Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

With only a few exceptions, the demons Ruwen had seen in the chamber lacked any body Fortification and while their fighting skills were above average, they paled in comparison to highly trained Step practitioners.

Ruwen had told Sift he’d clear enough of the attackers to give everyone a break and hopefully provide enough time to understand what possessed Rung Four. To that end, he focused on efficiency, not beauty.

With spread arms, Ruwen ran through the massed fighters, scooping up demons and letting them pile up in front of him. His Diamond Strength easily pushed the mass of bodies, and every time he collected around ten, he angled himself away from the Adepts and shoved the demon pile backward. The mass of demons acted like a wave, spreading out and tumbling into the other demons, breaking bones and twisting joints.

After the second lap around the Adepts, the demons retreated, and Ruwen strode back to Sift.

“Fancy,” Sift said. “Nice technique.”

“Shovel style,” Ruwen replied.

“Shed style and now Shovel, you have a real theme.”

Ruwen grinned. “I’m a Worker. What do you expect?”

The Adepts shrank into a tight circle and rested. Rung Four seemed oblivious to their surroundings as they pounded on the Infernal Crossing Ring with stones, which did no damage. Ruwen opened his Void Band and released cool fresh air. He’d collected it shortly after reactivating Uru’s third temple, which felt like a different lifetime, and still had one hundred forty-three thousand cubic feet in his Inventory.

Ruwen had learned from Bliz the importance of collecting whatever you could. Everything stored became another tool in your kit, and Ruwen had already found this fresh air useful three times. Once in the underwater safehouse after Xavier had tried to kill him and burned the air to toxic levels, at the city gate during the battle of New Eiru as toxic fumes surrounded his allies, and during the fight with an elite squad of fighters serving Naktos. That fight had ended with Hamma sacrificing herself to save them.

After releasing sixteen thousand cubic feet of air, the intensity of the sulfur smell lessened, and everyone breathed easier.

“Sometimes you’re useful,” Sift said. “Or at least your bracelet is.”

“I have an extra,” Ruwen offered. It had been on the wrist of the arm he’d sliced off the Naktos Stone Sculptor Valora.

“No thanks. I don’t want to risk getting your hoarding issues. True god only knows what else you have in there.”

“Fair enough.”

Sift didn’t understand, but Bliz did, and true to the Crew Chief’s philosophy, Ruwen had collected five hundred thousand cubic feet of magma while swimming through the lava tubes after leaving Torchy.

Now that everyone could breathe better, Ruwen walked over to Prythus.

“Prythus?” Ruwen asked.

The man kept beating on the ring, his hands bloody from holding the sharp rock, and he didn’t react to his name.

“Prythus?” Ruwen tried again, this time louder.

When Prythus didn’t respond, Ruwen grabbed the man’s bloody hand.

“What is going on?” Ruwen asked.

Rage covered Prythus’ face, but trying to break Ruwen’s grip was less than useless and after a couple seconds, his eyes focused.

Ruwen let go. “What are you doing?”

Prythus gasped as if stabbed, and immense sadness filled his face and posture. “This is how they come. They move them from city to city.”

“Who arrives?”

Prythus glanced around the chamber, the sadness replaced by hate. “These are the creatures destroying our home. They killed my family. My children. They took everything.”

Prythus sagged and Ruwen caught him.

Now Ruwen understood. These rings acted as giant rune gates, shuttling large quantities of demons to the ring linked to it. Savage Island was more than just a proving ground for Step Clans. It served as a staging area for demon invasions. Or at least part of one.

“I’m sorry, Prythus,” Ruwen said. “Please get the others to stop. Then we’ll decide what to do.”

Prythus nodded and moved to Nymthus.

Sift scanned the demons milling fifty feet away. “I’d guess we have a minute before things get interesting.” He pointed to the walls. “Some of the bigger ones are forcing the small ones to come help. They’ll probably try to swarm us.”

“This thing is a portable gate, and the Shattered Clan uses them to invade Rung Four’s world.”

“Well, that explains it.”

“Thorn warned us Rung Four might act irrationally.”

“Hey, don’t blame this on me.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just kind of ignored her warning. They seemed fine, but I didn’t look hard enough to see the anguish.”

“I’m not sure how to help them,” Sift said, and then pointed at the portal. “I guess Tarot didn’t lie. That thing must be one giant crossing stone.”

Ruwen had come to the same conclusion.

“Did you get the thousand pounds we need?” Sift asked.

“Yeah.”

“What are we going to do with this, then?” Sift asked.

