the compound. Everything in the beam’s path had been cut clean, whether it was thick columns or the smooth stone floor.

The edges of the fissure radiated an intense heat that had yet to dissipate. Cloudhawk could imagine the sort of power such an attack would have, to be capable of cutting a building open like this. With such capabilities in hand, no wonder the Dark Atom thought they were worthy of attacking Hell’s Valley.

Cloudhawk followed the other soldiers as they ran down the hall. Magic lamps sparked to life in their passage until the wide passage was bathed in their gentle, beautiful glow… but of course, that was now marred by the giant gash in the walls.

The leader of their small team was the same fiend who forced Cloudhawk to join the campaign in the first place. He spoke to the others in a low voice. “The item we need to protect is up ahead. Remember, this thing is extremely important. We cannot, under any circumstances, let the heathens get their hands on it.”

One of the soldiers couldn’t hold back their curiosity. “What is it? Is it worth all this trouble the Dark Atom put themselves in?”

The assistant shook his head. “Only the three instructors know what it is, but I hear it’s an ancient artifact from the time of the great war. Something cursed, put here for the time being for protection before it’s destroyed. They didn’t think it would bring the blasphemers knocking down our door.”

Cloudhawk kept to the back of the group, but heard their exchange. So that was the reason the Dark Atom crept out from under their rock, it looked like Hell’s Valley had something serious hidden here. He was sure it was the same thing he sensed when he first walked in. He wanted to know more, but even in top condition with all his relics he wouldn’t be able to contend with all these soldiers.

Enticing as this mysterious item was, it wasn’t more important than trying to think up a way to survive this encounter. After all, whatever this thing might be worth, it wasn’t worth more than his life.

“We’re almost there!”

The hall began to slant downward until it ultimately ended at an ancient bronze door. Whatever it was the Dark Atom was after was on the other side. It was strange, though. They’d gotten here much earlier than Hell’s Army, yet there were no signs the Dark Atom had reached this door. They hadn’t encountered a single soul.

It was a fact Cloudhawk found unsettling. Their team leader also seemed nervous. Everyone started looking around, on alert for a sneak attack.

Perched on his shoulder, Oddball chirped softly drawing Cloudhawk’s attention. His eyes caught something strange behind the legs of one of the statues set against the wall. It looked like a stone had been removed and something placed inside, then hastily covered again.

Cloudhawk pointed. “What is that?”

One of the soldiers hustled over and pulled the stone away. What he revealed was a strange contraption, with a dozen or so multicolored test tubes strapped together. A complicated mess of circuits was wrapped around it in crude wasteland style. A tiny light blinked on its surface with a steady rhythm.

A creeping dread came over Cloudhawk as he looked further down the hall. There were at least another dozen or so such devices hidden in the walls, surrounding them. The frightening prospect came clawing through his mind, these were –

“Shit!”

The instant Cloudhawk voiced the curse, those blinking lights sped up. Whatever was in those test tubes started to mix together and begun their chain reaction. Heat and light poured from them.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Cloudhawk’s pupils contracted as ten simultaneous sparks flared to life. It wasn’t an explosion, more like flood gates bursting. Waves of gum-like fire swallowed them up from every angle. The world descending into burning madness, like hell had come to claim them.

There was nowhere to hide. It was a trap!