Book 4 - Chapter 54 - Union of Demons and Gods (1/2)

Hundreds of shapeshifter soldiers were spread out among the ruins. The detection equipment they carried was able to point out any living thing within a dozen or so meters. That meant it was only a matter of time before Cloudhawk and the others were discovered. Dawn was getting antsy. If they were going to be found wasn’t it better to strike when they had the element of surprise?

Take the initiative! Attack on their terms! Kill all of these bastards! That was the strategy she preferred.

Her hand was already wrapped around the hilt of Terrangelica. “They’re coming, what are you planning to do about it?”

Barb’s heart was racing. The danger they were in was nothing to take lightly.

There had to be fifty or sixty ships above them, thousands of troops. Among them were a lot of these mutant shape changers. If they were going to fight, it was almost sure the four of them were doomed. Hell, their bombs alone would be enough.

But Cloudhawk was perfectly calm. “Shut up. If I say we can do it, then we can do it.”

Dawn grit her teeth and pursed her lips, but reluctantly removed her hand from the sword. Not even her grandfather would talk to her like this. Anyone else and she would have taught them a lesson before charging into battle, but from Cloudhawk the words didn’t even make her angry. Strange.

At Cloudhawk’s command Oddball shot higher into the sky. The little bird approached one of the ships several hundred meters above and slipped into a ventilation duct. After passing through a twisting maze of piped, it popped out in an empty room.

That’ll do, good a place as any.

“Everyone grab onto me!” Cloudhawk wrapped an arm around Dawn’s waist and grabbed Barb’s arm. Barb quickly reacted by snatching a handful of the drunk’s clothes. The Dark Atom’s search squad was maybe fifty meters away and closing. They could hear the beeping from their machine, picking up speed. They’d found something.

Cloudhawk reached his mind into the phase stone and called for its power.

The detection equipment suddenly went silent.

Soldiers hurriedly scoured the nearby ruins for any traces of survivors, but found nothing. It was clear throughout the settlement. Maybe their instruments were malfunctioning? But that seemed unlikely, they had all been checked and upgraded by Hellflower’s people.

For all their suspicion and confusion, in the end the soldiers had no recourse but to abandon the search. It seemed like nothing had escaped their net, so the troops filed back into their airship and returned to the rest of the fleet.

Meanwhile the four Elysians sputtered into existence within the small room Oddball had found. Cloudhawk looked at the sea of stunned faces surrounding him and grinned. “I’m pretty awesome, right?”

“Hmph, keep your hands to yourself!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Cloudhawk himself was stunned that he was still holding on to her. He pulled his arm back as though burned and shuffled back a few meters. Dawn was anything but forgiving, so if she got the idea the crazy woman would likely break his arm.

A blush crept into her cheeks, but when she saw Cloudhawk recoil like she was a viper her brows shot up. “Think you could be any more dramatic?! I’m not some fire-breathing monster, what are you so scared of!”

A fire-breathing monster was a hell of a lot less terrifying than she was, Cloudhawk thought to himself.

The old drunk looked at Cloudhawk, then at Dawn. His cracked lips were pulled in a smirk.

“That’s a pretty nasty smirk,” Barb noted. “What awful thing are you thinking?”

“Nothing. Those two remind me of someone?”

“Who? It must be a lady!”

Barb and the old man had grown more familiar over time, so she didn’t waste time with respectful addresses when unnecessary. She didn’t even call him Excellency any more like she used to, now he was just ‘old man’. After all, he was pretty explicit about not accepted her as a disciple.

It was odd. He had given her all he had, was willing to teach her everything he knew, but for some unknown reason he was unwilling to acknowledge their relationship as master and student.

He didn’t care what she called him, and since he wasn’t objecting to the familiarity she decided to press the old drunk on his past.

The old man lazily uncorked a wine bottle and took his time enjoying its contents. In his mind’s eye flashed a purple silhouette , and then all at once it was like he was drawn into the memory. Like a deluge, recollections of the first time they met rushed through his mind.

He’d been thirty years old at the time.

She was in her teens.

He was a martial prodigy, full of ambition and a dream to bring the art to the world. He didn’t have time for the mysteries of relationships, so he swore them off entirely.

She was famous in Skycloud for her beauty, with great talent and high expectations. Countless men vied for her affection, but she had eyes only for him.

He never gave her the time of day. Meanwhile, she never doubted he would achieve his dream. She smiled about it, for she was determined to be there whenever he succeeded, waiting – no matter how long – for him to finally see her.

Twenty years passed in a blink.

He never saw her.

Thus passed her best years, her beauty wasted in waiting.

When his mind turned to this the old man’s heart was filled with regret. Did she ever imagine that mighty War Saint would tumble so far, and become the shit-smeared vagabond he was today?

No, she never would have accepted it. Thank the gods she wasn’t around to see, and yet, such a pity she couldn’t.

He called out to Cloudhawk and Dawn. “You young folk should learn to cherish how blessed you are. The things which seem so easy to get can disappear in an instant, and then are gone forever. Too late for regrets.”