Ruwen looked at Rung Four. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

“Let’s do it then and get out of here.”

“Don’t you want to know what’s in the warehouse?” Tarot asked as he returned.

Sift swatted at the golem, but Tarot moved fast enough to avoid it.

“No way,” Sift said. “Don’t tell us.”

Ruwen remained silent and Sift glanced at him. “Right, Ruwen. We don’t want to know.”

Ruwen winced. “Aren’t you kind of curious?”

“Not every door needs opened.”

“Won’t you wonder the rest of your life?”

“No. No I won’t. Your curiosity is going to kill us. Plus,” Sift pointed at Tarot. “Never trust a golem. They just want us to suffer.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.”

Sift raised his eyes and tilted his head.

“Fine, Smash probably wanted to kill us.”

“And the longer we stay here, the more dangerous it becomes.” Sift pointed to the gathering demons. “They’re going to attack any second.”

“Okay, you’re right. Let’s destroy this thing and get out.”

Ruwen glanced at the recovering Adepts, who had had all listened to the conversation. “Does everyone agree?”

Everyone did and Sift moved them fifteen feet from the Infernal Crossing Ring. Ruwen stepped to the side of the ring farthest from the Adepts, and using ten percent of his strength, punched the black stone.

Ruwen had spent a couple hours collecting the crossing stones and knew, while hard, they easily broke. Analyze had warned him about the portal’s durability, but it still shocked him that the ring didn’t shatter. The entire structure vibrated, and it became clear the energy filling the ring had soaked into the stone, giving it strength.

Once again, Ruwen struck the ring, this time using twenty-five percent of his Peak Diamond Strength.

The ring shook but remained whole.

“Quit screwing around,” Sift said.

Ruwen frowned at the ring, and prepared to strike it again, when Sift sighed loudly.

“Just great,” Sift muttered.

Ruwen turned to see the group of fighters he’d beaten to the entrance spill into the chamber. From just their movements, it was obvious they were vastly better trained than the demons the Adepts had fought here.

Sift locked eyes with Ruwen. “What tunnel should we retreat into?”

Ruwen quickly glanced around the chamber and considered the other options. A tunnel behind them and to the left angled sharply upward, and he reasoned it might take them to the surface the quickest. He pointed at it. “That one.”

Sift nodded and turned to the Adepts. “As soon as the ring shatters, we run for that tunnel.”

Ruwen turned to look where Sift pointed. It sat on the opposite side of the chamber and corner from the one Ruwen had chosen.

Sift faced Ruwen and shrugged. “Your golem.”

“That tunnel angles downward,” Ruwen said.

“Your misfortune golem,” Sift repeated.

Ruwen couldn’t argue with that. Tarot did seem to make things harder. Maybe Sift had a point.

“Cover your ears,” Ruwen told everyone.

Striking with fifty percent power caused a thunderclap as Ruwen’s fist ripped the air. The ring shuddered but didn’t break. This had become a little embarrassing.

“Step away,” a woman shouted.

At the front of the elite demon group strode a female demon, obvious from her three exposed breasts.

“Why are they always naked?” Sift mumbled.

Ruwen’s Perception provided more information a moment later.

Name: Scourge Queen

Deity: Lalquinrial

Class Type: Cultivator - Sapphire

Level: 73

Health: 1,988

Mana: 0

Energy: 2,300

Spirit: 1,190,000,000

Armor Class: 1,800

The Queen continued. “This portal belongs to the Savage Champion. Attacking it is an attack on him, the Shattered Clan, and the Infernal Realm.”

Ruwen didn’t care about any of those things or the Scourge Queen. He wanted to destroy this portal and get his Clan to safety. He turned away from the queen and prepared to strike the ring with seventy-five percent of his power.

A demon stepped out of the glowing white energy of the ring and into the chamber. It seemed disoriented for a moment and once again Ruwen’s Perception delivered bad news.

Name: Scourge Commander

Deity: Lalquinrial

Class Type: Cultivator - Diamond

Level: 81

Health: 3,100

Mana: 0

Energy: 7,500

Spirit: 2,400,000,000

Armor Class: 2,200

A foot extended out from the energy field as another creature stepped through. Whatever army sat on the other side of this portal had sensed Ruwen’s attacks, and had come to investigate. The odds of everyone surviving this were already terrible, and adding an entire army to the equation didn’t seem like a good idea.

Ruwen triggered Last Breath, turned with his hips, and struck the Infernal Crossing Ring with one hundred percent of his power.